Summerslam Pre-Show Matches
Commentators: Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jim Ross, Shawn Michaels, Shane McMahon, Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, Mr. Perfect, Gorilla Monsoon, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

As usual, the name speaks for itself and this should be fun. Summerslam is a big enough show and these matches were designed to get the fans going for the night. Some of these matches have been rather good over the years and seeing them all together could be rather interesting. Let’s get to it.

From 2017.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Usos

New Day (Big E./Xavier Woods in this case) is defending. Before the match, Kofi Kingston talks about the history that New Day has in this city (Brooklyn), with Francesca being born here and their record setting title reign starting here as well. Woods works on Jimmy’s arm to start and hits a discus forearm, followed by the chops in the corner. Uso manages to get in a kick to the face though and we take a break (edited out on the WWE Vault collection).

We come back with Jey grabbing a chinlock before throwing chops and some trash talk for a bonus. Woods knocks him off the top though and a middle rope dropkick connects for the needed breather. Jimmy breaks up the tag to Big E. though and something like a Death Valley Driver into the corner keeps Woods in trouble. Woods is sent outside to keep up the beating, followed by something close to a top rope Demolition Decapitator for two.

The chinlock goes on until Woods fights out, allowing the needed tag off to Big E. That means the gyrating into the Warrior Splash but Jey is up with an enziguri. The Rock Bottom out of the corner gives Big E. two and he powerbombs Woods onto Jey for two. Woods actually electric chairs Big E. into a splash for two more but Jimmy is back in for a double spinebuster.

A Codebreaker/Backstabber combination out of the corner hits Jimmy for two and Woods is stunned at the kickout. Woods unloads with headbutts to Jimmy so Jey tags himself back in, only to get kneed out to the floor. Another shot knocks Woods outside, where a superkick cuts off Big E.’s dive. Back in and the Superfly Splash gets two on Woods but he’s right back with a Downward Spiral. The Koji Clutch has Jey in trouble, with Big E. pulling the leg to keep Jimmy on the floor. Jey manages to stack Woods up for two so Woods is back up with a Shining Wizard for two more.

The Honor Roll is countered so Woods superkicks Jey down and tornado DDTs Jimmy on the floor. Back in and UpUpDownDown hits Jey for two, with Jimmy making a diving save. Everyone is spent but Jey manages to toss Woods over the top into a Samoan drop on the floor. Kingston goes to check on Woods and gets sent into the steps, only for Big E. to spear Jey through the ropes for the huge crash. Back in and the Usos do one of their blind tags and the Usos fire off the superkicks. The double Superfly Splash finishes Big E. to give the Usos the titles at 19:22.

Rating: B+. Shockingly enough, the Usos and the New Day have a good tag match. That’s something that has become the norm and there is no shock in seeing it happen again. The Usos seem to get the better of them most of the time but New Day winning was far from out of the question. This easily could have been on the pay per view, but as it is, this is in the running for the best Kickoff Show match ever.

From 1998.

Disciples Of Apocalypse vs. Vader/Bradshaw

Paul Ellering is here with the DOA and we have the still awesome opening gates entrance. Vader and Bradshaw argue a lot to start until Vader locks up with Skull. Some big rights and lefts rock Skull but he’s back with a powerslam. Vader’s running body splash drops Skull and it’s off to Bradshaw, meaning we get another argument. Skull clotheslines his way out of trouble and they trade some big shots to the face. It’s back to Vader, who is whipped into Bradshaw on the apron. Back up and Bradshaw decks Vader, who is rolled up for the pin at 2:57.

From 1992.

Bushwhackers/Jim Duggan vs. Nasty Boys/The Mountie

Jimmy Hart is here with the villains. We pause on the floor to start and the good guys pose a bunch, only to get jumped from behind. That doesn’t last long as the comeback sends the villains to the floor and more posing ensues. Knobbs comes back in to hammer on Luke in the corner but everything breaks down again and some triple clotheslines send the Nastys to the floor.

The Mountie needs a hug from Hart and apparently it works well enough, as Sags clotheslines Butch. Luke trips Knobbs though and everything breaks down again. The Bushwhackers whip everyone in for a clothesline from Duggan but Knobbs ducks, only to get clotheslines by the Bushwhackers.

We take a break (as this aired on Prime Time Wrestling) and come back with Mountie holding Luke in a reverse chinlock. Knobbs even adds some cheating and the fans chant USA…as a Canadian chinlocks a New Zealander. Luke gets taken into the corner for the double teaming but fights out and brings in Duggan to clean house. Everything breaks down and the Battering Ram hits Jacques. Duggan’s three point clotheslines hits as well and Sags’ top rope elbow misses, allowing Duggan to get the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t a particularly good match, but it was exactly the kind of fun that you want in a match like this. Duggan and the Bushwhackers knew exactly how to do this kind of a match and the heels played it perfectly well. I had a good time with this and the fans liked it as well, so call it a pretty perfectly played match.

From 1996.

Steve Austin vs. Yokozuna

Austin strikes away from behind to start but can’t get very far. Yokozuna hammers away and catches Austin in a Samoan drop. Rather than covering, Yokozuna loads up the Banzai Drop…but the rope breaks and Austin gets a rollup for the pin at 1:57. Hey did you know Yokozuna was huge? I wasn’t sure if that was clear or not.

From 1992.

Papa Shango vs. El Matador

Shango jumps him from behind to start and sends Matador into the buckle. The running splash crushes Matador again but he fights back with a dropkick to send Shango outside. Back in and a top rope clothesline hits Shango and we hit the armbar. A running crossbody gives Matador two more and he grabs a sleeper. That’s broken up with a ram into the corner and Shango drops an elbow, meaning it’s time to…lay on the mat and look at Matador. The top rope elbow misses though and Matador fights back, with the flying forearm connecting for two. Back up and Shango hits the shoulderbreaker for the pin at 6:13.

Rating: C. Not much to this one, but Shango is going to get a little something out of beating a star like Matador. Even this late in his career, Matador was still able to work well with anyone in the ring and this went well enough. It’s not exactly good, but for a short, house show style match, it was completely decent.

From 2003.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Shannon Moore

Mysterio is defending. Moore flips out of a suplex to start and hiptosses Mysterio into the corner. Back up and Mysterio rolls out of a sunset flip and hits a basement dropkick. The springboard seated senton connects for Mysterio but Moore is back with a Whisper In The Wind. Mysterio shrugs that off and hits a 619 into the super hurricanrana for the pin at 2:04.

From 2009.

Battle Royal

Jillian Hall, Katie Lea Burchill, Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, Rosa Mendes, Natalya, Layla, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Eve Torres, Maria, Melina, Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly, Mickie James

James’ Divas Title isn’t on the line and Chavo Guerrero is guest referee. It’s a typical battle royal start and Maria tosses Mendes. Hall eliminates Nikki but gets sent out as well. Maria is out and James gets rid of Burchill. James hurricanranas Fox out as as Brie was eliminated somewhere in there. Melina dumps Layla and we’re down to six.

Melina kicks James and sends her to the apron, where a headscissors choke is broken up. They eliminate each other, leaving us with Phoenix, Natalya, Torres and Kelly. Natalya and Phoenix have a staredown until Kelly and Torres dump Natalya out. Phoenix can’t toss both of them at once so they try to toss her, only for Guerrero to come in and dump Kelly and Torres, giving Phoenix the win at 6:30.

Rating: D+. There’s a reason the women’s division was so desperately in need of a freshening up at this point, though we were still a few years away from that happening. They were trying to get better, but it was only going to get so far with matches like this being the featured point. It was the usual messy battle royal, and who wound up causing the ending? A man. See how that’s a problem?

From 2002.

Spike Dudley vs. Stevie Richards

Spike strikes away to start and grabs a headscissors. They go to the floor, where Richards sends him into the steps to take over as commentary talks about how emotional of a day this is for the people on the card. Richards rolls some suplexes into a sitout gordbuster, followed by a superplex for two more. Spike hammers away but gets powerbombed out of the corner for another near fall. A charge into the corner misses though and Spike hits the Dudley Dog to retain at 2:27.

From 2013.

US Title: Dean Ambrose vs. Rob Van Dam

Ambrose is defending and this is during one of Van Dam’s returns to the company. Feeling out process to start, with Ambrose’s headlock not going anywhere. A running shoulder does a bit better though and Ambrose gets to mock the finger pointing (so you know it’s serious). Ambrose grabs a hammerlock but gets hit in the face, allowing Van Dam to get in a headlock takeover.

Back up and Van Dam hammers away in the corner but Ambrose knocks him back down. The neck crank goes on and we have some dueling fan chants, despite the fans being rather pro-Van Dam to start. Van Dam fights up and kicks him down but misses the split legged moonsault. Ambrose hammers away for two but the bulldog driver is countered as well. The step over kick to the face drops Ambrose and Van Dam goes up…but here is the rest of the Shield.

Cue Mark Henry and Big Show to even things out and we take a break. We come back with Van Dam down and Ambrose putting on a sleeper. Van Dam is sent outside so the other four can have their big staredown. Ambrose goes outside and gets suplexed, setting up the spinning kick to the back. Reigns grabs the leg to break up Rolling Thunder, allowing Ambrose to hit a spinebuster. Ambrose misses something off the top but Rollins offers a distraction. They slug it out until Van Dam kicks him down and hits Rolling Thunder. The Five Star connects…and Reigns spears Van Dam for the DQ at 13:40.

Rating: B-. That ending fell very flat, as it came off like they had no idea how to end the match and just went with the lamest possible way out. At least have someone hit Van Dam to cost him a pin or something. Either way, good start to the night here, with another match that could have made it onto the pay per view.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a nice mixture of rarities and good action, with the New Day vs. the Usos being the best by far. While a lot of them were totally skippable, it was fun to see what the company was putting out there to get the crowd warmed up. Those matches can go a long way and that’s what we had here, with some of them being good enough to be on the pay per view itself.

 

 

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Summerslam 1991
Date: August 26, 1991
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 20,000
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Roddy Piper, Gorilla Monsoon

This is a show that almost no one remembers other than one match. The main event is Hogan/Warrior vs. Slaughter/Adnan/Mustafa, which would have been a much better match a few months ago when Slaughter was still a threat. Other than that we have the wedding of Savage and Miss Elizabeth who reunited at Wrestlemania VII in one of the best moments in company history. Let’s get to it.

We open with Savage in the back getting ready while Alfred Hayes asks him questions. Savage says that he’s ready and in the danger zone, but HAYES’ TIE IS CROOKED. “NOW YOU’RE OK AND IT’S TIME TO GO CHECK MY BABY BLUE EYES!”

We get the regular intro with the theme of a match made in Heaven and a match made in Hell.

Ricky Steamboat/British Bulldog/Texas Tornado vs. Warlord/Power and Glory

Steamboat is just The Dragon here, complete with what looks like a lizard man costume and breathing fire. The heels get the jobber entrance and have Slick with them. Steamboat and Roma get things going as Gorilla is listing off the rest of the card. Roma slams him down and mostly misses a dropkick before posing. Paul goes to the middle rope but dives into the armdrag and Steamboat cranks on the arm even more. Ricky hits a much better dropkick to put Roma in the corner for a tag to Hercules who gets caught in some armdrags of his own.

Off to Tornado and the fans go nuts as he rams Herc’s head into the buckle. Ten right hands to the head in the corner have Hercules in even more trouble but it’s off to Warlord vs. Bulldog which was a decent power feud. Bulldog hits the suplex for two and it’s off to Steamboat for a top rope chop to the head. Warlord blocks a monkey flip though and it’s back to Roma with a suplex of his own for two. Three straight backbreakers have Steamboat in even more trouble before it’s back to Hercules for a gorilla press.

Steamboat starts fighting back but gets caught in a big hotshot to put him down. Here’s Warlord again but he dives into two feet from Steamboat, allowing for the tag off to Tornado. The Texan cleans house but makes a blind tag to Bulldog who hits a cross body. That plus the Tornado Punch to Warlord is good for two as everything breaks down. Bulldog powerslams Roma down and Ssteamboat adds the high cross body for the pin.

Rating: C+. Nothing wrong with this as it was a basic six man tag to fire up the crowd. Everyone looked fine and the crowd was WAY into the smark god known as Ricky Steamboat. The heels were all about to be gone from the company with only Warlord making it to 1992.

Sean Mooney says to call some hotline to hear prerecorded comments from Liz and Savage!

Mr. Perfect says he’s an awesome champion.

Intercontinental Title: Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart

Perfect has been champion since last November so he’s a pretty big deal. He also has his Coach (former wrestler John Tolos) with him. Stu and Helen Hart are in the audience to watch their son. Feeling out process to start with Bret scoring first by hip tossing Perfect to the floor. Back in and Bret grabs a headlock followed by a crucifix for two. Bret puts the headlock on again as Heenan and Piper are going to war on commentary. Gorilla: “WILL YOU STOP???”

Perfect grabs at the hair to escape and chops Bret’s chest off. A slam puts Bret down but he kicks Perfect away and slams him down, only to have Perfect kick him right back. Bret is all like screw this wrestling stuff and clotheslines Perfect to the floor. The champ tries to run but Bret throws him back in and the dude in pink is mad. Perfect gets in a HARD kick to the ribs and Bret is sent to the floor where Coach whistles at him.

Bret tries to get up but is knocked off the apron and right on top of a production guy who has a very confused look on his face. Back in and Bret jumps over Perfect in the corner and gets two off a rollup. The fans are WAY into this so far. Perfect sends Bret chest first into the buckle to take over again as Heenan is starting to lose his marbles. Another hard whip into the buckle gets two for the champion followed by the Hennig neck snap for two more.

Hart is sent to the floor for a bit and they both come back in on the top. It’s Bret crashing down to the mat to give Perfect two as Heenan is thinking Perfect should get himself disqualified. The champ hooks a sleeper but Bret fights up into a crucifix, only to be dropped down into a Samoan drop for two. The PerfectPlex looks to finish Bret but it only gets two, sending MSG into delirium.

