Wrestling’s Living Legend Bruno Sammartino (WF023)

WRESTLING’S LIVING LEGEND: BRUNO SAMMARTINO (WF023)

What can you say about Bruno Sammartino that hasn’t already been said? He carried the WWWF on his back for the better part of 20 years as wrestling shifted from reality to sports entertainment. From 1963 to his first retirement in 1980, Bruno was synonymous with the WWF. Then when he came back in 1985 to help his son, he competed again on and off for 2 more years before having a falling out with Vince McMahon. Of course, that’s a story for another day. This was 1986 and Bruno was still in Vince’s good graces. With personality profile tapes on Hulk Hogan (HULKAMANIA 1) Roddy Piper (ROWDY RODDY PIPER’S GREATEST HITS), ANDRE THE GIANT, and even Captain Lou Albano (THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CAPTAIN LOU ALBANO), it was time for Bruno to get his fair share. Unfortunately most of Bruno’s best work in the 60’s and early 70’s has been lost to time. But is there enough of his second and third runs to make this tape watchable? Let’s find out. Cue the 1985 Coliseum Video intro and “Mean” Gene Okerlund greets us. He says he won’t be the only host, he brings in Bruno Sammartino himself to guest host. Gene runs down the action before sending us to our first match.

 
Match 1

Nikolai Volkoff vs Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentator Vince McMahon

 

October 25, 1976 (Mean Gene incorrectly says 1975) in Madison Square Garden saw Nikolai gun for the title. Nikolai had just turned 29 years old at the time and Bruno had just turned 41, both of their birthdays were in October. Bruno is in the navy blue trunks and Nikolai in the standard black. Bruno and Nikolai start with a test of mercy as Bruno in the voiceover says he didn’t come to wrestle, he came to annihilate him. Bruno wins the test of the strength with a boot to the mid-section. Volkoff charges but Bruno arm ringers him down. Volkoff gets to his feet but Bruno turns it into a headlock. They charge into each other with Volkoff dropping the champion twice. A third charge is met with an arm drag by Bruno. Bruno goes for the riding pin but Volkoff bridges. Once again we go to a test of strength and this time its Nikolai who goes for the riding pin. Bruno gets to his feet and Volkoff puts the boots to him. Oh no it’s the blatant choke! Volkoff poses for the irate crowd before kicking away. Bruno gets up and now we get the fisticuffs. Left, right, boot, turnbuckle smash. Right, right, right, left, right left right, down goes Volkoff. Bruno covers for 1…no, foot on the rppe. The ref gives Volkoff a standing eight count for some reason before we TAPE EDIT. Bruno synches in a headlock but a bull rush drops both men. A big right hand stuns Volkoff and the cover gets 1…2..nope. Vince says Volkoff could be running out of gas as Bruno rams his head into the mat twice. The ref gives Volkoff another standing eight count but Bruno stomps away to break the count twice. A third kick sends Bruno to the apron where Bruno stands on him until kicking him to the floor. The ref admonishes Bruno and Sammartino refuses to take the count-out victory. Back inside Bruno rallies with a series of right jabs and hooks, plus a big kick to the head. Volkoff staggers around the ring and raises his arm in victory. The ref quickly tells him no. A big headbutt to the mid-section drops the champion and Volkoff gets in a big stomp to the ribs. The cover gets a deuce and we TAPE EDIT again. Bruno whips Nikolai into the corner and rolls him up for 1….2….3 and Bruno wins it. The fans go nuts as Arnold Skaaland gets in the ring to raise Bruno’s arm in victory. We go to the replay before we cut there. Typical Bruno match. A lot of brawling mixed in with a few holds, but then again that was Nikolai’s style as well. Usually that doesn’t translate well and the crowd didn’t appear to be into it…but then again that could just be sound mixing which WWE is notorious for now. Not the most exciting of contests but let’s move on.
Time of match: An unofficial 8:15 (officially 19:11)

Winner: Bruno Sammartino by pinfall (still WWF Champion)
No nonsense, onto the next one.
Match 2

Baron Von Raschke (with Classy Freddie Blassie) vs Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentator: Vince McMahon

 

Now here’s a treat, Baron Von Raschke in a WWF ring. For you youngsters, Baron was a mainstay in the AWA on and off for 20 years. He was a state wrestling champion in high school, Big Eight champion in college, the AAU Greco-Roman AND freestyle wrestling champion and was on the 1964 olympic wrestling team but didn’t place. He then turned into Baron Von Raschke, an evil German (he’s from Nebraska) who had a gangly body and shaved head. His trademark catch phrase was “and that is all the people need to know!” and his finisher was the claw. This match was from March 28, 1977 one month before he would drop the title to Superstar Billy Graham. Age and injuries caught up with the 41 year old champion and this would be one of his last big title defenses. Baron is in his standard gear of long black trunks with red stripe with Bruno in the green. Baron doesn’t wait for the bell, attacking Bruno in the corner. Baron wraps up Bruno with his robe and pounds away on him. Baron stomps away as Bruno in the voiceover brings up Raschke’s amateur background and he caught him off guard with brutal brawling as he expected scientific wrestling. Baron slugs away in the corner, whips him and hiptosses Bruno. An elbow drop and cover gets a 1 count as the ref was out of position. Rashcke gives the sign for the claw but Bruno kicks him in the ribs and floors him with an uppercut. A big uppercut has the crowd roaring and charges with the big knee in the corner. Bruno unloads with lefts and rights in the corner and sends him down with a big knee. The crowd is much more into this than they were with Nikloai shown earlier. Raschke bails to the apron before he gets back in. A whip of Bruno is met with a scoop slam by Baron. The cover gets a nearfall and he gives the sign for the claw again. They exchange brawling tactics before Bruno whips Baron into the corner. A whip off the rope is met with a backdrop and the cover gets a deuce. Two arm drags have Baron bailing to the outside as we TAPE EDIT to what looks to be 10 seconds later. Baron gestures toward Skaaland and to the irate crowd as the NY police backs the crowd up. Back inside Baron begs off but Bruno comes back with boots and uppercut. Bruno pounds away on Baron then delivers a running boot that has Baron in the Andre spot. Bruno kicks away as the ref releases Raschke. Finally Baron gets some offense with a headlocked punch as he stalks Bruno around the ring. Forearms drop the champion and Baron applies a nerve hold. We get another TAPE EDIT that looks to be 10 seconds later as Bruno begins the comeback. A right hand breaks the hold as Bruno favors the left shoulder. Baron continues to stalk Bruno but he evades him with a series of boots and a hiptoss. Bruno covers but the ref is out of position, near fall. Bruno charges but Raschke scoop slams him. Baron misses the big elbow and a shoulderblock by Bruno drops them both. Bruno shoots the half and gets 1…2…nope, Baron kicked out. Baron begins to slowly puts the boots to Bruno and covers for 1….2.nope. Bruno goes back with punches and knees to the head as some fan in the crowd shouts for Bruno. Bruno goes to the fisticuffs that drop Rashcke and Bruno covers….foot on the rope. Another TAPE EDIT has Bruno kicking Raschke around the ring. Another uppercut sends Raschke over the top rope to the floor. Bruno goes out to get him but Raschke sends Bruno in, getting his foot caught in the rope. Raschke grabs a plastic chair and slides into the ring. Baron waffles Bruno with it. Someone pelts the ring with garbage as Baron continues to kick away at the champion. The ref finally calls for the bell as the crowd starts getting unruly. Baron applies the dreaded claw but Tony Garea, Larry Zybysko and someone else hit the ring to pry Raschke off. Meanwhile the referee and Arnold Skaaland try to free Bruno. Having three guys to pry Baron off is good for heel heat. The announcer says Bruno has won by DQ as a sign in the crowd says “Bruno is Uno”. We cut here. Another match that turned into a brawl. Lou Thesz once said Bruno couldn’t wrestle, all he could do is brawl. Sounds a lot like Hacksaw Jim Duggan to be honest. Sure both he and Bruno COULD wrestle, but it was better for their character that they didn’t. Then again Bruno never played a character. Back then, Bruno got away with it because fans paid to see realism and that’s what they got. My grandfather used to scoff when I had wrestling on as a kid and Lex Luger would pop up after getting beat on for 5 minutes like nothing happened. Bruno would make the big comeback but would be winded or favoring a body part. The art of selling got lost in the 90’s and its even worse now. In terms of match quality, the crowd was into it but not his best work. I can forgive it only because Bruno was physically weak after carrying the company for the past 12 years. Think Hogan in 1992 or Austin by 2002 (although in his case, 4 years). Bruno would drop the title a little more than a month later.

 

Time of match: An unofficial 8:12 ( officaly 17:45)

Winner: Bruno Sammartino by DQ (still WWWF Champion)
Moving right along to the next match
Match 3

Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) vs Ken Patera

Commentator: Vince McMahon

 

After Bruno dropped the title to Billy Graham in Baltimore, Bruno shifted to Ken Patera the Olympic strongman. August 29, 1977 in Madison Square Garden saw the two legitimate strongmen go at it. We’re joined in progress as Patera is in the gray singlet and Bruno the green trunks. Bruno has a rear chinlock on as Bruno in the voiceover says he trained for the match by power lifting to match strength. Bruno says its one of the greatest bouts he ever had. Bruno stomps away at Patera flails and begs around as Bruno challenges him to come on. Bruno goes to the fisticuffs in the corner as Patera looks dazed. The ref gives Patera the standing eight count but Ken recovers with a series of boots to the head. Patera “Get up boyyyyy!” The crowd boos as Bruno does, in fact, get up. Bruno is whipped to the buckle as Patera scoop slams him. Patera drops an elbow but misses the second attempt. Patera clutches his right elbow but knees Bruno in the head. Once again we get fisticuffs as a shoulderblock drops both men as the bell inadvertently rings. Vince on commentary doesn’t mention it but the crowd is totally confused. Meanwhile Patera continues the onslaught with forearms to the neck. Patera misses the mark as Bruno rams his head into the mat. Bruno dazes Ken with a knee to the forehead and follows with a scoop slam. Bruno covers for 1…2…nope. A big right hand staggers Ken and an atomic drop sends Ken through the ropes to the apron. The referee gives Patera the standing eight count but Bruno stops the count with repeated kicks. Ken falls like a tree as Bruno backdrops Ken. Vince says victory appears imminent for Bruno but the cover only gets two. Patera rolls to the apron and babyface Sammartino lets him lie there. Patera slides back in and Bruno greets him with an uppercut. Patera returns the greeting with a low blow. Vince “Patera reaching for the abdominals”, bullshit Vince. Patera wobbles to the corner where he drops second rope boots to the back. Patera really sells being dizzy and we get a blatant choke! What a heel! Ken whips Bruno off and scoop slams him. Patera poses for the irate crowd and says “Wooooooo:” Patera covers Bruno but only gets a two. They brawl for a bit before Bruno slugs him into the corner. More fisticuffs end with a whip to the other corner. Patera bails to the apron and applies a full nelson from the outside. He follows Bruno back in the ring and Bruno goes for the “momentum rams Patera” spot but Patera stops and reapplies the full nelson. Bruno kicks off the buckle and it turns into a german suplex pin. The ref counts 1….2..Bruno gets the shoulder up…3…and there’s your winner. Ken thinks he’s won it as the crowd knows the truth. The ref raises Bruno’s arm in victory as Patera can’t believe it. Fink gets in the ring with a really bad comb-over and even worse 70’s tux and announces Bruno the winner. Another bad match and actually, I’m starting to believe what Ole Anderson said in his shoot interview. He said that Bruno was limited as a wrestler and the only reason he lasted so long at the top was that he wrestled the big cards every few months so fans didn’t see him often. That’s actually a great point because by the mid 90’s when guys were on once or twice a week, fans saw them more often and would point out every flaw they could. Great Khali was roasted over the coals for his “work” but that’s because fans saw him once or twice a week instead of every 3 or 4 months.
Time of match: 12:13

Winner: Bruno Sammartino by pinfall
We keep rolling to one of the most infamous feuds of the 70’s.
Match 4

Killer Kowalski vs Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentator: Vince McMahon

 

Back to April 29, 1974 in Madison Square Garden for this epic encounter between the legendary Kowalski and Bruno. I’ll give a disclaimer before the match, this isn’t going to be pretty. Both were brawlers and both were nearly or over 40 but let’s see if the crowd intensity carries it. We’re joined in progress as Kowalski is in standard gear with Bruno in the black trunks. Bruno chases him around the ring and tackles him as Okerlund in the voiceover says Kowalski was such a madman he ripped an opponent’s ear off and laughed at him in the hospital. The truth is Kowalski dropped a knee on Yukon Eric (no not the Lumberjacks from TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS) who had badly cauliflowered ears and the ear came off by accident. Kowalski visited Eric in the hospital and they laughed together about the incident. The newspapers didn’t want to break kayfabe so they printed that Kowalski came to the hospital to laugh AT him. It established Kowalski as a viscious heel that carried him his whole career. Think Chris Benoit getting the nickname “crippler” by breaking Sabu’s neck. Anyway Bruno fireman carries Kowalski down, who crufixes the champion. Bruno in the voiceover praises Killer for his stamina, saying he once wrestled him for 90 minutes straight. Not bad since Kowalski was 47 years old at this time. Bruno and Killer exchange actual wrestling holds for pinfall attempts as Bruno in the voiceover says Killer was the toughest man he ever faced. Killer chokes Bruno on the bottom rope before kicking him on the ground. Killer goes for the blatant choke and the ref doesn’t even attempt to stop him. The crowd gets into it as Killer goes up to the top. Bruno throws him off the top and scoop slams him. Bruno covers for 1…2…nope. Bruno goes for a surfboard but Killer makes it to the ropes. Bruno looks out toward the crowd and they chair before dropping a knee to the back. Bruno pounds away in the corner but Kowalski gets the upper hand with the iron claw to the ribs. Killer bites the head of Bruno and does the big stomp off the second rope. Back to the iron claw, Bruno kicks him away a few times before picking him up with a double leg shot and dumping him over the top rope. Nice classic wrestling there. Bruno rams him into the post as Killer begins to stall. Back inside Kowalski lands a mediocre forearm as they both look gassed. A dropkick by Kowalski sends Bruno through the ropes to the outside. Back inside Killer scoop slams Bruno and covers for 1…2..nope. 2 big foearms sends Bruno through the ropes to the outside. Some old lady in the front row shouts at Killer as Bruno gets back to the ring steps. Killer catches Bruno on his way into the ring and bites the forehead. Kowalski punches in the corner and continues to bite Bruno. Sammartino finally blades but Kowalski won’t stop punching him in the corner Kowalski shouts at Skaaland and continues to bite and punch. Vince “How much can one man take?” Kowalski continues the onslaught in the corner as Bruno appears to be going for the big comeback. Bruno “Hulks up” ten years before Hogan would and starts beating the ever loving shit out of Kowalski much to the crowd’s delight. The crowd nearly blows the roof off as Bruno annihilates Kowalski with boots and fists. Eventually Kowalski fights back and they continue to slug it out. The crowd goes nuts as the ref calls for the bell…you gotta be kidding me. At least use a chair or do it on the outside if you’re gonna go with that finish. Arnold Skaaland tries to pry Bruno away from Kowalski as Chief Jay Strongbow, Pedro Morales and one of the Japanese wrestlers get in to stop the fight. Kowalski bails to the back as Vince says its absolute mayhem in the Garden. Sammartino complains to Morales as the announcer gets in the ring. The crowd isn’t happy with the decision but Bruno stomps around the ring, ready for round two with Kowalski. Arnold and Strongbow raises Bruno’s arms in victory as we cut here. Now that’s more like it. Ring of Honor spotfest jagoff marks can complain about the match being “shit” but they don’t know shit about wrestling to begin with. The story being told is Bruno trying to counter the dirty tactics of Kowalski with brawling. After Kowalski opened him up, he made the big comeback and the crowd loved it. The fans left thinking “Damn that was fun” and that’s the point. Who cares if they didn’t do triple moonsaults into reverse monkey fuckers or worked a half crab leg lock like Ole Anderson for 30 straight minutes?
Time of match: Joined in progress (officially 24:15)

Winner: Draw, Double DQ.
We now break the action for a little interview in the studio with Bruno and Okerlund. Okerlund says Bruno main evented the Garden 211 times and Okerlund says Bruno is the greatest of all time. Bruno says he’s been on top for 22 years (in WWWF, he started in 1959) as we get a graphic saying Bruno won the heavyweight title in 55 seconds on May 17, 1963. Bruno to this day claims the match was a shoot and knowing Buddy Rogers reputation, Bruno may be right. Bruno says he wrestled in Italy and played soccer until World War 2 broke out. He started power-lifting when he got to America because he was physically weak hiding in the mountains of Abruzzi. He set the world records in weight lifting in 1959 and a graphic shows Bruno picking up the 600 pound Haystacks Calhoun. Okerlund says Bruno vs Pedro in Shea Stadium was one of his favorites. Bruno says it rained all weekend and it was still a great match. Wish they could have shown that one on this tape. Bruno says you need to put forth your best effort in wrestling. Bruno is actually sweating and says in life, take care of your friends and family. We TAPE EDIT (yeah, on an interview) and Okerlund asks which generation is better, old or new. Bruno says he prefers the old school because of the athletic skill instead of the “screaming” which he means the promos. Bruno “Everything is hate, hate hate” It’s a nice babyface interview but the reality would be far worse which I’ll get to later. Okerlund asks him how he’s transitioning to announcer and Bruno says he’s not the best at it and gives credit to Gene, Monsoon and Vince for being able to do it. Gene asks if Bruno will come out of retirement and Bruno says he doesn’t do it for the money, he does it for the challenge. He says he wants to go in there against guys half his age and beat them because of his clean lifestyle. He was right on the money there. He’s still alive and kicking in 2016 while most everyone who competed at Wrestlemania’s 6 and 7 five years after this tape was released are currently dead. Okerlund concludes the interview by calling him the king of sports. The REAL reason Bruno started to detest wrestling was because it went from wrestling to sports entertainment. The sillyness of TNT plus the pageantry of Wrestlemania and the onslaught of fake wrestling, culminating in Vince coming out in public saying wrestling is scripted….drove Bruno away. He pretty much said to hell with WWE from 1988 to 2013 when he returned to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Those 25 years gone was a waste of time that nobody would ever get back. Good interview.

 

Next up is a special Piper’s Pit from October 21, 1985 in Madison Square Garden. Piper tells the crowd to kiss his ass and Bruno says “I never liked Piper” in the voiceover. Piper in real time “Ladies….no wait, we’re in New York. PEOPLE!!!” Hahaha. Bruno runs out and Bob Orton sets up a chair next to Piper’s. Bruno “You want to interview me? Get rid of this garbage” and he motions toward Orton. BURN! Bruno threatens Piper that he’ll bring in one of his friends to counter Orton unless Bob leaves. Orton wants to rumble but Piper whispers in his ear and sends him away. Piper “I have nothing to fear.” Piper “Are you a happy person now? Have a seat.” Piper “You’ll still be able to get up won’t you?” Piper waves the air “Garlic for lunch? You know we sit here face to face and I look at you, you’re so much uglier than I am.” Piper says people told him to call Bruno the “living legend”. Bruno cuts him off “You know why they call me the living legend, is because I’ve met many, many big mouthed people and I shut them all.” Piper gets up and retreats and Bruno stands up as well. Piper “You fought here at Madison Square 211 times, correct?” Bruno “That’s correct” Piper “How stupid can you be to wrestle 211 times when you’re all washed up?” Bruno “The 211th time I kicked my opponent’s butt so I couldn’t have been too washed up.” Piper “I noticed you lost a little weight” Bruno “I’m no longer 265, I’m 245. I’m in shape.” Bruno “I lost a lot of hair, just like my father, he lived to be 95.” Piper “Where are you from?” Bruno “I’m from Italy. By the way, in Italy we don’t wear skirts.” The crowd cheers and Piper retreats. Piper “It aint me that’s got a fat, little puke son running around imposing on daddy’s name.” Bruno “Don’t you get smart with me, interview me like a man or get out of here.” Piper “You think 15 years ago in your prime you could take someone like me who’s in my prime now. I know your ears are nasty and your nose is smeared all over your face, but try to think about it.” Bruno “15 years ago I would have squashed you like a grape and I could squash you like a grape now.” Piper “You stupid wop man!” Oh snap! Bruno shoves Piper on his ass and the crowd goes nuts. Piper waffles Bruno with the chair and goes to town on Bruno with it. The crowd pelts the ring with garbage as Piper rips Bruno’s shirt off. Piper kicks away at Bruno and sheds his own shirt. Monsoon on commentary says people will come out to save Bruno soon. Ventura on commentary says Bruno started it. Bruno then rallies with right hands, grabs a chair, swings at Piper and misses. Piper runs into Orton outside and they bail to the back. Bruno stands tall in the ring. The crowd starts a Bruno chant and we cut here. Now that was pretty damn good. Piper stung with insults but Bruno answered every single one of them. This was to set up Piper/Bruno now that Piper/Hogan had ended.
Match 5

Bruno Sammartino vs “Rowdy” Roddy Piper

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura

 

December 7, 1985 in the Boston Garden saw the 31 year old Piper take on the now 50 year old Bruno. We’re joined in progress as both men are in standard blue trunks. Bruno rams Piper’s head into the ring post and Bruno in the voiceover saying he warned fans before the match that this was going to be a wild brawl. At least he was honest. Bruno on the floor rams Piper into various scenery as Monsoon calls this a pier six brawl. Piper is already busted open as Piper drops from a boot to the ribs. Piper begs off as Monsoon brings up the Piper’s Pit that brought this on. Bruno wipes out the referee after going to town on Piper and he apologizes. Piper takes advantage with a low blow and covers for 1…2…nope. Monsoon and Ventura praise Bruno’s stamina at 50 years old. Piper then goes to town on Bruno with a series of punches as referee Danny Davis checks the wound. Bruno rallies with right hands but an eye gouge stops the momentum. Piper sends Bruno to the outside and goes out after him. Piper rams Bruno head first into the steel barricade as Ventura says Piper looks to be in rough shape. Monsoon calls Piper gutsy as Bruno rallies with kicks that sends Piper outside. Piper goes for the exit but Bruno gets out and throws Piper back in. Piper and Bruno continue to brawl as Piper tries to bail again. Once again Bruno catches him and throws Roddy back inside. Piper begs off as the crowd cheers Bruno. Piper crawls away and Bruno exposes Roddy’s ass trying to bring him back in the ring. Piper punches and claws to stall Bruno and an axehandle floors Bruno. Ventura says before the match he’d give the stamina edge to Piper but now he’s not so sure. Monsoon says Bruno’s been running 5 miles a day 3 times a week. Did I mention he was 50? No wonder he’s still alive now. Bruno unloads on Piper when Cowboy Bob Orton runs in for the DQ. Bruno cuts him off and starts pounding away on Orton. Bruno cleans both of them out,tossing Orton over the top to the floor. Bruno visciously attacks Piper when Orton cracks Bruno with the cast on the back of the neck. Orton and Piper get the upperhand as Orton tosses Danny Davis aside. Piper even decks Davis for good measure. Orton and Piper tie Bruno in the ropes Andre style. Orton drops Davis one more time as Piper and Orton celebrate. We cut here and that was pretty good. Once again, throw catch as catch can out the window and go by pure intensity and story. The 50 year old Bruno proved he can still hang with the contemporaries.
Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Bruno Sammartino by DQ
Moving right along to the next match.
Match 6

Bruno Sammartino and “Mr Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Cowboy” Bob Orton

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura

 

This match actually predates the last one. This was from September 28, 1985 in Boston Garden. Orndorff has a cast on his right arm to counter the one on the left of Orton. Both are in standard red trunks. Bruno and Piper are in the blue trunks. Paul and Bruno clear the ring as Orndorff drops Piper with the cast. Bruno and Piper brawl on the outside as Paul rams Piper and Orton’s head together. Finally we get started with Paul and Roddy in the corner. Paul chokes Piper with the tag rope and nails Orton for good measure. Orndorff revs up the crowd and tags Bruno in. Piper tags in Orton and Bruno clobbers him. Orton gets the upperhand with his cast and tags in Bruno. Piper slaps Bruno who responds by kicking his ass out of the ring. Bruno follows but Orton catches him. Orton distracts the ref and Piper clobbers Bruno with a wooden chair. Paul throws the chair inside and the referee takes it away. Bruno slides back in as Piper throws away the wooden steps, only for Orton to throw Bruno into them. Piper and Orton do the “I love you” sign in the center of the ring amidst a chorus of boos. Ventura says Bruno should have stayed retired. Ventura “Same thing could happen to you Gorilla” Bruno rallies in the corner and nails Orton but that gives Piper enough time to rake the eyes. Bruno ducks under a clothesline and wallops Piper with a forearm to the chest. Bruno tags in Orndorff who nails Piper with the cast. Paul nails Orton as well and goes for the piledriver on Piper. Bruno runs in to stop Orton but the ref intercepts him. Orton goes to the top and nails Orndorff with the cast. Piper rolls on top and the ref counts 1…..2….NOOOOO, Paul kicked out. Piper rams Orndorff into the corner as some idiot throws a Frisbee into the ring. Piper throws it at Bruno (perfect spiral too) and Orton makes an illegal tag in the ring. Orton covers Orndorff for 1…..2..nope. Orndorff rallies with the cast but Piper tags in. Piper unloads with right hands on the ground but Orndorff goes for the sunset flip. Orndorff pulls Piper’s trunks down and we get an uncensored shot of Piper’s ass as he goes down for 1…2..nope, Orton breaks the count. Piper continues to stomp away with his trunks down before making the tag to Orton. Orton pounds on Orndorff and goes for the piledriver but Orndorff counters with a backdrop. Paul clotheslines Orton down. Bruno finally gets the hot tag as Orton tags in Piper. Bruno throws Piper to the outside and they brawl on the ground. Orton and Orndorff go at it inside. Bruno chucks a chair and Piper’s head and it just barely misses. Piper pokes Bruno in the eyes 3 Stooges style and rolls into the ring to beat the count. The crowd doesn’t like it as Piper gets his hand raised. Piper and Orton retreat to the back before the faces can get to them. The announcer says the heels have won it by a count-out. That was a high intensity match but what’s the point of showing Sammartino losing? Once again, on a profile tape, Bruno loses. Unlike the almighty Hulkster who can’t lose….right? Ventura goes to the replay as Monsoon says both of them should have been counted out.
Time of match: Joined in progress

Winners: Piper and Orton by count-out
We finish up by going back to the past…..WHY?
Match 7

George “The Animal” Steele vs Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship in a Steel Cage Match

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

 

We go back to July 25, 1970, no idea where we are, joined in progress during Bruno’s first run as champion for the cage match with Steele. This is pretty grainy footage and Steele attacks Bruno, tearing Bruno’s wig off. Steele also attacks Bruno with turnbuckle stuffing. Steele kicks Bruno from pillar to post and Bruno makes the exact same comeback he made against Killer Kowalski earlier. Monsoon says that was his trademark. Steele goes to escape and Bruno goes apeshit on him. Bruno sends him into the cage and continues to unload with punches. Bruno rams him into the steel ringpost. Bruno sends him into the cage again and Steele is out cold. Bruno steps through the ropes, down the steps and out of the cage as the crowd cheers. At least it was short. No idea why this was placed at the end but oh well.
Time of match: Joined in progress (officially 13:14)

Winner: Bruno Sammartino (still WWWF Champion)
The credits roll and this one is history. Time for the previews. We get BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 8, MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE AND ELIZABETH and WWF’S EXPLOSIVE TNT SHOW. As for this one, it’s a shame we couldn’t get Bruno’s best work. Most of Bruno’s best work was during his first run as champion back before video footage was commonplace. Ole Anderson was right when he said seeing Bruno too often would explose his limited wrestling skills so seeing Bruno punch and kick for 80 minutes straight did become a bit redundant. But that’s just the in ring work, in terms of match intensity, storylines and realism, you bet your sweet ass this tape delivered. Wrestling was presented as real back then and Bruno embodied it. Natural muscles, natural conditioning and brawling tactics anyone would use in a street fight. Fans still talk about Bruno to this day as one of the greatest and this shows why. By 1986 he was nearing the end of the line and it was great for Vince to showcase him before he left. I give the tape 3 out of 5, 2 points off for the crappy in-ring work but definitely worth watching for classic, realistic wrestling. Plus the Piper segments were gold. We go from real to silly very quickly as the next tape after this is Best of The WWF Volume 7.

