WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Rampage ‘92 (1992) (Version II)

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Rampage ‘92 (1992)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover of the tape features Ultimate Warrior, and promises a 40-man battle royal, while the back cover promises makeup tips from Sensational Sherri

The theme here is that Sean Mooney is hanging out in the Old West, or more accurately, a version of it populated entirely by stuntmen. Mooney literally SHOOTS A MAN DEAD within the first thirty seconds of the tape simply for saying hello to him. Quite the introduction. I mean, where do you go from there, really?

Undertaker v Razor Ramon: TV taping dark match from Hershey Pennsylvania on September 1 1992 (same taping that Ric Flair won his second WWF Title on). For those keeping track, yes, this is indeed the third unique Undertaker/Ramon match to be featured on the Coliseum tapes I've been reviewing from this period. It's funny, we got it a bunch of times in the early 90s, and then never again. Would have been interesting to see in 1995, before Ramon's heel turn for WrestleMania XI got scrapped. Undertaker throws him around in the early going, but hits boot on a charge, and Razor slugs him down. Undertaker responds with a choke, so Razor bails, but 'Taker is on his tail for a ram into the steps and the guardrail. Back in, Undertaker hits a bodyslam to set up an elbowdrop, but Razor manages to roll out of the way. He clotheslines 'Taker over the top, but the dead man lands on his feet, and snaps Ramon's throat across the top rope when Razor tries to go after him. Back in for a slugfest, dominated by Undertaker to set up the ropewalk forearm, but Razor slams him off the top to block. Ramon dumps him back to the outside to return the favor for earlier with some trips into the steps, but Undertaker generally no-sells everything. Razor responds by stealing a chair from the front row (amusing the security guard he displaces in the process), and that manages to do some minor damage. In, Razor tries a chokeslam, but Undertaker blocks, so Ramon tries to slow him down with an abdominal stretch instead. Despite using the ropes, Undertaker still easily escapes, so Razor tries slugging him down for a chinlock. Wrestling zombie Undertaker was such a challenge from both a kayfabe and performance perspective. Undertaker escapes and hits a jumping clothesline, but Razor bails to the outside to avoid the Tombstone, and decides to walk out - Undertaker stalking after him for a double countout at 8:50. Right on par with all of their other matches from this period. ¼* (Original rating: ¾*)

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels: And speaking of popular pairings on these old Coliseum releases. This is another TV taping dark match, this one from Ottawa Ontario Canada on June 2 1992. Hot crowd for this one. Feeling out process to start, with Shawn not shy about using illegal tactics to dominate the champion. That works for a bit, but Hart outsmarts him to take control with an armbar. Clothesline gets Bret two, and a catapult into the corner is worth two, but the Hitman runs into a knee during a criss cross. Shawn whips him hard into the corner as he takes control of the contest, and adds a high knee for two. Chinlock, but Bret starts to power out, so Shawn throws another knee. Backdrop looks to follow, but Hart counters with a small package for two, so Shawn starts hammering him with rights and lefts for two. Shawn takes him back to the mat in a headlock, but Bret starts to slug free, so Michaels tries to turn it into a sleeper, but Hart drops into the corner to escape. Shawn throws a dropkick at him for two, but a charge in the corner ends badly, and the Hitman nails him with a 2^nd rope flying clothesline. Hart adds an inverted atomic drop, and a cross corner whip sends Shawn pinballing in the corner. Hart with an inverted clothesline for two, and a backbreaker sets up a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two. European uppercut, but Michaels counters with a backslide for two, so Hart tries a schoolboy for two. That leads to a double knockout spot, and poor Sherri is losing her mind right now! Shawn recovers first and hits a superkick to set up the Teardrop Suplex, but Bret counters with a sunset flip for two. He tries following with an atomic drop, but Shawn counters with a rollup - reversed by Bret for two. That brings Sherri onto the apron, but she accidentally collides with Shawn while trying a distraction, and Bret schoolboys him at 13:31! Very basic structure, but great work, with crisp stuff all around. *** (Original rating: * ¾)

Over in the makeup department, Sensational Sherri is singing Shawn Michaels' theme song to herself while shaking some ass, when she's interrupted by some unsuspecting blonde girl whose come for makeup tips. These are less 'tips,' per se, and more Sherri berating and insulting (and threatening) her while doing her makeup. It comes out terribly, of course, as Sherri transforms an average looking blonde girl into a drag queen

Back in the Old West, Mooney saddles up to the saloon, but just as he's finishing his first shot, the brother of the dude Sean straight up murdered in cold blood earlier shows up, and the whole place erupts in a brawl

