WWF Coliseum Video Collection: WrestleFest ’90 (1990)

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: WrestleFest ’90 (1990)

Coliseum Video compilation – hosted by Sean Mooney. The cover of the tape features the Hart Foundation, and promises a profile on them.


Randy Savage v Roddy Piper: From a TV Taping, January 1990. Both guys take the time to properly undress, with Savage eagerly anticipating what he'll find under Piper's skirt. Savage finally gets tired of waiting, and dives in with a flying axehandle - which is almost note for note the way most rape case files read. Piper shrugs him off with a series of clotheslines, and a sunset flip gets one. Inside cradle fort two, and Savage bails to the floor, and decides to head for the dressing rooms before Piper's next hold gets him up to three. Roddy drags him back in, but a distraction from Macho manager Sherri allows Savage another pair of flying axehandles for two. High knee puts Piper on the floor for yet another flying axehandle, and allows Sherri to get a few more shots in. Chinlock, but Piper powers out, and unloads fists of fury in the corner. Savage Flair Flips himself into a tree of woe, and Piper gives him the airplane spin spot for two. Slam, but Piper's still a bit dizzy from his ballet recital, and Savage topples him for two... then gives him an airplane spin of his own. Having learned nothing, he goes to the top rope, but his bout with vertigo sends him tumbling to the floor. Piper follows out, and we have a double countout at 9:30. Phoned in, but with, like, whatever a 1990 version of an iPhone was. *

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: The Ultimate Warrior v Dino Bravo: From a TV taping, February 1990 - this match comes by special fan request. Warrior charges right in with a powerslam, and hits a quick flying axehandle to follow. He tries another, but Bravo buddy Earthquake lures him to the floor. Dino jumps him out there, but Warrior must have just gotten into the PCP stash right before the entrances tonight, 'cause he no-sells, and starts tossing him around. Earthquake gets involved again to allow Bravo to clothesline Warrior to the floor, but now the paranoia is kicking in, and he hides under the ring. Well, to be fair, I'd be paranoid if a large bearded man named after a natural disaster kept messing with me, too. He eventually comes down enough to come out, and tries a splash, but Bravo lifts the knees. Bravo stupidly locks a test-of-strength, which Warrior predictably has no trouble winning, so Dino tries side suplex. Bearhug, but we know how Warrior feels about homosexuality, and he ignores it, then beats the bear. Earthquake decides to standup against hate, and slams him on the floor, allowing Bravo a sidewalk slam, but it's too late. He's BLOWING UP!! Push! Punch! Series of Clotheslines! Diving Shoulderblock! Splash! - but Earthquake runs in for the disqualification at 8:10. Well paced, with good effort from both. *

Rick Martel v Brutus Beefcake: From a house show, December 1989. Martel stalls to play to the crowd, until Beefcake finally gets sick of him, and hiptosses him. That's more than enough abuse for Martel (he's a model!), and he bails to the floor to regroup. Must have been one hell of a hiptoss. Back in, he offers a handshake, but Beefcake used to be a heel, and nails him as he reaches out. That's how wars start, jackass. Ten-punch count, and an earringer, so Martel finds an inverted atomic drop, and hammers away. Chinlock eats up a few minutes (which is kind of ironic considering how hard it is to eat with your chin locked), until Martel hits a backbreaker - finally working the part his Boston crab finisher focuses on. He goes up top, but Beefcake crotches him, and unloads with right hands until he comes tumbling down. Inverted atomic drop, and then a standard version - making sure Martel won't be having fun of any kind after the show. I’m talking about butt sex, to be clear. Sunset flip, but Martel drops the knees, and holds onto the ropes for the pin at 12:00. Typical time eating house show fare, complete with lots of stalling and restholds. DUD

The Hart Foundation v The Powers of Pain: From a TV taping, January 1990. Bret still hasn't mastered the sunglasses giveaway bit, in this case just walking up and handing it to an older lady like it's rent money. Or prostitution money. Kinda handle those the same way, really - especially if it's with an older lady. Anyway, Jim Neidhart and Barbarian start with a power-showdown, and a heel miscommunication allows Neidhart to schoolboy him for two. Shoulderblock gets two, and the Anvil works an armbar. Tag to Bret Hart to help out, but Barbarian powers out, and gets the tag off to Warlord. He gets caught in an armbar, too, until managing to backbreak Bret, and tag back to Barbarian. The Powers cut the ring in half until Barbarian misses a blind charge, and Hart tags Neidhart. He's a house of arson, so Powers manager Mr. Fuji gets involved, and everyone ends up on the floor. Neidhart beats the count back in, however, winning by countout at 9:30. Really dull - especially for a profile match on a team like the Hart Foundation. ¼*