Villains of the Squared Circle (WF022)

 

VILLAINS OF THE SQUARED CIRCLE (WF022)

Like I had mentioned on ROWDY RODDY PIPER’S GREATEST HITS, the WWF had hit on a revolutionary concept. Showcasing the top babyface stars was nothing new in wrestling. From Verne Gage acting in The Wrestler, to Jerry Lawler being all over Memphis to WWF’s own Hulkamania. However, what all the regional territories failed to capitalize on was the other side of the spectrum. You didn’t see a Nick Bockwinkel t-shirt or video tape. You saw Lawler but was there a spotlight on Bill Dundee? There was no 4 Horseman tape in the Carolina’s. The WWF was the first to truly market and specialize the heels as well as the faces. We saw Roddy Piper get his own tape and some of the heel managers were highlighted in THE AMAZING MANAGERS but this one, we got em all. This tape is to showcase the villains both past and present that ran roughshod over the WWF. Will it be good to highlight the bad? Let’s find out. Cue the 1985 Coliseum Video opening and Mean Gene Okerlund is our host today….scratch that. He introduces guest hosts Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd. Heenan says Okerlund to keep his mouth shut. Studd says he’s not a villain, he’s a very aggressive wrestler. Bundy says they’re winners. Okerlund and Heenan go back and forth and Studd says Okerlund is gonna get the splash before the tape is over. Okerlund runs down what we’re about to see as the truo howl with laughter. We then go to our first bout.
Match 1

Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs Scott McGee

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Alfred Hays and Ernie Ladd

April 22, 1986 in Madison Square Garden is the date and venue for this non-legendary squash match. Okerlund in the voiceover says Roberts is the newest heel in the WWF and Heenan scoffs at the terminology Okerlund uses to describe him. The bell sounds and Roberts is in the purple tights with green snake imprints while McGee is in the red trunks. Roberts unload with right hands and rams McGee into the corner. Studd says he’s not afraid of snakes and Bundy says there are no asterisks in the record books, only says whether they won or lost. Okerlund sends it to the actual broadcast team as Roberts decks McGee with a right hand. Roberts goes for the snake in the bag but then delivers a stomach breaker. Roberts smiles as he rams McGee’s face into the ground twice and slithers around. Ladd asks Monsoon about Miguel Perez Sr and Monsoon says his son is wrestling now. Yeah, 10 years later he’d be one of the founding fathers of Los Borriquas. Back to live action, Roberts counters a running roll up but turns around into a dropkick. Roberts runs into a snap suplex and McGee wastes no time with a gut-wrench suplex and a pinfall attempt for 1….2..no. Jake slithers out of the ring as Monsoon and Ladd scoffs. McGee chases him back into the ring where he hiptosses Jake. A kneedrop stuns Jake and a pinfall attempt gets two. Jake begs off but McGee drags him into the center of the ring. McGee stomps Jake in the stomach then takes him down. Monsoon says Jake landed on the external occipital protuberance area as Ladd says “you lost me at the last red light.” McGee misses a knee drop and Jake hits the arm wrench/short arm clothesline combo. Jake goes for a scoop slam but Scott rolls through and goes for another running roll-up. Jake counters and then catches Scott with the D-D-T! Jake taunts the crowd as he makes the cover..1…2….3 and this ones over. Jake immediately goes for the bag where he unleashes the giant python Damien. Ladd asks why they would let Jake bring a snake out to begin with. Alfred marvels at the snake as Fink gets in the ring long enough to announce Jake the winner before skedaddling. Jake sicks Damien on McGee as Monsoon says snakes bite. Yeah, in about 5 years ask Randy Savage how it feels. After a few minutes of torture the crowd starts chanting Hogan as the announcers scoff. In terms of match quality, it was a 4 minute squash so no sense squawking about that. Mainly it was to highlight how devious Jake was to sick a live python on people. It worked tremendously.
Time of match: 4:02

Winner: Jake Roberts by pinfall
Moving right along to the next match
Match 2

Tor Kamata vs Pat Patterson

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

The Showdown at Shea on August 9, 1980 was known for the Bruno/Zybysko main event with the Hogan/Andre undercard but this match was apart of it too. We all know who Pat Patterson is, but who the hell is Tor Kamata? He was known as Mr. Moto in the AWA and regional territories where he feuded with Freddie Blassie. His real name is McRonald believe it or not. He was given the name Tor Kamata based off Tomas De Torquemada of the Spanish Inquisition. Guess who gave him that name, Hawaiian promoter Sir Ed Francis, father of New England Patriots tight end Russ who competed in the WRESTLEMANIA 2 battle royal. Three years prior to this match Kamata was used as a heel to get Bob Backlund over, grooming Bob for his feud with Superstar Billy Graham. Kamata attacks Patterson at the bell who Pearl Harbors Patterson as the bell rings. Kamata is in the long black tights and white stripe while Patterson is in the standard black trunks. Monsoon calls him “the big Jap” as Kamata levels Patterson with a dropkick. Try getting away with saying that now. Kamata goes up to the top rope but misses the big splash. Patterson goes up to the top rope and drops a knee. Patterson sheds his ring jacket who stomps away on Tor in the corner. At the time Pat Patterson was 39 and Kamata was 43 years old. Just goes to show age doesn’t make a difference in wrestling sometimes. Patterson whips Kamata in the corner and backdrops him. Monsoon says he went down like yesterday’s garbage. Monsoon brings up Patterson’s heel past as well. Kamata reaches into his tights for the salt and throws it…missing Patterson completely and nailing referee Dick Kroll with it instead. IDIOT! Kroll calls for the bell and this one is over. Patterson rallies with right hands and a scoop slam. Patterson goes for the pinfall and Kroll actually counts a 1 but Kamata kicks out and bails. We go to the replay of Kroll getting nailed and we cut here. Absolutely no idea why this match was included on this tape since Kamata was never a top heel. Maybe Vince was mad at Dick Kroll one day and decided to throw this match into the tape to get back at him for something. Who knows.
Time of match: 2:05

Winner: Pat Patterson by DQ

 

Moving right along to match number three.

 

Match 3

George “The Animal” Steele vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentator: Vince McMahon

June 30, 1973 in Madison Square Garden saw a different Animal that modern fans know and love. Before Steele became the loveable goofball in the mid 80’s he was a savage heel for many years prior. Here, he takes on the champion. Both are in their standard gear. Morales and Steele trade blows as Steele nails Pedro with a hidden foreign object the ref can’t find. Heenan, Bundy and Studd make fun of Steele in the voiceover saying he’s no longer worth anything since he turned face. Studd “He’s not one of US anymore.” Meanwhile back to 73, Steele stomps away on Morales, send him off and scoop slams him. Steele catches Morales in the throat with the object as the fans scoff. Steele tells the ref he didn’t do anything as he goes to bite the turnbuckle. Meanwhile Morales lands two left handed punches that have the Garden rocking. The camera focuses on the left hand of Steele as Morales backs him around the ring. Morales stuns Steele with an arm drag and Steele retreats to the corner. Morales lands a forearm as we get a TAPE EDIT to Steele dropping Morales with a big punch. The ref once again checks Steele but can’t find anything. George rams Morales into the steel ringpost as screams “yesssss” to the irate crowd. Steele rams him a second time as the ref tries to push Steele away. George rams Morales a third time but the 4th attempt is blocked. Morales rams Steele into the ring post as the crowd goes nuts. Morales rams him into each post and Steele blades. Morales rallies with lefts and rights as flashbulbs go off. Steele begs off and Morales bites the forehead. Morales continues to rally with left hands as the referee checks Steele’s head and calls for the bell. Steele protests but the ref raises Pedro’s arm in victory. George then pulls the foreign object out and waffles Pedro with it. George continues to pound away but Pedro backs Steele away with lefts before he steals the object. Pedro chases Steele to the back as the crowd cheers. Steele runs back out after the announcer gives the news to the crowd but we cut here. As a scientific match, it sucked monkey fuck. In terms of insanity, realism and storytelling, that was awesome. I would have loved to have been in the Garden that night and feel the buzz as Morales tried to counter the “foreign object” of the Animal. Steele was a loveable face, but he was a great, savage heel in his earlier days.
Time of match: 8:16

Winner: Pedro Morales by stoppage (still WWWF champion)

 

Continuing along to match 4
Match 4

“Big Cat” Ernie Ladd vs Andre the Giant

Commentator: Vince McMahon

April 26, 1973 in Madison Square Garden saw the battle of the giants. Ernie Ladd was a legit 6 foot 9 and had played on the 1963 American Football League Champion San Diego Chargers during his football career as a defensive lineman. Then he shattered racial barriers by becoming one of the first black top heels. Most black wrestlers up to that point were loveable fan favorites such as Bearcat Wright, Bobo Brazil and Thunderbolt Patterson…and here comes Ladd as a heel. Andre is in the black trunks and Ernie in the light blue. We’re joined in progress with Andre kicking Ladd around the ring. Andre lands a big punch as Heenan tries to say the taped thumb on Ladd’s hand was 100% legit. Andre hammers away with a big headbutt as Ladd sells it like his head was on fire. Another headbutt drops Ladd into the corner. The ref tells Andre to back off as Ladd reaches for something in his tights. He nails Andre with the big thumb twice, dropping him to the mat. By the way, this was the smaller, leaner 26 year old Andre that could still bump and move around. They’re about equal size here height wise and Andre does have a weight advantage. Andre gets his left arm caught in the top rope and Ernie goes to town with boots. Andre frees himself and Ladd continues t land big right hands including a headlocked punch. Andre then grabs Ernie’s hand and punches him with his own taped thumb. Vince calls it a taste of his own medicine. Andre whips Ernie off and backdrops him. Andre goes for the big splash but Ernie slides out of the way. Ernie bails to the outside and retreats to the back, earning a count-out win for Andre. Vince says Ernie chickened out as the crowd boos Ernie then cheers Andre. That’s one way to keep your heel heat without doing a job. Once again, catch as catch can went out the window but the crowd was still into it with Andre trying to overcome the heel tactics of Ladd. Always great to see both of them, but even better to see the mobile Andre.
Time of match; Joined in progress

Winner: Andre the Giant by count-out
Moving along to match number five
Match 5

Captain Lou Albano vs Gorilla Monsoon

Commentator: Vince McMahon

What a treat. On the same card as Pedro/Steele from earlier was Captain Lou going one on one with Monsoon himself on June 30, 1973. Lou would turn 40 a month later while Gorilla clocked in at 36. Albano was a little lighter In 1973 as Monsoon looks the same as always. Both are in standard gear as Monsoon doesn’t want to wait for the announcer or referee’s instructions. Albano begs off before he takes his ring jacket off. Big John Studd in the voiceover says we’ll be seeing big, giant jellyrolls. Bundy says they’re broken down, old windbags which is ironic as Studd was older at that time (38) than Monsoon was during this match. Albano is built at 275 pounds, Monsoon 401 pounds. The ref tries to hold Monsoon back as he checks him for objects. The ref checks Albano who caters to the irate crowd. The bell rings and immediately Albano bails. He does this a few times before Monsoon lands some forearms in the corner before Lou counters with an eye gouge. Another one follows before Lou hits a third. A fourth one has Monsoon shambles around as the ref asks Albano what he’s up to. Albano continues to work the eye gouge before landing a boot. Monsoon counters with a slap and an eye gouge of his own. Vince “Turnabout is fair play” Monsoon sends Albano off and drops him with a big chop. Two overhand chops has Albano down. Monsoon then chops Albano over the top rope. Albano runs away and Monsoon gets the count out win. The crowd cheers as the ref raises Monsoon’s hand in victory. We go to the replay where Albano flies over the top and bails. Well that was a waste of time. They were better off showing Albano’s victory over Tony Angelo from THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CAPTAIN LOU ALBANO. Instead they showed a minute of Albano eye gouging before running away. Sure he was a villain, but he could have been showcased better than that.
Time of match: 1:43

Winner: Gorilla Monsoon by count-out
No nonsense, onto match 6

Match 6

Andre the Giant and Chief Jay Strongbow vs Blackjack Lanza and Stan “The Man” Stasiak

Commentator: Vince McMahon

We’re still in 1973 as this was from November 12, 1973 in Madison Square Garden. Its also the Coliseum Video debuts of the former WWWF Champion Stasiak and one half of the blackjacks, Lanza. Stasiak’s physique wasn’t really that impressive but he was a vicious heel and would be challenging Pedro Morales less than 3 weeks after this match for the heavyweight title. Stasiak was the first to use the heart punch as a finisher. Lanza and Blackjack Mulligan terrorized the territories as big, bruising cowboy heels throughout the 70’s and early 80’s. Stasiak wants no part of Strongbow so he bails to the apron only for Jay to head scissor him into the ring. Stasiak goes to bail but Jay is snap mared in. An arm drag stuns Stasiak and we get a TAPE EDIT. Stasiak is in the long black tights with red strpe, Strongbow is in the multi-colored trunks. Andre has the blue trunks on, Lanza in standard gear. Stasiak sends Strongbow off the ropes and…rakes the eyes. Stan makes the tag to Lanza and we cut here. Well that was worthless….didn’t even get to see the ending. What the hell were they thinking? At least show the ending. What’s the point of showcasing heels if Lanza hadn’t been in the ring yet?
Time of match: Joined in progress

Winners: Unknown
I dread to think what comes next if they refused to show the ending to that one.
Match 7

Don “The Magnificent” Muraco with Captain Lou Albano vs Special Delivery Jones

Commentator: Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson

Before we get to the Jones match, we’re joined in progress for a quick highlight of Muraco heaving Pedro Morales over the top rope to the outside. Okerlund calls Muraco strange as Bundy, Studd and Heenan praise Don and insult Okerlund. Jones is in the red trunks and Muraco the standard. Jones drops Muraco with a series of arm drags that has Muraco bailing to the outside. Vince says a win over Muraco would make Jones a top contender to the title. Which title Vince? SD Jones hits the sunset flip we see in the 85 Intro before every tape for 1….2…no. SD goes back to the headlock before Muraco counters with a back breaker. Muraco misses a Vader Bomb and SD goes back to the headlock. Patterson praises Jones for his patience. Muraco powers out of the headlock but Jones headbutts Don in the back. A few right hands stun Don and Jones goes back to the headlock takeover. Patterson “Very nice” Vince “The headlock is a defensive type of a hold, not an offensive.” Good call Vince. Muraco gets the upper hand with rights but SD lands left jabs to stun Muraco and a headbutt. Muraco whips SD into the corner where SD goes for the bodypress…only Muraco counters with a powerslam. Muraco hooks the leg and the ref counts the pinfall like in the 85 Opening. Both highlights from this match were used in the montage, nice. Anyway Muraco gets the pinfall victory as Vince says “How about that?” We go back to the instant replay. Good victory by Muraco and its nice to see where the opening montage comes from sometimes.
Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Don Muraco by pinfall
We go straight to an episode of TNT where Muraco cuts a promo. Its the same exact one he cut in RICKY THE DRAGON STEAMBOAT except its clipped. Don says there’s no more titles to win and he runs the darkside. Vince says there’s only one way to go, down. Muraco makes fun of Ricky Steamboat saying he likes fat broads (ironic given Bonnie was a looker in her day). Muraco “Put that in your pipe and smoke it brotha”. We go right to the next match after.

Match 8

Ricky Steamboat vs Mr. Fuji

This is the same match from Ricky The Dragon Steamboat only this is just a clip. We’re at the part where Fuji has the nerve hold, Vince calls Fuji a world class wrestler. Steamboat does the fade-then-revive routine. Ricky rakes the eyes and chops Fuji down. Ricky goes upstairs and catches Fuji with the flying crossbody for 1….2..nope, Fuji kicks out. Ricky goes for the big splash but Fuji gets the knees up. Bruno says that’s the first time he’s seen someone kick out of that and Vince says Ricky didn’t hook the leg. Ricky rolls through a back suplex, rolls up Fuji and gets the 1..2….3 to win the match. Steamboat celebrates on the outside as a little girl jumps the guardrail and runs toward Ricky only for her to stop and turn around. Steamboat goes to leave but Don Muraco runs out and hits Ricky in the back with a stool. The stool breaks in half as Fuji runs out and picks up the other half. They continue to beat on Ricky before leaving. Vince calls them dastardly. Now I see why they cut the match short, to show the extracurricular activity by Muraco. What a heel.
Time of match: 4:06

Winner: Ricky Steamboat by pinfall
Next up are “Rowdy” Roddy Piper highlights. Once again we get a clipped showing of Piper’s Pit where he attacks Jimmy Snuka. Then we get the clip of him slapping Alfred Hays across the face on TNT. Then we get a clip of Piper attacking Frankie Williams on Piper’s Pit. Then we get a clip of Piper and Lou Albano exchanging unpleasantries showcased on Albano’s tape. Only this time its extended as Albano flicks Piper on the nose. Piper responds by punching Albano over the couch and calling him a fat piece of garbage. Then we get his exchange with Mr. T that set up Wrestlemania1. All of these highlights are available on his personality profile tape. Then we get some clips of Piper in the ring. Only before that, Bundy tells Okerlund to shut up for calling him a jellyroll. Ha! Studd “Piper is a great friend of ours.”The clips of Piper and Schultz beating up Andre, Piper’s match with Snuka from St. Louis, Piper and Orton against Snuka and Tonga Kid. Once again, every single clip here was from another tape. It would continue with our next match.
Match 9

“Macho Man” Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) vs Tito Santana for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura

Wonderful, it’s the exact same match from WWF GREATEST MATCHES. We’re clipped well into the match where both Savage and Santana are down in the ring. Santana goes for the figure four, but Savage counters it by kicking him off. Randy slides to the ring apron to pull out something from his tights. He swings and misses and Tito goes for a back suplex, however Randy clocks Santana with the object on the way down. Randy crawls over on top of Tito and Davis gets down 1……2….THREE AND WE GOT A NEW CHAMPION. Thinking quickly, Savage tosses the piece of steel to the outside as Davis never saw it. Its official, the Macho Man is your new Intercontinental Champion. Savage limps to the back as Monsoon scoffs at the blatent cheating by the Macho Man, Ventura says it’s brilliant. The camera shows the cold roll of steel Savage clobbered Tito with before going to the replay. Monsoon continues to complain as we cut here. Nice to include Savage on this tape but the constant clipping is getting on my nerves now.

Time of match: Clipped for the tape

Winner: Savage by pinfall (New WWF Intercontinental Champion)
Rolling right along, its time for Terry Funk.
Match 9

Aldo Marino vs “Terrible” Terry Funk

Commentators: Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino

This was Funk’s WWF debut match on the June 17, 1985 edition of Championship Wrestling. The referee is the infamous Rita Marie which I’ll get to later. Okerlund says in the voiceover the reason the match is on here is because of the attendant putting Funk’s hat on his head. Bundy says the guy deserved it for ruining the hat. Studd says he could care less about Marino or Mel Phillips and Funk did a good job. Basically what happened was Mel had too much stuff in his hands so he put the hat on his head in order to carry everything. Vince laughs but Funk gets enraged and beats the crap out of Mel. Vince scoffs as Funk throws Marino out of the ring. Funk continues to beat the daylights out of Phillips. Marino tries to help out but Funk sends him out of the ring again. Funk then tosses Phillips out for good as Vince continues to complain. Sammartino “That’s Terry Funk, he’s got some reputation.” The security guards literally carry Mel out of the arena as Funk goes to work on Marino with left hands and chops in the corner. Funk drops Marino and stomps on him as Rita Marie admonishes him. Funk heaves Marino through the ropes to the outside as Funk hits the floor himself and goes to attack a fan. Marino staggers back to the ring where Funk gets whipped to the buckle. Aldo then heaves Funk to the floor. Marino hits a dropkick that sends Funk over the top to the outside. Back inside Funk delivers a back suplex to quell the momentum. Funk kicks the guy in the head and snap suplexes him. Funk goes for the spinning toe hold and applies it. Marino gives it up and Funk is the winner. Funk goes to the outside and yells at the irate crowd and we cut here. Why was Rita Marie infamous? Several years later she went on the Geraldo Rivera show and claimed Vince raped her in a limousine. Why it took her 6 years to come out with it was partially the reason nobody ever thought much of it. Did it happen? Who knows. What DID happen is Funk beat the crap out of Mel Phillips…and it sure was funny.
Time of match: 4:05

Winner: Terry Funk by submission
Can we we keep the momentum going in match ten?
Match 10

Corporal Kirchner vs The Iron Sheik (with Classy Freddie Blassie and Nikolai Volkoff)

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Alfred Hays and Ernie Ladd

After Kirchner dispatched Nikolai Volkoff at Wrestlemania 2, Sheik got the next crack at him on April 22, 1986 at Madison Square Garden. This was on the same card as Roberts vs McGee at the beginning of this tape. Sheik is in the yellow trunks with Kirchner in his standard gear. Kirchner hands his hat and American flag to Mel Phillips and does NOT attack him like Funk did earlier. The Iron Sheik DOES attack Kirchner as he gets to the ring still with his turban and robe on. Sheik whips Kirchner off and clotheslines him. Sheik chokes Kirchner with the head piece as Ladd notices the bell never rang. Sheik sheds the robe, whips Kirchner off and backdrops him as the bell finally rings. Sheik spits on Kirchner and caters to the irate crowd. Shiek gives the crowd the arm and the elbow as Hays says Sheik has no dignity. Monsoon brings up the world and tag title reigns of Sheik as Kirchner leapfrogs him and scoop slams him. Kirchner drops an elbow, drags Sheik to the corner and rams him ballsack first into the ring post, ow. Kirchner punches and headbutts the Sheik. Kirchner delivers a snap suplex then covers for 1…2…nope. A gut wrench suplex is followed by another cover for a nearfall. Kirchner misses a dropkick just as Ladd praises him. Sheik stops away then delivers a gut wrench of his own. The cover only gets a deuce and Kirchner is met with a kick to the head. Sheik goes for the abdominal stretch as Monsoon says he doesn’t have it synched in properly. Kirchner hiptosses Shiek and drops a knee….but misses the elbow drop. Sheik whips the corporal off and he goes for the sunset flip, but only gets a two count. Sheik whips Kirchner off but he gets kicked in the head this time. Sheik begs off but then sends Kirchner to the floor where Volkoff whacks Kirchner with Blassie’s cane. The ref counts to 10 and calls for the bell. Volkoff tosses Kirchner in the ring and they double team Kirchner. Sheik loads up the boot and kicks Kirchner in the chest. Volkoff goes to town with right hands until Kirchner tries to fight back. He goes outside and grabs a chair, which causes The Unamericanz to bail. Nice to see The Unamericanz and Freddie Blassie showcased.
Time of match: 6 minutes

Winner: Iron Sheik by count-out
As we head towards the end, now its time to highlight our three co-hosts. We begin with the Manager of the Year ceremony highlighted in Amazing Managers. I’ll just repost. King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd stand guard outside the ring while Bobby Heenan, Captain Lou and Hillbilly Jim stand next to the trophy with “Mean” Gene Okerlund our MC for the evening. Okerlund says the WWF has received one million votes and thanks the fans but Heenan grabs the mic. Heenan reels off the heel managers and says they all gave up their votes for Heenan to win. Added with Heenan’s votes alone, Heenan gets 519,711 votes. Bobby proclaims himself the manager of the year and grabs the trophy. Hillbilly Jim asks how many votes he has and Okerlund answers he has 316,428 votes. He asks how many Lou has and 314,166 is the total. Jim then gives up his votes to Lou which means…oh yes…CAPTAIN LOU ALBANO has won the 1985 WWF Manager of the Year award. Heenan goes beserk as Jim congratulates Captain. Heenan then nails Albano with the trophy as Okerlund hightails it out of there. Studd and Bundy hit the ring and suddenly Jim is down 2 against 1. Studd tackles Jim and Bundy splashes him again and again like we saw with Andre earlier in the tape. Heenan smashes the trophy. Bundy splashes Jim again but finally Cousin Junior and Uncle Elmer make their appearance. The Heenan family bail to the back as the hillbillies tend to Jim and Albano. Great way to maintain heel heat by Heenan’s crew.

Next is the attack on Andre the Giant by Bundy and Studd also highlighted on Wrestling’s Amazing Managers.
Match 11

Andre the Giant vs “Big” John Studd with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura

We’re joined in progress as Studd and Andre are locked up. Studd works over the left arm as Andre grabs the hair and headbutts him. Another headbutt stuns Studd but John counters a backdrop by dropping the giant with a kick to the head. Studd drops two elbows as Heenan hops up on the apron with a pair of scissors. He hands Studd the scissors but Andre grabs Studd’s wrist and bites it. Andre headbutts and chops Studd then kicks Heenan who attempts to retrieve the scissors. Andre punches him out of the ring and grabs the scissors. He grabs Studd, punches him and slams him to the mat. He goes to cut Studd’s hair as Ventura scoffs….but have no fear Jesse for Bundy is here. King Kong Bundy makes his way to the ring and nails Andre just as he’s finished cutting a strand of hair off. Bundy repeatedly nails Andre with forearms as Studd gathers his bearings. Andre tries to fight back but Studd tackles him to the ground, allowing Bundy to land a big splash. Studd continues to hold the legs and Bundy splashes Andre again….and again. The ref tries to get Bundy out of there but to no avail as Heenan whips Bundy who splashes Andree for a 4th time. Cousin Junior, Rick McGraw, The Killer Bees and Lanny hit the ring to save Andre. Studd is irate at Andre cutting a bit of his hair as Bundy and Heenan try to calm him down in the entrance way. Bundy was fast becoming a monster heel and this match is what set up the big Saturday Night’s Main Event showdown between Andre and Hogan teaming against Bundy and Studd.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Andre the Giant by DQ
Next we’re shown the highlight of King Kong Bundy’s attack on Hulk Hogan which set up Wrestlemania 2. Hogan was wrestling The Magnificent Muraco when Bobby Heenan accosted Hogan leading to Hogan attacking The Brain. Bundy hit the ring and beat up Hogan, avalanching him a few times in the corner with the aid of Muraco. Bundy even threw the referee to the outside to boot. Muraco drags Hogan to the center of the ring and holds him down as Bundy delivers a big splash. Muraco turns Hogan over and Bundy hits another splash. Bundy spits on Hogan as we cut here. More dastardly tactics which was the point of the tape. Now we head to the final match on the tape….which was previously covered on ANDRE THE GIANT.
Match 12
Andre the Giant and Special Delivery Jones vs “Big” John Studd and Ken Patera (with Bobby Heenan)
Commentators: Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino
Can we get anymore stock footage? I swear 90% of this tape is highlights previously featured on other tapes. Anyway, December 15, 1984 was the date for this infamous moment. Studd in the voiceover praises Patera who’s “not with us at the moment but still in the family” meaning Patera was in jail at the time for real. Okerlund tells Studd he stucks as a barber and Heenan tells him to shut up. Back to the match itself, Andre teams with mid-card jobber Jones to take on the Heenan Family members. Ken’s got the bleach blonde hair and Olympic singlet as Andre wears his Wrestlemania 1 tights (which wasn’t for another 3 ½ months). Jones starts out with former IC champ Patera. Jones leaps over Patera and hooks him arm for the big drag. Andre tags in and wrenches the arm then headbutts it. Jones tags in with an axehandle to the arm before flipping him over. Ken gets his arm free and executes a backbreaker before tagging in Studd. John delivers a series of forearms then floors Jones with a back elbow smash. Studd puts the boots to him then tags in Patera who picks up where Jones left off. Patera continues to slug away but a backdrop attempt earns a kick to the face. Jones hits a headbutt that sends Ken into the face corner where Andre tags in. Patera backdrops Jones over the top to the concrete floor as Andre stalks Ken in the ring. Andre pounds on Ken in the corner then ass bumps him a few times. Patera gets a knee to the back then delivers a forearm to the back of the head. Patera holds Andre for an interfering Studd and they both pound away on the giant. Both men are able to slam Andre together then they both put the boots to him. Studd holds Andre down as Patera scales the second rope for a kneedrop. The ref calls for the bell as Patera and Studd continue to punch and kick at the fallen giant. They trade dropping elbows before Patera holds Andre down for Bobby Heenan to toss a pair of scissors to Studd. Studd proceeds to cut Andre’s trademark afro. The referee makes no attempt to stop the two heels as Patera drops Andre. Studd continues to cut the hair as the fans pelt the ring with garbage. Heenan gets in the ring and kicks Jones out of the ring. Vince says they’re raping Andre of his dignity. Try getting away with saying that now. Heenan, Andre and Patera celebrate with chunks of Andre’s hair as the heels bail to the back. We go to the replay of Patera using his legitimate Olympic strength as Studd cuts the hair. Short match but fun for historical purposes. Andre had a big afro for his entire career but would wrestle the final years with short/medium length hair.

