WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Mega Matches (1995) (Version II)

 

WWF Coliseum Video Collection: Mega Matches (1995)

Coliseum Video compilation. The front cover features King Kong Bundy, looking fat. This was a really poor cover, looking like something a kid did as a school project, not a professional presentation

Gorilla Monsoon and Stan Lane host from the studio

Irwin R. Schyster v Lex Luger: From Monday Night RAW on December 19 1994 (taped November 28) in Poughkeepsie New York.  Luger uses his power advantage to toss IRS around a bit in the early going, so Irwin bails to the floor to regroup. He manages to frustrate Luger enough to sucker him into a kneelift and a turnbuckle smash, but gets reversed going into the ropes and hiptossed. Luger with a bodyslam and a clothesline for two, but IRS' Druid distracts Lex, and Irwin knocks him to the floor with a high knee. Back in, IRS puts the boots to him, and hits a backbreaker for two. Pair of elbowdrops get two, so IRS tries a rope-assisted chinlock. Lex powers up with a side suplex, and hits a running kneelift followed by a series of clotheslines - but the Druid trips him up, and IRS schoolboys him for two. Lex jumps out to the floor to go after the Druid, and pulls his hood off to reveal rival Tatanka, but isn't mindful of the referees count, and IRS gets the victory at 8:25. Just your average TV match with the usual screwy ending. ¼*

WWF Tag Team Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: The New Headshrinkers v Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart: From Poughkeepsie New York on November 29 1994, aired on the December 31 episode of Superstars. Sionne and Neidhart start, and a criss cross ends in Sionne with a jumping shoulderblock. He grabs a wristlock before passing to Fatu, and Fatu throws a series of punches, but gets a corner whip reversed on him. That allows Jim a forearm, and he passes to Owen for a flying axehandle. He tries turnbuckle smashes, but Fatu no-sells, and slugs Hart down. He grabs a headlock, but Hart whips him into the ropes, and Jim pulls the top one down, causing Fatu to go over the top. Jim clotheslines him on the floor, and the heels take control as the action goes back inside, cutting the ring in half as they work Fatu over. Fatu fights Owen off with a superkick to allow the hot tag, and Sionne hits Jim with a powerslam for two, so Owen comes in. Sionne presses Hart into Neidhart, and then nails Jim with a big boot. Tag to Fatu to finish up with the flying splash, but the boots that Captain Lou Albano makes him wear are slowing him down. That allows Owen to take a cheap shot, and the heels hit him with the Hart Attack. Cover, but Sionne saves. Owen responds by grabbing Fatu’s discarded boot, and he nails Fatu with it, but the referee sees it, and calls for the DQ at 8:29. This was a solid enough match, but compared with the rest of this tournament thus far, it was a near classic. * ½

Davey Boy Smith v Jeff Jarrett: From Poughkeepsie on November 28 1994, on the December 5 episode of Monday Night RAW.  Jarrett tries to get cute in the early going, but makes the mistake of trying to match power with Smith, and ends up getting hiptossed out to the floor. He regroups with the Roadie ('Road Dogg' Jesse James, in his debut appearance), and comes back in bitching to the referee about Davey hooking the tights. Jeff tries taking it to the mat, but Davey finds counters to everything Jarrett tries, and ends up shoving Jeff across the ring. Criss cross ends in Smith hitting a hanging vertical suplex, and Jarrett falls back out to the floor. Jarrett sweeps Bulldog off of his feet on the way back in, but runs into a boot during a cross corner charge, and Davey unloads a series of turnbuckle smashes. To the top rope, but Jarrett knocks him onto the turnbuckle, and superplexes him for two. Chinlock, but Davey powers up, so Jarrett blasts him with a flying clothesline for two. Criss cross ends in a double knockout, but Davey's up first with a cradle for two. Backelbow, but Jarrett ducks, and slaps on a sleeper - Smith fading fast. Jarrett rides him with his full weight, but Davey still dead lifts him, and falls into the corner to break. He can't capitalize before Jarrett bulldogs him though, but kicks out at two. Davey fires back with a fisherman's suplex for two, but Jarrett takes it back to the mat with another chinlock. Into the ropes, Davey counters a leapfrog with an inverted atomic drop, and follows with a backdrop to set up a series of clotheslines. Jarrett is quick to bail, but Bulldog follows to drag him back in (in this case, carrying him over his head), but Roadie grabs Davey's leg as he tries to re-enter, and Jarrett gets a countout victory at 14:00. A bit too long (they went back to the chinlock one time too many there), but decent back-and-forth stuff otherwise. Also some nice foreshadowing of Roadie's eventual involvement in Jeff's Intercontinental Title win the next month. Plus, somewhat historically significant for the debut of Jesse James, if for nothing else. *

