Crunch Classic
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, Lord Alfred Hayes, Sean Mooney
Host: Roddy Piper

It’s a Coliseum Video and I’m curious to see what it includes. These things can go all over the place and that’s what makes them so much fun. Hopefully they focus on some of the more talented stars, as you can get some great matches, but you can also get some of the weirdest choices you’ll ever see. I’m not sure what to expect here and that makes it fun so let’s get to it.

This seems to be from 1992.

Host Roddy Piper welcomes us to the show and goes over some of his most famous moments (Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T., Jimmy Snuka), but he never won a title…until he met the Mountie.

From the 1992 Royal Rumble.

Intercontinental Title: Roddy Piper vs. The Mountie

The Mountie, with Jimmy Hart, is defending after winning the title from Bret Hart a few days earlier. Piper throws a jacket over Mountie’s face to start and hammers away, with Mountie bailing out to the floor. Back in and Mountie chokes on the rope but tries a monkey flip, only to get punched in the head.

A bulldog out of the corner drops Mountie as the fans are going nuts here as they realize Piper has a real chance. Mountie sends him into the corner to take over and the jumping elbow connects for two. Piper pops back up and hammers away, followed by a backdrop to send Mountie flying. The atomic drop sends Mountie over the top but he skins the cat, only to be sent into an interfering Hart. The sleeper gives Piper the title at 5:21.

Rating: C+. This was a case where it was all about the moment, as the Mountie was never going to be a major threat to beating Piper. The fans were with this the entire way and it was awesome to see Piper FINALLY get a title. No it wasn’t much of a match, but it doesn’t need to be but the point was the big moment and it more than worked.

Post match Piper gives Mountie the shock stick and gets the big AND NEW moment to an eruption. You can tell the fans are behind this and that’s awesome to see.

Piper loved that moment and it was the best day of his life….except maybe today.

From Dayton Ohio, October 22, 1991.

Money Inc. vs. Virgil/Big Boss Man

IRS and DiBiase get separate entrances (with Sensational Sherri coming to the ring with DiBiase) but Mooney calls the Money Inc. Virgil is the Million Dollar Champion. Boss Man shoves IRS around to start and Sherri is ticked off as Virgil and DiBiase come in. DiBiase doesn’t like the threat of fisticuffs and IRS offers a distraction to draw in the Boss Man

That’s enough for some evil double teaming and Virgil is in trouble (some things never change). DiBiase gets two off a suplex and IRS’ legdrop gets the same. Virgil fights up with a shot of his own and it’s back to Boss Man to hit a splash. It’s already back to Virgil for a top rope ax handle as everything breaks down. Sherri tries a shoe shot but hits IRS by mistake, allowing Virgil to get the rollup pin at 7:03.

Rating: C. It’s a perfectly decent tag match, though it also felt like it was something that belonged on a tape like this. Money Inc. would obviously get a lot better and were still figuring things out. Oddly the lack of Sherri helped them, as she didn’t really fit in here and would be much better off when she switched to Shawn Michaels not long after this.

Post match IRS yells at Sherri, who has to calm things down before DiBiase and IRS come to blows.

We get a day in the life of Jimmy Hart. He arrives in a rental car because the airline screwed up his limo. He goes into his hotel in Indianapolis and has to check all of his guys in. Most of his wrestlers have already arrived but his room won’t be ready for three hours. There is however a room ready in the basement, which he’ll take over nothing. We go to said basement, where Mountie needs help getting his shock stick working. IRS has also called, saying his plane was late and Mountie needs to just trust him.

Later, Money Inc. interrupt Hart when he is on the phone and ask about IRS’ briefcase. Hart gives him his newly initialed Tag Team Title and everyone is happy. After Hart asks someone about the Arsenio Hall Show and a movie, we cut to Hart asleep in his hotel room. The phone rings (Hart picks up a banana by mistake) and apparently DiBiase’s belt isn’t ready yet. And apparently the Nasty Boys have done…something.

Later, the Nasty Boys are warming up in the bathroom when Hart comes in, saying the bell rang and they need to go to the ring. Again later, Hart FINALLY goes to his hotel room while talking about how hard it is to manage this many wrestlers. And then his room key doesn’t work. I liked this, as it wasn’t exactly funny, but it was the kind of behind the scenes stuff you don’t often get. Of course managers have been a thing forever in wrestling and it’s kind of interesting to see what they do outside of the ring. It’s not some brilliant idea or classic moment, but it was nice for a five minute segment that went in a unique direction.

From Austin, Texas, December 4, 1991.

Nasty Boys vs. New Foundation

Jimmy Hart is here with the Boys and gets chased off by Neidhart to start. Knobbs knocks him into the corner but Neidhart isn’t having that and sends both Boys outside. Hart hits a heck of a dive and moonsaults back inside as the Boys need a breather. Knobbs comes back inside and gets his arm cranked but goes to the eyes. Sags comes in and gets armbarred as well, with Hart driving a knee into the arm.

Neidhart gets to stay on the arm before handing it right back to Hart, who gets choked on the ropes for a change. Sags’ chinlock with a knee in the back doesn’t really do much good so Knobbs drops some elbows to keep Hart down. The reverse chinlock does on but Hart is right back up to slingshot Neidhart in with a double shoulder. Neidhart shoulders Knobbs for two but Sags throws the referee out for the DQ at 7:28.

Rating: C. There were some nice moments in there but you could only get so much out of a match with so many chinlocks in not very much time. That’s where a lot of these matches tend to go and to be fair, it’s better to have the Nastys keeping it basic here if they can’t do a brawl. The New Foundation is a better team than they get credit for, as they’re always going to be compared to the original Harts, which just isn’t fair. They were good at their own style though, even with those amazing pants.

Roddy Piper talks about beating Adrian Adonis at Wrestlemania III in front of 92,000 fans, with Jimmy Hart getting beaten up there too. And let’s look at the match!

From Wrestlemania III.

Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis

Hair vs. hair. This is weird as Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes have redone the commentary, which just sounds so wrong after seeing Wrestlemania so many times. They go straight to the fight and Piper pulls out a belt to unload on Adonis. Hart tries to come in and gets sent into Adonis, allowing Piper to hammer away in the corner. Hart’s cheap shot from the floor takes Piper out though and Adonis hits a big clothesline.

Piper gets knocked outside and even Hart gets in a cheap shot. Back in and Piper tells him to bring it so Adonis slugs away, followed by the sleeper. Piper sends him into the corner but can’t escape and goes down, meaning it’s two arm drops…and Adonis lets go before the third, meaning Piper is still in it. Hart gets inside to celebrate but Piper is back up and avoids a big swing of the hedge clippers, which hit Adonis in his own face. Piper’s sleeper gets the win at 6:34.

Rating: B-. It’s always fun to see this match, but dang it makes me want to watch the original as the lack of Jesse Ventura takes something away. I do like that they threw in a classic match here, as it’s certainly more memorable than having the same midcard stuff that regularly populates these things. This was a nice flashback and ties in well with the Piper theme of the tape, but it does kind of make the rest of the lame stuff stand out.

Post match Brutus Beefcake comes in to give Adonis the haircut, with Piper loving the whole thing.

From Dayton, Ohio, October 23, 1991.

Undertaker vs. British Bulldog

This is a Fan Favorite request and Paul Bearer is here with Undertaker. Bulldog gets knocked into the corner to start, with Bulldog doing the slow look at him. Back up and a clothesline puts Undertaker on the floor, though of course he sticks the landing. A Stunner over the top rope drops Bulldog and Undertaker chokes away back inside.

Bulldog is knocked outside again but is quickly back inside to avoid an elbow. Undertaker goes with that annoying smother thing he did at this point and then falls on Bulldog to counter a slam attempt. The delayed vertical suplex (ok that’s not bad) connects, as does the powerslam, which draws Bearer up for the distraction. Undertaker gets in an urn shot for the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C. This is a match that could have worked a lot better with some more time and a bit less of the smother hold. Bulldog could make a heck of a comeback if he was given the chance but Undertaker hadn’t figured out a lot of his stuff just yet. The match was picking up near the end and that suplex was rather impressive.

Post match Bulldog clotheslines him outside for daring to try the body bag.

From Austin, Texas, December 4, 1991.

Texas Tornado vs. Rick Martel

This would have been a way different match about five years earlier. Martel poses to start and then hides behind the referee. The kick to the ribs is cut off though and Tornado sends him straight into the corner. A running clothesline sends Martel outside and Tornado rams the arm into the post. Back in and Tornado starts cranking on the arm but misses a charge to post his own shoulder. Martel goes up and dives right into the Claw, which is broken up in the ropes. That’s enough for Martel, who sprays Arrogance in Tornado’s eyes for the DQ at 6:00.

Rating: D+. The Tornado just did not have it anymore at this point and that was becoming more and more obvious every time he was in the ring. Martel is an incredibly talented star but there is only so much he can do when Tornado was basically sleep walking through the whole thing. It’s kind of amazing that Tornado lasted so long, because this wasn’t working in the slightest and pretty much never did after his initial appearances.

Roddy Piper doesn’t like snakes so let’s go to Jake Roberts, who thinks snakes should be your pets. They’ll eat anything and you don’t have to feed them every day. We look at the famous cobra biting Randy Savage segment before Roberts shows us a bunch of snakes. And that’s it.

From Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, September 10, 1991.

Skinner vs. Jim Neidhart

Neidhart chases him up the aisle to start and they go back inside for a hearty shove. Skinner is right back with a running shoulder and a hiptoss before they’re back up for a standoff. A headlock works a bit better, only for Neidhart to send him crashing out to the floor again. That works so well that Neidhart does it again with a clothesline, meaning it’s time for the long for stalling.

Back in and Neidhart gets his own headlock, which does on for a little while until Skinner heads outside again. This time Skinner finds his alligator claw to hit Neidhart in the throat, setting up a reverse chinlock. That’s broken up so Skinner…grabs the same thing again. Neidhart fights up again and hits a flying shoulder, followed by some rams into the turnbuckle. They brawl out to the floor and that’s a time limit draw at 13:20. No time is given but just be grateful for what you get.

Rating: D+. They were making it pretty clear that it was there to get to the time limit and nothing else, which is something that makes sense in some matches. This however, was Skinner vs. Jim Neidhart and not one of those matches. Skinner wasn’t a big star but he would get the occasional Intercontinental Title shot, so you would think he could go over a tag guy like Neidhart in a singles match, but why do that when you can have a bizarre time limit instead?

From Lubbock, Texas, January 27, 1992.

Jim Duggan/Sgt. Slaughter vs. Natural Disasters

Jimmy Hart is here with the Disasters. Duggan and Typhoon start things off with Typhoon shoving him away. Three straight clotheslines put Typhoon down and it’s off to Slaughter, who actually backs him into the corner. It’s already back to Duggan, with Earthquake grabbing him from the apron so Typhoon can take over. Earthquake drives Duggan into the corner and drops the jumping elbow for two.

Typhoon chokes on the ropes and grabs a bearhug, followed by Earthquake’s backbreaker. Earthquake gets his own bearhug and then Typhoon comes back in…for a third bearhug. Since that has to be broken up rather quickly, Earthquake misses a charge into the corner and it’s Slaughter coming back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and a double splash in the corner crushes Slaughter. Earthquake brings in the megaphone so Duggan grabs the 2×4 and wrecks everyone for the DQ at 9:20.

Rating: D. You really shouldn’t be getting to a third bearhug in a match that doesn’t even make it to ten minutes (or most matches for that matter). That’s on top of a lame DQ ending, as again, neither Duggan nor Slaughter could take a pin from a pair of monsters. It’s another bad match to end the tape on a rough note, making me question the “classic” moniker.

Piper wraps us up and a Piper montage ends things.

Overall Rating: D+. This started off ok and then fell apart fast. It’s a bad sign when you have to go back to the previous decade to get what is probably the best thing on the whole tape. The matches were just kind of dull and the last few were pretty terrible. Piper is fun due to energy and charisma alone, but he can only do so much, even when he’s the biggest name on the whole thing. Find something else. Like Wrestlemania III. Or the 1992 Royal Rumble.

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

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

Mega Matches
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes, Jimmy Hart, Honky Tonk Man, Gorilla Monsoon, Hillbilly Jim, Brother Love
Host: Sean Mooney

It’s another Coliseum Video and that means exactly the usual: likely a bunch of nothing matches with one or two gems in there to spice it up a bit. Most of these tapes aren’t very good, but it’s still fun to revisit them and see just what was going on. This is from early 1991 so let’s get to it.

Sean Mooney, in the studio, welcomes us to the show and promises us some good matches.

Tito Santana is ready to show Earthquake what he can do. Arriba!

From Cape Girardeau, Missouri, October 10, 1990.

Tito Santana vs. Earthquake

Jimmy Hart is here with Earthquake. Santana tries a top wristlock and is shoved down just as fast. Earthquake powers him into the corner but misses a big forearm. That lets Santana work on the arm and actually take him down to one knee. Earthquake isn’t having that and grabs a slam but misses the big elbow.

Santana works on the arm again and is quickly sent into the corner so the slow beating can ensue. A bearhug keeps Santana in trouble, only for him to bite the head for an escape. The dropkick sets up the flying forearm for two, though Earthquake is rocked. Back up and the powerslam sets up the big elbow, followed by….well actually Tugboat coming in to go after Earthquake for the DQ at 7:41.

Rating: C. This could have been a lot worse, which isn’t a surprise as Santana can make almost anything work. Earthquake was the top heel in the company at this point and having him beat up someone like Santana was only going to help him. It might not have been a classic and there was only so much Santana could do, but at least it could have been a lot worse.

Post match the brawl is on until Dino Bravo and Rhythm And Blues run in for the beatdown. Jim Duggan, with his 2×4, makes the save. That’s quite the angle for a Coliseum Video and it worked rather well, with a pretty terrible six man tag being a possibility.

Big Boss Man is really not happy with Bobby Heenan insulting his mother. She’s one of his “prized possessions”, which has quite a few issues. Either way, Boss Man promises to beat some respect into Heenan.

From Chattanooga, Tennessee, January 8, 1991.

Big Boss Man vs. Bobby Heenan

This is a Ball And Chain match, with Boss Man bringing out the object in question. Before the match, Heenan begs for mercy and promises to send Boss Man’s mother a bunch of flowers. The bell rings and Heenan begs for forgiveness, saying he doesn’t know Boss Man’s mother and didn’t mean anything he’s been saying.

The groveling continues, with Heenan saying they both know he can’t fight Boss Man and says Boss Man’s mother is on the phone in the back. He begs for his life and tells Boss Man to go talk to his mother and he’ll wait right here. Boss Man doesn’t fall for that but Heenan hits him with the microphone. That’s the extent of his offense as Boss Man knocks him down and hits an ax handle for the pin at 2:40. Basically just an angle rather than a match.

