WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Shawn Michaels, Hits from the Heartbreak Kid (UK) (1995)

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Shawn Michaels, Hits from the Heartbreak Kid (UK) (1995)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover of the tape features Shawn Michaels looking like he’s trying to describe some gigantic breasts, while the back cover promises that he’ll be wrestling in wrestling matches

Shawn Michaels is hanging out in his hotel, and he's pleased that the good folks at Coliseum Video sent a "chick" to run the camera

Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels: TV taping dark match from Florence South Carolina on January 11 1994. Shawn is carting around that bogus Intercontinental title belt here, though he is not recognized as the champion at this point. He still hasn't switched to the hearts on his tights yet either, though thankfully it would happen not long after this. Bret dominates the criss crosses in the early going, and works the arm. He tries a sleeper, but Shawn drops into the corner to escape, and Michaels manages to turn the tide by bootchoking the Hitman. Shawn with a cross corner whip ahead of a chinlock, but Bret slugs free. Shawn tries a dropkick, but Hart catches him with a catapult into the corner, and the Hitman adds an inverted atomic drop. Clothesline gets two, and a Russian legsweep is worth two. Backbreaker sets up a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two, so Shawn tries a powerslam, but Bret slips free. He tries a rollup, but Michaels manages to dump him to the outside to block - where Diesel is waiting with a trip into the post! He rolls Bret back in for Michaels to finish, and he sets up a piledriver, but Owen Hart runs in to save his brother before Michaels can execute it, and that's a DQ at 7:43! Nothing special, but predictably solid. * ½

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Shawn Michaels and Diesel v Razor Ramon and 1-2-3 Kid: From Action Zone, October 30 1994 (taped September 28) in White Plains New York. The heels attack as Razor busies himself with taking off all of his gold, but stereo cross corner whips gets reversed, and Diesel gets clotheslined to the outside. Ramon immediately capitalizes with the Razor's Edge on Michaels, but Diesel saves at two, and the tag champs decide to bail. Ramon drags Michaels back for Kid to schoolboy for two, so Shawn goes to the eyes, and cracks Kid with an elbowsmash in the corner - only for a cross corner whip to get reversed, and Kid to hit a backdrop. Kid with a flying bodypress for two, and a victory roll is worth two. Rana, but Michaels counters with a powerbomb, and tags out to Big Daddy Cool. Diesel throws Kid around the ring with ease, but the tenacious little monkey keeps fighting, so Diesel blocks a sunset flip with a wild chokeslam. Kid got some hang time there! Flapjack, but Kid counters with a dropkick, and passes to Ramon. Razor slugs Diesel down and hits a bodyslam for two, but a short-clothesline is reversed, and the heels cut the ring in half with the type of expert level efficiency usually reserved for much more experienced teams. Remember that Shawn and Diesel just MET about a year before this, and didn't start regularly teaming until well after that. I honestly believe that they had the potential to be one of the best teams ever, but had the misfortune of being around during a time when the field of tag teams was about at its absolute nadir. Ramon fights out of a chinlock from Shawn with a backslide for two, but Michaels pops him with a dropkick to keep control, and passes back to Diesel to school this fool with a snake-eyes. I should note that we're only about ten minutes into this, and already they've done more than most guys do in twenty. Diesel with a straddling ropechoke and a pair of elbowdrops for two, but Ramon escapes a headvise, so Shawn takes a cheap shot to allow Diesel to blast him with a jumping shoulderblock for two. Shawn with an abdominal stretch while using Diesel for leverage, and they do an illegal switch behind the referee's back while Kid comes in to protest. Razor manages to fight Shawn off with a chokeslam long enough to get the tag to Kid, but the referee misses it thanks to some well timed cheating! That allows Diesel to hold Razor for Shawn to Superkick, but Ramon ducks, and Michaels cracks his partner with it! That leaves Diesel down and out, and Razor is able to make the real tag. Kid bounces Shawn around like a pinball, and knocks him to the outside for a somersault plancha. Back in with a missile dropkick for two, and Ramon comes in with a fallaway slam - then follows it up by throwing Kid into Michaels with a fallaway slam! Diesel is still out cold as Razor tries a side superplex on Shawn - Michaels countering with a bodyblock, but Ramon rolling through for two. Razor with a bodyslam, and he tags Kid for a rocket launcher for two. Shawn desperately tries to revive Diesel, but he's still not stirring, and Ramon clotheslines Shawn for two. Michaels desperately tries to hang on with a sleeper, but Kid breaks it up a two arm drops - leaving both men looking up at the lights, as Diesel finally starts to stir on the floor. He's not ready for a tag though, and Ramon is able to hit Michaels with a slingshot for the tag to Kid! Kid comes in with a flying legdrop for two, but a criss cross ends in Diesel taking his head off with a big boot as he climbs back in, and Michaels falls on top for the pin at 22:02! Awesome! One of the best tag matches ever, and a personal favorite of mine that I remember going bonkers for in 1994. And it totally holds up today! *****

