Tuesday Night Titans
Encyclopedia
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
produced by the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF). It aired on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
from 1984 to 1986.
Overview
This format is best remembered for being a loose parody of a standard late-night talk showTalk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
, with host Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
and "sidekick" Lord Alfred Hayes conducting in character
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
interviews with WWF wrestlers and participating in skits. Later in the run, Gene Okerlund
Gene Okerlund
Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund is a semi-retired American professional wrestling interviewer and announcer. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Hulk Hogan...
replaced McMahon as host.
The program was named after the WWF's then-parent company, Titan Sports. It was taped at the Video One facilities in Owings Mills, Maryland
Owings Mills, Maryland
Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 20,193 at the 2000 census. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus for the Baltimore Metro Subway and to Owings Mills Mall....
, a suburb of Baltimore.
Episodes of TNT were re-aired on WWE 24/7 Classics from November 2004 to February 2009.
Notable moments
- The first televised wrestling wedding with Paul VachonPaul VachonPaul "Butcher" Vachon is a former professional wrestler. He is a member of the Vachon wrestling family.-Professional wrestling career:Paul Vachon grew up as one of thirteen children of Ferdinand Vachon, a Montreal police officer...
, the reception afterward involving a large food fight in which both Vince McMahon and Lord Alfred Hayes were hit in the face with pies. - Then-WWF champion Hulk HoganHulk HoganTerrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
introduced his protein drink, which everyone on the set liked with the exception of Lord Alfred Hayes, who vomited immediately after he drank it. - Roddy PiperRoddy PiperRoderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
playing Ebenezer ScroogeEbenezer ScroogeEbenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...
in a takeoff of Dickens' A Christmas CarolA Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
. - Mr. FujiHarry FujiwaraHarry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...
and Don MuracoDon MuracoDonald Muraco , better known by his ring name "The Rock" Don Muraco, is a retired American professional wrestler...
did a parody of Miami ViceMiami ViceMiami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
called Fuji Vice. This was part of a series of ersatz "pilots" that Fuji and Muraco were supposedly shopping to television producers; others included Fuji General (a soap operaSoap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
in the vein of General HospitalGeneral HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
) and The Fuji Bandito (a Western). The duo also performed a live comedy skit that notably and humorously featured Fuji messing up lines (including "how about some tropical stuff" instead of "topical stuff"). - George SteeleGeorge SteeleWilliam James Myers , better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele is a former American professional wrestler and actor...
undergoes electroshock therapy in order to cure his speech problem, but only manages to say "How now, brown cowHow now brown cow"How now brown cow" is a phrase used in elocution teaching to demonstrate rounded vowel sounds. Each "ow" sound in the phrase represents an individual diphthong. The phrase does not have an explicit meaning per se but can be used as a light-hearted greeting...
?". - Dr. "D", David SchultzDavid SchultzDavid Schultz or Dave Schultz may refer to:*Dave Schultz , retired ice hockey player*Dave Schultz *Dave Schultz , American golfer*David Schultz...
accidentally firing a loaded gun while showing his collection to Vince McMahon and Alfred Hayes. - Fred BlassieFred BlassieFrederick Kenneth Blassman , better known as "Classy" Freddie Blassie, was an American professional wrestling villain and manager born in St. Louis, Missouri. Renowned as "The Fashion Plate of Professional Wrestling" , Blassie was a master at antagonizing the crowd, and inspired legendary animosity...
bringing a live chicken onto the set and boasting that Kamala would eat it live on the air. A cutaway shot was immediately shown—after Vince McMahon tried in vain to stop it—of feathers flying out of Kamala's mouth (to illustrate Kamala's kayfabeKayfabeIn professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
chicken dinner). - During a segment with Piper as a guest, a replay is shown of Piper's PitPiper's PitPiper's Pit was an interview segment featuring Roddy Piper which was a mainstay of WWF/WWE television from 1984 to 1987, and then returned briefly in 1989. Also, Piper hosted similar segments while wrestling for other promotions in 2003 - 2011....
where Piper struck Jimmy SnukaJimmy SnukaJames William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a...
in the head with a coconut, after which Piper defends his actions and eventually slaps Hayes before storming off the set. - In a segment promoting André the Giant's upcoming "$15,000 Bodyslam Challenge" match vs. Big John StuddBig John StuddJohn William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:...
at WrestleManiaWrestleMania (1985)WrestleMania was the first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 31, 1985, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The attendance for the event was 19,121 fans...
, a replay is shown of the "Haircut Match" (where Studd and Ken PateraKen PateraKen Patera is a former professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and Strongman competitor.-Weightlifting/Strongman career:Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter and American powerlifter...
beat André into unconsciousness before helping Bobby HeenanBobby HeenanRaymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
cut his hair). McMahon attempted to talk about a stipulation wherein André would retire if he failed to slam Studd. A visibly annoyed André tried to decline the stipulation but when McMahon pressed on, André grabbed McMahon by the throat and told him to back off on the "retirement" stipulation and vowed he would slam Studd at Wrestlemania. A noticeably upset Andre walked off the set afterwards. - Piper and "Cowboy" Bob OrtonBob Orton, Jr.Robert Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He is the father of wrestler Randy Orton, who is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment...
-- along with McMahon -- visit the doctor about Orton's arm injury and prolonged wearing of an orthopedic castOrthopedic castAn orthopedic cast, body cast or surgical cast, is a shell, frequently made from plaster, encasing a limb to hold a broken bone in place until healing is confirmed...
(a gimmick which had grown out of Orton's legitimate arm injury). When the doctor revealed that the injury had healed and Orton could remove the cast, Piper -- who throughout the segment disputed the doctor's findings -- began imitating a duckQuackeryQuackery is a derogatory term used to describe the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a "quack" as a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or...
. - Andre the Giant sings the Fish song which was actually him pantomiming a fish.
- Paul Orndorff fires Bobby Heenan shortly after Wrestlemania.
- Roddy Piper guests hosts with Cowboy Bob Orton replacing Lord Alfred Hayes.
- During a segment with Randy "Macho Man" SavageRandy SavageRandall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
and Miss ElizabethMiss ElizabethElizabeth Ann Hulette , best known as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager. She gained international fame from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation, and the mid-1990s in World Championship Wrestling in her role as the manager to the late...
as guests, a delivery man arrives on the set to deliver a package to Elizabeth. Inside: roses, packed with turnbuckle stuffing (indicating the sender, George "the Animal" Steele). - Vince McMahon hosts a show-long "This Is Your Life" segment for Nikolai Volkoff.