The Big Event

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The Big Event
Promotion
World Wrestling Federation
DateAugust 28, 1986[1]
CityToronto, Ontario[1]
VenueExhibition Stadium[1]
Attendance61,470 [2]
Tagline(s)The Biggest Event of All Time

The Big Event was a

Hulkamania" and was promoted as the headlining event of the 1986 Canadian National Exhibition.[4] According to the WWF's Official Magazine, the event drew a total audience of just under 70,000 fans and matched sell-out crowds at Exhibition Stadium previously only drawn by The Who and Bruce Springsteen.[5] Although attendance estimates vary from a paid attendance of 61,470[6] all the way up to a total attendance of 74,000,[7] sources agree The Big Event set a professional wrestling outdoor attendance record at the time.[8] According to Jim Hunt of the Toronto Sun, The Big Event grossed a reported one million Canadian dollars.[9] Tickets ranged from $20 ringside to $8 further away, with profits from ticket sales alone estimated between $75,000 and $100,000 [10]

A VHS tape of the event was released later by Coliseum Home Video,[11] with commentary by Gorilla Monsoon, Johnny Valiant, and Ernie Ladd.[12] This 115 Minute tape featured edits to a number of the matches. In 2014, WWE Network made the same version of the event available on demand in the pay-per-view (PPV) section (although the event was not originally broadcast via pay-per-view).

Background

The main event heading into the event was between

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan), where Orndorff allowed Studd and Bundy to illegally double-team Hogan for an extended period of time before finally clearing them from the ring; Orndorff then helped Hogan to his feet, only to finish off Hogan with a clothesline and his finishing move, a piledriver
. Shortly afterward, Orndorff announced he had re-hired former manager Bobby Heenan and demanded a title shot against Hogan. In the weeks leading up to the event, to help sell Orndorff's new heel character, he began using Hogan's entrance theme "Real American" and mocking him by mimicking several of Hogan's in-ring routines, such as cupping his ear to get fan reaction and flexing his muscles.

Among the other top feuds going at the time was

Saturday Night's Main Event VI
, finishing him off by hitting his finishing move, the DDT, onto the concrete floor, before resting his snake, Damien, on top of an unconscious Steamboat, all as Steamboat's wife, Bonnie, watched in horror. Steamboat later began bringing a "Komodo dragon" as his "pet" to combat the psychological effects of Roberts' snake. While Steamboat won most of their matches, the feud ratched to a point where a "Snake Pit" match (a no-disqualification match) was commissioned.

Another top feud ongoing was The Machines vs. the Bobby Heenan-led team of Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy. The feud's main fuel was Heenan's repeated claim that one of the Machines, the Giant Machine, was André the Giant attempting to circumvent a suspension for earlier no-showing for a tag-team match against Bundy and Studd, with both of whom André had been embroiled in a bitter feud. At the time, André had been suffering from the effects of a legitimate back injury and was beginning to suffer the effects of acromegaly, a health condition that resulted in his gigantism and eventually led to his death in 1993; his "suspension" also allowed him to take time off to film The Princess Bride, which would be released a year later.

Results

No.Results
The Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake)
Tag team match14:51
10Harley Race defeated Pedro MoralesSingles match3:23
11Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Paul Orndorff (with Bobby Heenan) via disqualificationSingles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship11:05
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

Aftermath

The event faced cold weather and oversold sections. The Toronto Star reported attendees wearing layers of sweaters and jackets the evening of the event. Refunds were issued when several floor sections were oversold due to a ticket printing error, including tickets that had been sold to fans who waited hours for tickets the day they went on sale.[13]

The following night

Feud of the Year
for 1986, by a vote of the magazine's readers.

The Machines continued to feud with the Studd-Bundy tag team, with Heenan's wrestlers never able to unmask the Giant Machine and prove that he was really André the Giant who was supposed to be under suspension. Eventually, the Machines disappeared and André's suspension was lifted, to the unexplained approval of Heenan. In real life, behind the scenes, the storyline for André's eventual heel turn and demand to face Hogan at

Road Warriors-inspired team of power brawlers with Kiss
-type face paint. While Mulligan would fade from the WWF in early 1987, as Ax of Demolition, Eadie would go on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on three occasions between 1988 and 1990.

Downplayed at this supercard, but soon getting more and more hyped, was the feud between Hercules Hernandez and Billy Jack Haynes, two wrestlers who had feuded in several other organizations they had competed in at the same time. The feud began heating up in earnest in the late fall of 1986, culminating in a "Full Nelson Challenge" at WrestleMania III.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Canoe – Slam! Wrestling – the Big Event 21 years later[usurped]
  2. ^ "Nine pro ballparks with a WWE pedigree".
  3. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0
    .
  4. ^ AC (April 1, 2019). "The Big Event 1986". Maple Leaf Wrestling. Maple Leaf Wrestling. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  5. ^ "Toronto Shakes It Up!". WWF Magazine. December 1986. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  6. ^ "WWF Stadium / Dome Shows". prowrestlinghistory. August 28, 1986. Retrieved August 6, 2007. WF028 drawing 64,100 ($800,000)
  7. ISBN 978-1-4165-3257-6
    . The Big Event emanates from Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. Over 74,000 fans set an outdoor attendance record
  8. ^ a b Cawthon, Graham (August 28, 1986). "WWF Show results: 1986". thehistoryofww.com. Retrieved August 6, 2007. The Big Event - Toronto, Ontario - CNE Stadium - August 28, 1986 (64,000; 61,470 paid; sell out)
  9. ^ Hunt, Jim (August 29, 1986). "Rassle Dazzle". Toronto Sun. Toronto. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  10. ^ AC (April 1, 2019). "The Big Event 1986". Maple Leaf Wrestling. Maple Leaf Wrestling. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  11. ^ prowrestlinghistory.com (August 28, 1986). "Coliseum Video listing". Retrieved August 6, 2007. WF028 The Big Event
  12. ^ Cawthon, Graham (August 28, 1986). "WWF Show results: 1986". thehistoryofww.com. Retrieved August 6, 2007. Included Gorilla Monsoon, Johnny Valiant, & Ernie Ladd on commentary
  13. ^ AC (April 1, 2019). "The Big Event 1986". Maple Leaf Wrestling. Maple Leaf Wrestling. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
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