Back in his hotel room, Shawn Michaels is ordering up some hookers

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Crush: From King of the Ring '93 on June 13 in Dayton Ohio. Shawn calls this "one of the greatest matches of my entire career" while introducing it, which is... just, no. I mean, it's not even the greatest match of the first half of this tape! Shawn wastes no time getting into oversell mode, bumping to the outside off a shoulderblock within the first thirty seconds. Back in, Crush works a headlock, so Shawn forces a criss cross, and pops him with a right hand. Crush no-sells, so Shawn tries a standing armbar - though it looks rather ridiculous given the size difference. Superkick misses, so Crush throws a pair of dropkicks to knock Michaels to the outside again, and the champion stalls out there. Inside, Shawn tries shooting at the leg, but Crush slugs him off, and hits a three pump press-slam. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker follows, so Diesel does his job, and pulls Michaels out of the ring before Crush can follow-up. Michaels stalls out there again, until Crush gets annoyed and goes after him, but he runs into Diesel instead - allowing Shawn to dive off the apron with a flying axehandle from behind! Nice! Diesel sends Crush into the post for good measure, and then distracts the referee so Shawn can bounce his challenger's skull off said post a few more times! Crush is out cold, but Shawn decides to lug his dead weight in to cover, instead of taking the countout. Why? And it only gets two, rendering the decision even more perplexing. Shawn grabs a front-facelock, but Crush powers out, and dumps the champ over the top in dramatic fashion. The crowd gets distracted by something happening in the stands again, as Shawn misses a flying bodypress, and Crush mounts his comeback. Backdrop and a backbreaker get two, and a big boot sets up a legdrop for two. Press-slam, but Shawn counters with a rollup - only for Crush to block, and clothesline his ass over the top. Crush goes up to try a dive, when suddenly the two Doink's appear in the aisle, and he gets distracted. He shouts down at them, allowing Michaels to sneak up with a superkick to retain at 11:13. Pretty disappointing, as you'd think this would be an easy Flair/Luger formula match, but they just weren't clicking. And the finish sucked, on top of things. Some nice bumps from Shawn, though. * ¾

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Mr. Perfect: From SummerSlam '93 in Auburn Hills Michigan on August 30. I never got why Michaels used to wear peace signs all over his outfit during this period. Like, did someone in wardrobe get the wrong memo, and think the character was supposed to be a hippy dippy fella? And don't even get me started on the cow splotches. Feeling out process to start, as they try all sorts of complex looking stuff to try and make this come off as the classic it was hyped as, but it's falling very flat. Perfect controls after Shawn misses a few dives off the top, and holds the champ in an armbar. Shawn escapes and tries a criss cross, but a dropkick misses, and Perfect sends him over the top with a catapult! Nice bump there. Perfect follows out, but Diesel distracts him, and Michaels delivers a superkick out there. Flying axehandle off of the apron follows, and inside, Shawn goes to work with a series of elbowdrops. Cross corner whip doesn't even trigger a somersault bump from Perfect tonight, which is weird. Shawn with a backbreaker submission, but Perfect escapes, and a criss cross ends in the challenger delivering a dropkick. He mounts his comeback with a backdrop and a swinging kneelift, followed by an inverted atomic drop for two. Clothesline gets two, but Shawn blocks a backslide, so Perfect turns it into the Perfect-Plex! It connects, but Diesel pulls him out of the ring at two, and Perfect is counted out at 11:18. Kinda funny that they were basically promising an all time classic, yet this wasn't even either guys best match that year - or even that summer. It wasn't even the best match on this show. A major disappointment in every sense, down to the finish. This all felt very forced. * ¼

