WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Razor Ramon (1994)

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Razor Ramon (1994)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover of the tape features Razor oozing his machismo, while the back promises a ‘special tough guy interview.’

We open with Razor walking into an arena. Mid-show, apparently, as Lex Luger's music is already playing in the background. Cocksucker is lucky Bill Watts wasn't running things back then

Our hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Stan Lane, chilling out on a park bench. Having watched quite a few matches with them on commentary together recently, these two are really an underrated team

Razor Ramon v Bam Bam Bigelow: TV taping dark match from Youngstown Ohio on May 23 1994. Razor flicks his toothpick at Luna Vachon before the bell, so you know things are about to get serious. And, they do, as Razor grabs a headlock right away. Bigelow quickly escapes with a side suplex, and hustles to the top for the flying headbutt drop, but Ramon dodges. The Bad Guy comes off the ropes with a jumping clothesline for two, but an attempt to crank on the arm is countered with a clothesline from Bam Bam. That allows Bigelow a headbutt to take control, as Monsoon and Lane get into a funny conversation about the origin on Bam Bam's skull tattoos. Bigelow tosses Razor over the top to avoid a charge, and he follows to send him into the steps a couple of times, while Luna makes herself useful by distracting the referee. She goes after Razor while Bam Bam distracts him, and inside, Bigelow uses a backelbow to put the Bad Guy down - as Monsoon and Lane talk about how much they'd love to see a 'catfight' between Vachon and Alundra Blayze. Seriously, these two are a great team. The pairing wouldn't work on big shows, but just shooting the shit on these Coliseum releases, or on the c-level squash shows, they're perfect. Bam Bam works a chinlock next, as the announcers discuss Luna's love life with Bam Bam. Their take: she's crazy because her clothes are too tight. Thank God I enjoy their banter, because this chinlock is dragging on forever. Bigelow tries using the Razor's Edge on Ramon, but the Bad Guy counters with a side suplex for two, and he starts making a comeback. Bodyslam sets up the Edge, so Luna hops up onto the apron for a distraction, allowing Bam Bam to attack with an enzuigiri. Bodyslam of his own sets up the flying moonsault, but Razor slams him off the top, and cradles for the pin at 8:48. The chinlock in the middle dragged a lot, but fine otherwise. * ¼

Back out in the park, Monsoon and Lane discuss whether or not Razor could have executed the Edge on Bigelow or not. I love how Monsoon would just openly talks shit about the guys if he felt they weren't giving it their all in a match

Next up, we get highlights of the 20-man battle royal from Monday Night RAW in October 1993, where Razor and Rick Martel were the final two to set up a match for the vacant Intercontinental title. And speaking of which...

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Razor Ramon v Rick Martel: This is for the vacant title, from Monday Night RAW, October 11 1993 (taped September 27) in New Haven Connecticut. Let's give this one a fresh look. Bonus points to Razor for actually changing gear between the battle royal and this (they were taped the same night). That's why they put the belt on him! Oh, whoops, spoiler. They trade wristlocks to start, and Martel gets the first takedown with a drop-toehold. Razor tries a charge, but misses, allowing Martel a bodypress - only for Ramon to catch him in a fallaway slam. That sends the Model to the outside to regroup, and he grabs a front-facelock on the way back inside. Razor powers him to the apron to escape, and he uses the top rope to force Rick back in. Razor with a trio of short-shoulderblocks into an armbar, but Martel dumps him into the corner to escape, and they spill to the outside. Rick with a bodyslam on the floor out there, and trio of corner whips on the way back in set up a side suplex, but Martel gets busted trying a leveraged cradle. That allows Ramon to recover some, so Rick attacks the lower back with a series of axehandles and stomps, followed by a high knee to the back. Boston Crab time, but Razor makes the ropes, so Martel goes back to pounding the back. Sidewalk slam connects (and looks super awkward too, due to the height difference), and it's back to the Crab - this time at center ring. Razor powers out into a cradle two, but Martel reverses for two, and throws a dropkick for two. Flying bodypress, but Ramon rolls through for two, so Martel throws a clothesline for two. Backdrop, but Razor is ready with a knee, and it's Edge time at 11:34. Picked up a lot towards the end, but it was actually pretty dull most of the way through. It definitely felt a lot longer than eleven minutes, that's for sure. Still a great moment, though. * ½ (Original rating: **)

