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

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Invasion ‘92 (1992)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover of the tape features Ric Flair headlocking Bret Hart, and promises a ‘manager cam’ feature with Sensational Sherri, while the back cover promises a segment on the Nasty Boys visiting a video store

This one has a Star Trek theme, with Sean Mooney hosting from the captain's chair on the deck of a space ship. Or, you know, a studio with a green screen. My knowledge of Star Trek is, at best, extremely limited, but even I can tell this is lame as far as Star Trek gags go

Hulk Hogan v Typhoon: This is a dark match from a TV taping on December 2 1991 in Corpus Christi Texas, the day before This Tuesday in Texas. Hulk's popularity may have been declining around this period, but he's still massively over here in Corpus Christi, to the point where people are literally BRAWLING in the stands just to try and get their hands on the torn t-shirt he tosses into the crowd. Hulk dominates him in the early going, but gets tripped up by Jimmy Hart as he runs the ropes, and Typhoon clobbers him. Typhoon works him over in the corner, and some chokes wear Hogan down for a bearhug, as the crowd rallies behind the Hulkster. He slugs out of the hold, but an attempt at a shoulderblock backfires, and Typhoon avalanches him to trigger the HULK UP!! Whoops. If I was a heel, I wouldn't really ever go for big moves on Hogan. I mean, history has repeatedly proven that it's just not a very good idea. Just try for some complex cradle, or something. Typhoon has no counter to the routine though, and the Legdrop finishes at 5:50. Total yawner, but the crowd pumped up to see Hogan make an appearance, and that's what this was all about anyway. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Back on the space ship, Mooney is joined by WWF Champion Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect (via video), and Flair notes that he doesn't care if you're from Mars or Pluto, he's the world champion everywhere. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not quite how that works. Maybe if he was the Universal champion. This leads to a look back Flair winning the title at the Royal Rumble, as part of the promised profile on him

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Bret Hart v Ric Flair: TV taping dark match from New Haven Connecticut on November 13 1991. Weird to see Flair challenging for the IC belt. He's also wearing the lookalike version of the NWA World Title here (the so-called 'Vegas Big Gold'), in all of its uncensored glory. This is also only the second night that Mr. Perfect stood in Ric's corner, making his return following SummerSlam '91, and beginning a year long partnership. Feeling out process to start, with Bret dominating. He goes for the Sharpshooter early, but Flair's in the ropes before he can get it applied, leading to a scuffle with the referee in the style of his old classics with Tommy Young. This is the WWF though, so the announcers are appalled by it. It's lucky Gorilla Monsoon isn't on commentary duty, he'd be absolutely losing it over that. Ric takes over with chops in the corner, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Hart backdrops him on the rebound. Bret adds a pair of clotheslines before cornering Ric for a ten-punch, but Flair uses an inverted atomic drop to get rid of him, and he adds a kneedrop for two. Corner whip works this time around, so Ric adds a second one for good measure, and tries a leveraged pin for two. Perfect's 'jogging suit manager' phase is an underrated fashion period for him. Much better than his 'shirt buttoned to the top and blazer' look in 1996, where he looked like he was auditioning for Boyz II Men every night. Bret comes back with an inverted atomic drop, but Flair escapes a headlock with a kneebreaker, and it's time for the Figure Four! Flair isn't shy about using the ropes for leverage, but Bret manages a reversal, so Ric uses the ropes again, this time to force a break. Flair still has control, so he decides to vertical suplex Hart out of the ring, but Bret reverses to keep things inside. Ric responds with more chops, but Hart pulls down the straps, and tells him to hit like a man! Bret returns fire with rights, and a cross corner whip flips Flair to the floor! Hart chases after him for a trip into the guardrail before forcing his challenger back inside, and Flair is actively begging off! Hart unloads mounted punches and a backbreaker to set up the Sharpshooter, but Perfect pulls Ric into the ropes! Bret's pissed, but stays focused with another backbreaker, and it's back to the Sharpshooter, so Perfect hops onto the apron to distract him. Bret goes after him this time, allowing Flair to dump the Hitman to the outside to buy time. Ric tries a vertical suplex in from the apron, but Hart counters with a rollup for two, so Flair takes him to the mat in a side-headlock to try and slow things down. Hart counters into a backslide for two, so Flair tries more chops, but ends up getting knocked over the top with an uppercut. Hart follows, so Flair tries a cheap shot to set up a piledriver out there, but Bret counters with a backdrop. They both fight to beat the count, but Perfect pulls Bret off the apron, and Flair gets the countout win at 18:31. Perfectly good match, though you can't help but feel it was a disappointment considering the players. Bret was just a guy who really didn't plug into the standard Flair formula very well, and this was very much a standard Flair formula match. *** (Original rating: *** ¼)