Back at the hotel room, we find Shawn sprawled out on the bed, shirtless, pants open, and checking out the mirror on the ceiling. This is getting weird

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Bob Backlund: From SummerSlam Spectacular in Poughkeepsie New York on August 22 1993 (taped August 16). Shawn notes that this is against a "pre-psychopath" Backlund, which is a pretty funny way of describing it. Shawn with a bodyslam right off the bat, and he struts around off of it. Another one, and he keeps gloating, as his poor tights struggle to keep his chub covered up. Bob returns fire with a pair of hiptosses and his own bodyslam, followed by a backslide for two, and Shawn wisely bails. He goads Backlund into chasing him so he can get the high ground, and the champ takes over on the way back inside. Bob does some great selling here, as Shawn pounds on him. Michaels with a flying axehandle ahead of a front-facelock, but Backlund powers him onto the top turnbuckle to escape, and uses a backdrop as an enraged champ charges. Bob with a dropkick and a neckbreaker for two, followed by a hanging atomic drop - complete with nice oversell from Michaels. Diesel distracts the referee to prevent a count, however, allowing Shawn to hook a really awkward looking cradle at 6:27. Not a lot to this one. ½*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Kamala: From Monday Night RAW in Poughkeepsie New York on June 28 1993 (taped June 21). Shawn doesn't quite know what to make of Kamala, and stalls. He tries to talk Kamala into a handshake (with the crowd warning him not to trust the champ), and of course, Michaels decks him when he goes for it. Kamala reverses him on a cross corner whip though, so Shawn offers a handshake again, but this time Kamala bites him. Shawn bails to the outside to strategize with Diesel, but inside, Kamala bodyslams him, and slaps on a bearhug. He carries him to the mat in the hold for a few two counts, so Shawn bails, and suckers him into a chase - stomping the challenger on the way back in. Shawn goes after the knee with really basic stuff (mostly stomps, actually), but can't get a toehold on (despite, like, five tries - give it up, guy!), and Kamala finally shoves him off, and chops him. Splash, but Kamala tries pinning him on his belly again, and without Slick he can't get it. Diesel hops up on the apron to help, but it turns out to be another trick, and Shawn superkicks him for the pin at 11:00. Shawn's selling carried things, but it was pretty much house show level stuff, otherwise. ¼*

Shawn (looking like he just fell out of a Poison video) is now completely naked, surrounded by mirrors, and lounging in a hot tub

