''Saturday Night's Main Event'' is a series of American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

s produced by WWE (originally the World Wrestling Federation or WWF). It was originally broadcast by NBC from 1985 to 1991, replacing ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' in its late night timeslot on an occasional basis throughout the year. At this time when weekly wrestling programs typically consisted primarily of squash matches featuring established stars dominating enhancement talent, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' consisted almost entirely of star vs. star matches rarely seen on television, including title defenses and specialty matches. It coincided with and contributed to the apogee of the " second golden age" of professional wrestling in the United States; bolstered by regular in-ring appearances by WWF stars such as

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' drew large audiences for much of its run, while a spin-off simply titled '' The Main Event'' aired annually on a Friday night in February beginning in 1988. Ratings began to fall in the 1990s, leading to NBC dropping the specials in 1991. In 1992, the WWF moved ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' to Fox, which aired two editions of the special on the network before being discontinued. In 2006, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was briefly revived as a series of

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

specials on NBC, as part of WWE's agreement with

NBC Universal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast and headquartered at 30 ...

to air its weekly program '' Raw'' on

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

. Five episodes aired as part of the revived run before it was discontinued in 2008. In April 2022, WWE repurposed the ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' title for

house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...

s held on Saturday nights. In September 2024, as part of an agreement moving ''

WWE SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs Live television, live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Netwo ...

'' from Fox to USA, WWE announced that it would revive ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock; the current iteration features performers from WWE's Raw and SmackDown brands.

History

Original run (1985–1992)

''Saturday Night's Main Event'' debuted on May 11, 1985, in the late-night time slot normally assigned to reruns of the NBC sketch comedy ''

''. Then-SNL executive producer Dick Ebersol had made a deal with WWF owner

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...

to produce the show, after Ebersol had seen the high ratings that two WWF specials drew on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in 1984–85: The Brawl to End It All and The War to Settle the Score. Although the show aired infrequently, it did, starting in 1986, settle into a predictable pattern of airdates: New Year's weekend, an episode in late February/early March, an episode in late April/early May, an episode in late September/early October, and Thanksgiving weekend. 1989 and 1990 both offered episodes in July promoted as "Summertime Bonus Editions", some of the Superstars would come on The Arsenio Hall Show interviewed by Arsenio Hall himself to build up/hype of the event. ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was a tremendous rating success for NBC during its heyday, most notably on the March 14, 1987, show, which drew an 11.6 rating, which to this day remains the highest rating any show has ever done in that time slot. That show was headlined by a

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

involving

and André the Giant, who were slated to face each other at WrestleMania III. As Hogan rarely wrestled on the WWF syndicated and cable television shows, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was the program on free television where most viewers were able to see him in action. The success of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' led to several Friday night

specials, known as '' The Main Event''. The first of these, on February 5, 1988, included a WrestleMania III rematch between Hogan and André and drew 33 million viewers and a 15.2 rating, which is still the highest-rated television show in American professional wrestling history. While ratings remained strong through 1990, they began to fall shortly thereafter. NBC, who had just acquired the rights to broadcast NBA games nationwide, now started to lose interest in wrestling, and ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was dropped. Its final NBC airing occurred on April 27, 1991. Fox picked up the show in 1992, but it was only shown twice on Fox; on February 8, 1992, and the final ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' of the original run was broadcast on November 14, 1992. For much of its history, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was hosted by McMahon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura with the occasional use of

Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), manager, color commentator, and wrestler. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the Wo ...

in 1986 and 1987. In 1990,

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...

replaced Ventura as McMahon's broadcast partner when Ventura left the WWF. On the two episodes that aired on Fox, Heenan served as McMahon's partner. From 1985 to 1988, the opening theme song for the NBC version was " Obsession" by Animotion with the closing theme being " Take Me Home" by

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

, and also the beginning of " Take On Me" by

a-ha A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...

was used for show bumpers.

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...

's " Higher Love" was also used as a closing theme. Starting on the October 4, 1986 edition, each show featured a cold open of short wrestler promos set to a loop of the beginning of

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born in 1952, in Los Angeles, California. At the age of eight he started playing guitar and four years l ...