Back up and Bret fights back, sending Perfect across the ring and crotch first into the post. A suplex and small package get two each for Bret and it’s Five Moves of Doom time. Bret yells at the referee and gets rolled up for two before Bret starts going after the knee. He loads up the Sharpshooter but he has to knock Coach to the floor. The distraction lets Perfect get in a shot to take over. Perfect drops a leg between Bret’s legs but as he tries it again, Bret grabs the leg and puts the Sharpshooter on from his back. He turns the hold over and Perfect submits really fast but it’s good for Bret’s first singles title.

Rating: A. Oh come on it’s Bret vs. Perfect from Summerslam 91. Do I really need to explain this one? It’s one of the best matches of all time and holds up over twenty years later. The counter by Bret is a great way to show how solid of a mat wrestler he was. Kicking out of the PerfectPlex was the perfect idea as Bret took the champ’s best shots and still won. It’s still excellent and required viewing for wrestling fans.

Bret celebrates with his parents.

The Bushwhackers are ready for the Natural Disasters and Andre is ready for Earthquake, the man who broke his leg a few weeks back.

Natural Disasters vs. Bushwhackers

Andre looks terrible here and would be dead in less than 18 months. The Whackers sneak up on the big men on the floor and poke them in the eyes. We finally start with Butch vs. Typhoon and the big man being bitten on the trunks. Earthquake tries to come in but splashes his own partner by mistake. A double clothesline puts Quake down and the Bushwhackers are in full control.

Earthquake finally realizes he weighs more than both Bushwhackers put together and pounds Butch down with a few shots to the back. Heenan makes an obscure Newhart reference as Quake slams Butch into the corner but misses an elbow drop to the back. The second attempt connects though and it’s off to Typhoon for more fat man offense.

Off to an over the shoulder backbreaker on Butch which transitions into a bearhug by Earthquake. Heenan leaves to go find Hogan and embarrass him which we’ll get to later. Quake finally hits Typhoon with a clothesline by mistake as everything breaks down. The Bushwhackers hit Battering Rams on both Disasters but it’s finally the big men crushing Luke and the Earthquake for the pin.

Rating: D-. This was a waste of time and everyone knew it was going to be from the moment the bell rang. The Bushwhackers were the epitome of comedy bumpkins and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not sure why they picked them of all teams for Andre to back and the match was horrible.

Post match the Disasters go after Andre but the LOD comes out for the save. This was Andre’s last appearance for the company.

Heenan goes to Hogan’s dressing room with the NWA World Title to issue a challenge. “Hogan” (you never see him) opens the door and slams it in Heenan’s face. For the life of me I can’t get over seeing that belt in the WWF.

Virgil recaps his feud with DiBiase. You’re probably familiar with this one: Virgil was his bodyguard for years but at the Rumble, DiBiase pushed him just once too often and Virgil snapped. DiBiase lost to Virgil via countout at Wrestlemania and tonight it’s a rematch with the Million Dollar Title on the line.

Million Dollar Title: Ted DiBiase vs. Virgil

This is one of the very rare defenses of this title. DiBiase has Sensational Sherri with him. Piper is Virgil’s mentor so the commentary is going to be rather slanted. Virgil starts fast and hits three straight clotheslines to send DiBiase out to the floor. Heenan is back on commentary but doesn’t want to talk about Hogan. Virgil misses a dive to the floor and DiBiase sends him into the steps to keep him down. Back inside and Ted is in full control but he brags too much and gets caught in the Million Dollar Dream. The fans go nuts but Sherri comes in and blasts Virgil with her loaded purse for the DQ.

Rating: D. Actually hang on a minute.

The referee says the match MUST continue, sending Sherri to the back and Roddy into delirium. Virgil pounds on DiBiase in the corner but since he doesn’t have much experience he can’t do anything. He tries to whip DiBiase across the ring but gets countered into a ref bump to put both guys down. Ted yells at Piper like the true heel that he is before suplexing Virgil down. A piledriver lays Virgil out but sicne there’s no referee, DiBiase rips the turnbuckle off instead. Ted yells at Piper once too often though, allowing Virgil to ram him into the buckle twice for the pin and the title. Piper goes NUTS.

Rating: D+. This is a good example of a match where the crowd and announcing make it much better than it would have been otherwise. Virgil just wasn’t that good and this was his one and only storyline with the company due to there being nothing else to his character. How the guy kept a job for so many years with both WWF and WCW is beyond me.

The Mountie is ready for his Jailhouse Match with Boss Man. We get a clip of him shocking a handcuffed Boss Man from a few weeks ago. Moutnie insults the New York cops who take the loser to jail later tonight.

Boss Man says Mountie is going to jail tonight.

Mountie vs. Big Boss Man

Mountie talks trash to start so Boss Man punches him in the mouth to take over. They slug it out with Boss Man hitting a back elbow and a splash for two. Boss Man hits his running crotch attack to the back of Mountie’s neck followed by the sliding uppercut. Mountie dives into a good looking spinebuster for two but Boss Man chases Jimmy Hart instead of following up, earning him a trip into the steps.

Back in and Boss Man misses a splash in the corner as Heenan says it’s not Mayberry for the Boss Man tonight. Mountie gets two each off some elbows and a dropkick but the kickout sends him to the floor. He pulls Boss Man to the floor as Gorilla calls Jimmy a walking advertisement for birth control. Back in and they slug it out with Mountie hitting a piledriver for no cover. Instead Mountie gets his shock stick but only hits the mat. A hard uppercut sets up the Boss Man Slam for two (I don’t remember anyone not named Hogan kicking out of that) before another piledriver attempt is countered into an Alabama Slam to end Mountie.

Rating: D+. I’ve seen far worse and Boss Man’s high impact offense is always worth a look. This is the perfect blowoff to the feud which is something you rarely see anymore. Today feuds just keep going with some random gimmick match which may or may not fit the feud. This was the logical ending to it and it was tailor made for the blowoff. Why thy don’t do this anymore is beyond me.

Mountie is dragged away by cops.

DiBiase goes on a huge rant about the title, saying that Virgil stole it and he’ll get it back.

Bret says this is the best day of his career and he waited a long time to prove how great he is. I’m pretty sure we’re in intermission.

The Natural Disasters are going to eat the Legion of Doom for dinner.

Boss Man asks Sean Mooney what kind of bird can’t fly. A jailbird of course. He brags about winning a bit more.

Savage is nervous for the wedding.

Speaking of the wedding, here’s the phone number again, complete with a countdown clock for a five minute intermission. Seriously they just count down five minutes of dead air time. AND THIS WAS ON THE HOME VIDEO.

Mountie arrives at the jail and shouts that the cops can’t do this to him because HE’S THE MOUNTIE! He tries to read the cops their rights and gets thrown in a cell.

Jimmy Hart is panicking while his Nasty Boys are read for the LOD. It’s a street fight later tonight.

Mountie is tricked into having his picture taken.

The Legion of Doom wants the tag titles. Hawk says once they win the belts they’re going to chew up the Natural Disasters and spit them out “like the tartar that sticks to your teeth.”

Mountie yells about having being fingerprinted. These bits are so overblown that they’re hilarious.

Sgt. Slaughter and his cronies are excited about having a 3-2 advantage. Slaughter says he might have a surprise for later.

Sid Justice, the referee for the main event tonight, says that he’ll call it down the middle. Gene shows us a video of Slaughter and company offering Sid a spot on the team but Sid says they stopped him but he turned them down.

Tag Titles: Nasty Boys vs. Legion of Doom

The Nasties are defending and this is No Countout/No DQ, making it a street fight in modern terms. The champions are sent to the floor and the fight is on early. Back in the ring Animal hits a quick powerbomb on Knobbs for two followed by Hawk enziguring Sags down. We get down to the stupid tagging part of the street fight with Sags sending Hawk to the floor and hitting him with a bucket of water.

Back in and Knobbs works over Hawk in the corner before Sags sends him into the steps. A back elbow gets two for Knobbs and a top rope version gets the same for Sags. Brian goes up top again but jumps into Hawk’s boot, finally allowing for the hot tag off to Animal. Everything breaks down and Sags hits Animal in the back with Jimmy’s helmet for two. Hawk steals the helmet and lays out both Nasties, setting up the Doomsday Device on Sags for the pin and the titles.

Rating: D. This SUCKED as the street fight rule was barely used at all. It was little more than a few shots with the helmet when the referee wasn’t looking anyway. Hawk and Animal barely broke a sweat out there as they were already talking about the Natural Disasters earlier tonight instead of worrying about winning the belts. This win was a long time coming though.

The Mountie is put in a cell by some VERY sweaty policemen.

I.R.S. vs. Greg Valentine

Uh…..sure. Feeling out process to start so Gorilla recaps the show so far. Valentine takes over with a quick shoulder block and a clothesline. Somehow we’re nearly two minutes into the match with this much action. IRS rolls to the floor as Gorilla says Undertaker and Jake Roberts might be here. Back in and Valentine slams him down, sending IRS right back to the floor.

The tax guy heads in again and puts on an abdominal stretch followed by a jumping clothesline for no cover. Off to a chinlock before IRS misses a knee into the corner, giving Greg the opening on the leg. The Figure Four is quickly broken by a grab of the ropes and a second attempt at the hold is countered into a small package for the pin by IRS.

Rating: D. The match wasn’t even that bad but it had no business being on a pay per view. This would be the equivalent of the Divas match on a modern show to give the fans a breather between the big matches. Valentine was long past his point of being a star but he could still put people over like he did here.

Buy Hulk Hogan’s PPV, which is a Best of Hogan show. I’ve heard of worse ideas.

Hogan and Warrior talk about their victims in the main event.

Ultimate Warrior/Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter/Colonel Mustafa/General Adnan

Sid Justice is guest referee and Hogan is WWF Champion. Hogan and Slaughter get things going but the Sarge wants to stall. Slaughter pounds on him in the corner but gets caught between the right hands of both superheroes. Off to Warrior for a clothesline followed by a double big boot to put Slaughter down again. A clothesline gets two for Hogan and it’s back to Warrior. This is completely one sided so far. Hogan comes back in with a middle rope ax handle for two.

Sid breaks up some choking in the corner and the distraction lets Slaughter get in some shots on Hogan. Adnan, an old manager, comes in to rake Hogan’s back and slowly pound away in the corner. Off to Mustafa (Iron Sheik) for the gutwrench suplex and the camel clutch but Warrior makes the save. Slaughter comes back in to choke away in the corner and send Hogan into Sid for a staredown. Sarge jumps the distracted Hogan and stomps away on the back.

Warrior breaks up a top rope something by Slaughter, allowing for the hot tag to the painted one. Warrior cleans house on Slaughter but runs into Sid for another staredown. Back to Mustafa who gets caught in a suplex but Slaughter blocks a tag. Slaughter puts Warrior in a chinlock, only to have the Ultimate One fight up and clothesline Sarge down. There’s the hot tag to Hogan as Hogan chases the lackeys to the back with a chair. More on that later as Hogan throws powder in Slaughter’s face and drops the leg to win.

Rating: D+. I’m not a fan of this one as the match was never in doubt at all, but above that the Iraq War had been over for six months so the interest in the feud was done long ago. Nothing to see here but the fans reacted pretty well to it. This would have been better as a house show main event instead of the main event of Summerslam. If nothing else there was a match around this time on a Coliseum Video with Slaughter/Mustafa/Undertaker against the superheroes. Wouldn’t that make a much better main event here?

Hogan and Sid pose for a long time post match.

Mountie is in jail and a fat biker hits on him.

Hogan and Sid are STILL posing.

We get the video of Savage proposing to Liz and her responding with an OH YEAH. We also get a four minute music video highlighting their entire history together to a sappy love song.

The ring is set up like a chapel for the wedding. Savage comes out in a shiny tux with a big feather on his hat. Heenan: “Why is the second most important guy called the best man?” From what I’ve read this is a legit renewal of vows as the two were already married in real life. There isn’t much to say here other than it’s a wedding and no one interrupts it. This takes like ten minutes.

With the show in the arena done we go to the reception with Savage telling Heenan to beat it. Gene Okerlund does the ceremonial toast. They have the first dance and everything seems to be fine. Now we eat cake before heading over to the gift table where things get interesting.

First off, “WE GOT A BLENDER!!!” Savage freaks out as only he can as you would think he just got the WWF Title instead of a blender. Liz goes to open a present…..and there’s a cobra inside. She freaks out and Savage tries to pull her back, but Undertaker comes in and bashes him in the head with the urn. Jake Roberts comes in and holds the cobra in front of Liz’s face until Sid makes the save with a chair to end the show. This would set up Roberts vs. Savage in the feud of the year which resulted in Undertaker’s face turn.

Overall Rating: C-. This is an interesting show in that the first half is a much higher quality than the second half. The second half has all predictable matches where the winners were never in doubt, but that doesn’t exactly make it terrible. The show is definitely entertaining and set up a lot of stuff down the road while launching Bret Hart up to the next level. It’s worth a watch if you can find it in full but I wouldn’t expect to be blown away.

Ratings Comparison

British Bulldog/Ricky Steamboat/Texas Tornado vs. Warlord/Power and Glory

Original: D

Redo: C+

Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect

Original: A+

Redo: A

Natural Disasters vs. Bushwhackers

Original: C-

Redo: D-

Virgil vs. Ted DiBiase

Original: B

Redo: D+

Big Bossman vs. The Mountie

Original: D

Redo: D+

Legion of Doom vs. Nasty Boys

Original: D

Redo: D

Irwin R. Schyster vs. Greg Valentine

Original: D+

Redo: D

Hulk Hogan/Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter/Colonel Mustafa/General Adnan

Original: D

Redo: D+

Overall Rating

Original: D

Redo: C-

Dang this show ticked me off the first time.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/25/history-of-summerslam-count-up-1991-a-wedding-that-goes-badly-what-a-new-concept/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

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Wrestlefest 1992
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes,
Hosts: Gene Okerlund, Bobby Heenan

This is another Coliseum Video in a series that ran for a few years. That being said, it isn’t like there is much of a theme to the thing, which was hardly a surprise given how many recurring titles you would see on WWF home video. This is an interesting time for the company as Hulk Hogan is mostly gone and we’re off to people like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels so let’s get to it.