King Kong Bundy v Duke Droese: From Bethlehem Pennsylvania on November 9 1994, aired on the November 27 episode of Action Zone. Duke attacks before the bell, and goes to town, which Gorilla praises, noting that it was smart strategy, since Bundy would crush him if it were fair. Monsoon is something. Duke dropkicks Bundy out of the ring, but then takes his eye off of the ball to go after Ted DiBiase. That allows Bundy to recover, but Duke fights off the sneak attack attempt in the aisle. Inside, Duke holds a wristlock, and a bodypress gets him two. Back to the wristlock, but Bundy clobbers him, and goes to a chinlock. Duke escapes, and goes on the comeback trail, but misses an elbowdrop. That allows Bundy to try for a splash, but Droese dodges, and starts no-selling some shots. A legdrop gets him two, but a charge in the corner misses, and Bundy lands the avalanche. He gives him a second one for good measure, and that’s the pin at 6:30. This wasn’t horrible. ¾* (Original rating: ¼*)

Bob Backlund v Doink the Clown: From RAW in Liberty New York on December 12 1994.  Backlund is still on his whole 'clown holocaust' trip this week, claiming that the clowns have been 'manipulating' the people long enough, and that the Chickenwing will 'exterminate' Doink. Can we get this guy back today? This sort of bat-shit insanity is exactly what would spruce up RAW these days. It should be noted that this place is so small, that the standard 'RAW' banners hanging in the background look 10x larger than usual. Pretty sure this was an actual high school gym. Doink uses Dink to orchestrate a sneak attack before the bell, but can't match Backlund on the mat, and ends up grabbing the ropes to escape a waistlock. Bob with a single-leg takedown into another waistlock, but Doink is back on the ropes to force a break. Doink fires back with a takedown of his own, and cradles Backlund for two, but Bob gets him on the mat in a side-headlock. Doink counters with a headscissors, but Bob bridges, so Doink hooks a backslide for two. Doink with a belly-to-belly suplex for two, and he hooks a side-headlock of his own. Backlund makes the ropes to break, but fires off a forearm after teasing a clean break, then starts ripping at Doink's arm. Sadly, it doesn't pop out of the socket tonight. Bob stomps the arm to set up the dreaded Crossface Chickenwing, but Doink grabs the ropes to block, and hits a sunset flip for two. Bob takes him back to the mat with a hammerlock, and shifts into an armbar when Doink gets uppity. Doink with an inside cradle for two, but Bob pounces back on the arm before he can follow-up - this time with a wristlock. Doink tries to force it back up to a vertical base, but Backlund hangs on to the arm, and monkeyflips him back into an armbar - rolling the hold into a couple of pinfall attempts. Doink makes the ropes to break, and counters a cross corner whip with a 2nd rope bodypress for two. Inside cradle for two, and a backslide gets two. Bodyslam sets up an elbowdrop, but Bob rolls out of the way, and Doink lands on the bad arm. Chickenwing, but Doink fires off a backelbow - only for the arm to give out as he tries a slam, and Backlund to apply the hold for a submission at 14:00. As weird as it was to see Doink trade holds with Backlund like it was 1981, these two actually worked well together, and it was a nice change of pace to see a Doink match without comedy spots, and gimmicks. ** ¼ 

The Allied Powers v Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka: From Liberty on December 12 1994, aired on the January 2 1995 episode of RAW. Big brawl to start, until the dust settles on Bigelow and Smith. Bam Bam controls, but a tag to Luger allows Lex a 2nd rope clothesline for two. He goes after the arm, but a cheap shot from Tatanka on the apron takes the pep out of Luger's step. Bigelow with a couple of headbutts before he makes the tag, and Tatanka unloads tomahawk chops. A pair of elbowdrops get two, and a flying tomahawk chop is worth two. Series of knife edge chops in the corner, and I guess Luger's Flair-tolerance was pretty low by late 1994, because he's selling and everything. Bearhug, but Lex slugs free, and hits a side suplex. Tag to Bigelow for a splash before Lex can capitalize, but he gets too cocky, and walks into a powerslam. Both men tag, and Davey's a doghouse of fire, but a four-way brawl ends in a double countout at 8:43. Cheap ending aside, this was decent, well paced action. *

The Allied Powers v Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka: From later in that same episode of RAW. Okay, so no one was happy with the ending of the opener, so they decide to 'restart' the match, and we're joined in progress with Bigelow unloading on Luger with a suplex, and the heels cutting the ring in half. Lex manages to clothesline them both to allow the tag to Davey, and he's a doghouse of fire again - slamming both guys around. Four-way brawl ends with Davey whipping Tatanka into Bigelow on the apron, and diving on top for the pin at 5:00 shown of 11:13. Much slower here, though if it were actually one continuous match, it would have been fine. As a standalone match, pretty dull, though. My bet is that they went back to retape the match with a different finish (which was something they did fairly frequently during this period), and then just decided to turn it into a show-long angle instead, which is why this match has the first half cut out. No rating, since it was heavily clipped.

