Four decades ago, pro wrestling was very different from what we know today, for example, during the first half of the 80s, there were no pay-per-views. The 1980s were a time of significant changes in WWE. In 1985, WrestleMania was born and over the years other PPVs emerged. By 1989, the WWE had four PPVs, Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series.
In this sense, there were not many PPV main events, but among the few that took place, there are several very interesting matches that are quite fun to watch. Some PPV main events from this decade have gone down as legendary classics.
10 Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake Vs. Randy Savage & Zeus (SummerSlam 1989)
On August 28, 1989, at SummerSlam, Hulk Hogan teamed up with Brutus Beefcake to face Randy Savage and Zeus. The match was not bad, in general, the four of them did their job and entertained the fans, but the match could have been better.
It could be said that Brutus Beefcake and Zeus were not up to the standards of a main event and were overshadowed by Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, who were among the best wrestlers in the world at the time.
9 Hercules, Hillbilly Jim, Koko B. Ware & The Mega Powers vs. King Haku, Ted DiBiase, The Red Rooster & The Twin Towers (Survivor Series 1988)
The main event of Survivor Series 1988 was fun to watch. The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage) made a great team with Hercules, Koko B. Ware, and Hillbilly Jim. With Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan in the same corner, the outcome of the match was a bit predictable but still entertaining.
In fact, it was precisely Hogan and Savage who stole the show. At one point in the bout, it was just the two of them against four wrestlers from the opposing team. But that didn't stop The Mega Powers from taking the win for their team.
8 Hulk Hogan Vs. Andre The Giant (WrestleMania III)
Truth be told, the match between Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat was by far the best of that night, in fact, according to experts, it was one of the best 10 matches in WrestleMania history. However, that doesn't mean that Hulk Hogan's match against Andre The Giant was bad.
Hogan and Andre The Giant had one of the best rivalries in WWE history and that match at WrestleMania III is proof of that. Without a doubt, this match was great and historic, for many reasons. But when it comes to technical wrestling, neither man was very good, and that disappointed many.
7 Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble 1989)
Royal Rumble matches are always very exciting, but this one, in particular, generated a lot of expectations because it was the first one with 30 participants in a PPV.
It was a great match from start to finish, with action everywhere for over an hour. Unexpectedly, Big John Studd was the winner of the match after entering at 27, this was probably the most important achievement in his WWE career.
There was a lot of talent in the ring, Andre The Giant, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, The Big Boss Man, Mr. Perfect, Shawn Michaels, among others, but 41-year-old Big John Studd was the one who accomplished the great feat.
6 The Mega Powers vs. The Mega Bucks (SummerSlam 1988)
SummerSlam 1988 was a pretty bad PPV, one of the worst of the 80s, it only had a couple of matches that were worthwhile and the main event was one of them, although unfortunately, it wasn't good enough to save the PPV from the negative reviews.
The Mega Powers (Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan) defeated The Mega Bucks (Andre The Giant and Ted DiBiase) in a very exciting hard-hitting match. However, the end result was a bit predictable.
5 Hulk Hogan & Mr. T Vs. Paul Orndorff & Roddy Piper (WrestleMania)
On March 31, 1985, at Madison Square Garden, Hulk Hogan and Mr. T wrestled Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper at the first-ever WrestleMania. This was the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Match Of The Year in 1985 and it’s safe to say that award was well deserved as this match was unforgettable.
Although this match was not exactly a technical-wrestling classic, it was fun and most of the fans loved it. Including Mr. T in the match was a success, since he was relatively good and added a touch of humor to the bout. It is worth mentioning that Muhammad Ali was the special enforcer of the match.
4 Andre The Giant, Butch Reed, King Kong Bundy, Rick Rude & The One Man Gang vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Don Muraco, Hulk Hogan, Ken Patera & Paul Orndorff (Survivor Series 1987)
This match was the main event of the first Survivor Series PPV in history, which by the way was a real success as all the matches were entertaining.
The bout had several great moments, such as the unexpected elimination of Hulk Hogan by count out, the great performance of One Man Gang, or the monster clash between Bam Bam Bigelow and Andre The Giant.
3 Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase (WrestleMania IV)
This was the final of the tournament for the WWE Championship. Randy Savage had defeated Butch Reed, Greg Valentine, and One Man Gang, while "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase had defeated "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Don Muraco.
Even though they were both already tired, they put on a great show on The Showcase of the Immortals. Macho Man defeated Ted DiBiase to get the belt for the first time in his career.
2 The Ultimate Warriors vs. The Heenan Family (Survivor Series 1989)
The Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty formed a team called The Ultimate Warriors to face Bobby Heenan, Andre the Giant, Haku and Arn Anderson, who called themselves The Heenan Family.
This match was really great, it was more than 20 minutes of chaos during which most of the wrestlers had superlative performances. Also, the end of the match was excellent. The Ultimate Warrior stole the show by being the sole survivor after eliminating Arn Anderson and finally Bobby Heenan.
1 Randy Savage Vs. Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania V)
Certainly, Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan made a great team. But they also had a legendary feud in which they delivered some incredible matches, including this one for the WWE Championship that took place on April 2, 1989, at WrestleMania V.
The match was very intense and it was quite even. Both Macho Man and The Hulkster had their moments of dominance. But in the end, it was Hogan who got the victory after hitting an excellent combination of punches and a perfect leg drop to get the belt for the second time in his career.