WWF Coliseum Video Collection: German Fan Favorites II (1994)

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: German Fan Favorites II (1994)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover of the tape features Diesel holding Razor Ramon in an abdominal stretch. Way to sell the excitement there, guys

Gorilla Monsoon hosts in the studio, and is excited, since German Fan Favorites I was such a big hit

Cage Match: Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels: TV taping dark match from Utica New York on December 1 1993. I'm honestly surprised they bothered with a cage for a dark match (even one taped for Coliseum Video) during this era, when they actually had to set it up and take it down piece by piece. Shawn attacks while Bret is climbing into the cage, and goes to work. The WWF had so many banners during this era. Visible in this match alone are two with the company logo, a Coliseum Video one, a Superstars one, and an ICOPRO one. I miss the banners over the ring, and honestly don't understand why they did away with them. Shawn works him over, but misses a dropkick, allowing Bret a catapult into the corner. Hart with a backbreaker before he makes the first climb attempt of the match, but Shawn pulls him back over, and bashes him into the cage. Slugfest starts going Bret's way, so Shawn dumps him into the cage again, and crawls for the door, but Bret manages to hook the ankle to block. Hart goes for the door next, but Shawn saves, and they take turns making dives for the door until Shawn snaps Bret's throat under the bottom rope with a catapult. Michaels tosses him into the steel and climbs, making it over the top before Bret is able to grab two handfuls of hair to force him back over. They fight it out on the top rope, with Hart getting the better of it, but Shawn able to stop him from climbing over by dropping him crotch-first across the top rope in violent fashion. The crowd is surprisingly unperturbed by such a dramatic bump. Shawn crawls for the door, but Bret cuts him off, so Michaels throws a Superkick at him. He climbs, but Bret meets him at the top rope, and knocks him down with big kick. Hart climbs, but Shawn impressively leaps up to the top of the cage to pull him back over by the hair from the mat. Quite the vertical leap there. HBK tries a sleeper to put the Hitman out, but Bret manages to drop him into the cage before he loses consciousness. Hart climbs, but Shawn is hot on his tail, and they have a slugfest at the top of the cage. Michaels makes it over first, but Bret bashes his face into the steel, leaving Shawn hanging upside-down on the outside! That allows Hart to jump down, and we have a winner at 11:37. This one isn't really worth much on its own, but it is interesting as it's basically a template for the more famous Hart/Hart cage match from SummerSlam the following year, right down to the exact same finish. *

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Razor Ramon v Diesel: From Superstars, April 30 1994 (taped April 13) in Rochester NY. Razor doesn't wait for the bell, charging Diesel, and taking the fight to him with right hands. Razor's Edge early on, but Diesel counters with a backdrop. He tries to follow-up with a big boot, but Ramon ducks it, and knocks the challenger out of the ring with a series of rights. Diesel manages to snap the champs throat across the top rope on the way back in, however, and a short-clothesline leads to a pair of elbows in the corner, followed by a pair of knees. Pair of corner whips setup a sidewalk slam for two, and the snake-eyes sets up the straddling ropechoke. Man, this is like Diesel's Greatest Hits here. Elbowdrop gets two, and Diesel tries a headvice, but Ramon escapes with an electric chair for two. That's something you'd never, ever see Nash allowing anyone but one of his Kliq buddies to pull off. Razor starts mounting his comeback, and a 2nd rope flying bulldog is worth two. Bodyslam gets two, but a distraction from Shawn Michaels allows Diesel to throw a knee, and he unloads in the corner as Michaels removes a turnbuckle pad. Ramon tries to reverse Diesel into it, but ends up hitting the exposed steel himself, and the Jackknife wins Diesel his first title at 7:43. Good little match too, with lots of energy. ** ½

Gorilla's so excited about hosting this collection that he's eager to 'move it right along' to the next match, which apparently has been heavily requested