Back out in the park, Gorilla tries to set a record for how many times a man can say the word 'exclusive' in a thirty second period

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Razor Ramon v Crush: TV taping dark match from Augusta Maine on December 15 1993. Sign in the crowd notes that Razor has 'MaCheesmo,' which feels like a missed sponsorship and marketing opportunity for the folks at Kraft. And speaking of missed opportunities, Fuji should have left the wrestling business and opened a karate dojo around this time. I mean, Crush went from novice to karate master over the course of just a few months under his guidance, right? Clearly Fuj missed his calling. Crush uses those newfound skills to dominate Ramon early on, and he works a bodyscissors until the Bad Guy manages the ropes. Crush responds by putting the boots to him until Razor falls out of the ring, and Crush dives off the apron with a flying punch after him. Crush with a backbreaker into a backbreaker submission as they head back in, but Razor throws a knee to the noggin to escape. Criss cross sees Ramon fight back with a kneelift and a facebuster, but Crush strikes him in the gut to avoid the Edge. Crush uses another backbreaker to set up a flying kneedrop, but Razor is in the ropes at two. Crush thinks he won it (despite absolutely no indication that he has), and Ramon capitalizes with a schoolboy at 7:06. Bad finish, bad match. ½*

Razor Ramon v Adam Bomb: Non-title action from Superstars on April 23 1994 (taped March 22) in Lowell Massachusetts, just two days after WrestleMania X. Bomb attacks from behind before the bell, and he unloads in the corner, ahead of launching Razor with a hiptoss. Bomb with a scoop powerslam, but an elbowdrop misses, and Razor unloads with rights. Clothesline sends Adam over the top, but Bomb drags him out after him, and uses a short-clothesline on the floor. Adam with a slingshot clothesline for two on the way back in, but he argues the count, and Ramon schoolboys him for two. Bomb cuts off the comeback with a backelbow, and a pair of corner whips set up a side suplex for two. Backdrop, but Ramon is ready with a kneelift, and the Edge finishes at 3:35. No reason this couldn't have been for the title. Also no reason this belonged on a 'best of' tape either, but whatever. ½*

Back out in the park, Gorilla and Stan discuss the intricacies of the Razor's Edge

In the locker room, Razor talks about the Ladder match at WrestleMania X. Unfortunately, it's 1994, and kayfabe is still in full effect, so it's just boilerplate comments about the storyline instead of any actual insight into one of the greatest matches ever