Okerlund and Heenan are playing tennis, with Heenan thinking it’s table tennis. Heenan is off to find the rules so let’s go to our first match.

From New York City, New York, March 23, 1992.

Virgil vs. Shawn Michaels

Sherri is with Michaels as Mooney says Virgil is “one of the most popular figures the World Wrestling Federation has ever known.” I have to say this a lot about Mooney, but LIAR. Virgil has his nose guard on, which felt like it was around for a good while. We stall for a good bit before the bell until Sherri heads outside and…I don’t think we ever had a bell at all.

Michaels takes him into the corner and punches the nose guard, which goes as well as you would expect. Virgil chases him to the floor as Hayes wants Virgil to have to remove the mask. Back in and Virgil grabs a headlock as commentary explains Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon (who broadcast this on the MSG Network) as being there for an armed forces broadcast. Eh I’ve heard worse excuses. Michaels fights out but gets a bit too cocky, meaning the headlock can go on again.

Back up and Michaels avoids a charge to send Virgil crashing out to the floor so we can have a quick breather. Virgil gets back in so Sherri offers a distraction, allowing Michaels to raise the mask for a shot to the bad nose. The chinlock goes on for a big until Virgil fights up, only to be sent into the buckle. A backslide gives Virgil two but Michaels drops him with a clothesline for the same.

Michaels sends him face first into the buckle, knocking the mask off and leaving Virgil looking like he had been stabbed. The referee even puts the mask back on and Virgil hits a faceplant, setting up an atomic drop to send Michaels into the corner. Virgil makes the comeback with clotheslines and a dropkick before sending Michaels hard into the corner. A running knee misses for Virgil though and Michaels hits the teardrop suplex for the pin at 12:14.

Rating: C. Virgil was trying and he could have been worse, but he is one of the most “he exists” wrestlers I’ve ever seen. There is nothing to him that makes him stand out in any way and that was the problem here. It was the most generic offense and Michaels put him away without much trouble. Just as it should have been.

From Toledo, Ohio, April 7, 1992.

Tag Team Titles: Money Inc. vs. Bushwhackers

Money Inc., with Jimmy Hart, is defending (in case you were very confused). The champs jump them from behind to interrupt the pre-match whacking and the Bushwhackers collide for a double knockdown. Back up and they send Money Inc. together, setting up a double bite. Some clotheslines send Money Inc. outside and it’s time for a breather.

We settle down to DiBiase knocking Butch down and choking away as commentary talks about Money Inc. walking out on their title match at Wrestlemania. Butch manages a bulldog for a needed breather and the champions are rammed together. Back to back Battering Rams send DiBiase and IRS outside and it’s time to whack around the ring even more.

DiBiase comes back in to choke Luke on the ropes and we get some non-tag exchanges. IRS grabs his required abdominal stretch before it’s off to DiBiase for one of his own. It’s back to IRS for the chinlock but DiBiase comes back in and gets kicked in the face. Butch gets the tag to clean house but Hart offers a distraction, allowing IRS to knee Butch down and retain at 8:32.

Rating: C+. This was a fine way for the champions to get in a title defense as they get to beat a fun team in the Bushwhackers. As a bonus, it always helps to have challengers who aren’t going to be hurt by a loss like this. Money Inc. was a good choice for the titles as they worked well together and it was easy to boo them so things were looking decent enough for the titles’ future around this time.

Okerlund tries to explain the art of the serve to Heenan, with Heenan having drinks instead of practicing.

From Biloxi, Mississippi, March 10, 1992.

Rick Martel vs. British Bulldog

This could be interesting. Martel starts fast by sending him into the corner and then flipping into some jumping jacks. Bulldog grabs a headlock to grind away a bit before working on the arm as well. Martel misses a charge into the buckle and gets armbarred, followed by a more basic style of cranking.

Back up and Martel manages to send him outside for some ax handles to the back to take over. Some knees to the back and some choking oddly wake Bulldog up, only for him to charge into Martel’s raised knee. Bulldog hits some running clotheslines to send Martel outside and it’s a sunset flip to give Bulldog the pin back inside at 5:22.

Rating: C. Well “could be” was right because it certainly wasn’t. Martel was starting to get a bit of something going and then it just wrapped up. Bulldog was getting geared up for something bigger in the coming months (to put it mildly) but this wasn’t much of a first step there. Give them some time and have Bulldog more motivated and this could have worked, but they didn’t have much of a chance.

Bret Hart talks about some of his bigger matches and how he always gives it his all. This includes winning the Intercontinental Title for the first time by defeating Mr. Perfect at Summerslam 1991, retaining over Skinner at This Tuesday In Texas and…apparently that’s all!

From Springfield, Massachusetts, November 12, 1991.

Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. Barbarian

Hart is defending but Barbarian steals the title and poses with it while Hart gives his glasses to a fan. We get going with Barbarian driving him into the corner and then hitting a shoulder out to the floor. Back in and Hart avoids an elbow and starts in on Barbarian’s arm. That’s broken up and Barbarian takes him outside for some rams into the post.

Back in and Hart is sent chest first into the buckle, followed by the bearhug that you get in every Barbarian match. With that broken up, Hart gets a boot up in the corner and it’s a running clothesline to drop Barbarian for two. The middle rope elbow and Russian legsweep get two, with the kickout sending Hart outside. Back in and a suplex gives Barbarian two so he tries it again, only to be reversed into a small package to retain Hart’s title at 12:24.

Rating: C+. The more I see from Barbarian, the more I appreciate someone like him. He’s a great example of someone who is going to do his thing and do it in a certain way, but he makes it work every single time. That’s the kind of thing that will always work in wrestling and it worked again here, albeit with an all time master like Hart.

Heenan can’t return serves from Monica Seles’ sister’s best friend’s partner (or something like that). He threatens to choke her.

From Biloxi, Mississippi, March 10, 1992.

Nasty Boys vs. Natural Disasters

Jimmy Hart is here with the Nastys. The Disasters chase them to the floor to start before Typhoon sends Sags into the corner for an early splash. Earthquake comes in to run Knobbs over without much effort and an elbow to the back makes it worse. Sags gets in a cheap shot from the apron though as commentary bickers about which team they like more. Earthquake easily slugs his way out of trouble but Sags is right there to prevent the tag. Earthquake grabs a bearhug on Sags and Typhoon comes in for a double standing splash. With Typhoon cutting Hart off, Earthquake drops an elbow for the pin at 6:31.

Rating: C. The Disasters are a good example of an idea that made sense but only worked so well in practice. The issue is really simple: only a handful of teams can do much with them, which made for some not so great matches. While the Nastys can do a heck of a brawl if given the case, this was more of a standard match and that’s not playing to either team’s strength.

From Kalamazoo, Michigan, April 8, 1992.

WWF Title: Randy Savage vs. IRS

IRS, with Jimmy Hart, is challenging and stalls on the floor for a good while to start. Once inside Savage grabs a headlock and we immediately stall some more, this time with Savage going after Hart. Back in and Savage hits some running clotheslines to send IRS outside. IRS gets back inside and is atomic dropped to the floor, so Savage goes outside to prevent more boredom.

The top rope ax handle gives Savage two back inside but Hart offers a distraction, allowing IRS to knee Savage in the back. Savage gets thrown outside this time as this is getting rather repetitive. Back in and IRS grabs the abdominal stretch, followed by a chinlock as this isn’t exactly shaking his reputation for being boring (or sweaty).

Savage fights up and grabs him by the tie so Hart comes up with the briefcase. IRS’ charge hits said briefcase and after decking Hart, Savage drops the big elbow for the pin at 11:16. Mooney: “And a clean victory here for the WWF Champion!” After IRS was RAMMED INTO A METAL BRIEFCASE, once again proving that Mooney is a LIAR!”

Rating: C-. Again, IRS is someone who could be put out there to give Savage an easy win, but dang it would be nice if he could do something even slightly interesting. IRS could wrestle a perfectly competent style, but his offense was straight out of the 70s and it showed badly. Also, even though IRS is a champion, Savage couldn’t just get a clean win here?

Mr. Fuji and the Berzerker explain how to throw a party. Berzerker recommends kidnapping to get guests, and a lot of “little gimmicks” like those streamers that you blow to make them roll out, and finger sandwiches, decorated with fingers. This was oddly funny as Berzerker has a weird charisma to him.

From Kalamazoo, Michigan, April 8, 1992.

Tito Santana vs. Repo Man

Santana knocks him into the corner to start but Repo takes him into another corner. Repo’s arm work doesn’t work so Santana pulls him down into an armbar. A crossbody gives Santana two and the armbar goes on again. Repo comes back with a clothesline for two and he pulls Santana into something like a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up and Repo hits another clothesline, only for Santana to hit one of his own. Repo gets knocked off the apron so he grabs the grappling hook. A shot to the ribs is enough to draw the DQ at 7:33.

Rating: C. Yes, we really are going with the guy who repossesses things over the bullf…ok maybe it isn’t as crazy as it sounds. This was not the strongest time when it came to midcard gimmicks and there is a reason it took so long to turn things around. Both guys are talented, but this was a bit too goofy to really work.

Post match Santana gets posted and choked with the hook, leaving him frothing at the mouth.

From Niagara Falls, New York, April 28, 1992.

Nasty Boys/Money Inc. vs. Natural Disasters/Legion Of Doom

Dang this tape loves Money Inc. and Jimmy Hart is here with the villains while Paul Ellering is with the good guys. DiBiase and Hawk start things off with DiBiase actually taking over in the corner. Everything breaks down in a hurry though and Hart’s guys need a meeting on the floor. Back in and it’s IRS coming in to face Hawk, who connects with a big boot.

DiBiase offers a distraction though and IRS gets in his trusty knee to the back. Hawk gets pulled into the wrong corner, with Animal’s attempt at a save causing Hawk to get choked even more. Hawk fights up and hits a clothesline to put IRS down, followed by a double version with DiBiase. That’s enough for the tag off to Animal, who fires off a dropkick as everything breaks down. Earthquake sits on Sags for the pin at 7:59.

Rating: C. As usual, there is only so much that can be done in this situation with so many people in there and so little time. The ending was kind of amusing with Earthquake just sitting on him for the win, but that was about it. The Legion Of Doom never got to do much either, which sums up a lot of their problems in the WWF in the first place.

Post match Ellering decks Hart for a funny moment.

Okerlund explains the appeal of being a gracious winner and then Heenan crotches himself trying to jump over the net. Some fans pop up to meet Okerlund, who wraps it up to end the tape.

Overall Rating: D+. Yeah this didn’t work, with nothing standing out in the slightest. It was a bunch of people just having matches, none of which were remotely memorable. On top of that, I was sick of seeing Money Inc. by the end and that shouldn’t be the case with someone as good as DiBiase. The Heenan/Okerlund stuff was really weak too and that took away one of the best parts of these things. Not their best effort here, with the Bushwhackers and Barbarian having the best match, plus that oddly funny Berzerker segment being the highlights.

 

 

 

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Supertape 4
Host: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes, Bobby Heenan

It’s time for another in this series and that could mean just about anything, as this series likes to stretch the definition of “super”. You never know what you’re going to get on this thing, though I’d assume on some wrestling from the WWF. Other than that, it could be quite the variety of quality so let’s get to it.

This is presented in the most complete form, which is a weird thing for a home video.

Opening sequence, which is likely just a preview of what we’ll be seeing.

Sean Mooney is tasked with delivering the master tape of Supertape 4 to Coliseum Video and he has a cooler, van, driver and tour guide. The van is labeled with a piece of paper and the driver is Lord Alfred Hayes…who doesn’t let the food or driver inside. Hayes already doesn’t know where they’re going but the cooler is left outside.

Mr. Perfect, with Bobby Heenan, has the Intercontinental Title back and insists he is perfect enough to beat the Texas Tornado.

From West Palm Beach, Florida, December 12, 1990.

Intercontinental Title: Mr. Perfect vs. Texas Tornado

Perfect, without Heenan, is defending. Tornado tries to slug away to start but takes too long taking off his robe, allowing Perfect to knock him outside. Tornado pulls him outside as well and gets in some shots of his own before throwing Perfect back inside. That means Tornado can throw him right back outside, as Tornado doesn’t have the clearest strategy. Back in (again) and Tornado hammers away before grabbing the Claw…on the stomach. With that broken up, Perfect grabs the sleeper until Tornado powers into the corner.

Tornado misses a charge into the post though and Perfect pulls a turnbuckle pad off. A quick Tornado Punch sends Perfect outside but another one hits the post by mistake. Back in and Perfect sends him into the post for two but the PerfectPlex only gets two. Tornado gets the Claw so Perfect pulls the referee in, only for the Tornado Punch to connect for a delayed near fall. Back up and Tornado hits another Tornado Punch….but NOW the referee calls for the DQ at 7:45. What a ridiculous ending.

Rating: C-. Perfect was trying here but there is only so much that can be done when Tornado is in this kind of shape. Tornado was clearly not right out there, which was becoming an issue more and more frequently. The guy looked great, but it didn’t matter if he couldn’t have a coherent match most of the time. Throw in a screwy ending and there was only so much to be done with this.

Post match Tornado sends him into the exposed buckle for the big spinning sell.

From New York City, New York, January 21, 1991.

Koko B. Ware vs. Tito Santana

This is a very rare face vs. face match and even Heenan thinks this will be good. They shake hands and then go to a lockup to start, with Heenan saying that his Family could have a better match. An armdrag takes Ware down and Santana does it again as they’re certainly in first gear so far. Santana snapmares his way out of a hammerlock and actually suggests a hair pull. A shoulder block into an armdrag puts Ware down and they seem to be getting a big agitated.