Post match Boss Man drops the ball onto Heenan but Mr. Perfect runs in for the save. Boss Man dispatches him just as quickly. I still don’t get why Boss Man didn’t win the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania.

It’s time for the fan requested match.

From Tampa, Florida, December 11, 1990.

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Jim Duggan

General Adnan is here with Slaughter, who jumps Duggan on the way in. Duggan fights back and slugs away, much to the fans’ delight. An elbow to the face drops Duggan though and Slaughter get sin his assortment of stomps. Some elbows miss though and Duggan hits a backdrop, only for Adnan to break up the three point clothesline. The chase is on and Duggan gets counted out at 3:06.

Rating: D. This was pretty much nothing, which was the point in having Duggan out there to pop the crowd while Slaughter doesn’t get the big win. Slaughter was on his way up, but there was only so much he could do in the ring. At the same time though, Slaughter was getting solid enough heat from the fans. I’m just not sure it was “top heel” level heat, which is why it didn’t go so well.

Post match Duggan clears Slaughter out and does inappropriate things with the Iraqi flag.

From New York City, New York, November 24, 1990.

Bret Hart vs. Barbarian

Hart tries a hiptoss to start but gets knocked down to start the slow beating. Barbarian sends him into the corner for some slow stomping but the middle rope elbow misses. Hart’s right hands in the corner set up the Russian legsweep and middle rope elbow for two. Back up and a quick powerslam gives Barbarian two and he blocks a sunset flip. As usual though, he strikes a double biceps pose and gets rolled up at 4:09 (these two did that finish A LOT).

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time to do anything here but the finish was something that worked rather well for them. I’ve said this a lot Barbarian is someone who can’t do much in the way of variety, but he knows how to do his style rather well. That’s what we got here, and Hart gets to beat a midcard monster. They could do more with extra time, but there was only so much to be done in such a short match.

From Cape Girardeau, Missouri, October 10, 1990.

Bushwhackers vs. Rhythm And Blues

Jimmy Hart is here with the villains, who jump them to start fast. Back up and the villains are sent into each other and we settle down to Valentine getting in a clothesline to cut Luke off. Honky Tonk Man comes in to slowly hammer away and we hit the chinlock. That doesn’t last long as Valentine comes in to knock Butch off the apron, meaning double teaming can ensue. They stomp on Luke even more until Butch grabs the guitar and runs in for the DQ at 4:03.

Rating: D+. Yeah this was about what you would have expected, as neither team was exactly worth seeing on their best day (well at least in the WWF). As usual, the fans were into the Bushwhackers due to their usual wackiness. That only gets you so far though, especially with how little of it they actually did here.

Post match the Bushwhackers wreck the guitars.

From Providence, Rhodes Island, August 8, 1990.

Hulk Hogan vs. Dino Bravo

Earthquake and Jimmy Hart (in the rare no sunglasses look) are here too and yeah Hogan is still over (ignore the whole BIG RETURN at Summerslam later in the month). Big Boss Man comes out to be in Hogan’s corner and that should even things up a bit. Hayes says Boss Man can prevent the planned SKULLDUGGERY from the villains, earning his paycheck for the night.

They circle each other for a good while to start until Hogan shoves him into the corner, about two minutes into the match. Hogan cleans out the villains, showing that the Boss Man really doesn’t need to be here. Bravo works on a wristlock, which is reversed, but Earthquake gets in a cheap shot. That lets Bravo choke on the ropes and he sends Hogan outside, with Earthquake beating Hogan up again. Geez Boss Man is kind of terrible at this job. Back in and we hit the bearhug, which stays on for a good while until we get the two arm drops. Hogan fights out and it’s the usual stuff until the legdrop finishes Bravo at 8:25.

Rating: C-. You know what you’re going to get with a Hogan match around this time, though he did at least have a bit more energy with the stuff before the bell. At the same time, what are you expecting out of a big time match against someone like Bravo? Earthquake was right there as a monster, but Hogan fighting the less than intimidating monster was hardly thrilling.

Post match the villains comes in but Boss Man FINALLY does something by knocking Earthquake to the floor. Posing ensues.

Sean Mooney recaps the beginnings of Hillbilly Jim’s career before sending us to…Mudlick, Kentucky. Oh dear.

We go to Jim’s farm and now it’s time to look at some home movies. It’s the middle of winter and Jim invites us into the house, where Granny is watching an old WWF show. She’s a big Hulk Hogan fan but tells Jim to take his hat off. Jim is VERY excited about his first match so Granny stops for a drink of moonshine. Then Jim stops to play the guitar and sing, including a closeup of the family dog.

Jim goes over to light up a stove and put on his overhauls so he can demonstrate some holds on a tire (in the kitchen, of course). Then he drops an elbow on a stained mattress and goes after the dog, which brings Granny in to break it up. For some reason, I remember this from when I was a kid, even down to the dog.

Jim thanks us for watching and goes back to shoveling.

From New York City, New York, October 19, 1990.

British Bulldog vs. Haku

Joined in progress with Haku fighting up but getting taken back down by the arm. Bulldog misses a charge in the corner though and Haku hammers away. A crossbody and crucifix get Bulldog out of trouble but Haku grabs a hard piledriver for two. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a knee to the ribs to cut off a comeback attempt.

We hit another chinlock before Bulldog is sent outside for a crash. Back in and Haku pulls the braided hair before grabbing another chinlock. Monsoon goes off on Haku’s lazy cover as only he can, with Hayes suggesting that Haku is hurt and Monsoon…thinks that’s a good observation. Bulldog suplexes his way out of trouble for two and they need some time to get up.

With Haku still down, Bulldog grabs a SHARPSHOOTER of all things (which is hard on someone wrestling barefoot) but Haku is in the ribs rather quickly. Haku’s shoulderbreaker gets two but he misses a charge into the corner. The powerslam finishes for Bulldog at 15:55 (out of 19:34 total).

Rating: C-. Sweet goodness that was a long match and that is going to hurt things. At the same time, Bulldog was pretty much brand new as a single star at this point after a stretch away from the company. It made for a dull match, but at least Bulldog won and the fans reacted, so something went right.

Mooney’s clothes are getting messed up due to….well they needed something. Then he picks up a giant crayon. Are his clothes too big because everything is large on MEGA Matches? Geez that’s stretching even for around here.

Randy Savage, with Sensational Sherri, brags about his greatness and is ready to prove what he can do again.

From New York City, New York, October 28, 1989.

Randy Savage vs. Jim Duggan

Macho King’s Crown is on the line so Queen Sherri is with him. Duggan slugs away in the corner to start and drops him with a clothesline, which has Sherri trying to get Savage out. Instead Duggan gives him a big atomic drop but Sherri low bridges Duggan outside. Can you imagine Elizabeth doing that? Of course not, which is why Savage made the right switch. Sherri even gets in a posting and a purse shot as this referee is even worse than usual.

Savage goes after Duggan, which is enough to distract the referee so Sherri can kick Duggan in the face. Monsoon is rightfully losing it as Savage goes out to the apron for another shot to the face. A top rope ax handle hits Duggan for two back inside, followed by the top rope neck snap across the top for the same. The running crotch attack in the ropes misses though and Duggan has a breather.

Duggan is fine enough to knock Savage out of the air and then send him outside as the comeback is on. Savage is sent into various things and Duggan drops him inside again, only for Sherri to distract the referee. Duggan yells at her and runs Savage over again but Savage comes back with a clothesline out of the corner. The top rope elbow misses though and Duggan hits some clotheslines of his own.

The three point clothesline sends Savage crashing to the floor, where Sherri rakes Duggan’s back. This time Sherri is sent outside for some grabbing, allowing Savage to knee Duggan into the referee in the corner. Duggan small package gets no count as there’s no referee so he clotheslines Savage down again and counts his own three.

Sherri uses the distraction to hand Savage the loaded purse and Duggan is knocked cold for….the…..any day now…..one….two….and Duggan kicks out, thankfully as otherwise he would have been legally dead. Duggan pulls him down in the corner but Savage puts his feet on the ropes, with Sherri holding the legs for ANOTHER ridiculously slow count and the pin at 17:01.

Rating: B-. Duggan winning wasn’t the most likely result here, but dang it’s easy to get behind pretty much anything he’s doing. He’s one of the best good guys from this era, even if he was limited in the ring to say the least. That being said, the ref bump and slow counts at the end were ridiculous and killed the flow they had going. These two did have chemistry though, which shouldn’t be a surprise given how amazing Savage was at this point.

Post match Duggan decks Savage with a 2×4.

Savage and Sherri are on Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous, with Savage cheating to win at croquet. That’s a very Savage thing to do.

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

Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior

In a cage, Sherri is with Savage, and this is two days after Savage cost Warrior the WWF Title at Wrestlemania. Savage tries to jump Warrior during his entrance and the brawl is on outside. They get inside with Warrior taking over, including an atomic drop and the big right hands. Sherri offers a distraction, which just earns Savage another clothesline. Back up and Savage manages to send him into the cage for a needed breather.

Warriors gets up and they both hit clotheslines to leave them down again. Savage covers for a delayed two (as the referee has to climb in before counting) but Warrior blocks a ram into the cage. Sherri’s distraction lets Savage ram him in though and it’s time to choke. Some more choking on the ropes has Warrior in trouble and the top rope elbow gets two, with Savage FLYING off the kickout.

Warrior makes the big comeback but the splash hits raised knees. Savage tries to escape and gets most of the way there, only to forget about the “jump three feet” option, allowing Warrior to make the save. Sherri decks the referee and goes inside to cut Warrior off. Some choking with her removed top lets Savage get out for the win at 10:34.

Rating: B-. Yeah they beat each other up rather well and it made for a good match, though I was expecting Warrior to be a bit more aggressive and livid after what happened two days ago. That could have been better, but it was nice to see Savage win this kind of a match, even with shenanigans. Otherwise, it was a good, back and forth fight, which felt like a main event.

Post match we’re clipped to Savage going to the top of the cage but getting punched out of the air. Warrior fights back and unloads on Savage, even shoving some referees as a bonus. The Nasty Boys come in to try to hold Warrior back, which doesn’t work either. More referees come in and Sherri gets in a scepter shot to FINALLY allow Savage to get out. So Sherri is tougher than the Nasty Boys. That fits. Warrior catches Sherri alone in the cage though and drops her with the gorilla press. Now that was a lot more like it with the aggression and Warrior looked like a monster.

Mooney’s copy of the tape and comb are now huge too. This was dumb. Again.

Overall Rating: C-. There were a few good matches near the end, but the majority of this tape was far from interesting. The “everything is big” deal made it even worse, as you had that between Bravo vs. Hogan and a heck of a lot of Jim Duggan. Granted that was one of the best matches on the whole thing, which was likely more due to Savage and Sherri. It’s not the worst tape, but you shouldn’t spend two hours hoping that things are going to get better.

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

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

Survivor Series 1987
Date: November 26, 1987
Location: Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio
Attendance: 21,300
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Jesse Ventura

This is the requested redo so we’ll go all the way back to the beginning of the series, which was quite the mess in its own right. The WWF had tried some elimination tags at house shows and they got over huge so it was time to run a full event of the things. If they could happen to screw over the NWA with its first pay per view on the same day, Starrcade 1987, so be it of course. Let’s get to it.

The Fink welcomes us to the show and introduces Jesse and Gorilla for commentary, which is a weird thing to see. I’m not sure I can ever remember WWF doing it otherwise. Monsoon’s first line of the show: “What are you doing Jess?” They intro the show and send us to the intro video, which could be on just about any weekend show.

Commentary goes over all of the matches in their always good conversational style. It’s fine that they disagree at times, but there are times where it feels like they are two people who respect each other and are even friends. That is so badly missing from commentary today.

We go over the rules of a Survivor Series match. It’s so weird having a time where that wasn’t commonly known.

The Honky Tonk Man is ready to go because he has an amazing team put together, even down to the managers. As for tonight, he might even SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL ELIZABETH! Well that’s just not very nice. I love these group shots of the wrestlers, as not only do you get what most of them are, but it also screams 1980s so hard. Throw in Hercules looking like his head is about to explode and it’s even better.

Team Randy Savage wants to destroy everyone, with Hacksaw Jim Duggan especially wanting to take out Harley Race for hitting him with his own 2×4. Savage being all over the top is….well very Savage really.

Team Honky Tonk Man vs. Team Randy Savage

Honky Tonk Man, Ron Bass, Danny Davis, Harley Race, Hercules
Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan, Brutus Beefcake

Entrances take forever, as we have ten people coming to the ring, with Jesse being in awe of Randy Savage’s entrance (fair enough, and Jesse was always a big Savage guy). Beefcake and Hercules get to make history as the first people ever to start a Survivor Series match, apparently as per the captains’ choice (which didn’t last long). A lockup goes nowhere so Beefcake tries strutting as Gorilla says the possible combinations of numbers are endless. Actually if my math is right it’s about 30 but I don’t question Gorilla.

A shoulder drops Beefcake but he’s right back with a quickly broken sleeper. Davis comes in and Beefcake cleans house without much trouble before pulling Davis back in. It’s off to Roberts to work on the arm and the good guys get to take turns on Davis. For some reason Roberts and Duggan tell Savage to hand it off to Steamboat instead of one of them, leaving Steamboat to miss a charge into the corner. Race comes in and gets in a few shots, only for Steamboat to chop him in the head.

Back to back skinnings of the cat leave Race frustrated so Steamboat throws him over the top instead. Steamboat brings Duggan in to slug Race outside and it’s a double countout for the first eliminations at 4:39. Back in and it’s Bass slamming Roberts but missing an elbow, allowing Savage to give him a running knee. Savage makes the mistake of going after Honky Tonk Man though, allowing the villains to get in a cheap shot. Bass comes back in and since it’s Ron Bass, Savage escapes with no trouble and brings in Beefcake for the high knee and the pin on Bass at 7:01.

Hercules comes in and takes over on Beefcake’s arm, allowing Honky Tonk Man to do the same. Beefcake punches his way to freedom, including a weird double punch that you would think someone else would have used before. Davis gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Shake Rattle and Roll finishes Beefcake at 10:51.

As we get the world’s first and still only STEVE LOMBARDI RULES sign in the crowd, Savage comes in to chase after Honky Tonk Man but gets jumped by the legal Hercules instead. Dang man pay attention. For some reason Davis is allowed to come in and hammer on Savage, who elbows him in the head. It’s off to Roberts who can’t DDT Honky Tonk Man but can charge into a raised knee in the corner (which always looks painful). Davis comes back in (oh boy) for some shots to the ribs but Roberts shrugs it off and hits the short arm clothesline, setting up the DDT for the pin at 15:11.

