Best of The WWF Volume 7 (WF024)

BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 7 (WF024)

We’ve made it to Volume 7 of the Best of series and now there’s no excuse not to have recent matches…..but they don’t. After a trip down memory lane with WRESTLING’S LIVING LEGEND: BRUNO SAMMARTINO, we pick up things in the spring of 1986. WRESTLEMANIA 2 pretty much ended any and all feuds that were leading up to that point so the WWF had to present new ones. There wouldn’t be another pay-per-view until the following year so monthly Coliseum Videos was all the fans could look forward to besides the magazines and weekly shows. Roddy Piper had taken a hiatus following Wrestlemania 2 and Andre the Giant also took a vacation so new stars had to step up to replace them. Let’s get this one started. Cue the 1985 Coliseum video opening and “Mean” Gene Okerlund is our host today. He welcomes us and says this is for our “permanent home video collection”. Apparently Gene must think other tapes were going to magically disappear 6 months later. He reminds us the British Bulldogs made their debut in BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 3 and Pedro Morales fought Don Muraco in BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 2. We also saw Andre and Hogan in a handicap tag team match in BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 1. Now he runs down some of the card for this one. We got the never before seen Dream Team vs Unamericanz heel vs heel challenge, Toru Tanaka and Mr Fuji vs Haystacks Calhoun and Tony Garea in 2 out of 3 falls match from 9 years earlier, and Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage. Sounds good to me, let’s get started.

 

Match 1

Pedro Morales vs Terry Funk (with Jimmy Hart)

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura

January 11, 1986 in the Boston Garden is the site of two classic brawlers, don’t expect to see much technical wrestling in this one. Although any time Funk is in a WWF ring its sure to be entertaining. Morales is in the orange tights and Terry the red. Funk throws mock jabs as Okerlund calls Morales the first triple crown champion in WWF history.  Funk slaps Pedro and immediately begs off.  Morales backs him down as Ventura says its strategy by Funk to get Pedro to lose his cool. Morales slaps Terry a bunch of times and he staggers around before falling outside. Back inside as Ventura says Hart never sleeps as a manager. That explains why he’s so hyper all the time, too much coffee. Funk throws Morales over the top rope onto the announce table. Morales sells a hamstring injury as Funk yells at the crowd. He allows Morales to gather himself by running outside and threatening some hecklers.  Pedro gets to his feet on the apron and Funk lands some boxing jabs to drop him. Monsoon says Funk is most dangerous when he’s got his opponent hurt. Back in the ring Funk continues to jab away at the face of Morales as Monsoon bitches about the taped fists of Terry. A spinning boot eye rake has Ventura say “ohhhhhh.” Funk punches Morales through the ropes onto the announce booth again, only this time he goes outside to put the boots to him. Funk reaches through the ropes and slaps the headset off of Monsoon. Gorilla says something inaudible and puts his headphones back on while giving him the death glare. Jesse “I think he wants a piece of YOU Monsoon!” Funk continues to put the boots to Morales as Monsoon says if Terry gets in range he’ll get a payback shot. Ventura says the Gorilla is coming out of retirement as Monsoon says no, he’ll get him in the parking lot. Funk tries to slide Morales out through the second rope like a battle royal before putting the boots to him again. The ref shoves Terry who begs off as Ventura says Funk wants Morales, Monsoon and the whole Boston Garden. He’d probably attack the Celtics while he was it it. Funk pulls out the foreign object and rakes the eyes with it, before throwing it out. Hart distracts the referee as Funk chokes out Morales with adhesive tape. Hart distracts the referee but this time Morales beats the crap out of terry with the tape and puts it in his trunks. Pedro unloads on Terry with left hands  Terry bumps outside and knocks over the wooden ring steps. Morales rams Terry’s head into steps and Terry tries to hide underneath them (BRILLIANT!). Morales goes up to the top rope but thinks better of it. Funk gets on the apron and Morales rams Terry’s head into the ring post. Terry staggers and falls off the apron to the parquet floor. Back inside Morales lands more left hands that has Terry staggering around throwing jabs at the air. Pedro sends him off the ropes and drops Funk with a left punch to the ribs. Pedro throws Terry over the top to the floor. Pedro chases Jimmy Hart underneath the ring. Terry reaches underneath and grabs a wooden chair, heaving it into the ring. The ref immediately kicks it out of the ring. Back inside Pedro rams Terry’s head into the buckle as Jesse says he’s enjoying this one. Funk rams his own head into the buckle then falls halfway out of the ring. Monsoon says if Funk loses this one, he loses a chance to face Hogan for the title. Pedro grabs Funk’s tights as he falls out and they ride up, exposing his bare ass to the Coliseum Video crowd. Hart hands him the megaphone as the ref pries Morales away and with half his ass hanging out, Funk nails Morales in the head with it. The ref turned around too soon so he had to pretend he didn’t see it as Funk drops the megaphone back to Jimmy outside. Funk pulls his tights up and covers 1….2….3 its over. The bell rings as Hart pulls Terry out of the ring who staggers around selling the blows Pedro landed. Ventura points out the megaphone is bent where Terry clocked him. We go to the replay and Monsoon bitches about it but Jesse says it’s a win. There wasn’t a single technical wrestling hold that whole match but mostly due to the antics and psychology of Terry Funk, it was very entertaining. Terry Funk was special and there will never be another one. Good stuff. Did it belong on a tape like this? You had the NWA Heavyweight Champion brawl with the former WWWF Heavyweight champion….so yes.

