Back in late December and early January I started down a path of viewing and reviewing all kinds of VHS tapes and DVDs in my collection that had been sitting unwatched on the shelf. It was going good, got 5 entries in, when I hit this road block. Yes, it took from January until mid May to make my way through this three disc set. Of course I’ve been sidetracked by Wrestlemania and hockey, but this took forever to get through.
I bought the Greatest Stars of the 1980s and Greatest Stars of the 1990s in a special discount set at K-Mart in Grand Forks when Matt and I were down there a couple years ago. I watched the 90s set right away and enjoyed it, but stalled forever on watching this 80s set, and sure enough I was right.
Over three discs you get 15 mini documentaries on specific wrestlers, along with bonus matches, segments, and interviews. Sounds good right? Well my biggest problem with it is how f’n political this whole set is. It only features 15 guys who were in the WWE’s good books in 2005 when it was produced. Some of the true greatest stars of the 80s are left off. Macho Man? Nope! Ultimate Warrior? Nope! Honky Tonk Man? Nope! Brutus Beefcake? Nope! Million $ Man? Nope! Even Andre The F’N Giant isn’t on here! Instead we get political favorites like Paul Orndorff and Cowboy Bob Orton. Really?! Those are the stars we all remember best? Yeah f’n right. Also, the WWE decides to include a couple NWA guys on here, but again, they’re f’n political favorites! You bet your ass that Double A Arn Anderson is on this set!
The matches chosen are also completely random, which is good in a way; better than having the same old recycled Wrestlemania matches. The segments and interviews equally random.
DISC ONE
The first disc features profiles on Bobby the Brain Heenan, Junkyard Dog, Sgt. Slaughter, Greg the Hammer Valentine, and Rowdy Roddy Piper – all good choices, but the profiles are painfully inconsistent. Some are good and interesting, others are boring and pointless. Not all capture what made these wrestlers so great. What really annoyed me was the mixing of eras. The set is supposed to focus on the 80s, but a chunk of Slaughter’s profile is spent on his 91 feud with Hogan for example. Just focus on his early WWF and AWA career dammit! Same with the other wrestlers, mixing in footage from the 90s and 80s and stories that were all over the place. It seems like this was lazily put together. We get interviews from all the usual WWE puppets like Mean Gene, Jim Ross, and the Brooklyn Brawler explaining why these guys were unique. I just feel like this all could have been way better.
Matches:
– Roddy Piper defeated NWA US Champion Greg Valentine in a non-title dog collar match at 16:08 by pulling Valentine off the top with the chain, repeatedly punching him, and tying him up to score the win; after the bout, Valentine attacked Piper and choked him with the chain before leaving the ring (NWA Starrcade 83 – 11/24/83; Greensboro Coliseum)
No question, one of the most violent and heated matches of the decade. I’ve seen this one a couple times, and it lives up to its legendary billing. The violence was so much more believable in the 80s, as guys like Piper and Valentine knew how to sell. But these guys were fighting with a legitimate heavy chain, so it wasn’t that hard to act like it hurt! Some tremendous hate and brutality that goes nearly twenty minutes. Definitely the highlight of Piper’s NWA career.
– Sgt. Slaughter fought the Iron Sheik to a double disqualification at 14:47 after both men shoved referee Danny Davis (5/21/84; Madison Square Garden)
Slaughter had a memorable WWF run in the early part of the decade, starting as a really hated heel, then turning into a red hot face defending the honor of America. He carried this momentum over to the AWA where he was their top star. Wonder how history would have turned out had he stayed on top in the WWF? This match was awesome and was a rare treat. I don’t think I’ve seen very many Slaughter matches from his first WWF run. The Sheik’s heat was molten at this point, and it seemed like the crowd really wanted Slaughter to kill him. This was of course an epic bloodbath, like a sick amount of blood. Wow, two quality hardcore matches in a row.
– WWF IC Champion Greg Valentine (w/ Jimmy Hart) pinned Tito Santana at 10:22 in a lumberjack match after both men collided and the champion fell on top for the win; lumberjacks included King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd, the Junkyard Dog, Barry O, Matt Borne, Ricky Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka, Rocky Johnson, Charlie Fulton, and Terry Gibbs (3/17/85; Madison Square Garden)
This was part of the epic Valentine-Santana IC war that raged from 84 into 85, and happened just weeks before Wrestlemania 1. Seriously, they should have just had this exact match at Wrestlemania. It was another classic in their series of classics. Valentine tries his best to get away from Tito, but of course can’t, except when he rolls to the heels. Once again Valentine barely escapes with the belt and wins basically by fluke.
