WWE gained mainstream popularity in the mid '80s with the rise of the Rock 'n' Wrestling phenomenon. From there up until the days of the "two most powerful forces in the universe" in the early '90s, WWE's Golden Era dominated professional wrestling. Hulk Hogan and Saturday Night's Main Event is a combination that perfectly encapsulates wrestling at the time, along with other notable events.
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Hulk Hogan is often accused of following the same formula in all his matches throughout his career. While some of his matches on this historic show were indeed somewhat repetitive, others were actually much better than some people would assume, with a selected bunch being great enough to be considered hidden gems. Overall, almost all of Hulk Hogan's 26 matches across multiple editions of Saturday Night's Main Event are fondly remembered by the audience.
10 Battle Royal - Saturday Night's Main Event #29 (April 27, 1991)
In the wake of a very controversial WrestleMania VII, which saw Hogan reclaim the WWE Championship from Sgt. Slaughter in the main event, WWE produced a highly entertaining edition of Saturday Night's Main Event. Bret Hart and Ted DiBiase had a terrific wrestling match that left viewers wanting more, and The Ultimate Warrior took on Sgt. Slaughter in a rematch from Royal Rumble.
Meanwhile, the new WWE Champion took part in an extremely fun 20-man battle royal, with the participants ranging from veterans such as Jimmy Snuka and Greg Valentine to promising stars like Davey Boy Smith and The Rockers. Hogan scored multiple eliminations and was on his way to victory as usual, until he was shockingly eliminated by his friend, Tugboat. The match was eventually won by the then-Intercontinental Champion, Mr. Perfect.
9 Vs. The Genius, WWE Championship - Saturday Night's Main Event #24 (November 25, 1989)
Fresh off a long feud with Zeus, Hogan's main antagonist in the movie No Holds Barred, Hogan was met with an unusual challenge to his WWE Championship, courtesy of The Genius. While famous at the time for being Mr. Perfect's lackey, Lanny Poffo was a fantastic worker who could pull off athletic moves that were rarely seen back then.
Their World Title match was genuinely fun, a great example of "sports entertainment" done right in a wrestling match, despite being relatively short. Ultimately, The Genius shocked the world by doing what his brother couldn't in the main event of that year's WrestleMania; he defeated Hulk Hogan! However, it happened via count-out after interference from Mr. Perfect, who proceeded to famously destroy Hogan's belt in the dressing room afterward.
8 Steel Cage Match Vs. Paul Orndorff, WWE Championship - Saturday Night's Main Event #9 (January 3, 1987)
Hulk Hogan's history with Pual Orndoff goes way beyond the famous main event of the first WrestleMania. After a short babyface tenure and alliance with Hogan, Orndorff turned heel yet again by joining the Heenan Family and challenged Hogan for his WWE Championship on a number of occasions.
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Finally, their feud culminated on Saturday Night's Main Event inside a steel cage. In an exciting bout filled with the ever-present drama and emotion from that era, Hulk found a way to overcome the outside shenanigans, walking out with his title still intact in the end.
7 W/ Junkyard Dog Vs. Terry Funk & Hoss Funk - Saturday Night's Main Event #6 (May 3, 1986)
Less than a month earlier at WrestleMania II, The Funks used Jimmy Hart's megaphone to get a cheap win over Junkyard Dog and his partner, Tito Santana. With the future El Matador hurt and out of the rematch, Hulk Hogan stepped in to even the odds against the demented Texans on the sixth edition of Saturday Night's Main Event.
The evil Funks tried everything in their book to not only defeat Hogan and the legendary JYD, but also hurt everybody involved. That included tormenting Haiti Kid at ringside, with the help of Jimmy Hart, and even attacking the babyfaces with a branding iron. However, Hogan managed to put Terry away with his famous comeback sequence.
6 Steel Cage Match Vs. The Big Boss Man, WWE Championship - Saturday Night's Main Event #21 (May 27, 1989)
Fresh off winning his second WWE Championship at WrestleMania V over his former partner, Randy Savage, Hogan put his belt on the line inside a steel cage on Saturday Night's Main Event, against one of the newest heels on the WWE roster, Big Boss Man.