WWF Intercontinental Title Ladder Match: Razor Ramon v Shawn Michaels: From WrestleMania X, March 20 1994 in New York. I'm guessing some of you may have heard of this one, yes? Reversal sequence starts us off, ending in Ramon hitting a chokeslam, and a criss cross ends in Michaels returning fire with a swinging neckbreaker. He tries following up with a turnbuckle smash, but Ramon reverses - only for a charge to end in the Bad Guy taking a bump to the outside, where Diesel lays him out with a clothesline! The referee catches him, however, and Big Daddy Cool is ejected. With Diesel gone, Ramon corner whips Michaels into a flip on the turnbuckles, and a clothesline sends HBK over the top. Razor follows out to pull up the floor mats, but Shawn goes to the eyes before he can do anything with it, and they head back in. Ramon wins a criss cross, and tries for the Razor's Edge, but Michaels counters by backdropping him over the top - right onto that exposed concrete! Shawn drags the ladder down the aisle, but Razor slugs it away from him before he can get it inside. Ramon picks it up, but Shawn thinks fast - using a baseball slide to send the ladder crashing into the champion! Michaels adds a smash into the steps, and he gets the ladder inside for the first time - using it to bash the Bad Guy in the stomach with! Again, but Razor is still crawling around, so Michaels ups the ante by slamming the ladder down across the Bad Guy's back! He STILL won't take the hint, so Shawn ups the ante again by pitching the ladder at a vertical Ramon, and that's seemingly enough to finally stifle him. Shawn climbs, but Razor pulls his tights down to stop him from reaching the gold, and Michaels is forced to abandon his climb attempt. He hits Razor with a flying elbowdrop off of the ladder instead, and a bodyslam sets up the iconic flying splash off the ladder! The camera angle on that one was just perfect. Shawn climbs, but a battered Razor is able to tip the ladder over, and Michaels takes a bump across the top rope. The crowd doesn't quite know what to make of all this, but they know they like it. Criss cross ends in a double knockout spot, and both men are left looking up at the lights. Shawn is up first, and tries whipping Ramon into a corner leaning ladder, but Razor reverses, and HBK takes a bump into the ladder, and over the top! Ramon follows to the outside, chasing Michaels around the ring with ladder shots, and he sends HBK flying into it with a catapult out there! Back in, Ramon bashes Shawn with the ladder again - triggering another over the top bump from the challenger. With the ring clear, Razor decides to make his first climb attempt of the match, but a tenacious Michaels comes off the top rope with a flying axehandle to knock him off - only for the ladder to tip over in the process, and land right on Michaels! Unbelievable timing here. Both guys stagger up, and end up climbing opposite sides of the ladder, leading to a slugfest at the top! Razor manages to win by slamming Shawn down, but the ladder tips in the process, and Ramon crashes to the canvas. He dusts himself off for another climb, but Shawn has recovered enough to dropkick him off - the ladder left teetering ominously at center ring. Shawn crawls over and give it a shove to tip it onto Ramon, then blasts the Bad Guy with a Superkick! The ladder is bent and beat up by this point, but this isn't like today's versions of these matches, where they have a dozen of them scattered around the ring. I'm not even sure if they had a backup on hand. Shawn with a piledriver, and he climbs up onto the top rope while leaning against the ladder, then rides it down into a splash on Ramon! Shawn makes another climb, and he very nearly pulls it off this time, before Ramon manages to tip the ladder over - Michaels falling into the ropes, and ending up tied up in them! That's a complex spot to pull off there. With Shawn tied up, Razor makes another climb, and despite Michaels' desperate attempt to free himself, he can't stop the Bad Guy from victory at 18:49! Unbelievable! This one might seem tame to newer fans who grew up in the era of Money in the Bank and TLC, but without this, those don't exist. This is, without a doubt, one of the most influential matches in wrestling history, and though the bumps aren't quite as big or crazy as more modern versions, the storytelling and psychology are generally far superior. Most modern ladder matches are basically little more than spot fests. This actually used the high spots and bumps as tools to tell a story, as opposed to being the story. A total game changer. *****

Gorilla and Stan praise the Ladder match. It must have been something else for an old school guy like Gorilla to see a match like that for the first time. I mean, he'd seen the gimmick done before in 1992, but that match wasn't nearly the state-of-the-art performance that the 1994 match was

