Continuing along with this series, I’ve now reached the most memorable editions of the set. 1988 and 89 were the initial height of renting Coliseum Videos, and I loved these more modern tapes. As a youngster, I couldn’t stand watching those old dinosaur editions, which had seemingly long boring matches featuring old farts who were long gone from the company (hmm, I doubt the kids who cheer for Brock Lesnar feel that same way). These editions featured weirder matches, and a lot more matches from TV tapings (which I’ve said I love at least 100 times in these reviews).
I’ve seen Volume 15 a number of times, maybe the most out of the entire set. It’s one that I remember renting more than once as a kid, and later on when I got the same ‘free movie every week’ card as Matt. I even remember renting this tape with Matt at a sleepover in like grade 7 or 8. He too hated those old dinosaur Coliseum Videos, but enjoyed these later ones with more well-known stars (though we did hilariously fast forward through headlocks and armbars and the ancient 70s matches.) More recently, I watched this tape randomly in the months before moving out of the apartment (wow, that was four years ago already), so it’s still fresh in my mind.
1) Tito Santana (w/ Rick Martel) fought Haku (w/ Bobby Heenan & Tama) to a double disqualification at 6:42 when Tama and Martel both interfered on behalf of their partners; after the bout, Santana & Martel cleared the ring of the opposition (10/6/87; Milwaukee, WI)
We kick things off with a match from a TV taping (and yes, I love those TV taping matches!) from the fall of 87, right before Strike Force won the tag team titles. Here we get Santana against his Islander nemesis Haku. It was because of the Islanders that Strike Force formed their team. The match is a lot of fun, with solid action from both wrestlers. The crowd of course is big time into Tito, who was a wise choice to replace Tom Zenk in the team with Martel. Arguably Strike Force was a better team than the Can-Am Connection. Inevitably this boils down to a predictable double DQ when Martel and Tama get involved, but it was fun while it lasted.
2) Tito Santana & Rick Martel defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart (w/ Jimmy Hart) to win the titles at 9:08 when Neidhart submitted to Martel’s Boston Crab after sustaining a double bodyslam (10/27/87; Syracuse, NY)
Here’s a fun treat – the match from Superstars where Strike Force wins the titles from the Hart Foundation. I never realized before that Strike Force were a total flash in the pan – hot for several months, then fizzled out after losing the belts to Demolition at Mania IV (and Martel was injured for most of the year). This match is of course great, and the pace is fast since it was on Superstars. After dominating the tag team scene for nearly a year, the Harts are on their heels early on. The ending is kind of a bummer as Martel gets the hot tag and quickly takes out both Harts. He gets the Anvil in the Crab, and Neidhart taps within seconds. Not exactly the ending you would expect to end an monumental tag team title run, but the fans go crazy nonetheless and Ventura and McMahon argue on commentary over the outcome. I remember seeing this on TV as a little kid and marking out huge for Strike Force winning the belts.
3) Bam Bam Bigelow (w/ Sir Oliver Humperdink) pinned King Kong Bundy (w/ Bobby Heenan) at 3:56 with a splash after Bundy missed a splash of his own (11/17/87; Des Moines, IA)
We get to a see a rare, clean-shaven Bigelow in action against King Kong Bundy who was nearing the end of his initial WWF run. Bundy had those two great SNME matches against Hogan in early 88, but otherwise was a non-factor in the lower mid-card. This was seemingly also from Superstars or another syndicated show, and was barely longer than a squash. Lots of sloppy brawling and missed moves, a short brawl on the floor, and an unconvincing conclusion. This is when they were pushing Bigelow as the next Hulk Hogan so he gets a super win, but against a slob like Bundy, it was really unimpressive. And of course we have to put up with the annoying presence of that troll Sir Oliver Sucksadink. I wonder if the WWF were banking on guys like Bigelow and Strike Force being long term main event superstars?
4) The Jumping Bomb Angels defeated WWF Women’s Tag Team Champions Lelani Kai & Judy Martin (w/ Jimmy Hart) in a Best 2 out of 3 Falls match at 13:56 to win the titles; fall #1: Lelani Kai scored the first fall at 6:11 with a move that started out as a powerbomb but turned into an over-the-head slam; fall #2: the Jumping Bomb Angels won the second fall at 8:05 by reversing a powerbomb into a sunset flip; fall #3: the challengers won the third fall following a double dropkick off the top rope onto Martin; a replay of the third fall showed Martin’s shoulder was up at 2 but Vince McMahon claimed her shoulderblade was still down (Royal Rumble 88 – 1/24/88; Hamilton, Ontario)
Holy SHIT! So it turns out we did get to see something from Royal Rumble 88 back in the day. This was the one of the few things released on video from that historic event. On a previous Best of the WWF, they advertised a full video release of Rumble 88, but that never came to fruition, and that event remained a mystery until much later on. It’s bizarre that we get a match from that show, with absolutely no mention that it came from the Rumble 88 event. Of course this is fantastic, but we only get to see part of the match on this tape. Weird.
