WWF The Main Event V 2/1/1991

WWF The Main Event V 2/1/1991

We see clips of Hulk Hogan on a USO tour. Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper welcome us to the show. They say Jack Tunney will announce who will be in the main event of Wrestlemania VII. They say we will see The Legion of Doom vs The Orient Express, Sgt. Slaughter vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan for the WWF Title and Hulk Hogan and Tugboat vs Earthquake and Dino Bravo.

Hulk Hogan and Tugboat vs Earthquake and Dino Bravo

It only took about 8 months to see this match as this was being built in the middle of 1990. Dino backs up Hulk in the corner to start then Hulk shoves Dino back off the lock-up. Hulk back body drops Dino. Jimmy Hart gets on the apron and is nailed. Dino takes an atomic drop then takes shots from Tug and Hulk.

Tug works Dino's arm. Tug runs into boots in the corner then Dino atomic drops him. Quake elbow drops Tug. Hulk gets in and hits shots on Quake. He slams Dino and then slams Quake without any trouble. Hulk corner lariats Quake then hits corner punches. Hulk bites Quake then Quake takes a double big boot.

Tug rugs into Quake's boot then Quake jumping boots Tug. Dino hits chops on Tug then Quake chokes Tug with the tag rope. Quake elbow drops Tug for 2. Tug takes a double clothesline. Quake chokes Tug on the ropes then bearhugs him.

Tug corner splashes Quake then lariats him. Dino hits Tug with Jimmy Hart's megaphone and we go to break. We return and Tug is not with it. Quake hits elbows to Tug's head. Tug gets stomped on. Hulk is tagged but the ref doesn't see it then Tug is double slammed. Quake goes for the butt drop and Hulk nails Quake while he runs the ropes. Hulk and Bravo get in. Hulk hits shots on Dino then boots him. Hulk then rolls him up and wins it.

Thoughts: Bravo went down real easy here without Hulk even leg dropping him. I didn't like Hulk slamming Quake with ease. As I said, this had been built up for almost 8 months at this point and there was nothing too special about it. It was a very average match and probably is the swan song for both teams. It was a rather disappointing end to the feud.

We see clips from The Rumble of Macho saying Sarge will give him a title match and Sherri banging Warrior for a Macho title match. We then see Macho costing Warrior the title.

Sgt. Slaughter and General Adnan are interviewed. Adnan yells in his language. Sarge gets mad at Gene saying he used questionable tactics. Sarge says it doesn't matter how he came into power. He says all that matters is that he is the champ. He says in the past, all champs played by the same rules. Sarge says we are playing by new rules - his rules. He says you may think they are unconventional or brutal. He says he doesn't care what you think and says they are very effective. He says if you go against him, you will see how effective they are. Sarge says he chose prime time television to demonstrate what happens to people who don't play by his rules. He says he will show us all the kind of reign he has and the kind of leader he is. He says he will be WWF champ for life.

WWF Title - Sgt. Slaughter (c) vs "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan

Hulk Hogan comes out with Jim waving the flag. Hulk always had to steal the spotlight, eh?  We go to break and return. We were told Hulk had to go back to the dressing room as he was not a licensed manager.

Jim and Sarge lock-up. Jim pushes him back. hulk hits some shots and clubs on Jim. Sarge chokes him then chokes him. Jim gets a punch flurry in then back body drops Sarge. Jim lariats Sarge over the top and Sarge takes a great bump, getting bent over the apron.

Jim pulls Sarge in but Adnan trips Jim. Jim goes after Adnan. Jim misses a shot on Adnan. Adnan holds Jim then Sarge nails Adnan on accident. Jim hits forearms and back elbows Sarge. Jim hits corner spears on Sarge. 

Jim bends over and is booted. Sarge chokes Jim on the ropes. Jim's head hangs off the apron and Sarge elbow drops him. Sarge then hits him with the 2x4 in the throat. Sarge eye rakes Jim's back then bangs his head off the buckles.

Someone in the crowd throws trash at Sarge then Jim's head is banged off of Sarge's curved boot. Jim's head is banged off the buckles and he hulks up off of it. Jim hits shots. Sarge is sent into the buckles chest first and goes all the way out to the floor.

Sarge's head is banged off the steps then he is thrown into the post. Adnan hits Jim from behind. Sarge grabs a chair and hits Jim with it for the DQ.

Sarge hits some super weak chair shots on Jim then hits him with the riding crop. Hulk Hogan comes down and Sarge chairs him. Hulk then helps Jim up and waves the flag with him.

Thoughts: It wasn't a bad match with Sarge bumping big for Jim. I didn't like Jim no selling the turnbuckle shots and I thought the finish was pretty lame.

The Legion of Doom are interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund. Animal says they are sick of this talk of the US not making things like it used to. Animal says they are living proof that they do. Hawk says they have the brains and the brawn. Animal says those Japanese compacts can't compare with full sized models like them. He says The Express have got, "oh what a feeling" but they have got. "oh what a rush".