Time of match: 10:36

Winner: Terry Funk by pinfall

 

Next up is the Mega Powers explodeeeeeeeee……3 ½ years early. Two “Best of” tapes in a row that features Terry Funk on first and Hogan vs Savage on second.

 

Match 2

“Macho Man” Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura

This match is from Monday January 27, 1986 in Madison Square Garden. Its got a big time feel to it with Monsoon and Jesse on commentary even though the explosion won’t be for another three years. Hogan slides in the ring wearing standard yellow tights and Macho Man in the purple robe, tights and shades massacres him before the bell even rings.

Okerlund in the voiceover says Savage came the closest to ever dethroning Hogan. Yeah, and the fact he never did dethrone him EVER made Savage rightfully angry at Hulk until Randy’s death. Randy rakes the eyes then comes off the top with an axehandle.  Savage still puts the boots to the Hulk and tears his shirt off, choking him with it. Savage waffles Hogan with the belt and Monsoon bitches that referee Dick Woehrle does nothing about it. Savage nails Hulk with it again still with the robe and shades on. He goes up to the top and nails Hogan in the kidneys with the belt. Savage does the Macho Man pose and the crowd is LIVID. Liz hops up on the apron to tell Randy to knock off the rough stuff and Savage turns to deal with her. Hogan begins to Hulk up and when Randy turns around, Hulk nails him with a right hand that gets a HUGE pop from the crowd. Hulk drops Savage and puts the Macho Man’s shades on to mock him. Hulk drops Randy with another roundhouse right and chokes Savage with his headband. The commentary team flips the script with Ventura bitching about cheating and Monsoon saying to let it go. Hulk atomic drops the Macho Man and prances around like a fairy to mock Savage. Hulk drops Randy with another roundhouse right. Hogan throws Savage through the ropes and to the outside. Hulk still has the shades on and he launches Savage head first into the ring post. Ventura demands a disqualification and I wish Monsoon could have said “Savage can’t win the title that way” but instead says the ref is very lenient. Monsoon says Savage should have been DQ’d earlier. Hogan unloads on Savage who’s now busted wide open. Back inside Hogan lands some left jabs then a thunderous right hand that Savage sells like he was hit by a cannonball. Hogan chokes Savage over his head until Liz hops up on the apron. Hogan blows her a kiss that enrages the Macho Man. Savage sends him outside and goes berserk with kicks. Randy throws Hulk into the post, goes upstairs and drops Hogan with a flying axehandle on the floor. Hogan rolls in and Savage goes upstairs, hitting another axehandle smash. Monsoon asks if Hulk is busted open but Ventura points out no, its all Randy’s. Randy drops Hulk and goes for the flying elbow drop. He gives the sign AND HITS IT! Savage covers and Hulk kills the move by kicking out at 1. Hogan Hulks Up, no sells Randy’s punches and unloads on Savage. A whip into the corner is met with a clothesline as the crowd responds to every move. Hulk drops Randy with a running elbow to the head. Randy goes to bail but Hulk stops him. Hogan delivers the big boot as Ventura says to stop the match, Savage can’t see. Hulk throws Randy out of the ring again and follows suit. Hogan rams Randy headfirst into the apron and goes for another rocket launch, only this time Liz stops him. Randy escapes, shoves Hogan into the post and slides in to beat the count. Savage wins it by count out! The crowd is bullshit as Randy goes to leave but Hulk stops him. Hulk bearhugs Savage into each corner with the crowd continuing to cheer every impact. Tiger Chung Lee and “Iron” Mike Sharpe hit the ring to pry Hulk off of Savage. Dan Spivey, George Welles and Mario Mancini join in and finally subdue Hogan…long enough for Savage to cheap shot Hogan, bail to the outside and hightail it out of there with Sharpe and Lee as Hogan is PISSED in the ring. Welles, Spivey and Mancini stick around as Howard Finkel announces Savage has won it. The crowd is pissed and even Hogan is mad about it. You’re still the champ, what the hell are you bitching about? The crowd chants either bullshit or Hogan but is too loud to decipher which. Finkel calms the crowd by saying that Hulk is still the champ even though he’s still pissing and moaning to Woehrle. That was another wild brawl much like Funk/Morales and the crowd was into every last second of it. Honky Tonk Man once said in a shoot interview that Hulk was the best money drawing champion in history, bigger than Cena and Austin in an era where you couldn’t walk in a store and buy t-shirts. Say what you will but Honky’s right about that. Hulk had the entire Madison Square Garden crowd on its feet the whole match and tickets were much cheaper in the 80’s than they are now. Even with today’s prices, Hulk would have sold out the Garden and would have set records not even Austin could have touched. He didn’t do it alone though, the fans loved to hate Savage so much to cheer Hogan’s every move. This could have been a huge money-making feud since they had already main evented back to back Madison Square Garden shows, but Hogan was preparing for King Kong Bundy at Wrestlemania so Vince had to hold off. A month later, Vince rewarded Savage for his nightly performances by giving him the Intercontinental championship, thus making a feud with Hogan impossible. Even when Honky was IC champ he rarely challenged Hogan because the IC champ had to draw on his own in those days. So we had to wait 3 full years for Savage and Hogan to have the main event, big pay per view matches…and it was totally worth it. Two straight brawls, two straight great matches that belonged on this tape.