Time of match: 3:44
Winners: Andre the Giant and SD Jones by DQ
The credits roll and this one is history. Before we go, its time for the previews. Monsoon shills BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 8, MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE AND ELIZABETH and MOST EXPLOSIVE TNT SHOW. As for now, that was an average tape. They had to cram years and years of heels into a 75 minute VHS tape. Nowadays this would be a 2 disc blu-ray with loads of extras, promos and footage. Can’t fault 1986 technology for its time period. The action ranged from decent to hot so no sense squawking about that. The only complaint I have is most of the footage was from previous Coliseum Video tapes so there was barely anything new, but then again, not everyone has all the tapes so they could be seeing this for the first time. As a standalone highlights tape, its worth a look. I give it 4 out of 5 despite the cram job. The next tape after this is BRUNO SAMMARTINO: WRESTLING’S LIVING LEGEND so I’ll see everyone there.

The Hulkster Hulk Hogan (CS002)

This was the second of the original Collector’s Series that included just 3 tapes so this shouldn’t take too long. HULKAMANIA 1 was already in stores so this tape was probably just trying to milk the name for as much as it was worth. We open the tape with just a Coliseum Video graphic, no opening montage. Vince McMahon in a red bowtie shills the action but making an error saying this was the first tape of the Collector’s Series (WWF’s Greatest Matches holds that honor) but no matter. Vince says at the time of this program, Hogan has been the reigning champion for over two years meaning this tape was released sometime in 1986. He says Hogan has defended the title in no less than 25 occasions, which is hogwash. Hulk as the champion would headline every card he’d appear on so he must have defended the belt at least 500 times at the time. Vince says you’ll see three title defenses as well as the match he won the title in against the Iron Sheik. Let’s get to the action.

Match 1

Brutus Beefcake (with Luscious Johnny V) vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Dick Graham and Gorilla Monsoon

Heh, these two would be buddies for years and years after this so its kind of shocking to see them go at it. This match was from February 16, 1985 in the Philadelphia Spectrum a month before the first Wrestlemania and a year into Hogan’s title reign. Brutus is wearing black and yellow lightning bolt tights and leopard print arm bands with Hogan in his standard yellow trunks. Hogan attacks Beefcake after Brutus takes too long to start with a right hand. Hogan atomic drops Brutus into the corner and he staggers out of the ring. Dick wins the David Crockett award for annoyance a minute into the match because all he does is whoop and holler after every move. Brutus regroups with Johnny V outside before sliding back in. They circle before Beefcake gets the upper hand on a tie up and shoves Hogan into the corner. Beefcake poses for the crowd while Dick calls Hogan “the Hulker”. Hogan goes to tie up but Beefcake struts away. They go to tie up again only this time they both strut away and Beefcake is irate. The crowd cheers when Hogan poses and Brutus charges only to be rammed headfirst into to the buckle. Hogan unloads with four left jabs and a windup roundhouse right. Hogan whips Beefcake into the corner and nails him with a back elbow smash. Hogan whips him off the ropes and floors Brutus with a running clothesline. Hogan drops the big…elbow then gets up to pose. Hogan bites Beefcake on the temple as Monsoon says he learned it from the Junkyard Dog. Hogan gets in a side headlock but Beefcake backs him into the corner and catches him off guard with a shoulderblock. Beefcake unloads with right hands and a forearm to the back. Monsoon says to watch for the high knee as Beefcake comes off the second rope with an axehandle smash that quiets the crowd. Beefcake drops another forearm but Hulk no sells. Beefcake goes to ram Hulk into the corner but he blocks it. Hulk rams Beefcake into the corner 10 times and Brutus flops to the ground. Hogan scoop slams Brutus and drops two elbows. Hogan picks up Beefcake, nails him with two right hands and gets reverse whipped into the corner. Beefcake levels Hogan with a big axehandle in the corner then stands on his head using the ropes for leverage. Brutus chokes Hulk on the second rope then rakes the eyes. Brutus chokes Hulk on the second rope then covers for 1….2….kicked out. Brutus delivers another axehandle to the back before going back to the blatant choke. He covers for a near fall as Gorilla says he’s not going to win the title that way. Brutus delivers a powerslam and covers for 1..2…nope, gotta hook the leg. Brutus drops a knee, a forearm and an elbow before another sloppy cover gets 1…2…HULK UP!!! You know the drill….no sell punches, right hand, right hand, right hand, whip, big boot, scoop slam, leg drop, cover. Oh wait, Johnny V gets on the apron. Hulk chases him off and grabs him by the collar only for Brutus to hit the high knee to the back. Brutus covers for 1….2..no, Hulk gets the leg under the bottom rope. Johnny and Brutus think they’ve won it so Johnny grabs the belt as Brutus celebrates in the ring. Beefcake and Johnny try to put the belt on as referee Joey Morella tells them no no no! Finally Hogan runs up, schoolboys Brutus for 1..2….3 and its over. Hogan is attacked by Beefcake and Brutus until he ducks and Brutus nails Johnny with a big forearm. Hulk rams their heads together. We cut there and thank God, I was sick of Dick whooping and screaming after every move. The one thing I’ll give credit to Vince for, for the most part he stayed away from whooping announcers in the David Crockett mold in favor of the articulate announcers like Gorilla and Jesse or Gorilla and Heenan. Bad match but what do you expect from Hulk and Beefcake?
Time of match: 10:40

Winner: Hulk Hogan by pinfall
We go back to December 1983 to a highlight of the Iron Sheik defeating 5 year champion (if you don’t count his loss to Antonio Inoki in Japan) Bob Backlund for the title to show how Sheik won it…..only to have Hogan take it away. It was a landmark match because of the fact that Backlund had it for 5 YEARS, think 6 months is too long to draw, try having it for half a decade. Vince knew Verne Gagne had dropped the ball in the AWA because he was too stubborn to deal with the growing ego of Hogan, but Vince was a smart business man. He knew that whatever he was going to take in based on the proceeds of Hogan being champion was going to be a hell of a lot more than Hogan was going to garner himself. While Verne frowned upon Hogan’s merchandise sales and Japanese tours, Vince thrived on it and would push other wrestlers to go on foreign tours to promote the product. Even though it was a group effort, one man was the key for Vince’s army….Hogan. The match we’re about to see has been replayed thousands of times and we’re about to take one more look at it.

Match 2

Hulk Hogan vs The Iron Sheik (with Ayatollah Blassie) for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson
This is just a repost from HULKAMANIA 1. The match that started it all, the true dawning of Hulkamania in the national spotlight. This match came about when Bob Backlund was dethroned on December 26, 1983 by the Sheik. Rather than get his deserved rematch, Backlund brought out old Freddie Blassie crony Hulk Hogan. Hogan said he had denounced Blassie and was totally reformed, his mission was to destroy the Sheik and bring the belt back to the good guys. On January 23, 1984 Hogan met Sheik for the title in Madison Square Garden. Hogan crosses himself on his way out to the ring and guess who’s holding the curtain for him, 69 year old Vince McMahon Sr, dying of pancreatic cancer but fighting it long enough to see Hulkamania take off. If you pause your tape/dvd/etc to see that image, it’s an iconic one. The changing of the guard if you will. The regional territory era of Vince Sr is going by the wayside as Hulkamania was about to sweep the nation. It’s a shame the old man died when he did, he would have loved to have seen some of the gigantic crowds his son was about to draw. Sheik’s got the red trunks on. Hogan’s wearing his standard yellow trunks and a red t-shirt that says American Made on the front and Hulk-A-Mania on the back. After the introductions, Sheik turns to take his ring gear off but Hulk PEARL HARBOR’S him because he’s such a role model. Hogan sends Sheik into the corner with his robe still on and delivers an elbow smash. Hulk strangles Sheik with his own robe then sends him off and clotheslines him with the robe. The ref finally gets the robe away from Hogan. Hulk unloads in the corner then delivers a running clothesline. Hulk drops a knee to the throat, rakes the eyes and chokes him over his head. Hogan spits at Sheik and delivers the big boot. Hulk covers but the referee takes forever to get over there and Sheik kicks out at 1. Hogan drops Sheik with a running elbow then drops another elbow. Patterson goes crazy but the cover only gets 2. Hogan whips Sheik into the corner but misses a charge. Sheik finally gets an offensive move in 3 minutes into the match by stomping away at the Hulk. Hulk staggers to his feet and Sheik executes a backbreaker. Sheik covers but Hogan powers out at 2. Sheik goes back to work with boots to the chest then “loads up the boot”. Another boot leads to a Boston crab applied by the Sheik. Monsoon scoffs at the referee for being out of position but Hogan powers out of the hold. Pat wonders when Sheik will go for the camel clutch as he delivers a well executed gut-wrench suplex on Hogan. Another cover 1…2 and no. Sheik goes back to the boots to the kidney then locks in the camel clutch. Patterson says no one’s ever broken the hold as Monsoon says this is what did in Backlund a month earlier. Monsoon “Only the immense power of the Hulk can save him!” Hogan begins to Hulk Up and soon powers his way to his knees. Hogan stands up with Sheik on his back and rams him back in the corner. Sheik falls like a dead deer in the center of the ring. The crowd goes wild and Hogan drops the big leg! The cover gets 1…2…3 AND WE GOT A NEW CHAMPION! Madison Square Garden goes crazy as Hulkamania takes over New York City. Monsoon “History made in Madison Square Garden! Hulkamania….is here.” He wasn’t kidding, folks. Hogan kisses the belt (the same won worn by Backlund a month earlier before Sheik won it) as Fink announces Hogan the winner and new champ. Now Vince had his larger than life champion and the road to dominance was about to begin.

Time of match: 5:34

Winner: Hulk Hogan by pinfall (new WWF Champion)
Its only natural to re-visit the postmatch celebration in the locker room with Hogan ranting and raving to “Mean” Gene Okerlund. Hulk says he’d bring the belt back to the USA and he continues to rant saying the belt is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen and its part of Mean Gene now too. Andre the Giant from out of nowhere pops the cork on a champagne bottle and douses Hogan with it. Andre shakes Hogan’s hand, says he’s proud of him and says something else in his broken English when Ivan Putski pops open another bottle and douses Hogan with it. Ivan “Hey I’m proud of ya Jack” as Gene says “Its super Monday at the Garden” and then HE gets doused from behind by Rocky Johnson. We cut the celebration there and skip forward to Gene interviewing Hulk with his parents, Pete (dad) on his right and Ruth (mom) on his left. His mom says her son is dedicated, he’s wonderful for the sport and its wonderful for him. Gene interviews his dad next and Pete says he’s proud of him and speaks softly until Hulk rants and raves at the top of his lungs. His father looks annoyed as his mother starts laughing. Gene signs off and we cut here. Talk about a party, the true dawning of Hulkamania and the beginning of the national takeover by Vince Jr. We go right to the next match.
Match 3

The Iron Sheik (With “Ayatollah” Blassie) vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship)

Commentators: Dick Graham and Alfred Hays
After Hogan defeated the Sheik and Hulkamania took off, a re-match for the title was inevitable and this match was from May 5, 1984 at the Philadelphia Spectrum. We join the match already in progress as Hogan is wearing blue tights, not his standard yellow trunks with the Sheik in green. He boots Hulk in the throat then loads up the boot. Sheik rams Hulk head first into the boot and delivers a forearm to the head. We get a TAPE EDIT and Sheik taunts Hogan. Sheik goes for a snap suplex but is blocked and Hulk delivers one of his own. Referee Dick Woehrle checks Hogan who’s busted wide open as Dick whoops again. Sheik goes after the open wound but Hulk no sells a series of punches. Hulk lands two right hands, grab Sheik by the handlebar mustache and delivers a windup roundhouse right. Hulk scoop slams Sheik and drops the big leg but doesn’t cover. Hogan says he’s going to make Sheik pay so he undoes the left boot of Sheik. Hulk nails Sheik a few times but still can’t get it off. Hulk rakes the eyes and finally gets the boot off. Hulk caters to the cheering crowd and loads up the boot. Sheik bails but Hogan follows him and waffles him with the boot. Sheik blades on camera but we get a TAPE EDIT and the next shot we see is both Woehrle and Sheik flat on their asses with Hogan ramming the boot into the bloody head of Sheik. A host of jobbers hit the ring to pry Hulk off Sheik as he retreats to the back leaving Hulk to stand tall. Ring announcer Mel Phillips announces it was a double-count out and Hulk is irate. He keeps the belt so its all good. I wish I could have seen the full match because it had the intensity of a grudge match not usually seen on Coliseum Video. Did I just say that? Oh wow.

Time of match: Joined in progress (an unofficial 3:53, the actual match was 14:18)

Winner: No one (Double Count-Out)

Onto the final match with no interviews or hoopla.
Match 4

Don “The Magnificent” Muraco (with Mr. Fuji) vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship in a Steel Cage Match

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and “Mean” Gene Okerlund
This match was from June 21, 1985 at Madison square Garden and Vince overdubs saying this is the rubber match in the series (Muraco won the first match by count-out, Hogan took a re-match at Madison Square Garden by DQ, already covered in GRUDGE MATCHES) and there must be a winner here. Hogan enters the cage wearing the white tights with Muraco in his standard gear. Hogan tosses his bandana and shirt outside before throwing the belt at Muraco. Don goes to whip Hogan with the belt but Hulk ducks under and unloads on him with right hands. The bell rings and Hulk goes to nail Muraco with the belt but Don slides out of the way. The ref gets the belt out of the ring and slams the door as now it’s just one on one. Muraco knees Hogan and attempts to throw him into the cage, but Hulk blocks it. Hulk taunts Don and they circle again. Hulk fakes a tie up before kicking Muraco in the ribs and tries to send him into the cage. Don resists, Hulk rakes the eyes and whips him into the corner. Hulk unloads with a right hand but Don blocks another cage ram attempt. Muraco mulekicks Hogan in the gonads and stomps away at him. Don drops Hogan with a kneelift then continues to kick away. The crowd chants for Hogan as Muraco floors Hogan with another right hand. Muraco drops an elbow to the gonads which is all legal in this match. Muraco goes for the door but Hulk cuts him off with right hands. Muraco gets a thumb to the eye as Mean Gene says the winner is over the top or out the door, no pinfalls or submission. Muraco pounds on Hogan who HULKS UP!!  Rather than the usual head punches, Hogan nails Muraco with two bell-ringers, a whip, a clothesline and a big elbow drop. Hogan bites Muraco on the temple then headbutts him. Hulk torpedoes Muraco head first into the cage. Gorilla “Hulkster ramrodding Muraco into the steel cage!” Take away ‘into the steel cage’ and that doesn’t sound good at all. Muraco is busted wide open as Hulk torpedoes him into the cage again. Don staggers to his feet and Hulk greets him with a series of right hands. Hulk goes for the big clothesline but Muraco catches him and sends him head first into the cage. Muraco slingshots Hogan into the cage as Monsoon points out no one’s tried to leave the cage over the top. Hulk blades and right on cue Muraco goes for the top. He gets halfwayout but Hogan grabs him by the tights. Hulk rams Muraco into the top of the cage before we get a TAPE EDIT. Muraco drops Hogan with an elbow as both men are bloody messes. Monsoon says we got 28 grand in the house tonight which is BS. Muraco lands a right hand but Hogan ducks under another. Muraco runs right into the big boot that sends him through the ropes, getting his head stuck. Muraco unties himself and makes a leap to stop Hogan from leaving the cage. Hogan stomps at Muraco, drops him with a big right hand and exits the cage to win the match. We cut right then and there to the end of the tape. Decent cage match with both guys getting bloody. That’s two straight bloodbaths on this tape, very edgy for the time period.

Time of match: Clipped

Winner: Hulk Hogan
The credits roll with the Rock N Wrestling theme instead of the usual orchestral piece. We then get a montage with the Coliseum Video theme (where was that in the beginning?) for every Coliseum Video that was out at the time. The last one they highlighted was BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 6 so I placed the Collector’s Series after those ones. As for this, I kind of liked this tape, standard mid 80’s action and it was kept short and sweet. It was only packaged as a collector’s Item so no sense blasting it for lack of matches. This was mostly pre-Wrestlemania stuff so it’s more valuable for its historical purpose than it is for the matches themselves. I give it 3 stars out of 5. One point off because Dick Graham is annoying and another off because they cut up the best match on the tape (the Spectrum bloodbath with the Sheik) and kept the worst one in its entirety (Beefcake). This was actually the second tape of the short lived Collector’s Series and the last one is next: HIGHLIGHTS OF WRESTLEMANIA.

Ricky The Dragon Steamboat (WF019)

To have a personal profile tape this early in the Coliseum Video lineage, you have to be special. Discounting the god awful COUNTRY BOYS tape, the only ones who had personal profiles were the top stars ANDRE THE GIANT, Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan (THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LOU ALBANO doesn’t count because Lou was a manager). Steamboat getting his own tape was a testament to his amazing talent as he wasn’t a champion nor was he even in the WWF as long as Hogan, Andre and Piper were. Tito Santana was a two time IC champion and he didn’t have his own tape (or ever get one). Does Steamboat deserve it though? Absolutely. He had some classic matches in the NWA and seemed ready to break out as a top star but he was held back by Dusty Rhodes. Going to WWF meant more exposure for sure, but he also had to play second fiddle to Hogan like he had to play to Rhodes. Ah well, least he got his own tape in WWF. Let’s stoke it up. Cue the 1985 Opening…oh and props to 411mania to discovering the two guys in the black and white segment of the opening were Lou Thesz and Rikidozan. Thesz needs to introduction while Rikidozan was pretty much the Thesz of Japan. He was Japan’s top star until he turned the page to his top two students, Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba….yes, All-Japan and New Japan’s founders. Gorilla Monsoon is our host tonight and he brings up how Steamboat has only been around a year and yet has had amazing matches. He says Steamboat will take on The Hammer, Don Muraco and Randy “Not so Macho Man” Savage (Monsoon’s words). We go to our first match before he’s even done with the introduction, geez, someone’s in a hurry.

Match 1

Ricky Steamboat vs Greg “The Hammer” Valentine (with Jimmy Hart) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Gene Okerlund
This match is from June 21, 1985 in Madison Square Garden and its joined in progress. Steamboat is in the long black tights and Greg is in the red trunks. Steamboat stalks Greg with a karate pose until Greg tries to scoop slam him. Ricky blocks it until Greg turns it into a takedown. Ricky switches into a single leg takedown and chops Valentine in the gut. Greg staggers to his feet and Ricky goes to work with chops until Greg bails. Hart screams “No karate!” and Gene scoffs “Whataya mean no karate?” Jimmy “Hey ref, watch that kung fu karate!” Greg goes for forearms in the corner but Ricky blocks all of them and  chops Greg all the way to the ropes where he snap mares him then does the Perfect neckbreaker all in two swift motions. Damn he’s good. He locks in a chinlock until Greg gets to his feet and turns it into an arm ringer. Ricky reverses it and drops the champ with a reverse crescent kick. Monsoon and Okerlund agree they’d love to stick Jimmy’s megaphone in his ear. A quick thrust kick and back elbow smash sends Valentine to the match. Ricky stalks Greg in the corner before landing 5 kicks to the jaw. A chop to the chest is met with a Gene Okerlund “Hiyah!” The first cover of the match gets a two count. Ricky ducks under a clothesline and lands a crossbody for 1….2…nope, referee was out of position and he didn’t hook the leg. Steamboat goes to the front headlock until Greg backs him in the corner. Greg pounds away on Ricky in the corner with forearms. Ricky falls to the apron and Valentine delivers two forearms to the chest. Ricky recovers with a shoulderblock and two chops to the forehead before going upstairs. He stuns Greg with a flying chop and he tackles him to the ground. Ricky covers for 1…2..no. A scoop slam by the Dragon is wasted as Valentine gets his knees up on a splash attempt. Greg drops a knee to the ribs and we TAPE EDIT. Valentine works on the leg and goes for the figure four, only for Ricky to counter it with a cradle for 1….2..and no. Ricky does something to stun Greg but we miss it due to an unnecessary shot of the crowd. Ricky goes for a scoop but Hammer lands on top of him for 1….2…nope. Valentine catches Ricky with a forearm to the rubs and Steamboat goes tumbling through the ropes and to the outside. Hart taunts Ricky until the Dragon gathers his bearings. He looks to the crowd for support who pops. Ricky gets fired up, pounds the mat then starts no selling Greg’s offense. They trade blows until Steamboat gets the upperhand with overhand and knife edge chops. Greg goes down and Ricky has the crowd in an uproar. Two more chops drop the champ and Monsoon says he won’t get the pin because he didn’t hook the leg. Once again the cover gets a two and an elbow drops the Hammer. Ricky goes upstairs and delivers his flying crossbody for 1….2….NOOOOO, foot on the ropes. Greg recovers and back suplexes the Dragon. Greg drops two running elbows and covers for a two count, failing to hook the leg. Valentine goes for a figure four but Ricky counters by kicking him into the corner. More chops are followed by a roundhouse kick that sends Greg over the top rope to the floor. Hart picks Greg up and throws him back in but the bell rings. Stemboat chops both Greg and Jimmy through the ropes as the Fink gets in the ring. Monsoon speculates Greg was DQ’d but Fink announces Steamboat has won by count out. That was a pretty quick count by Dick Woehrle since the announcers missed it as well as the fans and Steamboat himself. We go to the replay as Monsoon says the title does not change hands on a count-out. We end the match here and that was something else. Classic booking as Steamboat beat up Valentine six ways from Sunday yet Greg retained the belt. Was it a good match? Yes it was, the story being told was the methodical Hammer could barely keep pace with the speed of the Dragon. These two would meet again years later, but for now Ricky gets the duke.
Time of match: clipped

Winner: Ricky Steamboat by count-out (Valentine retains)
Next up is a September 1985 interview on The Body Shop with Jesse Ventura. Ventura praises his own shades as he’s wearing jeans, cowboy boots and a yellow t-shirt with Manhattan written on it in the shape of NYC, clever. Ricky comes out in his black karate gi and takes a seat next to Jesse. Ventura asks how he’s doing and Ricky says pretty good. Jesse asks where the name Steamboat comes from and Ricky says he’s carrying on the family tradition. This is half true actually. When Ricky first started out he went under his real name, Richard Blood. Once he ended up in the Florida territory, Eddie Graham felt that the name sounded too heel like (compared to Dick Blood?) and decided to re-name him. Since he had Hawaian blood, Graham had him renamed Ricky Steamboat, the son of Hawaiian legend Sammy Steamboat. The funny part was nobody bothered to tell Ricky before he went to the ring the night he was renamed. The announcer referred to him as Ricky Steamboat, son of Sammy and Ricky tried to tell him that’s not his name, only for the announcer to mutter “shaddup, that’s your name now” or something like that. Ventura then says “so wait, your great great grandfather didn’t climb a coconut tree, see a steamboat and say that’s a good name for himself?” Ricky counters “No, he was standing on a volcano.” Ventura then goes into fashion mode asking what’s the deal with the outfit and says that kung fu he’s been using is illegal. Ricky “Illegal?” Ventura bitches that he’s going for the throat and Ricky says he’s checked the WWF rules and says he uses open hands, not fists like Jesse uses. Ventura “waiiiiiit a minute!” Ventura says “You don’t bend the rules?” Ricky answers no so Jesse gets bent out of shape and ends the show right then and there. Its funny because Ricky really never did bend the rules. There’s a very, very short list of guys that had a long, productive career that never worked heel. The three names I can think of are Tito Santana, Rey Mysterio Jr and Ricky Steamboat. That’s also why Ric Flair says Ricky is NOT the best wrestler of all time, because he never worked heel. It would have been interesting to see Ricky come out strutting with shades and telling the fans to stick it, but since he never did it, its hard to imagine that.
We go from an interview with Jesse to an infamous “training” segment. Once again Vince couldn’t leave well enough alone and had to give Ricky a “personality”. No he didn’t sing and dance on T.N.T. (that I know of) but he did have this “training” portion on the show. The segment is called “Becoming the dragon: the three moments of truth”. Gene Okerlund is on location with Ricky at the temple of Chang-Lao. They walk across a wooden bridge as Gene admires the scenery. Ricky says it wasn’t always serene and that it was the site of his first test: The Bridge of Serenity. We then cut to Ricky beating up ninjas in black masks…yes of course I’m serious. Now many say that the ninjas were midgets, but they’re not. They just happen to be a bit shorter than Ricky, but they’re not full fledged midgets. The object is to cross the bridge and Ricky does that after beating up the two ninjas. Some of the blows were definitely choreographed but at least they didn’t have any goofy sound effects. Back to Gene and Ricky and the Dragon says years of training saved him there. Gene and Ricky walk into the “Garden of Tranquility”. Its not really a garden as it is a stone walkway with rocks around. Ricky says this is where he went through his second test. He’s fighting ninjas again only with sticks. He dispatches them quickly as we go back to Gene and him. Gene brings us to the third test, “The Temple of Chang-Lao” where Ricky says it was the hardest one of all since he had to do it in front of all the monks. This time he’s attacked by four ninjas who he completely annihilates in short order. He bows to Chang Lao himself who presents him with a black belt for surviving the three tests. As silly as this sounds, it could have been a lot worse. It did show Steamboat beating the crap out of groups of ninjas by himself, and if he can do that, guys like Greg Valentine and Don Muraco stand no chance. Onto the next match.
Match 2

Ricky Steamboat vs Brutus Beefcake (with Luscious Johnny V) in a Street Fight

Commentators: Jack Reynolds and Billy Red Lyons

May 26, 1985 in what appears to be the Maple Leaf Gardens saw Steamboat take on Brutus in what Monsoon in the overdub calls a No-DQ, No count-out affair. So it’s a street fight without actually calling it that…great. Steamboat is in the long black tigts and Brutus is in the long zebra striped tights. Beefcake attacks Steamboat from behind before he can take his gi off. He drags Steamboat to the apron where he pounds away with forearms to the chest. Once Ricky is outside, Brutus sends Ricky to the barriet and chokes him with his own black belt. The referee isn’t counting and I wonder why until the bell rings once Brutus sends Ricky inside. NOW the match has officially begun. Brutus sends Ricky off and clotheslines him. Billy says it was a mistake for Ricky to wear that outfit to the ring and Brutus drops the Dragon with a right hand. Brutus poses for the irate crowd and drops a boot off the second rope. A scoop slam is followed by more boots to the sternum. Brutus struts for the angry crowd before Ricky begins to rally with right hands. Karate chops from Ricky sends Brutus into the corner. Brutus reverses an irish whip and drops Ricky with a clothesline. Brutus drops a big forearm and covers, the referee takes forever 1…..2…no. Beefcake pulls the top part of the gi over ricky’s head hockey style and pounds away. Ricky finally sheds the gi and Jack finally calls it such after calling it a kimono up until this point. Guess Vince was in his ear in the production truck. Beefcake rams Ricky’s head into the buckle and pounds Ricky’s chest with forearms. Ricky just beat the crap out of four ninjas armed with weapons and now he can’t beat up Brutus Beefcake? Beefcake continues to pound away only now Ricky is no-selling it. Ricky blocks a turnbuckle attempt and rams Brutus’ head into it. Ricky chops Beefcake but falls on a scoop slam attempt. Brutus covers for 1….2….noooooo. Ricky kicks out just in time. Brutus lands a series of boxing jabs followed by two forearm smashes. Steamboat then blocks a series of forearms before sliding under Brutus’ legs. A chop stuns Brutus before a big chop drops him. Ricky rings the arm then crescent kicks Brutus three times until he drops. A knife edge chop to the throat staggers Brutus who swings and misses. A knee to the ribs stuns the Dragon but Ricky ducks under a haymaker. Ricky swings and misses himself and Brutus makes him pay with a clothesline that nearly decapitates the Dragon. We get a TAPE EDIT and now Steamboat is rallying. Brutus then counters a scoop slam with a back suplex then bridges for 1…2…..nope. Ricky gets the shoulder up at 2 3/4. Brutus kicks away at Ricky and taunts him. Brutus punches, kicks and stomps the Dragon. Beefcake goes to the outside, drags Ricky out and slams him on the cement floor. Beefcake gets in the ring but distracts the ref, allowing Johnny to attack…but he doesn’t. Ricky gathers his bearings but Beefcake reaches through the ropes and brings him back in the ring. Beefcake goes for the piledriver but Ricky counters with a backdrop. Reynolds reiterates that this is No count outs and no DQ. Ricky catches a foot and chops Brutus down. A running chop drops Brutus then Ricky does the swinging neckbreaker. More chops follow and a reverse atomic drop stagger Brutus. Beefcake goes upstairs and hits the flying crossbody. The cover gets 1…2…..no. The ref’s arm doesn’t drop for three but the fans and the announcers say Ricky has won it. The lights go on as well but there was no 3. Everyone was fooled on that one. The lights go back off as Ricky rallies in the corner. Brutus reverses an irish whip but misses the charge. Ricky goes for a scoop slam but Johnny holds the foot of the Dragon. Brutus falls ontop with Johnny still holding on…1…..2….3 its over. The lights go on but all of a sudden the ref for whatever reason waves off the pinfall. Brutus raises his arms in victory but the ref snaps it downas the lights go off again. He tells Beefcake that he saw Johnny holding the foot, which is the correct call but why did he count 3 to begin with? Brutus throws Ricky over the top rope and argues with the ref. Ricky skins the cat back in, runs and rolls up Brutus for 1…2…..3 and NOW its over. The lights go on for a final time as Johnny V jumps into the ring to protest. Johnny takes a swing at the ref as he exits the ring with the victorious Steamboat. Jack says the referee’s name is Frank Gore…no, not the San Fransisco Giants running back. We go to the replay to see the real pinfall and we cut here. That was a wild match that Brutus controlled for most of it. Ricky got the pinfall but he didn’t look too impressive during it. Not only that, it was a street fight that wasn’t even all that violent. Then again, not much Ricky can do with Brutus but get beat up and make the comeback. I’m just glad its over.
Time of match: 13:27

Winner: Ricky Steamboat by pinfall
To set up the next feud, we have to go to an episode of T.N.T. where Vince in a decent looking brown suit interviews Don Muraco and Mr. Fuji. Vince brings up Steamboat and Muraco says his actions speak louder than words. Vince, Fuji and Muraco look at footage of Muraco attacking Steamboat and hanging him. Don says King Curtis Iaukea was the only Hawaiian wrestler that he admired and he has no love for Ricky. Fuji and Muraco hang Steamboat and glad-hand each other on the TNT set. Muraco says that Ricky’s too soft and he’s in his world now. Muraco says he’s as far as he going to go and doesn’t need any more titles. Kind of stupid and Vince counters “Well if you’re on top, there’s only one way to go, down!” Muraco says he won’t go down, but he’ll spit down at people under him. Muraco says he’s got some fat broads for him and he’s having a heck of a time with Mr. Fuji.  So the dastardly Muraco fired the first shot and its now time for revenge one step at a time.