's "Traveling Music" from the '' American Flyers'' soundtrack. In February 1988, the songs were replaced with an original WWF-created instrumental theme. The new instrumental theme was originally used as the theme of the 1987 WWF Slammy Awards. A different opening theme song was used for the February 1992 episode. Selected episodes were also shown in the United Kingdom on ITV in its weekly Saturday lunchtime '' World Of Sport'' slot, mainly thanks to the popularity of

The British Bulldogs The British Bulldogs were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. They competed throughout the 1980s in Britain, North America and Japan and have consistently ranked among the top tag teams i ...

First revived run (2006–2008)

When WWE's flagship show, '' Raw'', returned to the

in 2005, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' was revived in 2006 as a "special series" to air on occasion on NBC as part of a deal between WWE and

. The Raw, SmackDown, and ECW

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

rosters appeared on the show. ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' returned to NBC on March 18, 2006, in a prime-time slot. The first episode aired on a 1-hour time delay, the second episode aired live, with the three remaining episodes airing at a later date. The series was discontinued after July 2008; in lieu of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', WWE began to instead produce hour-long WrestleMania highlights specials for NBC, beginning with '' The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania: The World Television Premiere'' in 2009.

Second revived run (2024–present)

In 2024, after having moved from USA Network to Fox in 2019, ''

'' returned to USA Network as part of a five-year agreement with NBCUniversal. As part of the agreement, it was stated that WWE would produce four prime time specials for NBC per-year for the length of the agreement. On September 17, 2024, WWE announced that it would be producing a second revival of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', with the first episode airing on December 14 from

Nassau Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately east of the eastern limits of the Borough (New York City), borough of Q ...

—the site of the first edition of the series. The new revival features homages to the original run of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' and WWE in the 1980s, including a lack of TitanTron, red, white, and blue ring ropes, referees in formal outfits, some branding elements using the WWE "throwback" logo, and the reinstatement of " Obsession" by Animotion as its theme music (albeit this time not as an instrumental).

Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (born June 30, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As of April 2022, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is also known for co-fou ...

also wore the "Winged Eagle" belt (first introduced in 1988 for the then-WWF World Heavyweight Championship) to represent his Undisputed WWE Championship.

Events

The following table lists the dates and locations of televised events; they do not include the 2022 house shows.

Results

The following lists the match results for ''Saturday Night's Main Event''s televised shows, and do not include results for any of the 2022 house shows.

World Wrestling Federation

Saturday Night's Main Event I

Saturday Night's Main Event I took place May 10, 1985, from

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in central Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, within the New York metropolitan area. The population was 32,473 at the time of the 2020 United States census ...

, in

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately east of the eastern limits of the borough of Queens in New York City, a ...

, and aired May 11, 1985. The event aired on NBC and drew an 8.8 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event II

Saturday Night's Main Event II took place on October 3, 1985, from

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner suburb, inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 Unit ...

, at the

Brendan Byrne Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor sports and concert venue located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. Since closing, ...

, and aired on October 5, 1985. The event aired on NBC and drew an 8.3 rating. During the broadcast, Uncle Elmer was legitimately married to Joyce Stazko.

Saturday Night's Main Event III

Saturday Night's Main Event III took place on October 31, 1985, from

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to the Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey ...

, at the Hersheypark Arena, and aired on November 2, 1985. The event aired on NBC and drew a 6.3 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event IV

Saturday Night's Main Event IV took place on December 19, 1985, from

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, at the USF Sun Dome, and aired on January 4, 1986. The event aired on NBC and drew a 10.4 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event V

Saturday Night's Main Event V took place on February 15, 1986, from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and aired on March 1, 1986. The event aired on NBC and drew a 10.0 rating. Events during three of the matches – The Dream Team vs.

for the WWF Tag Team Championship;

vs. The Magnificent Muraco for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship; and

Mr. T Laurence T (born Laurence Tureaud; May 21, 1952), known professionally as Mr. T, is an American actor and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A ...

vs. "Battling" Bob Orton in a boxing match – helped set up three of the four major matches at WrestleMania 2. The premiere airing of the video for "Real American," Hulk Hogan's entrance theme, took place.

Saturday Night's Main Event VI

Saturday Night's Main Event VI took place on May 1, 1986, from

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, at the Providence Civic Center, and aired on May 3, 1986. The show aired on NBC and drew a 9.3 rating. Jake Roberts sneak-attacked Ricky Steamboat and took him out with his finisher, the DDT, on the arena's concrete floor prior to the match starting, helping set up a feud that continued through the summer and early fall of 1986.