– Wrestling Classic Tournament Finals: The Junkyard Dog defeated Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) via count-out at 9:42 following a backdrop to the floor (11/7/85; Chicago, IL)
This match is a complete piece of crap as you know. The JYD had to have better matches than this. At least Macho Man was featured in some capacity in this collection.
– The Ultimate Warrior defeated Bobby Heenan via submission with a sleeper in a Weasel Suit match at 5:30; after the bout, Warrior stuffed the unconscious Heenan in the suit (6/25/88; Madison Square Garden)
Well this was cool! An alternate Weasel Suit match! I’ve only ever seen the Wrestlefest 88 Weasel Suit match and didn’t know there were others. This was move-for-move the exact same match, complete with Heenan using a foreign object on the Warrior, but at least it was unique.
DISC TWO
This disc was the most interesting of the three, featuring profiles on Jerry Lawler, Arn Anderson, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and Ric Flair. It was neat to hear NWA centered stories around guys like Steamboat and Rhodes, but of course these suffered from the same inconsistent storytelling, and of course clips from the 90s. It was just aggravating to watch these profiles and know how much better they could have been!
– NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes via referee’s decision at 12:09 when guest referee Joe Frazier stopped the bout due to a cut over the challenger’s right eye (NWA Starrcade 84 – 11/22/84; Greensboro Coliseum)
Odd choice. Flair and Rhodes had many tremendous battles, but this wasn’t such a great one. I watched this StarrCade just a few years ago, so it was still kind of fresh in my mind. I remembered this finish being a big letdown, and it sure was. The NWA pulled this stunt a couple times in big main event matches. Considering how much blood was in the NWA at the time, it was ridiculous to stop the match because of a cut. All part of their endless attempt to be “real”, including the involvement of boxing legend Joe Frazier.
– National Tag Team Champions Arn & Ole Anderson defeated NWA US Tag Team Champions Chief Wahoo McDaniel & Billy Jack Haynes when Arn pinned McDaniel at 8:59 after Ole tripped Wahoo and held the leg down during the cover; only the National titles were on the line (NWA Starrcade 85 – 11/28/85; Atlanta, GA)
I skipped this random boring tag match, as I also saw this StarrCade a couple years ago.
– AWA World Champion Jerry Lawler defeated WCCW World Champion Kerry Von Erich (w/ WCCW official Frank Dusek) to unify the titles at 18:53 when referee Marty Miller stopped the bout due to the gash over Von Erich’s eye (AWA Super Clash III – 12/13/88; Chicago, IL)
Ugh, yet another match stopped because of a cut? I don’t think the WWE put any thought into these completely random match selections. I guess this was pretty historical as it’s an AWA vs World Class match, which at the time was maybe a big deal? Now it seems like it was two dying territories trying desperately to gain mainstream attention. The match is basically an endless brawl, and both Lawler and Von Erich end up a bloody mess. We’re talking a sickening amount of blood in this match. Lawler keeps beating on the cut on Von Erich’s head leading to the epic stupid stoppage.
– Ricky Steamboat pinned NWA World Champion Ric Flair (w/ Hiro Matsuda) to win the title at 23:07 with an inside cradle as Flair attempted the figure-4, immediately after Steamboat failed the flying crossbody; referee Teddy Long counted the pinfall after Tommy Young had been knocked down moments earlier (2/20/89; Chicago, IL)
One of the greatest matches of all time, hands down. I’ve done a review of this in the past so I won’t go into detail here.
– NWA World Champion Ric Flair fought Jay Youngblood to a time-limit draw (2/3/82; Atlanta, GA; WTBS Studios)
WTF! Talk about random . This was taped in front of a tiny audience in a small TV studio, where the NWA used to tape all their TV back in the early 80s. Makes me chuckle, thinking about wrestling tapings happening in our studio at the College. This match was pointless and slow. Youngblood was one half of the tag champs somewhere around this time, so he was a main star, not just a random jabroni.
DISC THREE
The third disc is a total head scratcher. We get profiles on Superfly Jimmy Snuka, Cowboy Bob Orton, the Iron Sheik, Paul Orndorff, and Hulk Hogan. Other than Hogan, these choices simply suck. In addition to the names I listed earlier, what about the British Bulldogs or Tito Santana? There are so many more top names that were left off this “greatest stars” set. The only benefit is that the Snuka, Orton, Sheik, and Orndorff profiles are very interesting, as I’ve never read too much on their backgrounds. Sheik acts like a semi-normal human being, even though his claims and stories are questionable. The absolute biggest piece of shit profile on this set is Hulk Hogan’s. It’s complete garbage, zooming through the 80s (the peak of his career) then spending a chunk of time on the 90s, the NWO, and his return at Wrestlemania 19. It seems like it was recycled from his 2002 run. Fuck that’s irritating! Why not just focus on the 80s? Or fully explain how Hulkamania took off? Hogan himself is interviewed and makes all his usual bullshit claims about Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, etc. Blah blah blah.