We get an exchange of shoves (Heenan: “I LIKE IT!”) before Ware punches him in the face as things get a lot more aggressive. They go outside where Ware sends him into the post before going back inside to hammer away. Ware slugs him down and drops an elbow for two, setting up the nerve hold. Some snap jabs have Heenan rather pleased, with Mooney thinking Ware might belong in the Heenan Family. The top rope fist drop misses though and Santana makes the comeback. They both miss clotheslines but Santana hits the flying forearm for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was so strange to see and oddly enough, it worked well. Ware knows how to work this style and Santana is as good of a face as you’ll find, but dang this does doesn’t feel right in the WWF. I’ll take something going this way for a change though, as it was cool to see a fresh take on a match instead of more of the same.

Believe it or not, Hayes is lost.

We look at wrestlers who have gone from wrestling to broadcasting (From The Mat To The Mike), including Gorilla Monsoon, who talks about making the transition and promises to be around more often.

Roddy Piper gets a look as well and insists he is NOT retired. He makes some jokes about Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper before saying it’s better to not get beaten up.

We also have Gene Okerlund, which is an excuse to show his match with Hulk Hogan against Mr. Fuji and George Steele.

Finally Randy Savage talks about going against the best of all time and giving everything he had. Naturally he’s as intense as a broadcaster as he was as a wrestler.

The van has engine trouble.

From West Palm Beach, Florida, December 12, 1990.

Undertaker vs. Tugboat

This is the Fan Favorite match, meaning someone actually requested to see it. We’re VERY early in Undertaker’s time as he still has Brother Love as his manager. Undertaker slugs away to little effect as Tugboat shoves him back. An exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere so Undertaker tries a leapfrog but Tugboat just stops, resulting in a knee to the head instead.

Back up and Tugboat elbows him down, which is quite the big deal for Undertaker at this point. Another elbow drops Undertaker but Tugboat misses the elbow drop. Undertaker hammers away but misses a charge in the corner, with Tugboat falling down as he tries a slam. Some shots to the back have Tugboat down again but he’s back up with a powerslam. A kick to the face rocks Undertaker again but Tugboat misses a charge in the corner. Undertaker’s top rope forearm to the chest is good for the pin at 5:43. Mooney: “What a great match this turned out to be!” LIAR!

Rating: D. I was a fan when I was a kid but my goodness Tugboat was HORRIBLE. He was big, he was slow, and those are his good points. Other than that, Tugboat just did not have anything to offer in the ring and that was on display here. Things would get a bit better when he would turn into Typhoon, but this was not a good time for him whatsoever.

From Savannah, Georgia, January 29, 1991.

Shawn Michaels vs. Crush

Marty Jannetty and Mr. Fuji are here too. Crush pounds away to start and blocks a sunset flip. Michaels hammers back and hits a flying shoulder but the kickout sends him flying outside. Back in and Michaels goes simple with a front facelock, which Crush powers into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

A torture rack dropped down into a backbreaker keeps Michaels in trouble, followed by the required bearhug. With that broken up, Crush switches over to a bodyscissors but misses a top rope knee drop to leave them both down. Fuji gets on the apron as Crush catches Michaels, only for Jannetty to add a high crossbody to knock Michaels onto Crush for the pin at 7:19.

Rating: C+. Crush was little more than a monster for Michaels to slay here, as you could see Michaels’ singles star power trying to break through. That’s a great sign for his future and he is getting better before your eyes at this point. It’s no surprise that he is getting this kind of a singles push and it was working well enough.

Hayes and Mooney work on the van, with Hayes using Mooney’s jacket to clean up. They know the problem….but don’t know how to fix it.

From Huntsville, Alabama, January 7, 1991.

Mr. Fuji/Orient Express vs. Legion Of Doom

For some reason Fuji starts for the team but then switches out with Kato, while also playing pass the salt. Animal shoves Kato around and then does it again for a bonus. With that not working, Kato slaps him in the face and gets a chase going, allowing Kato to strike away back inside. Tanaka comes in and gets knocked down, where it’s time for a meeting with his cohorts.

Back in and Tanaka teases going after Hawk, who growls him away. Hawk fights off a double teaming and Kato bails out to the floor, where Animal picks him up for a gorilla press toss back inside. A running clothesline puts Kato on the floor again though and Animal clotheslines him there as well.

This isn’t going so well for him at the moment. Animal runs Tanaka over so Kato offers a distraction, with the salt to the eyes taking Animal down. That has Animal in trouble for all of a few seconds before he clotheslines his way to freedom. Hawk comes back in clean house and the Doomsday Device finishes Kato at 8:00.

Rating: C-. There was only so much you could get out of this kind of a match and there was no way around it. The LOD more or less squashed them here, with even the salt not being able to do much. That was part of the problem with the LOD: you could only put so many teams against them and that was the case at this point, as they didn’t have much in the way of competition.

And now, Gourmet Cooking Tips with the Bushwhackers. We start with a salad, which is thrown everywhere, then the mashed potatoes, which has a special ingredient, then broccoli, which results in bodily function jokes, and then walnut surprise cake, which is shoved into faces. We also get a flashback to Gene Okerlund becoming a Bushwhacker in the first Supertape thanks to some Bushwhacker Buzzard. Back in the kitchen, an apple goes into Okerlund’s mouth and the Bushwhackers want him for dinner. This was about ten minutes of not funny.

Hayes says he knows a good repairman and Mooney shows us to a profile on the Big Boss Man.

Boss Man talks about being the law and order around here and promises us three matches.

From Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 16, 1990.

Earthquake vs. Big Boss Man

Jimmy Hart is here (minus the megaphone for some reason) with the non-Canadian Earthquake. They take their time circling each other to start and finally lock up, with Earthquake shoving him hard into the corner. For some reason Hayes finds this hilarious, though it might be Earthquake doing the posing. Back in and Boss Man does his weird bouncing headlock before punching him into the corner.

Boss Man gets powered into the corner but knocks Earthquake down, followed by chasing Hart around the ring. Earthquake misses a charge into the corner and gets low bridged down for two, only for Earthquake to hit him in the throat. Boss Man gets sent into the corner so Earthquake can sit on him, which doesn’t go well.

Back up Earthquake wins a slugout and an atomic drop has Boss Man in more trouble. Boss Man gets up with a shot to the back of the head and a kick to drop Earthquake, setting up the running clotheslines. That means Earthquake gets tied up in the ropes, but Boss Man goes after Hart and an invading Dino Bravo. Earthquake gets out and hits him in the back, setting up a big elbow for the pin at 10:04.

Rating: C+. I liked the match, but it’s a bit weird to see Boss Man losing in a match designed to be part of his profile. That being said, it was a good brawl, as Boss Man was always good at slugging it out at someone bigger than him. It worked very well against Vader and this was a similar enough idea.

Post match Earthquake goes after him again but Tugboat makes the save.

From Syracuse, New York, November 20, 1990.

Bobby Heenan vs. Big Boss Man

So Heenan has spent weeks insulting Boss Man’s mother so it’s time for payback. Before the match, Heenan brings out a Hulk Hogan wrestling buddy (that’s worth some cash these days) as a gift to Boss Man’s mother, along with roses that he has already sent to her. Boss Man comes to the ring and shoves the wrestling buddy into his face. Heenan gets in a shot with the microphone so Boss Man hits him with the nightstick for the win at 31 seconds.

Post match Haku comes in and gets beaten down just as fast. Boss Man handcuffs them together but Mr. Perfect runs in to go after Boss Man as the other two leave. That’s broken up as well and Boss Man clears the ring, with Mooney declaring it a “great matchup.” Again, LIAR!

From Toronto, Ontario, Canada, November 25, 1990 (I believe, as I’ve seen multiple dates and locations for this one).

The Barbarian vs. Big Boss Man

Boss Man slugs away to start and hits a big boot, followed by a running elbow to send him outside. Back in and Barbarian strikes away for a change, only to get clotheslined out to the floor. Barbarian gets back in but has a big boot blocked, allowing Boss Man to hit the running crotch attack against the back. That doesn’t last long as Barbarian knocks him down for some ax handles to the back.

The bearhug goes on for a good while but Barbarian lets it go. The middle rope elbow misses for Barbarian though and they slug it out, with Boss Man doing his always rather awesome “out on his feet” selling. Boss Man kicks him in the head and grabs a hot shot for two but can’t hit a piledriver. Instead Barbarian backdrops him down…and right into a sunset flip to give Boss Man the pin at 11:18.

Rating: C. There is something cool about the way Boss Man sells and it was working again here. At the same time, Barbarian continues to be the perfect choice for a spot like this as he can make someone like Boss Man work but doesn’t lose any status whatsoever in defeat. This wasn’t anything special, but it could have been far worse.

Post match Haku runs in to help Barbarian with the double team. And no one makes the save. What a great way to wrap up a profile.

Mooney pulls up his pants to cross a stream. Hayes uses the footbridge about twenty feet away, which Mooney somehow didn’t notice.

From Huntsville, Alabama, January 7, 1991.

WWF Title: Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter

Slaughter, with General Adnan, is challenging. They take their time to start until Slaughter takes him into the corner and chokes/kicks/hammers away. Warrior kicks right back though and a right hand sends Slaughter over the top, with his massive chin getting caught on the bottom rope (that’s a new one). Back in and Slaughter gets knocked out to the floor again, this time allowing Warrior to send him back inside for the hard chops.

Slaughter manages to knock him outside and send him into the timekeeper’s table before hammering away back inside. A catapult into the corner gives Warrior a breather though and a double clothesline puts both of them down. Slaughter grabs a backbreaker for two and puts on the camel clutch, with Warrior getting to the ropes for the break. Warrior Warriors Up, hits a flying shoulder and drops the splash to retain at 9:57.

Rating: C. Yeah you could only expect so much out of a match like this, as it was a dark match from a TV taping to send the fans home happy. The problem with that is there was only so much joy to be found in a Warrior match. He was mere days away from losing the title to Slaughter, so it was almost weird to seeing him win clean like this.

Mooney and Hayes realize they’re walking around in circles. Hayes walks off on his own, presumably leaving Mooney to die in the woods.

Overall Rating: C-. These compilations can be a lot of fun, but at the same time, they can also be rather dreadful. Unfortunately the latter was the case here, as nothing on here was worth seeing, with even the profile on Boss Man only being so good. Total waste of a tape, which fits the era rather well.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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March To Wrestlemania IX
Date: March 28, 1993
Location: Cumberland County Civic Center, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

The title kind of speaks for itself here, as we have about a week to go before Wrestlemania and this is the big final push towards the biggest event of the year. The WWF did some specials like this back in the 90s and that means we could have an interesting selection of matches on the way to Las Vegas. Let’s get to it.

We look back at the contract signing between Bret Hart and Yokozuna, with Yokozuna crushing Hart, who got up anyway to a big reaction.

Vince and Bobby run down the card in front of a green screen.

Yokozuna vs. Randy Savage

Yokozuna has Mr. Fuji with him. They take their sweet time getting going here with no contact being made in the first two minutes. Savage ducks a few lockups before getting shoved down, leaving him thinking twice about this. Yokozuna hits a running shoulder and sends Savage flying over the top in a big heap. With Vince praising Yokozuna as much as he can, Savage gets knocked down again as the USA chants are on.

Yokozuna keeps hammering away as commentary basically says Bret Hart has no chance at Wrestlemania. Savage gets in some left hands but a single chop puts him back down. The big legdrop crushes Savage but the charge in the corner misses. A top rope ax handle puts Yokozuna on one knee but Fuji shoves Savage off the top. Yokozuna grabs a belly to belly suplex for the pin at 6:37.

Rating: C+. This was designed to set up Yokozuna as the monster who is beating a former WWF Champion and that worked well. Savage’s comeback at the end was only enough to give him a sliver of hope and that’s all it needed to be. Yokozuna is the monster of monsters at this point and it’s clear that the company is entirely behind him, as they should be here.

Post match Yokozuna goes for the Banzai Drop but misses and….leaves. Well that was kind of stupid.

We look at Lex Luger’s debut at the Royal Rumble, with Bobby Heenan’s insanely over the top praise still being hilarious/uncomfortable.

Mr. Perfect vs. Skinner

Skinner jumps him to start as Heenan is VERY happy with the idea of Perfect getting beaten up. Perfect gets tossed over the top and Skinner gets in a bite on the floor. Perfect manages a posting, only for Skinner to get in a belt shot to the throat. A whipping ensues, with the referee having no issue with the foreign object. Vince goes NUTS, screaming that Heenan or Luger paid Skinner off to soften Perfect up before Wrestlemania. You know, because Skinner is a totally clean cut star otherwise.

Perfect’s eyes are raked over the top rope as Vince is AGHAST at this BLATANT RULE BREAKING! Perfect gets in a single shot though and the comeback is on, with the right hands in the corner having Skinner in more trouble. The knee lift lets Perfect choke in the ropes, where Skinner gets in an alligator claw to the face. Not that it matters as Perfect hits the PerfectPlex for the pin at 5:27.

Rating: C+. This was a bit better than I was expecting here, with Skinner beating Perfect up until the comeback came through. It really does amaze me to see how easy Perfect can make things look out there, as it feels like he’s just waiting to turn it on and win in the end. That’s not a level of talent you see very often and it is more impressive every time.

Hulk Hogan is coming back at Wrestlemania. This was some over the top praise.

Kamala vs. Kim Chee

Before the match, Slick thanks the fans for their support for Kamala and promises that he is going to take out Bam Bam Bigelow at Wrestlemania. Not exactly as the match didn’t happen but it’s a nice sentiment. Kim Chee wants Kamala to walk back into the darkness but we cannot let that happen. Can Slick get a witness?

Anyway, Chee gets in Kamala’s face to start and seems to scare him, allowing Chee to hammer away in the corner. A slap to the face wakes Kamala up and he grabs a quickly broken bearhug. Kamala superkicks him down and the big splash, plus some coaching to turn Chee over, is enough for the pin at 2:11. That’s all it should have been.

Post match Kamala knocks him to the floor and steals the pith helmet.

We get a Wrestlemania music video in all of its 1993 glory, with various wrestlers giving some rather generic promos. That being said, this is the old Wrestlemania theme, with the OOOH OOOH, WRESTLEMANIA, PUMP IT UP PUMP IT UP (better known as Linda McMahon’s theme) so I can’t complain much. For some reason Big Boss Man, who wasn’t on Wrestlemania, gets two promos.