Time of match: 8:33

Winner: Randy Savage by count-out (Hogan retains)

 

Its as if someone who was editing tape realized, “How the hell do we top the first two matches? Well, we can’t, so let’s not even try.” The next match goes back to the archives where Arnold Skaaland takes on perennial coward Captain Lou Albano. You gotta be kidding me.

 

Match 3

Arnold Skaaland vs Captain Lou Albano

Commentators: Vince McMahon

Talk about falling off a cliff after the first two amazing matches on this tape. Arnie was a great wrestler in his prime but by December 19, 1977 he was 52 years old and semi-retired. Lou Albano was 44 at the time and was even worse. This match is in Madison Square Garden as Arnie was managing Bruno Sammartino at the time and in December of 77, Albano was managing Mr Fuji and Professor Tanaka…I think. Howard Finkel is in a horrible silver 70’s tux as Albano admonishes the ref. Both are in standard gear as Skaaland gets a HUGE pop for starting the match by nailing Albano with forearms. Albano bails to the outside and the crowd boos. Lou re-enters the ring and does the “hiding the foreign object” routine by nailing Arnie with it. He sheds his ring jacket and nails Arnie with the object again. The crowd is livid already as Albano nails Arnie with it again but the ref catches him putting it back in his tights. He puts it in his mouth and it looks to be a giant pencil as the ref checks the tights. Lou once again nails Arnie with it. This is the third straight match we’ve seen zero wrestling holds but the crowd’s into it. Can’t expect Steamboat/Savage from two managers above 40 years old. The repeated object thrusts are building heat for Arnie to make the big comeback. The ref checks Albano again and he’s got nothing. Arnie tries to fight back but Albano continues to use the giant pencil. Finally Albano goes for another strike but Arnold blocks the punch and the giant pencil drops. Arnold picks it up and blasts Albano with it. Since Lou was hiding it the whole match, the ref let’s this go.  Arnold beats the shit out of Albano with right hands and the crowd eats every second up.  Arnie shoves the ref away and continues to punch the daylights out of Lou, who blades on camera and bleeds everywhere. More right hands rock and roll Lou before he hits the deck.  Lou crawls outside and bails to the back, as per norm, to take the count-out. The ref raises Arnold’s arm in victory as McMahon on commentary says Skaaland gets the duke. The fans paid to see Albano get his ass kicked and that’s what they got. Who cares if no holds were involved? Does it belong on a Best of tape? I’m gonna have to say no. Going back to the archives is fun, but that’s for hot feuds at the time, not for four minute manager brawls. So far this tape is 2 for 3.

Time of match: 4:35

Winner: Arnold Skaaland by count out.

 

We stay in the archives for the next bout.

 

Match 4

Mr. Fuji and Professor Toru Tanaka vs Haystacks Calhoun and Tony Garea for the WWWF Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

