WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Bruno Sammartino: Wrestling’s Living Legend (1986)

 

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Bruno Sammartino: Wrestling’s Living Legend (1986)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover features Bruno Sammartino, and already looks boring

Gene Okerlund and Bruno Sammartino host from the control center

WWWF Title Match: Bruno Sammartino v Nikolai Volkoff: From New York City on October 25 1976, and aired on the April 21 1986 episode of Prime Time Wrestling. Joined in progress as they do a test-of-strength, and Bruno takes a shot at him. Bruno goes to an armbar, until Volkoff forces a criss cross, but walks into an armdrag into an armbar. Bruno wrestles him into some pinning combinations for two counts, but Volkoff gets out, so Bruno slugs him back down. Bruno with a few facebusters as Volkoff bleeds, Volkoff fights him off, but gets reversed on a cross corner whip, and Bruno hooks a schoolboy at 8:14 shown of 18:34. I guess I shouldn’t rate it because so much was clipped, but this was super boring. I get that this was the style of the time, but it’s well before my time, and not my kind of fun. 

WWWF Title Match: Bruno Sammartino v Baron Von Raschke: From New York on March 28 1977. Baron attacks before the bell, and pounds Sammartino down for a clawhold. Baron with a cross corner whip for two, and he goes for the claw again, but Bruno blocks him this time. Sammartino with a corner whip, and he unloads on the challenger in the corner. Baron bails, but comes back in with an elbowdrop for two, before Sammartino fights his googly ass off again. Did Baron ever look young? Baron manages to get a nervehold on, but Sammartino fights it off. Baron tries another elbowdrop, but misses, and both guys collide during a criss cross for a double knockout spot. Bruno rolls over first to cover for two, so Baron grabs a chair, and draws the DQ at 8:23 shown of 17:35. That, of course, led to Bruno winning a rematch a month later, which begs the question: why not show that match? Are they trying to save it for Bruno tape part two? Still trying to protect the Baron? I just don’t get it. Anyway, this sucked. DUD

Texas Death Match: Bruno Sammartino v Ken Patera: From New York on August 29 1977, and aired on the December 23 1978 episode of Championship Wrestling. Joined in progress, with Sammartino holding a modified chinlock. Bruno then gets into a pounding phase, and just kind of hammers and hammers and hammers on Ken for the longest time. Patera gets a full nelson on, but Bruno runs the buckles, and pushes off into a cradle at 8:07 shown of 12:13. Another DUD

WWWF Title Match: Bruno Sammartino v Killer Kowalski: From New York on April 29 1974. Joined in progress, with them scuffling on the mat. Boy, this must have been hot action for 1974, but it’s boring as fuck in 2024. It’s crazy to think how, even fifteen years later, things had progressed so much, and the old timers were probably shitting all over the guys doing so many high spots and bumps. And then fifteen years after that, it’s so far removed this that it’s hard to believe it’s the same sport. It really comes down to what you cut your teeth on. If this was it, then you’ll love this style forever, and everything that comes later will feel weird. Maybe you can appreciate it, but weird. I came up in the mid-90s, so that style is what does it for me. To me, it was the perfect blend of the 70s and 80s psychology, with the later acrobatic, over choreographed high spots. But then someone who started watching in 2010 probably looks at the Hart brothers at WrestleMania X like I look at this. Anyway, Kowalski beats on Bruno until he bleeds, but Sammartino makes the big superman comeback, and the crowd response here is incredible. See, it’s all relative. The action gets hot and heavy, and the referee eventually throws it out at 9:05 shown of 24:15. I was bored with this, but the crowd certainly was not.

From a live event in New York on October 21 1985, it’s Piper’s Pit with special guest Bruno Sammartino. Bruno immediately runs Bob Orton off, and Roddy, of course, wastes no time in running his mouth. Piper was incredible in these days, and Bruno is equally good. So after some tremendous back-and-forth, Piper uses a very bad word, and Bruno has had enough. He shoves Roddy down, and decides to walk out, but forgets that Roddy is not a  man of honor, and Piper attacks him from behind with a chair. Roddy delivers a beatdown, but Sammartino fights him off, and you can bet this is setting up a match. Fantastic segment. I may not be into Bruno’s wrestling style, but no denying his work in a segment like this. Great stuff

Bruno Sammartino v Roddy Piper: From Boston Massachusetts on December 7 1985. They don’t even wait for the introductions to get into it here, and Bruno feeds Roddy the post a few times - Hot Rod busted open within the first minute. Sammartino knocks him around, until Roddy manages to turn the tide, and they spill to the outside so Piper can feed him the guardrail. Sammartino fights him off on the way back inside, so Roddy bails, and decides to run home, but Bruno drags him back. They slug it out, and poor Piper is begging off now. Sammartino shows no mercy, but Roddy manages to fight him off, and he hammers him with axehandles. Sammartino goes low, and starts unloading, so Bob Orton runs in for the DQ at 5:04. Not the most interesting work, but tons of fire. ½*

Bruno Sammartino and Paul Orndorff v Roddy Piper and Bob Orton: From Boston on January 11 1986, and aired on the February 24 1986 episode of Prime Time. Big brawl to start, with the babyfaces cleaning house. The dust settles on Orndorff and Piper, with Paul taking him to school. Over to Bruno to get his shots in, but Piper gets hold of a chair as they brawl on the outside, and he whacks Bruno with it. Inside, the heels double up on him, but Bruno is so fired up that it doesn’t take. Back to Orndorff for a flying axehandle on Piper, and he goes for the piledriver, but Orton nails him with the cast to block it. That leaves Paul loopy, and Roddy hooks the leg for two. The damage is done, however, and the heels go to work on Orndorff. Paul backdrops his way out of a piledriver attempt from Orton to allow the hot tag to Bruno, and Roseanne Barr the door! Bruno and Piper spill to the outside, and Roddy manages to beat the count in for the win at 8:40. This was fun in its way, and the crowd dug it, but it wasn’t much from a workrate perspective. ¾*

WWWF Title Cage Match: Bruno Sammartino v George Steele: From Philadelphia Pennsylvania on July 25 1970. Joined in progress, with Steele in control. Not much to this one, as they just show a very little bit of it, and the only real interesting thing here is seeing what a cage looked like in 1970. It’s nothing like what modern fans would recognize as one. Bruno fights him off and escapes at 3:37 shown of 18:34. 

BUExperience: This wasn’t for me, but if you’re a fan of this era/Bruno, you might feel differently. For my money, the only worthwhile bit was the incredible Piper’s Pit segment.

Not a good addition to your Coliseum Collection.