Vince and Bobby hype up the Mega Maniacs vs. Money Inc.

We look back at Money Inc. attacking Brutus Beefcake, resulting in the return of Hulk Hogan to set up a match which does not feel important in the slightest despite being the second biggest match on the card. I was a huge Brutus Beefcake fan when I was a kid but this return run never worked. Much like Hogan in the early days of Raw, which never felt right.

Money Inc. vs. Reno Riggins/Jerry Sabin

Non-title and Sabin is better known as the Italian Stallion, right down to his trunks saying ITALY. The beating starts fast with DiBiase taking Sabin to the floor and hammering away. Back in and a double back elbow drops Riggins, followed by a suplex to do it again. IRS drops an elbow and the Million Dollar Dream finishes at 2:54.

Here are the Mega Maniacs (obviously in a different arena) for a chat. Hogan talks about Money Inc. hitting Beefcake in the face with the metal briefcase and he knew it was bad. He chilled, he goosebumped and he sweated from head to toe. It was so bad that he ran to the garage and got on Brutus’ motorcycle (which just happened to be there) so he could ride to Venice Beach and bury his ear in the sand. He heard (in the sand) millions of Hulkamaniacs praying for Beefcake.

Then he rode the motorcycle for seven days to New York City, where he went to the Ramada Inn and found Beefcake watching the Three Stooges with an ice pack on his nose. Beefcake talks about going to Florida with Hogan, where they dropped rockets (yes rockets) on his new metal mask and there wasn’t a scratch on it. If Hogan did one more pushup, those Pythons would explode.

Jimmy Hart recommends not investing money in Money Inc., whereas the Mega Maniacs will have new t-shirts, Nintendo games and posters. When they win the Tag Team Titles, their stock will go through the roof. Hogan says Beefcake is mad, with Beefcake saying he spent two days running up and down the aisles at K-Mart to find hair tonic. Then he went to the desert around Las Vegas, where he chopped down some cactuses (should be cacti) and mountains (no word on if it was with the edge of his hand), where he decided he’ll take Money Inc.’s hair out of their heads with his bare hands.

Hogan says he went fishing with his bare hands and caught some sharks, but they weren’t for eating. Instead, he’s filled the pool at Caesar’s Palace with salt water for the hammerhead sharks (and some mermaids). Beefcake is going to help Hogan open the sharks’ mouths so they can wrap the Tag Team Titles around their teeth.

That way, when they throw the bathing beauties and Hulkamaniacs in the pool (with the sharks), the sharks can’t hurt a hair on their chinny chin chins (of the bathing beauties you see). Hogan has two cases of suntan lotion and he wants all the female Hulkamaniacs to have an even tan from head to toe. Catchphrase and posing ensues. If you haven’t seen this promo, go find it somewhere, as the Ultimate Warrior would have thought this was totally insane. And then it just KEPT GOING as they talk for the better part of ten minutes.

We look at Tatanka pinning Shawn Michaels a few times, earning an Intercontinental Title shot at Wrestlemania.

Michaels is ready to play Tatanka like people get played in the Las Vegas casinos.

Tatanka vs. George South

Tatanka takes him down without much trouble as Heenan is insisting that Shawn Michaels is NOT in jeopardy. All this does is make me wonder how Heenan would have done as Shawn’s manager. Tatanka takes him into the corner but South gets in a few shots of his own. A ram into the buckle sends Tatanka onto the war path as Heenan rants about how he DOES NOT CARE about Sherri being at Wrestlemania. Some chops set up the Papoose To Go to finish South at 2:29.

Post match Michaels comes out to gloat so Tatanka wants to fight. Nah.

It’s time for the Wrestlemania Control Center with Gene Okerlund, who feels out of place in the WWF in 1993. He hypes up the toga party (because that really was a selling point) and the double main event, with Bret Hart being tired of hearing that he has no chance. Yokozuna could lose a lot more than face at Wrestlemania.

Crush is on a boat in Hawaii and, in a rather odd accent, promises revenge on Doink at Wrestlemania. Then he dives into the water and gets some octopuses.

The Steiners are ready to beat up the Headshrinkers.

Beverly Brothers/Little Louie vs. Bushwhackers/Tiger Jackson

Jackson would go on to become Dink The Clown. After some stalling, Beau punches Luke down to start as Heenan wants to say something important. Vince asks for a drum roll before Heenan insists he will NOT be wearing a toga. Heenan: “Imagine Gorilla Monsoon in a toga. It’ll look like an unmade bed.” We get a four person bite chain until Luke threatens to beat up Louie. Instead Jackson dances and hits Louie with a dropkick.

A splash gets two, with Louie’s kickout sending Jackson into the referee’s arm. Said referee throws Jackson back onto Louie for two before they do the sequence all over again. Louie gets in a shot of his own and Butch comes in to yell at Blake but not actually hit him. Blake gets in a cheap shot and hammers away as we get a rare BUTCH chant. Butch works on the arm and we get a chase from Louie and Jackson.

Beau comes in off the top with an ax handle to take over on Luke and we get some assisted choking on the ropes. Another top rope ax handle connects and Louie gets in a slap from the apron. Luke gets over and brings in Butch to clean house, which isn’t exactly hard on the Beverly Brothers. Everything breaks down and Jackson hits a high crossbody for the pin on Louie at 9:57. Heenan: “I didn’t understand anything I just saw.”

Rating: D. What in the world was the point of that? None of these people are on Wrestlemania and they get almost ten minutes, or longer than any other match on the show. That’s such a weird way to go and it was nothing that you wouldn’t see on a house show. It felt like they had nothing else to use on the show and picked a random comedy match.

We look at Giant Gonzalez debuting and taking out the Undertaker.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Undertaker

Paul Bearer is here of course. Bigelow slugs away to start but Undertaker drop toeholds him down. The chase is on with Bigelow getting in a shot, only to get caught with a running DDT. Old School connects but Bigelow knocks him down again as we take a break. Back with Bigelow hammering away on the floor, giving us Undertaker’s stagger sell. A hard whip sends Undertaker knees first into the steps but he gets up.

Back in and a slam has Undertaker sitting up again, with Heenan wanting Giant Gonzalez to come out here and take care of Undertaker. Some elbows make Undertaker sit up again and Bigelow misses the top rope headbutt. The comeback is on with a chokeslam sending Bigelow outside and he walks out for the countout at 7:40.

Rating: C+. This could have been a lot worse as they had a story here with Bigelow’s big man offense not being able to keep him down. It gave you just enough drama about whether or not Bigelow could stop him before walking out. Not a great match, but it made me want to see them doing something else.

Post match Giant Gonzalez comes out for the staredown, with Undertaker slowly going towards him. Referees break it up.

Vince and Bobby (who insists he does NOT have a tail) give us a quick final Wrestlemania preview to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. There’s a reason Wrestlemania IX is so poorly remembered and a two hour preview for the show isn’t the best thing to see. This was a way to get people hyped up for the show, but then you realize just what you’re getting into. Throw in the completely out there mixed tag and the all time weird Mega Maniacs promo and this didn’t work. The decent wrestling you get is nothing worth seeing and the whole thing is kind of a mess as a result.

 

 

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Smack Em Whack Em
Date: 1993
Host: Lord Alfred Hayes, Bushwhackers
Commentators: Lord Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon

Ah here we go, as the WWE Vault continues to upload Coliseum Videos, though in this case we have one of the best ever released. There are some classic matches here with a major focus on Bret Hart, who was becoming the new star of the company now that the Hulk Hogan Era was mostly over. This should be a lot of fun so let’s get to it.

Lord Alfred Hayes welcomes us to a house that is needing to be renovated. The people fixing things up: the Bushwhackers, who wack in from off camera, naturally with their music playing. They have been hired to turn this place into the Bushwhackers’ Wrecking Room. The first thing we have to worry about is safety, so they give Hayes some safety glasses and a helmet. And a tool belt. And gloves. And now we’re off to the first match.

From Erie, Pennsylvania, November 23, 1992.

Crush vs. Berzerker

Crush starts fast by ducking a clothesline and hitting a belly to belly suplex. Berzerker is sent outside, followed by a flying shoulder to send him out there again. Back in and Berzerker hammers away, setting up a big boot to put Crush down for a change. This time it’s Crush getting knocked out to the floor, setting up a piledriver for two back inside. Crush’s arms get tied in the ropes so Berzerker kicks away, which wakes Crush up for some reason. A backbreaker and legdrop give Crush two and the head vice finishes Berzerker at 6:17.

Rating: C. They kept this short but it was a way to push Crush forward a bit more as his near mega push was on. You could see what the company saw in him as he had the look and style that had worked for them over the years. That being said, I’m not sure I could have seen him going all the way to the top. Beating monsters like Berzerker is a good way to go, but going beyond that might have been too far.

Back at the house and the Bushwhackers try to install a window but their measurements don’t quite work. Butch’s sledgehammer shots are a few feet low, but they think it’s fine because the dog can use the window.

From Dayton, Ohio, November 24, 1992.

Earthquake vs. Repo Man

Repo moves around to start but for some reason tries a waistlock. An elbow to the face knocks that away and Earthquake runs him over as commentary talks about owing debts on various things. The splash in the corner connects but Repo is back with some right hands and a middle rope clothesline actually puts Earthquake down. The neck crank doesn’t last long on Earthquake, who fights up but misses an elbow. Repo takes too long going up though and gets powerslammed, setting up the Earthquake for the pin at 4:24.

Rating: C-. Pretty much a nothing match here, as Repo was a weird choice to face a monster like Earthquake. At the same time, it’s a strange time for Earthquake, as the Natural Disasters were something of a lifeline to him. With Yokozuna coming in though, there wasn’t much of a place for Earthquake and that was becoming fairly obvious with something like this.

The Bushwhackers use a saw on the wood but say that their mother would be proud of them. Then they accidentally cut an electrical wire, but insist on safety first. Hayes is promptly electrocuted, and perhaps killed.

And now, eating for the single man with Yokozuna. He eats a lot and Gene Okerlund is impressed. This goes on for over ten minutes and it’s just him eating. They keep presenting more food to him and he eats it, with Gene trying some. I have no idea what the point of this is, but man he sure does eat a lot.

Now we get to something a lot more fun: a profile on new WWF Champion, Bret Hart. Gorilla Monsoon talks to Bret about some of the matches we’ll be seeing, including some newfangled thing called a ladder match. Bret even thinks that Shawn Michaels might have had secret ladder match experience.

From Portland, Maine, July 21, 1992.

Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn, with Sister Sherri, is challenging in the first ever (in the WWF at least) ladder match. After the belt is hung, Shawn starts hammering away but gets dropped with a quick clothesline. Bret comes back with some right hands and the always good looking headbutt but Shawn punches him down for a change. As Monsoon LOSES IT over Sherri having a tattoo on her chest, Shawn gets in a knee to the ribs for another knockdown.

That’s enough for the first ladder to be brought in but Bret cuts him off (starting a bit of a weird tradition in ladder matches of NO, I’M BRINGING THE LADDER IN FIRST) and hammers away on the floor. That means it’s time for Sherri to offer a distraction, allowing Shawn to set the ladder up inside. Bret cuts it off again but Shawn cuts him off just as quickly, with the ladder falling down.

Shawn rams the ladder into the ribs but eventually hits the post, forcing him to leave the ladder in the corner. Another knockdown lets Shawn go up and he touches the belt, only to be knocked back down with the ladder falling on him for a nasty crash. This time it’s Shawn knocking Bret off the ladder as the crashes continue to mount up. Bret knocks him off the ladder for no crash, but the ladder being put into the corner can’t go well. The middle rope clothesline puts Shawn down before slingshotting him into the ladder.

It’s too early to get the title though and Bret comes down, possibly twisting his knee in the process. A double down gives them a breather and Sherri is absolutely losing her mind. They both go up and then come crashing down so Sherri grabs Bret’s foot. That lets Shawn hit the superkick and the teardrop suplex before doing the really slow climb. Bret dropkicks the ladder over, sending Shawn crashing hard out to the floor. That’s finally enough for Bret to retain the title at 13:46.

Rating: B. The thing to remember here is that this was the first ladder match in WWF history. No it doesn’t have a bunch of huge spots or really anything else, but it’s not that kind of a match. Instead, this was a match which happened to have a ladder involved rather than a match focusing on a ladder. It helps that Bret and Shawn have great chemistry, which was on display here as they worked the ladder in very well. Good match and it’s a shame that it is so forgotten.

Gorilla talks about Bret defending the title so frequently. This includes a title defense against Kamala, when he was still all evil. Bret knew he had to be a fighting champion and that’s what he was going to do.

From Louisville, Kentucky, October 28, 1992.

WWF Title: Bret Hart vs. Kamala

Kamala, with Kim Chee and Harvey Wippleman, is challenging. Bret gives his glasses away as usual before ducking a lockup attempt as we’re over a minute in already. A waistlock doesn’t go so well for Bret as he gets taken into the corner, only to avoid a splash. Another missed charge lets Bret start in on the arm but he has to avoid some falling chops. Kamala has to go to the ropes (with his managers telling him to do it, then telling him he needs to let it go) before offering a test of strength.

Bret (eventually) tries it for some reason but catches the cheap shot, steps on the bare foot, and goes back to the arm. Kamala chops him down though and we hit the bearhug. For some reason that’s dropped in a hurry so Kamala can grab the pectoral claw. That’s broken up and Kamala actually leapfrogs him (COMPLETELY no sold by commentary) but Bret is back with a Russian legsweep. The middle rope clothesline into the middle rope elbow but the managers break up the Sharpshooter attempt. Instead Bret just rolls him up to retain at 8:50.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches that shouldn’t have been very good but Bret did what he could to make it work. There was only so much that could be done with someone like Kamala, who was only going to do much. Nice stuff here, with Bret getting a defense against a rather scary looking monster, which often works.

Post match Kamala and the managers go after Bret again but he pulls Wippleman in the way of the splash and clears the ring.

