Saturday Night ' s Main Event Saturday Night ' s Main Event is a professional wrestling television program that aired occasionally from 1985 to 1991 , under the World Wrestling Federation banner on NBC in place of " Saturday Night Live " . It returned to the air on March 18 , 2006 , in an 8 : 00 p . m . EST time slot . It was also on ESPN Radio with a start time of 7 : 35 EST . At the time of the original airing it was a rare example of professional wrestling being broadcast on an over - the - air commercial television network after the 1950s . It coincided with and contributed to , the apogee of the " 1980s wrestling golden age " of professional wrestling in the United States . After leaving NBC in 1991 it aired twice on Fox Broadcasting Company in 1992 before disappearing for over a decade . When WWE ' s flagship show , " WWE Monday Night RAW " returned to the USA Network 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 NBC Universal . The RAW , SmackDown ! , and ECW brand rosters are now featured on the show . 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 " Saturday Night Live " . Then - SNL executive producer Dick Ebersol had made a deal with WWF owner Vince McMahon to produce the show , after Ebersol had seen the high ratings that two WWF specials drew on MTV in 1984 - 85 . Although the show aired infrequently , it did , starting in 1986 , settle into a predictable pattern of airdates : New Year ' s weekend , an episode in March , an episode in late April / early May , an episode in late September / early October , and Thanksgiving weekend . 1989 & 1990 both offered episodes in July promoted as " Summertime Bonus Editions . " " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " was a tremendous ratings 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 featuring Hulk Hogan and André the Giant , who were slated to face each other two weeks later 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 prime time specials , known as " The Main Event " . The first of these , on February 5 , 1988 featured 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 professional wrestling history . While ratings remained strong through 1990 , they began to fall shortly thereafter ; one factor was that Los Angeles NBC O & O KNBC opted to air a news bulletin over the February 1 , 1991 episode of The Main Event as well . With Ebersol having been promoted to head of NBC Sports and NBC losing interest in wrestling , " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " was dropped , its final NBC airing being on April 27 , 1991 . FOX picked up the show , but it was only shown twice on that network , and the final " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " of the original run was broadcast on October 27 , 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 in 1986 and 1987 . In 1990 , " Rowdy " Roddy Piper 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 . The opening theme song for the original version was " Obsession " by Animotion with the closing theme being " Take Me Home " by Phil Collins , and also the beginning of " Take on Me " from a - ha was used for show bumpers . In 1992 , both songs were replaced by original theme music for the two episodes that aired on FOX . Revived run ( 2006 - 2008 ) . " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " returned to NBC on March 18 , 2006 , in a prime - time slot . The opening theme song for the revived run was " Boom " by P . O . D . . The announce team for the first show of the 2006 return consisted of Jim Ross on play - by - play , with Jerry " the King " Lawler , and Tazz as color commentators . Although the show took place in Detroit , it did not air on the local NBC affiliate WDIV - TV due to obligations to air a Detroit Pistons road game . The episode aired on WMYD ( then known as WDWB ) at the scheduled time slot . The July 15 , 2006 show had Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross ( from " RAW " ) , Michael Cole and JBL ( from " SmackDown ! " ) , and Joey Styles and Tazz ( from " ECW " ) , commentating on their respective brand ' s matches . For the June 2 , 2007 episode , the commentary team consisted of Cole and Lawler . The third edition to the revived SNME , however , was taped on May 28 , 2007 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto , Ontario ( the first " Saturday Night ' s Main Event " to be taped in Canada ) alongside a " RAW " broadcast and aired on June 2 at 11 : 30pm EST . An audio feed was carried on ESPN Radio , beginning at 11 p . m . The 4th edition of SNME since the revival took place on August 18 , 2007 in New York City at Madison Square Garden . It was taped alongside " RAW " ( on August 13 , 2007 ) . Due to time differences it aired in the United Kingdom before it aired in the United States . The commentary team consisted of Jim Ross , Michael Cole , JBL and later Tazz .