This bout is famous for Hogan's monstrous superplex to Boss Man off the top of the cage, and also featured the televised WWE debut of Zeus before the match began. Hogan successfully retained the championship despite Slick's interference, only to be brutalized by the debuting monster afterward, starting their rivalry.
5 Battle Royal - Saturday Night's Main Event (March 14, 1987)
Weeks before the iconic showdown between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant at WrestleMania III, WWE booked both men in a battle royal on Saturday Night's Main Event. The eyes of fans all across the globe were on the WWE Champion and his challenger, as the audience hoped to see a preview of the titanic championship match.
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The first half of the battle royal was dominated by Hogan and André, with both respectively eliminating people left, right and center. Eventually, Hogan found himself cornered against not only André, but the other members of the Heenan Family. That allowed André to totally manhandle Hogan and easily eliminate him, before the remaining babyfaces worked together to put André out as well. In the end, the win went to Heenan Family member, Hercules Hernandez.
4 Vs. 'King' Harley Race - Saturday Night's Main Event #15 (March 12, 1988)
When Harley Race joined the World Wrestling Federation in the mid '80s, it seemed like a matter of time until the legendary former NWA World Champion took on Hulk Hogan. Their most notable encounter took place just a few weeks after Hogan dropped his first WWE Championship to André the Giant on The Main Event.
The two put on a very good bout, one that turned out to be memorable for very different reasons. One of them was Harley putting Hogan through a table, in what was the very first televised table spot in WWE history. The other was the severe injury that Harley suffered throughout the match, effectively putting an end to his career as a full-time wrestler. Predictably, Hogan bounced back from the huge title defeat with a win over Race.
3 Vs. Mr. Perfect - Saturday Night's Main Event #26 (April 28, 1990)
Speaking of bouncing back from a huge loss, that is exactly what this meeting between Hulk Hogan and Mr. Perfect was all about. At WrestleMania VI earlier that month, Hogan lost to The Ultimate Warrior. Meanwhile, Mr. Perfect's "perfect record" was crushed by Brutus Beefcake at the same event.
They told that story brilliantly throughout this match, with Mr. Perfect's willingness to bounce around the ring like a pinball making it that much better. The Genius tried to interfere and hand Hogan another loss on Saturday Night's Main Event, but this time the entertaining duo did not succeed, as Hogan picked up the win with his trusty Leg Drop.
2 Vs. Bad News Brown - Saturday Night's Main Event #20 (March 11, 1989)
For the better part of 1988, Bad News Brown's challenges to Randy Savage's WWE Championship were ignored, since Savage was busy teaming with Hogan. Frustrated, Brown went over the limit by tormenting Miss Elizabeth, but the title shot still didn't come his way, as Savage was slowly turning heel on the road to WrestleMania V.
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As a result, Hogan was the one stepping up to defend the honor of Miss Elizabeth shortly before WrestleMania. Brown dominated the entire match and was getting close to winning, but ultimately made a mistake that caused his defeat. Brown grabbed the microphone to announce the Ghetto Blaster was coming, giving Hogan more than enough time to block it, before putting Brown away with a rare Harley Race-like high knee followed by the Leg Drop.
1 Vs. Terry Funk, WWE Championship - Saturday Night's Main Event #4 (January 4, 1986)
The first two years of Hogan's reign as WWE Champion saw him defend the strap against multiple giants. However, the gold never felt more in danger than it did against the unpredictable Terry Funk, which was evident in their title match at Saturday Night's Main Event.
Their bout was ugly in a good way, with headbutts being exchanged, chairs being thrown in the ring by Funk, the branding iron being used as a weapon, and more. As if the match hadn't been unusual enough already, Hogan finished Funk with the Axe Bomber, his signature move in Japan that he rarely used in WWE, to retain the WWE Championship.