Razor Ramon v Shawn Michaels: From Monday Night RAW in Youngstown Ohio on August 1 1994. I've reviewed this one before, but let's give this a second look. Criss cross right away, with Shawn managing a takedown, but getting hit in the teeth for his trouble. Ramon corner whips him to send Shawn over the top, and he keeps Shawn out there with punches every time HBK tries climbing back in. Shawn is bumping around like crazy here. Shawn manages to go to the eyes to allow him to get back inside, and he hits a swinging neckbreaker, but a 2^nd rope flying bodypress gets caught in a fallaway slam for two. Razor grounds him in an armbar, but Shawn fights free in the corner, and uses a snapmare to take the Bad Guy down for a stomp to the jaw. Nicely placed dropkick gets two, as Randy Savage makes cracks about Vince McMahon's trial on commentary. Shawn and Diesel do a little double teaming on the Bad Guy to allow Michaels a chinlock, but Razor hooks a backslide for two, so Shawn throws a clothesline for two. Back to the chinlock, but Razor slugs free, so Shawn throws a dropkick - only for Ramon to catch him with a catapult right over the top, and onto Diesel! Fantastic! Shawn's athleticism was just off the charts. Michaels manages to get to the top rope, but Razor slams him off, and grabs an abdominal stretch. Shawn goes to the eyes to escape that, and he pounds Ramon with elbowsmashes, but telegraphs a backdrop, and eats canvas via a facebuster. Razor lets him kiss the sky with a backdrop next, and he grabs a bearhug, but Shawn slugs free. He goes for a bodyslam, but his back prevents him from executing it, and Ramon goes back to the bearhug to keep working the part. Shawn tries a sunset cradle for two, but Ramon throws a clothesline for two. Shoulderblock hits, but a second gets sidestepped, and the Bad Guy takes a spill to the outside. Diesel is waiting with a clothesline out there, and he placed Ramon on the apron for Shawn to dive on with an elbowdrop. Inside, Michaels hammers Razor with jabs in the corner, and a jumping backelbow gets him two. Razor starts slugging (leading to a funny spot where Shawn spits into the air to sell a punch, and the referee has to dive out of the way to avoid it), but Michaels latches on with a sleeper to prevent a comeback. He rides Ramon down, but Razor uses a side suplex to escape for two, and a criss cross results in a double knockout situation. Razor starts making a comeback as they both stagger to their feet, and a clothesline gets him two. Side superplex, but Michaels blocks, and dives with a flying bodypress - only for Ramon to roll through for two. Shawn throws a Superkick for two, but Razor counters a piledriver with a backdrop, and it's time for the Razor's Edge! That summons Diesel up onto the apron, allowing Shawn to grab the Intercontinental belt, but Ramon dodges the sneak attack! He whips Shawn into the ropes, but Michaels reverses, and Razor goes crashing into a big boot from Diesel - allowing Shawn a schoolboy at 21:44. I was honestly expecting to give this a higher rating on this rewatch, but nope. Good action, but nothing outstanding. *** (Original rating: *** ¼)

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Shawn Michaels, Diesel, and Tatanka v Lex Luger and The Smoking Gunns: TV taping dark match from White Plains New York on September 28 1994 (earlier in the same taping as the earlier classic tag match). Shawn and Lex start, and Shawn goes right for a rollup, but ends up getting press-slammed. That brings Diesel in, but the babyfaces clean house before he can do any damage, and Shawn oversells like a human pinball. The dust settles on Diesel and Bart Gunn from there, with Diesel pounding on him for a bit, before passing to Tatanka to do the same. Bart fires a bodypress at Tatanka for two, and a hiptoss leads to an armdrag, followed by a dropkick. Over to Billy Gunn for a sidewalk slam/legdrop combo, and Lex gets the tag next, but Tatanka bails to Michaels before Luger can get his hands on his rival. Lex gets Shawn in a wristlock before passing to Bart for a flying axehandle, and Gunn goes after the arm, but walks into a cheap shot fro Diesel. Say what you will about fairness, but he's a damn good bodyguard. The heels beat Bart down on the outside, and back in, they work to cut the ring in half on him. He fights a chinlock from Shawn off with a facebuster to allow the hot tag to Billy, and Billy dives at Michaels with a flying bulldog. That brings Diesel in, and Roseanne Barr the door! Lex finally gets his hands on Tatanka in the chaos, but Billy eats a Jackknife from Diesel, and Shawn covers at 9:31. Basic, but fine. ** (Original rating: * ¼)

Shawn signs off from the hot tub, still waiting on those hookers, wondering what their buttholes are going to smell like

BUExperience: Fun tape, with one all-time classic match, and a couple of other good ones sprinkled in, along with Shawn’s entreatingly weird job of hosting. I’m honestly surprised they didn’t include the WrestleMania X match, since they love sticking that in seemingly everywhere.

A good addition to your Coliseum collection.