Hercules is right there to take over on Roberts though, with Honky Tonk Man drawing in Savage, who is a bit too obsessed with revenge at this point (shocking I know). The chinlock goes on as commentary debates the merits of having the crowd on your side. Roberts fights up and knee lifts Honky Tonk Man away but Hercules is right there for his own chinlock. A jawbreaker gets Roberts out of trouble and the hot tag brings in Steamboat to clean house. The top rope chop to the head sets up the tag to Savage (Jesse: “Uh oh.”) for the top rope elbow and the pin at 21:04.

So it’s Honky Tonk Man vs. Savage/Roberts/Steamboat, with Savage missing a charge into the corner to give Honky Tonk Man a breather. Steamboat comes right back in and chops away before handing it off to Roberts to keep up the rotating beating. An atomic drop sends Honky Tonk Man over the top and that’s enough for him as he takes the countout (smartest thing he’s ever done) to wrap it up at 23:43.

Rating: B-. This is how you open a new concept show as you had stars that people cared about with a wide variety of eliminations and situations. It’s a good way to get the fans into what they’re seeing, with Savage doing everything he could to get his hands on Honky Tonk Man. Very fun match and a great choice to get things going.

Team Andre the Giant is ready to crush Hulk Hogan and friends tonight, with Slick being VERY over the top and Bobby Heenan being incredibly confident. One Man Gang, who is a huge man in his own right, being absolutely dwarfed by Andre is an amazing visual. Granted the closeup of Andre’s face as he says he’s coming for Hogan’s soul with his eyes bugging out is even worse.

Team Fabulous Moolah vs. Team Sensational Sherri

Fabulous Moolah, Rockin Robin, Velvet McIntyre, Jumping Bomb Angels
Sensational Sherri, Donna Christianello, Dawn Marie, Glamour Girls

It’s so weird to see a women’s match in this era but there is more than enough talent to make this work. For some reason Moolah is announced at 160lbs, which can’t be correct and certainly seems to offend her. Sherri jumps McIntyre to start fast and drops her with a running clothesline. Moolah comes in to beat on Sherri so Christianello comes in to get dropkicked by McIntyre. A victory roll gets rid of Christianello at 1:59 so it’s Robin coming in to dropkick Martin (Judy Martin of the Glamour Girls).

Sherri comes in for her own dropkick and hands it off to Marie (not THAT Dawn Marie, in a joke that no one has ever made before I’m sure), who is crossbodied for the pin at 4:11. Itsuki (of the Angels) comes in blows Jesse’s mind (you can tell he’s actually impressed) with her rollups and kicks to Kai. Sherri comes in and gets suplexed by Tateno, with Jesse being amazed that the champ is getting beaten up like this. Robin monkey flips Kai but gets pulled into the wrong corner so the beating can be on. Sherri hits a suplex to get rid of Robin at 6:56.

Tateno takes Robin’s place and is thrown around by the hair (OUCH) to put her in the corner. McIntyre comes in for a spinning crossbody (cool) and Moolah follows up with a dropkick. It’s off to Itsuki, who slams Kai off the top but misses a dropkick (popular move in this one). Moolah gets to hammer away a bit more but a blind tag lets Martin hit a clothesline for the pin at 8:57.

As commentary DOESN’T panic at the idea of the captain being eliminated, McIntyre comes in to Boston crab Martin. With that falling apart, McIntyre wisely switches to a bow and arrow, which doesn’t last long either. Sherri grabs a suplex, which leaves McIntyre landing kind of awkwardly on her neck/shoulders and she’s almost immediately over for a tag to Tateno. Martin suplexes Tateno for two and a bell in a rare timekeeper’s botch, with commentary IMMEDIATELY saying not so fast (take notes Michael Cole).

McIntyre’s back is fine enough to come in for a giant swing on Sherri, followed by another victory roll (which clearly in a lot of pain) and the pin at 14:56. Tateno comes back in as McIntyre can barely get out of the ring and has to almost lay on the apron. Kai blocks a suplex so it’s back to McIntyre, who tries another victory roll but gets slingshotted into an electric chair (that looked good) for the pin at 17:23. That would be McIntyre’s last match for over a month so there was something wrong.

We’re down to the Angels vs. the Girls with Tateno wasting no time in hitting a high crossbody to get rid of Kai at 18:43. Martin is on her own and starts with a fireman’s carry drop for two on Tateno. Itsuki comes back in for a top rope knee, Tateno dropkicks Jimmy Hart off the apron, and Itsuki adds a top rope clothesline for the pin at 20:18.

Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t the best for the most part, but what is impressive here is that they had ten women who could put together a completely watchable match like this one. Women’s wrestling in the 80s gets a bad reputation but they were a genuine part of the card and had good matches in the right circumstances. This didn’t feel out of place whatsoever and the Angels were a total highlight so this was quite the fine use of 20+ minutes.

Team Hart Foundation, minus the national anthem singing Bolsheviks, are ready to win. A disheveled Jimmy Hart comes in and wants revenge.

Team Strike Force, not minus singing Russians, are ready to win.

Team Strike Force vs. Team Hart Foundation

Strike Force, Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, Killer Bees, British Bulldogs, Young Stallions
Hart Foundation, Demolition, New Dream Team, Bolsheviks, Islanders

If someone is eliminated, their partner is gone too. Volkoff jumps Martel to start and shrugs off a rollup without much trouble. Zhukov comes in and misses an elbow so it’s off to Santana for the flying forearm and the pin at 1:45. It’s off to Ax for the standard Demolition forearms to the back before Jacques gets to work on Bravo’s arm. The rapid fire tags leave us with Dynamite being dragged into the corner for a chop off with Haku.

Dynamite gets Haku over so the Bees can start in on his hamstrings and it’s off to Roma. Neidhart slams him down and Haku drops him with a clothesline. Smash’s slam sends Roma into the corner for the tag to Jacques, who is quickly dropped and pinned by Smash at 5:50.

Powers comes in and gets put on Neidhart’s shoulder for a top rope forearm from Haku (that’s a cool move and could have been a decent finisher for a team) and two. It’s back to Roma, who gets shouldered breakered and suplexed by Valentine. Smash misses a charge though and it’s Dynamite coming in to get kicked in the face. The beating continues but Smash throws the referee down and that’s a DQ at 9:22.

Powers sends Tama into the corner and gets clotheslined for his efforts as neither Gorilla nor Jesse can get Tama’s (Haku/Toma) name right. Martel comes in to dropkick Tama but he’s WAY too close to the ropes for the Boston crab. Neidhart makes the save so Santana comes in with the flying forearm, meaning Hart has to make a save. It’s such a save that Neidhart pins Santana at 12:05 as the field has thinned quite a bit (as it needed to).

As Jesse talks about his great great great grandfather Ephraim the Body coming over on the Mayflower, Bret hits a backbreaker on Powers and Tama adds a top rope knee for two. Oddly enough, Hart allows powers to get over for a tag to Roma, which felt rather out of the norm for him. It’s right back to Powers as Jesse wonders why the beaten up Stallions wouldn’t tag in a fresh Bee or Bulldog. Roma gets knocked into the corner for the tag to Dynamite, who suplexes Hart for a fast two.

Bulldog headbutts Haku over and over and somehow doesn’t knock himself silly. Powers misses a charge and gets taken into the wrong corner but it’s right back to Bulldog. The gorilla press gets two on Bret and the running powerslam gets the same on Haku. Dynamite adds the flying headbutt and knocks himself silly on Haku’s head, with Jesse going right into the rant about how stupid that was. A superkick gets rid of the Bulldogs at 19:59 and we’re down to Harts/Islanders/Dream Team vs. Bees/Stallions.

The Dream Team takes over on Powers as commentary talks about how the villains don’t really like each other anyway. The side slam drops Powers, who kicks away Valentine’s Figure Four attempt. That’s enough for Roma to come in off the top with a sunset flip to pin Valentine at 23:29.

Blair comes in for a jumping knee for two on Neidhart so Hart gets to try his luck. A headlock drags Roma over for the tag to Tama, who kicks Roma down without much effort. Haku misses a legdrop though, allowing Blair to hit his own legdrop for two. Roma comes back in and gets suplexed so Tama can rip at Roma’s eyes.

Haku hits a dropkick and Gorilla says he’d like to see Neidhart try that. Before the words are out of his mouth, Neidhart hits his own dropkick in a spot so perfectly timed that it had to have been a coincidence. Brunzell comes in and tries to slam Hart but Tama kicks him down…with Brunzell rolling through to pin Hart at 29:29.

So it’s the Islanders vs. the Bees/Stallions, with Tama going right to the nerve hold. Haku comes in for a nerve hold of his own before it’s back to Tama for the third nerve hold. A suplex mixes things up a bit for two but Brunzell manages to knock his way to freedom. Roma comes back in for two off a powerslam but Haku takes him down again. Jesse praises the Islanders for being saucy with hard heads as Haku misses an elbow, allowing the diving tag back to Brunzell. Gorilla isn’t sure what’s up with that as a masked Killer Bee (their method of cheating) slingshots in with a sunset flip to pin Tama for the win at 37:16.

Rating: A-. This was all about the talent involved as you had one great combination after another. The Stallions and Bees getting the glory in the end was a little weird but points for trying to put someone else over. Good stuff here and all the proof you need that this was the golden age for tag team wrestling, as there were all kinds of good to great teams in there and it doesn’t feel anywhere near the forty minutes that it runs.

Ted DiBiase talks about how great Thanksgiving is and we see a montage of him doing horrible things to people. Of note: a boy who gets a basketball kicked away from him is one Rob Van Dam. Then DiBiase has a catered dinner because he is one of the best villains in the history of wrestling.

Commentary talks about the show so far, with Jesse thinking that Honky Tonk Man did the right thing by walking away instead of risking an injury. This is the friendly chat that made their commentary feel real as compared to the constant yelling and insulting exchanges that you see too often with modern heel commentators.

Jesse is also REALLY impressed by the Jumping Bomb Angels, saying that the Glamour Girls (Women’s Tag Team Champions) are in trouble. He compares the Angels to a Dynamite Kid, a Ricky Steamboat or a Randy Savage, saying “that was fantastic, I enjoyed it”. That is how you put a team over. On the other hand, Jesse isn’t happy with the Killer Bees using their mask trick and wants an investigation. They’re both really looking forward to the main event though, because Hulk Hogan is getting back in the ring with Andre the Giant.

Honky Tonk Man insists that he is the real survivor and will face Hulk Hogan any time. This is pretty clearly intermission as they wait around on the main event, which makes sense on a four match show.

Team Hulk Hogan is VERY fired up with Hogan talking about how hungry the team is. That bandanna with the tassels hanging down over Hogan’s eyes is always a weird look.

Team Hulk Hogan vs. Team Andre The Giant

Hulk Hogan, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, Paul Orndorff, Bam Bam Bigelow
Andre The Giant, Rick Rude, One Man Gang, Butch Reed, King Kong Bundy

Bobby Heenan handles Andre’s introduction, which is a very Heenan thing of him to do. Hogan of course gets his own entrance, which is a very Hogan thing to do….but egads you can hear the reaction when he comes out with that American flag. Jesse: “I’m not even going to try to talk over this.” Gorilla: “Good thinking.” Muraco and Rude start things off with Rude hammering away in the corner. Orndorff comes in and knocks Rude into the corner so Hogan can come in for a very rare meeting with Rude (they didn’t like each other).

It’s off to Bigelow for the running headbutt and a gorilla press as they’re certainly starting fast. Patera screws up (shocking) by knocking Rude into the corner for the tag to Reed, who gets dropkicked down by Muraco. Orndorff hits some dropkicks of his own as even Jesse says Andre’s team isn’t doing so well so far. Hogan drops the leg and that’s it for Reed at 3:04….and it’s Andre time.

Some high fives to Patera count as a tag though and Jesse is ALL OVER Joey Marella for calling that a tag and trying to save Hogan again. Hogan protests too but doesn’t think about, you know, tagging right back in, leaving Andre to say the heck with Patera and hand it off to Bundy.

Some forearms don’t go anywhere so it’s off to Gang, who gets knocked into the corner by Orndorff. Rude comes back in and gets elbowed and slammed, with Jesse saying Rude just isn’t having a good night. Patera manages to crossbody Gang down for two but gets taken into the wrong corner so the beating can ensue. Gang and Patera hit double clotheslines but Gang falls on him for the pin at 8:44.

Hogan comes in to hammer on Gang (that’s his bread and butter), setting up a double big boot with Bigelow. Gang gets over to tag in Rude, who gets beaten down again by Orndorff. A cheap shot from Bundy breaks up the piledriver though and Rude grabs a rollup with trunks for the pin at 10:22.

Save for a house show feud with Rude, that was it for Orndorff in the WWF. Muraco comes in to powerslam Rude for the pin at 11:10, leaving us with Muraco/Hogan Bigelow vs. Gang/Bundy/Andre. Bundy misses a knee drop and Muraco is smart enough to go right after that leg. It’s already back to Gang, who falls on top of Muraco during a slam attempt. The big splash is enough to finish Muraco at 12:54.

Bigelow comes in and gets clotheslined right back down by Bundy. Hogan has to make a save, with Gorilla immediately saying that he has a five count to get out. Jesse doesn’t stand for that (good for him) as Bundy comes in to hammer on Bigelow. Jesse: “You won’t see any hair pulling here.”. It’s off to Andre but Bigelow rolls over for the tag to Hogan and OH YEAH the fans are into this. Hogan wins a chop/slug out but gets pulled to the floor. Hogan slams Gang and Bundy….but gets counted out at 18:13, leaving even Jesse stunned. Since it’s Hogan, he refuses to leave until he is threatened with a forfeit.

So it’s Bigelow vs. Andre/Bundy/Gang as Jesse praises Gang and Bundy for being glorified pawns to get rid of Hogan. Bigelow stretches a bit before jumping on Bundy to start fast. A clothesline sets up a falling headbutt for two but a dropkick doesn’t drop Bundy. Instead Bigelow takes him down by the leg and a slingshot splash gets rid of Bundy at 20:48. It’s off to Gang, with Jesse saying he can pick which of Bigelow’s tattoos he wants to hit.

Bigelow charges into a boot in the corner so Gang goes up top (uh oh) and misses a splash, allowing Bigelow to get the pin at 23:05. That means it’s Andre vs. Bigelow and I think you know where this is going. A big right hand knocks Bigelow into the ropes but he holds on to avoid a big boot. Bigelow rolls away a few times but gets caught in the corner for the shoulders. A butterfly suplex/hiptoss finishes Bigelow at 24:21.

Rating: C+. This was more or less the semi-sequel to Hogan vs. Andre at Wrestlemania III and Andre wins to help rebuild him. The big rematch was coming later of course, but for now, Andre wins and that is enough to keep things going. The rest of the match was only so good, but what matters here is getting Andre back to being a force and making Bigelow look like the next big thing, even if he was all but done in about six months.