Ric Flair v Shawn Michaels: The hits just keep on coming here! From Prime Time Wrestling on December 16 1991 (taped December 2) in Corpus Christi Texas, actually taking place right after the Hogan/Typhoon match at the taping. This is only a couple of weeks after the Hart match, but by this point they'd jettisoned the Vegas Big Gold and had him wearing a custom made belt in the same style as the then-current tag title, though the image is pixilated. I get why they had to stop using the Vegas belt, but what I've never understood is why they bothered having a custom belt made for him that looked exactly like the tag belt from afar. For years, I thought it WAS the tag belt, until some detailed photos of it surfaced in recent years. Honestly, if you're not going to use an unfamiliar design, you might as well just let him go out with the actual tag belt, since 99% of the crowd probably thought it was that anyway. Shawn uses his speed to dominate a few early exchanges with the Nature Boy, and hits a flying sunset flip for two. Michaels works a mat-based side-headlock, and Mr. Perfect's got that title belt propped up in the corner for all to see, totally unpixilated. Flair bails to regroup, and manages to get Shawn into the corner for chops on the way back in, but Michaels returns fire. Ten-punch, so Flair tries the inverted atomic drop counter, but Michaels avoids it, and hits a vertical suplex. That leaves Ric begging off, and he manages to poke Michaels in the eyes as the Rocker advances. Flair goes to work in the corner, but Shawn is tenacious, and keeps slugging back at him. Corner whip sets up a backdrop, and another corner whip sees Flair flip to the outside. Shawn goes after him out there, so Perfect tries a distraction, but Michaels sees through it. He hits Flair with a suplex on the floor, but Ric beats the count, and dumps Shawn out of the ring as he does. Michaels comes back at him with a slingshot sunset flip, but Flair blocks the cradle with a right, only to have Michaels backflip out of a side suplex attempt. He tries a rollup, but Ric blocks, so Shawn throws a dropkick instead. Perfect's finally able to successfully trip him up, allowing Flair a kneedrop, but Shawn again won't go quietly, trading rights with Ric as the Nature Boy tries to take him to school in the corner. Flair goes up, but Shawn slams him down off the top, and drops an elbow for two. Superkick sets up a flying fistdrop for two, and a clothesline sends Ric over the top. Shawn dives after him with a plancha, but Perfect pushes Flair out of the way, and Michaels eats rail! Perfect isn't shy with some abuse out there, so Marty Jannetty runs out to watch Shawn's back, though I'd say it's too little too late at this point. I mean, Michaels is slumped over and barely alive out on the floor. Marty scoops his limp body up and shoves him back into the ring, but he's road kill, so Flair just simply covers him for three at 10:17 - making sure to put his feet on the ropes anyway, no matter how unnecessary. What was Marty thinking there? No wonder Shawn put him through a plate glass window not long after this. Actually, a quick check reveals that the famous Barber Shop segment actually happened the very next day, so there you go. Great match here, as Shawn was clearly having the time of his life living out his childhood fantasies of working with Ric Flair. *** ½ (Original rating: *** ¼)

