WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Wrestling Grudge Matches (1993)

 

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Wrestling Grudge Matches (1993)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover features Randy Savage and Papa Shango looking longingly at one another. And Macho looking fat! The cover refers to this is ‘Wrestling Grudge Matches,’ and that seems to be the accepted title, though all the onscreen graphics simply call it ‘Grudge Matches’

Your hosts are Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes, in front of a green screen of the London Bridge. I never realized how tall Mooney is (or how short Hayes is, not sure)

Randy Savage v Papa Shango: From Brandon Manitoba Canada on September 22 1992, and aired on the October 19 1992 episode of Prime Time Wrestling. Hayes introduces the ‘flamboyant one’ as a nickname for Ric Flair here, and thank God that one didn’t stick. Posturing to start, and Macho manages to pound him into the corner, but gets decked. Papa goes to work, and a trio of elbowdrops get him two, but a 2nd rope version misses. That allows Savage a backdrop for two, and a high knee sends Shango to the outside. Macho goes after him with a flying axehandle on the floor, and a bodyslam on the way back in sets up the flying elbowdrop at 5:34. This was extremely paint-by-numbers stuff. ¼*

Tito Santana v Terry Taylor: From Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada on October 12 1992, and aired on the October 26 1992 episode of Prime Time, despite Mooney naming it a ‘Coliseum exclusive.’ They posture to start, with Tito managing to stay off of the mat, to the frustration of Taylor. Taylor grabs a standing side-headlock, but Tito whips him into the ropes. Hiptoss, but Taylor blocks, so Tito uses an armdrag, then gets the hiptoss, which sends Terry running out of the ring. Inside, Taylor tries grabbing a wristlock, but Tito reverses, and takes it to the mat for an armbar. Santana hooks a backslide for two, before going back to the armbar. Taylor escapes, and hits a chincrusher for two, as he turns things around. Taylor with a backbreaker for two, and he goes to a chinlock from there, as Mooney tries to create an angle for this match, revolving around Tito accidentally putting his bags in Taylor’s dressing room. Tito escapes, and hooks a sunset flip for two, but Taylor cuts him off with a clothesline for two. Tito tries a backdrop, but Taylor counters with a swinging neckbreaker for two, and a snapmare sets up a pump-splash, but Tito gets his knees up to block. That allows Tito to go on the comeback trail, and an atomic drop sets up a jumping forearm. Santana keeps coming with an inverted atomic drop, and another jumping forearm looks to finish, but time expires at 10:15. This was a pretty solid match, with both guys working hard. * ½ 

The Beverly Brothers v Big Boss Man and Virgil: From West Palm Beach Florida on February 18 1992, and aired on the March 9 1992 Prime Time. Beau Beverly starts with Virgil, and hammers on him. Beau blasts him with a backelbow, and he unloads in the corner, but misses a charge. That allows Virgil an atomic drop and a clothesline, then a dropkick, so Blake Beverly comes in - only to get immediately clotheslined over the top. The Brothers stall from there to break the momentum, and the dust settles on Blake and Boss Man. They posture, and Boss Man gets the better of him with raw power. Boss Man with an atomic drop, so Beau tries diving in, but Boss Man blocks. A schoolboy on Blake gets two, but a tag to Virgil allows the Brothers to gain control. So much for ‘most improved wrestler of the decade,’ Alfred. The Brothers cut the ring in half on Virgil, until Boss Man gets the hot tag, and he runs wild. A big boot on Blake gets two, so Beau comes in, and Roseanne Barr the door! Genius tries to toss in the nightstick, but overshoots, and Boss Man gets hold of it. He tees off, the referee calls the bell at 8:13 - calling it a DQ for Genius interfering. Okay, but Boss Man used it! *

We get hidden camera clips of Mooney on his honeymoon, where he keeps trying to fuck his wife, but the spy cameraman interrupts him from having dirty, dirty sex on his WWF branded sheets. So Sean chokes him to death. This was a very, very odd segment. I honestly don’t know what to make of it, and have no idea what the thought process was behind it, especially in 1993

