WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event XXIX – 27th April, 1991
(Chosen by Dave Green)
All things considered, it has to be said that I’m not really big on the WWE’s rather aggrandising and self-indulgent way that it is currently attempting to retrospectively add intricate narratives to its entire history and make simple professional wrestling something more than it actually is. Much of the content available on the WWE Network surely has no place being saved for posterity and in today’s world where entertainment is so disposable, I don’t really buy into the philosophy that so much of this pop culture escapism actually needs to be kept for all times. That’s just my personal opinion though.
What I do feel the WWE Network is ideal for however is allowing us each the chance to wind the clock back and lose ourselves in a bit of nostalgia that is specifically relevant to our own individual lives. With so much footage of classic matches, memorable moments and our favourite superstars available we’re able to delve into our own life stories and reminisce about our childhood and adolescence and remember those good times in our life-journey which many of these classic moments in wrestling provided the backdrop to. So for me, one of the first things I’d make a point of watching would be this particular show. Not because it’s a five-star classic, but because watching The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker and Sgt Slaughter, Bret Hart and Jake Roberts and Mr. Perfect and Ted DiBiase provides perhaps the closest point in time to what I can say was the moment I became a wrestling fan, nearly 25 years ago.
Unlike my other recommendations here, I’m not suggesting everybody should go and watch this particular show, I’m merely using this episode of SNME as an example…So whether it was WCW Hog Wild ’96, Summerslam 2003 or Night of Champions 2008, what I suggest is go back and relive that first show YOU remember watching and what is relevant to YOU. Because really, that’s what the WWE Network is best used for, not for WWE themselves to tell you what to watch and to signpost events of hyped-up cultural faux-significance but for each of us to take time out in our lives and enjoy those special memories that meant so much to us. Make the most of it folks.