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Legion of Doom v The Beverly Brothers: TV taping dark match on December 2 1991, again in Corpus Christi Texas. Popular taping. Why did WWF ref's always ring the bell before the entrances were even fully complete? Like, all four guys are in the ring, and the LOD still have their spikes on, why are you starting the match? Give WCW officials one thing, if it's a tag match, Nick Patrick would slit his own throat before he'd signal a bell with more than two guys in the ring. They've gotten better about that these days, though. Animal and Blake Beverly start, and it's stall city from Blake. He eventually takes a cheap shot and hits a powerslam, but Animal kind of shrugs it off, and hits his own right back. That sends Blake to the outside, so Beau Beverly comes in for a sneak attack, but Animal easily fights him off, and the Brothers end up huddling up on the outside to regroup with Genius. The dust settles on Hawk and Beau, and Beau tries a cheap shot right away, but runs into a dropkick, and ends up back on the outside. Hawk follows, so Beau takes the high ground and stomps him, but Hawk ignores that, and hits a neckbreaker. Man, the LOD are just giving them NOTHING here. Hawk with a press-slam, so Beau tries another cheap shot, but Hawk shrugs him off in the corner. Hawk hits a cross corner whip, but misses the follow-up charge in, and takes a bump to the outside. That allows the Brothers to finally get control of the action, and they cut the ring in half on Hawk. Blake ends up knocking heads with him in the corner, however, and that's enough for the hot tag to Animal - Roseanne Barr the door! Blake tries a bodyslam to set up a 2^nd rope flying splash, but Animal dodges, and the Doomsday Device ends it at 8:57. Pretty dull, but inoffensive. ½* (Original rating: ½*)

Back on the space ship, Lord Alfred Hayes repairs the accelerators so we can get as far fucking away from the LOD as possible

Ted DiBiase v Tito Santana: TV taping dark match from Fort Myers Florida on January 8 1992. This is the promised 'Manager Cam' feature, with Sherri wearing a microphone so we can hear everything she says during the match, and no other commentary. Listening to her repeatedly shout "come on Teddy Bear, get Taco Bell" is pretty funny, if horribly politically incorrect. Of course, today we know better than to debase a plush toy like that. Feeling out process to start, with Sherri absolutely berating the referee at every turn when Santana controls, and then nearing orgasm when DiBiase does. "Hey! He slapped my Teddy Bear!" is something every manager should shout at a referee at least once a week. DiBiase stalls, but Santana chases after him on the outside, and unloads. Ted tries a cheap shot on the way back in, but Tito counters by sending him over the top with an atomic drop, and Sherri is quick to nurse him out there. Santana responds by bashing their heads together, and he drags DiBiase in for more abuse, as Sherri pleads for him to "please not hurt my Teddy Bear." Santana ignores those pleas, so Sherri trips him up, and when the referee questions her about it, she clarifies that she's "done nothing to Taco Bell." DiBiase dumps Tito to the outside for Sherri to abuse ("lord knows a woman's work is never done"), and he chokes away on the way back in, as Sherri teeters on the brink of orgasm again ("I like this! I like this! I love this! God, I love this!"). DiBiase with a series of turnbuckle smashes, but Tito reverses one, and mounts a comeback - causing Sherri to wonder where he "got that energy from all of a sudden." Sadly, she stops short of actually accusing him of snorting cocaine on the air. He hits DiBiase with the jumping forearm, but Sherri puts Ted in the ropes at two, so Tito goes after her on the floor. She begs off ("I like you! I like you a lot!"), but here's DiBiase to make the save, and it's a double countout at 8:06. Nothing much as a match, but Sherri was entertaining as hell here, and I'm almost tempted to bump up the rating just for her antics. Which is weird, because I found her really grating in my original review. ½* (Original rating: DUD)

Back on the space ship, Mooney is on his way to the transponster room, possibly looking for Miss Chanandler Bong. Now I'm no astronaut myself, but I'm pretty sure most space ships don't have drop ceilings

And now it's Video Store Invasion, with the Nasty Boys. The Nasties show up at a random video store (one that's heavily stocked with Coliseum Videos, like something out of my childhood fantasies) looking for a tape, but end up beating up the owner and trashing the place, all because they can't find WrestleWar '91 on VHS