Post match Hogan IMMEDIATELY runs out and beats up Andre to clear the ring. Andre wants to come back in but Bobby Heenan holds him off and says not until Hogan signs on the totted line. Hogan poses a lot and yeah there’s no defending how much of a sore loser he’s being here.

In the back, Heenan and Andre say if Hogan wants Andre, sign the contract for another title match.

Hogan is STILL posing and Gorilla is STILL defending him as Jesse is thrilled at the idea of getting out of Cleveland.

A highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B. The word here is fun. This is a show that had a concept and they RAN with it, giving us a very entertaining night. No it wasn’t anything that really mattered for the most part, but some of the falls and results could be spun off for months on the house show circuit. The big there here though is that they put a bunch of people (fifty wrestlers in four matches is nuts) on the show so you were almost guaranteed to see someone you liked and it would be hard to not have a good time. I’ve seen this show more often than I can count and it absolutely holds up as a hidden gem of the Golden Era. Check this out if you can.

Ratings Comparison

Team Randy Savage vs. Team Honky Tonk Man

Original: B+
2012 Redo: B
2022 Redo: B-

Team Sherri Martel vs. Team Fabulous Moolah

Original: C+
2012 Redo: C+
2022 Redo: C

Team Hart Foundation vs. Team Strike Force

Original: B
2012 Redo: C-
2022 Redo: A-

Team Hogan vs. Team Andre the Giant

Original: B
2012 Redo: B-
2022 Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: A-
2012 Redo: B+
2022 Redo: B

It’s still a good show but WHAT WAS I THINKING ON THAT TAG MATCH???

Here is the original if you’re interested:

And the 2012 Redo:

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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AND

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Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage Dark Matches
Date: 1989, 1990

Well, what else are you expecting here? They do a good job of advertising these things about as simply as you can and that is certainly the case again here. In this case we have two matches so the whole thing is only a little over twenty minutes long. These two have some great chemistry together though so hopefully it works again here. Let’s get to it.

From April 1989 (possibly on the 26th in Omaha, Nebraska).

Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior

Sherri is here with Savage, who jumps him to start fast. Warrior isn’t having that and hits the flying shoulder out to the floor. That’s fine with Warrior, who hits him in the face and tosses him back inside as the fans are way into this. Back in and Warrior pulls Savage’s high crossbody out of the air. Savage gets tied in the Tree Of Woe for some stomping, with Warrior putting the interfering referee on the top for daring to referee.

A jumping knee to the back sends Warrior outside and the obvious ax handle to the back is obvious. The over the top rope neck snap doesn’t have much snap but does get two, followed by the chinlock. That’s quickly reversed into a bearhug but Savage fights out as well. The top rope ax handle to the back of the head gets two but Warrior sends him hard into the corner and does…that thing with his hands.

Cue Rick Rude with his freshly won Intercontinental Title to taunt Warrior, who gets two off an atomic drop. The Warrior Splash hits raised knees but Warrior is right back up. Rude offers one too many distractions though and Warrior goes after him, which draws the countout at 7:08.

Rating: C. Not exactly great here but they were both freshly off losing their titles at Wrestlemania so they needed a boost. You don’t want Savage losing here so having Rude come out for the distraction made sense. At the same time, it was just a dark match so the fans were going to be interested in seeing some big names fight so it was a fine way to go.

From January 1990 (possibly the 23rd in Fort Myers, Florida.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior

Savage, again with Sherri and now the King, is challenging. Warrior wastes no time in chasing him outside and then scares him down again for a bonus. Sherri’s distraction lets Savage knock him outside though and the stomping ensues. Back in and Savage’s high crossbody is pulled out of the air, allowing Warrior to put him in the Tree of Woe. Once again he puts the referee on the turnbuckle, though Warrior ACTUALLY LEARNS SOMETHING and catches Savage coming in.

Sherri offers another distraction but Warrior backdrops Savage over the top (as only he could take) for the crash anyway. Back in and the splash hits raised knees, allowing Sherri to choke away from the floor. Warrior fights up again and they do a bizarre looking running of the ropes (Warrior almost winds up in the corner) before hitting a flying tackle.

Somehow Warrior stays down so long that Savage, who was shouldered to the floor, is able to get back up and hit the big elbow for two, despite not hitting Warrior with anything to set it up. The loaded purse to the head gets two so Warrior Warriors Up. The clotheslines have Savage tied in the ropes but Sherri gets him loose so Warrior low bridges himself to the floor. The top rope ax handle is knocked out of the air and Warrior goes after Sherri, chasing her into the ring to beat the count at 8:16.

Rating: C-. This was one of the most bizarre matches I’ve ever seen. How do you manage to screw up just running the ropes in a straight line? That might not even be the weirdest part, as I actually had to go back and make sure I didn’t miss something. Absolute insanity here, with Warrior’s worse abilities standing out.

Post match Warrior rams them together and gives Savage the gorilla press drop to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: C-. Yeah this one was quite the miss, as it makes me wonder how much producing these two needed to have a great match. You’re not going to get that on a dark match and that’s what you wound up seeing here. Pretty nothing collection here, though I’m not sure how good it was supposed to be for a pair of dark matches running about fifteen minutes bell to bell.

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Saturday Night’s Main Event XXI
Date: May 27, 1989
Location: Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura

Time for another one almost thirty five years in the making. This one might not be the most well known, but it has one of the most famous matches in the show’s history. This time around we have Hulk Hogan vs. the Big Moss Man inside a steel cage with a spot you might have seen before. Let’s get to it.

Hulk Hogan is ready to pass sentence on Big Boss Man and Slick. He is the judge, jury and executioner. Hogan LOVED that line and used it on probably three Saturday Night’s Main Events at minimum.

Oddly, Boss Man and Slick don’t get a rebuttal.

Opening sequence. I could listen to that song for at least several minutes.

Vince and Jesse welcome us to the show, with Jesse being extra sick of Hogan due to No Holds Barred.

We look at Bobby Heenan cheating Ultimate Warrior out of the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania.

Heenan denies cheating to help Rick Rude win the title, because it was all about winning. Jim Duggan is dreaming of winning the title, so Rude is ready to give him a Rude Awakening.

Jim Duggan (now the King) dedicates the match to the troops on Memorial Day weekend and suggests that Rick Rude is, uh, pink. Duggan is going to keep one eye on Bobby Heenan and one eye on Old Glory. Well not looking at your opponent doesn’t sound like a good way to win a match.

Intercontinental Title: Jim Duggan vs. Rick Rude

Rude, with Bobby Heenan, is defending. They stare at each other to start and then lock up for a grapple around the ropes. Duggan blocks a sunset flip with a right hand and then hits the running clothesline over the top. A knee drop gives Duggan two but he charges into a knee in the corner. Duggan is right back with an atomic drop and you know Rude is all about settling one of those. Another knockdown gets three but Rude’s foot is on the rope.

Cue Haku to yell at Duggan and be taken to the back as we take a break. Back with Rude raking the eyes and dropping an elbow for two, setting up the chinlock. Duggan fight sup but gets dropped with another knee. A top rope fist to the head puts Duggan down but of course ramming him into the buckle just wakes him up. The three point clothesline sends Rude outside and it’s a countout at 7:17.

Rating: C+. In case you were wondering what the most 1989 WWF match ever could be. Duggan is a great choice to come after Rude because he’s a big enough name to possibly be a threat and the fans loved him. They were also smart enough to have Rude escape with the title without beating Duggan, which was always a possibility.

Naturally Duggan seems to think he’s the champion, even if he’s still the King no matter what.

Jim Neidhart doesn’t like the way Randy Savage has been acting, including when he was the WWF Champion. Apparently if Savage wants the title back, he has to go through Neidhart. Huh? He’s not scared of Scary Sherri either.

Randy Savage is rather pleased with his new manager and is ready to take out Neidhart and then face Hulk Hogan again.

Randy Savage vs. Jim Neidhart

Sherri is here too. Savage bails to the floor to start and Sherri grabs the leg, allowing Savage to try a sunset flip. That’s blocked with a simple sit but Savage is back up with some shots to the face. Sherri chokes away from the floor and then does it again but Savage’s slam attempt goes rather poorly. Sherri offers a distraction on the floor but Neidhart cuts off Savage’s cheap shot and hits a dropkick. A powerslam gives Neidhart two and Savage is tied in the ropes, only for Sherri to break him out. The top rope ax handle sends Neidhart into the barricade and the big elbow finishes for Savage at 5:57.

Rating: C+. This was just a way to get Savage back on the winning path after losing the title at Wrestlemania. Neidhart is kind of a perfect choice for this spot as he is a name but won’t be hurt by losing a match to one of the biggest stars in the company. It wasn’t a great match and I don’t think it was expected to be, but it did what it was supposed to do.

The Big Boss Man, with Slick, is ready to beat Hulk Hogan and rehabilitate him. Slick promises a surprise for a bonus.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Big Boss Man

Boss Man, with Slick, is challenging in a cage. Hold on though as Slick has a surprise: ZEUS! So this is weird even by WWF standards, as Zeus (played by actor Tom Lister) is the villain in the movie No Holds Barred and wants revenge on Hogan for what happened in the movie. As in the “real life” actor Hogan is fighting the movie character. Hogan comes out and Zeus won’t let him in the case, instead beating Hogan down as Jesse is THRILLED.

Zeus leaves and Boss Man goes outside and sends Hogan inside for some choking. Hogan fights up with some rams into the cage and the big boot but it’s way too early to go over the top. Boss Man starts to go out but Slick tells him to beat on Hogan more, with commentary not being impressed. Hogan fights up, at least until Boss Man plants him with a spinebuster.

Boss Man starts going up, with Ventura having no idea why he wouldn’t just go through the door. He gets most of the way down but Hogan finally gets up and grabs him through the cage. They go back up onto the top rope and Hogan SUPERPLEXES HIM DOWN for an absolutely massive spot from its era (and not a bad one in modern times either).

They’re both down so the referee comes in for the slowest count in recent memory. Hogan pops up (and the fans are with him) and goes for the door but Boss Man cuts him off with an uppercut. Slick throws in a chain (making sure to throw it over the top so people would see it) for some choking but a double ram into the buckle leaves both of them down again.

Back up and Hogan finds the chain to knock Boss Man silly. The legdrop connects but Slick rams the door onto the referee’s head. Slick goes in but gets knocked away, allowing Hogan to crotch Boss Man on the top rope. Boss Man gets handcuffed to the top rope and Hogan gets out before Slick can unlock him to retain at 10:02 (Ventura: “Wouldn’t you know it?”).

Rating: B. It’s not a particularly great match but DANG that superplex spot was huge and makes up for a lot of the weaker points. It’s entirely designed around that one moment and Hogan gets to come from behind and get a big win on TV to kick off his title reign. Boss Man was a great choice to go after the title and there’s a reason the two of them did some solid business together for a long time.

Post match Hogan beats up Slick for fun. He even puts on Slick’s hat, which doesn’t do much for him.

Bobby Heenan is ready for the Brainbusters to win the Tag Team Titles.

Demolition isn’t so convinced and promise destruction.

Tag Team Titles: Demolition vs. Brainbusters

The Brainbusters, with Bobby Heenan, are challenging. Smash shoves Blanchard into the corner to start and then knocks him to the floor without much trouble. Back in and the bearhug goes on but Heenan offers a distraction, allowing Anderson to get in a knee from behind. That doesn’t last long as Anderson comes in and gets beaten on by Ax. Anderson gets laid across the top rope and hammered down but comes right back with a suplex.

That has all of no effect on Smash, who hands it back to Ax for a slam to Blanchard. A bearhug has Blanchard in more trouble and an elbow to the face sends him outside. Heenan gets knocked down so he goes onto the apron and actually has to be taken into the aisle as we take a break.

Back with Ax working on a neck crank before Smash comes in to hammer on Blanchard. Anderson comes in with a cheap shot though as Heenan is calm at ringside again. Blanchard actually hits something like a top rope seated senton and Anderson adds the always great spinebuster. Smash almost gets over for the tag but Anderson trips him down and Blanchard decks Ax in a smart move. Stereo right hands knock Smash and Anderson down and it’s back to Ax, who knocks the referee down for the DQ at 9:15.

Rating: B. There is a reason this era is considered part of the gold standard for tag team wrestling. You had so many teams like this that you could throw out there and have a good match and that’s what you got with this one. The ending set up a rematch, which would see the Brainbusters take the titles on the next edition of the show, which isn’t something you would often get on this series.

Randy Savage declares himself the new #1 contender to the WWF Title and is ready to take away Hulk Hogan’s Hollywood looks.

Jimmy Snuka vs. Boris Zhukov

Slick is here with Zhukov and has a great exasperated look when Snuka’s music cuts off Zhukov’s singing. Ventura gets back from interviewing Savage and asks what he missed. Vince: “Absolutely nothing.” What a great endorsement of the show. Snuka wastes no time in striking away and hitting an ax handle. A backbreaker sets up the Superfly Splash (that always looked great) to finish Zhukov at 1:10.

Hulk Hogan talks about his issues with Zeus before, during and after filming No Holds Barred. Now come see the movie!

Vince and Jesse wrap it up and the credits roll.

Overall Rating: B+. I had a great time with this one and it’s one of the best episodes of the series. You have two rather awesome matches and a pair of good ones, plus an all time spot from the cage match. They picked a good one to bring out of mothballs here, as it’s a very fun show from an entertaining era, which made for a heck of a quick sit.

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Invasion 1992
Host: Sean Mooney
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon

It’s another Coliseum Video and that means a grand total of anyone’s best guess. Some of these things can be great but there is always the chance that it is all over the place. Since this is from the WWE Vault, there is a good chance that there is at least one good match involved so let’s get to it.

We have a Star Trek theme here, with Mooney as captain and promising some interesting surprises on this voyage. First up is a communication being intercepted: a fan request for our first match.

From Corpus Christi, Texas, December 2, 1991.

Hulk Hogan vs. Typhoon

Someone find that fan and smack him upside the head. The fans are behind Hogan to start and gets shoved around a few times. Hayes says it’s rare for Hogan to find himself against an opponent with a weight advantage. Has Hayes watched wrestling in the last few years? Mooney follows it up by talking about some of the massive opponents Hogan has faced, showing how stupid Hayes sounded.

Hogan shoves Typhoon and then avoids a charge to hammer away in the corner. Hart has to be knocked off the apron before Hogan slugs away and keeps calling Typhoon “FORMER FRIEND”. You know, that comes up a lot for Hogan so maybe he needs to do some self reflection. Typhoon fights back and slowly hammers away before grabbing the obvious bearhug. Hogan’s comeback sees him bounce off Typhoon and a splash in the corner gets two. The obvious comeback is obvious and Hogan finishes with the legdrop at 5:48.

Rating: D+. Hogan vs. a monster is as traditional of a formula as you can get but you have to give him something better than this. There is only so much that you can get out of Typhoon, who is as generic of a big guy as you can get. The more I see of Typhoon the more it becomes clear that he is just there because of his size and nothing more. Pretty horrible match here, as Hogan needed a better opponent.

Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect send a signal to the ship, saying they might as well take over because no one can give them a challenge. Mooney recognizes that Flair is the WWF Champion and we see the non-Hogan booing edition of the Royal Rumble ending. If nothing else, it was amazing to hear Perfect and Flair make a bunch of space references, as it felt more like a test of “can we get him to say this”.

From New Haven, Connecticut, November 13, 1991.

Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair

Hart is defending and it’s a bit weird that they have the interview with Flair holding the WWF Title and then go back to a time before he won it in the first place. Things are a bit all over the place here as the Fink slips a bit on the intro, both saying “La….ladies and gentlemen” and then slips up by calling Perfect (with Flair) the “financial consultant” before switching to “executive consultant”, earning some laughter from commentary. If that’s not enough, Hebner holds the Intercontinental Title upside down during the introductions.

After taking over a minute to get ready, they stare each other down before finally locking up almost two minutes in. Hart grabs a headlock before shouldering Flair down and grabbing said headlock again. The hold goes on for a good while as it feels like they have a lot of time here. Back up and Hart drop toeholds him down before going for the leg, sending Flair over to the ropes. Flair backs the referee off and almost gets decked for his efforts.

Hart backs him into the corner but Flair uses the hair to…well very little actually as Hart hits him in the face. Back up and Flair knocks him into the corner as commentary talks about Hulk Hogan. The backdrop starts the comeback and Hart hammers away in the corner, only to get atomic dropped back out. Flair drops the knee in the general vicinity of Hart’s head for two (with feet on the ropes).

Some whips into the corner get two more (again with feet on the ropes, and some yelling at the fans for calling Flair out) but Hart gets up and wins a slugout. A sleeper doesn’t get Flair very far and Hart knocks him down into the corner. Flair goes after the leg to take over though and the Figure Four goes on. Ever the villain, Flair slaps him a few times, which is enough for Hart to turn it over for the break. Hart gets in a suplex but can’t follow up so it’s time to chop away in the corner.

The Flair Flip sends Flair out to the floor and Hart (with his straps down) is back in to hammer away some more. The Sharpshooter goes on so Perfect pulls Flair over to the ropes. Hart this the backbreaker but Flair sends him over the top before grabbing a headlock back inside. Another slugout goes to Hart and he knocks Flair outside. This time Hart follows and has to backdrop his way out of a piledriver attempt but Perfect trips him up so only Flair beats the count at 19:19.

Rating: B. Gah I was having fun with this one and could have gone with another ten minutes of it after seeing what they were doing. Hart, who would have been something of an underdog here, was going move for move with Flair and it was great to see. It was turning into a chess match to see who would blink first and while I get that you don’t want to have either of them do a job, the ending was disappointing.

Alfred Hayes, with a bad Scottish accent, can’t fix the hyper drive.

From Corpus Christi, Texas, December 2, 1991.

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels

Mr. Perfect is here with Flair, who has a censored title, which is clearly a Tag Team Title. Flair gets in an early WOO as commentary knows that this will be good, even if it is still Rockers Shawn. A headlock doesn’t get Shawn very far as Flair backs him against the ropes for more WOOing. Another headlock is backed into the corner so Flair can chop away, only to get headlocked down again.

Back up and Shawn knocks him hard to the floor, meaning Flair needs to calm things down. A suplex brings Flair back in and there’s another backdrop to put him down again. There’s the Flair Flip to the floor as Flair is looking like he’s going out of his way to make Shawn look good. Flair breaks up a sunset flip attempt hit falls down to give Shawn a breather.

A dropkick drops Flair with a kick and Shawn slams him off the top, setting up the fist drop for two. Shawn clotheslines him to the floor and tries a dive, only to hit barricade for the big crash. Cue Marty Jannetty (even Mooney wants to know why he wasn’t there at the start) to throw Shawn back in…and Flair pins him with feet on the ropes at 10:25.

Rating: B-. And this concludes the two match series that warrants this tape being uploaded. The ending here was more about advancing the Rockers’ split more than anything else, but Shawn looked good in defeat. The singles push was coming and it was clear that the company saw a lot in him, as did Flair.

Flair says woo.

From Corpus Christi, Texas, December 2, 1991.

Tag Team Titles: Beverly Brothers vs. Legion Of Doom

The Beverlys, with the Genius, are challenging. We get a staredown to start, with Blake strutting around Animal. A shove to Animal earns a bigger one back, with Blake crashing out to the floor. Back in and Blake’s front facelock is shoved off with raw power before Blake tries again, to similar success.

Beau comes in and gets Hawk to chase him, allowing some stomping on the way back in. Hawk is right back with his hangman’s neckbreaker but misses a charge into the post to send him outside. Back in and Blake hammers away, setting up a backbreaker for two. A collision gives Hawk a breather though and a double clothesline allows the big tag to Animal. The powerslam into the Doomsday Device retains the titles at 8:59.

Rating: C. Not much to see here but the match wasn’t bad. The Beverlys were a fine choice for a house show level team to challenge the monster champions and it worked well enough here. The problem with the Legion Of Doom as champions is finding teams to challenge them and that was on display here. It wasn’t a good match, but they did what they could.

Alfred Hayes has fixed the hyperdrive. Well at least he got the sirens to stop going off. And now, it’s off to the Andromeda Galaxy for….Sensational Sherri’s Manager Cam.

From Fort Myers, Florida, January 8, 1992.

Tito Santana vs. Ted DiBiase

Sherri is here with DiBiase and is mic’d up to yell about Santana so there is no commentary. They lock up and then shove each other to start, with Sherri yelling about her Teddy Bear. DiBiase takes over with….something we don’t see because the camera is on Sherri. Santana gets driven into the corner but backs off into the ropes, with Sherri shouting even more. A chase sends DiBiase outside where Santana slugs away (“PLEASE DON’T HURT MY TEDDY BEAR!”) and takes him back inside.

An atomic drop lets DiBiase do his great bump over the top but Sherri trips Santana up (“I GOT YOU!”) back inside. Santana gets sent outside for a slap and Sherri chokes on the ropes. An elbow drop has Sherri VERY interested before she stops to yell at the fans. Santana fights up and they brawl to the floor again, where he teases hitting Sherri. That earns him a shot in the back and it’s a double countout at 8:15.

Rating: C. This was all about Sherri and that was a rough sit. There was only so much that could be done, even by people as talented as DiBiase and Santana, when Sherri is ranting and raving the entire time. I get that it’s the point of the match but egads it just never stopped and got very annoying very fast. I like both of these guys but there was no way they were overcoming that screeching.

Post match the brawl continues, along with the screaming. Sherri tries a shoe shot but hits DiBiase by mistake.

Sean Mooney and Alfred Hayes are about to beam down to the planet, so let’s see a feature on the Nasty Boys.

The Nasty Boys go to a video store (oh how I miss those) and go to the stacked Coliseum Video section, where they complain about their tapes not being included. They spray the manager with silly string and order 3,500 Nasty Boy tapes as they take over the store.

From Huntington, West Virginia, October 1, 1991.

Hercules vs. Big Boss Man

Slick is here with Hercules, who grabs a headlock to start. A running shoulder puts Boss man down and a second one does it again. Boss Man is back with some slams and starts slugging away before going outside to deck Slick. Back in and the running crotch attack to the back hits Hercules but a second attempt misses (as all Hercules had to do was fall down).

A clothesline gives Hercules two but he spends too much time yelling at the camera and gets knocked down again. The slugout goes to Hercules and even Slick gets in some choking (to be fair, Boss Man might have damaged his awesome hat). Back up and Boss Man slugs away as well, setting up a splash for two. The Boss Man Slam finishes at 7:34.

Rating: C-. This was mainly punching and kicking but Boss Man was someone the fans were going to like no matter what he was doing. Hercules was mainly there to make other people look good and he did well enough here. Not a great match or even particularly good, but they hit each other hard enough to keep me interested.

From Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, September 10, 1991.

Million Dollar Title: Virgil vs. Ted DiBiase

DiBiase, with (a thankfully non-mic’d Sherri) is actually challenging and Randy Savage is guest referee. DiBiase’s missed charge lets Virgil hammer away to start and he knocks DiBiase out to the floor. Back in and Virgil hits some slams but charges into a boot in the corner. They head outside with Virgil being rammed into the steps before having his comeback cut off back inside.

A suplex gives DiBiase a rather slow two and gets in an argument with Savage as a result. DiBiase hits a backdrop but pulls him up at (another slow) two, meaning it’s time for more arguing. This time DiBiase decks him (knocking Savage’s hat off in the process, because Savage can referee in a hat) and grabs the Million Dollar Dream on Virgil. Savage is back in with an ax handle to DiBiase and Virgil gets the VERY delayed pin at 7:12.

Rating: D+. The match was dull in the first place but the ending was lame, as DiBiase was suddenly out cold off a single ax handle. This should have been Savage decking DiBiase from the floor and fast counting a rollup but instead it was just a weird way to go. It didn’t help that Virgil wasn’t very good in the ring and that was on full display here.

Mooney and Hayes are on the planet and it’s rather ugly.

From Austin Texas, December 4, 1991.

Undertaker/Jake Roberts vs. Jim Duggan/Randy Savage

No entrances for this one as they’re running out of time on the tape. Savage decks Roberts off the apron before the bell and gets a severe tongue lashing from Earl Hebner. Undertaker chokes Duggan in the corner to start but Duggan avoids a charge. A clothesline sends Undertaker outside and he stares up at Duggan, which has to be a bit unnerving. The Stunner over the top rope drops Duggan as we’re just waiting on the Savage vs. Roberts showdown.

Roberts comes in and gets his arm cranked so Savage gets the tag and starts kicking away. The top rope ax handle sends Roberts outside (making him tougher than Ted DiBiase) so it’s back to Undertaker to choke away. The elbow misses though and it’s back to Duggan to hammer away for what must have been a good ten seconds. Roberts is back in to knee him down but the DDT is broken up. Savage snaps (I know) and chairs Roberts for the DQ at 7:04.

Rating: C-. Another slow motion match though in this case at least it makes sense as you don’t want to have one of the two hottest heels get pinned. Savage vs. Roberts was a white hot feud at this point and that isn’t something that you can have do a fall here. Other than that, Duggan slugging away is a good thing and Undertaker is Undertaker but they didn’t have much time here.

Mooney and Hayes…are left on the planet as the ship leaves, seemingly dooming them forever to end the show. Nice ending.

Overall Rating: C. The Flair matches were good (shocking I know) but the rest was pretty drek. You could definitely feel the transition around this period and there was only so much worth seeing. The Hogan formula was feeling tired and the company needed some fresh stars. The Undertaker would certainly fit, but some of these names just don’t feel that interesting and it was a pretty weak sit with a bunch of dull matches.

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Invasion of the Bodyslammers
Hosts: Lord Alfred Hayes, Slick
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Jim Ross, Randy Savage

So this is a Coliseum Video which I had as a kid and watched over and over, making this something of a nice flashback for me. It’s something that was uploaded to the WWE Vault and that means I have a reason to watch it all over gain. Granted I didn’t say it was good, so keep that in mind. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence, featuring highlights that put us in mid 1993.

Lord Alfred Hayes and Slick welcome us…from the bowling alley, because it’s time to teach Kamala how to bowl. Slick says he has bowled 27 perfect games and it’s time to teach Kamala how to do that today. First up, he needs shoes. We’ll work on that during the first match.

From January 25, 1993 in San Jose, California.

Earthquake vs. Yokozuna

Mr. Fuji is here with Yokozuna. After nearly a minute and a half of getting ready and posing, they shove each other a bit as this is taking its time. Some kicks to the ribs stagger Yokozuna but a running shoulder doesn’t do much for Earthquake. Three clotheslines put Yokozuna down to one knee but a running shoulder drops Earthquake, setting up the running legdrop. Back up and Fuji offers a distraction, allowing Yokozuna to hit a corner splash. The Banzai Drop finishes Earthquake off at 3:43.

Rating: D. This was nothing, with almost half of the match being spent staring at each other before they started making contact. The action, and I use that term loosely, was about two minutes long and it didn’t work. They’re both capable of so much more and it was just nothing to see, which is rather disappointing.

From December 14, 1992 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Nasty Boys vs. Beverly Brothers

Beau punches Sags in the face to start but Sags is back with a faceplant to Blake. This lets Heenan go on an amusing bit about which Beverly is which, where he eliminates the Nastys and the referee before saying that the one in the purple is a Beverly. Ross: “And what might his first name be?” Heenan: “Mr.” Knobbs comes in and picks up the pace, including a faceplant, only for Beau to hit one of his own (this is already repetitive and we’re barely three minutes in).

Blake clotheslines Knobbs down but misses a middle rope splash. What looked like a low blow cuts Knobbs down again but he comes back with a hair takedown (so a reverse faceplant). That’s enough to bring Sags back in for the house cleaning, including a double faceplant (oh come on). The brawling is on and the referee gets shoved for the double DQ at 6:47.

Rating: D. This match was 80% punching and faceplanting before a double DQ on a Coliseum Video. Why in the world would you think that was the right way to go? You really can’t have the Beverly Brothers do a job here? Another bad match as this tape is off to a pretty terrible start.

Back at the alley, Kamala won’t wear shoes, but Hayes has a customized bowling ball, complete with the same kind of paint that covers Kamala’s stomach and chest.

From November 24, 1992 in Dayton, Ohio.

Undertaker vs. Razor Ramon

Heenan spends Ramon’s entrance mocking the idea of Ross being a bowling fan. Ramon goes to the floor to start and hammers away back inside to limited success. Undertaker strikes away and hits Old School, with Ross doing a great job of selling how impressive it is. A clothesline puts Undertaker on the floor but Ramon is back with a Stunner over the ropes to stagger Ramon.

Undertaker gets crotched on the to and as Heenan isn’t sure if Undertaker is an athlete or a monster. Savage: “An athletic monster.” Some elbow drops have Undertaker in trouble and an Urn shot rocks him again. Undertaker pops up with the chokeslam and that’s enough for Ramon, who takes the countout at 5:03.

Rating: C-. Match of the tape so far and at least I get why they didn’t want Ramon to take a fall. Undertaker was rapidly becoming a big deal around this point and it’s easy to see why he got to beat up Ramon and send him running here. That being said, can we please get a good match already? This is getting to be a bit much.

From January 5, 1993 in San Antonio, Texas.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Typhoon

Is this tape mad at me? Do I owe it money or something? Typhoon powers out of a waistlock to start before catching a crossbody (geez) in a World’s Strongest Slam. Back up and Typhoon hammers away but gets sent face first into the buckle. Bigelow grabs a front facelock and Typhoon can’t suplex his way to freedom. Instead Bigelow gets in a suplex of his own and we hit the chinlock. Typhoon fights up and Bigelow can’t hold him up for a slam. A corner splash sets up…not the running splash, as Typhoon lets him get back up. Another splash in the corner misses and Bigelow drops the top rope headbutt for the win at 7:28.