Saturday Night's Main Event VII

Saturday Night's Main Event VII took place on September 13, 1986, from Richfield, Ohio, at the Coliseum at Richfield, and aired on October 4, 1986. The event aired on NBC and drew a 9.4 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event VIII

Saturday Night's Main Event VIII took place on November 15, 1986, from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, and aired on November 29, 1986. The event aired on NBC and drew a 9.7 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event IX

Saturday Night's Main Event IX took place on December 14, 1986, from

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, at the Hartford Civic Center, and aired on January 3, 1987. The event aired on NBC and drew a 10.6 rating. The steel cage match between

and

Paul Orndorff Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Champions ...

was initially declared a draw when both wrestlers escaped the cage at approximately the same time and two referees – Joey Marella and Danny Davis, the latter playing up his crooked referee gimmick – disputing the finish. When footage from the escape spot was deemed "inconclusive," the match was re-started and continued with Hogan gaining a decisive win over Orndorff.

Saturday Night's Main Event X

Saturday Night's Main Event X took place on February 21, 1987, from

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, at the Joe Louis Arena, and aired on March 14, 1987. The event aired on NBC and drew an 11.6 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event XI

Saturday Night's Main Event XI took place on April 28, 1987, from

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Co ...

, at the Edmund P. Joyce Center, and aired May 2, 1987. The event aired on NBC and drew a 9.5 rating. While a match featuring

was not included in the show, a pre-taped interview with comments regarding WrestleMania III and a possible future rematch was included. A separate interview with Andre the Giant and

, also reflecting on WrestleMania III, also aired.

Saturday Night's Main Event XII

Saturday Night's Main Event XII took place on September 23, 1987, from

, at the Hersheypark Arena, and aired October 3, 1987. The event aired on NBC and drew a 9.7 rating. As the result of events during the

Randy Savage Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...

vs. The Honky Tonk Man match – a beatdown of Savage by Honky and

The Hart Foundation The Hart Foundation is the name of several derivative tag teams and stables composed primarily of members and close friends of the Hart wrestling family. The name originated in the World Wrestling Federation in 1985 with the original Hart Foundat ...

, and

running in to save Savage – The Mega Powers alliance of Hogan, Savage and

Miss Elizabeth Elizabeth Ann Hulette (November 19, 1960 – May 1, 2003), best known in professional wrestling circles as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), manager, occasional professional wrestler and prof ...

was formed. The music video for "Piledriver" (as performed by Koko B. Ware), the title track of the WWF's second album of entrance music and performances by the wrestlers, debuted.

Saturday Night's Main Event XIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XIII took place on November 11, 1987, from

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, at the Seattle Center Coliseum, and aired November 28, 1987 on NBC. Andre the Giant accompanied King Kong Bundy and

to the ring for Bundy's match vs. Hulk Hogan. Midway through the match, Andre was ejected from ringside for attempting to interfere in the match; as he returned to the locker room, he shoved a WWF cameraman to the floor. Brian Bosworth, linebacker for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, was shown in the audience.

Saturday Night's Main Event XIV

Saturday Night's Main Event XIV took place on December 7, 1987, from

Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the ...

, at the Capital Centre, and aired on January 2, 1988 on NBC. During the Hulk Hogan-King Kong Bundy match, referee Jack Krueger was accidentally caught and knocked out by Bundy in an attempt to avalanche Hogan; the match was briefly interrupted as a new referee, Dave Hebner, took Krueger's place. Following the match, Andre the Giant sneak-attacked Hogan and choked him to the brink of unconsciousness, fighting off several wrestlers who came to aid Hogan; this served as one of the build-ups to the Hogan-Andre match on '' The Main Event'', which aired February 5, 1988.

Saturday Night's Main Event XV

Saturday Night's Main Event XV took place on March 7, 1988, from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, at the

Nashville Municipal Auditorium The Nashville Municipal Auditorium is an indoor sports and concert venue in Nashville, Tennessee. It opened October 7, 1962 with both an arena and exhibition hall. The former exhibition hall has been permanent home to the Musicians Hall of Fame ...