On July 23, 1977 in Madison Square Garden these two teams hooked up for the tag team straps held by Garea and Haystacks. Haystacks is in the black t-shirt and overalls, Gares was in the zebra striped tights and Fuji and Tanaka are in standard gear. Okerlund says keep watch on the ladies in the front row. Back then there were no barricades so when Tanaka throws salt into the corner, some old lady hops up and sweeps it away. The old lady then makes the kiss my ass sign as the crowd pops. The guys in suits at ringside just laugh at her. She swats Fuji on her way back to her seat as Fuji turns and looks like “What the fuck was that?” A lady in another corner does the same thing and now it starts to get silly, where’s security? The bell finally rings as Monsoon calls Tanaka “Chopstick Charlie” which ironically was Tanaka’s real name…Charlie, not Chopstick. We TAPE EDIT to Garea with Tanaka in a side headlock which shockingly is the first actual wrestling hold on this tape. Tanaka turns him into a pinning combination a few times. They chain wrestle right out of the 90’s cruiserweights with trading of arm drags with Garea getting the upperhand. Calhoun gets too excited and enters the ring to clap on Garea. The ref throws him out which allows Fuji time to kick Tony off of Toru.  Tanaka chops Garea in the corner where Fuji chokes Tony with the tag rope. Calhoun gets in to complain but Fuji continues when the ref gets Calhoun out of there. Fuji gets the tag and he chops Tony down. Fuji backdrops Tony but a second attempt eats boot. Tony drops Fuji with a double knee to the head. Fuji begs off but we TAPE EDIT to Fuji getting the upperhand. Garea rallies with right hands and a back drop. Tanaka tags in and slowly makes his way into the ring.  Tony whips Tanaka into Calhoun but Tanaka gets Tony in a chinlock. He’s armdragged by Tony who tags in the big man, Haystacks uses his monsterous thighs to nail Tanaka. Fuji comes in with a running chop but nails Tanaka instead. Tanaka falls and Haystacks sits on him. Garea intercepts Fuji and Calhoun stands up long enough for Tony to throw Fuji on top of Tanaka before Haystacks sits on both of them. Garea stands on Calhoun’s back as the crowd pops. Poor Tanaka. Garea nails Fuji as Calhoun is raked by Tanaka. Garea makes the tag but Tanaka cuts him off with chops to the throat. Tanaka whips Tony into the corner and nails him. Tony reverses a whip to send Tanaka in the corner and nails him with a forearm. A series of shoulderblocks drops Tanaka and Garea covers…but the referee is so far out of position even Monsoon yells at him. Tanaka kicks out  and Garea charges but eats a thrust kick to the ribs. Tanaka covers him for 1…2….3 and Calhoun takes to long to make the save. First fall goes to the challengers.

Fall 2 begins with Garea being stalked by Tanaka. Tony fights back with forearms and a punch to the ribs. An elbow to the back of the neck and a big right hand drops the Professor. A front facelock on Tanaka leads to a TAPE EDIT with Fuji now in the ring chopping Garea down. Tanaka tags in and Garea rallies with right hands but Fuji sneaks in and tosses Tony over the top to the floor.  Calhoun gets in the ring as Tanaka and Fuji double team him in the corner. The ref calls for the bell….what? Apparently Fuji and Tanaka were disqualified for beating up Calhoun in the corner. Complete bullshit but that evens it at one fall apiece.

We clip to the third fall where Calhoun is still dazed from the double team attack. He gets out of the ring and the third fall is Garea and Tanaka. Tanaka wants a handshake but suckers him into a chop to the throat. Tanaka works Tony over in the corner before whipping him off the ropes. Tony ducks under a chop and rallies with forearms and elbows on Toru. He tags in Calhoun. Tony backdrops Tanaka and Calhoun smushes Tanaka with a big splash. The cover gets 1…2….3 and the champs retain. The faces celebrate after the match and Calhoun splashes Tanaka again for good measure. Kind of a bad match due to the tape edits and there wasn’t much Calhoun could do since he was practically immobile. Does it belong on a tape like this? We hardly ever see Tanaka or Calhoun so what the hell? We’re 3 for 4 with the only dud being Skaaland/Albano.

Time of match: Clipped

Winner: Garea and Calhoun 2 falls to 1 (Still WWWF Champions)

 

We stay in the archives for another match from Showdown at Shea. So much for keeping things recent.

 

Match 5

Tony Atlas vs Ken Patera (with The Grand Wizard) for the WWWF Intercontinental Championship

