Here’s another video I watched while on my break two weeks ago. And it’s another Coliseum oldie that I had never seen before!
Managers were such a huge part of 1980s wrestling. Names like Jimmy Hart, Bobby Heenan, and Mr. Fuji are synonymous with the rock n’ wrestling era. And of course they were almost always heels. I grew up loving this era of managers. No one could get a plain, ordinary heel more over than one of these famous mouthpieces. They were endlessly antagonizing the good guys and catalysts for so many memorable finishes and angles Managers go all the way back to the earliest days of wrestling and still live on in a smaller capacity today, but no era is more closely tied in with managers than the 1980s. It’s fitting then that an entire Coliseum Video was dedicated to these colorful characters.
Bobby the Brain Heenan is the host of this tape and is fucking hilarious through the whole thing! He puts himself over and works in praise and some subtle digs at his fellow heel managers. Almost all of the matches are clipped, as segments and interviews dominate the tape. The quality of the matches chosen leave a lot to be desired, so maybe that wasn’t a bad decision. Overall this was a really fun watch, and definitely a neat companion piece for the era.
Up first is Bobby introducing us to Mr. Fuji. We get a promo from Muraco and Fuji on the beach, surrounded by women. Hilarious to see Fuji out there in his full tuxedo!
1) The Junkyard Dog & Ricky Steamboat defeated Don Muraco & Mr. Fuji at 13:33 when Steamboat pinned Fuji with a sunset flip (8/17/85; Landover, MD; Capital Centre)
This match is heavily clipped, but it seems pretty action packed. Steamboat had an intense feud with Muraco and Fuji after Wrestlemania, and we get to see some fire from the Dragon in this one, as he unloads on Fuji and Muraco with chops and aerial moves. JYD was always added into these types of tag matches because he was so damn over. Lots of wild and crazy brawling, and cheating from Fuji and Muraco. They got JYD tied up in the ropes and went to work on the Dragon, but he still managed to put Fuji away for the win.
Next is a feature on Luscious Johnny Valiant, a guy who I could not stand as a kid! I found this obnoxious goof to be super irritating. I hated his voice and hated seeing him at ringside. Now I kinda appreciate the guy. He’s surprisingly funny and gets in a lot of clever quips. We get a segment featuring V and a super young Brutus Beefcake on TNT.
2) Johnny V pinned Steve Lombardi at 5:04 with a clothesline and elbow drop; after the bout, Johnny V threw his opponent out to the floor (8/17/85; Landover, MD; Capital Centre)
Really? Do we really need to see a fucking Johnny V squash match?! At least have a Beefcake match! The only thing of note is that this was taken from the same Capital Center tour card as the first match. Bleh.
Next a rare clip of the late Grand Wizard, with a young Muraco. I’ve read so much praise for the Grand Wizard and what a fixture he was in the WWWF. Had he lived into the 80s no doubt he would have been on the level of Heenan, Slick, Hart, etc.
Classy Freddie Blassie is next. He was on his way out just as I was getting into the WWF, so I only knew him as an old dinosaur on these tapes and as a shelf warming LJN, who lasted at Toys R Us deep into the 90s. As per usual, they feature footage from Wrestlemania 1. This time it’s interviews and clips from the tag title match. Yup, skipping through all this bologna.
This leads into the next “match”. Yes, it’s a complete piece of garbage. Yes, it’s a total farce. But to me, it was laugh out loud hilarious and highly entertaining.
3) George Steele (w/ Capt. Lou Albano) fought Nikolai Volkoff (w/ Freddie Blassie) to a double count-out at 4:18 after Steele left the ring to confront Blassie on the floor, after Blassie assaulted Albano with his cane, which led to a brawl with Steele & Albano against Volkoff & Blassie (7/13/85; Madison Square Garden)
This is still fresh into Steele’s surprising face turn. Volkoff is singing the anthem and the ring is FILLED with garbage. It’s raining down on Volkoff as he gets to the second portion of the anthem, when Steele comes running out to shut him up. This “match” never really gets going, as garbage continues to fill the ring, and Blassie keeps whacking at Steele with his cane, allowing Volkoff to get in a few shots. Steele eats a turnbuckle and starts raking Volkoff’s face with the stuffing. Steele soon goes after Blassie, and Albano and Volkoff all get involved. This was a total clusterfuck, but I was laughing my ass off at the absurdity of this whole mess.