Lex Luger v Jeff Jarrett: Dark match from a TV taping in Syracuse New York on April 12 1994. Stan Lane details Luger's training routine during the entrances, prompting Gorilla Monsoon to note that he used to look just like Lex when he was younger, but "I couldn't make a dime, so I let myself go to where I am now." They then move on to making jokes about Jerry Jarrett, so you know they're having a good time in the booth tonight. Feeling out process to start, with Lex using his strength to control, as Lane continues making homoerotic remarks about Luger's body. Criss cross sees Lex duck a backelbow and hit a press-slam, so Jarrett hides behind the referee to stall. Lex goes after him, but misses a charge, allowing Jeff to dive off the middle rope with a clothesline. Jarrett starts repeatedly punting him in the ribs, and a snapmare sets up a 2nd rope fistdrop for two. Backelbow sets up another pair of dives off the middle rope, this time with axehandles. Jeff goes up for a third one, but Lex punches him in the gut to block, only to miss a charge in the corner again. That allows Jarrett a side suplex for two, but Luger reverses a turnbuckle smash, so Jeff rakes the eyes, and slaps on a sleeper. Funny bit as Jarrett works the hold for pin attempts, so Monsoon immediately chimes in that it's not a pinning combination, and therefore Luger is in NO danger of being pinned here. "Unless he falls asleep," notes Lane. Lex powers out of the hold, so Jeff tries a hiptoss, but Luger counters with a backslide for two. Jarrett tries a vertical suplex to keep control, but Luger reverses, and the close-ups reveal that Lex hasn't even bothered to shave or tape up his wrists tonight. I guess he was in full 'fuck it' mode following WrestleMania X. Lex makes a comeback, and the Torture Rack finishes at 13:15. Not really much of a surprise, given that it was literally on the cover of the video! This couldn't be more paint-by-numbers if it were being sold at CVS for $0.99. ¼*

King of the Ring Qualifying Lumberjack Match: Tatanka v Crush: From RAW, June 6 1994 (taped May 23) in Youngstown Ohio. Weird start, as Tatanka gets distracted by lumberjack IRS and jumped into an armbar, which Crush just casually holds while all the lumberjacks pile into the ring. Once they're cleared out, Crush hammers him in the corner, and hits a hiptoss before tossing Tatanka out for the heel lumberjacks to stomp. Inside, Crush covers for two, then slaps on a chinlock. Tatanka powers out, but Crush cuts him off with a headbutt and a bodyslam, but a kneedrop misses, and Tatanka hits a Japanese armdrag. Hiptoss, and a dropkick knocks Crush out in front of the babyface lumberjacks. Inside, that gets two. Off WHAT?! I get it when the heel does it, but when the face does it, the good guys just roll him back in without any cheap shots, so what's he covering off of? Armbar, so Crush counters into an armbreaker, but Tatanka won't quit, so Crush delivers a backbreaker for two. Another armbreaker, but Tatanka powers up, and clotheslines him for two. Backelbow for two, but he's too slow in following up again, and Crush hits an inverted atomic drop for two. Back to the armbreaker. You know, it's one thing to bore a crowd, but it takes a special kind of asshole to be this boring when all of your coworkers are being forced to watch instead of spending time stretching, or eating, or playing with their shits or whatever goes on in the locker room normally. Tatanka escapes, but gets distracted by IRS again, and Crush headbutts him down for two. Crush wrenches on a bodyscissors, but Tatanka escapes, and this time manages a few tomahawk chops, followed by a bodyslam for two. Chops leave Crush tied in the ropes for a beating, but Tatanka walks into another inverted atomic drop, and Crush adds a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop. Series of kicks get two, and he slaps on a front-facelock. Oh, just get on with it already! Out to the floor for another heel beat down, but the faces step in this time, and it's a brawl on the floor. They quickly settle down, but Crush still gets two out of it on the inside. Nervehold. Poor Bam Bam Bigelow looks like he's moments from falling asleep, and Yokozuna desperately needs to sit down. Vertical suplex sets up a legdrop for two, but Tatanka dumps him on a fluke. The face lumberjacks pile on, but Crush shrugs them all off like they're jobbers. God, with babyface cover like that, no wonder he sold out to Ted DiBiase before the summer was out. Lex Luger runs down and hits him with the loaded forearm for a knockout (waking up the crowd), and they roll him back in for Tatanka to cover at 21:00. Way too long, this was just resthold after resthold for twenty minutes. ¼*