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

Oh joy…heel Patera and he’s got Wizard with him! This was one of the undercard matches from Showdown at Shea on August 9, 1980 at Shea Stadium in Flushing, NY where the main event was Bruno Sammartino vs Larry Zybysko in a cage, not Hogan vs Andre as Hulk wants you to believe. Atlas is in the red tights, Wizard is in the gold sequined suit, Vince McMahon Jr is the ring announcer in a nice business suit. Patera is in the Olympic singlet. McMahon says Atlas is 239 pounds and Patera is 269 pounds…..I think Vince has it backwards. Patera sheds his warmup gear with help from Wizard as we get started. They tie up with Atlas getting the upper hand with strikes and a dropkick. Patera begs off in the corner and tries to kick at Tony but Atlas grabs the foot. Tony punches him in the ribs and gorilla press slams Patera down. Tony caters to the crowd and lets Patera get to his feet. A knee to the head stops Tony in his tracks. Patera clotheslines Atlas and drops an elbow on him. He covers for 1..2…no, Atlas literally press slams the Olympic powerlifter to the ropes, nearly out of them. THAT’S power. This is also the strangest WWF ring I’ve ever seen, the ropes are silver and the canvas is royal purple. Patera rams Tony’s head into the buckle who no sells Ken’s offense. Atlas stalks Patera as Monsoon says 2 demerits for Wizard for not doing his homework.  A jumping headbutt drops Patera to one knee and a second floors him. Atlast drops an elbow and another headbutt. A big splash gets 2 as the ref is out of position. More headbutt stagger Patera and he falls underneath the bottom rope. Patera gathers himself on the apron and chokes Atlas using the top ropes. He snaps Atlas off the top rope and jumps off the rope rope….well if he was going for a kneedrop, he failed that one. Patera displays his own power with a press slam, throwing Atlas halfway across the ring. Patera locks in the swinging full nelson but the taller Atlas makes it to the ropes. Monsoon says Patera retired him which is somewhat true, Patera was his last opponent before he retired. Patera uses the 4 count to his advantage by keeping the full nelson on then standing on the fallen Atlas. Ken then goes for the blatant choke and the ref just stands there. Atlas breaks it and delivers a second rope headbutt that knocks Ken goofy. Atlas can’t capitalize and slumps into the ropes. On their feet Tony beats up on Ken with strikes and a vertical suplex. Atlas covers but doesn’t hook the leg and he gets a deuce. Tony whips Patera and catches him with a sleeper. Patera smartly hot shots Atlas off the top rope. Ken covers for 1…..2..nope, forgot to hook the leg. Atlas catches Patera by surprise with a bodypress for 1….2…NOOOO. Almost had him. Patera sends Atlas to the outside with a forearm. Patera goes out after him and they slug it out. The ref continues the count but stops when both men reach the apron. Patera clotheslines Atlas back inside and THEN the ref calls for the bell. Good god almighty that was lousy officiating. From a kayfabe standpoint he stopped the count, how the hell did Patera get counted out? Patera continues to put the boots to Tony and throws him over the top rope after the bell. Patera raises his arms in victory as Vince enters the ring. Atlas stalks Patera who finally leaves the ring and bails to the dug-out. Vince announces Atlas wins the match but not the title. Atlas gets on the mic and says “As long as as you live, forget about rasslin for a minute, get your butt in here and I’ll whoop it!” Patera comes back and hops in the ring. He teases a fight before bailing to a chorus of boos. The cops escort Patera away as Tony is mad in the ring. That was a decent power vs power match for 1980 standards even if the ending was complete shit, but that’s more the ref than the match. Does this match belong on the Best of? Actually yeah, this is how you do power vs power. Trading impact blows, not boring bearhugs and nerve holds. We’re four for five and looking good so far.

Time of match: 8:23

Winner: Atlas by count-out (Patera retains)

After going nonstop for 5 matches its time for a break in the action to check out the 1985 Slammy highlights. Gene Okerlund in a trench coat annoys the daylights out of a few fans in a car to ask them “Who’s gonna win the Slammy’s” without naming anyone involved or what they are winning. One young fan shouts “Hulk Hogan!”. An old lady has no idea what’s going on. Gene sets up an actually funny joke to another lady before asking a hot blonde who’s gonna win best performance in Land of 1,000 Dances. She has no idea what that is and asks Gene if Little Richard does HIS song. Gene has to tell her it’s the other way around. Michelle is the ladies name and Gene doesn’t even want to hug her because she’s too cold. He chases down a black gentleman who also has no idea who he is, so he walks away. He runs into a stuttering black man and asks him about Baltimore crabs and who’s gonna win the Slammy’s. He says Hulk Hogan and Gene says no its him. He then asks a security guard who he voted for and he says he can’t disclose that information. Gene says jabroni and kayfabe in the same sentence which was huge for 1985 standards. Verne Gagne and Bill Watts would have fired him on the spot. The guard refuses to answer and Gene hams it up anyway. He asks another freezing couple who’s gonna win best song. They say Gene’s Tuiti Fruiti. Gene say that’s the first time someone’s mentioned him after 2 ½ hours of interviews. Jesus, this was December of 1985 in Baltimore, if he was out there freezing for 3 hours you’d think he’d start punching folks. Gene then checks out the landmarks and gives an oral history (no pun intended) of a plaque dated by the dental association.  Gene then asks an intoxicated young man if he’s gonna be at the Slammy’ and the guy pulls out I Heart Wrestling stickers. Gene then pulls out the guy’s bottle of Jim Beam and says he’s his kind of guy. The camera begins shaking as its obvious even the camera guy is laughing his ass off. Gene goes to interview someone else but someone gets in his way and we cut here. The segment did drag, but this was about as real as it got. These people clearly had no idea what was going on since this was during the day, not before the show that night. I gotta respect the complete fly by the seat of your pants approach though.

Next up is Jesse Ventura who’s inside the men’s room and he brings Mean Gene over. Jesse asks why he’s sweating and Gene says he ran 7 ½ miles. Jesse scoffs and says he couldn’t drive 7 ½ miles. Heh! Gene gets mad and leaves and Jesse goes to the stalls looking for Roddy Piper. Piper is in the middle of taking a shit and even tells Jesse he’s a little busy right now. Piper make fun of Michael Jackson and David Lee Roth before we cut here. Jesus Jesse, you couldn’t have waited for him to wipe his ass or something?