Rating: C-. What were you expecting from these two? There is only so much you can get out of a match where the two of them aren’t able to do much and that was on display here. Typhoon was just ok on his best day and that wasn’t the case in this match. I know the WWF loved its battles of the monsters but that rarely worked, which was on full display with this one.

Slick bowls a strike but Kamala is looking at his bowling ball. Therefore, let’s go to the Repo Cam. Alfred isn’t here, presumably having been eaten by Kamala.

We go to a home movie being invaded by the Repo Man, who tells the man filming that he can keep the camera if he follows Repo Man around for the day. First up, Repo Man takes a Cadillac, because what’s his is his and what’s everybody else’s is his too. Next up, Repo Man takes a kid’s bike because the kid’s dad owes him money.

Now it’s time to go into a video store (oh how I miss those), where the clerk insists that they make all of their payments. She can keep the store for a week if she plays the Repo Man’s Greatest Hits, which Repo Man of course carries with him. The tape (within the special) shows Repo Man kicking in a car window to take it back due to the person being a day late on his payments.

Then he breaks into a garage and takes a woman’s car for being three days late. The woman comes into the garage and screams so he tells her to pay up or shut up. Back at the video store, Repo Man makes sure to get his tape back…then runs off with the video camera. This was the kind of insanity I love from Coliseum Videos, as it felt like Repo Man was told to go do something and they put it on the tape. I like that kind of thing, just for the sake of building up a guy who doesn’t get much attention. You instantly get what you’re supposed to know about him and it made for a short, stupid, yet still entertaining segment.

From April 29, 1992 in Syracuse, New York.

Intercontinental Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

Hart is defending and Sensational Sherri is here with Michaels as this is the best sounding thing in a good while after the last forty five minutes. Michaels snaps off an armdrag to start with even Heenan thinking Michaels needs to follow up faster. A pull of the hair brings Hart down into an armbar but he flips up and sends Michaels outside. Back in and Hart starts in on the arm for a change before dropping him with a clothesline for two.

Michaels comes back with a knee to the ribs and stomps away, setting up a running crotch attack against the ropes. The chinlock goes on and Michaels uses the hair to pull Hart back down. Back up and Michaels charges into a boot in the corner, allowing Hart to hit a middle rope clothesline. The middle rope elbow gets two, with Sherri panicking at the near fall. They both crash out to the floor and Sherri grabs the leg, allowing Michaels to knock hart into the barricade for the countout at 8:49.

Rating: C+. Even a not so great Bret vs. Shawn match is still Bret vs. Shawn and it’s by far the best thing in the first hour of this pretty dreadful tape. The two of them could have a decent match together in their sleep and they did well enough here without much time. In this case the countout was fine as it keeps Shawn strong, but dang I could have gone for some more from these two.

Post match Sherri is shocked that it’s not a title change. Shawn is less stunned but decks the referee instead. Ever the fan of law and order, Bret beats Shawn up for going after the referee.

Slick demonstrates bowling form and hits a strike, but Kamala is still looking at the ball. Alfred (hey he wasn’t eaten) suggests a new ball, but Kamala doesn’t want to give up the old one. Instead, he can have a match.

From February 16, 1993 in San Diego, California.

Kamala vs. Doink The Clown

Kamala has Slick with him while Doink has a big gift box. Doink teases Kamala with said box as Heenan suggests cutting off Kamala’s head, shave his beard, put a finger in each ear and throw him down the alley for a great bowling ball. With that disturbing image in my head (fingers in ears are not sanitary), Kamala goes after the arm but gets caught in an armbar to take him down. That’s broken up and Kamala hits something like a superkick. A bunch of chops connect and they go outside for the chase. Doink cuts him off with the box though…and Kamala gets counted out at 3:21.

Rating: D+. This is beyond ridiculous as it almost feels like the tape is trolling us at this point. The match was barely anything more than a way to set up the ending, which might make sense but isn’t much to see after everything else that has been on this mess. In theory, someone would have thought “hey, maybe we should have a good match on here” at some point, but that hasn’t really happened yet. Just more lame stuff, even though evil Doink is always kind of fun.

Post match, there’s nothing in the box. Heenan: “I’m so sorry, I’m dumb.” Kamala beats Doink up and chases him off.

From December 14, 1992 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Undertaker vs. Papa Shango

Paul Bearer is here with Undertaker, as is customary. Shango grabs him by the throat for a drive into the corner, only for Undertaker to do the same thing. Well to Shango that is. Old School takes Shango down but he avoids an elbow and clotheslines Undertaker out to the floor. The Stunner over the top gets Undertaker out of trouble but Shango grabs his voodoo stick to blast Undertaker with some pyro.

Undertaker staggers around and a chair to the back makes it worse. Shango sends him into the steps and they go back inside where Undertaker pops up off some slams. A boot to the head and some elbows (as Ramon did to him an hour ago) keep undertaker in trouble but he comes back with the jumping clothesline. The chokeslam finishes Shango at 6:26.

Rating: C. This didn’t have much time either but in this case that might be the best possible outcome. Shango didn’t have much other than trying to blow up Undertaker’s face (wrestling is weird) and there is only so much of a reason to believe that he was a threat to Shango. Undertaker was still a monster here and in theory this would be a big match but after seeing this, not so much.

Slick tries to convince Kamala to roll the ball down the alley…but he runs down the alley instead.

From February 1, 1993 in New York City, New York.

Battle Royal

Owen Hart, Koko B. Ware, Kamala, Kim Chee, Shawn Michaels, Iron Mike Sharpe, Bob Backlund, Typhoon, Razor Ramon, Damien Demento, Berzerker, Terry Taylor, Skinner, Tito Santana, Tatanka

This is from a Raw taping, which is weird to see on a tape like this one. The general brawling starts us off as we hear about Andre The Giant being great at these things, mainly because he passed away about a week earlier. Sharpe is out without being mentioned as Heenan is impressed by Ware and Hart’s pants. Ware’s pants go flying over the top for an elimination, leaving commentary to wonder if Tatanka can lose without having his undefeated streak broken.

Things slow down despite not going fast in the first place, with no one really close to an elimination. Hart can’t get rid of Michaels and for some reason Skinner stops to dance, allowing Typhoon to knock him out. Demento is out and Hart follows him, with Berzerker kicking Santana low in something you didn’t often see at this point. Berzerker is tossed out without much trouble and Kamala is sent out with a bit more trouble. Hold on though as Kamala goes back in to toss Chee out and then chases him into the crowd.

We’re down to seven and cut to Kamala chasing Chee through the balcony in a cool shot. As we come back, Taylor and Backlund are both out and Michaels gets rid of Typhoon. That leaves us with Michaels, Ramon, Santana and Tatanka as something of a tag match (and a good one at that) breaks out. Michaels hammers on Tatanka in the corner as Ramon might have kneed Santana low. Santana is back up with the running forearm, leaving the good guys to beat up Michaels.

A double kick in the corner gets rid of Michaels….and here is Giant Gonzalez to go after everyone else. Gonzalez tosses out Tatanka and Santana is out as well. Since Ramon is the only one left, he wins at around 13:30. This means Heenan’s pick wins, sending Savage into a fit of hysterics (Savage: “YOU GOTTA BE RIBBING!” I still use that line in my day to day life thirty plus years later.”)

Rating: D+. Pretty lame battle royal here with a bunch of standing around and not doing much until the ending. It’s really just a bunch of midcarders in one big match and that is only going to get you so far. It was long, bring and had a screwy ending so it was only going to be so good. Also, they kept saying it was a sixteen man match but I’ve never gotten past fifteen.

From October 26, 1992 in Springfield, Illinois.

Tatanka vs. Repo Man

Tatanka grabs a lockup to start and powers him into the corner before they switch places. Repo Man actually gives a clean break (commentary is stunned too) and it’s a pair of dropkicks to put him own as a result. The threat of a chop sends Repo out to the apron as Heenan talks about how many cars Repo can get into in ten seconds.

Back up and a not very smooth crossbody sets up an armbar on Repo, allowing Heenan to explain why Repo is screaming “HE’S BREAKING IT”! Heenan actually goes into a deal about how you’re trying to get the referee to check the hold to get a break, which is rather in-depth. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Tatanka but neither does Repo’s counter.

As commentary talks about paying off the bet from the battle royal (Heenan: “Just give me $200 each we’ll call it even.” Savage: “Ok no problem. I’ve got a lot of Confederate money laying around.”), Tatanka misses a crossbody and gets caught in an armbar. Tatanka fights up and chops away but for some reason stays down after hitting a big one. Repo goes up and gets punched out of the air, setting up even more chops. A top rope chop gets two and the End Of The Trail finishes for Tatanka at 7:43.

Rating: D+. They weren’t clicking out there and it made for a not very goo match. I’m not sure what was going on but for some reason it was like they kept having to restart. This isn’t exactly a match that needed to be all that complicated but for some reason it felt like they were on rather different pages.

Kamala, holding a ball in both hands, wiggles his hips a bit…and the ball goes backwards.

From January 4, 1993 in Beaumont, Texas.

Mr. Perfect vs. Ric Flair

Perfect shoves him down a few times to start and mocks the Flair hair rub. Flair loses an exchange of slaps and Perfect drops him without much trouble. A wrestle off goes to Perfect, who slaps Flair in the face again as this is one sided so far. Back up and Flair chops and punches away in the corner, naturally setting up a heck of a bump back out of said corner. Perfect gets in a backdrop and a clotheslines puts Flair out on the floor.

Back in and Flair goes to the eyes to take over so a knee drop can get two. Commentary bickers about whether or not Flair losing to Bret Hart in Canada should count as Perfect makes the comeback. A slam off the top gives Perfect two but he misses an elbow, meaning it’s time for Flair to go after the leg. The Figure Four goes on and naturally Flair grabs the rope (JR: “It’s illegal!” Heenan: “No, illegal is a sick bird!”).

Perfect rolls over and gets caught in the corner, where Flair can strike away again. Some chops get Perfect out of trouble and he slugs away on one leg. The leg is good enough for a backdrop and Perfect whips him over the corner. Back in and a quick PerfectPlex gives Perfect the clean win at 10:49.

Rating: B. Oh of course these two were going to have a good match. They know each other really well and Perfect was more than capable of hanging with Flair at his best. The leg injury worked well with Perfect having to fight his way back up and it was easy to get into what they were doing. Rather nice way to wrap things up here, and it’s nice to have a clean ending to a hard worked match.

Slick and Alfred liked the tape (their opinions are officially revoked) but they’re disappointed they didn’t teach Kamala to bowl. Then Kamala bowls a strike and the hosts are stunned (ok points for a funny visual). Slick celebrates with Kamala to finish things off.

Overall Rating: D+. This tape really is just known as “that tape where Slick teaches Kamala to bowl”. Other than that you have a bunch of nothing matches, with Perfect vs. Flair being the only good one, along with a Bret vs. Shawn match which has been done better. The Repo Man stuff was kind of funny but the one joke gets old quick. Just a weak tape here from a bad period in the company’s history.

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Randy Savage Mixtape
Date: November 15, 2024
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bruno Sammartino, Tony Schiavone, Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, Eric Bischoff, Steve McMichael, Larry Zbyszko

All hail the WWE Vault channel. So this is something unique as it’s a three hour mash up of matches, promos and various things from throughout Savage’s career. There is going to be some fascinating stuff in here to go with some classics and that should make for a very interesting watch. If nothing else, it’s always nice to see something from one of the best ever. Let’s get to it.

We open with an undated Randy Savage promo talking about how he’s been turning around a lot lately, so of course he turns around as he talks. Honky Tonk Man hasn’t been speaking very highly about Savage lately (putting this around 1987) and while he can’t sing or dance, he can make romance. If Elizabeth is going right, he’s going left. OH YEAH. As usual, I have no idea what he was talking about but it made sense.

We go to what looks like an empty building where Savage, billed as the World Heavyweight Champion, meaning we’re in the ICW out of Lexington, Kentucky, is beating up what I’d assume is a job guy. The middle rope elbow (more like a regular elbow drop without a jump as it was a work in progress) connects and Savage goes to the floor. Savage talks about WKYT Channel 27 (that’s the Lexington CBS station) is going to love him. It had no audience but you could absolutely feel the charisma dripping from him and he had to wind up on the big stage sooner than later.

Here’s something a bit more familiar. From Wrestlemania VIII.

WWF Title: Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair

Flair, with Mr. Perfect, is defending. This is the co-main event of the show, with Savage coming after the title and revenge for Flair suggesting that he had a relationship with Elizabeth back in the day, sending Savage even more out of his mind. Savage jumps him on the floor to start fast with Perfect having to make a save. They get inside with Savage hitting a clothesline and hammering away in the corner as Heenan is going nuts on commentary. Flair gets in a backdrop to send Savage outside (in a great bump) and a ram into the apron makes it worse.

A delayed suplex gives Flair two and a belly to back gets the same as Heenan wants to see the alleged centerfolds of Elizabeth, as promised by Flair. The knee drop connects as Gorilla isn’t having any of Heenan’s chattering. Another suplex drops Savage and Flair stomps away as the slow pace continues. Savage tries to punch his way out of the corner and the fans go nuts, setting up a neckbreaker for a double down.

Heenan needs a drink as Flair goes to the top, only to get slammed down (with Savage on the bottom rope). Flair gets flipped in the corner and goes up, with Savage clotheslining him out of the floor. A clothesline puts Flair on the floor and Savage ax handles him into the barricade, with Flair clearly blading and getting in a good bit of trouble as a result.

The bloody head is sent into various metal objects and there’s a Flair Flop. Savage suplexes him on the floor as Heenan is BEGGING for the match to be stopped. Back in and a top rope ax handle sets up the big elbow but Perfect breaks up the count. The referee lets it go and gets bumped as Savage goes after Perfect, who throws Flair an object. A big right hand gives Flair two and Perfect gets in a chair shot to the knee.

That gives Flair a target but here is Elizabeth at ringside (with a bunch of people, including a young Shane McMahon, failing to stop her). Flair gets the Figure Four, with Perfect assisting, and the referee breaking it up when Savage turns it over. Flair chops away and says this one is for Elizabeth, but Savage gets in a right hand and rolls Flair up (with trunks) to get the title back at 18:02, sending Heenan into hysterics.

Rating: B+. Yeah it’s still great, with the fans absolutely going nuts at every single thing in the match. You don’t see that kind of heat ever and it was carrying an already good match that much higher. The place came unglued when Savage won and it’s still a pretty awesome feel good moment. This was one of the last true high points for Savage in the WWF but he could more than still go, which makes his move to commentary all the more ridiculous. Anyway, awesome match even after I’ve probably seen it a hundred times.

