WWF Coliseum Video Collection: WrestleFest ‘90 (1990) (Version II)

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: WrestleFest ‘90 (1990)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover features the crowd shot from WrestleMania III, while the back promises Hulk Hogan giving Mr. Perfect a shoulder massage

Sean Mooney hosts from the studio, and apparently he’s went through ‘mountains and mountains’ of fan letters in selecting a Dino Bravo match we’ll be seeing. He needs better interns

Randy Savage v Roddy Piper: TV taping dark match on January 22 1990 in Miami Florida. Piper assaults Queen Sherri, so Savage dives at him with a flying axehandle to make the save, but Roddy fights him off. Sherri tries a distraction, but Piper fights off Macho’s sneak attack, and hooks a sunset flip for two. Savage manages a backelbow, but Piper counters a bodyslam with an inside cradle for two, and Randy bails. He decides to walk out on the match, but Roddy drags him back, so Sherri attacks him out there. That allows Savage a flying axehandle on the floor, and another one on the way in gets him two. Savage snaps his throat across the top rope, and a high knee knocks Roddy out of the ring. Macho dives with another flying axehandle out there, no wonder the guy’s knees were so wrecked by the end of his career. Macho with a kneedrop for two on the way back in, and he tests the referee’s leeway with some blatant chokes. Sleeper, but Roddy fights free, and connects with a clothesline. Piper unloads in the corner, and Randy takes a flip into a tree of woe to sell a cross corner whip. Roddy goes right to work, so Sherri gets Randy out of the tree, but Piper stays on him with an airplane spin for two. Bodyslam, but Savage topples him for two, and uses an airplane spin of his own, really going for broke with it. That leaves him dizzy, but he still tries climbing the ropes for a dive, only to end up falling out of the ring due to the dizziness. That was great. Piper chases to the outside, so Sherri dives on him, and we get a double countout at 7:34. Well, you knew we weren’t getting a real finish there. This was a lot of fun. * ¾ (Original rating: *)

Dino Bravo and Ultimate Warrior are ready to give the fans what they want. Goodbye then. Kind of weird that they frame these as pre-match promos, yet Warrior is wearing the WWF Title in his, despite not having yet won it when the match took place

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Ultimate Warrior v Dino Bravo: TV taping dark match on February 13 1990 in Phoenix Arizona. Warrior charges in and hits a powerslam right away, then goes up with a flying axehandle. Up again, but Earthquake causes a distraction, and Warrior takes the bait by chasing him. That allows Dino a sneak attack on the outside, but Warrior no-sells it, and unloads as they head back in. Bodyslam sets up a splash, but Earthquake hooks his ankle, and Warrior takes the bait again. That allows Bravo a successful sneak attack, and Warrior takes a spill over the top off of a clothesline. He slips underneath the ring, dragging poor Jimmy Hart with him, and when Jimmy returns he’s been de-pantsed. Warrior chucks Jimmy at Earthquake, and even with all that going on, Bravo still can’t turn the tide on him. Warrior with a vertical suplex to set up a splash, but Bravo lifts his knees to block, and he hammers the champion with axehandles. Bravo works a double knucklelock, and a side suplex connects after Warrior escapes. Bravo grabs a bearhug, but Warrior reverses, so Dino goes to the eyes. That allows him an inverted atomic drop to set up a legdrop, but Warrior dodges. Warrior comes back with a bodyslam, but his back is hurting, allowing Bravo to recover with a high knee before Warrior can follow-up. That leaves Warrior on the outside for Earthquake to bodyslam, and Bravo hits a sidewalk slam for two on the way back in. Unfortunately for him, that triggers a Whitey Duvall level seizure, and Warrior makes a comeback. Jumping shoulderblock and a splash look to finish, but Earthquake runs in for the DQ at 8:15. This was actually pretty decent, with a good energy about it. Afterwards, the heels do a big beatdown, until WWF Champion Hulk Hogan runs in to make the save. Huge pop for that one. * ¾ (Original rating: *)

Manager’s Profile on Mr. Fuji, which is basically just Fuji cutting a promo, intercut with various clips of him in action at ringside. This was pointless

Brutus Beefcake wants to cut Rick Martel’s hair. Martel says ‘no, but thank you, sir.’ Obviously, this dispute will have to be settled in the ring. They just don’t do great storytelling like this anymore

