WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Hottest Matches (1990)

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Hottest Matches (1990)

Coliseum Video compilation, hosted by Sean Mooney in a set meant to resemble hell – with the temperature getting hotter as the tape progresses, and Mooney more disheveled. The cover of the tape features Jake Roberts, and promises a profile on him – as well as ‘Superstar Workouts,’ hosted by George Zahorian.


Rick Martel v Tito Santana: From a TV taping, April 1990. They trade reversals in the early going, to establish that these two are former tag partners, and know each other well. The nuance to it is that Santana fights to reverse/counter holds, while Martel gives it a shot, but if he fails, immediately dives for the ropes. Big criss cross ends in a poorly executed dropkick (less Martel's fault for throwing it incorrectly, than Tito's for taking it incorrectly), so Santana plants two of his own on him to makeup for it. Martel bails to the floor to regroup, and tries to railroad Tito into the corner, but misses a blind charge. Santana goes after the knee, and hooks a leglock - but Martel fires forearms to break. Criss cross ends when Martel tries a leapfrog and ends up banging his knee in the process, with Tito wrapping it around the post a couple of times. Figure Four, but Martel goes to the eyes to stop him from applying it, and drops a pair of elbows. Slam sets up a flying bodypress, but Santana knocks him off of the top rope for two. Backdrop, but Martel counters with a boot to the face - only to get cradled for two, and then properly backdropped. Diving Forearm puts Martel on the floor, which allows him to grab his canister of Arrogance (Martel's signature perfume) and squirt Tito in the eyes for the pinfall at 9:38. These two had a million matches after Strike Force broke up. This was one of them. *

The Rockers v The Orient Express: From a house show, June 1990. The Rockers charge right in to clean house, but a cheap shot allows Tanaka to go to work on Shawn Michaels. Shawn manages to fight his way out of the heel corner, and they trade armbars before Shawn tags to Marty Jannetty to keep it going. He gets caught with another cheap shot quickly, though, and Sato works him over with a wristlock. The Express cut the ring in half on Jannetty, until a double knockout allows Marty to crawl for the tag. Shawn's a house of arson, but the Express are all about double-teams, so Marty turns it into a proper four-way brawl, ending with the Express getting counted out at 12:06. Much like Martel and Santana, these two teams wrestled a million times - sometimes to great results (Royal Rumble 1991 jumps out), others just going through the motions. ½*

Greg Valentine v Dusty Rhodes: From a TV Taping, June 1989. This was very early into Rhodes' run - not even decked out in polka dots yet. Both guys spend some time sizing each other up (I'll help you out, Greg - he's an XXXL), until Valentine manages to hook an armbar. Rhodes counters with an elbowsmash to put the Hammer on the floor, but he comes in hot with a series of forearm shots. Dusty counters by dancing, and eventually throwing more elbows. Eventually. After funkiness is properly achieved. Unfortunately (for him) his dancing allows Valentine to recover enough to dodge him, and return fire with a series of his own elbowsmashes. Chinlock, but Dusty won't quit, and hits a dropkick. Ten-punch count and another elbowsmash leave Valentine on dream street, and allow Rhodes to go for the figure four - only to get his eyes raked. Valentine goes for his own Figure Four, but gets cradled for two, so he hammers Rhodes on the mat, and hooks another chinlock. Manager Jimmy Hart tries to add a megaphone shot for good measure, but Ron Garvin (Valentine's nemesis at the time) makes the save, and Dusty schoolboys Valentine at 10:15. Dusty was very clearly still adjusting to working a different style for a different audience, with a lot of his act still in NWA-mode, and the crowd responding accordingly. DUD

Jake Roberts v Akeem: From a TV taping, June 1990. Akeem goes right at him with power stuff, but an elbowdrop misses, and Jake goes for the DDT early - only to have Akeem hit the deck, and bail to regroup with manager Slick. Back in, Jake tries an armbar, but they spill to the outside, and a distraction from Slick allows Akeem to turn the tide. Inside, Akeem levels him with a lariat, and unleashes a barrage of plodding offense. Blind charge eventually misses, and Jake hits a short-clothesline, but Slick stops another DDT attempt, giving Jake the disqualification victory at 6:24. Glad they really dug into the vaults for Roberts' profile here. –½*

Jake Roberts v Ted DiBiase: From a house show, December 1989. DiBiase and Virgil try to jump Jake on the way into the ring, but he cleans house, so DiBiase stalls forever - on the pretense that the snake might be loose. The actual snake, not Jake - or any of his parts. They finally get going, but immediately do the same bit from the previous match - with Jake trying the DDT, DiBiase hitting the deck, and going to the floor for the counsel of a black man in a goofy outfit. Repeat that formula a few times, until Jake gets frustrated and gives chase - only to get suckered on the way back into the ring. DiBiase slowly works him over - with literally no notable spots - until Jake escapes a front-facelock with a neckbreaker. Series of jabs set up the short-clothesline, and it's DDT time - but Virgil runs in, for the disqualification at 12:35. Incredibly, brutally dull stuff - I'm surprised the crowd didn't bust out 'the wave' again for this shit. -*