40-Man Battle Royal: TV taping dark match from Hamilton Ontario Canada on June 1 1992. We've got: Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase, Irwin R. Schyster, Virgil, Repo Man, Beau Beverly, Blake Beverly, Brian Knobbs, Jerry Sags, Tatanka, Sgt. Slaughter, Kerry Von Erich, Owen Hart, Koko B. Ware, Kato, Jim Brunzell, Skinner, Tito Santana, Rick Martel, Barry Horowitz, Joe Milano, Bob Knight, Glen Ruth, Jim Powers, Duane Gill, Rick Johnson, Al Hunter, Rick Danger, Jerry Davis, Barry Hardy, Tony Ulysses, Bruce Mitchell, Dublin Destroyer, Phil Apollo, and six other unknowns. Literally more than half the field are jobbers. Like, not even JTTS, but outright jobbers. Forty is a lot of sardines for a battle royal (it's like an entire Royal Rumble field, plus another ten guys for good measure, all in at once), so the standard battle royal kick-punch stuff is really limited, as guys can barely get around in the ring. It looks like an overcrowded public pool on a hot July day - and just like those pools, the losers get beat up and tossed quickly. It thins out pretty quickly (this was during a marathon TV taping - no one was going to bust their ass for a pointless battle royal), and gets down to the Beverly Brothers, Bret Hart, and Davey Boy Smith. Hart and Smith try to work together, but a miscommunication sees Davey accidentally knock Bret out. The Beverly’s double team, but Davey shrugs them off, and wins the thing at 10:19. This was pretty short for a battle royal given the size of the field, but I'm not complaining considering it's probably my least favorite match type. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Davey Boy Smith has some trivia questions for you! Or, well, less 'some,' and more 'one.' The answer is Dynamite Kid. I'll let you guess what the question was

Rick Martel v Tatanka: TV taping dark match from Ottawa Ontario Canada on June 2 1992, same one as the Hart/Michaels match from earlier. Tatanka chases him around the ring to start, but that proves costly, as Martel stomps him from the high ground as they head in. Tatanka manages to reverse a turnbuckle smash, and he starts to throw clotheslines, so Rick bails. Tatanka goes after him, but that again proves to be a mistake, and Martel takes control on the way back in. Tatanka manages to sidestep a corner charge, however, and he grounds the Model in an armbar. Martel escapes and hits a side suplex and an elbowdrop, followed by a gutwrench suplex for two. He tries a reverse chinlock, but Tatanka starts to power out, so Rick cuts him off with a knee, and hits a backbreaker. Martel tries a slingshot splash, but Tatanka lifts his knees to block, so Rick tries a 2^nd rope flying axehandle, but Tatanka is ready with a gutpunch. He starts to mount a comeback, but runs into a hotshot during a criss cross. Martel stupidly stops to gloat instead of following up, however, and Tatanka schoolboys him at 7:09. Dumb finish. For two decent workers, I can't think of a single good match between them from their endless series in 1992. Kind of makes you wonder why they kept booking them together for so long, including TWO pay per view matches in an era when there were only four PPVs on the calendar for the entire year. ½* (Original rating: ½*)

Ric Flair also has a trivia question for you. Give Flair credit, he even makes this cookie cutter segment at least somewhat entertaining just by the sheer force of his charisma

Outside the saloon, two cowboys tune Mooney up, but he manages to hit the deck when one of them tries busting a cap in his ass, and the bullet hits the other cowboy. This is like the Rambo IV of Coliseum tapes

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Paul Ellering and The Legion of Doom v Genius and The Beverly Brothers: TV taping dark match from Glen Falls New York (HOOOOOO!) on June 29 1992. Genius looks like he took a time machine to 1997, and raided Rey Mysterio's closet. Hey, if I had a time machine, that's probably the first thing I'd do too. Ellering and Genius start, with Paul quickly hooking a backslide for two. He adds a nice neckbreaker, but Genius escapes a headlock by shoving him into the heel corner, where the Beverly's unload. Blake Beverly tags in, but fails to notice a tag to Animal during a whip into the ropes, and gets bodyslammed. A cheap shot from Beau Beverly allows Blake a powerslam, but a criss cross results in Animal hitting one of his own, and Blake bails. Lots of stalling from there, until the dust settles on Hawk and Beau. Beau tries firing off some rights, but eats a facebuster, and Hawk goes to town in the corner until Beau bails. That gives us more stalling, settling on Blake and Hawk. Hawk no-sells whatever Blake throws at him, but takes a bump to the outside when he misses a cross corner charge, and Beau capitalizes by whacking him with Genius' metal scroll out there. Inside, the heels go to work on Hawk, but Blake misses a 2^nd rope flying splash, and Animal gets the tag. He comes in hot, and Roseanne Barr the door, we've got a kettle on! I'm totally expecting Genius to eat the pin here, but surprisingly it's Beau, following a rocket launcher from LOD at 10:04. Everything about this was weird, from the guy taking the heat segment, to the guy taking the fall, to the move used to score it. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Bret Hart takes a turn at asking a trivia question. These  are really half-assed