Next is a feature on Jimmy Hart, who was still fairly fresh from Memphis and who’s style was still being developed. Hart comes across more serious, less zany at this point. We get an interview from TNT featuring Hart and his newest protege, IC champ Greg the Hammer Valentine. Valentine looks fucking badass wearing shades and a leather jacket. He puts over Jimmy Hart as a real rock n roller from 50s, not some goof who likes punk or any new crap. LOL! They put over Valentine being in great shape after dumping that slob Lou Albano, who I believe was a heel manager right into early 85. Vince keeps egging Valentine on with “what ifs” about losing the IC title, which soon enrages Valentine and Hart. Hart is screaming at Valentine to cover his ears and not let Vince get in his head. Hahaha, all great character development stuff here.
Oh and…. highlights from Valentine and JYD at Wrestlemania. Next!
The next profile is on the ladies, with Heenan sharing his thoughts on the Fabulous Moolah and Cyndi Lauper. Hilarious stuff as always from the Brain as he buries Lauper. We get the concluding moments of Richter winning the belt from Moolah, and then, you guessed it, her regaining the title from Lelani Kai at Wrestlemania. Y’know, I could watch Wendi Richter all day. She’s such a breath of fresh air for the era. A lot of net fans unfairly shit all over her matches, but she always worked hard and had very limited opponents to work with. And she looks amazing, beautiful and in fantastic shape.
Up next – Bobby the Brain Heenan! Heenan putting himself over is pure gold. At this point you might as well call this tape Highlights of Wrestlemania, as we get MORE fucking footage from that event, as we get clips from Andre-Studd for the billionth time on Coliseum Video.
Following this is a HILARIOUS segment from TNT, featuring Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan offering love advice. McMahon is full on busting up laughing on TV, reading presumably real letters from viewers. This is GOLD! Heenan maintains a straight face as he insults these morons who wrote in and puts himself over. McMahon is near tears guffawing through all of this. Man this was tremendous. Simple stupid fun.
We get the ending of an Andre-Studd match from Maple Leaf Gardens. Its the setup for a huge angle – the debut of King Kong Bundy in the Heenan Family! From what I’ve read, Heenan traded the Missing Link to Jimmy Hart for Bundy. Good move, as Bundy made no sense to be with Hart, and Link was soon gone. Studd and Bundy DEMOLISH the Giant. It was surprising to see them destroy the Giant with repeated splashes, until an army of jobbers break things up.
Phenomenal segment next, as we get a long feature on the recently debuted Macho Man Randy Savage – hottest free agent in wrestling. We get the big angle from TNT where Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, and Freddie Blassie all try to lure Savage into their stables. Each gives a sales pitch about what their stable offers, and bicker and insult one another. This was outstanding. Just awesome character work and it really made Macho Man seem like a HUGE deal.
4) Randy Savage pinned Jim Young with the flying elbowsmash at 1:46; during the bout, Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, Freddie Blassie, Mr. Fuji, and Johnny V were at ringside in hopes that Savage would name one of them as his new manager; after the match, Savage thanked the managers for their consideration and then asked that his new manager come to ringside, which the unnamed woman then did (Miss Elizabeth’s debut) (7/30/85; Poughkeepsie, NY; Mid-Hudson Civic Center)
The managers segment leads to a Macho Man squash on Championship Wrestling. After quickly dispatching his jobber opponent, Macho calls all managers down to the ring as he’s ready to make his decision. It was super funny seeing Heenan looking all smug, like it was a done deal. Savage surprises everyone by announcing that his new manager is… and out walks Elizabeth! She’s not named at the time, but the crowd pops huge. WOW what a debut!! Savage immediately looks like a million bucks, no wonder he was main eventing MSG against Hogan just months after his debut. This is a masterclass in putting someone over!
After all that brilliance, the tape sinks as we get a profile Hillbilly Jim becoming a manager for Uncle Elmer and Cousin Junior while his leg heals. Crap.
Another lengthy segment next documenting the build up to the 1985 Manager of the Year award. We get all the managers campaigning on TNT, then the big reveal on Championship Wrestling with Mean Gene. The three runners up are Bobby Heenan, Hillbilly Jim, and Capt Lou. Heenan proclaims that the other heel managers pledged their votes to him, so Heenan wins the award! Hillbilly Jim then pledges his votes to Capt Lou, edging out Heenan. This incenses Heenan and he grabs the trophy and nails Albano. Bundy and Studd run down and beat the shit out of Hillbilly Jim while Heenan destroys the trophy! Man Bobby Heenan was so awesome!!
Heenan reluctantly introduces the last feature on the tape, on Capt Lou. Heenan buries Lou and says he chose the last match himself lol
5) Andre the Giant & Pedro Morales defeated Capt. Lou Albano & Afa at 9:22 when Morales pinned Afa after a boot to the face from Andre (8/23/80; Philadelphia Spectrum)
Haha, this is just a shit kicking as Andre and Morales beat the shit out of Capt Lou. Nice job Brain! Funny way to end a fun tape!
the RepoDan Wrestling Institution 