Match 3

Ricky Steamboat vs Mr. Fuji

Commentators: Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino

After being hung by Fuji and Muraco, Ricky vowed revenge. On August 20, 1985 he got Mr. Fuji first. Fuji is in the long red tights and Ricky the long black. Ricky sprints to the ring and attacks Fuji before the bell rings. Howard Finkel almost didn’t make it out of the way. Ricky chops Fuji, sends him off and chokes him with the black belt. Ricky strangles Fuji as Vince says its payback from before. Referee Dick Woehrle doesn’t even bother to make a 5 count. Ricky chops and punches Fuji before delivering an atomic drop. Ricky lands a double chop but Fuji counters with a punch to the gonads…ow. Ricky pounds the mat in frustration as Fuji drops Ricky with his own chops. A falling headbutt has the crowd chanting “Steamboat!” Fuji locks in a nerve hold but Ricky powers out of it with a chop to the head. Fuji retaliates with a chop of his own before reapplying the hold. Ricky once again powers out of it with chops and a leapfrog but Fuji alertly gets a knee to the ribs. Going back to the nerve hold, Vince calls Fuji a world class wrestler. Steamboat does the fade-then-revive routine. Ricky rakes the eyes and chops Fuji down. Ricky goes upstairs and catches Fuji with the flying crossbody for 1….2..nope, Fuji kicks out. Ricky goes for the big splash but Fuji gets the knees up. Bruno says that’s the first time he’s seen someone kick out of that and Vince says Ricky didn’t hook the leg. Ricky rolls through a back suplex, rolls up Fuji and gets the 1..2….3 to win the match. Steamboat beats a hasty retreat as Fuji is stunned in the ring. Decent crash style match but that made Steamboat look bad. They should have booked Steamboat to leave Fuji a bloody mess in the ring and say that Muraco is next. Instead he’s booked to barely beat Mr. Fuji the MANAGER! If he can barely beat Fuji, how’s he going to beat the former IC champion Muraco? Still, decent crash style match
Time of match: 4:06

Winner: Ricky Steamboat by pinfall

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! After the match, Muraco runs out and attacks Steamboat with a chair. He breaks the wooden thing over him and Fuji assists in stomping him. Muraco and Fuji leave to a chorus of boos as Vince puts over Muraco as a heel, calling him every name in the book. Vince goes to the replay of Muraco breaking the chair on Steamboat’s back. Bruno says the duo should be fined and suspended and we cut here. Muraco was building tremendous heat and you know the grudge match would come eventually.
Match 4

Ricky Steamboat vs Don “The Magnificent” Muraco (with Mr. Fuji)

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Alfred Hays

October 18, 1985 in the Capital Center saw the long awaited grudge match between Steamboat and Muraco. We’re joined in progress and Muraco is in standard gear with Steamboat in the….you guessed it…long black tights.  Muraco stands on the apron as Ricky gets bent out of the shape in the ring. Ricky ducks under two clotheslines, reverses a whip and drops Muraco with a big chop. A hiptoss is followed by a scoop slam. A knee lift sends Muraco to the floor and the ref has to hold Steamboat back. Monsoon scoffs at the ref for holding him back as Muraco regroups with Fuji. A test of strength is won by Muraco who pounds away at the Dragon in the corner. Ricky reverses a whip and backdrops Don before hip tossing him again. A scoop slam has Muraco sliding through the ropes onto Monsoon and Alfred’s announce table. Monsoon says Muraco is in their lap, literally. Gorilla taunts him as Muraco gets to his feet and says “Shut up you sonovabitch.” Muraco gathers his bearings and slowly makes his way into the ring. Don purposely stalls then lands a right hand to Steamboat’s head. Ricky rams Muraco’s head into the buckle and lands a right hand. He goes for another right hand but referee Dick Woehrle grabs his arm which allows Muraco to connect with a right hand. Monsoon gives Woehrle a tongue lashing as Steamboat staggers around. “You cannot do that!” Muraco gets a thumb to the throat and delivers a back suplex. Muraco drops a knee and snap mares him over. Muraco slingshots Ricky throat first onto the bottom rope. An atomic spike staggers Ricky and Muraco scoop slams him down. Another scoop slam is followed by a clothesline but Ricky keeps getting up. A slam and another clothesline sends Ricky over the top rope to the outside. Muraco reaches through the ropes to slam ricky’s head into the apron. Muraco slides outside and drops Ricky throat first onto the barrier. Alfred says Muraco should go for the piledriver as Ricky makes it to the apron. Muraco clotheslines him down as Ricky slides into the ring. Muraco whips Steamboat off but Ricky ducks under the right hand and executes a desperation clothesline. Muraco slides to the apron then goes upstairs. Ricky catches him and slams him off the top rope. Ricky scoop slams Don and caters to the crowd. ANOTHER scoop slam has Ricky fired up and he atomic drops Muraco, who catches his head in between the ropes. Ricky chops away at Muraco as Woehrle unties him. On the floor, Ricky sends Muraco into the side of the ring. Steamboat goes upstairs and chops Muraco on the apron, who falls off. On the floor again Ricky rams his head into the apron before sliding back into the ring. Ricky suplexes him into the ring and caters to the crowd. Sensing victory, Ricky chops Muraco twice before unloading with a series of right hands. Woehrle literally throws Ricky off of Muraco and Monsoon gets pissed. Dick does it twice more and Ricky goes upstairs, executing the big chop. Fuji hops up on the apron and Ricky grabs his cane. Woehrle tries to wrestle the cane away as Fuji reaches into his hat and hands a pair of brass knuckles to Muraco. Sure enough, Ricky sends Muraco off who eats a big chop. Ricky goes for another chop but Muraco sneaks a punch to the throat, then falls ontop of Steamboat for 1….2….3. Muraco wins it! Great match…but what the hell? Did Piper, Andre or Hogan lose on their profile tapes? No? So why did Steamboat? Wow, who the hell thought that was a good idea? We cut here so even if Ricky beat him up after the bell, we won’t see it. So Ricky gets hung and Muraco gets the last word? Wow….not a great booking job for this tape at all.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Don Muraco by pinfall

We now go to a special Piper’s Pit with Ricky in the rare blue trunks, a purple warm up jacket and white boots with “Cowboy” Bob Orton standing behind Roddy Piper (in standard Pit gear). Piper sarcastically calls Ricky a new heart-throb but Piper says he’s just as hot. Piper says Ricky hasn’t had a match longer than 5 minutes and wonders why he hasn’t wrestled anyone good yet. He also calls Ricky a cheater for using martial arts just like Ventura did earlier. Piper “You may be fooling them, but you’re not fooling me for a second.”  Ricky “Well I’m sorry about that RODNEY.” Piper gets pissed and says “My name is Roderick, short for Roderick the Conquerer” Ricky “Oh, I’m sorry Conker.” Piper “That’s Conquerer! My name is Roddy Piper!” Ricky “Well what is it, Roddy, Piper or Conker?” Piper “I’ll tell ya what it is!” Orton slowly makes his way over and he and Piper sandwich Steamboat while Piper taunts him. Ricky sheds his jacket and Piper looks ready to go….and we cut. OH COME ON!!! That looked to be heading somewhere but instead we cut HERE? We had to watch the ridiculous training video in its entirety but THIS got clipped? What the hell ever…on to the next match.
Match 5

Ricky Steamboat vs Davey Boy Smith

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura

If cutting Piper’s Pit wasn’t bad enough, we’re ending the tape with two matches we’ve already seen. Steamboat’s two matches from WRESTLING CLASSIC. So yes, another loss is coming up. First he goes up against Davey Boy in the first round. I’ll just re-post from the earlier Classic post. Davey is in the long red tights while Steamboat is in the long black. They shake hands to start the match then go through standard go-behinds. Davey hiplocks Steamboat to the ground. Davey Boy back drops Ricky in a pinfall position for 1….2…nope, Dragon bridges out of it and turns it into a backslide for 1…nah. Steamboat runs off the ropes into a overhead press slam. Davey covers for a near fall then applies a front headlock as Ventura says Stemboat’s giving up a lot of strength to Bulldog. Davey hits another overhead press slam for another 2 count as Monsoon scoffs at Davey for not hooking the leg. Davey goes for a suplex but Steamboat counters with a delayed suplex of his own…..Davey Boy’s trademark. Ricky goes for a splash but Bulldog gets the knees up to counter. Davey Boy executes two standing dropkicks which send Steamboat into the ropes. Bulldog goes for a third dropkick but Ricky moves out of the way and Davey Boy crotches himself on the top rope. The ref runs over, checks on Davey and calls for the bell……what the hell? Steamboat also goes and checks on Davey Boy as the ref awards the match to Dragon…..first and last time I’ve ever seen a match end this way. Cheap ending but it was a good match for a 3 minute crash style. Monsoon says Ricky didn’t want to win this way and Ventura scoffs. We go to the replay and Ventura calls what we just saw.

Time of match: 2:54

Winner: Ricky Steamboat by stoppage
We don’t bother with a segue, onto the final match of the tape.

Match 6

Ricky Steamboat vs “Macho Man” Randy Savage (with Elizabeth)

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura

Once again I have no idea we’re ending the tape with another loss but what the hell. I’ll go with another re-post. Randy comes out to Pomp and Circumstance and the purple trunks. Ricky is in the long black tights. Before the match Savage sticks a finger into Ricky’s face who slaps it away then Savage runs and hides behind Elizabeth, heh what a heel. Stemboat turns his back so Savage attacks him from behind while still wearing his headband and cape. Steamboat slides under Savage and chops him through the ropes to the outside. Randy pulls Ricky out and brawls with him outside before they roll back in. Savage takes over on offense with right hands in the corner until Steamboat counters with a head scissors over the top rope to the floor.  Steamboat chops Savage on the floor then atomic drops him to the concrete. Ricky throws him inside then hits his karate chop to the chest of a running Macho Man. Savage ducks under a second chop and delivers a back suplex as Ventura makes his way back to the commentating table. Savage goes upstairs but Ricky catches him in the gut with a right hand then delivers a knee lift. Steamboat unloads with a series of fists drops then suplexes Savage halfway across the ring. Steamboat goes upstairs and hits THE FLYING CROSSBODY for 1…2…thre…no wait, Savage kicked out at 2. Ventura is openly cheering for Savage and Steamboat chops and punches Savage to the ring apron. Savage reaches into his tights for a Foreign Object and when Steamboat goes for a back suplex, Savage nails Ricky with whatever he had. Savage covers for 1….2…THREE???? You gotta be kidding, that was WAY too short for 2 guys as talented as they were. It was going good too, damn…..should have been much longer. Monsoon says that Ventura gave Savage brass knuckles in the back as Ventura scoffs.
Time of match: an unacceptable 3:26

Winner: Randy Savage by pinfall

We end the tape with the credits and the previews but I don’t care. I still don’t understand why in a 6 match tape, 2 losses were included. You didn’t see Piper, Andre or Hogan losing so why did Steamboat get the shaft? Guess Vince was once again trying to make the NWA look bad by having one of their top stars look inferior to Hogan and Andre. Still, the immense talent of Steamboat saved him from obscurity, even after Randy Savage appeared from Memphis and took the IC title away from Tito Santana. As sad as it sounds, Steamboat’s tape came out in early 1986 and he’d still have 2 years worth of good matches (including one special) still to come. Did I like the tape? For the most part yes, but again, you want to make your stars look as good as possible…YOU DON’T SHOW THEM LOSING! I mean, everyone has to lose at some point to put someone else over, and Steamboat had no problem with that…but there’s a time and a place for that. I give this tape 3 stars out of 5….1 point off for the losses and 1 point off for it only being 80 minutes long. They could have squeezed 10 more minutes of footage in there. The next tape after this is BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 6, hopefully Steamboat will have better luck on that one.

WWF Grudge Matches (WF018)

As 1986 was in full force, BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 5 still went back to 85 and earlier. This tape appears to be doing the same with only one match being from this year. Looking at some of the matches listed, it does make for a good tape but if you’re trying to promote new action, going back to the past becomes repetitive after 18 tapes. Still, I can’t blame Vince for when you have so much footage in the library and can only show it in 90 minute intervals (DVD’s were still nearly 15 years away), guess it takes 18-20 tapes to cover everything. This tape will showcase some of the best grudges of the past decade apparently so let’s stoke it up. Cue the 1985 opening and Gorilla Monsoon is our host today wearing a red bow-tie. Monsoon says they have received “thousands of requests” for these matches. We get a montage of the matches we’re about to see. Hulk Hogan takes on Don Muraco, star of Fuji General. Monsoon warns the fans at home that these matches will be unusually violent and bloody. Now we’re talkin’. He sends us to our first match, the champ himself.
Match 1

Don “The Magnificent” Muraco (with Mr. Fuji) vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Gene Okerlund.

May 20, 1985 in Madison Square Garden saw Hogan defend the title against Muraco in a “return bout”. Muraco has the blue trunks on while Hogan comes out in the white trunks. Coliseum Video overdubs with a Monsoon voiceover so Vince doesn’t have to pay royalties on Eye of The Tiger. Muraco attacks Hogan as he gets in the ring so he still has on the belt, headband and the t-shirt on. Muraco tears at the shirt and puts the boots to the Hulkster. The belt falls off as Muraco pounds Hogan all across the ring. Muraco chokes Hogan with Hulk’s t-shirt. Muraco catches Hogan with right hands in the corner before Hogan rallies with right hands and a headbutt of his own that sends Muraco through the ropes and to the outside. Hogan chases and clotheslines him. He delivers an atomic drop on the floor, removes the ripped shirt and chokes Muraco with it. Hogan throws Muraco back in and removes his headband. Hogan puts the boots to Muraco in the corner, whips him across and clotheslines him with the t-shirt. Hogan drops Muraco then scoop slams him. Hogan drops the big elbow and follows with right hands. There’s a sign in the crowd that says “Beach bum” in reference to Muraco. Hogan pounds on Don outside until Muraco grabs a nearby chair and nails Hulk with it. Hogan takes the chair and clocks Muraco in the back with it. Hogan rolls in and out to break the count then pounds on Muraco. Okerlund says Don is busted wide open except he’s not. Back inside Hogan executes a back suplex and throws Muraco over the top rope to the outside. Its funny how the WWF was the only promotion not to utilize the “over the top rope DQ” gimmick. Hogan rams Muraco into the steel post head first. Hogan poses on the apron as Okerlund once again says Muraco is busted open only now he really is. Hogan bites the wound and suplexes him from the apron into the ring. Hogan calls for the big leg drop as Okerlund says not to waste time. Hogan scoop slams Muraco, runs off the ropes and hits the big leg drop. Goodnight 1…2…..nope, Fuji puts the foot on the ropes. The crowd cheers and the bell rings prematurely, but this one’s not over. Fuji hands salt to Muraco and when Hogan comes over, Don hits him right between the eyes. The referee sees it and calls for the bell. Muraco doesn’t even bother dealing further damage, he gets the hell out of there and retreats to the back with Fuji. Hogan staggers around the ring as Howard Finkel announces the champ the victor. Hogan is mad and wants Muraco to come back but we cut here. This was actually a good little post-Wrestlemania feud going between Hogan and Muraco that will be settled another time. This one was pretty quick and to the point with no rest holds. Good stuff.

Time of match: 6:12

Winner: Hulk Hogan by DQ (still champion)
Moving right along to the next match.
Match 2:

Junkyard Dog vs Terry Funk (with Jimmy Hart)

Commentators: Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino

The most recent match on the tape from January 28, 1986 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event sees a rarity, Terry Funk in a WWF ring. He goes to attack Howard Finkel during introductions and he’s got the red trunks on. Monsoon does a voiceover so Vince doesn’t have to pay royalties on Another One Bites The Dust. JYD has the long red tights on. Funk attacks him as he gets to the ring and they brawl outside. Funk cuts him off in the ring but eats a backdrop from JYD. A scoop slam is followed by doggie headbutts that sends Funk outside to the cement floor. Its funny Hart is the manager of Funk as there was a feud in Memphis wrestling years earlier that saw Funk team with Koko B Ware and Jerry Lawler against Hart’s crew. Funk regroups with Hart outside the ring as the crowd chants “JYD”. Some fan holds up a Beware of Dog sign as Funk eats right hands and then rams Terry’s head into the buckle 10 times. He repeats the process in the other corner as Funk staggers around. Into a third corner JYD rams him 5 times before Hart has enough and grabs the leg. No wonder Funk is crazy, he just ate 25 shots to the buckle. JYD chases Jimmy Hart outside of the ring as Vince says he’s running for his life. Back inside Dog hits a clothesline and covers for a two count. JYD headbutts Terry who ties himself up in the ropes Andre style. Jimmy goes to whack JYD in the back with the branding iron but JYD cuts him off and takes it away by sending Hart to the buckle. Terry can’t break free as the crowd cheers when JYD teases branding Terry with it. All of a sudden, Dory Funk Jr hits the ring in full suit and tie. He takes his cowboy boot off and waffles Dog in the back with it. Vince and Bruno recognize Dory and wonder how he got there, meaning this was Dory’s TV debut. The Funk brothers stomp JYD as an irate fan throws a cup of something into the ring. Jimmy hart takes his shirt and jacket off then pounds on JYD. Its funny because Jimmy still has his tie on. A host of jobbers enter the ring to save JYD as the Funks and Harts scatter. We cut to an entirely different SNME so that ends this match. It was hot and it set up the big Wrestlemania 2 tag match. Always great to see heel Terry.

Time of match: 4:30

Winner: Junkyard Dog by DQ

We cut to an interview with Mean Gene and JYD who says its his day…get it? Every dog has its day? Nevermind.
Match 2

Junkyard Dog vs Terry Funk (with Jimmy Hart)

Commentators: Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura

Believe it or not, this match pre-dates the last one. This was on the November 1, 1985 episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event and it was a rematch after Funk branded JYD during a prior encounter. JYD in the long red tights attacks Terry on the apron before he can get his hat and chaps off. JYD brings Funk in and drops him with a right hand, then goes outside to chase Jimmy Hart. Funk gets on the second rope and JYD pulls the leg, crotching Terry on the top rope. Terry hobbles around the ring then goes outside as Jimmy Hart comes out from under the ring. Funk gets the chaps off and he’s in the black trunks in this one. Funk scoop slams JYD inside but misses the big elbow drop. JYD scoop slams Terry to the mat then scoops him up and drops him over the top to the cement floor. Jimmy runs over to pick his man up and Funk rolls on top of him and threatens to punch him out thinking its JYD. Terry walks back in and they lock up,. JYD sends him into the corner and scoop slams him. He doggie headbutts him until Funk does his Fred Sanford jab routine, flopping to the apron. The crowd chants JYD as Terry literally goes outside and jumps over the fan barrier to threaten someone. As Funk makes his way back in, Vince says a win by Funk should vault him into a future title shot against Hogan. How sweet would have that been, a former NWA Champion against the WWF Champion? Hart trips up JYD inside the ring and he bails to go after him. Ventura scoffs but JYD catches up with Jimmy only to see Terry coming up from behind. Dog backdrops Terry onto the floor as Ventura says “I hope he’s proud of himself!” Back inside JYD headbutts Terry but Funk comes back with boxing jabs and an uppercut. Terry covers for a two count then catches the Dog in a sleeper hold. The crowd chants JYD as Hart celebrates outside the ring. JYD powers out of it and ducks under a clothesline to lock in a sleeper of his own. Jimmy hops up on the apron and JYD drops Funk in the middle of the ring. JYD tries to bring in Jimmy but Hart actually lands neck first in the ring, very dangerous. Hart’s ok and he begs off before trying to slide under the ring. JYD catches him by the foot and drags him back in. Hart holds onto the rope and the ref tries to get JYD to let go, not noticing Funk waffling JYD from behind with the megaphone. Terry gets rid of the evidence and makes the cover 1…2…..3 goodnight. Hart brings the branding iron into the ring and Funk goes to brand JYD but he catches it at the last second. He waffles Funk with the iron who falls through the ropes to the outside. JYD finally gets his hands on Jimmy and decks him with a right hand, the fans go nuts. JYD takes Jimmy’s pants off and headbutts Terry. Ventura “This is ridiculous!” JYD holds Hart down and brands Jimmy on the ass, causing the little runt to squeal and squirm much to the crowd’s delight and Ventura’s disgust. Funk wins the match but JYD gets the last word. Like I said, this feud would culminate at Wrestlemania 2…but for now JYD gets one over on Funk and Hart. Modern day hipster geeks may not like the fact there were no triple flips and moonsaults, but this was a grudge match and that’s what the fans got.  Good stuff.
Time of match: 5:10

Winner: Terry Funk by pinfall
No nonsense, just the next match.
Match 4

Ivan Koloff vs Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heaveyweight Championship

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

No, not THAT match from 1971 when Koloff took the title. This was from November 17, 1975 during Bruno’s second reign. The storyline was pretty simple, Koloff beat him for the title once before and thought he could do it again. Bruno’s in the light blue tights and van is in his standard black singlet. We’re joined in progress as Koloff pounds on Bruno in the corner. Ivan sends Bruno into the corner and boots him. Gorilla on commentary says Bruno had a broken clavicle the night he lost the title to Ivan the first time. A criss-cross ends with both men colliding. Referee John Snyder counts both men but Bruno gets up and puts Ivan in a headlock. Bruno gets shot off and a shoulderblock by Ivan sends Bruno through the ropes to the outside. By the way, want to know why this match was 40 years ago yet both men are still alive today? They’re 100 percent all natural strength and conditioning. No pain pills, no steroids, no uppers, no downers, no cross country flights with 3 hours sleep and no 8 hours at the gym ruining their joints to keep their herculean physiques so they don’t lose their jobs. Bruno climbs back in and Ivan rams his head into the buckle. Bruno drops Ivan with a double kick to the eyes.Right hands stuns the big Russian and he gets dropped with a big kick in the ribs. Some felts pelt the ring with garbage as Bruno continues to attack. We TAPE EDIT and Bruno plays a game of mercy with Ivan. Monsoon says this match was 8 or 9 years ago so Monsoon’s overdub is from 1983-84. Ivan wins the game of strength with boots to the ribs. Both men trade blows and Bruno rams Ivan’s head into the buckle before whipping him into the other corner. Bruno stomps away on the Russian and stands on him as Ivan’s face tells the story. Ivan recovers to get a headlock in and he nails Bruno with a shoulderblock. Bruno counters with a back drop and knees to the back. A chinlock is applied before Bruno locks in the bearhug, Bruno’s finisher. We TAPE EDIT to Koloff still trapped in the bear hug. A thumb to the eye stops the momentum and Koloff bails to the outside. Monsoon is acting like Koloff is the champion even though he’s not. If this was 1975, Bruno is the champ. Hell, Bruno never had a rematch after Ivan took the title in 1971, Pedro Morales got the first crack and beat him. Ivan rams Bruno in the corner and chokes him with the boot. Koloff pounds on Bruno who’s busted wide open. The ref checks the wound and Koloff continues to pound away. The ref halts the bout and tells the ringside doctor to get in here and check. Yes, back then they had legitimate doctors at ringside to give the match legitimacy. The doc checks and Bruno says get the hell out the way. The doc leaves as Bruno gets fired up. He pounds away at Ivan before sending him out of the ring. We TAPE EDIT again and both men are in the center of the ring. They trade blows before the ref steps in and Ivan clocks him by accident. All of a sudden Tony Parisi and Dominic Denucci hit the ring to break up the fight as the bell rings. Monsoon himself, Blackjack Lanza, Blackjack Mulligan, Arnie Skaaland and a few others hit the ring as well to restrain the two. Bruno is declared the winner by DQ as Monsoon says Koloff keeps the title……Bruno was the champ, sorry Gorilla. After the decision is announced, the two break free and go at it again. Monsoon on commentary says he took a couple of shots in there too. Monsoon also says Arnie has blood all over his suit and he’s not happy about it. Wild brawl and the tape edits actually kept the action moving.  Old school wrestling may not look as crisp as choreographed, but at least it was presented as real. When was the last time a legit doctor was present at ringside?
Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Bruno Sammartino by DQ (still champion)
No BS, on to the next match.
Match 5

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine (with Lou Albano) vs Tito Santana for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Commentators: Jack Reynolds and King Kong Mosca

Ask and you shall receive. I wondered in Best of the WWF Volume 5 if we’d ever see the Valentine/Santana title changes and here we are. September 24, 1984 broadcast of All-Star Wrestling had Santana the defending champion against the Hammer. Monsoon blows the ending of the match as Santana comes out in the red tights. Albano in the ring taunts him and Santana is distracted long enough for Valentine to sneak in a few cheap shots to Tito’s left leg. Tito hobbles around outside while Valentine in the black tights celebrates in the ring with Albano for the dastardly deed. Btw, Jack Reynolds was a veteran announcer and Mosca was an ex-football player turned wrestler. Hell, think Tony Schiavonne and Steve McMichael only less annoying. Santana hobbles inside amidst a “Tito!”chant as the bell rings. We TAPE EDIT right off the bat and now a sweaty Santana backs Valentine in the corner who begs off. Valentine catches Tito and goes to work on the left leg. Santana rallies with right hands as Mosca says Santana has heart. Valentine drops Santana and goes for the figure four but Tito kicks him. Mosca “This is the hour of power Jack! I’ve never seen anything more exciting in my life!” Ok, maybe I was wrong about the less annoying part. Anyway Valentine slugs Santana in the ropes and continues to work over the left leg. A “Tito!” chant breaks out as he catches Valentine with the Flying Forearm. He crawls over and makes the cover..1….2…3!!!! Noooooo…the bell rings but the ref waves it off. Valentine’s foot was outside the ring. Santana celebrates thinking he’s won but the ref says now. Valentine gets a knee to the back and Santana drops to the ground. Valentine covers and hooks the leg for 1…2….3 WE GOT A NEW CHAMPION!!! The fans are totally confused as Albano gets in the ring with the belt. Mosca cries foul as Albano and Valentine celebrate with the title. Santana rolls around in agony as Albano shows the belt to the referee with a big cigar in his mouth. Red Auerbach would approve of the victory cigar. The announcer gives the crowd the bad news as Valentine is the new champ. After the match, Valentine attacks Santana and applies the figure four. The ref doesn’t do anything to stop Greg and Santana screams in agony. Valentine releases the hold and leaves with the belt. The match was drastically edited for this tape’s purpose but the point was showing how Santana lost the belt which sets up the big grudge match later.