Post match Flair goes after Elizabeth so she slaps him, sending Savage right back into the frenzy. Perfect gets back in as well and the beating is on (with blood on the back of one of the agents’ suits for a slightly disturbing visual). Flair and Perfect are sent to the floor and Fink gets to announce Savage as ONCE AGAIN the WWF Champion (no NEEEEEWWWWW but good enough). Pyro goes off and dang this would have made a great Night One main event if that was a thing back in the day.

And now, a Randy Savage music video, talking about how Savage gets the party jumping, looking (and feeling) probably from around 1993.

From WCW Worldwide, January 31, 1998.

Randy Savage vs. Ultimo Dragon

Elizabeth is here with (NWO) Savage and my goodness this is the kind of rarities I love from WWE. Savage teases a handshake and then kicks him in the ribs as commentary talks about how there aren’t as many old wrestling venues anymore. Dragon hits a dropkick but misses a second, only for Dragon to do his corner headstand. Some rapid fire kicks have Savage in trouble but he knocks Dragon back down. Elizabeth gets in some choking and Savage drops him throat first on the top. The big elbow finishes at 2:30. Not a squash, but Savage was never in any danger.

From what sounds like 1995, Savage says he beat the Zodiac and is ready for Hulk Hogan. Oh and Gene Okerlund’s mustache is crooked. Gene isn’t sure about that one and they’re out.

From 1985, with Savage in the ring with all of the heel managers who had been recruiting him. Savage thanks them for everything they taught him, only to introduce his new manage: Elizabeth. Bruno Sammartino on commentary asking if she’s a movie star is a bit creepy but it put over the idea well.

From a Superstars dark match, January 5, 1987.

Randy Savage/Honky Tonk Man vs. Hulk Hogan/Ricky Steamboat

Well that’s about the facest team that ever faced (and apparently they only teamed six times, mainly on house shows). Jimmy Hart and Elizabeth are here too. Savage throws in a chair and hits the referee by mistake and we start (minus a bell) with Honky Tonk being sent into a boot in the corner. Savage won’t tag in so Steamboat hits a crossbody for two.

Hogan comes in and Savage goes to yell at Elizabeth for some reason, with Hogan throwing him back in for a tag to Honky Tonk. Steamboat chinlocks Honky Tonk and hands it back to Hogan, with Honky Tonk bailing as fast as he can. An atomic drop out of the corner cuts off Honky Tonk’s comeback and it’s back to Steamboat for a sleeper. Savage finally gets in a cheap shot from the apron and now he’s willing to come in with a top rope ax handle.

Honky Tonk’s middle rope fist drop connects and he sends Steamboat outside for a slam on the floor while Savage offers a distraction. Back in and they ram heads, allowing Steamboat to get over for the tag off to Hogan. House is quickly cleaned and Steamboat hits the top rope chop but Honky Tonk shoves him off the top. Savage tries to bring in the bell and throws the referee down for cutting him off, which is enough for Steamboat to grab the bell instead. Savage and Elizabeth run off so Hogan and Steamboat beat up Hart as the match is thrown out at around 11:00.

Rating: C+. Oh like this wasn’t going to be a blast. It’s a match that they could have fun at a hundred house shows as the story is pretty much built in. Hogan could do anything and get cheered to the moon here while Savage and Honky Tonk Man had all of the heat. The match was exactly what you would expect and it didn’t need to be anything else.

From Tuesday Night Titans (Savage is Intercontinental Champion so this is probably 1986) with Gene Okerlund hosting for some reason. There is a doctor here who has been researching great macho stars and now he has done a study on Savage. We get a video of Savage on a psychiatrist’s couch for a word association game. After making sure it’s non-title, we’re ready to go (with the word and then Savage’s response):

Macho – “The Macho Man Randy Savage.”

Interesting – “Oh yes I am!” Then Savage realizes that’s not one of the words and accepts the doctor’s apology.

Pump – “Pumping iron.”

Gun – “Fastest gun in the east, west, south and north.” Why he points down on “north” isn’t clear.

Muscle – “Don’t help me, don’t help me, no problem.”

Belt: “Yeah that’s what I’m going to do to Hulk Hogan when I see him.”

Sweat – “Blood sweat and tears all rolled into one. That’s why I’ve got this.” as he holds up the title.

Kitten – “What women turn into when I look at them.”

Female – “The race of people that admire and lust after the Macho Man. Ask Elizabeth.”

Stud – “You’re looking at him right now in vivid living color.”

Sucker – “Hulk Hogan. That was a good one.”

Animal – “What do you mean animal???” Savage goes nuts at the mention of George Steele and storms off.

Total insanity as usual and I cannot imagine this was scripted in any way. It felt like they just told Savage to go nuts and that doesn’t seem too difficult.

From Monday Nitro, May 6, 1996.

Hugh Morrus vs. Randy Savage

Morrus jumps him on the floor to start and drops him onto the barricade as commentary talks about Ric Flair making Savage nuts. Morrus sends him into various things on the floor and PUTS ON SAVAGE’S HAT, which is enough to start the comeback. Savage chokes him with the shirt over the ropes and the match is thrown out at 2:58. More of an angle than a match, and oddly one of three matches these two had on Nitro over the years.

Post match Savage keeps up the beating and drops the elbow before beating up the referee as lair has driven him this crazy. The cops come in and Doug Dillinger says Savage needs to “check yourself into an institution.” The bell ringing over and over probably isn’t helping his mental state.

Savage kisses an Easter Bunny. Ok then.

From July 30, 1991, a dark match from a Wrestling Challenge taping. Ignore that Savage lost his career back in March at Wrestlemania and wouldn’t be reinstated until November.

Randy Savage vs. Undertaker

From what I can find, their only non-house show match ever. Savage strikes away in the corner to start and hits the big clothesline out to the floor. Undertaker lands on his feet and hits a Stunner over the ropes, with Paul Bearer declaring it all over. Undertaker chokes on the ropes and chokes some more in the air as Bearer says there will be no wedding at Summerslam.

We’ll go back to choking on the ropes and then onto the mat as Undertaker is really varying it up here. Savage fights up but charges into a knee in the corner, setting up Old School. A big running elbow misses though and Savage knees him out to the floor for the ax handle….and we don’t have the end of the match filmed. We saw about 7:00 and Savage eventually won by pin.

Rating: N/A. I won’t rate an incomplete match but it wasn’t anything great. It’s disappointing to not see the ending but I’ll take what I can get. This is the definition of a rarity and something that is rather cool to see, as those two could have done some good things together. Savage was still a few months away from coming back full time and he didn’t get to do much here, but the fans were still with him all the way.

From the ICW or maybe Memphis days, Savage drops an elbow into a pool.

We see some bloopers from the filming of the earlier music video.

From WCW Saturday Night, January 28, 1995.

TV Title: Randy Savage vs. Arn Anderson

Savage is challenging and Anderson has Colonel Robert Parker and Meng with him. An armdrag into an armbar has Anderson down to start and he has to roll his way out of a sleeper. Anderson shoulders him down for two but Savage drops a knee to send Anderson bailing to the floor. Meng’s distraction doesn’t work as Savage elbows Anderson in the face, only to get taken down back inside.

The chinlock has the fans bringing Savage back up but a running elbow drops him again. Back up and they ram heads for a double down before Anderson has to break up another sleeper. They slug it out from their knees as even Heenan is praising Savage for doing anything to win. The fight heads outside with Anderson being posted as we have five minutes left in the fifteen minute time limit.

Back in and Parker gets in a cheap shot, allowing Anderson to grab a chinlock. Savage jawbreaks his way to freedom and knocks Anderson to the floor with two minutes left. Anderson rolls through a high crossbody for two but Savage’s running clothesline gets the same. We have a minute left as Anderson can’t hit the DDT. Parker’s distraction lets Anderson hit a quick suplex but Savage drops him again. The top rope elbow gives Savage the pin at 15:15, meaning that he wins the match but not the title (as the title was only on the line for the first fifteen minutes, an old rule that allowed such finishes).

Rating: B. This got really good near the end as the time limit was becoming a big factor. I was wondering how they were going to get out of this one and I’ll take this over some lame DQ. These two worked well together, which isn’t surprising given how good they were, but you didn’t see them in the ring very often. Good match, especially on free TV.

Post match the Stud Stable comes in to beat Savage down but Dustin Rhodes and Sting make the save.

We get the famous Cream Rises To The Top/Cream Of The Crop promo, with Savage holding up a cup of cream and blames Jack Tunney for Ricky Steamboat being the Intercontinental Champion. He’s coming for the WWF Title.

A quick vignette shows Savage picking up a woman from a bench. The screen behind theme is white so I’m guessing it was part of some bigger video.

From a Superstars dark match, December 4, 1991.

Randy Savage/Jim Duggan/Roddy Piper vs. Ric Flair/Jake Roberts/Undertaker

Well ok then. Piper takes Flair into the corner to start but Flair leapfrogs (!) him and gets knocked to the floor for a breather. Roberts comes in to face Piper (that’s a weird one) but wants Savage. Piper: “You want him? You’re stupid!” It’s off to Savage, who clears Roberts out in a hurry before Undertaker comes in to choke Duggan. The big right hands get Duggan out of trouble (and actually look good on someone as big as Undertaker) but the neck snap over the top cuts off the comeback.

Duggan gets beaten into the corner but again slugs his way out, allowing the tag back to Piper. Flair’s poke to the eye lets Undertaker come back in for some choking, followed by some good old taunting from Roberts. The fans chant USA (for the Canadian born Scottish star) but oddly enough it works, allowing Savage to come in for a really fast comeback. Savage plants Flair and drops the big elbow for the pin at 8:48.

Rating: C+. Another fun match here and that’s what it needed to be. It was an easy way to send the fans home happy with Savage pinning Flair, who was still pretty new at this point. Duggan slugging away was good enough, even if he was pretty low down on the totem pole. This was the kind of random match I want from something like this and it worked well.

NWO Savage is in a parade and references Harvard, which might be him being named Hasty Pudding’s Man Of The Year (it’s a Harvard theatrical group).

Elizabeth brings Gene Okerlund to the pool for a sitdown interview with Savage. He’s very good at wrestling and no he didn’t get rich by “stealing” the Intercontinental Title. Now he wants the WWF Title and hey look there’s an airplane going by and he’s not on it because there’s no title defense up there (that was as random of a Savage moment as you’ll get).

Savage is still ready to come after Hulk Hogan and Gene asks Elizabeth about her recent activities, like golf, tennis and swimming. That lack of attention doesn’t work for Savage,, but Elizabeth gets a phone call, with a “national women’s publication” offering Savage half a million dollars for a centerfold. That’s a no and the publication can wait awhile.

Another call is from Japan, with a promoter offering $400,000 for Savage to wrestle three men. That’s a no as well but he’ll beat all three of them right here for nothing. This was on a Coliseum Video before (probably one about Savage) and it’s still good, with Savage being totally insane and making it work.

From Championship Wrestling, September 28, 1985.

Randy Savage/Jesse Ventura vs. Mike Rice/Mario Mancini

Elizabeth is here too and Savage orders her into the corner. Ventura takes Mancini into the corner for some shots from Savage and a kick to the back of the head. Rice comes in and Ventura drops a leg, setting up the elbow to complete the squash at 1:43.

Post match Ventura gets in a shouting match with broadcaster Bruno Sammartino.

WWF Champion Randy Savage and Elizabeth are in Paris. That’s it.

From Monday Nitro, January 20, 1997.

Savage storms the ring and throws a chair inside, saying he’s been blackballed and isn’t leaving until someone talks to him. He has a seat and shouts that HE’S WAITING so here is Chavo Guerrero Jr., who is scheduled for the opening match. Chavo begs Savage to leave but Savage isn’t budging, eventually taking Chavo out with ease. Chavo’s opponent, Maxx Muscle, comes in and gets laid out as well.

The referee gets beaten up, as does head of security Doug Dillinger. Alex Wright is the next victim so here are the Steiners and the Amazing French Canadians, none of whom are willing to get in. Sting lowers from the rafters (in front of the Chicago Bulls’ championship banners for a great visual) and gets in but Savage still isn’t getting out of the chair.

Sting hits the chair with the bat and then hands it to Savage, turning his back on him for the offer of a free shot. With Savage not swinging, they get out and leave through the crowd. I remember watching this life and it made Savage look like a killer. Then he turned on Sting and joined the NWO, which did make sense but was kind of disappointing as everyone was doing it.

We get a sitdown interview with Savage (looks 1993ish) where he talks about getting the Macho Man nickname during his baseball career.

Savage was in a WWF softball game and, believe it or not, hits a home run.

Gene Okerlund is cut off by Savage talking a million miles an hour, speaking about sprinkling magic dust and never worrying about the future. Savage: “Doing the thing and bang bang!”

From Superstars in 1991, Savage talks about returning to the ring at Summerslam…and then he proposes to Elizabeth. Piper: “GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!” Elizabeth isn’t sure what to say, but then goes with the only possible answer: “OH YEAH!” This is still one of the best long form stories in WWF history and while it peaked at Wrestlemania, this was a great next step.

From (I’m assuming) Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Savage and Jim Cornette have a go-kart race. Savage destroys him as Cornette screams a lot. Cornette gets out and gets lapped before Savage chases him off the course. More goofy fun.

From….I have no idea actually but it appears to be a rematch from Wrestlemania III, putting it in the spring/early summer of 1987.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat

Savage, with Elizabeth of course, is challenging (I think). A lockup doesn’t go anywhere so Savage armdrags him down and points. Back up and Steamboat knocks him to the floor, with Savage needing a breather. Savage comes back in and elbows him in the head, meaning Steamboat goes to the floor for a change. Back in and Savage stomps away, sending him right back outside.

Steamboat gets back in and grabs the small package for the hope spot but Savage is out this time. A high crossbody is rolled through and Steamboat’s head gets tied in the ropes for a….well not really a breather in this case. With that broken up, Steamboat fights back but gets kicked in the face to cut that off in a hurry. Another shot to the face gives Steamboat three but Savage’s foot is in the ropes.

Some rollups give Steamboat two more, with a kickout sending the throat into the ropes. Savage misses a running crotch attack, allowing Steamboat to hit the top rope chop for two. They hit heads for a double down so Savage grabs the belt…which only hits turnbuckle, bouncing back into his face. Steamboat steals the pin to retain at 10:52.

Rating: B. I was worried coming into this one as I’ve seen rematches between them before and they really weren’t very good. This was quite different from what they did at Wrestlemania and that’s a heck of a trick, as it’s a rematch of one of the best matches ever. It was almost weird to see them doing something that wasn’t their classic match, but this was a nice, different direction.

Savage is ready to win the Intercontinental Title from Tito Santana, who is nothing but garbage compared to him. And yes, of course he has a trashcan with him, because Savage is good enough to realize that something that small was memorable. Santana is like a grain of sand in the Sahara desert and Savage is the entire desert.