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Razor Ramon v Irwin R. Schyster: From Royal Rumble, January 22 1994 in Providence Rhode Island. This is the first of three consecutive IC title defenses for Ramon at Rumble events - and the only one where he retained. Whoops, spoiler. Razor unloads with right hands at the bell, sending IRS to the outside. Back in, Ramon keeps slugging away, until Irwin bails again. In for a criss cross - won by Ramon with an atomic drop, and followed up on with a shoulderblock for two. Another criss cross sees Schyster sidestep a charge, and Razor goes flying over the top, in a nice bump. IRS follows out to beat the Bad Guy down, and he hits a bodyslam on the way back in. To the top for a dive, but Razor lifts his boot to block, so IRS thinks fast - landing on his feet, and dropping an elbow for two instead. Nice. Chinlock, but Ramon quickly escapes it, so Schyster throws a knee to put him back down, followed by a legdrop to the groin. Turnbuckle smash gets reversed, so Irwin elbows him in the face to buy time, and a legdrop gets two. Back to the chinlock, and he manages to get Razor properly grounded this time around, and uses the ropes for leverage. Ramon slugs free, and a fallaway slam gets the champion two. Whip into the corner gets reversed, however, and the referee gets bumped in the process. That allows IRS to grab his briefcase, but it backfires, and Ramon covers - only there's no referee to count! Ramon stays on track with a side superplex on his challenger, but the Razor's Edge is stopped when Shawn Michaels races into the ring to clobber the Bad Guy with his bogus Intercontinental title belt! That leaves both combatants down, and IRS is able to crawl over for the groggy referee to count the pin at 10:46. Another referee runs down to alert him to what happened (using the bogus title belt sitting on the mat as evidence), but Ramon doesn't even bother waiting for them to finish debating - hitting Irwin with the Razor's Edge to retain at 11:47. Nothing special, but competent, before the goofy finish. I'm surprised they bothered to include this one at all. If they wanted another PPV match, why not go with the win over Ted DiBiase at SummerSlam '93? Similar in length, but a better match, and has the added bonus of showing a guy who isn't an active wrestler anymore doing the job. ¾*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Razor Ramon v Jeff Jarrett: From Monday Night RAW, April 25 1994 (taped April 11) in Utica New York. They trade go-behinds to start, as the production guys really amp up the canned heat this week. Jeff with a turnbuckle smash, and an armdrag puts Ramon down in an armbar. Bodypress, but Razor counters by catching him in a blockbuster, and Jeff rolls out to the floor to regroup. Jeff suckers him into following, but loses a slugfest, and Razor hiptosses him. Jarrett bails again, and this time pulls Razor after him, dumping him into the steps out there. In, Jeff hits a backelbow for two, and a snapmare sets up a 2nd rope fistdrop for two. Chinlock, but Razor escapes, and sunset flips him for two - only to get clotheslined as he follows up. Sleeper leaves Ramon breathing heavy, but he powers out with a side suplex, and covers for two. Ramon with a series of rights (Jarrett selling them all nicely), but Jeff manages to dump him as he tries to move in for the kill. Cue Shawn Michaels to come down and jaw at Razor, but he gets decked, and Ramon blocks an axehandle off the apron from Jarrett with a gut-punch. Back in, Razor hits a hiptoss and an inverted atomic drop, then clotheslines Jeff over the top. Shawn tries to interfere again, but Razor destroys him again - only to have Diesel rush out to stop the Razor's Edge on Michaels, and trigger a DQ at 11:45. They'd have better matches later on, but this was decent, well paced TV stuff - used to further the Ramon/Michaels & Diesel angle that would continue for the rest of 1994. * ¼

Meanwhile, back at the park, the wind is starting to pick up, and Gorilla looks like he's had just about enough of this gig

Razor Ramon v Yokozuna: TV taping dark match from Canton Ohio on May 24 1994. Gorilla and Stan get into a funny discussion during the entrances about who pays to feed Yokozuna, considering how fat he is, and how cheap Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji are. This between calls for women to use birth control to prevent more Jim Cornette's from being born. Anyway, Yokozuna attacks from behind before the bell, but Razor ducks a clothesline, and uses a flurry of fists to send the big man to the outside. Razor follows, but gets whacked by Cornette's tennis racket out there, and he scrambles to beat the count in - only to get tossed right back out by Yoko once he does! He manages to get in on the next try, but Yokozuna is waiting with a nervehold, so Razor slugs free. Unfortunately for him, a slugfest ends poorly, and Yoko uses a bodyslam to set up a legdrop. That sends Ramon wisely bailing to the outside to recover, and it's right back in the nervehold for him as he climb back inside. That drags on for the usual eternity, until Yoko tries a splash, but Razor is able to roll out of the way. He starts making a comeback from there, but as he (stupidly) goes for the Edge, Crush runs in for the DQ at 9:18. Why, though? I mean, it's not like he had any chance in hell of actually hitting it. Anyway, that leads to them beating Ramon down, until Lex Luger runs out to make the save. This probably should have aired before the Razor/Crush match from earlier on the tape, but whatever. DUD

Gorilla and Stan wrap up in the park, both looking like it's not a moment too soon for either of them. How long could they have possibly been there, anyway? I mean, their total screen time was, like, maybe, ten minutes, and it’s not like they’re actually watching the matches between segments. Even the set ups were easy, because it was the same shot/angle every time. Lazy fucks

BUExperience: Yeah, the Ladder match is great, but it’s not like that’s a hard one to come by. But, hey, all of Razor’s best outfits are represented here. Green, blue, purple, red – the works! Even still...

Not a good addition to your Coliseum Collection.