Time of match: clipped

Winner: Greg Valentine
Now we go to a vignette of Santana in a hospital bed saying he’s about to have surgery on the injured leg. All fine and dandy but he’s wearing sunglasses for some reason. Santana says he’s got torn cartilage and maybe a torn ligament and he’s about to go into surgery. A montage of Tito being prepped for surgery is shown to give some legitimacy to the angle. A doctor says he’s going to scope the knee as a telephone rings. Tito is wheeled into the operating room, prepped and put under. This was a very real procedure going on, they wouldn’t go through this much trouble if his leg was not seriously hurt. We cut to post-op where an out of it Santana says the surgery was a success. You can tell he had anesthesia because he talks softly and looks goofy. He stutters and says the cartilage tear was worse but its all taken care of. He says “you can bet your butt Greg Valentine that I will get better, and I will come after you, and payback will be hell. Arriba.” See how easy that was? Rather than come up with some stupid storyline that Greg wants Tito’s wife or he’s jealous that Tito was on TV, all he did was injure the guy and put him out of action. Fans garner sympathy for Santana while Valentine mocks him on TV any chance he gets which sets up the long awaited return bout…..which is next.

Match 6

Tito Santana vs Greg “The Hammer” Valentine (with Jimmy Hart) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in a steel cage match

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon
After almost a year, Santana gets his long awaited rematch for the title on July 6, 1985 in the Baltimore Civic Center and its in the obligatory cage match. Valentine has nowhere to hide and Jimmy Hart can’t save him. I already covered in a previous tape that Hart replaced Albano as Greg’s manager so no need to talk about it further. Valentine is in the black trunks and Santana in the red. Santana grabs Valentine and brings him in the ring the hard way as referee Dick Woehrle slams the cage door shut. Santana is fired up and Valentine paces around with nowhere to go. Valentine goes for a forearm but Santana rallies with right hands. Valentine recovers and goes for the door but Santana stops him. Santana rams Greg’s head into the buckle as Monsoon says the only ways to win are over the top or through the door, no pinfall or submission. Santana makes a break for it but Valentine catches him. Santana slugs away on Greg but Valentine drops him with a big forearm. Greg makes a break for it but Santana has him by the foot. Hart bellows into the megaphone but thankfully Monsoon’s overdub drowns him out. Valentine goes to ram Tito into the cage but Santana blocks it. On the other side of the ring, Santana blocks another ram job as Monsoon scoffs at Jimmy Hart. Valentine drops a hammer as Hart laughs maniacally. Greg goes to leave over the top but Santana stops him. Tito fires away at Greg’s left leg as both men climb up the cage. Monsoon says Tito has a handful of tights and we could get x-rated here. Luckily Greg’s tights stay up and Tito drops Valentine down with right hands. Valentine crotches Santana then puts the boots to him. Hammer delivers a shoulderbreaker as Hart laughs again. Greg calls for the door but a Santana lunge stops him at the last second. Santana does pull on the tights but the camera angle doesn’t show it thanfully. Santana goes for the door but Greg stops him. Greg pounds away on Santana and tries to go out only for Santana to drop him in the center of the ring. Greg drags Santana into the ring and goes for the figure four, but Tito kicks him off. Valentine unloads with right hands and sends Tito off the ropes where Santana ducks under the clothesline and waffles Valentine with the flying jalepeno as Heenan calls it. Somehow Greg gets to his feet first and he nails Santana with a back suplex. Monsoon praises Valentine’s discipline as Tito blocks Greg from leaving the cage. Greg picks up Santana and drives him backwards into the cage. Greg rams his head into the cage as the crowd chants for Santana. Valentine puts the boots to Tito then stuns him with a series of right hands. Greg tosses Santana head first into the cage then climbs the second rope. An elbow right between the eyes connects and Tito is busted wide open. Valentine goes to leave but Tito stops him just in time. Santana nails Valentine with a right hand and he flops. A big elbow drop floors Santana but a second figure four attempt is blocked. Tito kicks Valentine head first into the cage and staggers around. He climbs to the top rope and gets one foot out of the cage. Tito drops Valentine with a right hand and gets both feet over the top of the cage. Valentine goes for the door but Santana kicks it shut in Greg’s face. Santana drops to the floor and WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION!!! Santana regains the title although Greg is not happy. Greg smashes the belt around the ring as Santana gets back in the ring. Valentine is pelted with garbage as he throws the belt into the cage and walks out disgusted. Santana picks the belt up and holds it up, its all busted up. This would lead to a new belt being made who’s design would last from 1985 to 1998. Ring announcer Mel Phillips announces Santana the new champion. Tito puts the belt on and stands tall in the ring. The only thing I have to squawk about is Santana had to wait nearly a year to get his revenge and even though he won the match, he got beat up for most of it. Instead of Greg getting his daylights beat in, Santana barely escaped with the match. Still, Tito got the belt back and wins the feud.

Time of match: 11:32

Winner: Tito Santana
Moving right to the next bout.
Match 7

Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) vs “Superstar” Billy Graham (with The Grand Wizard) for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

No, this isn’t the match where Graham took the title. That was in April of 1977 in Baltimore. This was August 1, 1977 in Madison Square Garden. Bruno is in the green trunks and Graham is in the long black. Monsoon is the special guest referee and Monsoon on the overdub says he was 423 pounds here. Graham attacks Bruno before the bell rings and Monsoon pries him off.  The bell finally rings and Bruno goes to work on Graham with right hands. Bruno backdrops Billy and puts the boots to him. Billy begs off as Monsoon says Bruno looks in great shape here and he didn’t look great in Baltimore. Bruno rams Billy into the buckle then waffles him through the ropes and onto the floor. Monsoon on the overdub says he wasn’t going to count him out. Back inside Bruno puts the boots to him then stands on him. Graham begs off and Bruno continues to stomp away before landing an uppercut that drops the champion. Monsoon says Bruno was bench pressing over 500 pounds in the early 1960’s, no steroids, no suppliments. Monsoon brings up Ted Arcidi’s 705 bench press but I say Bruno’s is more impressive. Graham slides under the bottom rope, grabs Bruno’s foot and pulls him out. Graham chokes Bruno on the apron then grabs rope from under the ring. Graham slides in the ring but Monsoon notices and pounces on him. Bruno then takes the rope and strangles Graham with it and Monsoon subjectively makes Bruno cease and desist. Billy begs off but Bruno sends him into the corner. Billy reverses an irish whip but crashes knee first into the corner. Bruno goes to work on the left leg, ties it in the ropes and stomps it. Bruno caters to the crowd then continues to work over the leg, turning Graham into a half crab, We TAPE EDIT to when Graham makes the ropes. Bruno continues to work on the leg with leg twist as Monsoon motions he’s going to stop the match. Billy refuses to give it up and gets a thumb to the eye and a low blow that ref Monsoon missed but commentator Monsoon caught. Billy punches away at the ribs then goes up to the top rope. He badly misses a knee drop and Bruno shakes his head at him. Billy begs off but Bruno whips him into the corner. This time its Bruno who goes knee first into the corner. Graham boots him to the outside and he regroups with Skaaland. Bruno slides back in as Graham slides out to the other side to grab the championship belt. Monsoon tries to hold him back but he still clocks Bruno with it. Monsoon on commentary says he refused to DQ Graham because he wanted Bruno to win the title back. Bruno is now busted wide open as Graham works over the wound with fists. Bruno rallies with fists and a scoop slam. Bruno kicks him out of the ring and Graham says to heck with it. He goes to leave but Monsoon chases after, puts him in a fireman’s carry and throws him back in the ring. Bruno slugs away at the champ and rams him into the ringpost. Now Billy is busted open and Bruno sends him into another ring post, headfirst. Monsoon checks the blood on Billy’s head but Bruno goes apeshit on him. Rights, lefts, rights, whip into the ropes, BEARHUG! Monsoon goes to ring the bell and Graham punches HIM instead. Once again he refuses to DQ the champ because he wants Bruno to win clean. Monsoon wipes the blood off Graham’s head on his shirt as Bruno continues to slug away. Monsoon’s shirt is totally covered red at this point. All Bruno does is punch, punch, punch. Finally Monsoon calls for the bell as Graham falls to the mat. The ring announcer can’t get the mic to come down. The official decision was Monsoon said neither man could continue and declared it a draw. Complete bullshit as Bruno was on a roll but that was the best they could do to have Graham keep the title but not make Bruno look bad. We got to the replay where Monsoon carries Graham back to the ring and the crowd goes nuts. As a wrestling match, it totally sucked but as a pier six brawl it was awesome. Bruno was primarily a classic brawler but that’s what the fans wanted to see; a hard punching Italian laying waste to the marauding horde of infidels trying to take his title. Graham was no mat technician either but he bumped and sold everything Bruno hit him with.
Time of match: 13:05

Winner: No one, Draw
On to the final match of the tape…which looks familiar.
Match 8

“Mr Wonderful” Paul Orndorff and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (with Bob Orton) vs Mr T and Hulk Hogan (with Jimmy Snuka)

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura

That’s right it’s the main event of WRESTLEMANIA 1. We clip the intros for this tape’s purpose and Hogan and Orndorff start.Its well documented these 2 have a history in Tampa, Florida. Orndorff teases going at it before tagging Piper in. Mr T hops up and down saying let me have him so Hogan tags him in. Piper made it clear on his DVD compilation he never liked Mr. T so this feud was more personal than it was business. Piper hated Mr T, Orndorff and Hogan hated each other so this maybe an out and out shoot by the end. Piper and T staredown nose to nose before they exchange slaps to the face before hitting a go-behind takedown. T tries to sit-out/turn in but Piper maintains the ride. Mr T finally switches out of it as Orndorff fires up Piper in their corner. Mr T puts Piper into a fireman’s carry then drops him like yesterday’s newspaper (Monsoon’s words not mine). Piper backs T into his corner where Orndorff gets in then a melee ensues when all 4 men brawl into the corner. Muhammad Ali and Bob Orton get in the ring as Snuka goes upstairs. Ali throws a punch that sends Piper out of the ring then takes a swing at Orton who retreats to the ground. The heels regroup outside as the camera shows Billy Martin laughing his ass off at the proceedings. Piper motions that they’re outta here as Monsoon scoffs and the heels actually leave the area. Patterson counts up to 8 before Hogan stops him and motions for them to come back and the heels in fact do walk back to ringside. Piper and Paul get in the ring to attack Mr T and Hogan but the faces clean house. They hit a double noggin knocker on the heels before Hogan clotheslines Roddy in the corner. Hulk hits a knoggin knocker on Piper and Orndorff before hitting an atomic drop on the rowdy one. Piper and Hogan trade blows before Hulk makes the tag to Mr T then they hit a double clotheslines. T hits a scoop slam on Piper and an arm-drag on an interfering Orndorff. T hits another slam on Piper and headbutts Orndorff before ramming Piper’s head into Hogan’s knee. Make no mistake about it, in terms of physical condition Mr T has the physique that is better than half the WWF roster so had he went into wrestling, he couldn’t have been any worse than anybody the AWA put out in the late 80’s. Hogan rakes the eyes and big boots Piper over the top rope to the floor. Mr Wonderful interferes and clotheslines Hogan out of the ring so Piper grabs a chair and waffles the Hulkster with it. Muhammad Ali chases Piper back in the ring but Orndorff sneaks out and throws Hogan into the ring. Piper puts the boots to Hogan as Orndorff sneaks in a cheap shot of his own. Mr T interferes so Piper and Orndorff double team the Hulkster. Piper and Orndorff execute a double atomic drop on Hogan as Muhammad Ali gets in the ring to chase Piper out. Fans may not be pleased with Ali’s constant interference but from a kayfabe standpoint he’s supposed to be the enforcer and that’s exactly what he’s doing. Patterson has to beg Ali to get out as Orndorff works over Hulk. Orndorff hits a snap suplex as Ventura says he’s the x-factor of this match being the most technically gifted of all 4 men involved…..well 6 including Snuka and Orton outside. Piper tags in and hits windup punches then a knee lift for 1…2..nope, Hogan kicks out. Piper holds Hogan as Paul tags in and hits a forearm to the back of the neck…..One of the unwritten laws of wrestling is not to hit moves on the back of the neck because you’re more prone to actual injuries, but Orndorff would ROUTINELY do this to Hogan in their matches, pissing off the Hulkster legitimately in the process. Paul covers for a near-fall before hitting a nice backbreaker before going upstairs. Orndorff goes for another forearm off the top but misses. Hogan makes the hot tag to Mr T. T cleans house before Orndorff is able to take him down. Mr T and Orndorff go high school style as Mr T goes for a roll but Paul wizzers to make sure that doesn’t happen. Piper makes the tag then hits a front headlock on B.A. Barabus before T tags Hogan in.  Both heels interfere so Hogan hits a double noggin knocker on them then headlock punches Orndorff until Wonderful counters with a back suplex. Piper interferes but Patterson cuts him off so both Jimmy Snuka and Cowboy Bob get in the ring. Snuka hits a jumping headbutt that sends Orton over the top to the apron. Patterson is distracted by Snuka as Orndorff puts Hogan in a full nelson. Piper and Mr. T go at it as Patterson turns his attention to him as Orton goes upstairs. Orton comes off the top but Hogan moves and Ace catches Orndorff in the back of the head with the cast. Hogan covers as Snuka roughs up Orton and Patterson gets in position..1……2…..3….its overrrrrrrr!!!!  We clip to Hogan, T and Snuka leaving and the tape ends here.  Said it a million times, great match due to the high intensity.
Time of match: 13:21

Winners: Mr T and Hulk Hogan by pinfall

The credits roll and this one’s over. Before the tape ends we get previews for the next three tapes. We got BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 7 which highlights a British Bulldogs and Hart Foundation match. We also have VILLAINS OF THE SQUARED CIRCLE which highlights the classic heels of the company. The final tape highlighted is BRUNO SAMMARTINO: THE LIVING LEGEND which highlights Bruno of course. We’re shown a clip of Bruno and Killer Kowalski going at it. I can say right now that’s going to be a bad “wrestling” match but get ready for a bloody brawl when that comes up. As for this tape, that was certainly great grudge matches. Almost all of them were wild, bloody, full of mayhem and high intensity. It’s a shame as modern WWE prohibits blood, bad language and blows to the head to keep the kiddies happy…when old school wrestling like this had no bad language, skimpy bimbos or inappropriate storylines. Then again, WWE doesn’t claim to be wrestling, they’re “sports entertainment”. Yeah…right. Anyway mostly all the matches were good or watchable. I give it 4.5 out of 5, a half a point off because they had to clip Santana’s title loss to Valentine. Nit picking, yes, but still a valid point. I wanted to see the full match..dammit!  The next tape after this is RICKY THE DRAGON STEAMBOAT.

WWF Most Unusual Matches (WF005)

WWF MOST UNUSUAL MATCHES (WF005)

  After the first WRESTLEMANIA, Coliseum Video released MOST UNUSUAL MATCHES which was to highlight the unusual matches of the time period. Once again this is a pretty ballsy tape as we’re highlighting certain things that wouldn’t be highlighted in other promotions, but is that a good thing or a bad thing? Let’s find out. Since it was released following Wrestlemania, I’m assuming the video came out in May of 1985. Cue the Coliseum Video opening before being greeted by our host, Jesse “The Body” Ventura. Jesse is wearing a blue feathered turban and exotic red sunglasses. He says in order to present unusual matches, Coliseum Video needed an unusual wrestler and the outlandish Ventura fit the bill. He explains why these matches were chosen and why unusual matches. He makes the great point of presenting fans with greater combination of action like Texas Tornado and Lumberjack matches. We get a preview of the action we’re about to see before sending us to our first match. Ventura says there will be 9 matches shown so at least we know how many we’re in store for.

 

Match 1

Tito Santana vs Greg “The Hammer” Valentine (with Jimmy Hart) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in a Lumberjack Match

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and “Mean” Gene Okerlund

Literally 2 weeks before Wrestlemania 1, Valentine was defending the title in Madison Square Garden against the former champ but with Lumberjack rules on March 17, 1985. Jesse explains that the concept of this match came from the old lumberjacks in the pacific northwest. They’d have their disputes and it would end when the two combatants would fight while the rest of them circled the two, no one could leave until the fight was over. Some of the heel lumberjacks are Matt Borne, “Big” John Studd, Terry Gibbs, Barry O (Bob Orton’s brother and Randy’s uncle), Charlie Fulton and King Kong Bundy. Some of the faces are Rocky Johnson, Ricky Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka and Junkyard Dog.  Valentine enters wearing purple tights and Santana in blue while Jimmy Hart is in a flamboyant suit combo. While the referee is checking Santana for foreign objects, Valentine clobbers him. Valentine unloads with forearms as Jimmy Hart taunts Gene Okerlund. Valentine drops Santana then clubs him with more forearms. Greg goes for the chinlock but Santana blocks it and gets to his feet. Santana tries to power out of it but Valentine rakes the eyes, what a heel! Greg sends Tito off but Santana catches him with a clothesline. Tito puts the boots to him in the corner then rams his head into the turnbuckle. After a Valentine Flop, Greg bails to the heel side of the ring. Borne, Studd, Orton and Fulton try to console Greg but Steamboat comes over and throws him onto the apron. Gene makes the comment “someday you may see those two go at it.” Wait till Wrestlemania 4 there Gene. Tito goes to work with forearms to the chest before Valentine drops to the floor. The heels try to protect Greg but again Steamboat comes over to toss him inside. Greg takes a swing at Steamboat then begs off. I think its funny that not only did Matt Borne let Steamboat get away with that, Junkyard Dog is literally standing next to Bundy. Guess everyone can get along after all, right? Tito catches the foot then delivers an atomic drop. Santana drops the champ with a knee lift as I notice Jimmy Hart standing next to Rocky Johnson. I heard Johnson’s son is one arrogant chef, he constantly asks people if they smell what he’s cooking.  Valentine bails to the heel side again but this time he’s thrown back in by the unlikely combo of JYD and Bundy. Greg would be wrestling JYD 14 days later at Wrestlemania. Santana attempts 10 punches in the corner but halfway through, Valentine catches him with an inverted atomic drop. Monsoon suggests that Rocky grab Jimmy Hart by the throat, heh. We get a TAPE EDIT and the crowd pops as Santana goes for the figure four, Greg squirms his way out of it and onto the floor into the arms of Jimmy Hart. Only problem is he’s on the face side of the ring and Rocky Johnson pushes Jimmy aside then with a little help from Steamboat, JYD and Snuka, tosses Greg back in. We get another TAPE EDIT (not this shit again) and now Santana has Valentine dazed with right hands. Bundy is next to Jimmy Hart now and they both cheer on Hammer. Valentine drops and bails only to be caught by Steamboat. For some reason the bell rings as Steamboat, Snuka, Dog and one of the jobbers tosses Greg back in. Valentine begs off as Tito stalks him around the ring. Tito rallies with right hands in the corner but a charge in the opposite one eats knee. Valentine falls on Tito and the ref makes the count..1….2.nope. We get a TAPE EDIT and Valentine throws Santana out to Studd and Borne’s part of the outside. Studd, Borne and JYD toss Tito back in the ring without a struggle. Valentine puts the boots to Tito then heaves him out the other side where the faces allow Tito time to rest before tossing him back on the apron, where he’s met by several Hammer forearms to the chest. Tito crawls into the ring where he’s met by a second rope forearm smash by Valentine. Greg drops a knee and the sloppy cover gets a deuce, Gorilla admonishes Greg for the cover. Greg drags Tito to the center of the ring and before he goes for the figure four, he taunts Tito by slapping him in the face. Valentine delivers a series of knee drops to the right leg of Santana then goes for the figure four. Tito blocks the first attempt then cradles him up for 1..2..nope. They trade blows in the center of the ring but a running forearm shot by Hammer floors Santana. Yet another TAPE EDIT followed by Santana rallying with right hands. They trade blows in the ring but now Santana gets the upper hand causing a Valentine Flop. Valentine goes to bail but catches him by pulling his tights down. The camera cuts to JYD shoving Barry O to keep this a family show. Santana suplexes a dazed Hammer. Tito makes the cover but only gets a deuce. Tito drops a few knees then goes for his own figure four, but Valentine blocks it and kicks him off. Valentine bails and heads for the exit but the faces stop him and heave him back inside. Santana hits a running forearm (not his finisher) that drops Hammer. Santana then goes for the figure four and hooks it in but Jimmy Hart hops up on the apron to distract the referee. Studd slides in the ring and pulls Valentine toward the ropes. The ref turns around and makes Santana break the hold. Santana goes after Studd but Valentine delivers a knee to the back. Valentine pounds away but Tito rallies then a brawl develops. Tito sends Greg off but their heads collide. Greg happens to fall on Santana and the ref counts 1…..2….3 and its over. Monsoon can’t believe it but The Hammer retains. The lumberjacks leave ringside as Fink announces Valentine the winner. Jimmy Hart and King Kong Bundy celebrate than get the heck out of dodge with the Hammer. Standard 1984 action but was this unusual? Not really, even for the time period.

Time of match: Edited, who cares?

Winner: Greg Valentine by pinfall (Still IC Champion)

We got right into the next match

Match 2

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine vs “Chief” Jay Strongbow in an Indian Strap Match

Commentator: Jesse “The Body” Ventura

On July 30, 1979 Valentine took on Strongbow at Madison Square Garden in a strap match which was unusual for that time period anyway. Valentine wastes no time and attacks Strongbow after Fink’s instructions. Valentine puts the boots to him before the strap is put on. BRILLIANT! The ref finally puts the strap on Greg and the bell gets underway. Greg clubs away in the corner then strangles Jay in the corner. Greg continues to pound away in the corner and Strongbow is busted open. Strongbow was a spry 50 at the time of the match and Greg was a month away from his 28^th birthday. A prime hammer so to speak. Greg pounds away but Jay starts no-selling. He goes into the “Hey-How-Are-Ya” hulk up so to speak. Strongbow rallies with right hands and then starts whipping Greg all over the ring. Jay rams Greg into his own knee and we get another stinkin TAPE EDIT. Valentine delivers an elbow to the head and Strongbow crumples outside. Strongbow goes to regroup but he’s strapped so Valentine just lugs him back to the ring. Valentine kicks him back out and repeats the process until Strongbow grabs Greg’s leg. Jay pulls Greg out and they trade blows on the floor. Jay rams Greg’s head into the guardrail twice then grabs a chair. Greg stops the chair but is rammed into the ring post. Valentine is busted open as they continue to brawl. Greg then chokes Strongbow on the bottom rope. The ref steps in but Chief fights out of it. They trade blows in the corner as the ref tries to separate them. Jay then kicks the ref square in the nuts as the brawl continues. Ivan Putski, Tito Santana and Dominic DeNucci hit the ring to break up the fight. The bell rings as the two are pulled apart. A fan reaches over the guardrail and grabs a chair away from Valentine so Greg throws a few forearms at the portly gentleman. Back in those days, fans would routinely rush the ring and wrestlers were given carte blanche to fight their way out. Neither would never happen now, if a fan rushes the ring he would be whisked away by security and if a wrestled belted a fan, there’s a lawsuit on Vince’s hands. Gorilla Monsoon comes out to restore order before the fans riot. Everyone but Valentine bails and the fan reaches over again, Valentine goes to attack but security and the police restrain the two. They finally get Greg out of there was the scene cuts. That was a hell of a finish, a DQ in a strap match. Was it unusual? You bet your bippy big guy.

Time of match: An edited 5 minutes (real time was 7:46)

Winner: No one (Double DQ)

We head right into the next match

Match 3

“Superfly” Jimmy Snuka and Junkyard Dog vs “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Cowboy” Bob Orton in a Texas Tornado Rules tag match

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Gene Okerlund

Madison Square Garden on January 21, 1985 saw this rare match. Rare for the rules, not for the participants. The rules are all four participants are in at the same time, there are no tags. This is going to be a long one for that reason only. Snuka starts unloading on Piper while Orton trades punches with JYD. JYD and Snuka gain the upper hand and whip the two heels together, only Orton backdrops Piper. Snuka headbutts Orton who crashes into Piper and they both go down. JYD gets on his knees and headbutts Piper around as Snuka snapmares Orton. Piper begs off as Snuka nails Orton with a punch that sends him through the ropes and to the outside. Piper is caught between Dog and Snuka so he bails to the other side of the ring. Snuka goes after him as Orton tries to sneak up on Dog but JYD nails him in the ribs. Snuka continues to attack Piper on the floor as Dog drops Orton with a clothesline. Piper whips Snuka into the ring post as Dog’s cover gets 1..2..and no. Piper gets in the ring, taps Dog on the shoulder and then pokes him in the eyes 3 Stooges style when Dog turns to look. Piper holds Dog and Orton knocks him down with a clothesline. Piper covers but Dog powers out at 2. Snuke re-enters the ring but Roddy cuts him off. Piper boots JYD to the outside as Orton comes over to take a swing at Snuka. Jimmy grabs Orton and Piper then rams their two heads together. Piper staggers backward and JYD kneels down behind him for the schoolyard trip but Piper goes to one knee and Snuka just tackles him over JYD. Snuka pounds the head of Piper but Roddy bails. Roddy heads for the exit but Snuka cuts him off with Orton in hot pursuit. Orton staggers back where Dog catches him and a brawl develops on the floor. Back inside Jimmy bites Piper on the mat as Orton pounds on Dog.  Orton then holds Snuka for Piper to deliver more damage and Piper cuts an onrushing JYD off with a thumb to the eye. Piper snapmares Dog and locks in a chinlock while Orton does the same to Snuka. We get a TAPE EDIT but the chinlocks are still applied. The faces then get to their feet but the heels whip them off the ropes to apply sleeperholds. Piper then kicks away at Snuka but we get another TAPE EDIT. Dog and Snuka are fading but they revive. Dog and Snuka grab each other’s hands and ram Orton/Piper’s heads together. Dog does his headbutts to Orton on the mat as Snuka rallies with right hands and a headbutt on Piper. Dog whops Orton into the corner who spirals upside down. Piper drops Dog with a kneelift, then in a moment that’s captured in the Coliseum Video opening montage; Piper and Orton combine to scoop slam Snuka. Piper grabs Dog and bites him in the corner as Orton goes up to the top. Orton tries a big splash but Snuka gets the knees up in time. Snuka headbutts Piper to the floor then follows him out. Piper sends Superfly into the ring post and trips up JYD as he bounces off the ropes. Orton drops a knee on Dog then rolls him cover, covers for 1…2….3 that’s it. Orton and Piper win it as Okerlund can’t believe it. Piper and Orton rush to the back with the losers pursuing. Monsoon says the crowd is stunned and the match cuts off right there. Was this unusual? Actually yeah, rarely do you see texas tornado rules in a WWF ring.

Time of match: An unofficial 7:55

Winners: Orton and Piper by pinfall
We go right to the next…..match so to speak. All it is, are highlights of an ancient women’s battle royal with Monsoon doing the voiceover.