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Bob Backlund: From San Antonio Texas on January 5 1993. They feel each other out to start, with Michaels dominating, and getting increasingly arrogant. Bob comes back with a few takedowns, and a bodyslam rattles the champion, allowing Backlund a backslide for two. Michaels bails, and Bob gets him in a full-nelson on the way back in. Shawn fights him off, and grabs a front-facelock, riding his challenger to wear him down. Bob escapes, and uses a backdrop for two, then a butterfly suplex for two. Shawn tries to bail, but Bob keeps him inside, as Hayes continues to take shots at Backlund. Michaels manages to slip out of the ring, and he takes a walk for the countout at 9:32. A bit of a style clash, with Shawn trying to work Bob’s style of match. But, Michaels made sure to still do a ton of bumping around, which is always great. ¾*

Bret Hart v Repo Man: From Landover Maryland on September 2 1992, and aired on the September 28 1992 Prime Time. Feeling out process to start, with Repo dominating. A criss cross allows Bret to hook a backslide for two, and a schoolboy gets another two. Hart throws a clothesline for two, and Repo wisely bails. Repo manages to gain control, and he goes to work on the Hitman. Hart reverses a suplex to buy time, and he manages an inverted atomic drop into a clothesline for two. Bret uses a rollup for two, and a Russian legsweep is worth two. A reversal sequence ends in Repo hooking a small package, but Bret reversing for the pin at 7:59. Not Bret’s finest hour, but he still managed to do some interesting things out there. ½*

Mooney and Hayes switch to a new green screen location. What’s up with this international theme, anyway? It’s not one of the ‘world tour’ videos, or anything like it

Eight-Man Tag Team Match: Earthquake, Typhoon, Owen Hart, and Koko B. Ware v Ted DiBiase, Irwin R. Schyster, Beau Beverly, and Blake Beverly: From Portland Maine on July 21 1992. Big brawl to start, with the babyfaces cleaning house. The dust settles on Hart and DiBiase, and a criss cross ends in Owen dropkicking him. Tag to Koko for a headbutt, so IRS takes a cheap shot from the apron, and Beau tags in to hit him with a butterfly suplex. To Blake for a 2nd rope axehandle for two, and he grounds Ware in a chinlock from there. The heels continue to work over Koko, until the hot tag is made, and Roseanne Barr the door! Koko actually gets to score the pin at 9:35, after taking the heat segment. Not much to this one, mostly just a heat segment. ¼*

Rick Martel v Crush: From Regina Saskatchewan Canada on October 13 1992. Crush powers him around in the early going, and Martel bails to regroup. Rick tries a rollup, but Crush blocks, so Martel tries to play mindgames instead. That frustrates Crush, but Rick gets too cocky, and eats a clothesline. Martel bails again, but Crush is on him this time, and sends his arm into the post. Back in, Crush stays on the arm, but a corner splash misses, and Martel delivers a facebuster. Rick goes to a reverse chinlock from there, and Martel looks like a kid trying to put the hold on him. And Martel is hardly a small guy! Crush powers out of the hold, so Rick tries a 2nd rope axehandle, but Crush catches him in a bearhug. Martel goes to the eyes to escape, and he starts pounding on the lower back with axehandle after axehandle. Crush gets fired up, and delivers a backbreaker, then a legdrop. Crush with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a press-slam, so Martel bails, and decides to walk at 7:33. Might as well have come with a paintbrush and a hemorrhoid donut. ½*

Tito Santana v Berzerker: From New Haven Connecticut on November 13 1991, and aired on the December 16 1991 episode of Prime Time. They measure each other for a while to start, with Berzerker using his power, but Santana using his speed to catch him with a hiptoss. Berzerker responds with a bootchoke in the corner, and he goes to work. Tito tries a bodypress, but gets caught in a slam for two, and Berzerker hammers him on the ropes, but misses a charge. That allows Tito to crotch him on the top rope, and a pair of dropkicks follow. Tito with a running kneelift, so Mr. Fuji trips him up to prevent the finisher, and that’s a DQ at 7:09. This was dull, thanks to Berzerker’s limited offense during the heat segment. ¼*