Jeff Jarrett v Fatu: From Albany New York on October 19 1994, aired on the November 20 episode of Action Zone. Charlie Minn catches up with Jarrett during the entrances, and Jeff promises that this match is going to be a preview of what you’ll get if you order Survivor Series. With marketing like that, no wonder business was down. If you ever wonder why Todd got hired, witness how easily Vince cracks up at literally everything that comes out of his mouth. Fatu wins a criss cross with a clothesline for two, and another criss cross ends in a backbreaker. A charge misses, however, which allows Jarrett a bulldog. And Fatu actually sells it! I thought for sure that was going to see him pop up. Jeff with a corner whip and a dropkick for two, as Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart wander down to ringside. Jarrett holds an armbar, but Fatu escapes. Fatu tries a backdrop, but Jeff counters with a facebuster, and there’s that no-sell. Jeff recovers with a dropkick for one, and he grounds Fatu in another armbar. Fatu escapes, so Jeff DDTs him, but that gets no-sold, and this time Fatu goes on the comeback trail. He hits a powerslam, but Owen is distracting the referee, so no count. That allows Neidhart to come in, but he accidentally hits Jarrett as they try a double team, and Fatu scores the pin off of it at 5:32. Afterwards, Jarrett blows up at his future tag partners, but Diesel is able to come out and cool things down. ½* (Original rating: DUD)

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Irwin R. Schyster, Tatanka, and King Kong Bundy v Mabel, Mo, and Lex Luger: From Palmetto Florida on January 23 1995, aired on the February 6 episode of RAW. Mabel starts with Bundy, and they pick up right where they left off sucking last week. Bundy tries for the Avalanche within the first minute, but Mabel blocks with a forearm for two, and 'hits' an 'enzuigiri' for two. Tag to Mo for a flying axehandle, but he stupidly tries to bodyslam Bundy, and gets swatted down. IRS tags in to wallop him with a backelbow and an elbowdrop for two, but Mo manages a backdrop and a dropkick. Hey, he may suck, but give the guy credit, he was trying. Bodyslam gets two, but IRS escapes an armbar to tag Tatanka. He goes to work on Mo, but gets cocky and turns his back to showboat, allowing the tag back to Mabel for a shoulderblock. Really shitty sequence follows, as Tatanka 'ducks' a backelbow from Mabel, but the execution is so poor that a ninety five year old in the cheap seats could easily tell that Mabel missed on purpose. Tag to Luger to 'give the crowd what they really want,' but that feud has gone colder than an Eskimos left tit. Mo ends up getting back in and falls into a 'heat' segment, but again, Eskimo tit. Even Vince and Shawn are openly slagging both teams. The tit segment drags on for a long time until Bundy misses the Avalanche and Luger gets the tag. Slam for Bundy to trigger a six-way brawl, and Tatanka drops Lex with a DDT in the chaos for King Kong to pin at 13:00. I guess that was to set up the final blowoff on the WrestleMania buildup show the next month, but like I said, that feud was deader than dead. When even ten year old super marks like me don't care anymore, you're done. ¾*

1-2-3 Kid v Bam Bam Bigelow: From Liberty New York on December 13 1994, aired on the January 15 1995 episode of Action Zone. Kid keeps him at bay with lightning kicks, but Bam Bam manages to clobber him in the corner, then biel him out. Bigelow with a corner whip, but a corner splash misses, and Kid spinkicks him. Kid with a schoolboy for two, but Bigelow clobbers him before he can keep coming. Bigelow tries a charge in the corner, but misses, and goes tumbling over the top. Inside, Kid unloads, but Bigelow biels him over the top to shake him off. Bam Bam press-slams him on the way back in for two, then dumps him back out just for fun. Inside again, and Bigelow holds a chinlock. Kid fights free, so Bigelow plants an enzuigiri, but Kid keeps coming. Bigelow gives it to him with a vertical suplex, and he slaps on a torture rack, but Kid escapes. None of that looked good. Kid tries a side suplex, but Bigelow topples him for two. That allows Bigelow to go up, but Kid slams him off for two, and dives with a flying bodypress - only to get caught in a slam at 8:53. These two always had chemistry, and you can never go wrong betting on Kid to oversell and bump around. * (Original rating: * ¼)

The Smoking Gunns v The Heavenly Bodies: From Bushkill Pennsylvania on November 8 1994, aired on Sunday Night Slam on November 20. The Gunns clean house before the bell, and the dust settles on Billy Gunn and Tom Prichard to get us started. Gunn controls an armbar, but a kick to the gut allows Tom a headlock, and a big criss cross ends in Billy bulldogging him. Tag to brother Bart Gunn to work an armbar, but an eye rake allows Prichard to tag Jimmy Del-Ray. Bart quickly swats him down with a shoulderblock, and a reversal sequence ends in Bart hooking a side-headlock on the mat. Tag to Billy for a double-team sidewalk slam/legdrop combo that gets two, but Bart walks right into a cheap shot from Prichard as he comes back in, and the Bodies cut the ring in half. After taking an epic shit-kicking, Bart manages to dodge Prichard coming off the 2nd rope, and gets the tag to Billy. He's a house of arson to trigger a four-way brawl, and Billy pins Prichard with a sunset flip at 14:00. These guys were on opposite teams for Survivor Series, so booking them made sense, but it overstayed its welcome a bit. *

BUExperience: Man, despite Gorilla promising that all the matches would be exclusives, literally everything came off of various TV shows from the period. 

Not a good addition to your Coliseum Collection