Money Inc v Tito Santana and Virgil: From Prime Time Wrestling on September 28 1992 (taped September 2) in Landover Maryland. Irwin R. Schyster starts with Santana, and dominates him through the first few exchanges, but gets dumped after trying a double team. Tags all around, and man, this crowd is really hot at the prospect of Ted DiBiase/Virgil, even though that feud was already off the books for a year by this point. Virgil dominates his former boss, but a cheap shot puts Tito down, and Money Inc cut the ring in half on him. It's cute that Tito apparently believes he was just a coin flip away from being chosen over Bret for the world title during this period. He wasn't even making the cut on pay per view matches for most of the year (and when he did, he was jobbing), but we're supposed to believe he was neck-and-neck with the guy who held the IC title for most of the year, went on last at SummerSlam, and was one of the few people to get a clean pinfall victory over Roddy Piper in history? I mean, I know Bret was something of a surprise for a lot of people when it happened, but you could definitely tell they had been grooming him for some time. Tito had been JTTS for years by 1992, with the only real difference being that he finally got a new gimmick. Anyway, Santana catches DiBiase with a swinging neckbreaker to allow the tag, and Virgil comes in hot, Roseanne Barr the door! Russian legsweep on IRS gets two, and they whip the heels into each other, then knock them to the outside with stereo dropkicks. Virgil tries suplexing IRS in from the apron, but DiBiase sweeps his feet, and Irwin topples him for the pin at 10:00. Total paint-by-numbers match, but they did a great job of getting the crowd behind Tito during the heat segment. ¾* (Original rating: ¼*)


Big Boss Man trivia. These are getting worse with each outing

WWF Title Match: Randy Savage v Repo Man: TV taping dark match from Cornwall Ontario Canada on June 3 1992. Savage seems to be mixing two different outfits here, and it's a weird clash. Repo tries stealing the title belt before the bell, and nearly makes it through the curtain before Randy catches up with him. He beats Repo into the ring, but takes a jab to the eye on the way in, and Repo ropechokes him, then tosses the champion over the top. Repo sends Randy into the post out there, but Savage manages a hangman's clothesline on the way back in, and a flying bodypress gets two. Repo cuts him off with a clothesline for two, and a gutpunch is worth two. He tries a chinlock, but Randy escape, and he blocks a bodyslam. Macho drills him with a shoulderblock for two, and a backelbow leads to a right hand, but Repo blocks a charge with a knee. Savage ends up tied up in the ropes for some abuse, allowing Repo to expose a top turnbuckle as the referee works to free him. The referee notices, but it was a distraction anyway, allowing Repo to grab his tow hook to bash Macho with while the official tends to the turnbuckle. Repo covers following that, but Savage is in the ropes at two. Repo pounds him with mounted punches, and adds a side suplex for two. Chinlock, but Savage escapes with a hiptoss, only to have Repo block a flying axehandle with a gutpunch. Repo pounds him with his own axehandle, but misses a corner charge, and Randy lands the flying axe for two. Repo responds by going for the hook, but it backfires on him, and the Flying Elbowdrop retains at 8:46. It's a shame Savage's second reign apparently didn't do very well from a financial standpoint, because the more I see of his work during this period, it really was the last we ever saw of the motivated worker he built his reputation on, before his descent into the shell he was in his later years. ** (Original rating: ½*)

Back in the West, Mooney is hiding out on a bell tower, but one of the cowboys spots him, and knocks him off via a bullet to the gut

Undertaker and Ultimate Warrior v Papa Shango and Berzerker: Another dark match from the same Cornwall taping on June 3 1992. The heels try a sneak attack, but eat stereo big boots, and then get dumped via stereo clotheslines over the top! Warrior is looking a lot less energetic than usual here. And it's not like he's standing next to a particularly energetic guy that's overshadowing him, it's freakin' zombie era Undertaker! 'Taker starts with Berzerker, and dominates, but runs into a dropkick, and they spill to the outside. Undertaker rams him into the steps out there, and he passes to Warrior on the way back in, Warrior bodyslamming Berzerker. Warrior with a pair of corner clotheslines, and he starts throwing shoulderblocks, but he runs into a cheap shot from Papa. He doesn't exactly sell it, but it's enough to at least slightly slow his spasms down, and the heels take what they can get, working to cut the ring in half. This is a really weird heat segment, because Warrior basically won't sell anything. He's still probably doing better at it than Undertaker would in the role, though. The poor heels are blowing up trying to work him over, since he won't stay down for anything, forcing them to follow-up on their spots super quickly or else it won't look believable that he can't tag. Anyway, Berzerker gets backdropped over the top on the charge, and Undertaker gets the tag - Roseanne Barr the door. Chokeslam for Berzerker and a jumping clothesline for Shango, and Warrior hits them both with a double-clothesline. He adds a jumping shoulderblock on Berzerker, and a splash finishes at 7:49. This was probably a treat for the people at the taping because it had big stars, but it didn’t work as a match. I mean, Warrior is the last guy in the world who can get a heat segment over, and Undertaker was totally miscast as a babyface waiting to get the hot tag. ¼* (Original rating: ¼*)

BUExperience: It may not be a good addition to your Coliseum collection, but it is likely the only one with a body count, so it’s at least notable for something.