WWF Coliseum Video Collection: World Tour 89/90 (1990) (Version II)

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: World Tour 89/90 (1990)

 

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover of the tape features Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage pointing (in a neat mirror image), while the back features the Hulkster gearing up for some light sexual assault

Sean Mooney hosts from the studio, and he’s in rare form right away, noting that Ted DiBiase will attempt to ‘make sushi’ out of Ultimate Warrior in a match from Tokyo later on the tape

 

Jimmy Snuka is ready for his profile, ready all the way to the depths of his soul

 

Jimmy Snuka v Boris Zhukov: From a house show in Long Island New York on June 10 1989, where Zhukov was subbing for Honky Tonk Man. Boris attacks from behind at the bell, dumping Snuka over the top to kick start things. “A very, very nasty bump,” notes Lord Alfred Hayes. Jimmy chops him from the apron, but totally wipes out while trying a springboard on the way back in. Jimmy recovers with a bodypress for two, as the announcers try to cover up the botch by noting that Snuka is dealing with ‘ring rust.’ I guess people were used to covering things up for Snuka by this point. Zhukov fights him off and hits a backbreaker for two, and he goes to the mat with a chinlock. He chews on that for a long while, until Jimmy escapes, but he misses an elbowdrop to allow Zhukov a cover for two. Boris hammers him, but that inadvertently fires Snuka up, and the Superfly makes a comeback. Bodyslam and a kneedrop set up the Superfly Splash, and Zhukov is done at 7:22. This was long and dull, and the commentators acting like Snuka just won the WWF Title felt especially overdramatic. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

 

Honky Tonk Man v Jimmy Snuka: From Prime Time Wrestling on November 30 1989 (taped September 30) in New York City. Funny how the last match saw Zhukov subbing for Honky, but we still get the Honky match anyway. That’s dedication! Honky tries a sneak attack as well, but Jimmy sees him coming, and fights it off. Atomic drop and a tomahawk chop off the middle get two, but a corner whip hits a knee, which Jimmy somehow manages to make look awkward. Just how much ‘ring rust’ was this guy dealing with? Honky works a headlock, but Snuka fights him off again, so Jimmy Hart runs interference. That allows Honky another sneak attack, but Jimmy sees it coming again, and Honky eats the post on the outside. Another bit of interference from Hart gets more traction, however, and Honky takes control of the contest. He grounds Jimmy in a headvice, but Snuka escapes, so Honky throws a knee to keep control. Boy, Tony Schiavone and Hillbilly Jim make for a very poor commentary duo. Honky keeps working him over in dull fashion, and he manages a side suplex and a piledriver, but wastes too much time gloating, and Snuka is able to block the Shake, Rattle ‘n’ Roll. Jimmy makes his comeback, and a flying headbutt drop finishes at 10:27. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

 

Mooney reads a letter from the mail bag, and apparently the fan gave them a whole list of matches, and they’ve selected a Dino Bravo one since they’re sadists. Bravo is very excited about it, though opponent Bret Hart doubts his claims of being the ‘world's strongest man.’ Oh, those are fighting words. Too bad Bravo didn’t make it until the late 90s, I can imagine a feud with Mark Henry over the title that would have made the Undertaker/Giant Gonzalez series look like Omega/Okada

 