Match 4

10 Women Battle Royal

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

Now this is a rarity. A women’s battle royal from the 1960’s. I can’t tell the exact date and at the start there are only 8 women in the ring. One of them is Donna Christianello, the rest Monsoon will have to fill us in on. Donna’s the one with the long black hair and she was trained by Fabulous Moolah. This battle royal has different rules as the only way to be eliminated is by pinfall. Now this will be one of the few times in history I’m going to go lazy-ass because other than Donna, I don’t have a clue who anyone is, so it’s impossible to call all the action. Before Monsoon takes over, Ventura’s voice over says the winner of the match would get a title shot against Fabulous Moolah. Yes, she was the chaAfter a tape edit that gets rid of two more girls, Monsoon gives us the run-down of Paula Kay, Black Panther, White Venus (who’s wearing a mask, which gives me 2 people I can spot instantly), Sue Green, Donna and Peggy Patterson.  Donna, Kay and Venus are thrown into each other by the other women. Another edit has Panther no longer with us as Venus executes a snap mare on Green. Kay puts the boots to Green. A little while later Kay and Green double cover Venus for the 3 count to eliminate her. Down to Green, Kay, Donna and Patterson. Here’s the funny thing, if this is the famous “Cowgirl” Sue Green, she would have to be 15-16 years old at the time of this match. Unless it’s a different Sue Green altogether….I don’t know.  Another edit shows Patterson and Green double-slingshotting the other two into the center of the ring. They do the same spot again to the other side. Two double monkeyflips by the babyfaces are followed by Kay and Donna seeking shelter under the bottom rope. A TAPE EDIT shows Sue tied up in the ropes while Paula snap mares and covers Peggy for nothing because the useless referee abandons the pinfall to check on Sue/Donna. He then gets down and counts to 2 then stops for some ungodly reason that even has Monsoon wondering what the hell is wrong with him on commentary. FINALLY he completes the 3 count and Peggy is sent to the showers leaving Sue alone with Donna and Paula. Once again we get TAPE EDITS up the wazoo which is uncalled for in a short match like this. Both Paula and Donna try to get the pinfall on Green but she kicks out both times. Paula goes for a slingshot on Sue but Donna’s standing behind her so Sue goes for the sunset flip….and blows it. Paula then starts grabbing on to her knees and its fairly obvious there’s supposed to be another slingshot going the other way. Sue slingshots Donna…who lands on her head, botching it as well. Usually women’s wrestling was far less crisp then mens back then, but this is reaching modern day diva levels. Kay eventually flips over but Donna’s on bottom. Even though DONNA is underneath Kay AND they tumbled into the ropes, THE IDIOT REF STILL COUNTS 3. The bell rings to boot as none of the women in the ring have any idea what’s going on. Green then does a running roll up on Donna and the ref counts to 3 again to end this disaster. Sue Green wins one of the ugliest women’s matches I’ve seen before the Diva era. Pretty impressive for a 16 year old. Was this an unusual match? Absolutely, even though it sucked.

Time of match: Who cares?

Winner: Sue Green

We go right into another battle royal, this one’s more recent and it’s at Madison Square Garden.

Match 5

20 Man Battle Royal

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Gene Okerlund

Heh, it’s the battle royal from The Brawl To End It All. This was one of the undercard matches on the July 23, 1984 broadcast on MTV in Madison Square Garden. The only match shown live was Moolah vs Richter but the undercard was shown on MSG network. We get the entrants first: Sika, Jose Luis Rivera, Butcher Vachon, Antonio Inoki, Tony Garea, Chief Jay Strongbow, Afa, Steve Lombardi, Dick Murdoch, Bob Orton, Adrian Adonis, Renee Goulet, Ron Shaw, Charlie Fulton, Terry Daniels, Iron Sheik, Tito Santana, Paul Orndorff, Sgt Slaughter and 20 year old Samu, yes THAT Samu that would later shrink heads. That’s a pretty international battle royal if you look at it. You have the Samoans representing Samoa, Tito Santana representing Mexico, Garea representing New Zealand, Inoki representing Japan, Sheik representing Iran, Goulet and Butcher representing Canada and Jose Luis representing Puerto Rico. I’d say the Samoans would have the advantage with 3 of them in the ring. As with any battle royal its mayhem to start. Slaughter dumps Lombardi pretty quick (big surprise) as Garea sneaks up on Butcher. Samu and Afa double-team Orton in the corner before we get a TAPE EDIT, dammit. About 5 or 6 guys are gone including Sheik, Strongbow, Fulton, Butcher and Orndorff which is stupid because what’s the point of showing an edited battle royal? Adonis goes upstairs but crotches himself when he’s met with a right hand by Inoki. Inoki catches him with a dropkick that sends him through the ropes, not over the top. Goulet chokes down Terry Daniels in the corner while Garea tries to eliminate Shaw to no avail. Samu holds Goulet and Sarge nails him with a right hand. Afa and Sika doubleteam Murdoch in the corner and Samu comes over only to rake the eyes of Murdoch…yeah, big help. Goulet has Sarge halfway out of the ring but Sika makes the save. Murdoch whips Adonis over to Slaughter but Sarge backdrops him over and out. Murdoch jumps on Sarge and they both tumble over the top and out. The camera scans the 10 remaining wrestlers and jobbers Ron Shaw and Terry Daniels go at it, that’s one way to stick around while everyone else is eliminating each other. The crowd gasps as one of the Samoans is dumped but the camera misses it. The other Samoan tries to dump Goulet as Samu comes over and whacks Goulet, which only drops him back in the ring. Again Samu is no help to his own family. The camera misses Santana getting tossed out as Goulet ducks a charge and the other Samoan is gone. Other than Orton and Inoki, most everyone left are jobbers or rookies like Samu. We’re down to 8, make it 7 when Goulet backdrops Rivera out. By the way, Rivera would later don a mask and wrestle as one of the Conquistadors in what is considered the greatest Survivor Series match of all time….but that’s 5 years from now. Back to present time, Inoki unloads on Samu with cat swipes then ducks a charge to eliminate him. Because of that, the camera misses Terry Daniels going out and we’re down to 5. Bob Orton, Antonio Inoki, Ron Shaw, Renee Goulet and Tony Garea…who would have seen that coming considering who else was involved? Inoki takes a breather as Goulet goes after Orton and Garea gets tangled up with Shaw. Orton drops Goulet with a forearm then nails Inoki with one. Orton scoop slams Inoki but misses an elbow drop. Inoki dropkicks Orton over the top but Bob catches himself…only to trip and fall off the apron. Down to the final four of Garea, Shaw, Goulet and Inoki…wow. Shaw kicks at Garea while Goulet pounds away on Inoki. Goulet and Shaw team up and toss Garea out. Shaw and Goulet shake hands as Inoki tries to rev up the crowd. Earlier on the card, Shaw lost to Sika in a one on one match so could he avenge his loss here? Looks like a big hell no as Inoki ducks under a double clothesline as Ron and Renee crash into the corner. The two eventually overpower Inoki and Shaw holds him for Goulet. Renee bounces off the ropes and….Inoki moves so Goulet clotheslines Shaw over the top and out. Inoki dropkicks Goulet but he’s too far away from the ropes. Inoki then grabs him and tosses him out the other side to win the match. This was the last match on the card as the entire crowd almost literally runs for the exit (Madison Square Garden had an 11 PM curfew at the time). Fink announces Inoki the winner as Shaw and Goulet are sprawled out on the cement. For those that don’t know, Inoki was the founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling which later provided WCW with a lot of top talent. Vince would get his guys from All-Japan, which was founded by Inoki’s wrestling school classmate, Giant Baba. Was this an unusual match? No, but there was an unusual winner so I guess ½ unusual.

Time of match: I don’t give a damn

Winner: Antonio Inoki

We go to one of the most legendary matches in WWF history.

Match 6

“Superfly” Jimmy Snuka (with Buddy Rogers) vs Don “Magnificent” Muraco for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in a Steel Cage Match

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson

October 17, 1983 in Madison Square Garden saw the culmination of a feud that had a greater impact on wrestling AFTER it had happened, which I’ll explain later. Snuka was a heel under the guidance of Captain Lou Albano but when former WWF Champion “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers in a famous “Buddy’s Corner” (think Piper’s Pit only a few years earlier) segment convinced Snuka that Albano was no good, Jimmy turned on Lou and became the babyface we know today. Rogers would accompany Jimmy to the ring during the pre-Hulkamania years. Snuka and Rogers slowly check out the cage as they make their way around as Muraco shouts at them from inside. As Snuka and Rogers come around the right corner, a long haired teenager in a flannel shirt gives the “I love you” sign. We’ll get to him later. Finally Snuka gets in the cage and the crowd goes nuts. Muraco, in the black tights, ties up but delivers a forearm to the back. They brawl for a bit before Snuka drops the champ with a headbutt. Another tie up leads to Muraco taking a beating in the ropes. A big chop floors Muraco. Don crawls for the door but Jimmy stops him. Snuka rams Muraco’s head in the turnbuckle then delivers a big right hand. Jimmy rams Don into the other corner twice then chops him again. Don gets a knee to the mid-section then slingshots Snuka into the cage. Snuka is busted wide open as Muraco puts the boots to him. Muraco grates Jimmy’s head into the cage then unloads with right hands. Muraco whips Jimmy into the corner but a charge eats knee. Snuka climbs to the top but Don stops him with a forearm to the back. Don rams Jimmy’s head into the cage then foolishly picks him up in a fireman’s carry. Snuka catches himself on the top of the cage then knocks Muraco crotch first onto the top rope. Snuka nails Muraco back in the ring as Monsoon scoffs (and so do I) at Jimmy for not climbing out of the cage at this point with Muraco down. Jimmy tries to climb down but Muraco nails him with a rib shot then powerslams him into the center of the ring. Don heads for the door but Jimmy catches him at the last second. Muraco then mule kicks him in the gonads as Monsoon says its legal. Jimmy reverses a whip and Muraco half-Flair flips into the corner. Jimmy rams Muraco into the cage and now he’s busted open too. Jimmy gets fired up and drops Don with a big right hand. He scoop slams the champ then goes upstairs. Jimmy drops a fist from the second rope as the crowd comes alive. Snuka rallies with right hands and another chop that sends Muraco to the canvas. Jimmy stuns Don with a headbutt, bounces off the ropes and nails Muraco with a flying headbutt….but oh no! Muraco flips over the top rope and out of the cage, which means MURACO WINS! Snuka can’t believe it as Patterson says it was an accident. Snuka screams as he leaves the cage and prevents Muraco from leaving. He tosses Muraco back in for some extracurricular activity. Jimmy suplexes Muraco into the middle of the cage then goes upstairs. He then looks behind him and climbs all the way to the top of the cage. Monsoon “SUPERFLY PERCHED 15 FEET HIGH!” The long haired teenager in the flannel shirt watched in amazement as Snuka lept off the top of the cage and nailed Muraco with a Superfly splash. The crowd goes crazy as Snuka grabs the IC belt and poses with it for the crowd. Jimmy drops the belt on Muraco’s fallen body and does the “I love you pose” Jimmy makes his exit as Muraco twitches on the canvas. Monsoon goes to the replay of Snuka diving off the cage as the doctor at ringside tends to Muraco inside. We cut the action here but I’m glad they kept the entire match intact as well as the historic finish. By the way, that long-haired teenager in the flannel shirt was 18 year old Mick Foley. When he saw Snuka leap off the cage he got inspired to become a wrestler himself. So Muraco/Snuka in a cage had a much more lasting impression on the wrestling world because of Mick Foley than the actual feud itself. So was this an unusual match? Cage matches back then were the feud enders plus we saw Mick Foley before he ever got in the business so I say sure. The match itself wasn’t anything special but given the level of intensity, plus the finish, good stuff!

Time of match: 6:42

Winner: Don Muraco (still IC Champion)

As anti-climatic as it sounds, the cage match didn’t end the feud. A few months later the managers would get involved and a tag match would take place. Only it would be Snuka teaming with Arnold Skaaland against Captain Lou and Muraco. Apparently Rogers got hurt in training for the match and Arnie took his place.

Match 7

“Captain” Lou Albano and Don “Magnificent” Muraco vs “The Golden Boy” Arnold Skaaland and Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson

With Buddy Rogers out, 58 year old Arnold Skaaland gets back in the ring to assist Snuka against Muraco and Albano. Albano was 50 years old himself at the time of the match. Snuka was 40 believe it or not with Muraco bringing up the rear at 34. We’re back at Madison Square Garden on December 26, 1983, the night Sheik defeated Backlund for the world title. Skaaland and Muraco start with a tie up as Patterson says not to count Arnie out due to his age. Skaaland and Albano are no strangers to each other either. 16 years earlier Skaaland and his partner Spiros Arion dropped the WWWF US Tag Team Titles to The Sicillians (Albano and Tony Altimore). Muraco (wearing the black tights) gets the upperhand as Ventura’s voice-over explains the upcoming contest (why couldn’t they have done this BEFORE the action started?). Muraco misses a charge in the corner and Skaaland (in the blue tights) arm-drags Muraco twice. Muraco clears his head then methodically stalks Arnie. A sideheadlock is applied before Skaaland sends Muraco off who jumps over Skaaland then stops to give the arm and the elbow to Snuka. Don turns around into a scoop slam by Skaaland. Albano interferes and is met with a big right hand. A TAPE EDIT shows Muraco now tying up with Skaaland. Arnie gets sent off who nails Albano in the corner with a big forearm. Muraco charges and Arnie catches him with a nice inside cradle for 1..2..nope. Not bad for a guy who would turn 59 less than a month later. Muraco bails to clear his head then re-enters. Muraco swipes at Skaaland as we go to the replay of the small package. Skaaland crawls under the legs of Muraco and tags in the Superfly. Muraco backs off but with a cocky smirk on his face while Albano paces on the apron. The camera cuts to a shot of the crowd and misses Snuka onloading on Albano.  Muraco gets Snuka in a headlock, sends him off and drops him with a shoulderblock. Snuka does his trademark leapfrogs then drops Muraco with a big chop. A jumping headbutt floors Muraco. Jimmy makes the cover but only gets a 2, then applies a rest hold. The ref gives Albano shit as a kid in the front row takes a swig of coke. Muraco begins to power up as Snuka yells at Albano. Monsoon makes note that Lou hasn’t been in the match yet. Muraco breaks free and tags in Albano right on cue. Albano comes in and begs off in a circle then goes to give Jimmy a hug. Jimmy is not in a hugging mood and he greets Lou with a kick to the gut and a chop, Albano barely sells either. Jimmy goes for another chop but Albano no sells it and punches Snuka in the gonads, ouch. Jimmy staggers into the corner where Albano delivers a forearm to the back. Albano unloads on Jimmy with the heavy artillery and a rake to the eyes. Lou then distracts the refree and Muraco then goes upstairs to deliver a standing knee to the throat. The ref turns around and Muraco puts his hands up then bails. Referee Gil Roman is asleep apparently. Albano continues to unload on Snuka then tags Muraco back in. A double knee lift drops Snuka then a running knee lift floors him again. A big thumb to the eye has Superfly rolling around in agony. A series of boots and an elbow sends Jimmy to the canvas. Arnold looks on intently and Snuka begins to rally with right hands and a headbutt. A chop decks Muraco but Snuka goes to attack Albano. Don dropkicks Snuka in the back then tags in Lou. Albano continues to punch/kick Snuka around then tags Don in. Muraco holds Snuka but Jimmy moves and Albano nails Muraco instead. Skaaland interferes to attack Albano in the corner. Snuka sneaks to the top rope as Muraco turns around into a flying bodypress. The cover 1..2…3 and its over, Snuka’s team wins it. Snuka rams Lou and Don’s heads together after the bell. Patterson cuts off mid-sentence as apparently Albano was giving him shit. Fink announces the winners as we cut right there. Well that was average at best. Did it belong on this kind of tape, hell no! Like I said, it was anti-climatic after the cage match plus all Albano did was stumble and bumble around. I will say at least Skaaland and Albano were trained professionals, unlike when celebs get in the ring nowadays.

Time of match: An un-official 8:16

Winners: Jimmy Snuka and Arnold Skaaland

Moving right along to one from the archives. This one goes back to the late 70’s.

Match 8

Haystacks Calhoun “High Chief” Peter Maivia and Larry Zybysko vs Butcher Vachon, Moose Monroe and Strong Kobayashi

Commentator: Vince McMahon

We go back to the WW…WF when Vince McMahon Sr was running the show. Back then you had guys coming in and out of the territory unless they homesteaded like Bruno Sammartino. This is supposed to highlight Haystacks who was a legitimate 600 pounds. What about the rest? Well we know Butcher and Zybysko from previous tapes. Peter Maivia is the grandfather of The Rock and father-in-law of “Soulman” Rocky Johnson, which is the inspiration for Rock’s original name of “Rocky Maivia”. Maivia was also one tough son of a bitch, his tribal tattoos down his abs and legs were done over a period of 3 days using a hammer, needle and ink. None of this lazer shit, he had it done the hard way. Kobayashi was in town from Japan, most notably the International Wrestling Enterprise. Moose Monroe was a standard jobber of the 70’s. Haystacks was the Andre the Giant of his time. He basically had the same career too only 15 years earlier. The fact he was a hillbilly paved the way for future bumpkins Hillbilly Jim, Cousin Luke, Uncle Elmer, The Godwinns, etc. At one point, Haystacks was the LIGHTER wrestler in a match with the 800 pound Happy Humphrey. Think Yokozona was too fat by the end of his run in WWF, add on another 200 pounds and that’s what Humphrey was. Anyway back to the actual match, Zybysko stars with Kobayashi who chickens out and Butcher gets in. Zybysko arm drags Vachon twice before tagging in Calhoun. Butcher tags in Monroe as Haystacks stalks him. Calhoun puts him in a full nelson but none of his babyface teammates want to take a cheap shot. Butcher interferes but the ref shoos him away. Finally Zybysko gets in a cheap shot (of course it had to be him) and Haystacks throws Monroe into the corner. Haystacks is wearing is standard overalls and black t-shirt, Zybysko has black tights and Maivia has pink ones. Monroe has the Baron Von Raschke-esque red and black combo pants. Calhoun does a series of avalanches in the corner on Monroe then applies a bear-hug. Zybysko tags in where he rallies with right hands and dropping Moose with a knee to the gut. Maivia tags in who is all smiles as he delivers a stomach-breaker. Calhoun tags in and delivers a sloppy big splash. As he covers, Maivia actually runs on top of him then jumps onto Kobayashi as the ref counts 1..2…3 to end it. Zybysko had actually ran up Calhoun to deliver a flying forearm to Butcher as well. The match cuts right there. Was this an unusual match? No. Did it have unusual participants? Yes. Haystacks was the Andre the Giant of the 60’s and Peter Maivia was one of the first Samoans to make it in New York. Unfortunately, Peter died of cancer in June of 1982, 3 years before the tape was released. So while the match may have been a boring squash, least it contained some rare stars that are hardly ever talked about anymore.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winners: Haystacks Calhoun, Peter Maivia and Larry Zybysko

On to the final match of the tape, the one that teased us in BLOOPERS, BLEEPS AND BODYSLAMS, the 10 men, 3 out of 5 fall tag match.

Match 9

“Playboy” Buddy Rose, “Superstar” Billy Graham, Ray “Crippler” Stevens, Mr. Fuji, and Don “Magnificent” Muraco (with Captain Lou Albano) vs Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Pedro Morales, Salvatore Bellomo, Rocky Johnson and Andre the Giant

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

Lot of talent in that ring all around, this is going to be a long one due to it being 3 out of 5 falls with a TWO HOUR time limit. We’re at the Philadelphia Spectrum on February 19, 1983. We got 3 WWF champions in Graham, Morales and Andre with Muraco the reigning IC champ. Rose and Stevens held multiple AWA tag team titles (with different partners) and Mr Fuji was a former WWF tag team champion. Snuka and Belomo never won any gold but Snuka never had to, he was a top draw on his own. Johnson starts in the ring with Fuji but the devious one backs Johnson into the face side of the ring. Fuji gets in a wrist-lock but Johnson rolls out of it and nips backwards. He rallies with his Ali right hands and drops Fooj. Ventura is talking over the action trying to introduce everyone and go over the rules. Fuji tags out to Buddy Rose. Buddy gets a headlock then nails Johnson with a shoulderblock only for Johnson to pop up, leapfrog and catapult Rose across the ring. Rose charges into two arm-drags before Stevens tags in. He eats two arm-drags before he crawls to the corner to tag in Muraco. We get a TAPE EDIT and now Snuka’s in the ring with Muraco. Snuka goes to town on Muraco before tagging in Morales, Morales floors Don with a forearm to the chest and revs up the crowd before tagging in Andre. Andre shoots Muraco in the ropes then delivers a big boot that sends Don over the top rope to the floor. Stevens and Rose come over to help him back in and once inside, Muraco locks in a headlock on the giant who gets sent off the ropes and runs into the huge posterior of Andre. Muraco sells it like he took a cannon shot to the ribs. Stevens tags in and begs off as we get another TAPE EDIT and now its Bellomo in with Muraco. Poor Bellomo, he was the least known out of all 10 men. Muraco gets him up in an airplane spin. Round and round he goes and then falls backwards (haha) with Bellomo on top for 1..2..no. A dizzy Muraco tags out to Rose who puts Bellomo in another airplane spin. He drops him and goes to make a tag only its in the wrong corner. Johnson scares Rose away into his own corner who tags in Mr. Fuji. Fooj delivers a thrust to the throat then Stevens tags in to pound away at Salvatore. Stevens goes for the blatant choke but Bellomo gets an elbow to the gut then makes the tag to Superfly. Stevens begs off but Snuka goes through his offense before Stevens tags in Muraco, who runs into a jumping headbutt Snuka tags in Morales who has a score to settle since it was Muraco who dethroned him as IC champ. Muraco backs up right into the arms of Andre, who holds him as Morales unloads with the heavy artillery. Johnson tags in to do the Ali jabs before finishing with a right hand that drops Don. Andre tags in and Muraco begs off. Andre headbutts Muraco who gets his head stuck in the top rope on the face side. We get another TAPE EDIT and now Bellomo has the headlock on Fuji. A standing dropkick by Salvatore floors Fuji then drops him with a shoulderblock. Bellomo charges right into an over the head belly-to-belly suplex, the cover by Fuji gets 1…2..3 and the first fall goes to Team Muraco. Per rules, Bellomo and Fuji have to start the second fall. Fuji continues to work over Salvatore before picking him up for a scoop slam. Snuka comes off the top rope with a dropkick that sends Bellomo crashing down on Fuji, Dick Woehrle gets down 1..2…3 and we’re tied up at one fall apiece just like that. The faces celebrate as Bellomo gets a rest in the corner. A TAPE EDIT has Bellomo crawling away from Buddy Rose but the Playboy catches him. Bellomo gets in some defensive shots before tagging in Snuka. Rose sends him off but Superfly leapfrogs over him then slides under for a sunset flip that apparently gets a 3 count. Monsoon’s overdub commentary eliminated the sound and the camera angle was off. Rose jumps up in protest as the faces take a 2 to 1 lead. One more and they win. Snuka and Rose tie up and Buddy gets in a headlock. They do the same sequence as before only Snuka does his leapfrog/chop combo that sends Playboy flying.  Andre tags in and chops Rose down, he gets to his feet but is clobbered with a big right hand from Andre. Rose goes for a tag but Graham doesn’t want in so Fuji reluctantly does. Thanks to the editing, Graham hasn’t been in the match yet it seems. Fuji gets whacked but disorients Andre with a double slap to the ears. Muraco tags in and nails Andre with a forearm to the chest. Stevens grabs Andre from the outside but the Giant headbutts him away. Muraco goes up to the top rope but Andre catches him and slams him down to the mat. Andre sends him off the ropes and staggers the IC champ with a big chop. Muraco falls into his corner but again Graham avoids the tag and Rose reluctantly makes it. Andre brings him in the hard way and then does a double noggin knocker with Superfly, ha! Andre sends Rose off and delivers a big boot. Andre sits on him and the ref counts 1..2…3 and its over. Team Andre wins it 3 falls to 1 as Billy Graham does absolutely nothing. For extracurricular activity, Andre clocks Stevens too. The fans goes wild as Bellomo unloads on Graham who no-sells everything and simply leaves the ring. Muraco’s team retreats as Team Andre celebrates in the ring.

Time of match: Who cares?

Winners: Andre the Giant, Salvatore Bellomo, Pedro Morales, Jimmy Snuka and Rocky Johnson by pinfall

The orchestral theme hits as the credits roll. The after-preview Ventura says “available this June, Wrestlemania!” Wait, Wrestlemania was the 4^th tape released and this was the 5^th, how was it released BEFORE Wrestlemania? Anyway the 2 hour cassette was listed for $39.95 retail….hahahaha. I know its Wrestlemania but not even blu rays are worth that much these days. 40 dollars in 85 is like 70 today.  Monsoon takes over to preview BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 3 then BIGGEST, SMALLEST, STRANGEST, SMALLEST and finally ROWDY RODDY PIPER’S GREATEST HITS. So were these the most unusual matches? For the most part yes. It was standard 1980’s action with the focus on showmanship more than mat based wrestling. For the most part the tape is worth picking up but certainly nothing to break the bank for. 3 stars out of 5. One point off because of the edit jobs and another point off for the women’s match. The next tape after this is ANDRE THE GIANT, another profile tape.

Best of the WWF Volume 1 (WF003)

BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 1 (WF003)

After BLOOPERS, BLEEPS AND BODYSLAMS and HULKAMANIA hit the shelves, it was time for Vince McMahon Jr to follow up with some REAL action. The first tape was a silly look at wrestling while the second was an exclusive look at Hulk Hogan. Now it was time to showcase the past and present in the first installment of the “best of” series. For historical purposes I’ll guess that this tape was released in March of 1985. We begin with the now standard Coliseum Video opening before being chosen by our host, Vince himself wearing a decent suit for once. He previews all of the matches we’re going to see (and some of them are damn good actually). Now with anything labeled “Best of” I’m skeptical on how things will turn out. I will be judging the matches not just for quality but for importance as well. After all, if this is a ”best of”  tape the action better be legendary. Before we go to the handicap match, we’re treated to an interview with Hogan and Andre The Giant. Hulk warns the crowd of the impending destruction during the match and the man standing next to him is NOT Andre the Giant, he will referred to as “The Boss”. Andre used to call people boss and people referred to him as “boss” so Hogan’s statement is accurate. Hogan hypes up Andre and lets him say a few words. Andre brings up a past cage match between himself and Studd and saying there’s no cage this time, nowhere to hide. Andre says Hulk will take care of the tag champs and Hogan agrees. There were no dudes, mans, jacks or brothers in that promo. Damn, I grew up in the wrong era.

Match 1

The North-South Connection (Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch) and “Big” John Studd vs Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Ken Resnick

We go back to July 15, 1984 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, NJ for this big matchup. Adonis and Murdoch were the reigning WWF Tag Team Champions and Studd was probably the only one who could match power with Hogan and size with Andre. The heels make their entrance first and only Adonis is carrying a tag belt, Murdoch isn’t. They pass by Vince himself walking toward the arena and Studd playfully punches him in the chest. Hmmmmmm….Adonis starts giving ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta shit as Monsoon calls Murdoch and Adrian “The Wrecking Crew”….No that’s not Gene and Ole Anderson there Gorilla. Hogan comes out in the white tights with Andre in the red. Referee Dick Kroll takes forever to start and when the bell rings, Adrian and Hogan start. The announce table is so close to the ring Andre nearly steps on Resnick’s monitor. Adonis and Hogan exchange hammerlocks before Adonis comes off the ropes only to be met by a chop to the chest by Andre from the apron. Hogan floors Adrian with a right hand but Adonis recovers to tag in Murdoch. Dick goes to work on the left arm before Studd tags in. We get a TAPE EDIT and now its Studd and Andre in the ring. Before anything happens we get another TAPE EDIT and Andre’s dazed outside while the tag champs have Hogan pinned down. Finally Murdoch leaves the ring and Hogan backs Adrian into the corner with knees to the gut. Hogan rams Adrian’s head into the babyface corner where Andre tags in. Andre drops Adrian with a  headbutt. Andre heaves Adrian into the corner where Adonis flips forward then down. Studd gets the tag and he carefully enters the ring. Andre slugs Studd then does his ass bump in the corner. Murdoch gets in and Andre puts him in the corner as well. Time for “giant football style” as Jesse The Body would say. Adonis gets in and goes for an axehandle but Andre blocks it and stacks him in the corner with the others. Andre sandwhiches the trio while Hogan joins Andre and looks like he’s dry humping the big guy. Adonis collapses as Dick staggers into the center of the ring where Andre sends him flying with a big right hand. Adonis retreats to the aprons and now its just Studd/Andre. John counters a backdrop with a big boot that drops Andre to one knee. If you look closely you can see Studd tagging Adrian but Murdoch gets in. Dick unloads with bionic elbows (remember he was the “other” half of the Texas Outlaws with Dusty Rhodes) and right hands. The heels make frequent tags and Murdoch delivers a modified top rope bulldog to Andre. Murdoch stomps away at the big man and we get another TAPE EDIT. Adonis has Andre down and Murdoch tags back in. Murdoch steals the tag rope and chokes Andre with it as Hogan gets in to protest. As the ref shoos Hogan away Adonis comes in to help Dick choke him. Once Adonis leaves, Dick drops the rope which Andre grabs, Murdoch slugs away at the big guy then measures him for a big punch. Murdoch comes off the rope only Andre catches him with the tag rope and wraps it around his throat for some payback. Hogan tags himself in and he catches an interfering Adonis then heaves Murdoch into him, Adonis does his reverse Andre spot….you know when Andre ties himself up in the ropes, well Adonis does it only he flips himself on the apron all tied up. Hogan sends Murdoch into Adonis again. Hogan slugs Studd then sends Dick into the corner, but the charge eats elbow. Another TAPE EDIT shows Adonis scoop slamming Hogan. Adrian drops a series of knees and elbows to the head then goes all the way up. Hogan catches him and drops him crotch first on the top rope. Adonis rolls to his corner and tags in Studd. John applies a front headlock then tags in Murdoch. Dick stomps away then sends Hogan off only for them to crash into each other. Andre gets the hot tag and he backdrops Murdoch. Adonis interferes and Andre rams his and Murdoch’s heads together. Hogan intercepts a charging Studd. A pier 6 brawl develops as Andre cleans out the champs then floors Studd with a headbutt. Studd bails to the back as Andre gives chase. The champs double team Hogan inside the ring but soon Andre comes back. Studd’s nowhere to be found so now its down to 2 on 2. Hogan “Hulks Up” on Murdoch before tagging in Andre. Andre floors Murdoch with a big boot then sits on him. Hogan intercepts Adrian as the ref counts 1….2…3 and its over. Hogan and Andre prevail as the crowd cheers. Does this belong on a tape like this? For its time period, yes.

