Classic Review: WWF Saturday Night's Main Event (11-25-1989)

Classic Reviews I try to stick to the month we’re in, but this one is cheating a smidge, as this show was taped on Oct. 31, 1989, though it didn’t air until Nov. 25 and has things that play off of what happened at Survivor Series.

So I’m counting it! This is the eighth of the promised 10 Classic Reviews for November! Sign up for a premium subscription now and see all of that plus the rest of the premium post archives, as well as Saturday’s Survivor Series review and more! And if you’ve enjoyed the run this month and like the site from sampling this month, please consider sticking around or even taking that hot year-long subscription deal, maybe as a little holiday treat to yourself!

WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event
November 25, 1989 (kinda, as mentioned)
Kansas Expocentre - Topeka, KS

• The Ultimate Warrior screams about “Jack and the Beanstalk” and says he’ll cut Andre the Giant down to size. Bobby Heenan speaks for Andre dismissing Warrior’s fairytale nonsense, then Andre talks about taking the Intercontinental title. Dusty Rhodes is teaching the Boss Man “a lesson in Americana,” and that “justice is a lady, not stick.” Slick hates Dusty Rhodes and sings the Batman theme, kinda. The Genius is a poet, he faces Hulk Hogan. Hogan says Einstein, Socrates, and Plato couldn’t figure out what to do when Hulkamania ran wild on them. I didn’t know it had!

• We’ve got Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura on the call. Ventura looks very thin at the moment. Hogan vs Genius! Dusty vs Boss Man! Rockers vs Brain Busters! Perfect vs Rooster! Warrior vs Andre! What a lineup!

• Flashback: Back in August, the Warrior got baited by Bobby Heenan and Andre gave him the big choke.

• Interview: Well we haven’t heard enough yet, so let’s go to Jesse with Heenan and Andre. The plan is to bring the Intercontinental title back to the Heenan Family, and as a journalist, Jesse wonders if Andre winning the belt will make Rick Rude jealous, but Heenan’s not worried about that. Heenan then cites Charles Manson and Archie Bunker as key inspirations.

• Interview: Mean Gene is with the Warrior, and Gene wonders if Warrior has fear of Andre. “Fear! Fear is an aberration! Fear is the air that cowards breathe! Fear is the first taste of defeat! The Warrior only breathes the air of the brave, and the Warrior only feasts on the fruit of victory!” Well put.

Ultimate Warrior (c) vs Andre the Giant

WWF Intercontinental Championship

Andre famously did not like working with Warrior, at least according to Heenan years later, but I think if you have any taste for, like, the romantic or whatever, you can see that this is kind of the last real work that Andre ever did, and he put legitimate effort into putting Warrior over since that was the task at hand.

Like, yes, Andre is in rough shape at this point and whatnot, but he was giving it what he could, and he made it mean something. Andre has a sort of pep in his step early, even if it’s just for show. He chokes Warrior early, but Warrior turns it around and uses Andre’s singlet to help choke Andre in return, and rocks Andre on the ropes while doing it.

Andre ducks away and Warrior misses a running clothesline, falling to the floor. When he comes back, he eats a kick. There’s a physical struggle here, Warrior’s youth and speed and bodybuilder power against the raw, sheer weight and natural power of Andre that comes just from being himself.