Undertaker v Bam Bam Bigelow: TV taping dark march from Worcester Massachusetts on May 4 1993. This is also the only match on this entire tape that I haven't reviewed before. Bam Bam tries slugging away at the bell, but gets absolutely nowhere with it, and Undertaker chokes his bald ass in the corner. Bigelow manages to block a charge, but a shoulderblock is no-sold, and Undertaker takes him down until Bam Bam bails. Undertaker chases, but this isn't Dawn of the Dead, so Bigelow is easily able to outrun the zombie, and take the high ground. And he STILL gets his ass kicked once Undertaker gets up anyway! Ropewalk forearm hits, but Bam Bam manages to duck the jumping clothesline, and he takes 'Taker to the outside for trips into the post and steps. All expense paid! Back in, Bigelow uses a snapmare to set up a pair of headbutt drops, and a bodyslam sets up a third and fourth. Undertaker starts sitting up, so Bam Bam gives him a fifth, and that looks to leave him down for a bit. Bigelow capitalizes by going up for a flying headbutt, but Undertaker dodges, and Bam Bam decides to walk out - only to get cut off in the aisle by Tatanka! He beats Bigelow in (in full view of the referee, no less), and Undertaker finishes with a chokeslam at 5:08. Pretty standard Undertaker dark match from this era. He wrestled near the same match with Razor Ramon a bunch around this period too, with elbowdrops in place of the headbutt drops. ½*

Gorilla notes that the matches just 'keep getting better,' and then gets all worked up because the next match is by request of Daniel Gaerber, who Gorilla thinks might be the Gerber Baby

WWF Title Match: Yokozuna v Bret Hart: From WrestleMania X, and man, this made it onto almost as many compilations as the damn ladder match, didn't it? And you know there was no way they're doing a tape for the German audience without this one. Roddy Piper is the special guest referee for this, with Burt Reynolds as the guest ring announcer, and Jeanie Garth as the guest timekeeper. What do you think the likelihood of Burt and Mark Wahlberg discussing this show on the set of Boogie Nights is? 'Hey, yeah kid, I met your brother this one time at this wrestling thing in New York.' Bret is still limping from the opener, but Yoko doesn't show any mercy, attacking before the bell. He hammers the Hitman, and a bodyslam connects, but Bret brings the fight to the monster with right hands. Dropkick connects, but a second one doesn't, and Yoko stomps his challenger. Headbutt sets up a splash, but Hart rolls out of the way, and starts throwing rights to try and rattle the champion. Headbutt of his own manages to knock the big man off of his feet, but it knocks Hart down as well, and Bret doesn't have a follow-up. Criss cross sees Bret launch another attack with right hands, and this time manages to actually put him down for two - Cornette pulling referee Piper out to stop the count! Off of some punches? Roddy isn't some tame normal official, however, and he knocks Cornette out, but the save has allowed Yokozuna to recover, and he chokes the Hitman on the mat. Legdrop hits, and Yoko tosses Hart over the top to the outside to try for the countout. Piper is kinda fast on his count, but Hart still beats it inside, so Yokozuna goes for the kill with an avalanche - only to miss! That allows Hart to dive with a 2nd rope flying bulldog, but it only gets two. 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop gets two, and a hangman's clothesline is worth two. 2^nd rope flying clothesline, but Yokozuna catches him in a belly-to-belly suplex, and it's time for the Banzi Drop! He drags Hart into the corner to finish off, but ends up slipping off the ropes, and Bret dives on top for the pin at 10:33! Not either mans finest hour from a workrate perspective, but Bret had already given us enough on that front tonight anyway. Overall, it all totally works though, and the victory celebration after the bell still remains one of my all time favorite moments in wrestling history. ½*