, and aired on March 12, 1988. Although there were 10,000 in attendance, it was reportedly a heavily papered event. The event aired on NBC and drew a 10.0 rating. During the tapings,

Don Muraco Don Muraco (born September 10, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1981 to 1988, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship on ...

vs Butch Reed was taped but aired on '' Prime Time Wrestling'' on April 11, 1988. The match between

and Harley Race saw Race lay Hogan across a table outside the ring and attempted to hit a diving headbutt from the ring apron, but Hogan moved out of the way and Race crashed through the table, suffering a legitimate injury that would eventually force him into retirement in 1991. After the

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...

and André the Giant match, Hogan appeared at ringside to clear the ring of DiBiase and

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

after they began a post-match beatdown of Randy "Macho Man" Savage. The match between The Islanders ( Haku and Tama) and The Killer Bees (

Jim Brunzell James Brunzell (born August 13, 1949), best known under the ring name "Jumping" Jim Brunzell, is an American retired professional wrestler known for his successful tag teams, Brunzell performed for various wrestling promotions during his 21-year ...

and B. Brian Blair) was a two-out-of-three-falls match, however only the first fall was televised.

Saturday Night's Main Event XVI

Saturday Night's Main Event XVI took place on April 22, 1988, from

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, at the Springfield Civic Center, and aired April 30, 1988 on NBC. This was the first ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' to not feature

in any of the televised matches or interviews, as he had taken a leave of absence around this time to begin filming '' No Holds Barred''.

Saturday Night's Main Event XVII

Saturday Night's Main Event XVII took place on October 25, 1988, from

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, at the Baltimore Arena, and aired October 29, 1988. The event aired on NBC and drew an 8.7 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event XVIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XVIII took place on November 16, 1988, from

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, at the ARCO Arena, and aired November 26, 1988. The event aired on NBC and drew a 9.4 rating. During the show, Brother Love conducted a special interview with

and Slick.

Saturday Night's Main Event XIX

Saturday Night's Main Event XIX took place on December 7, 1988, from

, at the USF Sun Dome, and aired January 7, 1989 on NBC. Events during and after the

- Akeem match –

declining to make the save and run off Akeem and

Big Boss Man Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name (The) Big Boss Man, a ...

while they were beating down Hogan, but Savage immediately running to ringside when the heels were threatening to beat up

, and then Savage questioning Elizabeth as she tended to a beaten Hogan – helped foreshadow the later heel turn by Savage at ''The Main Event II'' in February. George Steinbrenner was shown in the front row during this event, and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan at one point remarked about the guy he managed in the ring at the time to Steinbrenner "I've got a ring full of Winfields".

Saturday Night's Main Event XX

Saturday Night's Main Event XX took place on February 16, 1989, from

, at the Hersheypark Arena, and aired March 11, 1989. The event aired on NBC and drew a 10.0 rating. During the event, Mean Gene Okerlund conducted a special interview with

to publicly announce whose corner she will be in at WrestleMania V.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXI

Saturday Night's Main Event XXI took place on April 25, 1989, from

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, and aired May 27, 1989 on NBC. During the steel cage match between

and

, Hogan superplexed Boss Man from over the top of the cage to the mat, briefly knocking both wrestlers out. Prior to the match, Tommy Lister Jr., in-character as his '' No Holds Barred'' movie role of Zeus (the movie's villain), came to ringside and stood in front of the cage entrance, beating down Hogan after daring him to "move me!"

Saturday Night's Main Event XXII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXII took place on July 18, 1989, from

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

, at the Worcester Centrum, and aired July 29, 1989 on NBC. During the Randy Savage-Brutus Beefcake match,

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

appeared at ringside and interfered on Savage's behalf. Hulk Hogan came to aid Beefcake but was unable to hurt Zeus. The events of this match was one of the pieces to help set up the main event of

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...

. The show also featured the only title change in the programs history to date.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIII took place September 21, 1989, from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, at the Riverfront Coliseum, and aired October 14, 1989. The show was attended by 14,000 people, of which 12,000 were paid. The event aired on NBC and drew a 9.5 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV took place October 31, 1989, from

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

, at the Sunflower State Expocentre, and aired November 25, 1989. The event aired on NBC and drew an 8.7 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXV

Saturday Night's Main Event XXV took place January 3, 1990, from

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, at the UTC Arena, and aired January 27, 1990. The event aired on NBC and drew an 11.1 rating.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVI

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVI took place on April 23, 1990, from

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, at the Frank Erwin Center, and aired April 28, 1990 on NBC.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVII took place July 16, 1990, from

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, and aired July 28, 1990. The event aired on NBC and drew a 7.2 rating. This event saw the debut in WWF of The Texas Tornado.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXVIII took place September 18, 1990, from

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, at the

Toledo Sports Arena Toledo Sports Arena was a 5,230-seat multi-purpose arena at 1 Main Street, Toledo, Ohio. It was built in 1947 and demolished in 2007. As a concert venue, it seated 6,500, for theater concerts and stage shows, 4,400 and for boxing and wrestling, ...

