WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Bashed in the USA (1993)

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Bashed in the USA (1993)

Coliseum Video compilation – hosted by Mr. Perfect. The cover of the tape features the Perfect blasting Razor Ramon with a chair, and promises a profile on Shawn Michaels, as well as stamp collecting. Okay.


Razor Ramon v Big Bossman: From a TV taping, December 1992. They waste a ton of time on Bossman refusing to give up his nightstick at the bell, and then follow it up with Razor tossing his toothpick at Bossman - which Bossman snaps in half. That's too much for Razor, and he bails to the floor to stretch. They finally look like they're getting started, but now Bossman jumps to the floor to stretch, and toy with Ramon. He manages to crotch Razor on the ropes on the way back in, but that just puts Ramon back on the outside, and the stalling continues. Back in, they finally lock horns, and Bossman slaps him across the face. Razor tries a side-headlock, but a whip into the ropes ends in a power-stalemate. Test-of-strength goes Ramon's way, but Bossman blasts him with a backelbow and rolls him up for two. Inside cradle gets two, so Razor grabs the nightstick, but Bossman ducks him, and unloads turnbuckle smashes. Cross corner clothesline hits boots, however, and Razor rolls him up (with two feet on the ropes) for the pin at 7:47. Really dull, paint-by-numbers stuff - and oddly booked as a comedy match for a good portion. DUD

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Rick Martel and Money Inc v Tatanka and High Energy: From a TV taping, June 1992. Ted DiBiase starts with Owen Hart, and takes him down with a nice armdrag. Another lockup ends in another armdrag, and he manages to do it a third time - DiBiase now actively gloating, and taking pats on the back from his teammates. Bodyslam, but a criss cross ends in Owen hitting a dropkick. That triggers a six-way brawl with the faces cleaning house, and the dust settles on Martel and Tatanka. Tatanka goes right to work with a series of chops and a bodyslam, but Martel bails to IRS before it gets out of control. He trades armbars with Tatanka, and Koko B. Ware tags in with a flying axehandle. Criss cross allows Koko a bodypress for two, and a dropkick sets up a slam. Another criss cross allows DiBiase to fire off a cheap shot from the apron, but Ted takes a swinging neckbreaker as he comes in, and Tatanka gets the tag. Ted manages to pass to Martel before Tatanka can do any serious damage, and the heels work to cut the ring in half. IRS ends up getting reversed during a suplex to allow the tag to Owen, and he's a house of arson - which is weird, considering he dreamt of becoming a fireman. Six-way brawl quickly breaks out from there, and IRS pins Koko with an assist from DiBiase at 12:13. Nothing memorable - either positive or negative. ¼*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Kamala: From a TV taping, January 1993. Shawn uses his speed to evade Kamala at the bell, and tries to trick him into a handshake, but manager Slick is too... slick... to let him fall for it. Shawn fires off a cheap shot anyway, but now Kamala is pissed, and knocks the champ out of the ring with his gut. Shawn tries a running axehandle on the way back in, and a 2^nd rope axehandle, but a second try gets him hugged like a bear. Kamala with a headbutt and a chokeslam, but an avalanche misses, and Shawn hits a flying clothesline followed by mounted punches. Kamala rubs his belly to power up, and hits a superkick on Michaels - back before that was ironic. Kamala with a slam over the top rope, so Shawn decides to take a walk to save the title. Kamala drags him back for a splash, but stupidly tries to cover him while he's on his belly. Slick runs in to try and explain, but it turns out both men were counted out on the floor at 4:31, and Shawn retains. Seriously? Shawn fucking Michaels can't beat Kamala clean? Nothing, but Kamala looked like he was having fun with it, at least. ¼*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Skinner: From the same TV taping as Ramon/Bossman, December 1992. The initial lockup goes to a stalemate, so Skinner slaps the champ, and slams him. A big right hand knocks Shawn through the ropes, but he manages to outrun Skinner on the floor, and catches him with stomps coming in. Rocker dropper, but Skinner blocks, and clotheslines him. Swinging neckbreaker and a shoulderbreaker get two, and a backelbow knocks Michaels back out to the floor. Shawn reverses a whip into the ringpost out there, and brings him in for a standing dropkick. Skinner with a series of headbutts and a faceslam to comeback, but he stupidly dumps Shawn over the top - where he can't win the title. That allows Michaels to slip back in under Skinner's legs, and a superkick retains the title at 4:39. A little too short to properly develop, but it was energetic, and Michaels' selling was phenomenal - as usual. ¾*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Virgil: From a TV taping in October 1992 - actually the night after won the title from Davey Boy Smith, though the change hadn't aired yet when this took place. Shawn shares a joke with referee Earl Hebner before the bell, though we wouldn't hear the punch line until about five years later, unfortunately. Shawn uses his speed to take Virgil down with a droptoe-hold early on, and they trade hammerlocks until Virgil fires off a backelbow. Inverted atomic drop sets up a dropkick for two, and a 2^nd rope bodypress gets two. Criss cross ends in a superkick from Michaels, but it's still 1992, so it doesn't even warrant a cover. Standing dropkick and a snapmare set up a chinlock, but a hiptoss is countered by Virgil with a backslide for two. Shawn fires back with a vertical suplex and a series of jabs, but a backdrop is blocked by the challenger, and he clotheslines Shawn from behind. Virgil with a Golden Gloves routine for two, and a 2^nd rope clothesline gets two. Cross corner kneelift misses, however, and Shawn hits the Teardrop Suplex (a modified side suplex) to retain at 7:09. It was seven minutes of Virgil, and he didn't even try to sell anyone an autograph for $50. Gotta be some kind of record there. ¼*