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Quebecers v The Headshrinkers: From Monday Night RAW in Burlington Vermont on May 2 1994 (taped April 26). I'm redoing this one instead of copying and pasting from my RAW review. Pierre and Fatu start, and they size each other up a bit. Whole lotta nothing going on here. Over to Jacques and Samu for more of the same, until they criss cross, and Samu blocks a monkeyflip with a headbutt drop. Cover, so Pierre dives in to break the count, but Samu sees him coming, and Pierre lands on his partner! The challengers clean house, so the Quebecers decide to walk out, but the referee rules that if they don't return by the count of ten, they lose not only the match, but the belts as well. That was always a cute gimmick, though I haven't seen it done in ages. It would be neat to see them break that out of the booking bag again, instead of the same tired finishes I see all the time. Back in, the challengers cut the ring in half on Pierre, but Fatu walks into a cheap shot from Jacques during a criss cross to turn the tide. The champs go to work, and you know they mean business, because they even manage to successfully bash Fatu's head into the steps without any no-selling. Hard to believe the Quebecers were only around for less than a year. Still one of my favorite teams from that era. Though not related to this particular performance. Fatu manages to backdrop Pierre over the top during a charge to allow the hot tag to Samu, and Roseanne Barr the door! Samu sends up getting his head caught between the ropes after missing a charge, allowing Jacques to try a piledriver, but the Tower misses. Samu tags, but the referee misses it, so the champs go for the kill again - only to accidentally hit each other in the process! That leads to them turning on each other, and Samu capitalizes with a superkick before tagging to Fatu to finish with the flying splash at 14:21. Some decent moments along the way, but way too long overall. ¾*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Diesel v Lex Luger: From RAW, July 18 1994 (taped July 1) in Bushkill Pennsylvania. They do a power-stalemate to start, until Diesel tries to choke him, and Luger starts shoving back. He'll choke just fine on his own, thank you! Lex with a sunset flip for two, drawing Shawn Michaels up onto the apron to have a strategy session with big Diesel. His advice was apparently 'use the knee' (he passed that on to Triple H a few years later, too) as he catches Luger with a kneelift, and railroads him into the corner for some body shots. Luger with a powerslam to come back, and a series of closed fists put the champion on the outside to regroup with Michaels. Luger tries to break them up, but he learns the same lesson workers in locker rooms across the country have - ain't gonna happen, and Diesel pulls him out to the floor. Slugfest goes Luger's way, and he hits a backdrop, but a bodypress misses - and Lex goes flying over the top. Diesel slams him out there for Shawn to get in a cheap shot, and inside, Diesel holds him in a sleeper - with Shawn yelling at the time keeper to ring the bell. Luger with a side suplex to break the hold, and another series of clotheslines sets Diesel up for a DDT for two. 2nd rope clothesline for two, and he hooks the Rebel Rack - but the referee gets bumped along the way! That allows Shawn to sneak in with a Superkick, but by the time the referee revives, it only gets a dramatic two count. That draws Razor Ramon out, and both he and Shawn run in for a double disqualification at 15:00. Very energetic stuff - Diesel looking motivated with his push, and Luger looking motivated to move back up after his demotion to the midcard post-WrestleMania X. **

Gorilla wraps up, guaranteeing that there will be a third installment of German Fan Favorites in the near future. Which there never was. Typical politician, making campaign promises he doesn't intend to keep

BUExperience: It’s almost all stuff recycled from other Coliseum releases (I was able to copy-and-paste all but one match from my earlier reviews), but watching Gorilla try to pronounce German names and towns was fun. So, there’s that.

Not a good addition to your Coliseum Collection – no matter where you are from.