By Josh Nason, WrestlingObserver.com
Follow @JoshNason
In last week’s penultimate WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event review, I mentioned the strange coincidences between the show and our weekly journey through every episode over the last year. A few that caught my eye:
The SNME with Brian Bosworth reviewed on the same week as his ESPN 30 For 30 documentary aired.
The WWF ‘The Main Event’ show with Buster Douglas was reviewed on the same week as the 25th anniversary of him beating Mike Tyson.
Last week’s SNME featuring Evander Holyfield was reviwed the same week as he “competed” against Mitt Romney in a charity event.
And finally, the final SNME I review falls on the same week “Mad Men” ended and David Letterman hung up his microphone.
Like The Blues Brothers, clearly I was on a mission from God.
Also, a lot has changed with me since we began. Well, mainly one thing: I got married and somehow this weekly report still got filed on time that day. There were a few times I posted late and occasionally a Sunday here or there when life got in the way, but I stood on the WWE Network wall for all of us, and I appreciate that you were along for the ride.
Why did I start this run? Two reasons, really. The first was that so many people complained about nothing being on the WWE Network that I had to find something that would be of interest. That led into the second: SNME was one of the reasons I became a wrestling fan to begin with. I remember taping the shows and watching them early Sunday morning. We didn’t have cable, so any insight into the world of the WWF outside my one hour a week of Superstars of Wrestling was welcome.
And I think that’s why the recaps of the show resonated with myself and all of you reading this. This show meant something to us, something deeper than what we’re getting now. I think people get worn out from hearing about how much a generation yearned for the way wrestling used to be, but there’s a reason for that: it used to be better. And while WWF was never seen as the place for the most technical pro wrestling, it was memorable and fun to watch in its heyday — the reason why this was so much fun to do over the last 40+ weeks.
I wish we had a better episode to send everyone out on, but this was about as non-descript as they come. Come with me down the rabbit hole one last time with me to 2008 for a short version of the show and the only one that aired that year.
Runtime: 42 minutes
Airdate: August 2, 2008
Taped: July 28, 2008
Location: Verizon Center | Washington, DC
The guitar-riffic eye-searing opens us up as does Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, and WWE World Champion CM Punk! This show is also finally in HD just in time for the last SNME in history. It’s also 42 minutes long as the show was just one hour in length.
Punk says this is the show he used to watch as a kid. Well, in name only, anyway.
John Cena, Batista, & Cryme Tyme vs. JBL Kane, & WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase
For some reason, everyone is introduced out of order so a heel goes, then a face, and so on. I thought heels and faces didn’t matter, Vincent K. We’re told that new RAW GM Mike Adamle will be watching this match closely as he put together Cena vs. Batista at Summerslam. #AdamleEra
The people love them some Batista, especially now that he has a shaved head. In looking over this mass of humanity, it’s amazing that just Cena, Kane, and Rhodes remain as active competitors considering there were so many younger talents were in the ring.
Side note: I always thought a last-ditch character idea for DiBiase would have been to leave for six months, grow his hair long and his beard shaggy, and come back as a down on his luck poor guy. Instead, these did those DiBiase Posse parties in parking lots with yhe humanoids.
You know, I kinda miss JBL as an active wrestler as he was a unique mix of power and hateable personality. When that music hit, you immediately wanted to boo. However, I should also tell you that I noticed last month that JBL decided to block the Wrestling Observer Twitter account at some point. Maybe he’s a TNA fan?
Cena gets the hot tag and runs wild on everyone and rocket launches JTG on DiBiase for the apparent pin. However, the ref says he’s not the legal man and JTG turns around into a Clothesline For Hell for the win and pin for JBL. He points at Punk because he wants the World title. Why was Kane in this match anyway?
By the way, Batista went onto to beat Cena at SummerSlam, while Punk successfully defended his belt against JBL.
To the back and Great Khali is walking to the ring with Ranjin Singh. NOOOOOO! But before that happens, redneck comedian Jeff Foxworthy and “actress” Carmen Electra do taped anti-autism promos in support of Jenny McCarthy’s foundation. At least it wasn’t her anti-vaccine foundation.
Great Khali (w/Ranjin Singh) vs. Jimmy Wang Yang
Before the match, we get a Khali video package because we need to continually be convinced that he’s worth our time. Ross says that in the ring is “our favorite Asian redneck”. I had completely forgot that he existed and in looking up his Wikipedia page, I learned that he owns a wrestling school in Cincinnati, OH, as well as a pest control business.
This match lasts about two minutes and ends with a Khali tree slam for the pin and win. He’s going on to face WWE Champion Triple H at SummerSlam in a match I never need to see ever. HHH won that match, by the way. Big shocker.
More pro-McCarthy stuff from Ben Stiller and then post-break, we get the lovely lady herself on the entrance ramp to do a quick promo for her charity. I had almost forgotten that she had been involved with WWE years prior at Wrestlemania for Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels, along with Pam Anderson. It takes her about 30 seconds before we get the “we can smack down autism” line.
Because we’re now in full informercial mode, we go to a video package featuring Edge and the love of his life, his “wife” Vickie Guerrero. This was when Edge was busted by a secret camera making out with Alicia Fox. This was such an odd pairing, but it worked for what it was. In the package, Guerrero reveals that she reinstated the Undertaker and he’ll face Edge at SummerSlam in a Hell In A Cell match. Guess who won?
Jeff Hardy vs. Edge
After the last episode of SNME featured Matt Hardy in a boxing ring, I guess it’s fitting that we get his brother in a real match on the final edition. We go to the previous night’s Smackdown where Mick Foley is running down Edge in preparation for HIAC. Edge destroyed Foley, finishing him with a chair drop off a ladder as he lay on a table.
Apparently, Hardy was competing in ECW during this time but we’re told both guys appear on Smackdown. I don’t miss that whole three brand mess, do you? Hardy was a pretty incredible babyface, and I’d love to see him in those short runs returning talents that are all the rage in WWE these days.
JR mentions “America’s Got Talent” about 15 times during the show including right before Hardy misses a dive off the stairs on the outside of the ring, smashing his back against the security barricade.
This match really got good late. Hardy went for a Twist of Fate which Edge reversed into a sick looking Impaler that nearly got three, completed by another favorite of Bryan Alvarez: staring at the ref as he’s counting. Edge went for a spear, but Hardy matadored him and hit the Willow In The Wind after Edge missed a move off the second rope.
Edge missed a spear and fell on the outside of the ring. As Hardy lay prone on the other side of the ring, MVP came out of nowhere from the crowd and landed a mafia kick to his dome. Edge recovered, hit a spear, and got the pin in the final SNME match in history.
And this is the final image we’ll ever see of SNME.
While it was an unsatisfying ending, SNME had fully run its course. With monthly PPVs added onto four hours a week of RAW and Smackdown (plus the other frings shows), SNME didn’t serve a purpose outside being a quick-hit infomercial on NBC. While that relationship has kept going in bits over the years, the show that truly mattered was Saturday Night’s Main Event. I, for one, hope that it remains buried.
With that, I bid a final farewell to all of you and again want to thank you for your support, your RTs, your corrections, and your questions over the last year. A one-page link archive of all the past reviews will be up next week, so you can never forget what we’ve done here.
We’ll always have The Funk Spot, Death Spot Match Of The Night, the Haiti Kid, and Jesse and Vince riding horses. Happy trails to you, indeed.