Gorilla and Bret preview the title match against Ric Flair, with Bret saying this was his one chance to get the title and he was winning no matter what. He even sprains his ankle and dislocates a finger early on but kept going anyway. It’s rare to see them giving away the result early but it’s kind of a huge deal.

From Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, October 12, 1992.

WWF Title: Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair

Flair, with Mr. Perfect, is defending. Commentary makes a big deal about this being the hometown of Bret’s father Stu, just in case this wasn’t a big enough moment. Flair backs him into the corner to start and we get a clean break, plus a WOO for good measure. A headlock to the mat has Bret down but he reverses into a hammerlock, which gets a nice reaction.

Back up and Flair backs him into the corner for a chop as commentary talks about how good a match between Bret and Mr. Perfect would be. You know, like when Bret beat him for the Intercontinental Title and it was great? The threat of a Sharpshooter sends Flair outside and it’s a headlock to slow him down back inside. Bret wins the fight over a top wristlock as they’re firmly in first gear. A wristlock into a hammerlock keeps Flair down but he’s able to punch his way out of a sunset flip attempt.

Bret’s second sunset flip attempt results in Flair’s trunks coming down (of course) so Flair goes to the eyes to calm things down. Bret gets in a shot of his own but it’s way too early to get a Figure Four on Flair. Instead Bret drops some elbows on the leg (Flair: “OH GOD! NO!”) and now the Figure Four can work. After some quick two counts, Flair makes it over to the ropes for the break.

Bret gets two off a backslide before grabbing a sleeper. That’s countered with a belly to back though and they’re both down again. Flair goes after the leg as well and we’re quickly into the Figure Four, which lasts for a good while. Bret finally turns it over so Flair chops away in the corner and kicks away at the leg even more.

Another Figure Four attempt is countered into a small package for two but he charges into a boot in the corner. As usual, Flair goes up and gets slammed back down, allowing Bret to grab the Russian legsweep for two. The middle rope elbow and a suplex get two each, followed by a superplex. Bret grabs the Sharpshooter, keeps it on as Perfect gets on the apron, and makes Flair give up for the title at 26:28.

Rating: A-. This was as big of a shocker as you could get as Bret was a strong star but the idea of him winning the title was out of nowhere. It was great to see and came at the end of a very good match, which saw the crowd hanging in there for every second. Bret survived everything that Flair threw at him and then beat him clean with his finisher, which is (albeit about twenty minutes longer) about the same thing that Hulk Hogan did to the Iron Sheik. Heck of a moment here, and it more than holds up. Flair was finishing up and had an ear issue as well, so everything kind of came together and it went about as well as possible.

Gorilla praises Bret, who is ready to be a fighting champion.

We go back to the house (oh yeah that’s a thing), where it’s time to work on the plumbing. Naturally it’s safety first, but then it’ll be time to build a Bushwhackers bathroom. Luke uses a wrench on a pipe and Hayes is quickly soaked. We’ll get away from this too.

From Beaumont, Texas, January 4, 1993.

Undertaker vs. Razor Ramon

Ramon isn’t sure what to do with Undertaker to start so he slugs away, which goes about as well as you would expect. Undertaker comes back but misses the elbow, allowing Ramon to clothesline him to the floor. That earns Ramon a necksnap across the top rope but he’s fine enough to hit a middle rope bulldog to really stagger Undertaker for a change.

A chair to the back and a whip into the steps have Undertaker in more trouble and they head back inside. Ramon drops about ten straight elbows, which have Paul Bearer trying to get in for the save. Ramon takes the Urn and clocks Undertaker, who pops up at two and hits a chokeslam. That’s enough for Ramon to run off for the countout at 7:30.

Rating: D+. I didn’t like it when they did almost the exact same match (with an identical finishing sequence, even down to the elbows) on Invasion Of The Bodyslammers so this wasn’t much to see. It’s a weird way to go as a final match on the tape after all of the Hart stuff, but this was just disappointing, to the point where I was checking the other tape to make sure it just wasn’t the same match with new commentary. It really shouldn’t be that hard.

Back at the house, the Bushwhackers have a chair set up for Hayes so he can watch his favorite Coliseum Videos at the end of a hard day. This oddly works and Hayes wraps it up. Then the lights go out and the Bushwhackers say OH NO to end the tape.

Overall Rating: B. Why yes, a match with a big focus on Bret Hart as he’s becoming the top hero in the company is worth a look, as the two good matches are REALLY good, with the title change being great. That being said, there isn’t much else to see here, with the main event being flat out lame given that they did pretty much the same match just a few months earlier on another tape. Throw in the Bushwhackers stuff just not being funny and the whole thing was up and down, but dang those ups are worth your time.

 

 

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Saturday Night’s Main Event #28
Date: October 13, 1990
Location: Toledo Sports Arena, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper

It’s time for Oktoberfest because…well you don’t need an excuse for Oktoberfest. That makes it a theme show and therefore we could be in for some rather terrible jokes. Those will be on top of what could be some less than great action, as this isn’t the most thrilling time in the company’s history. Let’s get to it.

We open at Oktoberfest with wrestlers running around and thankfully we have all kinds of lederhosen.

Vince and Piper welcome us tot he show in front of some green screen and run down the card.

Opening sequence and dang that song still rocks.

Demolition is ready to demolish the Ultimate Warrior and the Legion of Doom. The team just did not feel special with Crush involved, even if he was kind of perfect for the spot.

The Legion Of Doom is ready to party at Oktoberfest and ask what Demolition is going to do about losing the Tag Team Titles. Cry in their beer? Sob in their schnitzel? The Ultimate Warrior comes in to shout about blitzkrieg. I would have put him as more of a Konnan guy.

Ultimate Warrior/Legion Of Doom vs. Demolition

The good guys clear the ring in a hurry but we settle down to Crush clotheslining Animal. A powerslam plants Smash for two and it’s off to Warrior to run Ax over. The Warrior Splash misses though and Crush gets in some cheap shots on the floor to really take over. The beating is on but Hawk breaks up the Demolition Decapitator. Hawk comes in for the top rope clotheslines as everything breaks down. It’s back to Warrior for the running clotheslines and the splash to finish Smash at 5:37.

Rating: C. As tends to be the case with Saturday Night’s Main Event, this was more of a “send the fans home happy in a hurry” match, with the good guys getting in some trouble before coming back for the win. Warrior was clearly floundering as champion as the best they had for him was just a six man tag here. He has nothing to do and that played a big role in why his reign as champion went so poorly. At the same time, it’s still a shame that we never got a big LOD vs. Demolition match, as this would have been the perfect place.

We go to Oktoberfest and where Gene Okerlund introduces us to some of the wrestlers, all of whom are in some rather amazing costumes. Alfred Hayes is drinking and complaining about the beer not being as good as the English version.

Randy Savage vs. Dusty Rhodes

Savage has Queen Sherri with him so Piper compares him to over kings, including his dog. Dusty is fresh off losing Sapphire to Ted DiBiase but he does have his son Dustin in the front row. Savage gets distracted by an Ultimate Warrior poster and gets whipped hard into the corner. A slow motion backslide gives Dusty two so Sherri offers a distraction, allowing Savage to hit a knee to the back. The chinlock goes on so Sherri slaps the mat, which feels a bit backwards.

Cue Ted DiBiase and Virgil to buy the front row seats so they can sit there alone. Only Dustin won’t take the money so DiBiase and Virgil sit next to him, making quite the visual. Dusty fights up but DiBiase pulls Dustin back down, which has Dusty going outside after him. We take a break and come back with Savage choking away before getting two off a cheap shot. The over the top rope neck snap lets Savage go up for the ax handle to the head and another near fall.

Dusty fights up and sends him into the buckle before knocking Savage off the top. A headbutt of all things puts Savage down as DiBiase talks trash to Dustin. The villains finally beat Dustin up on the floor, which is basically assaulting a fan but security is nowhere to be seen. Savage is tied in the ropes and Dusty finally sees what is going on, only for Savage to ax handle Dusty into the barricade for the countout at 8:18.

Rating: C-. There was only so much that Savage could do here and that was part of the problem with Dusty’s time in the company. He could do the talking and the segments, but at some point you can only get so far with what he can do in the ring. Then DiBiase and Savage kept beating him so there was only so much of a chance anyway.

Post match Dusty tries to cover Dustin from the beating so DiBiase and Virgil beat on Dusty instead.

Hulk Hogan and Tugboat are ready to make Rhythm and Blues play the flugelhorn and the glockenspiel in an Oompah band (1990 was WEIRD) so they can get to Earthquake and Dino Bravo. Somehow this turns into a D Day story with Hogan promising to give Rhythm and Blues a “Barbarian Creaming”. For some reason Hogan and Tugboat talked way more about Earthquake and Bravo than the team they’re facing tonight. This was strange even by Hogan standards.

The Bushwhackers practice cutting cheese. This is a Vince McMahon segment if I have ever seen one.

Alfred Hayes is starting to like the British beer and tells stories about being on the Danube.

Hulk Hogan/Tugboat vs. Rhythm and Blues

Hogan wastes no time in cleaning house and drops some elbows. Honky Tonk Man is sent into Tugboat’s boot in the corner before Tugboat comes in to crank on Valentine’s arm. Hogan goes aerial for a middle rope ax handle to Valentine’s arm but an elbow to the head staggers Tugboat. The bearhug slows Honky Tonk Man down but Valentine makes the save so the villains can take over.

Valentine’s elbow to the head gets two and Honky Tonk Man adds some weak knees to the back. Tugboat shrugs off the lame offense and brings in Hogan to clean house. A clothesline and right hands have Valentine in more trouble and the big boot sets up…nothing as Earthquake and Dino Bravo come out for a distraction. We take a break and come back with Tugboat coming in for a headbutt. Jimmy Hart offers a distraction though and Honky Tonk Man hits Tugboat in the back with the guitar for the DQ at 7:23.

Rating: D+. Oh come on. Honky Tonk Man or Greg Valentine can’t lay down for the legdrop? I get not wanting to lose to Tugboat but give me a break. This was a perfect choice for a match where Hogan can get a win but instead it’s this lame DQ, which does nothing but feel like a waste of time

Post match the villains beat Hogan down and Earthquake hits an assisted splash. Earthquake loads up the Earthquake but Tugboat makes the save with the guitar. Vince: “What would they have done to Hulk Hogan?” What the heck do you think they were going to do?

Back to the festival for the sausage stuffing contest (oh dear) with Honorary Sausage Stuffer Hall Of Fame inductee, the Genius. It’s Jim Duggan/the Hart Foundation vs. Mr. Fuji/the Orient Express. Fuji is accused of cheating (with a pre-made sausage) so we go to Alfred Hayes for a ruling but he’s drunk and telling stories. Again, this was a Vince McMahon segment if there has ever been one.

Intercontinental Title: Haku vs. Texas Tornado

The Tornado is defending, having beaten Mr. Perfect at Summerslam, leaving Haku to try to bring the title back to the Heenan Family. An early attempt at the Claw sends Haku bailing to the floor for some advice from Heenan. Back in and Haku grabs a chinlock to slow things down but Tornado slugs away. Haku knocks him into the corner and hits a headbutt but the Claw goes on to cut things off. The Tornado Punch retains the title at 3:10.

Rating: C. It’s easy to see why Tornado got chance after chance as he looked great and the fans were into him but the backstage issues were just too much to overcome. There was only so much that can be done when he has that many problems and they caught up to him in a hurry. This was the quick title defense for Tornado and that’s why you bring in Haku.

Hulk Hogan and Tugboat use a bunch of sailing terms as I try to figure out what in the world the appeal of Tugboat was really supposed to be. I remember liking him as a kid, but egads he does not hold up whatsoever.

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Koko B. Ware

Slaughter has General Adnan and is ready to start the biggest push of his career. They start slowly until Ware snaps off some armdrags and dances, which is just not going to work for an American hero. Ware misses a charge into the corner though and the pace slows way down. An elbow drop gives Slaughter two but he misses a shot, allowing Ware to hammer away. That’s broken up and the Atomic Noogie (thankfully not officially called that) finishes Ware at 5:09.

Rating: C. They were late in the show at this point and there was no reason to think that this would be anything more than Slaughter slaughtering Ware. Slaughter was going to be the big heel and while that isn’t exactly the best fit, there wasn’t anyone else to get the spot. He’s fine, but tying into a real world story is quite the questionable move.

Post match the Iraqi flag is waved but Nikolai Volkoff pops up to wave the American flag.

Back to the festival for a dance off between Jim Neidhart and Slick (who is far better). Then a food fight breaks out. Didn’t we all know that was coming?

Ultimate Warrior says Queen Sherri is no challenge and she has only enraged the legion of warriors. He accepts the challenge from Randy Savage and the title match is on.

Sherri and Savage promise to win “that belt”.

Vince and Piper wrap it up.

We go back to the festival where Alfred Hayes yells at Gene for not calling him, as his earpiece was taken out while he was drinking. Hayes berates him so Gene hits him with a cake.

Piper wants to go to the food fight, which is still ongoing.

Overall Rating: C-. This one is going to depend on your nostalgia taste, as the wrestling is pretty terrible, but the Oktoberfest stuff is so goofy that it’s hard to not at least chuckle. Yes some of the jokes are horrible, but that’s kind of the point of the whole thing. The company was in a bad place at this point and it’s not a good show, though it was fun in a very (very) goofy kind of way.

 

 

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Supertape
Host: Sean Mooney
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Lord Alfred Hayes, Ron Trongard, Hillbilly Jim, Gorilla Monsoon, Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura

So this something else that was added to the WWE Vault channel and as it was a tape I had when I was a kid and watched more times than I can count, I can always go for another watch. It’s a Coliseum Video compilation tape and the first in a series, with the main feature being the No Holds Barred cage match. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence, featuring some big names on the show.

Mooney runs down what we’ll be seeing on the tape.

A fan has requested to see Ronnie Garvin vs. Mr. Perfect. I would hope that his name is officially on a list somewhere.

Garvin says a lot of things seem perfect until something breaks them down. He’s the man to break Mr. Perfect down.

Perfect says he’ll win.

