WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Inside the Steel Cage (1986)

 

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Inside the Steel Cage (1986)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover features Hulk Hogan, Don Muraco, Tito Santana, and nothing of note

Gorilla Monsoon and Johnny Valiant host from the control center

Cage Match: Andre the Giant v Big John Studd: From Landover Maryland on July 23 1983. Joined in progress, with Andre bashing his head into the cage a bunch of times until Studd bleeds. They plod around,and each guy goes for the door, and I have no idea how the crowd is staying with them through this. We’re six minutes into it (from when we joined in progress), and literally nothing of note has happened, other than Studd blading. Finally, Andre delivers a bodyslam to set up a flying seated senton splash, and he walks out at 10:06 shown of 15:21. Very dull, plodding match. The way wrestling was presented during this period was just not my bag. -½*

Cage Match: Andre the Giant v Kamala: From Toronto Ontario Canada on October 21 1984. Another one joined in progress, complete with Andre sporting a nasty wedgie. So glad we were treated to this selection. This tape just keeps getting better and better. Andre with a flying seated senton splash, and he walks out at 2:24 shown of 13:56. This was bad, but at least it was just a couple of minutes. I won’t rate it since it was very heavily clipped.

WWF Intercontinental Title Cage Match: Don Muraco v Jimmy Snuka: From New York City on October 17 1983. Joined in progress with both men a bloody mess, and Muraco in control. Don goes for the door, but Jimmy cuts him off, and makes a comeback. Jimmy gets overzealous, however, and a big headbutt ends up knocking Don right out the door at 2:16 shown of 6:46. Afterwards, an irate Snuka drags him back in, and delivers a flying splash from the top of the cage - which was a huge deal for the era. This is a really famous match, which became part of Mick Foley’s origin story later on, though it isn’t very good from a pure workrate perspective. But I can understand why this would have been very entertaining to fans who experienced the build up at the time. No rating here either, too much clipping.

Cage Match: Randy Savage and Adrian Adonis v Bruno Sammartino and Tito Santana: From New York City on July 12 1986, aired on the July 28 episode of Prime Time Wrestling. The heels attack as Bruno and Tito are climbing into the cage, and off we go! Bruno makes a comeback and goes nuts on Savage, until Randy tries escaping out the door just to get away from the beating, but Bruno won’t allow it. Bruno whips him into a tree of woe in the corner, and continues to unload, as Adonis and Santana basically just dick around in the background. Adrian suplexes Tito and tries to climb out, but Bruno puts a stop to that, allowing Macho to go for the door again, but Tito manages to cut him off. Bruno crotches Adonis on the top rope to buy himself the time to going back to destroying Savage, but Adrian saves, and Randy feeds Tito the cage to draw blood. Savage dives at Tito with a flying axehandle, but Bruno gets fired up, and starts wrecking bodies. Savage tries another flying axehandle, but Tito blocks him this time, and sends Macho flying into the cage to draw blood. Savage’s bladejob there was pretty freewheeling. Adonis tries a flying splash off the top of the cage, but Bruno dodges. Randy climbs the cage, so Tito knocks him off, and Savage goes crashing down into Adonis. That allows both babyfaces to escape at 10:46. This was really fun, even if not a technical masterpiece by any means. But, hey, at least a complete match! * ½

WWF Intercontinental Title Cage Match: Greg Valentine v Tito Santana: From Baltimore on July 6 1985, aired on the July 23 episode of Prime Time. Joined in progress with Valentine in control. He sends Tito into the cage a few times, and a 2nd rope elbowsmash connects, allowing Valentine to go for the door. Tito cuts him off, and makes a comeback. He climbs, but Greg catches up with him at the top. Santana wins the slugfest, and goes over the top of the cage, but Valentine heads for the door. It’s a foot race, and Tito swings around the outside of the cage to kick the door in the champ’s face, then drops to the ground to win the gold at 2:42 shown of 10:25. Not much to see here, though I liked the finish.