40-Man Battle Royal: From a TV taping, May 1992. Okay, we've got: Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Sgt. Slaughter, Tatanka, Tito Santana, Virgil, The Texas Tornado, Repo Man, Kato, Skinner, Brooklyn Brawler, Colonel Mustafa, Crush, Money Inc, The Beverly Brothers, The Nasty Boys, The Legion of Doom, High Energy, The Natural Disasters, and a bunch of jobbers. Usual battle royal punch-kick stuff here (when there's forty men in a ring, there's not really much you can do besides punch and kick, really), and a look around the arena shows a lot of empty seats in the crowd - I'm assuming this was thrown on at the end of a long taping. We get down to Tatanka, IRS, and the Beverly Brothers - the three heels naturally ganging up on Tatanka. They take turns stomping and dropping elbows on him, but a miscommunication sees Beau Beverly get backdropped over the top. No problem, it's still two on one - Tatanka's done for. They try to launch him out, but Tatanka hangs on, and both heels go flying out at 13:16. This wasn't a bad effort, or anything, it's just a battle royal. The match type just doesn't lend itself to wrestling classics. DUD

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Bret Hart v Rick Martel: From a TV taping, June 1992. Bret snaps him down to the mat with a side-headlock right away, but Martel uses a headscissors to break, and they're back to square one. Martel blocks a clothesline with a cartwheel, and hooks a hammerlock, but Bret reverses - only to have Martel block a monkeyflip with another cartwheel. Sick of his bullshit, Bret blasts him with a clothesline, and they spill out to the floor - Rick ramming him into the ring apron. Bret reverses a shot into the ringpost and unloads a headbutt before rolling it back inside, but Martel meets him with a kick down low - only to miss a charge into the corner. Bret goes after the damaged shoulder with an armbar, and a criss cross allows the champ a backslide for two. Back to the armbar, but Martel stunguns him to break, and stomps the throat. Chinlock, but a backdrop is countered by Hart with a sunset flip for two. He can't turn the tide before Martel hits a gutwrench suplex, however, and that gets the challenger two. Backbreaker sets up a slingshot splash, but Bret lifts the knees to block, and hits an inverted atomic drop followed by a clothesline. Russian legsweep gets two, and a small package for two. Backbreaker sets up the Sharpshooter, but Martel throws the referee into Bret to block. He whacks Hart with his canister of Arrogance cologne to allow him to hook the Boston Crab, but Shawn Michaels struts down to ringside and starts attacking Bret while he's in the hold - costing Martel the title by disqualification at 10:14. Rick rightly bitches Michaels out over it afterwards, as the WWF sets up two summer programs with Hart/Michaels and Martel/Michaels. Decent match aside from the cheap ending, though a bit slow. *

The Natural Disasters v The Beverly Brothers: From a TV taping, June 1992. The Beverly's jump the Disasters at the bell, but the power of fat turns the tide, and both Beverly's take avalanches in the corner. The dust settles on Typhoon and Blake Beverly, and Typhoon tosses him around with ease. A four-way brawl allows the Beverly's to turn the tide with some help from manager The Genius' metal scroll, and they work to cut the ring in half. Beau Beverly eventually misses a blind charge to allow the tag to Earthquake, and he's a house of arson - but the 'action' spills to the floor, and the Beverly's use their speed to beat the Disasters back in, and win by countout at 7:12. I've never been shy in expressing my hatred for both of these teams, so you can guess how much I liked this. In case you can't, DUD

Yokozuna v The Undertaker: From a TV taping, January 1993 - and interestingly in the same building as one of their infamous Casket Matches in 1994 (Survivor Series). Undertaker wastes no time no-selling Yoko's shots, and catches the big man with a DDT coming out of the ropes - popping the crowd big time. Elbowdrop misses, however, and Yoko clotheslines him out to the floor - only for 'Taker to land on his feet. Mr. Fuji runs interference to allow Yoko to jump him, and he hits an avalanche on the way back in. Bodyslam sets up a legdrop, but Undertaker sits up. Yoko tries a belly-to-belly, but that gets a sit up, and Yoko is understandably terrified - whacking 'Taker with Fuji's salt bucket to draw a disqualification at 4:07. Not exactly 'blink and you'll miss it' stuff, but it didn't feature someone flying out of a casket, at least. DUD

BUExperience: Not much in the way of great wrestling (a Shawn Michaels profile, and nothing breaks a star?), and nothing notable makes this a definite pass – though Mr. Perfect messing with people at the stamp shop was pretty awesome. Still, not a good addition to your Coliseum Collection.