From Monday Nitro, March 25, 1996.

Randy Savage vs. Belfast Bruiser

Bruiser is better known as Finlay. Savage shoves him away to start but gets caught in an early chinlock. Bruiser’s rough uppercut forearms just wake Savage up and he knocks Bruiser hard to the floor. That’s fine with Bruiser, who drops him onto the barricade and sends him over said barricade for a bonus. Back in and Savage avoids a charge into the post, setting up the big elbow for the pin at 5:06.

Rating: C+. This is a match that would have been rather different once Finlay developed his reputation but for now, it was mostly Savage getting beaten up and then hitting the elbow for a miracle win. In other words, just about all he did around this time. Savage could only do so much with his bad arm and while this wasn’t bad, it never really got going.

We get a quick (as in like ten seconds) rehearsal of Savage’s entrance from Wrestlemania IX with the arena empty for a weird visual.

From UK Rampage 1992.

WWF Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Savage

Savage is defending and has Elizabeth to counter Sensational Sherri. Heenan thinks Savage is either brave or stupid for coming in here on a bad leg. They fight over a lockup to start before Shawn sends him into the corner. Savage gets up a knee to cut off the charge though and Shawn needs a breather. The delay doesn’t work for Savage, who throws in a chair so we can reset things a bit. Some shoulders drop Savage but he’s right back with a clothesline to the floor, setting up a top rope ax handle.

With Savage occupied, Sherri goes after Elizabeth, which is broken up in short order. Shawn is right there for the save and sends Savage into the post to take over. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gives Shawn two and a swinging neckbreaker is good for the same. Savage is back with a shot to the face for two and Sherri is already panicking.

A big knee sends Shawn to the floor for a top rope ax handle, followed by another for two back inside. Savage tries it again but gets punched out of the air, setting up a hard clothesline for two. The superkick (not yet a big deal) gives Shawn two and the top rope fist drop sends Savage back to the floor. Back in and Shawn throws him over the top again, with Sherri getting in a hard kick of her own.

Savage gets back in and accidentally runs the referee over, meaning the top rope elbow gets no count. The referee is pulled back in for a VERY delayed two so Sherri gets on the apron, with Elizabeth shoving her down. Savage hits a high crossbody for two, followed by Shawn grabbing a top rope sunset flip for two. Back up and Savage hits another high crossbody for the pin to retain at 16:15, making me wonder if they didn’t get the right finish on the first one.

Rating: B. I’ve seen this one a few times before and it’s easy to see why Savage wanted to do something big with Shawn. You could see flashes of what Shawn would become later on and Savage was wise to want to be in on that. The match was good and let Shawn get a chance to rub elbows with the legend, which made for a rather nice showcase for both of them.

Post match Shawn jumps Savage again but Sherri’s boot shot misses, allowing Savage to clear the ring.

Overall Rating: A. Oh of course this was great as it’s exactly what I wanted out of something like WWE Vault. It’s a great mixture of stuff I’ve seen before and a bunch of rare/unreleased stuff without going with a bunch of stuff we’ve seen before (Wrestlemania III or IV). This was excellent and a real treat that had me wanting to see what was next, which isn’t a feeling I get very often. Definitely worth a look if you want to see one of the best ever.

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Crunch Classic
Host: Roddy Piper
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes

You ever just feel the need for some Coliseum Video goodness? Well this is from 1992 so the goodness might not be at its highest level but it’s a tape I haven’t looked at before. I’m not sure how accurate the term “classic” is going to be here but the WWF does have a reputation for false advertising. Let’s get to it.

Roddy Piper welcomes us to the show and talks about some of his crunch classic moments, including beating up Mr. T., Jimmy Snuka and Cyndi Lauper, but he never had a belt to put around his waist. Then he met the Mountie.

From the 1992 Royal Rumble.

Intercontinental Title: The Mountie vs. Roddy Piper

Piper is challenging and knocks Mountie, with Jimmy Hart, outside in a hurry. A cheap shot on the floor slows Piper down but he sends Mountie into the corner a few times back inside. Piper hits a bulldog for two but misses a dropkick allowing Mountie to send him into the buckle as well.

Commentary talks about how Bret Hart had a 103 degree fever when he lost the title to the Mountie, with Heenan talking about how he wrestled with 113 degree fever. All it took was a children’s Bayer. Heenan: “The orange flavored ones!” Piper atomic drops him over the top but Mountie skins the cat. That’s fine with Piper, who sends him into an invading Hart and grabs the sleeper for the win and the title at 5:21.

Rating: C+. I’ve seen this match more times than I can remember and the only thing that matters is Piper finally getting his moment. No one bought Mountie as a serious champion so this was about as good of an effort as he was going to put up here. Piper was LONG overdue to win something and it’s as much of a feel good moment as you’re going to get.

Post match Hart tries to come in with the shock stick but Piper takes it away and shocks Mountie instead. With the villains dispatched, we get the big AND NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW title call in one of Fink’s best ever announcements.

From Dayton, Ohio, October 22, 1991.

Virgil/Big Boss Man vs. Money Inc.

It’s not Money Inc., yet but close enough. They also have Sensational Sherri with them, which is kind of a weird combination. Virgil is also Million Dollar Champion, just to make DiBiase all the more annoyed. Thankfully Mooney dubs them Money Inc. just after the bell so I can save time on an edit. Boss Man chases IRS into the corner to start before IRS charges into a raised boot.

Virgil comes in to sunset flip DiBiase for two and there’s an atomic drop to send him outside. Back in and Virgil charges into a boot in the corner so IRS can add the flying shoulder. DiBiase’s suplex gets two and IRS’s legdrop gets the same. Virgil finally gets in a shot of his own and the big (not hot, but big) tag brings in Boss Man to clean house. With nothing else working, Sherri takes her shoe off but hits IRS by mistake, allowing Virgil to get the rollup pin at 7:03.

Rating: C. They were trying really hard with Virgil at this point and the win here was another step, but it just wasn’t going to go anywhere outside of the DiBiase feud. Other than that, this was a pretty nothing match, but the fans got to cheer at the end as they should have. For a dark match from a TV taping, I’ve seen much worse.

Post match yelling ensues but DiBiase calms IRS down with cash.

Here’s a special feature on 24 Hours With Jimmy Hart. We catch up with him arriving at a hotel (sans limo of course) over what appears to be Wrestlemania VIII weekend. Hart’s wrestlers are checked in but his room won’t be ready for about three hours. He can stay in a room in the basement though, meaning he has an office. Mountie comes in and says Jimmy was supposed to take care of his stick tonight. Later, Money Inc. is here to make sure everything is planned, including an appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show.

Hart finally falls asleep (reading WWF Magazine of course) when a phone call tells him about various problems with his wrestlers. Later, the Nasty Boys aren’t ready to go to the ring so Hart runs off on his own. Hart is FINALLY done….and his room key doesn’t work, leading to a nervous breakdown. This was funny enough, but Hart can make anything worth a laugh.

From Austin, Texas, December 4, 1991.

New Foundation vs. Nasty Boys

That would be Owen Hart/Jim Neidhart and Jimmy Hart is with the Nastys. Neidhart and Knobbs start things off with the former firing off the big forearms in the corner. Everything breaks down and Neidhart whips Owen through the ropes for a big dive. Owen backflips in from the top to show off a bit and the fans approve. Back in and the Nastys go with the double teaming to take over for all of five seconds before Owen armdrags his way to freedom.

Neidhart comes back in to stay on the arm but it’s right back to Owen, who gets slapped in the face. That’s enough for the Nastys to finally get him in the corner so the choking can begin. Sags grabs a chinlock until Owen fights up for a failed sunset flip attempt. Some elbows to the back keep Owen down and we hit the reverse chinlock. Owen fights up and brings Neidhart back in to clean house, including a shoulder to Knobbs. That doesn’t work for Sags, who throws the referee out for the DQ at 7:26.

Rating: D+ Owen was trying here but the New Foundation never quite clicked. At the same time, you know exactly what you’re going to get from the Nasty Boys so there wasn’t much to get excited about here. The ending does seem stupid but the Nastys were a bigger deal and given that this was being recorded, it makes sense to try and protect them a bit here.

Roddy Piper talks about beating up Jimmy Hart and Adrian Adonis at Wrestlemania III (Piper: “92,271 paid admission. And me. The Scotsman, I don’t may for nothing!”). It was one of the greatest nights of his life because the people were cheering for him.

From Wrestlemania III.

Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis

Hair vs. hair, Adonis has Jimmy Hart in his corner and this has Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes on commentary to avoid Jesse Ventura issues. They slug it out to start with Piper pulling out a belt to whip away. Hart gets beaten up as well but the distraction lets Adonis take the belt and get in his own whips. Back up and Piper whips him over the corner to the floor (which Adonis can do despite weighing well over 300lbs here), setting up the very 1987 double noggin knocker.

Hart trips Piper though and Adonis gets to rake at the skin a bit. Adonis hammers away on the ropes so Piper says bring it on, earning himself a spray from the atomizer. The sleeper goes on (which is more like a smother) but Adonis lets him go at two arm drops. Cue Brutus Beefcake to wake Piper up and the comeback is on. Piper decks Hart and sleepers Adonis for the win at 6:55.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of a match that is carried by the crowd reactions. The fans were going NUTS for this stuff and it made for a special match as a result. They completely embraced Piper in this role after hating him for so many years and this whole thing was such a blast. Not a good match from a quality standpoint, but it was a good payoff to a red hot feud.

Post match Beefcake goes to cut Adonis’ hair but it’s rather wet so the shave only goes so well. Adonis wakes up and sees the hair cut in a well placed mirror, sending him into a rage until he falls to the floor.

And now, a fan request match. From Utica, New York, November 11, 1991.

British Bulldog vs. Undertaker

Paul Bearer is here with Undertaker as commentary points out that Undertaker is being “more friendly” lately, though this was before he turned. Bulldog hammers away to start and knocks Undertaker over the top for the feet first landing. A ram into the steps rocks Undertaker again but he’s right back with the uppercuts. The smother to the face slows Bulldog down as Bearer says THE POWER OF THE URN COMPELS YOU. Bulldog fights up and manages a slightly delayed suplex, setting up the running powerslam but bearer offers a distraction. An urn shot gives Undertaker the pin at 7:09.

Rating: C. This is more of a historical curiosity than anything else but it is still kind of cool to see. The Bulldog was around the height of his singles career at this point but Undertaker was a force of a different kind. They had to turn him as he was getting such positive reactions and it’s almost weird to hear commentary have to backtrack a bit because of the taping schedule.

Post match Undertaker loads up the body bag but Bulldog fights up and clears the ring.

From Austin, Texas, December 4, 1991.

Texas Tornado vs. Rick Martel

Martel shows of his (rather impressive) physique to start before going with some knees to the ribs. They fight over a lockup until Martel rakes the eyes until Tornado finally throws him outside. Back in and Tornado works on the arm, including an armbar. Tornado misses a charge into the post though and Martel hits a middle rope ax handle to put him down. Martel dives into the claw but makes the rope, allowing him to spray Arrogance in Tornado’s face for the DQ at 5:59.

Rating: D+. Really? You can’t have Martel lose to the Claw in TEXAS? I get the idea of protecting some people but Rick Martel? In 1991? I don’t get this one, but on top of that it just wasn’t that great of a match. Martel is a good hand and did his thing here, but Tornado did little more than the arm cranking and the Claw.

Roddy Piper doesn’t like snakes, so let’s go to Jake Roberts talking about how Snakes Make Fun Pets. Jake talks about how snakes will feed on themselves and how they have been around since the time of Adam and Eve. But now, a senile old man named Jack Tunney is barring him from bringing a snake to the ring.

Jake likes snakes because they’re survivors, and we see a clip of a cobra bit Randy Savage’s arm (that TERRIFIED me as a kid). The other nice thing about snakes is how many different kinds there really are. We see Jake holding various snakes and seemingly threatening us with them before promising the snakes will be back. This was pretty much just an extended Jake promo, which isn’t a bad thing. What might be a bad thing: including a long Jake promo when he was gone from the company by the time this was released.

From Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, September 10, 1991.

Skinner vs. Jim Neidhart

After standing there for about forty seconds, Skinner gets out and runs up the aisle before coming back with…something. Then it disappears and we continue the stalling before they lock up about two minutes in. Skinner’s running shoulder doesn’t hurt Neidhart but a hiptoss does take him down.

Skinner does it again and then grabs a headlock, only to be knocked out to the floor. Back in and an atomic drop puts Skinner right back outside, allowing Neidhart to grab the can of tobacco reside. Skinner is so annoyed that he goes up the aisle for a bit, only to have Neidhart come back with the headlock inside again.

With the match still in first gear, Skinner gets in a shot to the throat to escape and starts choking. That doesn’t last long so Skinner switches it up by hitting him in the ribs and then the throat. Neidhart fights back up and they go to the floor for the double countout at 13:15. Actually hang on as it’s a time limit draw, because that makes such a difference here.

Rating: D-. Who in the world thought this was a good idea? It’s bad enough that the match took place, but then they recorded it on top of that? What were they expecting this to be? They were stalling to get through a bunch of the time and then it got even worse. Awful match here and they seemed perfectly fine with that being the case.

Post match Neidhart wants to keep it going but Skinner leaves. Smart man.

From Lubbock, Texas, January 27, 1992.

Natural Disasters vs. Jim Duggan/Sgt. Slaughter

The Natural Disasters have Jimmy Hart with them. Duggan and Typhoon start things off, with Duggan firing off some clotheslines to finally put him down. It’s off to Slaughter for some forearms in the corner as Typhoon stays in trouble. Back up and Typhoon hands it off to Earthquake, who quickly pounds Duggan down.

Earthquake misses a charge in the corner but he’s fine enough to knee Duggan in the back. It’s back to Typhoon for the bearhug, followed by another one from Earthquake. Duggan fights out and hands it back over to Slaughter as everything breaks down. Earthquake tries to bring in the megaphone so Duggan grabs the 2×4, which earns him the DQ to give the Disasters the win at 9:26.

Rating: D+. Another dull match that didn’t go anywhere, making it a perfectly uninteresting way to end a tape mostly full of such matches. Duggan and Slaughter were a fine enough patriotic team and there was a discussion of this match being the Tag Team Title match at Wrestlemania VIII but obviously that didn’t happen, which might be for the best if this is what we were going to get.

Roddy wraps us up.

Overall Rating: D. This was AWFUL and one of the worst Coliseum Videos I can remember. The biggest problem here was a lack of energy, as it didn’t feel like anyone was really trying. The biggest highlight here was the Piper vs. Adonis match from Wrestlemania, which should tell you everything you need to know about the tape. Dreadful stuff here and I have no idea what about this was supposed to be a classic.

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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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.

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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AND

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