WWWF Title Cage Match: Bruno Sammartino v George Steele: From Philadelphia Pennsylvania on July 25 1970. Interesting! This is less a cage in the way we know it today, and more just some chicken wire. It doesn’t look particularly brutal, and it certainly isn’t climbable. Joined in progress, with Steele in control, putting the boots to Sammartino in the corner. It’s amazing how this match was 17 years old when this tape came out, but George looks about the same. Hell, George still looked about the same for years after 1987, too. Bruno makes a comeback and beats Steele from pillar to post, then walks out the door at 6:01 shown of 18:34. It would have been nice to see this in complete form.

Cage Match: Bruno Sammartino v Roddy Piper: From Boston Massachusetts on February 8 1986. Bruno comes in all fired up, and just goes crazy on Piper from the get-go. Piper is busted open within forty seconds, and Bruno grabs the posters Roddy brought with him, and literally tries to shove them up his ass. That’s quite a thing. Piper goes low to turn the tide, and he unloads on Sammartino a bit, but Bruno blocks him from getting out the door. Piper responds by sending him into the cage to bust him open as well, and we get a slugfest, won by Bruno. He goes for the door, but Piper grabs the ankle to block, so Sammartino pulls a chair in. He brains Piper with it a couple of times, and that’s enough for the escape at 8:39. Kind of a nothing match, but it was suitably violent, and paid off the angle nicely. ¾*

WWF Title Cage Match: Bob Backlund v Pat Patterson: Pat's WWF Intercontinental title is not on the line, and this is from New York on September 24 1979. Patterson attacks as Bob climbs into the cage, but Backlund fights him off. He goes for the door, but Pat cuts him off. Patterson goes for the door, but Backlund cuts him off, and chucks him into the cage. He tries climbing over, but Patterson pulls him down, and bashes his face into the cage a few times before going for the door. Both guys fight over the door a few times, and Patterson ends up grounding him in a choke. Backlund ends up getting busted open, but there’s not much of note happening here. Just punching and rolling around on the mat, with the occasional escape attempt. Again, this era of wrestling is just not my thing. Backlund slips away and escapes out the door at 16:43, which felt like an eternity. ¼*

WWF Title Cage Match: Hulk Hogan v King Kong Bundy: From Los Angeles California on April 7 1986. Tommy LaSorda acts as guest ring announcer, Robert Conrad is the guest referee, and Ricky Schroder is the time keeper. This is also the debut of the 'blue bar' style steel cage that lasted the next decade, or so, and is still my favorite version. Hulk blitzes him right away, and delivers a cross corner clothesline, followed by a flurry of chops. Running forearm smash dazes Bundy, but a ram into the cage gets reversed, and Bundy takes a swipe at Hulk's taped up ribs. King Kong with a bodyslam, and he goes for the door, but Hogan is able to stop him. Bundy punishes him by ramming him ribs-first into the cage, but Hulk stops another escape attempt. Pissed, Bundy tears off the rib tape to choke Hogan with, but Hulk stops the escape attempt again. This time, he manages to follow-up with a cross corner backelbow before Bundy can punish him, and he adds a toss into the cage to bust Bundy open. Good thing Frazier was on the opposite coast. Bobby Heenan, ever the perfect manager, even tries to help Bundy cover up while he blades. Now that's a guy who earns his ten percent. Hulk keeps tossing him into the cage to his hearts content, but his back gives out on a slam attempt. King Kong goes for the door again, but Hulk stops him by using the rib tape as a garrote. Bundy rakes the eyes to stop the effort, and delivers the Avalanche. Splash follows, but Hulk starts no-selling as Bundy crawls for the door, and stops him again. Another Avalanche, but Hogan is in full HULK UP!! mode now. Bodyslam! Legdrop! Escape! 10:18! Nothing special as far as WrestleMania main events go (from a workrate or spectacle perspective), but expectations were different in 1986 (not to mention, 'WrestleMania,' as a brand, wasn't really established yet), and it worked for the time by delivering a well paced Hogan-formula bout. * ¼

BUExperience: I was really bored with this, but if you’re a fan of the pre-Hulkamania era, this might be a pleasant walk down memory lane.

For me, not a good addition to your Coliseum Collection.