WWF Coliseum Video Collection: 'The Hulkster' Hulk Hogan (1986)

 

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: 'The Hulkster' Hulk Hogan (1986)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover features 'the Hulkster' (checks notes) Hulk Hogan!

Your Host is Vince McMahon from the control center 

WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Brutus Beefcake: From Philadelphia Pennsylvania on February 16 1985. Hulk attacks to kick start things, and Beefcake bails to regroup with Johnny Valiant. Inside, Beefcake actually wins a power battle over the initial lockup, so you know he must be a close, longtime, personal friend of Hogan’s. Hulk slugs him into the corner after some posturing, and a cross corner elbow finds the mark. Hulk lands a clothesline and an elbowdrop, and he bites Brutus from there. Hulk works a standing side-headlock, but Beefcake escapes, and puts the champion down. Beefcake with a 2nd rope axehandle, and he hammers, but Hulk is going on no sell street. He reverses a series of turnbuckle smashes on Beefcake, and a bodyslam sets up a pair of elbowdrops from the champion. Hulk tries a cross corner whip, but Beefcake reverses, and follows in with a clothesline. Beefcake with a bootchoke, and more choking gets Hogan on his back for a few two counts. Beefcake with a scoop powerslam for two, and a kneedrop leads to a pair of fistdrops for two - only to trigger the HULK UP!! Beefcake manages to clip him with a high knee, but Hulk is in the ropes at two. Beefcake decides he won anyway, and celebrates with the belt, but Hogan recovers with a schoolboy at 9:07. That’s a really weak finish to a dull match. ½*

We take a look at the night Iron Sheik defeated Bob Backlund to end Bob’s nearly six year WWF Title reign

WWF Title Match: Iron Sheik v Hulk Hogan: From New York City on January 24 1984. Hogan goes ballistic on Sheik before the bell, and wastes no time hitting a cross corner backelbow. Hogan chokes Sheik down with his own entrance gear, and hits a clothesline to set up a kneedrop. Big boot gets one, but Hulk isn't humbled, and picks him right up for another clothesline. He adds an elbowdrop for two, but another cross corner charge misses, and Sheik stomps him. Backbreaker gets two, but a Boston crab is easily blocked by the Hulkster. Sheik keeps after him with a gutwrench suplex for two, and slaps on the Camel Clutch to finish. Hogan fades, but the power of Hulkamania allows him to power to his feet and fall into the corner to break, then hit the Legdrop to win his first WWF Title at 5:40. Not a great match, but certainly one of the most historically significant bouts in all wrestling history. *

We get Hogan celebrating the win backstage with Gene Okerlund, complete with Andre the Giant and Ivan Putski dumping champagne over his head to endorse him

WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Iron Sheik: From Philadelphia on May 5 1984. Joined in progress with Sheik in control. He catches Hogan with a shot from his loaded boot, and we’re clipped to a bloody Hulk reversing a vertical suplex. Sheik tries recovering by hammering on the champion, but Hulk goes into HULK UP!! mode. Bodyslam! Legdrop! But then he wants to take Sheik’s loaded boot off. He gets hold of it, so Sheik bails, but Hulk chases to nail him. That draws blood, and a double countout at 3:58 shown of 10:47. Too much clipping to rate, and I wish they included this in full, especially since I’d seen the title change before. BUT, if I was buying this in 1986, I’d be happier with the way they did it, so you can’t really fault it.

WWF Title Cage Match: Hulk Hogan v Don Muraco: From New York on June 21 1985. Weird cage her, with the blue bars for the support pieces, but with the mesh otherwise. It’s like a hybrid of the two WWF cages, and it’s actually pretty cool. It looks much more ‘upscale’ than the standard mesh, but I’m still personally a fan of the blue bar cage. Muraco tries to ram him into the cage early on, but Hulk blocks, and they posture. Don gets control, but fails to make it out the door, and Hulk hammers him. Hogan with some biting, and he sends Muraco into the steel to draw blood. Again, but Don reverses, and he adds  a catapult into the cage to open the Hulkster up. That allows Muraco to try and climb out, but Hulk chases him up the side, and they fight it out on the top rope. Hulk wins that one, but loses control as they go back to the ground, and Don works him over. Muraco with a kneedrop, as Gene tries selling us that a female reporter at ringside has started vomiting because of how brutal the match is. Come on now, Gene. At least sound sincere if you’re going to try that kind of shit. Hulk fights back with a big boot, and he gets out the door at 9:16. I didn’t really dig that finish, as Hulk had to kind of get away from Muraco to escape, instead of beating him so senseless that he can’t even try and stop him. Feels like a weird way to book a blowoff. This was surprisingly dull, considering how much fun the brawl in May was, and that this was the big blowoff to months of feuding. ¾*

BUExperience: Not great  wrestling, but a fun look at some of Hulk’s big angles from ‘84 - ‘85, and well worth a look. 

A good addition to your Coliseum Collection.