The Hart Foundation v The Honky Tonk Man and Dino Bravo: From a TV taping, August 1990. Bret and Bravo start, and Hart tries a quick cradle, but Bravo starts lumbering, so Hart bodypresses him for two. Thesz press, and a dropkick send him bailing for Honky, and Hart barely lets him climb through the ropes before going to work. The Harts wishbone Honky, and Neidhart railroads him into the corner for some abuse. Bearhug, but Honky goes to the eyes, and tags Bravo. He gives Neidhart an inverted atomic drop, and a couple quick double-teams allow them to start cutting the ring in half, until Honky misses an elbowdrop, and Neidhart makes the tag. Bret's not really a house of arson, but he dominates Honky until Bravo runs in, leading to a four-way brawl, and Neidhart wallops Honky with heel manager Jimmy Hart's megaphone to get disqualified at 10:00. The Harts were set to take the tag titles off of Demolition at SummerSlam weeks later, and Honky/Bravo weren't exactly contenders, so I'm surprised this wasn't a completely clean squash. Dull heat segment, but not a bad match. ½*

The Hart Foundation v The Rockers: From a TV taping, August 1989. Bret and Marty Jannetty kick things off, and both size each other up - cautious to tie-up. They go to a couple of stalemates once they do, until Marty catches him with a bodypress, and hooks an armbar. Tag to Shawn Michaels with a flying axehandle onto the arm, and he locks an armbar of his own. Bret starts trying to reverse, so Shawn lets off for a criss cross - only to walk into an inverted atomic drop. Tag to Neidhart for a bodyslam, but Shawn gets all criss crossy again, so Bret knees him from the apron, and Jim goes to a reverse chinlock. Shawn starts to escape, so Neidhart turns it into a bearhug, and tags Bret to takeover. Backbreaker, but Shawn somersaults into a bodyslam counter. Bret recovers quickly enough to keep the ring cut in half, and Neidhart tags in with a dropkick for two. Backdrop sends Shawn into the rafters, but a slingshot splash misses, and Shawn makes the tag. Marty's a crackhouse of fire, but he can't but Bret away, so Shawn comes back in for a double-team superkick for two. Snap suplex gets two, but he gets reversed on a cross corner whip, and Hart levels him with a lariat. Tag to Neidhart, and he gets accidentally whipped into Bret (recovering on the apron) to send him flying into the rail. Interestingly, that's the same spot that would lead to Bret and Owen Hart's split at the '93 Survivor Series - and both involved Shawn Michaels. No split this time, though, as Neidhart goes out to check on him, and suddenly the Rougeau Brothers run in on the Rockers, causing a DQ at 11:00. Afterwards, the Harts and Rockers team up to clean house, making sure the crowd knows they're both still babyfaces. It picked up towards the end, and avoided becoming formulaic - but not their best showing. * ¼

WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Mr. Perfect: From a house show, January 1990. Hogan overpowers him to start, allowing Perfect to do his usual dramatic oversells, but Hogan gets caught up with Perfect pal The Genius, and double-teamed. Hogan fights them both off with one hand practically tied behind his back (it wasn't really tied - he was just too tired to use it), and a backelbow allows Perfect to somersault to the floor. The tape clips to Perfect working Hogan over, and the Perfect-Plex triggers a HULK UP!! Fists of Fury! Big Boot! - but Perfect lures him onto the floor, and nails him with a pair of knux. Back in, Hogan gets hold of the knux, and hits the Legdrop, but the referee sees the knux on his hand (What kind of dumbass – babyface or not – doesn't hide the evidence? Guy’s world champion, and he can’t figure that out?) for the disqualification at 6:00 shown. I won't rate it because it's clipped, but entertaining enough for Hogan's token appearance on the tape.

The Ultimate Warrior and Jake Roberts v Ted DiBiase and Akeem: From a TV taping, March 1990. Big Bossman is the special referee for this one, though that seems like more than a little bit of a conflict of interest, seeing as he'd just split a tag team with Akeem, and was openly feuding with Ted DiBiase. Roberts and DiBiase start, and trade armbars. Jake goes for the DDT early, but DiBiase hits the deck, and bails to the floor to regroup. Back in, DiBiase catches him with a kneelift, but gets reversed into the corner, and has to dodge another DDT. Both men tag, and Warrior manages to get the big man off of his feet with a diving shoulderblock. Clothesline does it again, and he tags back to Roberts. Jake doesn't have as much luck - quickly getting backdropped, and Akeem tries a choke, but Bossman steps in. Tag to DiBiase to unload, and the heels cut the ring in half, until Jake catches DiBiase with a chincrusher, and hits a short-clothesline. DDT, but DiBiase railroads him into the corner to block, so Jake just makes the tag. Quick splash finishes DiBiase at 5:45. Certainly no classic, but well paced, and four of the most memorable characters in WWF history all at once is certainly anything but dull. ¼*

BUExperience:  Usually anything involving multiple Dino Bravo matches is an automatic thumbs down, but this one’s good fun – particularly Savage/Piper, the Harts/Rockers match, and the big tag match at the end. Also notable for the number of cheap or non finishes seen, an interesting summary of the period – as star/star matches didn’t become a given until the mid-90s, and booking was almost always designed to keep everyone looking strong when they did have one. A good addition to your Coliseum Collection.