Bret Hart v Dino Bravo: From London England on October 10 1989. Lord Alfred has apparently ‘anticipated this match for a long, long time,’ proving that he is, indeed, insane. They feel each other out to start, and Bravo manages to barrel into him with a shoulderblock during a criss cross, and he follows up with a nice inverted atomic drop. Another criss cross allows Hart a bodypress for two, however, and the Hitman comes back with his own inverted atomic drop. Dropkick and a pair of clotheslines send Bravo bailing, and Hart decks him off of the apron when Dino tries climbing back in. Bravo threatens to walk out on the match, but Jimmy Hart talks him off the ledge. Hart armdrags him into an armbar on the way back in, and the Hitman works the part. Bravo forces another criss cross, but Bret blocks a monkeyflip with a pointed elbowdrop, and he goes back to the armbar. Dino slugs free, so Bret uses a sloppy crucifix to take him right back into the hold, and the announcers do a great job of covering that up and making it look intentional. Even the annoying commentators from that era were just consummate professionals that they could make almost anything work. Probably didn’t hurt that they were actual fans and/or former workers. Bravo finally manages to fight Bret off long enough to dump him to the outside, and Dino wallops him with a forearm across the chest when Hart tries climbing back in. Bravo then sends him flying off of the apron and into the guardrail, and he delivers an elbowdrop for two on the way back inside. Chinlock, but Hart fights free, so Bravo clobbers him with a clothesline for two, and goes to a reverse chinlock. Gutwrench suplex gets him two, but Bret reverses a backslide for two, so Dino cuts him off again with a bearhug. Hart gets into the ropes to force a break, so Bravo headbutts him, and rattles the ring with a vicious cross corner whip for two. Bret flew into those turnbuckles so hard that you actually feel badly for the turnbuckles. Back to the bearhug, and Hart fades, but manages to slug free. That takes a lot out of him, though, and Dino corner whips him again. Charge hits boot, however, and Hart tries a 2nd rope elbowdrop, but Dino dodges. That allows Bravo to go upstairs with a flying axehandle, but the Hitman blocks, and starts making a comeback. Backdrop sets up a legdrop for two, and a small package is worth two. Backbreaker gets two, but Bravo blocks a rollup, so Bret nails him with a dropkick instead, sending Dino to the outside. Hart is on him with a plancha, but he gets stomped while trying to get back inside, and Dino leaves him for dead out there. Hart beats the count to the apron, so Bravo tries to suplex him back in, but Hart counters to a rollup - only for Dino to reverse at 15:41! Bret was working HARD here, and Bravo wasn’t sleepwalking. Hart apparently hated working with Dino, but he actually got something out of him. ** ½ (Original rating: **)

 

Hulk Hogan was on hand during the tour to promote the European release of No Holds Barred, the worst thing to happen to Paris since the 1940s

 

Jimmy Hart is also ready for his profile, which seems kind of moot, considering he was the manager for all three of the matches featured on this tape already

 

The Rockers v The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers: From Paris France on October 13 1989. The Rockers run in and clean house to kick things off, and the dust settles on Shawn Michaels and Raymond Rougeau, though it looks like there might have been some clipping there, and we may actually be joining this in progress. The Brothers works Michaels over, but Jacques Rougeau gets nailed while trying a backdrop, and Marty Jannetty tags in to corner splash him. 2nd rope punch gets two, so Jacques tags out, but Marty beats Raymond during a criss cross, and passes to Shawn to splash him. The Rockers take turns working the leg, complete with the bit where they switch in and out without tags, but the crowd gladly covers it up for them. That goes on for quite a while, until the Brothers manages a cheap shot, and man, the lighting is brutally bad here. The Brothers cut the ring in half on Shawn, until Jacques accidentally collides with Raymond during a double team, and Marty gets the hot tag - Roseanne Barr the door! Why are there gold stars all over the canvas here? The Brothers manage a double team to allow Jacques a piledriver, but Shawn breaks up the cover, and piledrives Jacques! That allows Marty to cover for the pin at 15:03. This dragged a lot, but it wasn’t poorly worked, and the crowd stayed engaged. * (Original rating: * ½)

 