Brutus Beefcake v Rick Martel: House show action on December 28 1989 in New York City. Martel adds fuel to the fire, showing up with a completely different hairstyle than he had in the promo! That is an act of war! Beefcake goes for the sleeper early, so Rick bails, and stalls. More stalling once he gets inside, but Brutus sees a cheapshot coming, and unloads a ten-punch count. Criss cross sees Martel try a monkeyflip, but Brutus blocks with a boot to the face, and he adds an earringer. Another ten-punch, but Martel counters with an inverted atomic drop, and HO BOY is Hillbilly Jim terrible on commentary here. Martel takes control and works a chinlock, but Beefcake fights free, so Rick puts him right back down with a knee. Bodyslam, but Brutus hooks a small package for two, only for Martel to cut him off again. Backbreaker sets up a dive, but he takes too long with his showboating ways, and Beefcake crotches him on the top. Beefcake makes a comeback, and a clothesline knocks the Model to the outside. Beefcake chases to feed Martel some apron, and he uses a slingshot sunset flip on the way back in, but Martel holds the ropes to reverse the cradle for a leveraged pin at 10:05. “I’m not sure if the match is officially over, or not,” wonders Gorilla Monsoon. What are you, an idiot? This was boring, but competent. * (Original rating: DUD)

The Hart Foundation also get a profile, and thankfully this one will feature actual matches, and not just a promo

The Hart Foundation v The Powers of Pain: From Prime Time Wrestling on February 5 1990 (taped January 23) in Fort Myers Florida. Bret can’t even find a child in the crowd to give his sunglasses to, and has to settle for an older lady instead. Florida really was like a giant retirement community before the mid-90s. Jim Neidhart and Barbarian start, and we get a power-showdown, of course. Barbarian gets the better of things and forces Anvil into the heel corner, but a double team backfires, and Jim schoolboys him for two. Tag to Bret Hart, and the Hitman unloads with rights. Elbowsmash, but Barbarian blocks with a knee, as Tony Schiavone keeps mixing Bret and Jim up. How? The Foundation work Barbarian’s arm, but he manages a tag - only for Warlord to wind up in the same predicament. Just one armbar after another here. Warlord finally powers out of one with a backbreaker on the Hitman, and it’s back to Barbarian for a successful double team. Barbarian with a big boot, as the Powers get to work cutting the ring in half on Hart. Neidhart gets the tag, and Roseanne Barr the door! Mr. Fuji trips Jim up as he’s running wild, likely still upset that the Foundation is getting a real profile, while he had to settle for just a promo. The interference allows Warlord an attack on the outside, but then Fuji accidentally whacks his own man with the cane, and Jim rolls in for the countout victory at 9:29. Yuck. ¼* (Original rating: ¼*)

The Hart Foundation talk about how important teamwork is to being a great tag team. You don’t say?

The Hart Foundation v Honky Tonk Man and Dino Bravo: From Prime Time on August 21 1989 (taped August 8) in Oakland California. Bret Hart and Bravo start, and Dino powers him around, so Hart hooks an inside cradle for two. Bravo responds by pounding him down with authority, but Hart blocks a slam, and Jim Neidhart takes a cheap shot to allow him a cradle for two. Thesz-press gets two, and a dropkick knocks Dino into a tag. Bret is right on Honky with rights, and he passes to Jim to wishbone him. Neidhart works a bearhug, so Honky goes to the eyes, and passes to Dino. Bravo wins a criss cross with an inverted atomic drop, and the heels do some double teaming. They cut the ring in half on Jim, until Honky misses a fistdrop, and Hart gets the hot tag. He dismantles Honky, so Bravo runs in, but Bret dropkicks him out of the ring, and rolls Honky up for two. Bodyslam sets up a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two, so Bravo comes in again, but now Neidhart cuts him off. Bravo grabs the megaphone to try going at them that way, but Bret knocks it away from him, and Neidhart scoops it up to whack Honky with for the DQ at 7:48. ¾* (Original rating: ½*)

Bret Hart gives the Rockers a few backhanded compliments, while Neidhart literally calls them pussies