The Legion of Doom vs The Orient Express

This was a last minute thing and wasn't built up at all. They had some interaction a few months ago during a brawl with Demolition but it was never followed up on.

Animal shoves Kato back then throws him off a front face lock. Kato chops Animal and Animal chases him around the ring. Kato catches him in the ring and hits chops and punches. Animal powerslams Kato then Tanaka takes an awesome corkscrew bump off a double back body drop.

Hawk side headlocks Tanaka. Hawk shoulders him over twice. Kato trips Hawk. Hawk hits a shot on Kato and Kato slides out to avoid a shot from Hawk. Animal gorilla presses Kato in then Hawk lariats Kato over the top. Animal lariats Kato on the floor.

Animal shoulders over Tanaka then lariats him. Kato hits animal from behind. Mr. Fuji gets on the apron with salt. He throws it in Animal's eyes. Tanaka superkicks Animal then Kato eye rakes Animal. Tanaka jumps on Animal's back while he's bridged on the ropes. Animal double lariats The Express.

Hawk gets in and hits shots on both opponents. Hawk flying shoulders Kato and knocks Fuji off the apron. Animal corner lariats Kato then Kato takes a doomsday device. Hawk then pins Kato.

Thoughts: It was pretty much total destruction for The Express here. They got little in and were ran over. Kato was a good bumper, but probably too good of one as he bumped big and looked weak because of it. The Legion of Doom have been in the WWF for something like 7 months at this point and still haven't really done anything aside from a feud with Demolition that was dropped half-way through.

Jack Tunney, making a rare in-person appearance, is interviewed by Mean Gene Okerlund. Gene asks who will fight Sgt. Slaughter at Wrestlemania VII. Gene asks if it will be Hulk or The Ultimate Warrior. Gene also said Duggan beat Sarge today so he should be in-line for a shot and says Sarge said he would give Macho a shot.

Tunney says Sgt. Slaughter's opponent at Wrestlemania VII will be Hulk Hogan.

Thoughts: To quote Sid Justice, "Jack Tunney, that was bogus, the most bogus act you've ever pulled off". So let me get this straight. Warrior loses his title to Sarge after two different people interfere in what everyone on TV was calling a farce. Tunney completely ignores all of that. Warrior also beat Hulk at Wrestlemania VI and still gets passed over for Hulk. Then you get into Jim Duggan. Duggan gets the first title shot over Warrior for unknown reasons. Jim Duggan actually BEATS Sarge by DQ on the same show and he's also passed by. Macho has also been promised title shots from two different people now over a span of a few months and still hasn't been able to get one. This was BS. Maybe Heenan was right when he talked about how crooked Jack Tunney was for all of these years. Tunney should have been forced to do a mandatory drug test after this one. Mean Gene made all of this worse by making solid arguments for Warrior, Duggan and Macho beforehand.

Sgt. Slaughter and General Adnan are interviewed by Sean Mooney. Sarge says he doesn't care about the fans and says Hulk has never fought someone like him before. He says he will do anything to defend what's his and will stoop to depths lower than he has ever seen before. He says Hulk has no stomach for true conflict. He says this is his belt and he doesn't have to share with anyone. He says Hulk and his fans are nothing but infidels and says the only terms that will be acceptable to him is Hulk's unconditional surrender.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Hulk Hogan in the ring. Hulk says Sarge and Adnan can already feel his breath breathing down their necks. Hulk says we are going to war. He talks about going to military bases. He says his Hulkamaniacs don't understand how Sarge is protected by various US freedoms. He says he and his Hulkamaniacs are coming after Sarge at Wrestlemania VII. Hulk says Sarge would try to take oil and gag all his Hulkamaniacs or fire scud missiles at them. Hulk says Hulkamania is the strongest force in the WWF and says there's nothing Sarge can do about it. Hulk says he pledges that he will be the next WWF champ. Hulk then asks the fans to do a pledge of allegiance. Hulk then waves the flag.

Vince and Piper close the show. Vince says a lot of questions were answered here tonight but more will need answered in the future. Vince asks whether Hulk's pledge will be stronger than Slaughter's resolve.

Overall thoughts: The build to Wrestlemania VII is on as Hulk Hogan vs Sgt. Slaughter is set. The Hulk and Quake tag match took us something like 6-8 months to get to and was nothing special. Hulk didn't even need the legdrop to win that one. The Orient Express got destroyed by The Legion of Doom. Jim Duggan beats Sgt. Slaughter by DQ. Jack Tunney rewards Duggan for this by giving his deserved rematch to Hulk Hogan instead in a bizarre situation. Neither The Ultimate Warrior or Macho King Randy Savage were on this show, but that's the norm most of the time anyway. We also got tons of war talk which I'm well over by now. I really wasn't a fan of this one at all and thought it was a poor show.