WWF Title Match: Ultimate Warrior v Ted DiBiase: From the joint WWF/AJPW/New Japan Wrestling Summit on April 13 1990 in Tokyo Japan. Mooney introduces this as one of the biggest matches of all time, which is pretty crazy hyperbole, even by 90s WWF standards. DiBiase attacks during the entrances, allowing him to unload in the corner, but Warrior reverses a cross corner whip, and delivers a backdrop on the rebound. Bodyslam and a clothesline send DiBiase over the top, and he regroups out there. Inside, Warrior powers him around through some lockups, so Ted tries a standing side-headlock, but Warrior powers out of that as well. Ted tries throwing a knee and some chops, but Warrior doesn’t really sell any of it, so DiBiase goes back to a headlock. Warrior forces a criss cross to escape, and he absolutely levels Ted with a big shoulderblock. Jumping shoulderblock, but DiBiase sidesteps it, and the champ wipes out in dramatic fashion. Ted pounds him, and delivers a clothesline for one. Ted stays on him with a kneelift, and he throws chops in the corner, but Warrior returns fire. Ted cuts him off with a snapmare to set up a fistdrop, and a vertical suplex is worth two. Piledriver gets two, but Warrior starts making a comeback after the kick out, and a jumping clothesline sets up a splash at 6:12. They would have a better match on TV later in the year, but this was solid too. * ½ (Original rating: ¾*)

 

Honky Tonk Man v Jim Duggan: From London on October 10 1989. More Jimmy Hart! Mooney notes that this match is the biggest thing to hit London since the Battle of Britain. That’s quite the comparison. Duggan is waiving around an American flag, wearing a crown and calling himself king… and he’s still somehow the babyface. Stalling from Honky to start, until Duggan chases him in, and clobbers him with a clothesline. Jim messes up Honky’s hair ahead of an atomic drop, and into the corner they go for a ten-punch. Honky bails to regroup, but Jim chases again, so Jimmy Hart trips him up, allowing Honky to turn the tide. He works Duggan over, as Lord Alfred basically writes Duggan off in the same tone he might the death of the monarch. This era was so overdramatic. Honky misses a corner charge (in superbly overdramatic fashion) to allow Hacksaw a comeback, and the three-point stance finishes at 8:31. Honky had tights with ‘don’t be cruel’ printed on them, but he still made us sit through this match anyway, what a hypocrite. DUD (Original rating: ¼*)

 

WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Randy Savage: From Paris on October 13 1989. Interestingly, this show has the spinning WWF logo lights on the mat during the entrances - something I wasn’t aware even existed before 1994. Stalling galore from the Macho Man to start, as Gorilla Monsoon notes that this match is “every bit as important as the storming of the Bastille.” Again, there’s hyperbole, and there’s insanity, and they were on the wrong side of that one way, way too often. Savage tries a headlock, but Hulk quickly powers out, and a shoulderblock puts the challenger back on the outside for more stalling. So much stalling, in fact, that he even stops to cut a full promo. Sensational Sherri manages to come in and attack the Hulkster during all of this, and they double up on him (in full view of the official), but Hogan fights them off with ease, and cleans house. That’s not enough for him, however, and he chases them to the outside so he can bash their heads together… and then goes as far as quite brutally smashing Sherri’s face into the apron. That was surprisingly rough. Savage responds by trying to throw powder in the champ’s face to derail the woman beater express, but Hulk blocks that, and goes right back to threatening Sherri - this time with his fists. This guy is a menace! Luckily, Savage is able to save before Hulk can make good on his threats, and a flying axehandle gets him two. Randy works a chinlock, but Hulk powers out, and makes a comeback. Sherri trips him up to cut it off, however, allowing Macho to snap the Hulkster’s throat across the top rope. Savage grabs Sherri’s loaded purse and dives off the top with it to brain the champ, but it only gets two, and triggers the HULK UP!! Fists of fury! Big boot! Slap with Miss Elizabeth! Clothesline! Legdrop! 11:57. The level of abuse Hogan was casually lobbing at Sherri was extremely uncomfortable to watch here. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)

 

Mooney signs off from the studio

 

BUExperience: This was more a Jimmy Hart profile than a world tour, really. Fun tape, though, with the international stuff giving it a unique flavor.

 

A decent addition to your Coliseum Collection.