WWF Coliseum Video Collection: WWF's Most Unusual Matches (1985)

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: WWF's Most Unusual Matches (1985)

Coliseum Video compilation – hosted by Jesse Ventura. The cover of the tape features a battle royal.


WWF Intercontinental Title Lumberjack Match: Greg Valentine v Tito Santana: From March 1985, just a couple of weeks before the first WrestleMania - and also in Madison Square Garden. Valentine jumps him with elbowsmashes before the bell, but Santana catches him with a diving forearm coming out of the ropes, and knocks him to the floor with a turnbuckle smash. Valentine cowers behind his fellow heel lumberjacks, and begs off on the way back into the ring, but Tito gives him an atomic drop and Valentine is back on the floor. The face lumberjacks force him back in for a ten-punch count, but Greg interrupts with an inverted atomic drop and we clip to Tito knocking him to the floor again. Valentine bails up the aisle, but the face lumberjacks drags him back, and we clip again to Tito unloading right hands. Greg manages to catch him with a boot coming into the corner, and we clip to the Hammer tossing Tito out for the heel lumberjacks to abuse. Inside, Valentine hits a bad looking forearm off of the middle rope, and he drops a knee for two. Figure Four, but Tito cradles him for two. Clip to Tito making a comeback, and a slugfest ends with Tito suplexing him for two. Figure Four, but Valentine blocks with a drop-toehold, and he bails back out to the floor, but the lumberjacks stop him, and roll him back in for a forearm. Tito gets the Figure Four on, but Lumberjack John Studd helps Valentine to the ropes. Another slugfest, and both guys end up knocking heads - Valentine falling on top for the pin at 10:22 shown. Lots of 'I try to run, lumberjacks roll me in' spots, but that's sort of the whole point. All the clipping ruined the flow, but this didn't look like anything particularly special anyway.

Indian Strap Match: Chief Jay Strongbow v Greg Valentine: From July 1979. Valentine attacks at the bell, but the referee intervenes because Valentine hasn't got the strap tied to his wrist yet. Formalities over, Valentine continues to unload - Strongbow blading early on. Strongbow uses the strap to turn the tide, and we clip to Valentine knocking Jay out to the floor with an elbow. Strongbow uses the strap to pull Greg out with him, and Strongbow whacks him with a chair. Inside, they trade closed fists, but the referee goes down in the confusion, and it's a double disqualification at 4:37 shown of 7:46. Awesome moment after the match, as Valentine tries to grab a chair from ringside, but is stopped by a fan - so Greg decks him! This was probably pretty wild in 1979, but it feels really dated today, in an era when Strap Matches have long been considered passé.

Texas Tornado Match: Roddy Piper and Bob Orton v Jimmy Snuka and Junkyard Dog: From January 1985. Big brawl to start (no shit) with Snuka going for Piper and JYD for Orton. A double cross corner whip allows them to switch dance partners, and Orton ends up on the floor - Piper left two-on-one. He tries to run, but Snuka tackles him, and they brawl to the floor while JYD whacks an incoming Orton with a clothesline for two. Piper gets the best of a whip into the post on the outside, and Roddy heads back in to double-team JYD for a couple of near falls. He and Orton control, but Snuka is back, and all four spill for a brawl on the floor. Inside, Piper and Orton both slap on Sleepers - Roddy helpfully kicking Snuka while holding JYD in the hold. Clip to Snuka and JYD escaping the hold by knocking Piper and Orton's heads together, and Orton misses a flying splash on Snuka when he hits the knees. Piper freaks out and attacks, but Snuka wins a slugfest, and they go back to the floor. Meanwhile, JYD unloads headbutts on Orton, but a cheap shot from Piper allows Bob to roll JYD up for the pin at 6:39 shown of 8:45. Fun brawl - no one could do it better than Piper in those days. * ¼

10-Woman #1 Contenders Battle Royal: Undated, but this is from way back in the 60s, so we can at least rest assured that everyone’s got a glorious full bush, if nothing else. We've got Susan Green, Donna Christianello, Masked Venus, Paula Kay, the Black Panther, Peggy Patterson, and four others. We're joined in progress with only eight ladies left, and it's the usual battle royal kick-punch. We get down to Green and Christianello, and Green gets the pin (pinfalls count) with a rollup at 4:28 shown. Worth checking out if only to see stuff from the 60s, but not a great match, or anything.

20-Man Battle Royal: From July 1984. We've got Rene Goulet, Antonio Inoki, Sika, Jose Luis Rivera, Butcher Vachon, Tony Garea, Chief Jay Strongbow, Afa, Steve Lombardi, Bob Orton Jr, Charlie Fulton, Ron Shaw, Terry Daniels, Iron Sheik, Adrian Adonis, Dick Murdoch, Tito Santana, Paul Orndorff, Sgt. Slaughter, and Samula. We get full entrances for all twenty men, but the action is clipped, of course. We get down to Inoki, Shaw, and Goulet - Inoki outmatched. He manages to knock their heads together, though, and tosses both to win the thing  at 6:19 shown of 13:23. Standard battle royal junk - never meant to be much, as this was just a battle royal stuck on at the end of a taping that included the 'Brawl to End It All' MTV special.