Big Boss Man v Hercules: From Prime Time on October 21 1991 (taped October 1) in Huntington West Virginia. Hercules cranks on a headlock early on, but stops to flex, and Boss Man schoolboys him for two. Boss Man keeps it going with a pair of bodyslams, so Hercules kicks the knee in the corner, but fails to get him up for his own bodyslam attempt. An awkward criss cross sequences ends in a miscommunication between the workers, so Boss Man beats up Slick instead, then backdrops Hercules over the top - which I believe was what they were going for with that bad sequence. Back in, Boss Man hits a straddling ropechoke, but misses a second go, and Hercules capitalizes with an inverted atomic drop for two. Herc is looking slow and out of shape here. He delivers a clothesline for two, and a pair of cross corner whips leave Boss Man in rough shape. Hercules pulls him up for a short-clothesline for two, but Boss Man fights back with some mounted punches, so Hercules goes to the eyes, and keeps hammering him. Boss Man absorbs blow after blow before catching a second wind, and nailing Hercules with a big boot to set up a splash. Herc manages to block an avalanche, but Boss Man hits the Boss Man Slam as Hercules tries for a follow up, and that's the pin at 7:01. As noted, Hercules looked really broken down here. No idea why they bothered including this. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Million Dollar Title Match: Virgil v Ted DiBiase: Randy Savage (still retired) acts as the special guest referee for this TV taping dark match on September 10 1991 in Cornwall Ontario Canada. And Macho's referee outfit is an all timer, of course. He even keeps the hat on while he officiates! DiBiase tries to sneak attack, but Virgil sees him coming, and blitzes him to clean house. Ted stalls out there for a bit, and manages to nail Virgil on the way back in, but a backdrop is countered with a sunset flip, and Virgil hits a pair of bodyslams to send DiBiase back to the outside. Sadly, Sherri isn't mic'd up for this one, so we don't get to hear whatever racist nickname she has for Virgil. Ted fights off an attack on the outside and sends Virgil into the steps out there, but Virgil's fast fists look to buy him time on the way back in, so Ted goes to the eyes, and clotheslines him down. DiBiase with a gutwrench suplex for two, and a vertical suplex sets up a fistdrop for two. DiBiase's right to argue those counts, Savage is moving like he's covered in molasses. Ted keeps coming with a nice backdrop for two, as Sherri fumes over the speed of the count. I'd like to think she had a fast food nickname for Macho as well. Anyway, DiBiase has enough of Savage's slow counting and beats him up. Randy doesn't bother calling for the DQ though, instead kicking Ted's ass, and lets Virgil pin him at 7:11. Really making Virgil look strong there. Savage had no business being the referee to begin with, given his history with both DiBiase and Sherri. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)

Meanwhile, Mooney and Hayes beam up to a hostile planet. Well, they’re from the WWF, so must be Toronto?

Undertaker and Jake Roberts v Randy Savage and Jim Duggan: TV taping dark match in Austin Texas on December 4 1991 (day after This Tuesday in Texas). Undertaker is looking surprisingly chipper for a guy who just lost the world title. Savage, of course, only has eyes for Roberts, but Jake refuses to get in with him. That means we get Undertaker and Duggan to start, but Savage just can't calm down, and rushes in to knock Roberts off of the apron, then paces back and forth when he's sent back to his corner. Nobody did intensity like Randy Savage. Undertaker, meanwhile, doesn't even react to any of this, and just systematically takes Duggan apart. Jim manages to clothesline 'Taker over the top, but gets his throat snapped across the top rope when he tries pulling him back in, and Jake is quick to help with a cheap shot - sending Savage into a rage. The heels cut the ring in half on Hacksaw (how ironic), but he fights Jake off to get the tag, and of course Macho comes in hot on the Snake. Flying axehandle knocks Roberts into a tag to 'Taker, but Savage doesn't even acknowledge it - staying on Jake instead. That gets him double teamed, and the heels work Macho over. Undertaker misses an elbowdrop to allow the tag to Duggan, but he gets double teamed in the heel corner, and Jake blasts him with a short-clothesline. DDT, but Savage runs in with a clothesline before he can execute, and Roseanne Barr the door! Everyone arms themselves with weapons (urn for Undertaker, chair for Savage, 2x4 for Duggan), and the result is the heels by DQ at 7:09. Nothing as a match, but I was all about Savage's intensity and character motivations. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Back in Toronto, Mooney and Hayes are ready to get beamed back up to their ship, but the crew decides to abandon them, and zips away. I wouldn't let Hayes back in, either. It’s too bad about Mooney, but once you get Alfred out the door, you don't, under any circumstances, open it again. Everyone knows that

BUExperience: Yeah, the Flair profile is really the only thing on here worth seeing. Everything else is pretty nondescript, and the skits aren’t funny, but that Flair/Michaels match is a real hidden gem, so I’d call this a good addition to your Coliseum Collection.