5) The Wild Samoans defeated Mr. Fuji & Tiger Chung Lee at 21:58 when Afa pinned Lee following a double headbutt after Fuji refused to tag into the match; after the bout, Fuji returned to the ring and attacked his fallen partner until Lee cleared the ring with a kendo stick (7/7/84; Philadelphia Spectrum)
Well this seriously sucked the f’n big one. For some reason this was included to showcase a “most embarrassing moment” for Mr. Fuji. More like an embarrassing moment for the WWF, booking this type of crap. Mercifully this match is joined in progress, as it is complete crap. Endless stalling and boredom. The Samoans were seemingly good guys at this time and I don’t know if they were feuding with Fuji and Tiger Chung Lee (who I thought was always a jobber?). Fuji walks out, leaving Lee to get his ass beaten, then Fuji returns after the match to attack Lee for reasons unexplained. I doubt this feud went anywhere. Next!
6) Sherri Martel pinned WWF Women’s Champion the Fabulous Moolah to win the title at 7:56 by blocking an attempted slam into the ring and reversing it into a cradle; after the match, Moolah knocked down referee Joey Marella for counting the pin before Sherri hit her in the back with the title belt – sending Moolah to the floor (7/24/87; Houston, TX)
Another major title change included on this tape! The funniest thing is that Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes pretend Moolah has been the women’s champ for the last 40 years, completely ignoring the Wendi Richter run in 85. Moolah is of course completely useless on top of being hideous to look at. Sherri was new to the WWF, having defected from the AWA, having recently (or still?) held their ladies title. Sherri is really hot in this match, something I don’t think I really paid attention to as a kid. She’s also wearing hot pink spandex with a blue top, like something out of an 80s aerobics video. Anyway, not too much to say about this match as it was uneventful until the surprise finish when Sherri won completely out of nowhere on what was a televised tour card. It was a sloppy finish, but at least Sherri won the belt from that haggard brontosaurus.
7) WWF Jr. Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami pinned Ted Adams with a German suplex into a bridge (2/20/78; Madison Square Garden)
Speaking of dinosaurs, we go wayyy back to 1978 for a rare junior heavyweight title defence. Mean Gene, who I forgot to mention was the host for this edition, claimed that fans had been writing in and asking for a scientific match (yeah f’n right), so they dug this out of the archives. I was reading that the Jr. HT belt was developed strictly to bridge a working relationship with Japan. Fujinami had some great matches with Flair later on, but this was just boring. I have no idea who Ted Adams is, but he’s as vanilla as it gets. Nothing much happens in this basic match, and interestingly Fujinami wins. Weird to see the WWF promoting a Japanese wrestler in the era of strict kayfabe.
8) Demolition (w/ Mr. Fuji) defeated George Steele & Billy Jack Haynes (w/ an injured Ken Patera wearing a cast on his arm) at 9:31 when Smash pinned Haynes after Ax hit him in the back of the neck with Mr. Fuji’s cane as Smash was caught in the full nelson; after the bout, Patera and Steele cleared the ring (8/25/87; San Francisco, CA)
Two funny notes about this match – in summer 1987 Ken Patera and Billy Jack Haynes formed a team for reasons I can’t remember and am too lazy to research. Talk about two guys who have nothing to do with each other! I remember buying the Ken Patera LJN and begging my dad to also get me Haynes so I could complete the team, but no dice. The other funny thing is that Patera was injured shortly after forming the team, so Billy Jack was stuck with a revolving door of lower card partners for his matches. For some reason Haynes and Patera started a feud with Demolition, but I’m also too lazy to look up the particulars. That leads us to this zany match found at the end of this tape. Steele was replacing Patera, who was at ringside, for this match. The bizarreness of all of this makes for an entertaining match. George Steele actually works a lot of the match and becomes the punching bag for a long stretch. I can’t recall many other Steele matches that are not just stalling and goofy antics. I loved seeing Ax and Smash beat the crap out of the Animal. Haynes doesn’t fare much better, and Demolition win by cheating, despite the presence of Patera. Really, really love these weird and bizarre matches! Wish there was more of this kind of stuff on these tapes.
the RepoDan Wrestling Institution 