The Hart Foundation v The Rockers: From Prime Time Wrestling on September 11 1989 (taped August 29) in Springfield Massachusetts. Bret Hart and Marty Jannetty start, and apparently Marty is the ‘speedster’ of the Rockers. Really? Guess it depends on how they divvied up that night’s coke score. Marty manages a bodypress for two, and an armdrag leaves Bret in an armbar. Tag to Shawn Michaels for a flying axehandle to the arm, and Shawn works a fujiwara armbar, as Sean Mooney notes that the referee is “wasting his time asking Hart if he wants to submit.” I believe this established the precedent of referees not bothering to check whether Bret Hart is submitting while in submission holds applied by Shawn Michaels. Bret fights Shawn off with an inverted atomic drop, and he tags Jim Neidhart in to bodyslam him for two. Criss cross allows Bret to take a cheap shot from the apron, and he tags in to deliver a backbreaker. The Foundation go to work, but Jim misses a slingshot splash, and Bret follows by missing a 2nd rope elbowdrop, and that allows the hot tag to Marty! Jumping backelbow finds the mark on the Hitman, and a dropkick follows. Powerslam gets two when Anvil breaks up the count, but Marty stays on him with a corner whip. Kneelift gets two, so he passes to Shawn for stereo superkicks for two - again saved by Anvil. Shawn with a vertical suplex on Hart for two, but he loses an exchange in the corner, and Hart is able to deliver a clothesline. Bret gets a tag, and Jim comes in with a big shoulderblock. Criss cross sees Neidhart accidentally collide with a recovering Hart on the apron, and Bret takes a bump to the floor. Jim goes out to check on him, and it looks like the Rockers may have this won by countout, when the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers run in on them, making it a no-contest at 10:18. There are far better overall Foundation/Rockers matches out there, but this was decent, and certainly had a strong third act. * ½ (Original rating: * ¼)

Lord Alfred Hayes hosts a short piece on the WWF’s production trucks. Not especially informative, but interesting nonetheless

WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Mr. Perfect: House show action from New York City on January 15 1990, which means more Hillbilly Jim, lucky us. Hulk powers him around to start, with Perfect stalling him out as they go along. Hulk chases him to the outside and abuses Genius for good measure. Inside, a backelbow knocks Perfect into hanging himself in the ropes, and a pair of atomic drops send Genius over the top. Hogan keeps ping ponging between the two, and it’s bumps galore from the heels. Axebomber on Perfect finds the mark, and a turnbuckle smash triggers a huge oversell, with Hillbilly noting that Perfect is “going to have a huge drug problem” when this is over. He means because Perfect is getting ‘drug’ all over the ring. Ahem. Hulk goes for a backdrop, but Perfect uses a kick to the kisser to block, and the challenger puts him down with a clothesline. Genius lends some illegal assists as Perfect goes to work, but even with the two-on-one deal, it really is hard to buy Perfect as any kind of threat to Hogan. I’m not a size mark, but he really was just too small to make that work, especially in that era. Perfectplex looks to put it away, but Hogan kicks out at two, and it’s HULK UP!! Fists of Fury! Big Boot! They spill to the outside, where Perfect rakes the eyes, but misses a chair shot. That allows Hulk to grab the chair and… just stands there for a while. And then we see Perfect come around with a set of knux to knock him silly, so I guess he was having a hard time retrieving them, and Hulk was stalling. Anyway, Hogan beats the count after that too, and the referee gets bumped. That allows Hulk to steal the knux and unload, setting up the legdrop. Cover, but the referee declines to count, instead disqualifying Hulk for using the knux (that he still has wrapped around his fingers, the moron) at 13:44. Good effort from both men here, with Perfect game to bump around, and Hulk doing his share of selling as well. * ½ 

Ultimate Warrior and Jake Roberts v Ted DiBiase and Akeem: TV taping dark match on March 6 1990 in Sacramento California, with Big Boss Man acting as the special guest referee. That’s ridiculously unfair, considering he had heat with both DiBiase and former partner Akeem. Jake and Ted start, feeling each other out. Jake dominates, but Ted avoids multiple DDT attempts. Both men tag out, and Warrior runs wild on Akeem. Jumping shoulderblock finds the mark, and it’s back to Jake for the DDT, but Akeem backdrops him to block. That allows Akeem a pair of cross corner whips, and Ted tags in with a piledriver for two. The heels work Roberts over, but he fights DiBiase off, and makes a comeback. DDT, but Virgil distracts him, and Ted railroads into the corner. Warrior gets the tag, however, and Roseanne Barr the door! Jumping shoulderblock and a splash finish DiBiase off at 6:46, in a surprisingly clean finish. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)

Sean signs off, ready to go take a shit after this wrestle ‘feast’

BUExperience: Nothing special, but the action was pretty solid throughout, and there was lots of star power, plus interesting combinations. Surprisingly, the weakest aspect was the bulk of the Hart Foundation profile.

A good addition to your Coliseum Collection.