- Tyler Merriam

Taped October 2, 1985. Originally Aired October 5, 1985 on NBC.

This is the second ever Saturday Night's Main Event, as the first happened in May of 1985, but its about the only Main Event I don't have a copy of. So I do this one. If any of you have the first SNME in its' entirety (with or without the commercials), drop me an email and we can make a deal.

This is back when the WWF actually taped it like a TV show. A few years after this, they would mix the order of the matches around, and add commentary and canned heat later. Here, it's all live, and just dubbed and sent to NBC.

Vince McMahon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura with the play-by-play, and Mean Gene Okerlund providing interviews. This is also before the cute background for the interviews, so they are done in an area that you can see the ring from, but its not the ring entrance.

On with the show.

OH GOD! I FORGOT I HATE THIS EPISODE! Hillbilly Jim and Uncle F'n Elmer are with Gene, before the interview-o-rama for the opening. Jim says Elmer's gonna wrestle, then get married. That would be why I hate it. Thankfully, Rowdy Roddy Piper shows up and makes fun of the two, talking at a rate nearing Jim Cornette.

Opening video package, then Vince welcomes us. He spends about five minutes talking to us, as he says "not withstanding," about ten times, and every time he says the name of a fan favorite, he gets this grin as if they are cheering for him. Finally, we get to Jesse, who is wearing cool shades, and has a good following of fans. Finally, the matches arrive.

--WWF Title Match
NIKOLAI VOLKOFF w/FREDDIE BLASSIE vs. HULK HOGAN---
If you never saw this show, then you are probably wondering why Hogan is on first. Well, this was a 90-minute show that was used to give Saturday Night Live and its people a few weeks a year off without a huge ratings dip, which it did. 

But, because it aired at 11:30 Eastern, Vince wanted to put Hogan on before midnight so the kids might be able to stay up and see him. Most of the time, Hogan's on in the first half the show.

Volkoff sings the Russian Anthem, and they get a close up, with Blassie trying and failing miserably at lip-synching the Anthem.  More...