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The Main Event

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The Main Event, known in Japan as Ringu no Ōja (リングの王者, "King of the Ring"), is a professional wrestling arcade game released by Konami in 1988. A player selects two different wrestlers as their tag team, and they wrestle another tag team. If the player wins, his team moves on to another match. I...

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Developer
Konami

Released on
1988

Size
1–4 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Fighting

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

The Main Event, known in Japan as Ringu no Ōja (リングの王者, “King of the Ring”), is a professional wrestling arcade game released by Konami in 1988. A player selects two different wrestlers as their tag team, and they wrestle another tag team. If the player wins, his team moves on to another match. If he loses, he gets an immediate rematch, since the game isn’t over until the player’s energy falls to zero. 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 Main Event

Overview & History

Released by Konami in 1988, The Main Event is a vibrant, hard-hitting arcade brawler that swaps out traditional street-fighting tropes for the flamboyant, high-flying world of professional wrestling. Rather than navigating endless city streets, players step directly into the squared circle, choosing from a colorful roster of five distinct grapplers—including muscle-bound powerhouses and agile high-flyers like El Condor and Woodpecker. The game supports up to four simultaneous players through cabinet linking, turning local arcades into roaring arenas of cooperative chaos. Unlike Konami’s contemporaneous beat-'em-ups, The Main Event relies heavily on grappling mechanics, stamina systems, and ring ropes, offering a distinct arcade flavor that prioritized momentum and crowd-pleasing pile drivers over simple button-mashing.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core gameplay revolves around wearing down opponents with standard strikes before initiating a grapple. Once locked in a hold, the action shifts to a frantic button-mashing contest or directional timing challenge to determine who successfully executes the throw. Players can hurl opponents into the turnbuckles, leap off the top rope with devastating diving body presses, and even venture outside the canvas to brawl near the announcer's table before the ten-count eliminates them. Health is managed through a stamina meter that dictates your grappling dominance, forcing players to balance aggressive offense with strategic positioning. As you progress through the circuit, you face increasingly bizarre and brutal bosses, culminating in a grueling title defense against the game's ultimate champion.