Posted in: NBC, Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: saturday night live, snl, wwe

How "Saturday Night's Main Event" Helped Save SNL, Elevated WWF/WWE

With SNL and WWE running shows tonight on NBC, let's look back on why "Saturday Night's Main Event" became so important to both.

In terms of really cool television moments that are about to go down, NBC is going to be the place for one of them later on tonight. Before a new episode of Saturday Night Live hits our screens (with host Chris Rock and musical guest Gracie Abrams), the WWE's Saturday Night's Main Event is making a two-hour prime-time return in a very big way (with the next edition already set for January 25, 2025). We've got Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes taking on Kevin Owens; World Heavyweight Champion Gunther taking on Damian Priest and Finn Balor; Women's World Champion Liv Morgan taking on Iyo Sky, Michin taking on Chelsea Green for the Women's United States Championship, and Drew McIntyre taking on Sami Zayn in what can best be described as a revenge match. With that in mind, we thought it would be the perfect time to revisit how the late-night relationship between SNL and the WWE first began – because as much as being on Saturday night on a major network was a boost exposure-wise for Vince McMahon's WWE (then, WWF), it could also be argued that Saturday Night's Main Event helped keep SNL on the air.

The late-night wrestling events first debuted in May 1985 for two reasons. First, the late Dick Ebersol (then-SNL EP) wanted some of the "ratings bonanza" that the WWE got for MTV with its two specials over the course of the previous year. So the special would run when SNL would normally be on break or running repeats, with Ebersol producing. But the second reason was the part of the equation that not many television folks talk about. Because as much as the WWF benefitted from the national exposure, Ebersol was able to use the WWF to help keep the Saturday late-night programming block away from local affiliates. Why? Because in the mid-80s, it would be safe to say that SNL was still going through an identity crisis, looking to redefine itself in the post-"Not Ready for Prime Time Players" era.

And that meant a lot of trial & error creatively, some very questionable casting decisions, and a lot of "Saturday Night Dead?" headlines. That also meant some painful hits to SNL's ratings- and worse than that? They were losing in the key younger demos that the show used to be able to pride itself on (and use to defend its late-night existence). Smelling metaphorical "blood in the water," the local NBC affiliates began pressuring the network to give them back that late-night programming block so they could rent it out for some sweet money. So having a ratings injection like Saturday Night's Main Event from 1985 to 1991 (moving to FOX briefly in 1992, and then previously revived on NBC for five specials that ran between 2006 and 2008) gave Ebersol and the SNL team some breathing room to get SNL back on track. And considering we're now in the middle of SNL's milestone 50th season, it looks like it worked. Ironically, Ebersol and SNL would part ways not long after the deal was put in place, with SNL creator Lorne Michaels returning to the helm once more.

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