From December 12, 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ronnie Garvin vs. Mr. Perfect

The Genius is here with Perfect. They circle each other a bit to start before taking turns with some basic knockdowns. Garvin grabs a hiptoss and slam into a big right hand, with Perfect bailing out to the floor. Back in and Garvin hammers away in the corner, sending Perfect bailing back out to the floor. Perfect gets back in and wins a top wristlock before grabbing a headlock.

Garvin punches him back without much trouble and the Garvin Stomp sets up a failed Sharpshooter attempt. The Hennig necksnap has Garvin in more trouble but he’s back up to win a slugout. The sleeper goes on but Perfect gets his foot on the ropes to break up the cover. Garvin sends him into the buckles nine times in a row, followed by a face first ram into the mat for a bonus. A small package has Perfect down but he reverses into one of his own and grabs the trunks for the pin at 10:46.

Rating: C+. This was a good example of a perfectly watchable match which didn’t really do anything spectacular while still being completely fine. Both of them are talented stars and capable having a nice match with almost anyone, with Perfect cheating as he should. I’m not sure why a fan would have wanted to see this, but it was a decent choice.

We get a Manager Profile on Bobby Heenan, featuring Heenan giving some one liners about various wrestlers. The Heenan Family is doing rather well and the Colossal Connection will be Tag Team Champions for as long as they want to be. What else is on his mind? None of your business. This was really quick and not so much of a profile as much as it was “Heenan talks for about 90 seconds”.

It’s time for a tag team profile on the Bushwhackers, with Gene Okerlund driving to a shack in the middle of nowhere where the team is waiting on him. It’s apparently lunch time with Bushwhacker Buzzard on the menu, but we’ll throw it to the first match instead.

From December 30, 1988 in New York City, New York.

Bushwhackers vs. Bolsheviks

This is the Bushwhackers’ MSG debut and it’s a brawl to start, with the Russians being sent into each other for a crash out to the floor. We settle own to Butch (commentary gets them backwards) hammering on Zhukov in the corner and chasing the Russians outside again. Volkoff comes in and grabs a bearhug, which is broken up with a bite to the face. The bearhug goes on again so it’s another bite for another escape.

More biting earns Luke a hard whip into the corner and Zhukov gets to choke on the ropes for a bit. Volkoff adds some hammering forearms and Luke gets caught in the wrong corner. That’s enough to bring in Butch to beat on both Russians…and Luke. With Butch back out, Luke grabs Zhukov’s beard to block a sunset flip and it’s back to Butch. Everything breaks down and Zhukov clotheslines Volkoff to the floor, setting up the Battering Ram. The double gutbuster finishes Zhukov at 9:24. Ignore Trongard calling the Bolsheviks former Tag Team Champions.

Rating: C. The match itself was nothing of course, but this was more about getting the Bushwhackers their first win in an important arena. They were kind of a weird act in that they were more about being quite the odd pairing, but the fans seemed somewhat into them. It helps having the Bolsheviks as an easy target and the match, while fairly boring, was a good way to give the fans a fun time.

The Bushwhackers and Gene have some lunch and go on to a match where Butch says Luke tasted delicious.

From May 17, 1989 in Duluth, Minnesota.

Bushwhackers vs. Brooklyn Brawler/Bad News Brown

Butch and the Brawler start things off with the Brawler going after the eyes. Luke comes in for a bit to Brawler’s jeans so it’s off to Brawler to easily take Luke down. It’s back to Butch for a jawbreaker and Butch gets to hammer away on the Brawler. Again Brown takes over without much trouble and chokes on the ropes. Brawler comes back in but gets dropped by Butch. With Brown arguing with some fans, the Battering Ram and double gutbuster drop Brawler for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t quite the showcase for the Bushwhackers as they couldn’t beat Brown whatsoever and needed a fairly weak finish to take out Brawler. I’m not sure why this would be included over say a squash match as it was beating a makeshift team and not exactly a good one. Not much to this one and not in the best way.

Gene likes the food….but he’s starting to twitch.

From October 8, 1989 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Bushwhackers vs. Power Of Pain

Mr. Fuji is with…well I think you can figure out who he’s with here. Barbarian jumps Butch before the music stops playing but Butch fights out with a headlock. A shoulder exchange goes to Barbarian but Luke comes in to help clear the ring without much effort. Back in and Warlord grabs a bearhug, which is broken up with a bite to the face. The bearhug goes on again but this time Butch makes the save, only for Warlord to knock him outside.

That means a posting keeps Butch in trouble and a big boot knocks Luke off the apron back inside. A running headbutt to the back drops Butch again but a middle rope elbow misses. That’s enough for the tag off to Luke, with back to back Battering Rams taking out the Powers. Fuji comes in with the cane and that’s the DQ at…we’ll say 9:15 as the bell doesn’t actually ring.

Rating: C. They were in a weird place with three straight Bushwhackers matches and this didn’t exactly make them look great. The Powers beat them down for most of the match and then the manager’s interference was needed to give them the win. There is only so much that can be done with a less than serious team like the Bushwhackers, and those limits were on display again here.

Gene has gone full Bushwhacker. More meat is consumed.

Lord Alfred Hayes joins us for The Call Of The Action, which is Hayes watching clips from the Rockers and Jimmy Snuka and naming the moves. It’s nothing great or innovative, but I do like mixing things up a bit, just for the sake of some flavor.

From February 11, 1989 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Rick Rude vs. Tito Santana

This should be good. They pose at each other to start before going to the test of strength. Santana has to power up and knocks Rude into the corner for an early breather. That lets Santana pose and now he wants a test of strength of his own. Instead Rude kicks him in the ribs and grabs a headlock before telling the fans to shut up (with a swear included). Santana fires off some forearms to the ribs and sends him into the corner to stay on them.

The reverse chinlock makes the ribs even worse and Santana drops down onto his back, only to turn into Arn Anderson of all things as Rude crotches him to escape. An atomic drop makes it even worse for Santana as thing slow down a lot. Rude busts out the hip swivel but his ribs give out so we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up rather quickly so Rude goes up top and hits a forearm to the head.

Santana comes back with a faceplant though and the fans are rather pleased in a hurry. Rude cuts him right back down but the ribs are banged up again, allowing Santana to get in an atomic drop (I could watch Rude sell those forever.). Santana pulls Rude’s tights down and hammers away before starting in on the leg. The Figure Four goes on but Rude is right there at the rope for the break. Back up and Santana tries a sunset flip but Rude sits down on him and grabs the rope for the win at 16:44.

Rating: B-. This was starting to get going but the match didn’t really kick it up to the level I was hoping to see. These two would seem like they could have had a heck of a match but it was only pretty good. Santana was little more than a jobber to the stars (albeit a very good one) while Rude was on the way up so the result, even with the cheating, was never really in doubt.

From April 24, 1989 in New York City, New York.

Jake Roberts vs. Ted DiBiase

They fight over a lockup to start and naturally DiBiase bails into the ropes. It works so well that DiBiase does it again…and a third time as well. With DiBiase finally ready to fight, Roberts knocks him into the corner with the bag, freaking DiBiase out to the floor. Back in and we hit the test of strength, with DiBiase oddly getting the better of things. That’s reversed into an armbar, only for DiBiase to go to the hair.

Roberts does it as well and this time the referee catches him, which doesn’t go well. The running knee lift drops DiBiase but the threat of the DDT sends DiBiase outside again. Back in an a quick Virgil distraction (ah that’s why he’s there) lets DiBiase get in a cheap shot to take over. A clothesline and knee drop give DiBiase two and we hit the chinlock.

With that broken up, the fist drop gives DiBiase two more and the chinlock goes on again. We’ll mix that up a bit with the Million Dollar Dream going on instead, with Roberts having to get a foot on the rope. DiBiase tries another chinlock but even Roberts is bored of that same thing and hits a jawbreaker for the fast escape. The short arm clothesline looks to set up the DDT but Virgil grabs the leg. Yelling ensues so Roberts grabs a rollup for the pin at 16:17.

Rating: C. There are certain pairings who you would think would be a good fit together and that was the case with these two. They just did not mesh together and despite being as 1989 of a midcard match as you could get in the WWF, the matches weren’t particularly good. Just a lot of sitting around and killing time, which gets old after a match this long.

Post match Roberts loads up the snake but DiBiase gets Virgil out of the way in time.

Tony Schiavone talks to some fans, who are having fun, hit some catchphrases, and talk about their favorites. Eh they’re not performers so they shouldn’t be good at talking. We do get a question about who would win if Hulk Hogan would face the Ultimate Warrior. As you might expect, the fans are split, which was the whole point of Wrestlemania VI.

From January 2, 1990 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Tugboat Thomas vs. Iron Mike Sharpe

This is Tugboat’s TV debut from Superstars because we were just waiting for the Sailing Superstar. Sharpe bounces off of him to start and can’t get a slam so Tugboat cranks on the arm. A big boot sets up a dropkick (not bad) and the big splash finishes Sharpe at 2:26. He was a star when I was first getting into wrestling, but Tugboat just did not have much outside of “I’m really big”.

From December 12, 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Hulk Hogan/Brutus Beefcake vs. Zeus/Randy Savage

In a cage, Queen Sherri is here with the villains, and this was the match from the No Holds Barred: The Movie/The Match pay per view as WWF tried to get everything they could out of No Holds Barred, which didn’t go well. Beefcake gets in but Sherri slams the door on Hogan before he can get in too, meaning it’s a double teaming to start.

Hogan punches Savage through the cage though and climbs in less than a minute later, making that quite the waste of time. The villains are punched and sent into Hogan’s raised boot in the corner, only for Zeus to send Hogan and Beefcake into the cage. Savage tries to go out but Beefcake catches him, only to have to deal with an invading Sherri. Zeus and Savage start alternating with rams into the cage before going up, which is cut off almost immediately.

They all go into the cage at the same time and everyone is down for a breather. For some reason the referee opens the door, with Sherri slamming said door onto his head. Savage gets the chain that was locking the door and goes all the way to the top of the cage, only to get punched out of the air as Beefcake avoids a bad case of death. Beefcake knocks Savage off the cage and goes out, where he pulls Savage outside too. Hogan Hulks Up, slams Zeus, cuts off Beefcake from offering an assist, sends Zeus into the cage over and over, and drops THREE LEGS for the pin at 9:27 (Jesse: “I don’t believe it, he did it again.”).

Rating: C. It’s not a great or even a very good match, but this was about giving the fans something fun at the end of a taping. That’s something that will always work and Hogan getting to slay Zeus for good and move on was the right thing. Thankfully Savage was in there too, as Zeus on his own would have been a total disaster. As it was, it was little more than a house show main event or something similar, which is ok enough to wrap up the tape.

Mooney wraps it up.

Overall Rating: C. A lot of this is nostalgia, but there really isn’t anything on here worth going out of your way to see. The company was in something of a transitional period here and while it still has some star power, it’s only so good. The two long featured matches are just ok and focusing on the Bushwhackers is only going to get you so far. I’ve seen this tape more times than I can count and while it’s not the worst, it’s really not anything worth your time.

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: August 9, 1993
Location: Castle Recreation Center, Alexandria Bay, New York
Attendance: 1,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, Randy Savage

We are three weeks away from Summerslam and unfortunately that means we have to deal with more of Lex Luger Is Awesome Despite Not Wrestling. This week it’s the contract signing between Luger and Yokozuna, because that’s a step up in interest. Other than that, it’s the in-ring debuts of the Heavenly Bodies and….the Macho Midget. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the card.

Tatanka vs. Mr. Hughes

Hughes, with Harvey Wippleman, jumps him from behind as we hear about Undertaker wanting to get his hand son Hughes to continue their rather forgettable feud. The slow beating continues but Tatanka comes back with a running crossbody for two. Back up and Hughes pulls him down by the hair and adds an ax handle to the back to take over. We take a break and come back with Hughes cranking on the neck. Tatanka fights up and starts firing off the chops, only to be sent over the top. Hughes goes out to get him….but takes too long and only Tatanka beats the count.

Rating: C. Yeah this wasn’t exactly great stuff and there was only so much to be expected. Hughes was pretty much exactly what he was for years. Tatanka had to steal a win rather than get something definitive. In theory that is so Undertaker can get the big win over Hughes, but it makes me wonder why this match was set up in the first place.

Post match Tatanka goes after Wippleman but Hughes decks him with Undertaker’s urn. He even leaves a black wreath as a present.

We get part two of the Who Is Lex Luger series. This time he talks about being a football star but getting thrown out of college due to disciplinary problems. Then he became a pro despite being told not to and wound up winning the Grey Cup in Canada. After playing in the NFL and the USFL, he did finish school. He was thinking about law school but then went into wrestling instead. It is indeed more interesting to hear him talking about wrestling instead of watching him wrestle.

Bushwhackers/Macho Midget vs. Brooklyn Brawler/Blake Beverly/Little Louie

Please, let it be sho….never mind. Macho dances to start and the villains just kind of blankly stare. Blake drives Luke into the corner to start but everything breaks down and we get a big circle bite. Macho dropkicks Louie to the floor and the good guys get to march around the ring. We settle down to Louie shoving Macho down before we go to a criss cross.

As you might expect, Savage stops running and just watches as Louie wears down. Butch comes in for a double noggin knocker before it’s back to Macho vs. Louie. Macho fights off the mat and it’s time to dance. The not hot tag brings in Butch to clean house, with the Battering Ram hitting the Brawler. Instead Macho hits a top rope splash for the pin.

Rating: D. Oh just no. This was exactly what you would have expected and the best thing about it is that it wasn’t even seven minutes long. There is only so much that you can get out of this kind of, I beg your pardon, comedy, as it was the Bushwhackers (still around somehow) and a guy who had nothing to do with them vs. a mixture of villains. Pretty bad stuff here, but what else were you expecting?

And now, we get the contract signing between Lex Luger and Yokozuna, with quite the twist as Jim Cornette is revealed as Yokozuna’s manager. Er sorry, American spokesman. Cornette puts over the people of Japan and looks at the contract, as handed over by Jack Tunney. Luger comes to the ring in a suit, because if there’s one thing you don’t want to show off with Luger, it’s his physique.