We cut to the actual Slammy ceremony. Vince and Gorilla host but Vince has to let Gorilla knows his fly is unzipped…ha..ha. Gorilla “25 years in the squared circle and I’ve never been humiliated.” Vince says the WWF Academy of Arts and Sciences voted on the Most Ignominious Wrestler. There was only nominee and that’s Nikolai Volkoff. Nikolai comes out in the cheap suit with Iron Sheik in full wrestling gear in tow. Sheik trips and falls for real and Monsoon busts out laughing. Volkoff thanks everyone for the award as the number one singer and Vince has to correct him. Volkoff has no idea what ignominious mean and asks what it means. Vince “Best defined as degrading, humiliating and despicable.” Volkoff gets pissed and says he shouldn’t have won, he should have got second place and everyone in America should be tied for first place. Hahahahaha, good recovery.  We cut to best personality in Land of 1,000 Dances and its “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Piper also comes out in full wrestling gear and carrying a broom. Piper taunts the crowd and picks up the trophy only for it to fall apart in his hands for real. Monsoon and Vince are shocked and even Piper is taken off his game for a second. He recovers to say he ran into Tina Turner in the hallway then tosses the broom. Piper complains about the trophy and says its typical of MTV, otherwise known as Music To Vomit by. Piper asks if they can afford nicer trophies and stirs the pot by saying he plays Sun City. For you youngsters, South Africa was in the process of ending apartheid where the racist white government was being overthrown. A lot of music artists refused to play Sun City, South Africa in support of ending the racism…so naturally Piper says he’s for playing there. Of course, if he said that now, he’d have the social justice termites up his ass for a week and a half plus Vince would have to apologize to all those offended. Piper smashes the rest of the trophy and says he was going to do that anyway. Piper tells Vince to knock himself out as we cut.

The 1985 Slammy’s was pretty much a waste of time in terms of wrestling but it was more about the mainstream appeal they were going for with the aid of MTV. The Rock N Wrestling connection was in full swing at this point. This segment was pretty much a waste of time as they could have cut the Okerlund interviews and Jesse in the men’s room completely. Gorilla, Volkoff and Piper’s segments were good so I’ll give this a half point. Let’s get back to the ring.

 

Match 6

British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) vs The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Niedhart with Jimmy Hart)

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura

The last time they met in July of 85 they went the 20 minute time limit distance. We’ll see how this one goes as they hook up again on September 23, 1985 in Madison Square Garden. The Bulldogs are in the long red tights and the Foundation are in the black. Gene in the voiceover says this is turning into one of the classic feuds in wrestling. He was right on the money. Bret and Dynamite, the brothers in law, start….no, that’s not a typo. Bret’s now ex-wife is sisters with Dynamite’s now ex-wife. Then Bret’s sister Ellie married Jim Niedhart and his other sister Diana married Davey Boy Smith. Dynamite drops the Hitman with a shoulderblock. Bret gets caught and Dynamite slingshots him into the corner. Dynamite drops a knee and we get a TAPE EDIT…you gotta be fucking kidding me. Hey, whoever edited this tape, you left Gene Okerlund ranting for 10 minutes but you clip THIS??? Ugh….when action resumes its still Bret and Dynamite in the ring. Dynamite applies a hammerlock and Bret reverses, only for Dynamite to use Bret’s momentum against him by sending him through the ropes and to the outside. He almost cleaned out the director sitting next to Monsoon and Ventura. Anvil asks referee for a time out as Bret gathers himself and gets back in. Jimmy is irate as Bret tags out to Anvil and Dynamite tags out to Davey Boy…time for power vs power. Anvil bodyslams Davey but Smith ducks under an elbow and one handed slams Niedhart. Gorilla makes the claim the Hart Foundation are future tag team champion. Good call. Davey leapfrogs over Anvil and dropkicks him down. Niedhart bails to the outside to regroup with Jimmy before making the tag to Bret. Bret clubs away at Davey in the corner before whipping him into the other corner where Davey leaps over Bret and victory rolls him for 1…2..nope. Davey gets a pop from the crowd for that as Bret regroups with Niedhart. Ventura says the fFoundation is frustrated. Davey eats a knee to the ribs and Bret drops an elbow then a leg. The Harts cut the ring off and they make frequent tags, wearing down Davey Boy. A European uppercut drops Davey which you could hear the impact. Niedhart tags in and Monsoon says he would have a great career in football and Ventura says he didn’t like the padding. Yeah, let’s go with that.  Niedhart gets Davey in a bearhug but Davey escapes and makes the hot tag to Dynamite. Kid whips Jim into Bret. Dynamite goes nuts on both of them but an outside knee to the back from Bret quells that uprising. Now its Dynamite who the Harts have cut off. Bret comes off the top with an elbow illegally as Hart pesters Gorilla at ringside enough to make him stand up. Better run Jimmy. Niedhart throws Dynamite outside the ring where Bret scoop slams him on the floor. Davey Boy runs over to pick him up but Niedhart kicks him away. Back inside Niedhart locks in a chinlock and we get a TAPE EDIT. Jim puts the boots to Davey Boy and another double team effort has Bret ramming Dynamite head first into the mat. Jimmy laughs at Dynamite through the megaphone as Dynamite takes the sternum bump into the corner. Bret baits Davey into the ring and drops another second rope elbow. A cover gets 1…2…nope. Bret executes the side backbreaker but the cover only gets 2 which raises the ire of the Hitman. Bret makes the tag to the Anvil who works the ribs of Dynamite. Jim gets Kid in a front facelock as Jesse says Niedhart should go for the powerslam and get the pin. Dynamite slowly makes his way toward Davey and just before he get there Hitman cuts off Davey. Davey chases Bret and Jimmy around the ring as Niedhart chokes Dynamite in the corner. Now the ref is preoccupied with Niedhart as Bret chokes Dynamite in the corner. Niedhart gets another front headlock in and Dynamite drives him toward Davey but this time the ref cuts Bret off…and they do the “face makes the tag but the ref doesn’t see it” routine.  Davey unloads on Niedhart but the ref tells him to get lost. Bret ties Dynamite in the ropes Andre style and beats on him before letting him go and headbutts him. Bret and Dynamite botch a tilt-a-whirl so Bret knees him in the back on the ground. Jimmy outside the ring shouts Dynamite is out on his feet. Dynamite catches Bret in a backslide out of nowhere but the ref is out of position, allowing Niedhart to cut off the pinfall attempt. Bret ties up Dynamite again but does a lousy job. Dynamite breaks free as Bret crotches himself on a dropkick attempt. Davey gets the hot tag and he cuts off Niedhart with a dropkick before whipping Bret into him. Bret takes the sternum bump in the corner and Davey covers for 1..2…nope. Davey executes the gorilla press slam and Niedhart breaks up the pinfall attempt as Ventura admires the slam by Davey. Bret executes the side backbreaker as Anvil axehandle smashes him. Niedhart forgets to tag in but gets in anyway and make the tag to Bret. They execute the Hart Attack off the second rope and Bret covers, but the ref is preoccupied with Niedhart. Dynamite comes off the top with a smash, rolls Davey out and covers Bret for 1…2…3 and that’s it. The Bulldogs get the illegal pin but since they’re babyfaces the crowd doesn’t give a damn. The Hart’s are beside themselves as Ventura says he can’t blame Jimmy for being irate. We go to the replay of the Hart Attack, Dynamite’s smash and the illegal pin. This was just the beginning for these two teams who will face each other countless times in the next 3 years. Another great match and YES it does belong on this tape. We’re 5 ½ out of 7 on this tape.