Marty Jannetty v Papa Shango: From Dayton Ohio on November 24 1992, and aired on the December 21 1992 episode of Prime Time Wrestling. Kids are openly laughing at Shango now, so I think his chances of being a main eventer are officially over. Gorilla referring to him as the 'voodoo king' probably doesn't help matters much. Shango pounds him into the corner, but misses a charge, and Marty grabs a wristlock. Shango shakes him off with a corner whip that rebounds Marty into a backdrop, and Papa drops a pair of elbows, as the announcers talk about the Steiners going for Money Inc's tag title. So much for the Nasty Boys. Speaking of titles, WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels shows up at ringside as Marty starts making a comeback, and, of course, idiot Jannetty gets distracted. He's fifty feet away, focus on the voodoo king! Marty manages to fight Shango off with a pair of dropkicks and a clothesline to send him over the top, and Jannetty dives with a missile dropkick on the floor. But then he chases Shawn up the aisle, and gets counted out at 5:00. The match was shit, but at least it had a point. "But I'm sure Marty Jannetty is not worried about that," notes Gorilla. Well, maybe he should be! DUD

Camcorder footage of Repo Man repossessing shit. I really like the detail of Repo finding the guy shooting camcorder footage of his family, and threatens to repossess the camera if the guy doesn’t follow him around to film his exploits 

Typhoon v Kamala: From Dayton on November 24. They do some measuring to start, to establish that both guys are big. Kamala gets control, and works him over in dull fashion, until a miscommunication with Kimchee allows Typhoon to schoolboy at 4:31. At least it was relatively short. DUD

Irwin R. Schyster v Virgil: From Fort Myers Florida on January 8 1992, and aired on the February 3 1992 Prime Time. Hayes wonders if Virgil cheats on his taxes, but Mooney vehemently defends him, because he’s so honest. Virgil dominates early on, but misses a charge in the corner, and ends up on the outside. IRS follows to beat on him with the briefcase, so the referee calls the DQ at 4:55, and Big Boss Man runs in to make the save. There was nothing going on here, and the finish felt really abrupt. DUD

Tatanka v Blake Beverly: From Wrestling Challenge on November 8 1992, taped in Regina on October 13. Tatanka takes out Beau on the way into the ring, but that allows Blake to put the boots to him. Tatanka fights him off with a hiptoss, and he adds a bodyslam, ahead of a clothesline over the top. Tatanka brings him back in via facebuster, and he rattles the turnbuckles with some smashes. Blake goes to the eyes to buy time, and that allows him to drop Tatanka across the top rope. Blake with a neckbreaker for two, and he grounds Tatanka in a chinlock from there. Blake with a powerslam to set up a 2nd rope elbowdrop, but Tatanka dodges, and makes the comeback - finishing without much fuss at 4:45 with the Samoan drop. ½*

WWF Title Match: Ric Flair v Undertaker: From Landover on September 2. Flair's all 'sup, Mean Mark?' at the bell, but Undertaker gives him the cold shoulder, and pinballs the champion around a bit. Press-slam sends Ric bailing for the outside, so he goes to the eyes to fight 'Taker off on the way back in, and tries firing off chops, but Undertaker no-sells. 'Taker corner whips him to send Flair flipping to the outside, and the challenger stalks him back in for the jumping clothesline, but Ric ducks. Undertaker ends up on the outside, where Mr. Perfect fires off some cheap shots, and Flair runs him into the post, then the guardrail. All of that doesn't even take 'Taker off of his feet, but it staggers him. Back in, Flair throws a low blow and a side suplex, but Undertaker barely even acknowledges it. Ric tries a vertical suplex out of the ring, but 'Taker reverses back in, so Perfect tosses the champion a foreign object. Flair nails 'Taker with it, and for the first time in the match, the challenger is down, and not sitting up. Ric wastes no time capitalizing with the Figure Four, but trying to get a submission from zombie Undertaker is laughable. Indeed, he escapes with a chokeslam, so Perfect pulls the referee out at two, but Undertaker keeps coming with a jumping clothesline. That brings Perfect in with a chair, and that's a DQ at 7:36. Actually a really fun match, with Undertaker plugging into Flair's formula nicely, but with the zombie aspect adding a unique twist. ** ¾ 

BUExperience: I liked this one! There were no crazy hidden gems (though the Flair/Undertaker match was on the borderline), but it felt like a bridge between two eras. It had the vibe of the releases from around 1990, but mixed with the early New Generation stuff. 

A good addition to your Coliseum Collection.