– WWF World Champion Bob Backlund defeated Jimmy Snuka in a steel cage match at 15:10 by avoiding a lunge from the challenger and escaping through the door after Snuka missed a splash off the top of the cage (6/28/82; Madison Square Garden)
The saving grace of this disc are the incredibly unique matches. I’ve read about this match for years and was happy to finally see it in full. This is the match where Snuka first does the Superfly Splash off the top of the cage, even though in his profile he says it was in the Muraco match two years later. Idiot. Snuka was a savage heel at this point, and really pushed Bob Backlund to the limit. Man it seemed weird seeing Backlund as the champ. How in the hell was he over for 6 years as champ? He was a great wrestler, but had no personality or charisma, yet the fans just loved him. He’s insanely over in this match and the crowd goes bananas when he wins. Really good match, makes me want to see more of the Snuka-Backlund feud.
– The Iron Sheik (w/ Freddie Blassie) defeated WWF World Champion Bob Backlund (w/ Arnold Skaaland) at 11:50 to win the title when Skaaland threw in the towel as Backlund was trapped in the Camel Clutch; moments prior to the finish, Backlund attempted his roll up into a bridge but was unable to keep it applied due to his injured neck (12/26/83; Madison Square Garden)
So there’s two Bob Backlund matches, yet he’s not given a profile. So stupid. This is of course the historic match where the Sheik defeats Backlund for the belt. The psychology is awesome, as it centres around Backlund wrestling with a hurt arm, thanks to an attack by the Sheik days earlier. Random observation – MSG was lit differently for this card, looks like a different arena. The Sheik dominates the entire match, and at times it looks like Backlund might come back and win it. The finish is legendary as the Sheik locks Backlund into the Camel Clutch and seconds later Arnold Skaaland throws in the towel. I wonder when/why he even became Backlund’s manager? Hard to believe that the Iron Sheik was the one selected to end Backlund’s epic reign, but he made the most sense to put Hogan over.
– Paul Orndorff (w/ Roddy Piper) pinned Salvatore Bellomo with a powerslam and the piledriver at 14:06 (Orndorff’s MSG debut) (1/23/84; Madison Square Garden)
Why the fuck was this selected to be on the DVD? This is unbelievably terrible. Piper was new to the WWF as a manager, and Orndorff was his main guy. Most of the match is Memphis style stalling – it takes forever to get going. And when it does, it sucks. Bellomo is billed as being from “Italy” lol and is a typical pudgy mid 80s enhancement talent. However, Monsoon puts him over as a tough competitor. Really? Cause he sure sucks. Orndorff finally puts this away after what feels like years. The most interesting fact is that this match was from the same card where Hogan beat the Sheik for the title.
– Hulk Hogan pinned WWF World Champion the Iron Sheik (w/ Freddie Blassie) at 5:40 with the legdrop to win the title after ramming the champion back-first against the turnbuckle to escape the Camel Clutch (1/23/84; Madison Square Garden)
One of the most important and historic matches of all time, although no one knew that at the time. I never get sick of watching this. Love seeing Hogan destroy the Sheik.
– Jimmy Snuka pinned Bob Orton Jr. at 9:59 with a sunset flip into the ring after punching Orton’s injured left arm (2/18/85; Madison Square Garden)
Interesting match here, stemming from Snuka’s feud with Piper and Orton, and also part of the build to Wrestlemania 1. In fact, I’d argue that this match should have been on the Wrestlemania 1 card. They could have still been cornermen, but this match would have been an excellent heated affair. Snuka is insanely over as a good guy at this point and it’s great to see him getting a clean pin on Orton.
– WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan (w/ Capt. Lou Albano & Cyndi Lauper) defeated Roddy Piper (w/ Bob Orton Jr.) via disqualification at 7:40 (2/18/85; Madison Square Garden)
From the War to Settle The Score, one of the most epic feuds of the 80s. You know, I have to mention, I really fucking hate Mean Gene’s commentary. He’s all over some of these matches, and is damn annoying. His over-the-top reactions and old fashioned cliches really grind my gears. I know I’ve complained about him many times before. You know all about this one, just a hate filled brawl, with an insane ending. It was unthinkable in 1985 that Mr. T would step into the ring and get involved in a wrestling match. T and Lauper were A-list celebrities, household names. It was as close to mainstream as the WWF would ever get, next to maybe Austin and Rock.
the RepoDan Wrestling Institution 