WWF Intercontinental Title Cage Match: Don Muraco v Jimmy Snuka: From October 1983 - this is a rather famous match. And the crowd is hot for it, too - Snuka winning an early slugfest, and smacking Muraco into the turnbuckle. Jimmy unloads chops, but gets caught with a slingshot into the steel, and he blades. Muraco grinds his face into the mesh for good measure, but gets crotched on the top rope when he tries to slam the Superfly off the top of the cage. He still manages to slam Jimmy off of the top rope, but gets reversed going into the corner, and takes a modified Flair Flip. Snuka tosses him into the steel to bust him open, and slams him to set up a 2^nd rope fistdrop. Snuka with chops, but a headbutt backfires when Muraco flies over the top rope, and out the door to retain at 6:40. The crowd isn't satisfied with that, however, so Snuka drags the champ back in, and gives him his iconic Superfly Splash off the top of the cage - which still looks impressive today. I've always been surprised by how short this one was, but it definitely got its point across. So much so, in fact, that Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, and Bubba Dudley (all in the crowd) cite this match was a key influence on their own careers. Not much of a match, but worth inclusion for the historical significance. ½*

Don Muraco and Lou Albano v Jimmy Snuka and Arnold Skaaland: From December 1983, with the 'unusual' part being that the managers are wrestling. Muraco starts with Skaaland, and quickly misses a charge into the corner to allow Arnold a pair of armdrags. A bodyslam draws Albano in, but Skaaland is ready with a right hand, and we clip to Skaaland cradling Muraco for two, and Don bailing. Tag to Snuka, but Muraco wrenches him into a standing side-headlock, and a shoulderblock when Jimmy tries to break. A criss cross ends with Snuka hitting a knife edge chop, and a headbutt gets two. Chinlock, and Snuka decides he wants Albano. Lou is less than eager, so Snuka takes a limp Muraco's hand to force the tag, and Albano tries to talk his way out of it - offering Snuka a hug. That goes as well as you might expect, but Albano manages to blow him low, and the heels cut the ring in half. A heel miscommunication draws Skaaland in without a tag, but it doesn't matter, as Snuka finishes Muraco with a flying bodypress at 8:15 shown of 10:07. Kind of surprised they didn't do the heat segment on Skaaland to allow a hot tag to Snuka, but it worked. Clipped, but I think it's safe to call this one a DUD, and move on.

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Haystacks Calhoun, Larry Zbyszko, and Peter Maivia v Butcher Vachon, Moose Monroe, and Strong Kobayashi: Undated, but this would be the 70s. We’re essentially watching this to see some fat tub named Haystacks Calhoun, who was really fat. And he’s teaming with The Rock’s grandpa, so I guess someone might care. Even if this tape came out before the Rock was even in middle school. Anyway, the fat man uses a full nelson on Moose, and then a bearhug. Oh, this is fun. Larry tags in, and has a slugfest with the Monroe, and wins. Maivia tags in, and hits a gutbuster, then tags Haystacks, who splashes Monroe for the pin at 2:01 shown. I'm not sure how long it was unclipped, but thank God we don't have to find out, because it was pretty rough.

3/5 Falls 10-Man Tag Team Match: Andre the Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Pedro Morales, Rocky Johnson, and Salvatore Bellomo v Billy Graham, Don Muraco, Buddy Rose, Ray Stevens, and Mr. Fuji: From February 1983. Johnson (the Rock's dad) starts with Fuji, and unloads with jabs, so Fuji passes to Rose. Rocky gives him a monkeyflip and a pair of armdrags, so Rose tags Ray - who gets the same. Clip to Snuka headbutting Muraco, and Pedro tags in to get his licks in. Andre in with a big boot to put Muraco on the floor, and we clip to Muraco giving Bellomo an airplane spin - only to get dizzy, and get toppled for two. Stevens comes in to give poor Bellomo another airplane spin, but Bellomo makes it to the corner to tag Jimmy. He unloads headbutts on an incoming Muraco, and Apollo Cr... I mean, Rocky Johnson destroys him with a series of jabs. A headbutt from Andre leaves Muraco hanging in the ropes, and we clip to Bellomo dropkicking Fuji, but walking into a belly-to-belly suplex and getting pinned. Clip to Fuji hammering Bellomo later in the match, and he goes for a bodyslam, but Snuka missile dropkicks Bellomo into toppling Fuji for a pinfall. Official tag to Snuka, and he puts Stevens away with a sunset flip in short order. Stevens tries a side-headlock, but runs into a knife edge out of a criss cross, and Snuka tags the Giant. Andre unloads, and Stevens begs for a tag, but Fuji is less than eager. He gets killed, but rakes the eyes to cut Andre down to size, and the heels gang up on him in the corner. Muraco tries to finish him, but gets slammed off of the top rope, and Andre breaks him in half with a chop. He pulls Stevens in again, and a big boot sets up a seated senton - Andre's team winning three falls to one at 10:14 shown of 17:05. Was Graham injured, or something? Everyone else looked to be having a good time out there though, and I kinda wish they didn't clip it, since what was shown was fun.

BUExperience: Nothing great wrestling-wise, but it’s got some neat historical gems like the cage match, and the 60s and 70s stuff (which they almost never highlight in WWE DVDs these days), as well as the fun ten-man to close the tape. Not a must-have, but a good addition to your Coliseum Collection.