Time of Match: An edited 9:30

Winners: Hogan and Andre by pinfall

Vince sends us to a legendary women’s title match between Wendi Richter and Fabulous Moolah from July 23, 1984. Before we get to that we’re sent to an interview with “Mean” Gene Okerlund who’s bringing Captain Lou Albano and Moolah out. Albano rants and raves but calls her “often imitated, never duplicated” and ain’t that the truth. Nowadays “divas” are supposed to be beautiful as well as tough. Moolah was certainly attractive in her day but she was absolutely tough as nails. If she was in her prime today, she’d beat the ever loving shit out of every diva on the roster. Hell, this match was the day after she turned 61 years old (happy birthday Moolah) and she’s still in shape and kicking ass. Moolah says hi to her friends AND enemies and that she’ll come out on top. Albano goes to rant again but Gene cuts him off saying Cindy Lauper has Richter ready to go but Moolah scoffs. Albano says she’s held the belt for 12 years and Moolah says “27 years” which causes Albano to apologize. That was no joke either, due to shortage of ladies wrestling and because she was the best, Moolah really did have the belt since the Capitol Wrestling days of 1956.

Match 2:

Wendi Richter (with Cindy Lauper) vs Fabulous Moolah (with Lou Albano) for the WWF Women’s Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Gene Okerlund

8 days after the last match (July 23^rd now), we’re in Madison Square Garden for the dawning of the Rock N Wrestling era. Lauper had aligned herself with Wendi Richter to get back at Albano for insulting her on Piper’s Pit. Moolah’s got the green tights on and Richter the pink. Bells gone and they trade armdrags. Okerlund brings David Wolff over to say how Albano was never Cindy’s manager..yeah, we know. Moolah gets in a kick to the mid-section and a right hand to the face. Moolah executes a series of hairgrab takeovers before sending her through the ropes and onto the announcer’s table. Wolff, Monsoon and Okerlund helps Wendi up as we get a TAPE EDIT. Now Wendi locks in an armbar as Monsoon calls Albano a fountain of mis-information. Wendi goes for a splash on the arm but Moolah rolls out of the way. Another TAPE EDIT shows Moolah with the upperhand, snapping Wendi throat first off the top rope. Moolah struts around the ring and poses for the crowd, looks great for turning 61 the day earlier. Moolah drops Wendi with a chop to the chest. A headbutt by Wendi sends Moolah backwards, all tied up in the ring roops. Richter kicks away before we get another TAPE EDIT and now Richter’s holding Moolah so Cindy can take a shot at her. Lauper works the crowd for a pop before walloping Moolah the best she can. The ref tells her to hit the bricks as Albano gets bent out of shape. Moolah nails Moolah with a dropkick and the cover actually gets 3 because Moolah doesn’t get a shoulder up but the ref, Richter and the announcers pretend it was 2. Richter turns a scoop slam into a suplex (nice) but the cover only gets 1. Another TAPE EDIT now shows Moolah backdropping Wendi into the center of the ring. A cover gets 1.2..nope, Moolah pulls her up for more torture. Good god ANOTHER TAPE EDIT shows Moolah ramming Wendi’s head into the corner a few times. Moolah turns a rolling prawn into a german suplex for 1…2….3 and its over. Moolah and Albano celebrate but not so fast! The alert referee noticed Richter’s arm came up at 2 so that means…oh yes, Wendi Richter is your new WWF Women’s champion, ending the 27 year reign of Moolah. Ring announcer Howard Finkel announces Richter the new champion, Gene Okerlund “Oh my word, oh my word!” Wolff and Lauper celebrate with the exhausted Richter as its pandemonium in the Garden. Moolah gets pissed and dropkicks the referee. She and the referee stomp him out of the ring in frustration. The ref recovers to raise Wendi’s hand as Albano and Moolah celebrate like she still won the match. Monsoon and Mean Gene finally notice the replay and it confirms Richter’s arm comes up at two. I can’t even rate the match because it was edited so badly but for what its worth, Richter was damn good and Moolah looked great for 61. A new era had begun and for a brief period, women’s wrestling would be taken seriously in MSG. Does this match belong on a tape like this, absolutely.

Time of match: A heavily edited 4:06

Winner: Wendi Richter by pinfall (New women’s champion)

We then go to one of the most famous segments in WWF history (that’s never mentioned anymore because most of today’s fanbase weren’t even born yet)

Match 3

Baron Mikel Scicluna vs Gorilla Monsoon

Commentator: Vince McMahon

Back in 1976, Monsoon was an active wrestler and today he’d be taking on the Madman from Malta. The ring announcer introduces heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali in the front row before introducing the combatants. Monsoon gets a huge pop from the crowd but Scicluna attacks him before the bell.  The Baron attacks Monsoon in the corner with forearms. Finally Monsoon rallies with chops and right hands. Monsoon nails Scicluna on the top of the head with a slap then chops him over the top rope to the floor. All of a sudden Muhammad Ali pops up and takes his jacket off. Apparently Ali wants to go round to round with Monsoon as the crowd pops.

At this point Scicluna says the hell with it and leaves as the ref calls for the bell. Ali sheds his shirt, jacket and shoes as he climbs in the ring. Monsoon twirls his finger around his head and asks if Ali has gone crazy. Ali tries to stick and move with jabs as Monsoon laughs at him. Monsoon throws a jab himself and Ali continues to stick and move. Finally Monsoon grabs him by the arm and puts him in an airplane spin. Camera bulbs go off all over as Monsoon drops him back first. Monsoon circles Ali like a shark as Ali’s manager gets him out of there. Vince hypes up Ali saying he could whip any wrestler and Monsoon just proved otherwise. Vince leaps up from his broadcast position wearing a red suit to interview Monsoon. Monsoon says he’s a great boxer but had no business being in the wrestling ring. “This guy doesn’t know a wristlock from a wrist watch how can he get in there with a wrestler? All he knows is to throw a few lousy jabs, that’s not gonna stop a wrestler!” Vince takes a look at the replay and Monsoon says “Great boxer, terrible, terrible as a wrestler.” My how times have changed. Muhammad Ali is considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time and he was humiliated by Gorilla Monsoon there. 33 years later the game’s greatest WELTERWEIGHT at the time, Floyd Mayweather, would step in the ring with Big Show. Show is significantly taller and a bit heavier than Monsoon. Senile Vince apparently forgot how he booked Ali/Monsoon decades earlier and had Floyd knock out Big Show. As for the forgotten third man, Scicluna was one of the top heels of the 60’s and 70’s plus was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996. So we got 2 hall of fame wrestlers and a hall of fame boxer in one match, that certainly belongs on a tape like this.

Time of match: 48 seconds

Winner: Gorilla Monsoon by count-out.

We now go to a squash match featuring The Superfly…..huh?

Match 4

“Superfly” Jimmy Snuka vs Bobby Bass

Commentators: Jack Reynolds and King Kong Mosca

We’re on weekly WWF programming for this useless jobber match from sometime in 1984. Reynolds was a known broadcaster at the time and Mosca was an ex wrestler. Hell, think Bischoff and Mongo. Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka gets attacked at the opening bell. He gets whipped into the corner but leaps over a charging Bass. Snuka backdrops Bass then scoop slams him. A series of hiptosses from the Superfly frustrates Bobby to the point he bails to the outside. Back inside Bass applies a headlock and shoulderblocks Jimmy down. Snuka leaps over Bass then delivers a flying headbutt. Snuka delivers a backbreaker then goes upstairs. The crowd goes beserk as Snuka hits the Superfly Splash. The cover 1…2…3 and its over. Absolutely no idea what the purpose of having a jobber match on this tape was unless it was to show how awesome Snuka was. Does it belong on the tape? Hell no!

Time of match: 1:24

Winner: Jimmy Snuka by pinfall
Vince sends us to Piper’s Pit where “Rowdy” Roddy Piper interviews Snuka…..yes, THAT Piper’s Pit. Unfortunately its clipped so we don’t get the full interview. We’re at the part where Piper tells Snuka to put the microphone in Jimmy’s little greasy paws. Piper then says he’s going to make Jimmy feel at home, he picks up a pineapple from a brown paper bag. My favorite line “This pineapple is like the women from the Fiji Islands, long busty hair on top, round on the bottom.” Piper then pulls out a bunch of bananas and taunts Snuka with them. Piper with coconuts: “Here we go….one coconuttttt….two coconuttttttt…four coconutttts, ya wanna be a big shot? Ya know what, the only thing I didn’t get. I didn’t get a tree for you to climb up and down like a monkey, like ya wanna do. You want to be a big shot, I’ll get you a tree next time!” He then throws a banana in Snuka’s face and finally Jimmy speaks, softly. “Are you making fun of me?” Piper: “Am I making fun of you? No sir! No Sir!” At this point Piper smashes a coconut over Snuka’s head that sends him sprawling into the cheap Piper’s Pit set, knocking it down. Piper grabs a banana, kicks the set off Snuka and begins rubbing it in his face. Piper gets another banana, spits at him, then rubs another one in his face. Piper then takes his belt off and whacks Snuka in the back as a little box in the corner with a smiling Piper is shown. This must be the TNT replay of the incident rather than the actual broadcast. Piper keeps whipping Snuka repeatedly and taunting him to get up. Finally Snuka gets to his feet, screams in rage and chases Piper behind a locked door. Snuka pounds on the door but can’t get it open as Tito Santana and 2 others pry him away. Vince then sends us to the inevitable match this angle would lead to. Does this Piper’s Pit belong on this tape? HELL YEAH!

Match 5

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and “Lord” Alfred Hays

After the famous Piper’s Pit where Piper smashed a coconut over Snuka’s head, a match was in order. Nowadays it would be a week later on Raw or 3 weeks later on a pay per view but this match was in August of 1984, 5 months after Piper’s Pit. Madison Square Garden would be the scene and Snuka is wearing a loud pink shirt. After a LOT of stalling they trade blows in the ring until Snuka gets the upper hand. A karate chop drops Piper as the crowd explodes. A few more chops floors Piper again who begs off. Snuka delivers a jumping headbutt who drops and begs off. A headlocked punch staggers Roddy. They trade blows before Piper tries his own jumping headbutt and nearly knocks himself out. Monsoon “That was a mistake.” Piper follows up with a thumb to the eye, that worked. Piper does his own series of headlocked punches before doing a snapmare. Piper pounds away the Snuka on the mat as the ref tells him to watch the fist. Snuka rallies with a right hand and another chop to the chest. Snuka then chops Piper over the top rope to the floor. Snuka follows and rams Roddy’s head into the side of the ring. Snuka goes for a whip but Piper’s head accidentally gets caught behind the rope and it chokes him. Snuka plays off of it and Alfred says “Oh, what a good move!” Nice cover up boys. Snuka clubs away at Roddy then sends him off the ropes, only to catch him in a sleeper hold. Piper begins having a seizure then bails to the outside…with Snuka still applying the hold. Finally Piper breaks free by ramming Snuka backwards into the apron. Piper goes to ram Jimmy’s head into the post but Snuka counters last second. Snuka beats on him all around the ring. Piper grabs a steel chair but Jimmy grabs it from him then rams Roddy’s head into it. BRILLIANT! Piper is busted wide open as he retreats inside the ring. Piper bleeds and begs off from a screaming Snuka as the crowd is really into it. Snuka begins pounding away on Piper and the ref tries to pull him off to no avail. Snuka delivers a falling headbutt and goes upstairs. Piper gets to his feet and Snuka dives off, only to be caught by Roddy and dropped throat first on the top rope. Snuka stays there and Piper dumps him to the floor. The ref counts out Snuka and Piper’s your winner. I bet MSG was livid at that one but the tape cuts off there. Did this belong on the tape? Absolutely, you had a hot feud at the time that started from one of the all-time great moments in wrestling history.

Time of match: 6:12

Winner: Roddy Piper by count-out

Vince sends us to a junior heavyweight championship match…..what?

Match 6

The Cobra vs The Black Tiger for the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Gene Okerlund

How do I explain this one? When Vince bought Georgia Championship Wrestling away from Jim Barnett, he inherited the junior heavyweight champion Les Thornton. After booking Les for a few shows as the Junior Heavyweight champion, for whatever reason he stripped Thornton of the title. This match was supposed to fill the vacant title on December 28, 1984 in Madison Square Garden. Who the hell are these dudes though? Well the WWF defended its junior heavyweight title mostly in Japan. The Cobra is not Jeff Farmer (who’d later play The Cobra and the nWo Sting in WCW) but actually George Takano, a veteran of Stampede and NWA wrestling. He defeated none other than Davey Boy Smith to win the NWA junior title a year earlier. Who is Black Tiger? I’ll reveal him at the end. Fink bills Cobra from Japan weighing 225 pounds but the graphic on screen says 220. Black Tiger is billed from England weighing 220….hmmm, there’s your first clue. Cobra is a good few inches taller than Tiger and they circle to start. Cobra applies a hammerlock but Tiger spins out of it then drops Cobra with a series of takedowns. Tiger drops an elbow and locks in a rest-hold. Cobra reverses into a hammerlock, Tiger switches but Cobra again brings him down with a hammerlock. TAPE EDIT and now Tiger has Cobra in a leg-lock. Back to a reverse chinlock until Cobra makes it to his feet. In what would be used on the opening Coliseum Video montage, Black Tiger nails Cobra with a stiff clothesline. Hmm, junior heavyweight from England that uses stiff clotheslines, ringing a bell yet? Tiger sommersaults onto Cobra and covers but Cobra kicks out immediately. Tiger runs right into a back drop and Cobra applies a rest-hold. Cobra goes to work then goes up to the top only for Tiger to catch him in mid-air….and let Cobra down on his feet. Cobra then does a spinning wheel kick that catches Tiger in the ribs. Cobra drops a second rope knee drop then executes a gut-wrench suplex. A cover gets 1…2..no. Cobra catches Tiger in a crucifix for a deuce then applies a head scissors. Tiger then nips up and backs into the corner. Cobra fakes locking up then kicks Tiger in the ribs then delivers a gut buster. Cobra locks in a Boston crab then turns it into a Luchador Special (I’ll explain another time)….something unheard of in 1984 American wrestling. We get a TAPE EDIT and now Cobra breaks a full nelson then kicks Tiger in the head. Cobra sends Black Tiger to the floor with a dropkick where Tiger hops on the apron, nails Cobra then goes upstairs. In another clip that would be used in the Coliseum Video montage, Cobra slams Tiger off the top rope. Cobra locks in another head scissors before Tiger powers out of it. Tiger applies a headlock but is floored with a shoulderblock off the ropes. Tiger nips up and decks Cobra with another stiff arm clothesline. Tiger stops to nod at the crowd then drops a knee and covers for 1…2..nope. Tiger executes a swinging neckbreaker but we get another TAPE EDIT and now both men are down. Once they get to their feet, Cobra nearly takes Tiger’s head off with a spinning wheel kick. The cover gets a deuce and Cobra nails Tiger with a standing dropkick that sends Tiger through the ropes and to the outside. Cobra bounces off the ropes and SUICIDE DIVES through the ropes and onto Tiger. After another TAPE EDIT, Cobra is in the ring and Tiger drops him with a right hand from the apron. Tiger goes upstairs and splashes Cobra, gets up, nods at the crowd and executes a floatover suplex for 1…2..nope. Tiger picks up Cobra in a scoop slam position but modifies it to a tombstone, ouch. The cover gets a deuce and Tiger goes for another tombstone only for Cobra to reverse it. Cobra nails Tiger with the tombstone then goes upstairs. Cobra senton bombs (yes in 1984) Tiger then covers for 1…2…3 and its over. The crowd pops for a match that was 12 years ahead of its time. Fink presents the belt to Cobra. Cobra goes to shake Tiger’s hand but Tiger nails him in the chest with a forearm. What looks to be a sore loser angle is ruined because the segment cuts right then. Still, that match was right on par with the WCW cruiserweight matches that wouldn’t take place for a dozen years. Outstanding effort by both men although Cobra was pulling moves that were years ahead of their time. As for the Black Tiger….British light heavyweight with stiff clotheslines and a great suplex. If you haven’t guessed yet, it’s Mark “Rollerball” Rocco! What, were you expecting Dynamite Kid? Anyway as for the match deserving to be on this tape, definitely yes. It was a revolutionary match that wouldn’t be commonplace for at least a decade.

Time of match: A heavily edited 6:58

Winner: The Cobra by pinfall (New Junior Heavyweight champion)

We go from a great junior heavyweight match to one of the most infamous skits in professional wrestling history. Somehow Hulk Hogan decided on “Mean” Gene Okerlund to be his tag team partner in a match against George “The Animal” Steele and Mr.Fuji. Instead of just having the match, we now are forced to sit through their training segments. We begin with a graphic showing its Day 1. Mean Gene is sitting at his kitchen table smoking a cigar and reading the paper as Hulk barges in and yells at him. Gene whines and says its 5 in the morning but Hogan rips the cigar and cup of coffee out of Gene’s mouth. Gene says he’s going to have bacon, eggs and pancakes for breakfast and Hogan will have none of it. Hogan then cracks 3 raw eggs into a glass for Gene and then one glass for himself. Hogan says they’re going to do this every 2 hours while in training. For some reason they edit out Gene actually drinking the eggs but anyway, he’s ready to go. Now we cut to Hogan and Gene running around one of the Minnesota lakes as fans legitimately cheer them on. Hogan doesn’t appear to be winded at all while Okerlund looks ready for a stretcher. Hogan is wearing his Hulkamania t-shirt and red jogging shorts, Gene is wearing the same only his shirt has sleeves on it. Hulk is barely breaking a sweat as they run around the lake but Gene struggles. Now Gene and Hulk are running through the streets of Minneapolis except now Hogan is wearing blue spandex pants and Gene as a blue hat with visor and a blue/white t-shirt. Gene stops for a beer and a braut but Hogan stops him and says get back to work. Ok, have to admit THAT part was funny. We get a graphic saying its Day 2 and Gene and Hulk are now hanging around the Olympia Gym. Mean gene is wearing a sleeveless black shirt that says Hulk-A-Mania while Hogan is wearing a red sleeveless shirt that says Mean Gene-O-Mania. Gene doubts himself but Hogan gives him a pep talk before working out. The Olympia Gym was a legitimate gym located at 2604 Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis. Gene and Hulk work out to the Coliseum Video opening theme as several gym patrons cheer them on. We get a graphic saying Day 3 as Gene is back in his kitchen reading the paper in a blue bathrobe when Hulk barges in again. Apparently its 6 AM and time to train, you’d think Gene would have put locks on his doors at this point. Today Hulk and Gene are running up the steps of an empty arena. Hulk in just red shorts and Gene in red shorts and a white t-shirt. Hulk carries Gene on his shoulders up the stairs and says Gene is next much to Gene’s dismay. Now we see Gene struggling to go up the stairs with Hogan on his back. If you were taking this out of context, with Gene’s repeated cries “Oh, Hulk. Oh, Hulk”  you’d think this would be REALLY gay. Now we get a graphic for Day 4 and Hulk is making Gene wheelbarrow up the steps with Hulk saying Gene-O-Mania is running wild. Finally Gene makes it all the way up the stairs and says “Hulk, we got it!” They look out over Minnesota and it’s a nice view actually. As the theme blares again, Hulk and Gene run up the steps of the state capitol in perfect rhythm and Gene jumps into Hogan’s arms. Gene thanks a bunch of people but most likely due to legal reasons, he’s edited out and he says they’re ready for Fuji and Steele at the Met Center. Now that we’ve survived this, let’s get to the actual match.

Match 7

George “The Animal” Steele and Mr. Fuji vs “Mean” Gene Okerlund and Hulk Hogan

Commentator: Vince McMahon

August 26, 1984 was the epic showdown between Hulk and Gene against Steele and Fuji. After Okerlund and Hogan’s quasi-homosexual training sessions, let’s hope this match is short and sweet. We’re at the Met Center in Minneapolis, MN which is pretty much a homecoming for Hulk and Gene since they both came from the AWA. Hogan enters wearing the blue tights and Mean Gene-O-Mania t-shirt while Okerlund enters with black tights and Hulk-A-Mania on his t-shirt. Gene is also carrying Hogan’s belt, isn’t that nice of him? Hogan rips Okerlund’s shirt off and he looks ridiculous. Actually now that I think about it, Mr. Fuji was 49 years old, Steele was 47 and Okerlund was 41. Hogan had just turned 31 fifteen days earlier meaning he’s technically in his prime. Hogan and Fuji start and Fuji gets the upperhand in the corner with chops. Hogan ducks under one, slugs Fuji, sends him off the corner and hiptosses him. Fuji charges and Hogan scoop slams him. Fuji scrambles for the tag and Steele tries to intimidate Hulk with his signature taunt, only for Hogan to turn around and tell Steele to kiss his ass. We get a TAPE EDIT and now Hogan is down with Steele stalking him. Steele pounds away on the Hulkster but Hogan Hulks Up quickly and floors both George and an interfering Fuji. Many fans can (and should) make fun of Hogan for wrestling too long past his prime but back in 1984 Hulk really did rule. His offense was crisp, his Hulk Up’s weren’t routine and his promos weren’t cliché. Hogan follows the heels to the floor and drops both of them then struts in the ring. Okerlund stomps on Fuji’s hand for good measure. Hogan high fives Okerlund excessively and the referee constitutes that as a tag. This means, oh yes, Okerlund now has to wrestle Steele. D’OH! Hogan protests brother but the ref will have none of it and orders Okerlund in the ring. Steele taunts Gene then backs him into the corner. George charges but Gene crawls under his legs and makes the tag to Hulk. Steele begs off and Hulk bashes him into the corner. He grabs Fuji and rams his and Steele’s heads together.  We get a TAPE EDIT and now Fuji is in the ring getting clobbered. Hulk atomic drops Steele as Fuji reaches into his tights for salt. Gene, from the apron, knocks the salt from Fuji’s hand. Hogan whips Fuji off into the knee of Okerlund, dropping Fuji. Hogan tags in Mean Gene and picks him up from outside and slams him on top of Fuji. Hogan from the outside puts his hand directly on Okerlund’s ass as the ref counts 1…2..3 and this fiasco is over. Jesse “The Body” Ventura comes out of nowhere to protest as Hogan and Okerlund clean house of Fuji and Steele. Okerlund jumps into Hogan’s arms and they do many questionable high fives. They pose for the crowd as the segment ends. Was this deserving to be on the tape, unfortunately yes. This was one of the most talked about segment/matches for years and years good or bad. If people are still talking about it, its legendary.

Time of match: Who gives a damn?

Winners: Hogan and Okerlund by pinfall

We now cut to the set-up match for one of the hottest pre-Hulkamania angles WWWF did during the final years of Vince Sr.

Match 8

Larry Zybysko vs “Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino

Commentator: Vince McMahon

This was billed as teacher vs student as Bruno had actually trained Larry in the early 70’s. This match was on January 22, 1980 in Allentown, PA and the 28 year old Larry tries to best his 44 year old mentor. Zybysko has red tights and a full head of blonde hair while Bruno enters wearing the blue tights with a full head of hair as well. They tie up twice and both times Bruno backs Larry into the ropes but breaks clean. Zybysko nearly catches Bruno with an outside shot but Bruno avoids it. Zybysko executes a nice go-behind but Bruno switches. Zybysko tries a standing switch then a sit-out but Bruno’s wrist control is too strong. Bruno releases the hold and Zybysko looks at him as if to say “What did you do that for?” Bruno gets a side headlock but Larry tosses him off the ropes then delivers a hiptoss. Larry covers for a deuce and Bruno powers out of it. Larry applies a headlock then floors Bruno with a shoulderblock. Zybysko runs off the ropes but right into a drop-toe-hold by Sammartino. Larry scoop slams Bruno then covers for a loud 2 count. Bruno counters with his own scoop slam and Larry gets up frustrated. Larry tries a got behind but Bruno catches the wrist and begins fighting it off. Bruno goes for a side wrist-lock but Zybysko alertly turns it into an abdominal stretch. Bruno hiptosses Larry after a bit and Vince speculates that Zybysko is angry at himself….not exactly. Zybysko catches Bruno with another scoop slam and covers for another near-fall. Zybsyko picks the near ankle and turns it into a half crab. Bruno squirms loose then drops Zybysko with a toe hold, only to release it. The crowd applauds the chain of events before Bruno applies a top wristlock but releases the hold when Zybysko struggles. Larry doesn’t like it but ties up again only to get headlocked. They criss cross and Larry goes for another hiptoss but this time Bruno counters with one of his own. Larry pounds the mat in frustration and looks up at his mentor with a look of disdain. They circle and Larry gets a side headlock then drops Bruno with a shoulderblock. Zybysko tries to garner momentum only to run right into a bear-hug. Zybysko screams out so Bruno lets him go. Zybysko gets even more frustrated at Bruno for showing mercy and Bruno looks at him confused. Larry ducks under a forearm to apply a hammerlock. Bruno looks to escape but his switch ends up dropping Larry through the ropes to the outside. Bruno holds the ropes for Larry but Zybysko catches him with a knee to the gut on his way back in the ring. Larry pounds away with forearms to the back then stomps to the chest. Larry rams Bruno’s head into the turnbuckle as the crowd begins booing the dastardly tactics. Larry goes outside and grabs a wooden chair as Vince freaks out. The ref tries to stop him but Larry throws him through the ropes to the outside to earn the DQ. Larry then whacks Bruno in the head with the chair and Sammartino blades…really badly. By badly as in he’s bleeding all over the ring. Zybysko hits him twice more and then throws the chair down in frustration. He leaves to a chorus of boos as the ref tends to the bloody mess left behind. This was the start of a red hot feud that would last throughout most of 1980. The match itself was classic storytelling that’s lost on most of today’s braindead fans. Modern day fans expect spotfests and 20 minutes of posing but what I just saw was very entertaining without spots and posing. Does this belong on this tape? Yes only because it set up the next match.

Time of match: 9:16

Winner: Bruno Sammartino by DQ

Before we go to the final match of the tape, we go to Bruno’s “weigh-in” for the “Showdown at Shea”. Back then the WWWF still tried to look somewhat legit by having weigh-ins and Bruno enters wearing blue tights and flip flops.  Vince is wearing a horrific yellow polyester jacket and green pants. I know it was 1980 but gadzooks! Vince interviews Bruno saying both he and Larry are in terrific shape although Bruno says he’s going to destroy Zybysko. Vince asks him about the upcoming cage match and Bruno says he’s going to win. I didn’t notice at first but Kerry at thewrestlingfan.com pointed out that doctor in the ring was George Zahorian. Dr Z was the doctor that supplied nearly every wrestler in the 80’s and early 90’s with steroids. Now let’s get to the main event of the tape.

