10 Best Moments To Ever Happen On WWE Saturday Night's Main Event

One of the biggest TV shows in 1980s wrestling was WWF’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, a series of specials that would air every few months on NBC (and later Fox in the early ‘90s). Instead of the usual jobber squashes that fans associated with televised wrestling, Saturday Night’s Main Event offered marquee matches featuring the biggest stars of the company.

As a result, Saturday Night’s Main Event not only felt special, but featured some major moments in WWE history, many of which led to some of the classic matchups at various WrestleManias. This special Saturday night wrestling program brought out some of the greatest WWE moments of all time.

10 Hulk Hogan Superplexes Big Boss Man (SNME XXI, 5/27/1989)

Hulk Hogan and Big Boss Man had 11 cage matches throughout the house show circuit in 1989 -- including an awesomely violent one on March 18th -- but their twelfth cage encounter was nationally broadcast on Saturday Night’s Main Event in May. It’s a strong match, but one most memorable for Hogan pulling off a Superplex off the top of the cage, which is a rarity for Hogan and one that makes the crowd go absolutely wild.

9 Mr. Perfect Destroys The WWF Title (SNME XXIV, 11/25/1989)

The heel stealing the babyface’s championship belt is a common trope in pro wrestling title feuds, but Mr. Perfect went above and beyond the call of duty when he was feuding with Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship. He didn’t just steal Hogan’s title -- he smashed it with a hammer on television. It’s a real shocker of a moment that birthed a long-standing urban legend, as many believe the belt was taped back together to create the WWF Hardcore Championship.

8 Jake Roberts DDTs Ricky Steamboat (SNME VI, 5/3/1986)

Jake “The Snake” Roberts is considered by many -- fans and wrestlers alike -- to be one of the greatest heels of all time. His dark side is on full display during his pre-match attack on perennial babyface Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat on SNME.

Robert not only DDT’d Steamboat on the floor, but also dragged him into the ring and put his snake Damien on him -- all in front of Steamboat’s wife Bonnie.

7 Ultimate Warrior Clotheslines Hulk Hogan (1/27/1990)

After Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior crossed paths in the Royal Rumble days earlier, the two teamed up in a tag match against Mr. Perfect and The Genius, which Hogan and Warrior of course won. However, in the post-match clash, the heels would attack the babyfaces, and in the process Warrior would accidentally deliver a clothesline to Hogan. It was the moment that would send the two stars on the road to their incredible WrestleMania VI winner-take-all championship main event.

6 WWF’s First Televised Cage Match Not On PPV (SNME IX, 1/3/1987)

The ninth episode in the series opened with Hulk Hogan defending his WWF Championship against Paul Orndorff in a steel cage -- credited as the first time WWF aired a cage match on TV for free. Beyond historical value, the match is remembered for its classic finish, where Hogan and Ordorff both escaped the cage at the same exact time, prompting a restarting of the match. Of course, Hogan would pull out the victory.

5 Demolition Lose The Tag Titles (SNME XXII, 7/29/1989)

More than just a rip-off of The Road Warriors, Demolition were actually pretty good and super over with crowds. In mid 1989, Demolition was feuding with Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, otherwise known as The Brain Busters. Their title match at the previous SNME resulted in a DQ, so the follow-up was 2/3 Falls, which The Brain Busters actually managed to win, ending Demolition’s record-setting title reign. It’s a great match, and one of the few title changes in the history of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

4 The Mega Powers Form (SNME XII, 10/3/1987)

Randy Savage made his bones as a heel. But by 1987, Macho Man became popular enough to justify a face turn. On the 12th episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, Hulk Hogan ran out to save Savage during a post-match beatdown from Honky Tonk Man, and the pair subsequently formed a dream tag team, The Mega Powers.

It was a huge moment as two iconic wrestlers forged a friendship that would ultimately result in a classic match at WrestleMania V.

3 This Awesome Rockers/Brain Busters Match (SNME XX, 3/11/1989)

The 20th episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event ends with a one-minute bout between The Red Rooster and The Brooklyn Brawler, but before that The Rockers took on The Brain Busters in a wild, nearly 10-minute match. Consider it the original Young Bucks vs. FTR as Shawn Michaels and Marty Janetty used their speed against Blanchard and Anderson’s more grounded, violent style. It doesn’t even matter that it ends in a double count-out -- it’s great.

2 Sid Turns on Terry (SNME XXX, 2/8/1992)

At the 1992 Royal Rumble, Sid Justice eliminated Hulk Hogan to a surprising amount of cheers from the crowd. Hogan, in heelish fashion, flipped out and helped Ric Flair eliminate Justice. After that, on the 30th SNME, Hogan and Justice would team up in a match against Ric Flair and The Undertaker, during which Sid would walk out on his partner match, signaling a heel turn. This would result in the disastrous Hogan vs. Justice WrestleMania VIII main event, which ended in a DQ finish.

1 Randy Savage vs. Bret Hart (SNME XIII, 11/28/1987)

The Macho Man and The Hitman only clashed in singles competition four times, including non-televised house shows, but the best one that fans can actually watch on the WWE Network was on Saturday Night’s Main Event. Randy Savage vs. Bret Hart would go 12 minutes and prove to be a fun, competitive bout as the rising star Hart would take on the megastar Savage. It’s one of the many gems fans can find in this series.

NEXT: 5 Reasons Randy Savage Was Better As A Babyface (& 5 Why He Was Better As A Heel)