Haku v Brutus Beefcake: From a TV taping, August 1989. Haku goes right at the Barber with backscratches, but Brutus is used to those from the long nights of 'training' with Hulk, and catches him with a kneelift. To the floor, Beefcake with an atomic drop, and inside he unloads a ten-punch count. Haku jabs him in the throat to turn the tide/attempt to murder him, and hits a shoulderbreaker for two before working a chinlock. Slugfest goes Haku's way, but an elbowdrop doesn't, and Beefcake unloads a series of bodyslams. Backdrop gets botched, so Beefcake suplexes him, and hooks the Sleeper – but that draws Haku manager Bobby Heenan in for the disqualification at 8:40. After the Roberts profile, I needed a palate cleanser, but this was all punchy-kicky-restholdy stuff. DUD - bordering on negative stars.

Ted DiBiase v Shawn Michaels: From a TV taping in Shawn Michaels' home town of San Antonio, Texas - April 1990. Ted toys with him to start (Shawn was still a Rocker, and in those days, tag team wrestlers usually stayed in the tag division - so DiBiase is therefore more experienced for singles competition. DiBiase is legitimately more experienced, though they're not playing up/acknowledging pre-WWF careers at this point in history). Big criss cross ends with Shawn just plants a dropkick on him (that was like a big kiss, but instead of a kiss, it was literally getting kicked in the face), and a series of armdrags puts DiBiase on the outside to regroup. Inside, DiBiase with an armbar, but Shawn quickly hiptosses out, and gets him on the mat with a side-headlock. DiBiase powers him into the corner to break, but gets dropkicked again, and taken back to the mat with another headlock. DiBiase powers up again, so Shawn tries a cross corner whip - but runs into a knee when he follows him in, and DiBiase drops a pair of fists. Clothesline allows Shawn to do the 360 sell, and a backbreaker gets DiBiase two. Ted hooks a chinlock, but Shawn pulls out a well executed sunset cradle for two - so DiBiase flips out on him, and starts driving his knee to the lower back before dumping him to the floor for a shot into the rail. DiBiase with a suplex back in for two, and he goes back to the chinlock. Piledriver, but Shawn backdrops free, and they work a double knockout spot. DiBiase recovers first, with a 2^nd rope falling backelbow, but Shawn dodges, and hits an inverted atomic drop. Backdrop, and a dropkick for two. Swinging neckbreaker sets up a flying bodypress for two, so Virgil trips him up (sold with a wonderful face plant from Michaels), which gets Marty Jannetty involved, and we have a double disqualification at 14:42. Definitely a dream match, but retroactively. As noted, Shawn was still strictly a tag wrestler at this point, and wouldn't 'find himself' as a singles worker until around 1995. Now, mid-90s Shawn v late-80s Ted, that’s a dream match. Even so, well worked, well paced action. * ¾

Mixed Tag Team Match: Randy Savage and Sherri v Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire: From a TV taping, June 1990. This is still 1990, so it's strict guy/guy, girl/girl rules. Savage brings Brother Love with him for morale support, so Rhodes responds by brining Miss Elizabeth to stand in his corner - really getting under Macho's skin. Hey, it's understandable. Would you rather go home with Sherri and Brother Love after a hard fought match, or Elizabeth? Also, she's the guy's fucking wife. Sherri and Sapphire start (Sherri wrestling in high heels!), so Sapphire sweeps her off her feet, and takes them off. Not sure the best strategy is to help your opponent become more stable on her feet, but then I'm not the wrestling great that is sweet Sapphire, so maybe. Tag to Rhodes, and he mimes fucking Sherri in the ass (I'm completely serious) before she bails to Savage. Rhodes unloads on him with elbowsmashes, but Brother Love gets involved, and allows Savage to clobber Dusty with a high knee. Flying axehandle gets two, so Savage tries a sleeper - but DUSTY RHODES SLEEPS ON HIS OWN SCHEDULE!!! IT'S DANCING TIME!!! Sadly, Brother Love breaks up the jam fest (Dusty's dancing, not the Love/Rhodes/Savage gangbang on Elizabeth after the match), but Rhodes shrugs him off, and locks a sleeper of his own. Love breaks it up with Sherri's loaded purse (I'm assuming it's hers; could have been his), and we have a double knockout. Savage tags, but there's no cutting the ring in half, since that necessitates a tag to Sapphire. She takes Sherri down quickly, but a four-way brawl breaks out, and Elizabeth whacks Sherri with the loaded purse during the chaos to give Sapphire the pin at 10:28. Not great wrestling, but fun. ½*

BUExperience:  Any tape where Dusty Rhodes is having better matches than Ted DiBiase is not a good addition to your Coliseum Collection.