Match 9

Larry Zybysko vs “Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) in a Steel Cage Match

Commentator: Vince McMahon

The “Showdown at Shea” which drew over 36,000 fans to Shea Stadium occurred on August 9, 1980. Larry’s heel turn and subsequent bloodying of Bruno was the talk of the wrestling world in 1980. Freddie Blassie, Captain Lou and Grand Wizard all made pitches for Larry to join their stables but Larry turned them all down, he wanted to destroy Bruno and he wanted to do it alone. This would never happen now but after the beat-down of Bruno, fans destroyed Larry’s car, turned over taxis he was riding in, stabbing him in the ass and nailed with an iron pipe. That’s how legitimate WWWF used to be. Larry and Bruno would work matches and fans believed them to be real as opposed to now where morons on the independent circuit hurt each other for real and nobody cares. Bruno enters the cage wearing the blue tights with Larry in the red. Larry attacks as Bruno attempts to enter the cage but a boot to the mid-section sends Zybysko flying. Bruno boots his former pupil in the head then rams him right into the cage. Bruno sends him crashing, head first into the cage again then puts the boots to him. Bruno caters to the crowd as we get a TAPE EDIT although Bruno is still stomping away on Larry. Bruno chokes Larry on the second rope then rakes his face across the cage. At this point the camera pauses on this image even though action is still going on with Vince calling it. Once the production crew wakes up, Larry punches Bruno in the nads.  Bruno crawls around as Larry goes to escape the cage. He gets halfway out before a lunging Bruno pulls him back in. Now it’s Larry’s turn to throw Bruno face first into the cage. We get another TAPE EDIT and when we resume Larry rams Bruno’s head into the cage once again. Bruno sells a left arm injury as Larry looks to escape over the top. Sammartino pulls him off the top with his one good arm (and THIS is why you don’t edit matches. I have no idea why Bruno’s selling an arm injury because the edited match hasn’t shown any arm moves). ANOTHER TAPE EDIT has Larry dropping Sammartino with a right hand. Bruno ducks under a right hand, goes behind and delivers a knee to the hamstrings. Another TAPE EDIT shows Bruno choking out Larry. Zybysko goes upstairs but Sammartino catches him and slams him in the center of the ring. We get another TAPE EDIT (way too many) and now Bruno is clutching his right arm as Larry taunts him. Camera zooms in to show Bruno’s arm is badly lacerated. Larry batters Bruno in the corner then goes to escape. Vince says Larry would be “The New Living Legend” if he escapes. Well he didn’t escape as Bruno stops him last second but he would bill himself as “Living Legend” Larry Zybysko throughout his entire 90’s WCW run. Zybysko goes to attack Bruno in the corner when we get yet another TAPE EDIT. I’ve had about enough of this really. Bruno drags Larry through the ropes and rams him into the ringpost. Another TAPE EDIT has me throwing my hands up as Bruno throws Larry against the cage. Bruno throws the bloody Zybysko over the top rope into the cage, grabs him then throws him into the other side of the cage. Zybysko is out of it as Bruno calls for the cage to be opened. Zybysko staggers to his feet and Bruno gestures at Larry saying “The hell with you” and walks out the door. Bruno wins it as the ref raises his left arm. Arnold Skaaland goes to raise Bruno’s right which causes him to cry out in pain, either he’s really hurt or a terrific seller. A lost art today. Larry protests and staggers out of the cage pointing at him. Larry walks toward Bruno and stares at him before Bruno whacks him in the face twice. Larry raises Bruno’s arm as a sign of respect but Bruno pulls it down and walks away. Larry was going for the slow, face turn but Bruno was not in a forgiving mood. Overall this one of the best drawing angles the WWWF ever did and it was capped off correctly with the babyface brutalizing the heel in a cage. As it stands, this was the beginning of the end for Bruno. Zybysko would leave the company shortly after to wrestle for Georgia Championship Wrestling and Bruno settled into a semi-retirement. Oh and one last thing, Hogan takes credit in his autobiography that he and Andre were the reason for the sold out crowd at Shea. Once again his egotism gets in the way of reality. Hogan was just a heel back then, Andre could have wrestled “Crazy” Luke Graham and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Bruno and Larry were THE talk of the wrestling world in 1980 with house shows and mega-cards being sold out with them headlining. Bruno and Larry were the main event for a reason and THEY drew the house despite what the almighty Hulkster claims. Does this match belong on this tape, HELL YES!

Time of match: A heavily edited 6:51 (real time was 15:10)

Winner: Bruno Sammartino

That’s it for the tape as we get the orchestral end credits. Once again the message that the matches were edited for entertainment purposes appears. I don’t know why they did that, they had a full 2 hours on the cassette and this didn’t even top 90 minutes. They could have shown the Bruno/Larry cage in its entirety and still had room. After the credits we get a sneak preview for BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 2, ANDRE THE GIANT and MOST UNUSUAL MATCHES. As for this tape, now THAT’S more like it. This was supposed to be the “best” of what they had to offer and that’s exactly what they delivered. Every angle and match was legendary either good or bad and some of them were huge draws such as Piper/Snuka and Zybysko/Sammartino. I give it 4 stars out of 5 and it would have been 5 out of 5 but the edits were too much, too many things were cut out. The next tape after this is the first WRESTLEMANIA.

Hulkamania 1 (WF002)

WWF HULKAMANIA (WF002)

The World Wrestling Federation made their home video debut with the experimental BLOOPERS, BLEEPS AND BODYSLAMS and this would be their follow up, a personal profile centered around their superstar champion Hulk Hogan. I’m unsure of the actual release date but I’ll take a guess and say February 1985. WRESTLEMANIA was the 4^th tape released and that wasn’t until April 85 most likely so this being the 2^nd tape, I’ll say February. Future tapes would center on top current action but this would be the first of many “profile” tapes and who better than your number one draw? Love him or hate him, Hogan was the top star and number one money maker so putting him on home video was a no brainer. Is the tape worth to watch though? That’s what I’m here to find out. As with the first tape, we get the opening Coliseum Video montage before Vince McMahon himself in a navy blue suit takes over to shill the action. We get a quick montage before being sent to the first match.

 

Match 1

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

 Despite being groomed for the Intercontinental championship, Valentine goes for the big one at the Philadelphia Spectrum on August 4, 1984. Hogan does a voice-over before the match saying he was terrified of the figure-four. Valentine enters with the blue robe and black tights. Hogan wears the white t-shirt and tights. Ring announcer Mel Phillips is wearing one of the most ridiculous suits I’ve ever seen. Monsoon keeps referring to Valentine as the IC champ, which he was at the time of tape production but not during the actual match. Valentine starts with forearms and goes to ram Hogan’s head into the buckle but is blocked. Hogan rams Greg’s head then throws a series of jabs before Greg flops down. Hogan fires up the crowd before Greg regains his composure and calls for a test of strength. Hogan falls for it and is met with a knee to the gut that drops the champ. Greg works over Hulk in the corner with a series of knee drops before applying a reverse chinlock that Hogan barely sells. Hogan then gets up with Hammer on his back and falls backwards into the corner. Monsoon “That’s one way to get out of it.” Hogan delivers a headbutt then throws him into the corner where he nails him with a back elbow smash. Greg bails to regroup but Hogan follows him then continues to beat em’ up outside. Hogan throws Greg back inside who goes to town on Hulk as soon as the champ gets back in. Valentine scales the second rope then drives a forearm to the head. Valentine drops and elbow and covers for a 2 count. Valentine unloads on Hogan with fists, boots then a scoop slam. Valentine locks in a submission hold as Monsoon brings up the last time the title changed hands at the Spectrum was when Stan Stasiak defeated Pedro Morales. Greg continues to work over the legs to weaken him for the figure four. Valentine drags Hogan to the near side of the ring, bails, grabs a chair and hits Hulk in the knee with it. The ref does NOT call for the bell and Hammer goes back in. Hogan trips up Valentine to delay the figure four and starts Hulking Up when Valentine starts unloading with forearms. Hogan does 2 punches then sends Greg off for a big clothesline…hmm, that’s different. Valentine scoots to the apron but Hogan will have none of that as he suplexes him back in. The camera pans to the crowd where a big breasted Hogan fan jumps up and down. Can’t go wrong there. There’s an obvious TAPE EDIT that ruins the length of the match but whatever. Hogan delivers an atomic drop then taunts Hammer, but the send off eats a forearm to the back of the head. Hammer drops a series of elbows and forearms but a blatant choke gets  a “Hogan” chant from the partisan crowd. Another TAPE EDIT shows Valentine continuing to pummel Hulk with elbows. Greg goes upstairs but Hogan catches him and slams him off the top rope (which is one of the scenes in the opening Coliseum Video montage). Unfazed, Greg goes back to work on the left leg but Hogan blocks the figure four attempt. Valentine misses with an elbow drop as Hogan “Hulks Up” quickly. Hogan drops Valentine with a clothesline then drops the big leg. The cover gets 1…2…3 and it’s over, Hulk retains. After a brief celebration, Valentine motions that he’s ready for round 2. Valentine throws the referee into Hogan and grabs the title belt. Hogan actually throws the ref out of the way where he sails through the ropes and to the outside, what a humanitarian. Hogan grabs Valentine in a bear hug and beats on him in the corner. Valentine bails for good as Mel Phillips attends to the ref outside. For 1984 ring work, that’s pretty good. No complaints here, the tape edits kept the match flowing.

 

Time of Match: An unofficial 8:46

Winner: Hulk Hogan by pinfall (Still WWF Champion)

 

We head right to the next match.

 

Match 2

“Big” John Studd (with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan) vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Howard Finkel (yes, HIM)

    Hogan does a voice over before the match saying he didn’t know if he could slam the big man going in but blows the ending of the match saying Studd went up like a feather. We’re at the Brendan Byrne Arena (wasn’t named Continental Airlines for another 12 years) in East Rutherford, NJ on December 10, 1984 for this one. The ring announcer is Gary Michael Cappetta who actually would leave later the following year for a near decade stint in NWA/WCW. Hogan enters last wearing the yellow trunks as the graphic on the screen says “weight 364 lbs”…yeah right. The crowd explodes as referee Dick Woehrle tries in vain to get the two in neutral corners. Bells gone and they circle as Howard gets The Brain to explain if the 15 grand is on the line. Heenan “So far that money is still drawing interest!” So it’s a standard match but Hogan gets a 15 thousand dollar bonus if he slams Studd, got it. After about a minute they tie up and Studd goes to slam Hogan but is blocked. Hogan then tries to slam Studd but is also blocked. Heenan shouts advice to Studd but Hogan kicks at him to go away. Finkel “Heenan can make life miserable for Hulk Hogan”. Studd gets the upper hand with forearms to the back. A shoulderblock does nothing and they each fail to slam each other. Hogan ducks under an elbow smash attempt and clocks John with one. A series of jabs rocks the big guy before sending him off for the BIG BOOT…which barely fazes Studd. John blocks a bodyslam attempt and pounds away in the corner with forearms. Hogan blocks a whip so the champ rallies with right hands. A running clothesline dazes Studd and a body-slam attempt nearly works but Studd powers out last second. Hogan reverses a whip with a running clothesline in the corner. Another slam attempt nearly gets him but Studd makes it to the apron. The action spills outside where Studd rams Hulk’s head into Fink and Monsoon’s table. Yes, those two are actually there so this is no re-dub. Studd rams Hulk’s head into the ring post before sliding in to break the count. Hogan is busted open as Studd goes back to work outside, throwing Hogan into the steel guardrail. A “Hogan” chant breaks out as Studd floors Hogan with a forearm to the chest. Studd rolls Hulk back in then goes upstairs. Studd nails Hogan with a forearm to the back from off the top. Studd floors Hogan with an elbow smash. Studd goes for the cover but only gets 2. We get a TAPE EDIT and when we resume, Studd scoop slams Hogan then boots him through the ropes to the outside. Studd continues to kick away at Hogan’s attempts to get back in the ring until Hulk pulls John outside. Studd pounds on Hogan outside the ring until he Hulks Up on the floor. Hogan slams Studd and rolls back in as Woehrle completes the count. Hogan doesn’t get the 15 grand because the slam wasn’t done in the ring but he wins the match. After the match, Hogan goes to slam Woehrle but sets him down last second.

 

Time of Match:  An unofficial 7:52

Winner: Hulk Hogan by count-out (Still WWF Champion)

 

Now we go to the famous TNT skit where Hogan makes a protein shake. I covered a bit of it on BLOOPERS, BLEEPS AND BODYSLAMS but I guess I have to go into full detail for this tape. Vince is wearing his pink herringbone suit while Alfred Hays has an impeccable bow-tie. Hogan talks about legit nutritional stuff like sugar energy burning too quick which means you need better stuff while training or wrestling. Hulk says he’s going to show his “Python Powder” which will turn Vince’s “garden snakes” into pythons. Hulk says to start out with spring water because “milk is for babies”. Then add in the powder. Idiot Hulk turns the blender on without the top on yet and it damn near explodes all over Alfred. He throws in a peach, a banana, some strawberries, 3 eggs (which he says you don’t need to crack it because the calcium is in the shell) one more spoonful of powder and a bit more spring water. Other than the mysterious powder, everything else is legitimate. He then pulls out a bag of pills that will “get Awful Alfred back into shape”. He pours his concoction for Alfred, Vince and himself and even McMahon is skeptical, asking Hogan if he’s gonna take all 12 pills. Hogan says you should talk all those vitamins first thing in the morning so you’re raring to go the rest of the day (normal vitamins yes, but I don’t want to know what he’s packing). Hogan takes a giant swig and downs all 12 pills “Not too bad” he says. Now it’s Alfred’s turn but he chickens out so Vince takes a swig instead. His face brightens up “That’s actually very good.” Hogan rants that if you train, take vitamins yadda yadda then he’s not responsible for your clothes ripping due to the increased muscle mass. He then makes fun of Vince’s pink suit as Vince is delighted to try the pills. In a shoot interview, Sunny claims Vince never had his talent do anything that he himself wouldn’t try so if Hogan’s not dropping dead, I doubt Vince will either. Unlike Hogan, Vince can’t swig all the pills in one gulp. Finally, Hogan demands Alfred try it. He takes a swig then goes to throw up. I’d say it was usual Hogan ballyhoo but there were some legitimate nutritional facts thrown in there, plus anytime Alfred’s in peril is always funny. On to the next one.

 

Match 3

“Dr. D” David Schultz vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and “Mean” Gene Okerlund

 Dr. D was the perfect heel for the time period but his attitude was unfortunately not very professional, which I’ll get to later. Hogan does a voice over calling him an arrogant redneck before the action starts. We’re at the badly lit Met Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 17, 1984 for this one. Hogan dons the blue tights and poses for 3 minutes BEFORE THE MATCH. They go nose to nose at the opening bell and Hogans shouts invectives at him. D turns and walks away so Hogan does the same, PEARL HARBOR JOB by Schultz! Okerlund scoffs as D pounds away on Hogan in the corner. D chokes Hulk with Hogan’s own headband before clotheslining him with it. A cover gets 2 and he goes back to choking him with the band. Monsoon asks why the ref hasn’t grabbed the thing yet and right on cue, the ref does. Dr D covers but gets a 2. Up to the second rope goes D and he delivers a forearm smash. Schultz rams Hogan into the corner and goes to town, choking Hulk on the top rope. Maybe its just the lighting but Schultz looks exactly like Jeff Jarrett just with curly hair and the Andre half singlet. A forearm to the head drops Hogan through the ropes and to the outside. Dr. D grabs a chair and rams him in the head with it. Hogan is busted open and referee Joey Marella does absolutely nothing. Damn, refs were a lot more lenient in the 80’s than they were in the 90’s. Dr D stomps Hogan as he tries to enter and Hulk continues to bleed all over the floor. Back inside Schultz continues to stomp away before biting the open wound, Blassie would be proud. Schultz goes up to the second rope and drops an elbow. Monsoon says that was one of his trademark moves. Who does he think he is, Randy Savage? Actually, Schultz and Savage were tag team partners in Memphis before Vince stole Schultz. Well, Vince stole Randy (and Lanny to boot) too but Schultz went first. Schultz takes forever to cover but when he does, 1….2..HULK UP. Hogan no sells D’s offense then rakes the eyes (because he’s such a role model) and gets in his 3 punches plus a blatant choke for good measure. After a TAPE EDIT Hogan hits a running clothesline and the big…elbow. The cover gets 2 and Hogan pulls D up for more punishment. Hogan delivers some punches and scoop slams D. Hogan drops the leg and covers 1…2…..nope, he pulls Schultz up again. Hogan throws Schultz through the ropes and to the outside. Hogan then rams Schultz into the steel ring post. Now D is busted wide open as we get another TAPE EDIT. Back to live action Schultz counters a whip with a running clothesline. A forearm by D drops the champ then he goes upstairs. The flying elbow misses and Hogan gets up….only to have the action cut in favor of a slow motion replay of the elbow missing. What the hell was that about? Anyway, another Hulk Up leads to a running clothesline. The cover gets 1…2…3 and its over. Sheesh, couldn’t even take the leg drop? Hogan celebrates but Schultz nails him from behind. Schultz nails Hulk with the belt then puts it on his own waist.Hogan comes to, rakes the eyes then punches D down. Schultz bails and Hogan celebrates again. Okerlund leaves the announce booth to announce Hogan the winner. Where was Howard Finkel, in the bathroom? As I was saying earlier, Dr. D was one of the top heels on the roster but on December 28, 1984 he was suspended for attacking 20/20 reporter John Stossel. Stossel was at Madison Square Garden to do a story on “Is wrestling fake?” To which ol Schultz came over and started whacking him around asking him “Is THAT fake?”  between blows. I understand Schultz trying to protect the business but smacking someone around isn’t the way to do it. Hell 13 years later Vader was arrested in Kuwait for doing almost the same thing to a daytime TV host. Schultz was suspended but wasn’t fired, but he eventually did get fired for threatening Mr. T. The word on the street was he wanted to steal the Wrestlemania main event away from Roddy Piper but after Schultz cost Vince $425,000 in a lawsuit settlement with Stossel, McMahon cut his losses and let Dr. D go before Mr. T sued him too. Schultz was a great heel but he just didn’t know when to stop.

 

Time of match: An unofficial 8:57

Winner: Hulk Hogan by pinfall

 

No cutscenes, on to the next bout.

 

Match 4

“Big” John Studd vs Hulk Hogan in a Steel Cage Match for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon

     Howard Finkel calls this a “return bout” yet it’s from April 6, 1984 while the slam match earlier on the tape was 8 months later in December. We’re at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, deep in the heart of NWA territory. Guys like Sam Mushnick must have thought Vince Jr was nuts to promote there but there’s a damn good turnout for this event. Studd enters by himself which means he wasn’t managed by Heenan yet as Hogan’s pre-match voiceover says he got sick of back and forth insults and decided to settle it inside a cage. Hogan comes out wearing the blue trunks and we don’t even get a stare down, we automatically TAPE EDIT to where the ring is loaded with garbage and Studd rams Hogan into the cage. Hogan is busted open for the third match in a row on this tape. Studd drops an elbow then crawls for the door but Hogan stops him last second. Hogan pulls him back inside and we get another TAPE EDIT. Hogan picks up Studd and rams Studd into the cage which busts Studd open then we get ANOTHER TAPE EDIT to Hogan ramming Studd chest first into the corner. A charging Hogan eats clothesline and Studd crawls for the door. Hogan catches him and pounds on him with right hands. Studd floors the champ with an elbow. Studd goes to the second rope and drops another forearm to the back. Studd goes for the door but collapses on the way. Studd squirms over but Hogan stops him in time. Studd rakes the eyes and sends him crashing into the cage. Studd staggers around as Monsoon says he can’t see with the blood in his eyes. Studd goes to climb the cage but Hulk stops him with fists. They trade blows but an eye rake stops the Hulkster. Hogan reverses a whip and sends Studd smashing into the cage. Hogan drops the big leg as Monsoon calls it “the big knee” by accident. Hulk crawls for the door but Studd stops him, Hogan boots John in the face then makes it out the door onto the floor to win the match. The partisan crowd goes wild as Studd wants more on the outside. They brawl but Hogan gets the upper hand. Well that was…different. They edited the living daylights out of it to keep the action moving but they left out too much action. Guess due to time constraints they had to cut all the matches short.

 

Time of match: A heavily edited 5:48

Winner: Hulk Hogan

 

We know go to an exclusive interview with Hogan for this specific tape conducted by Vince himself. Hogan is wearing a t-shirt with his own image on it while Vince ditches the herringbone suit for a normal blue suit coat. Vince asks Hulkster why he got into wrestling. He claims he was the greatest wrestling fan ever before he became the greatest wrestler ever (wow, no egotism there huh?) and he loves the 1 on 1 contact. Vince asks him what’s his attitude on training and Hulk calls him Mr. McMahon, 14 years too soon on that one. Hulk says positive thoughts, good food, good workouts, good sleep and the vitamins, etc yadda yadda. He does have a point saying when someone quits smoking and drinking then looks at themselves in the mirror they’ll see a change for the better. Vince asks him when wrestling became the profession of his life and Hogan gives a half-cockamamie story on when he was a little kid his father took him to see wrestling and he loves it, the truth is he became a fan at the age of 16 when he saw Dusty Rhodes at the Tampa Sportatorium in Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling from Florida. Later “Superstar” Billy Graham came to Florida and Hogan wanted to look as built as Billy did. Vince takes it a step further and asks if any one person influenced him the most and Hogan gives the kayfabed answer of Andre the Giant when, like I said, the REAL inspiration was the Superstar. Hogan hypes up Andre as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Vince asks if Hulk still has butterflies in his stomach before going to the ring, Hulk answers sometimes. He doesn’t want to let the little Hulksters down and he fears no man or evil. We then cut to the final match on the tape. Final count: Man – 2, Dude – 1, Brother – 0, Jack -0 so if you had the under you win. As expected, we’re treated to the explosion of Hulkamania into the mainstream by showing us the match with Iron Sheik. To give a bit of backstory, Hogan left Vince McMachon Sr’s WWWF to do the movie Rocky 3 in 1980 and Vince wouldn’t let him come back after he was done. Desperate for a job, he turned to Verne Gagne’s AWA where he made his debut in 1981 to thunderous cheers despite being a heel. Fans were so desperate for something new they cheered the heel. Soon, Hulkamania was born. From 1981 to 1983 Hogan ruled the AWA despite never being champion. He was due to win the title but egotism got in the way. Hogan was making extra money by working in Japan and selling merchandise, something new at the time. His “Hulk Rules” t-shirt was a big seller in Minnesota. Like a lot of old time promoters, Verne wanted a piece of the action and demanded Hogan give up a portion of his Japanese income. Hulk rightfully refused and Hulk was also displeased when Verne sold a bunch of Hogan t-shirts without giving Hulk his cut. In December of 83, Hogan was scheduled to win the AWA title from Nick Bockwinkel but he was growing increasingly unhappy with how Verne ran things. Enter Vince McMahon Jr, the new kid in town. Vince bought the company from his father, renamed it the WWF and wanted to go national. In the territorial era of wrestling, promoters never promoted in rival territories although they would exchange talent here and there. Vince said the hell with that and decided to promote shows wherever the hell he wanted. Simply booking shows in places like Nashville is one thing, doing so without the larger than life champion was a different story. He needed a larger than life star in order to go national. He had Andre the Giant but Andre was 37 years old in 1983 plus his giantism was beginning to affect his mobility. Vince then got wind that Hogan was unhappy in the AWA. Hulkamania had been running wild in the AWA but this was before Verne got on ESPN so Hogan wasn’t yet nationally known beyond Rocky 3. With Vince running Madison Square Garden and more importantly, New York City, Vince had the venue for Hulk’s star to shine brightest. After signing the Hulkster away from the AWA, now all Vince needed to do was put Hulkamania over. His current champion Bob Backlund was a great mat-based wrestler but he was about as exciting as last night’s toast. Vince wanted the title to be on Hogan but Backlund refused to job to someone without an amateur background. Not a problem Vince said, he asked if Bob was willing to put over the former 1971 AAU wrestling champion and member of the Iranian national team, Iron Sheik. Backlund said sure and was willing to drop it to him. On December 26, 1983, five year champion Bob Backlund was dethroned by Sheik. A week later Bob Backlund brought out Hulk Hogan on WWF television and put over Hulkster as the number 1 contender. There was one final bit of the story that was not revealed until years later. Verne Gagne was pissed beyond belief that Hogan would betray him and he called up his former protégé Sheik with a proposal; break Hogan’s leg and take the belt back to the AWA. It was Gagne who originally trained Sheik when he came over from Iran and Sheik actually helped train his son Greg. Sheik has done countless interviews saying he had to turn down Gagne because it was against his religion to bite the hand that fed him. In other words, Vince McMahon Jr had given Sheik the title and was paying him well, so it would be sacrilegious for Sheik to betray Vince. With Gagne out of the way, the rest is history.

 

Match 5

Hulk Hogan vs The Iron Sheik (with Ayatollah Blassie) for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson

  The match that started it all, the true dawning of Hulkamania in the national spotlight. This match came about when Bob Backlund was dethroned on December 26, 1983 by the Sheik. Rather than get his deserved rematch, Backlund brought out old Freddie Blassie crony Hulk Hogan. Hogan said he had denounced Blassie and was totally reformed, his mission was to destroy the Sheik and bring the belt back to the good guys. On January 23, 1984 Hogan met Sheik for the title in Madison Square Garden. Hogan crosses himself on his way out to the ring and guess who’s holding the curtain for him, 69 year old Vince McMahon Sr, dying of pancreatic cancer but fighting it long enough to see Hulkamania take off. If you pause your tape/dvd/etc to see that image, it’s an iconic one. The changing of the guard if you will. The regional territory era of Vince Sr is going by the wayside as Hulkamania sweeps the nation. It’s a shame the old man died when he did, he would have loved to have seen some of the gigantic crowds his son was about to draw. Sheik’s got the red trunks on. Hogan’s wearing his standard yellow trunks and a red t-shirt that says American Made on the front and Hulk-A-Mania on the back. After the introductions, Sheik turns to take his ring gear off but Hulk PEARL HARBOR’S him because he’s such a role model. Hogan sends Sheik into the corner with his robe still on and delivers an elbow smash. Hulk strangles Sheik with his own robe then sends him off and clotheslines him with the robe. The ref finally gets the robe away from Hogan. Hulk unloads in the corner then delivers a running clothesline. Hulk drops a knee to the throat, rakes the eyes and chokes him over his head. Hogan spits at Sheik and delivers the big boot. Hulk covers but the referee takes forever to get over there and Sheik kicks out at 1. Hogan drops Sheik with a running elbow then drops another elbow. Patterson goes crazy but the cover only gets 2. Hogan whips Sheik into the corner but misses a charge. Sheik finally gets an offensive move in 3 minutes into the match by stomping away at the Hulk. Hulk staggers to his feet and Sheik executes a backbreaker. Sheik covers but Hogan powers out at 2. Sheik goes back to work with boots to the chest then “loads up the boot”. Another boot leads to a Boston crab applied by the Sheik. Monsoon scoffs at the referee for being out of position but Hogan powers out of the hold. Pat wonders when Sheik will go for the camel clutch as he delivers a well executed gut-wrench suplex on Hogan. Another cover 1…2 and no. Sheik goes back to the boots to the kidney then locks in the camel clutch. Patterson says no one’s ever broken the hold as Monsoon says this is what did in Backlund a month earlier. Monsoon “Only the immense power of the Hulk can save him!” Hogan begins to Hulk Up and soon powers his way to his knees. Hogan stands up with Sheik on his back and rams him back in the corner. Sheik falls like a dead deer in the center of the ring. The crowd goes wild and Hogan drops the big leg! The cover gets 1…2…3 AND WE GOT A NEW CHAMPION! Madison Square Garden goes crazy as Hulkamania takes over New York City. Monsoon “History made in Madison Square Garden! Hulkamania….is here.” He wasn’t kidding, folks. Hogan kisses the belt (the same won worn by Backlund a month earlier before Sheik won it) as Fink announces Hogan the winner and new champ. Now Vince had his larger than life champion and the road to dominance was about to begin.

 

Time of match: 5:34

Winner: Hulk Hogan by pinfall (new WWF Champion)

 

The tape ends here with the orchestral ending montage as the credits roll. An explanation for why the matches were drastically cut is here. “The wrestling matches on this cassette have been edited to maximize their entertainment. Careful preservation of the spirit and integrity of the matches has been maintained.” I don’t know how cutting them up as badly as they did made them more entertaining but it sure made the action flow. Just like with the first tape, we end with a preview for BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 2, ANDRE THE GIANT and MOST UNUSUAL MATCHES. I’ll get to those later. As for this, now that’s more like it. The tape was designed to feature Hogan in good matches and to showcase hot 1984 action. I mean Hogan was never a mat based wrestler so judging the tape from a technical standpoint is a waste of time. The crowd was hot and the action flowed, 3 stars out of 5. 2 points off because there was no Roddy Piper mentioned and the edits were too much. Next tape after this is BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 1 as we finally get to see some REAL action, not a collection of TNT skits and Hogan profiles.