Time of match: Clipped

Winners: British Bulldogs by pinfall

 

Moving right along to the Coliseum Video debuts of The Rougueau Brothers, Jacques and Raymond. Jacques Rougeau Sr was the famous promoter in Montreal and his sons were a great tag team, much like the Bulldogs in England or the Harts in Stampede. Jacques would stick around in some capacity in various roles from 86 to 94 before making a brief comeback in 98. Raymond was a part time boxer and a tough customer in his own right.

 

Match 7

The Moondogs (Spot and Rex) vs The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond)

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Alfred Hays

We’re on an Australian tour here which is an odd place for The Rougeau’s to make their debut. This was from February 28, 1986 from Sydney, Australia which is the most recent match on the tape. Raymond Rougeaus is in standard black trunks….and so is Rex for some reason. Rex also ditched the bleach blonde hair as well. Jacques has on standard red while Spot still has the customary jean shorts but what’s with Rex? We’re joined in progress of Raymond unloading on Rex with fists until he falls backwards over the top to the floor. Alfred says he hit his head so he’ll be okay. Rex continues to bump around for Raymond as Rex gets caught in the top rope. Alfred says the Rougeau’s will make a difference in the tag team division. Rex begs off but Ray catches the foot. Ray atomic drops Rex as Alfred says Rex is coming back from injury. Ray covers but only gets a 1 and makes the tag  to Jacques. We get a nice sequence with Jacques dropkicking Rex into Raymond who slams him, then Jacques hits a big splash cover for 1…2…no. Rex finally makes the tag to Spot who taunts the crowd. Jacques and Spot circle but Ray takes a swipe at Spot which allows Jacques to deliver a running roll up for a near fall. Monsoon “Spotty doesn’t have a whole lot of money holed up for ring attire.” Spot gets a headlock on Jacques and drops him with a shoulderblock. Alfred says this is the Rougeau’s debut and they need a win to establish themselves. Thanks for giving away the purpose of putting this match on here Alfred….meanwhile Jacques hiptosses Spot.  Spot runs to the wrong corner and eats a Raymond right hand and a drop toe hold by Jacques. The Rougeau’s hit a wishbone on Spot and we get a TAPE EDIT. Spot has Raymond in a bearhug as once again Monsoon makes fun of the jean shorts of Spot. Rex tags in and puts the boots to Raymond. Rex rams him in the corner but misses a charge in the corner. Jacques gets the hot tag as Spot tags in, but Jacques cleans house with dropkicks. A doublenoggin knocker stuns the Dogs. The Dogs bump around for Jacques before they go for a double clothesline. Ray trips up Spot and Jacques hits a bodypress on Rex for 1..2….3 and the Rougeau’s win it. Alfred calls it a fantastic victory for the Rougeaus to come to the other side of the world to win. Normally a match like this doesn’t belong on a tape like this but it’s a debut so I’ll give a half point for it. 6 out of 8 with one match to go.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winners: The Rougeau’s by pinfall

 

We move right along to the final match on the tape.