They both sign rather quickly, with Cornette pointing out that it is Luger’s ONLY title shot. Luger says he only needs one shot and he’ll be on the Lex Express until he gets to Summerslam. With sweat FLOWING down his face, Luger promises to have all of the people in his corner in the name of the USA. Luger was not exactly feeling this fired up promo here and they didn’t even get in a fight. Just in case this feud could have gotten worse.

Razor Ramon vs. Dan Dubiel

Ramon takes him into the corner and then sends him flying right back out of it. The fall away slam lets Ramon stomp away and we hit the abdominal stretch. The belly to back superplex into the Razor’s Edge finishes fast.

It’s the Summerslam Report with Gene Okerlund just running down the card.

Heavenly Bodies vs. Bobby Who/Mike Bucci

Jim Cornette is here with the Bodies (Tom Prichard/Jimmy Del Ray). Prichard drives Who into the corner and then takes him down for a quick spank. Del Ray sneaks in from behind with a superkick to send Who into a DDT. Vince reads the description of the movie of the week as Del Ray blatantly calls a spot and then runs Bucci over. A double suplex sets up Del Ray’s moonsault press for the pin. Bucci would later be known as Nova/Simon Dean so he certainly had a career.

Post match Cornette calls out the Steiners, saying the Bodies want the Tag Team Titles.

The Summerslam Spectacular is coming in two weeks.

Overall Rating: D+. This was pretty terrible, with a boring contract signing, an unfunny comedy match and pretty much a grand total of nothing worth seeing throughout the show. Summerslam needs to get here already so we can move on to pretty much anything else. The Luger vs. Yokozuna feud is dying more and more every week and it can’t end soon enough. Pretty lame show here, and unfortunately it could just get worse.

 

 

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WrestleFest 1992
Hosts: Gene Okerlund, Bobby Heenan
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes

I’ve done most every other show in this series so we might as well do the last one. This is a Coliseum Video without much of a particular theme and that means we could be going in all kinds of directions. We’re a bit past my favorite time but odds are there is going to be some Bret Hart and/or Shawn Michaels goodness to carry it through. Let’s get to it.

Dig that old Coliseum Video intro. It’s not the 80s version but I can always go for this one too.

Gene Okerlund is on the tennis court and we have a theme for the tape. Now of course he’s going to need a partner, so here is Bobby Heenan, complete with a sweatband. Gene offers a lesson but Heenan has a table tennis paddle. Heenan: “You play with a Chinese guy and he brings you egg rolls. It’s a heck of a game.” Heenan, in a sweater, complains about the heat but let’s go to our first match.

From New York City, New York, March 23, 1992.

Shawn Michaels vs. Virgil

Sherri is here with Michaels and Mooney calls Virgil (still with his broken nose) “one of the most popular Superstars in the World Wrestling Federation”. Hayes calls him one of the most improved wrestlers of the 90s, which has me wanting these two checked into a sanitarium. Shawn and Sherri take their time getting rid of the gear and after a minute plus, we’re finally ready to go. Michaels takes him into the corner and punches the nose guard in a moment of general stupidity.

We now pause for Sherri to kiss Shawn’s hand before a slap to Virgil’s face has Shawn bailing to the floor. Virgil isn’t having that and throws Shawn back in as we see Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan at ringside for the original commentary. Shawn punches out of a headlock but gets pulled right back into another one to keep him in trouble. Back up and a clothesline puts Virgil on the floor and Shawn gets a rather needed breather.

With Virgil back in, Shawn gets evil by lifting the nose guard for a shot to the face. Stomping and facial ripping ensue as things slow down and we hit the chinlock. Virgil fights up and is quickly dropped with a right hand to the exposed nose. You can’t blame Shawn for going too complicated here and it’s going to get the fans to hate him even more. A clothesline cuts off the comeback attempt but Virgil manages a quick faceplant.

Now the comeback is on, with an atomic drop sending Shawn into the buckle. Virgil even takes off his own nose guard to hit a dropkick (I guess the guard was weighing him down?) for two. A knee misses in the corner though and Shawn hits the teardrop suplex for the pin at 12:13.

Rating: C. Completely fine match here but the biggest problem with Virgil is that he’s just…..there. Nothing about his work in the ring made him stand out whatsoever because he was just a guy in gear doing basic moves. That wasn’t going to last long and every day that he spent away from Ted DiBiase made him feel less important. Shawn was coming along as a heel, but he needs to heed Razor Ramon’s advice: just use the kick.

From Toledo, Ohio, April 7, 1992.

Tag Team Titles: Money Inc. vs. Bushwhackers

Money Inc., with Jimmy Hart, is defending shockingly enough. The champs jump them to start but a pair of Battering Rams break that up. Stereo biting of the pants/trunks have Money Inc. on the floor and we pause for a breather. We settle down to IRS taking over on Butch and sending him into the buckle.

A missed charge allows the tag off to Luke though and the champs are rammed into each other. Back to back Battering Rams send Money Inc. outside again and it’s time for some Hart advice. That actually seems to work for once as IRS takes over on Luke back inside, including an abdominal stretch.

We get the classic heel cheating behind the referee’s back, because that’s what good villains are supposed to do. IRS grabs the chinlock but Luke fights up and kicks DiBiase in the face. The hot tag brings in Butch to clean house as everything breaks down. Hart offers a distraction though and IRS gets in a knee to the back. An elbow drop of all things is enough to retain the titles at 8:31.

Rating: C. This felt entirely like a house show match and that’s more or less what it was, despite airing on Prime Time Wrestling. The fun team got in a few moments before the villains cheated to keep their titles. They didn’t bother doing anything overly complicated here and let their talent shine through, which is something that is going to work more often than not.

Back at the court, Gene tries to explain the idea of serving to Heenan, who is more interested in the Freebird Sisters. Gene’s serve is fine enough (though Heenan thinks he hit an old lady), but Heenan uses his racket to pick up some drinks. Gene thinks his has been spiked but Heenan reminds him that it’s free. Ok then.

From Biloxi, Mississippi, March 10, 1992.

British Bulldog vs. Rick Martel

Martel sends him into the corner to start and flips backwards because he likes to show off. Bulldog isn’t having that and grabs a headlock, which kills the crowd a good bit. An armbar doesn’t get much more of a reaction but an accidental referee distraction lets Martel send him outside.

Some shots to the back have Bulldog in trouble and Martel, like anyone paying attention, stomps away back inside. Bulldog fights up and starts a rather basic comeback, only to have Martel bail outside at the threat of a right hand (that’s the moneymaker you see). That doesn’t work for Bulldog, who throws him back inside for a sunset flip (including Martel grabbing the ropes and getting caught) and the pin at 5:21.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one as it was a quick match with neither getting to do very much. Bulldog didn’t even get to use the powerslam, which made it feel a little lame. At the same time, they weren’t given the chance to really do anything, which is a shame as the talent is there for a good match. Bad circumstances here and they led to a not so good match.

We get a special profile on Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart. This includes the last few minutes of his title win over Mr. Perfect at Summerslam 1991 (an absolute classic) and the last few minutes of his defense against Skinner at This Tuesday In Texas.

From Springfield, Massachusetts, November 12, 1991.

Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. Barbarian

Barbarian is challenging and tries to put the title around himself to start the match. We’re ready to go with Bret fighting out of a headlock but getting shouldered out to the floor in a big crash. Back in and another shoulder drops Bret again, but this time he manages to stay inside (baby steps).

A crossbody goes badly as well but Barbarian misses an elbow drop. An armbar slows Barbarian down a bit, at least until he comes back with a hot shot to drop Bret again. Some rams into the post keep Hart’s back in trouble and Barbarian slowly chops away back inside. There’s the required chest first buckle shot and Barbarian grabs the bearhug.

Bret manages to fight out pretty quickly and cuts off a corner charge with a raised boot. A clothesline into the backbreaker into the middle rope elbow gives Bret two but the kickout sends him outside (that’s rather strong). Barbarian grabs a suplex for two and tries another one, only to get small packaged for the retaining pin at 12:28.

Rating: C+. This was as 1992 Bret Hart of a match as you could get and that means it went pretty well. Bret could be put in there against anyone and do a nice job, with the Barbarian fitting the bill pretty easily. One of the big appeals for Bret is being able to wrestle a good match with any opponent and it was on full display here. Barbarian might not have been a major star, but he knew what he was and played it the right way for a very long time.

Heenan isn’t doing so well against a woman sitting in a chair hitting balls to him. He’s off to get a new racket and leaves us with this.

From Biloxi, Mississippi, March 10, 1992.

Natural Disasters vs. Nasty Boys

Jimmy Hart is here with the Nastys. We pause for the Nastys to argue with a kid in the front row until Sags slugs away at Typhoon. With that not working, it’s off to Knobbs vs. Earthquake, which isn’t as much of a disaster for the Disaster. Earthquake shoulders him down a few times but Sags gets in a cheap shot with the helmet (Hayes: “Now there’s a nice move.”) to put him down for a change.

As commentary debates how horrible the Nastys really are, Sags slowly hammers away in the corner. Earthquake shrugs off some running elbows so Knobbs comes in to cut off a tag attempt. The referee misses the tag to Typhoon, who comes in anyway as everything breaks down. Earthquake hits a quick elbow to finish Sags at 6:33 as Typhoon throws Hart at Knobbs.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match here between two teams you don’t see together very often. The Natural Disasters were a heck of a monster team for a little while, as the visual alone made them work. The Nastys were really starting to click around here too, and having the whole Jimmy Hart jumping around from team to team deal made it all the better. Not much of a match, but at least it didn’t last long.

From Kalamazoo, Michigan, April 8, 1992.

WWF Title: Randy Savage vs. IRS

IRS, with Jimmy Hart, is challenging three days after Savage won the title. They hit the stall button to start as IRS won’t let go of the briefcase. Back in and they finally lock up, with Savage grabbing a headlock. A Hart distraction lets IRS get to the floor as Sean warns Hayes to watch what he says because Savage is going to see this tape.

IRS gets back in and is quickly atomic dropped to the floor, where Savage can knock him into Hart. Back in and another Hart distraction lets IRS get in a knee to the back to finally take over. Savage is sent face first into the steps and Savage is in trouble. They get back inside and we hit the abdominal stretch, complete with a pull of the rope. The referee manages to catch him this time though and Savage gets in a few shots.

Another knee to the back drops the champ again though, as IRS continues his usual steady but not so interesting offense. The chinlock goes on, as do IRS’s feet on the ropes, but Savage fights up again. With nothing else working, Hart gets on the apron with the briefcase, only to have Savage ram IRS into it instead. Hart is knocked down and the top rope elbow retains the title at 11:17.

Rating: C. This was getting into the lamer version of Savage, as it was take a beating for a long time and then get in one shot, followed by the elbow for the pin. Savage still felt like a major star, but save for the Flair match, he wasn’t quite the same in the ring. If nothing else, I do like the idea of giving him a fairly easy title defense, especially as he had only won the title in the huge match a few days earlier.

And now, a special feature with Mr. Fuji and the Berzerker, showing us…..how to throw a party? First step: turn down the music so we can actually hear Fuji. First official step: getting the invitations right. Or in Berzerker’s case, find someone in the back and kidnap them. Then you need “lots of little gimmicks and stuff”, like streamers and balloons. You also need good food, like finger sandwiches, which means sticking your fingers in peanut butter and ribbing them on bread. That’s all you need to know! This wasn’t funny.

From Kalamazoo, Michigan, April 8, 1992.

Repo Man vs. El Matador

Feeling out process to start with Repo taking him into the corner and then working on an armbar. You don’t try to armbar Santana (commentary calls him that so I can too) as he reverses into one of his own before hammering away. A running crossbody gives Santana a quick two but Repo is back with his basic shots to the face. The slam into a legdrop gets two but Santana is back with a clothesline. Repo gets knocked outside and grappling hooks Santana in the ribs for the DQ at 7:30.

Rating: D+. Blech. This was rather boring and never got out of maybe first and a half gear. Their offenses were both very basic, which is rather sad when you consider just how good Santana could be with almost anyone. Granted Repo was never known for burning up the mat, but how do you have a lame match with Tito Santana?

Post match Repo chokes with the hook again, making Santana foam at the mouth.

From Niagara Falls, New York, April 28, 1992.

Legion Of Doom/Natural Disasters vs. Money Inc./Nasty Boys

Jimmy Hart is here with the villains and the other side has Paul Ellering. It takes over a minute to decide who starts until we get Hawk shoving DiBiase into the corner. DiBiase has some better luck with chops but Hawk cleans house with chops. Everything breaks down and the bad guys are sent to the floor and we slow down again. Sean: “This really is a classic tag team match.” First off, no it isn’t and second off, it’s just over three minutes in. That’s some rather fast classic designating.

We settle down to Hawk elbowing IRS in the face but Sags comes in for an elbow of his own. The villains start taking turns on Hawk, including DiBiase grabbing a neckbreaker for two. We hit the chinlock, because that’s what the match needs right now. Hawk fights up, gets caught in the wrong corner, and everything breaks down. Earthquake beats on Knobbs before sitting on Sags for the pin at 7:59.

Rating: D. Egads this tape could not have ended any faster and even these guys felt like they wanted out of there. This was another dull match to end a tape of them and there was no way around it. I know they didn’t have a ton of time, but they should have ha enough talent in there to have some kind of a wild fight. But then again, why do that when you can just stand around in slow motion?

Heenan believes he has mastered tennis and tries to jump the net, only to crotch himself. Some women show up to talk to Gene and that’s how we wrap it up.

Overall Rating: D. Bret vs. Barbarian is a rather basic match that was well done with Bret being good enough to make it work. It’s also the best match on the tape by a good margin, which should tell you about all you need here. They really couldn’t put in a better Shawn match or something with Flair or Piper? I like Money Inc. and the Natural Disasters, but I really didn’t need to see them this much. Savage’s match was even against half of Money Inc. to make sure they’re on there again. This wasn’t so much bad as much as it was completely uninteresting, which made this a much harder sit. Watch anything else.

 

 

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