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The Story Behind The Main Event

The Main Event, known in Japan as Ringu no Ōja (リングの王者, "Champion of the Ring"), is a professional wrestling arcade game released by Konami in 1988. Some of the game's most distinguishable features were an oversized "Action" button which would flash whenever an attack, grapple, submission or pin could be performed; and an enthusiastic announcer who introduced the wrestlers and called the action during matches. The Japanese version of the game (Ringu no Ouja) is notably different from its American counterpart in several ways: players could only use Conan the Great and Kamikaze Ken as their wrestlers, there were three buttons (Attack, Grapple and Tag) instead of two (Action and Tag), the game only lasted five matches, and if completed, the remaining energy would add as points to the final score.

Ware), Saturn Six (whose look was similar to Road Warrior Animal), Bigfoot Joe (King Kong Bundy with orange hair), and Alan The Empire (a red-haired, bearded André the Giant). Characters included El Condor (similar to El Canek), Conan the Great (Hulk Hogan with a full head of white hair), The Maui Mauler (similar to Tama), Kamikaze Ken (Ricky Steamboat with little to no alteration), San Antonio Smasher (very similar to Koko B. A player selects two different wrestlers as their tag team, and they wrestle another tag team.

How The Main Event Plays

However, pinfall victories in these harder levels can still be achieved after performing a certain number of pin attempts. These include a dropkick, brainbuster, and backbreaker (actually a backdrop) for Cruiserweights, and atomic drop, bear hug, and pile driver for Heavyweights. There are three weight classes: Cruiserweights (El Condor, Maui Mauler, Kamikaze Ken, San Antonio Smasher), which specialize in fast and agile moves; Heavyweights (Saturn Six, Bigfoot Joe, Alan the Empire) with emphasis on slower but more powerful moves; and Balanced (Conan the Great) which could use selected moves from the other two classes.

If a double count-out occurs, the referee leaves the ring and the wrestlers continue to fight until one side is pinned or submits (no extra energy being awarded in this case). If the players move all the way up the ranks and win the Championship Title they defend it against the computer who becomes even more difficult. "Grapple 1" moves can be performed when opponent is in a "stunned" state (his body staggering back and forth, after receiving an "Attack" move, missing one himself, or being picked off the mat).

Why Players Still Load It Up

Some of the game's most distinguishable features were an oversized "Action" button which would flash whenever an attack, grapple, submission or pin could be performed; and an enthusiastic announcer who introduced the wrestlers and called the action during matches. In Japan, Game Machine listed The Main Event on their August 1, 1988 issue as being the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month. Characters included El Condor (similar to El Canek), Conan the Great (Hulk Hogan with a full head of white hair), The Maui Mauler (similar to Tama), Kamikaze Ken (Ricky Steamboat with little to no alteration), San Antonio Smasher (very similar to Koko B.

If the player wins, his team moves on to another match. The Japanese version of the game (Ringu no Ouja) is notably different from its American counterpart in several ways: players could only use Conan the Great and Kamikaze Ken as their wrestlers, there were three buttons (Attack, Grapple and Tag) instead of two (Action and Tag), the game only lasted five matches, and if completed, the remaining energy would add as points to the final score. If he loses, he gets an immediate rematch, since the game isn't over until the player's energy falls to zero.

The Main Event — Frequently Asked Questions