 

Match 8

The Unamericanz (Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff with Freddie Blassie) vs The Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine with Johnny V) for the WWF Tag Team Championship

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

We go back to December 14, 1985 in Poughkeepsie NY for a rare “battle of the brutes” as they used to say in Louisville. A heel vs heel encounter was a rarity in those days and the Dream Team are the babyfaces by default because we can’t root for those evil, scheming foreigners right? Brutus is in the long blue tights, Greg and Nikolai in the standard red with Sheik in the plaid groin covers. Sheik backs Greg in the corner and Greg hiptosses him.  Greg scoop slams him and Sheik gets up in the wrong corner, eating an elbow by Beefcake. Both Dream Teamers elbow Sheik before Beefcake tags in to lock in an armbar. Monsoon says Sheik’s training techniques have paid off with Nikolai. Sheik puts the curled boot to Brutus but Beefcake catches the second attempt. Brutus caters to the crowd so its obvious they’re working face in this one. Brutus catches Sheik with an atomic drop and a right hand. Brutus backs Sheik into the corner where Nikolai tags in. Blassie holds the boot of Beefcake allowing Nikolai to unload. A headlock by Volkoff brings Sheik into the ring, but Nikolai turns around too fast for Greg to come off the top. Beefcake nearly powers out of it but Nikolai is too strong. Volkoff charges but eats boot. Beefcake makes the tag to The Hammer and Greg comes off the top with an elbow. Greg locks in an arm ringer as Nikolai begs for mercy. Another elbow drops the Russian but Greg puts his head down leading to a kick to the head. Sheik tags in and methodically chops Greg down. A nonchalant cover gets 2 as Monsoon admonishes him for it. Sheik locks in an abdominal stretch but he doesn’t have it locked in. Valentine hiplocks him but misses the falling elbow. Sheik dropkicks the Hammer down. Sheik covers but they are too close to the rope. Nikolai tags in who puts his head down and Greg elbows him. Brutus gets the hot tag and cleans out the heels amidst cheers….wait, he’s a heel too….well not tonight he’s not. All four men get in the ring but Valentine gets Sheik out of there. Brutus goes up to the second rope but misses the splash. Nikolai misses with a right hand but catches Beefcake with a bearhug. Beefcake escapes with a bell ringer and Nikolai tags in Sheik. Gut wrench suplex is folloed by Sheik going for the camel clutch. Sheik has it on but Greg makes the save. Monsoon says the title was about to fly out the window. Yes, picture a tag title belt literally with wings flying away. Greg vertical suplexes Sheik and gives the sign for the figure four. Volkoff cuts him off and we got another brawl when Beefcake enters. All four men go at it and even Blassie stalks around the ringside area looking for Johnny V. The ref calls for the bell and this one’s over. Dream Team cleans out Sheik and Volkoff and they retreat to the back. Fink announces the double dq as Valentine and Beefcake celebrate in the ring as they’re still champions, which gets a pop from the crowd, We cut here and I have to say that was pretty good all things considered. It was kept short and sweet and it had the DQ finish to save both teams’ heat. Makes no sense for one heel team stealing the heat from another. Does it belong on a tape like this? Yes, a heel vs heel encounter was a rarity in those days. We’re 7 of 9 on the tape….great batting average.

Time of match: 7:30

Winners: No one, double DQ (Dream Team retains)

 

The credits roll and we get the orchestral ending followed by the customary previews. We got BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 8, RANDY SAVAGE + ELIZABETH and WWF’S EXPLOSIVE TNT SHOW. As for this tape, that was awesome. It had a mix of old matches with new and all but one of them were very good. If you cut the Gene Okerlund pestering fans, picked ANYTHING besides Skaaland/Albano and add more time to Bulldogs vs Foundation and this would have been a perfect 5 star tape. We got to see the Rougeau’s make their debut and a rare heel vs heel encounter. Savage and Hogan gave a preview of the money drawing matches they were capable of 3 years later and who’s gonna complain about Harts vs Bulldogs? I give the tape 4.5 out of 5 stars with a few minor dull moments here and there. This is a must see for any wrestling fan if you got an hour and 45 minutes to kill. The next tape after this is WWF’S EXPLOSIVE TNT SHOW….great. Someone get me drano.