, and aired October 13, 1990 on NBC. During the match between

and

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...

attacked Dusty's son

Dustin Rhodes Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes, with a nickname of "The Natural" and is a member of The Sons of ...

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIX

Saturday Night's Main Event XXIX took place April 15, 1991, from

, at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, and aired April 27, 1991. The event drew 9,400 people of which 7,000 were paid. The event aired on NBC and drew a 7.7 rating. Following this event, ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' aired two episodes on FOX in 1992, the series then ended until returning to NBC for 5 additional specials beginning in 2006 with Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXX

Saturday Night's Main Event XXX took place on January 27, 1992, from

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

, at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum, and aired February 8, 1992. The event was the first ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' to air on Fox and drew an 8.2 rating and 14.3 million viewers. Prematch stipulation of the

and The Mountie match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, stated

Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...

would face the winner at WrestleMania VIII. The Legion of Doom ( Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal) were originally scheduled to take on The Beverly Brothers ( Blake Beverly and Beau Beverly), however The Legion of Doom were replaced by Sgt. Slaughter and

Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best-known for his time in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he won the first ...

. Following the match between

and Jake Roberts, the telecast ended with

coming to the ring and celebrating with Savage. A week later during '' Superstars'', it was revealed that Roberts prepared to hit

with a steel chair as soon as she stepped backstage, only for The Undertaker to prevent the attack and allow Savage to hit Roberts with a chair of his own.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI took place October 27, 1992, from

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

, at the Hulman Center, and aired November 14, 1992. The event aired on Fox and drew a 6.1 rating and 10.6 million viewers. This event was the second and final ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' to air on FOX, and the final ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' for almost 14 years, until the series returned in 2006 with Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII.

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII took place on March 18, 2006, from

, at the Cobo Arena. The event aired on a 1-hour tape delay on NBC in the United States and

Citytv Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with the former network drawing a 3.1 rating. This marked the first ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' since 1992 when Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI aired on FOX, and the first on NBC since Saturday Night's Main Event XXIX in 1991 as well as the first ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' to feature wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions during the first brand extension.

Mickie James Mickie Laree James (born August 31, 1979) Additional January 6, 2017. is an American Country music, country singer and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE. She is also signed to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) as Cre ...

and Trish Stratus fought over the WWE Women's Championship at New Year's Revolution, with Stratus retaining. In the months that followed, James' obsession with Stratus grew to the point that she confessed to Stratus that she was in love with her. James made an attempt to kiss Stratus at ''Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII'', after the duo defeated Candice Michelle and Victoria. After she was rebuffed, James attacked Stratus and later vowed to destroy her. Jim Ross,

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...

, and Tazz are the commentators.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII took place July 15, 2006, from

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, at the

American Airlines Center The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose List of indoor arenas, indoor arena located in the Victory Park, Dallas, Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Stars of the National ...

. The event drew 17,343 people, of which 14,500 were paid. The event aired live on NBC, and drew a 2.6 rating. This was the first series to feature the ECW brand, which was relaunched in June 2006. Jim Ross and

are the commentators for Raw, Michael Cole and John Layfield are the commentators for SmackDown, and Joey Styles and Tazz are the commentators for ECW. Justin Roberts was the ring announcer.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIV

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIV took place on May 28, 2007, from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

at the Air Canada Centre, and aired June 2, 2007. The event drew 16,176 of which 14,000 were paid. The event aired on NBC and drew a 2.2 rating. Michael Cole and

were the commentators. Ashley Massaro, Kristal Marshall,

Torrie Wilson Torrie Anne Wilson (born July 24, 1975) is an American model (person), model, former fitness competitor and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE and WCW. As a fitness competitor, Wilson won the Miss Galaxy compet ...

