Saturday Night's Main Event

Saturday Night's Main Event is a professional wrestling television show that is aired as a special by WWE. It first aired from 1985 to 1992, with WWE then known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). 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 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. 31 episodes were made during this time.

Saturday Night's Main Event was brought back by WWE on March 18, 2006. Five episodes were made, with the last one airing on August 2, 2008. In 2022, WWE started using the Saturday Night's Main Event name for their house shows that took place on Saturdays. On September 17, 2024. WWE announced that it would bring back Saturday Night's Main Event as a TV show. Its return episode aired on December 14 on NBC and also streamed live on Peacock.

The Main Event

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. This event was shown live. The late night shows however were always taped 1–2 weeks before airing.

References

Category:1980s American late-night television series
Category:1985 American television series debuts
Category:1990s American late-night television series
Category:1991 American television series endings
Category:1992 American television series debuts
Category:1992 American television series endings
Category:2000s American late-night television series
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Category:2020s American late-night television series
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Category:American English-language television shows
Category:American professional wrestling promotions
Category:American television series revived after cancellation
Category:Fox television series
Category:NBC network series
Category:WWE television programs