, Candice Michelle, and Michelle McCool were the various guest ring announcers.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXV

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXV took place on August 13, 2007, from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

, and aired August 18, 2007. The event drew 16,827 of which 13,500 were paid. The event aired on NBC and drew a 2.5 rating. Michael Cole, Jim Ross, and John Layfield are the commentators. Tazz was the guest commentator for the main event.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVI

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVI took place on July 28, 2008, from

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, at the Verizon Center, and aired August 2, 2008. The event aired on NBC as a 1-hour special, and drew a 1.4 rating. The event drew 14,722 of which 12,000 were paid. Jim Ross and

are the commentators. CM Punk was the guest commentator for the first televised match.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVII took place on December 14, 2024, from

, at the

, the same location as the inaugural event 39 years earlier. The event was broadcast in the United States on NBC and streaming on

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

and on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

in international markets as a two-hour special, marking the first Saturday Night's Main Event special since 2008. This special saw the crowning of the inaugural WWE Women's United States Champion. On December 6, it was announced that

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...

r Jesse "The Body" Ventura would provide commentary at the event. Pat McAfee also returned to provide commentary for all matches at the same event.

= WWE Women's United States Championship Tournament

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVIII

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVIII took place on January 25, 2025, from

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas, at the Frost Bank Center, and was broadcast on NBC and

in the United States and on

in most other international markets. The event featured the contract signing (moderated by WWE Hall of Famer and San Antonio native Shawn Michaels) between

and Kevin Owens for their upcoming Ladder match for Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Championship and the "Winged Eagle" WWE Championship (which Owens stole from Rhodes at the previous Saturday Night's Main Event) at the Royal Rumble (2025), Royal Rumble event. WWE Hall of Famer Jesse "The Body" Ventura returned to provide commentary for the event.

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX took place on May 24, 2025, from

, at the Yuengling Center, and broadcast on NBC and

in the United States and on

in most other international markets. The event featured the return of

in his first appearance since Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 in April, as well as Bronson Reed who had been out with a broken ankle since Survivor Series: WarGames (2024), Survivor Series: WarGames in November 2024 and joined Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Paul Heyman's alliance. WWE Hall of Famer Jesse "The Body" Ventura returned to provide commentary for the event.

Saturday Night's Main Event XL

Saturday Night's Main Event XL will take place on July 12, 2025, from Atlanta, Georgia, at the State Farm Arena and will be broadcast on NBC and

in the United States and on

in most other international markets.This event marks the first in-ring match for Bill Goldberg, Goldberg since 2022.

Home video

VHS release

During the original run, WWE Home Video, Coliseum Video released two cassettes of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'': Saturday Night's Main Event's Greatest Hits which contained six matches from 1985 to 1987 and More Saturday Night's Main Event containing nine matches from 1988 to 1989. In 1992, the WWF released through Columbia House, ''Best of Saturday Night's Main Event (Collector's Edition)'' comprising five matches from 1988 to 1990.

DVD release

On February 10, 2009, the WWE released a three-disc DVD set on the history of ''Saturday Night's Main Event''. The set includes more than 30 full matches and several non-wrestling segments. Among these are highlights of Uncle Elmer's wedding,

's "Real American" music video, and Curt Hennig, Mr. Perfect smashing Hogan's WWF World Heavyweight Championship belt. The first match in the program's history, a six-man tag team match pitting the U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda, Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) teaming with Ricky Steamboat defeating the team of World Tag Team Championship (WWE), WWF Tag Team Champions Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik and their partner George Steele, George "The Animal" Steele, is included as an extra. Also, two other notable matches are included, both from the program's spinoff The Main Event. The first is a February 1988 rematch from WrestleMania III pitting Hogan against André the Giant, the second a Mega Powers' (Hogan and

) bout against the Twin Towers (Big Boss Man (wrestler), The Big Boss Man and Akeem) from February 1989. Both had direct implications on each year's WrestleMania: the Hogan-Andre match led to the WWF title being vacated until WrestleMania IV while the Mega Powers-Twin Towers match led to the breakup of the Mega Powers and Hogan eventually defeating Randy Savage to win the WWF title at WrestleMania V. In the WrestleMania 22 DVD, the Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII, XXXII edition was included in the 2nd disc in its entirety.

Notes

References

External links

* * (1985 version) * (2006 version) {{WWE 1985 American television series debuts 1992 American television series endings 2006 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings American television series revived after cancellation Fox Broadcasting Company late-night programming Fox Broadcasting Company original programming NBC late-night programming NBC original programming Saturday mass media Television series by WWE