Coliseum Video Presents: WWF Rampage 1991
by Scrooge McSuck
Sean Mooney is our host, along with "Mean" Gene Okerlund and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan who are on location in Greenwich, CT. They're on the golf course today and will be giving us great golf tips throughout the following two hours. Heenan is dressed like a buffoon and naturally doesn't know what he's doing but is so confident in himself that his terrible advice and comedy routines carry the wrap-around segments.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Match:
Mr. Perfect (c) (w/ Coach) vs. The British Bulldog:
This is our Fan Favorite Match, allegedly requested by a special WWF fan. Taped on June 18th from Fresno, CA. Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes are doing commentary for all matches unless otherwise noted. After all these years, I've developed a liking for them, for the most part. Lockup and Bulldog shoves Perfect into the corner. Perfect grabs a side headlock, but a shoulder block sends him flying across the ring in typical Hennig bumping fashion. Bulldog calls for a test-of-strength. Perfect seems to accept, then sells the shoulder and backs out. Bulldog calls him out, so Perfect accepts and immediately regrets it. Whip to the ropes and Bulldog surprises Perfect with a crucifix cradle for two. Perfect with a handful of tights to hook a sunset flip for two. Bulldog gives Perfect a taste of the turnbuckles, capping off the sequence by slamming Perfect's face into the canvas. Perfect with a cheap shot in the corner to take control. He turns Bulldog over with a Boston Crab and uses the lopes for extra leverage. Bulldog powers out, sending Perfect through the ropes. Perfect remains in control and knocks Bulldog out of the ring with a push-off dropkick. Coach gets some shots in while the referee is distracted, drawing Bret Hart to ringside to even the sides. Back inside, Perfect with his signature rolling snap mare for two. Bulldog fights out of a sleeper, carrying Perfect on his back and ramming him into the corner. Whip is reversed and Bulldog press drops Perfect across the top rope. He gives Perfect a ride and lays him out with a clothesline. Crisscross and referee Earl Hebner gets wiped out. Bulldog counters the Perfect-Plex with a cradle. Bret hops in to cut off Coach and counts the unofficial fall. Perfect stomps away on Bret for sticking his nose in his business and suddenly the bell rings at 9:33. Bret returns fire, hitting Perfect with a pair of atomic drops and knocking him over the top rope with a spinning elbow. The official word is the Bulldog is disqualified for outside interference. Dumb finish to a good match. *** The Texas Tornado vs. The Warlord:
Taped on April 22nd from Madison Square Garden. PLEASE BE SHORT. No Slick at ringside for the Warlord. Monsoon, Heenan and Jim Neidhart on commentary, so we'll get random comments about other stuff that happened that night. I guarantee the banter will be much better than anything the match produces. Lockup and Warlord shoves the Tornado into the corner. Warlord calls for a test-of-strength and controls without underhanded tactics. Tornado fights to his feet, so Warlord buries a knee to the midsection. Tornado returns fire with boots to the body and nails a spinning roundhouse. Whip is reversed and Warlord catches him in a bearhug. Five fans chant "Warlord" while this match continues to die. Tornado escapes by smacking the ears and gets knocked out of the ring. Warlord follows, sending Tornado into the steps. Tornado looks lost. Warlord scoops him up and rams his back into the post. Tornado fights his way into the ring with a butt-ugly sunset flip, but Warlord blocks. Tornado tries a slam but buckles under the weight. Warlord with a back breaker, but he misses a splash (or whatever it was meant to be). Tornado with rights and clotheslines, moving in slow motion the entire time. Discus Punch only gets two. Warlord escapes a sleeper by taking the tumble over the top rope. They slug it out and we get a double count-out at 9:18. Tornado rolled back in at 9, but that was clearly not the plan. Match was awful, with Tornado looking like he was on another planet. -*Road Warrior Animal vs. Paul Roma (w/ Hercules):
Taped on June 3rd from Madison Square Garden. I think Hawk was out of action for a few weeks, so they did the gimmick where Power and Glory toss a coin to decide who faces Animal. In almost every case, Roma won the toss. They did the same in the Fall of 1990 in a series of matches with Marty Jannetty. Roma attacks Animal from behind with forearms. Whip is reversed and Animal catches Roma with an inverted atomic drop before laying him out with a clothesline. Animal drops a headbutt questionably low while Hercules inadvertently distracts the referee. Roma counters the corner rights by dumping Animal over the top rope. Heenan calls attention to Hercules looking "bigger than ever." I'm sure that's due to a strict diet and nothing else. Back inside, Roma with a whip and dropkick. He gives Animal the trio of back breakers. I've noticed Animal was always more giving in the ring than Hawk, and that there is a good example. Animal comes back with right hands and a back suplex. Roma is the one no-selling, popping up and hitting Animal with a piledriver for two. Now Animal shrugs off Roma's strikes and hits a sloppy clothesline. Whip to the corner sees referee Danny Davis get knocked down. Animal throws a dropkick and a diving shoulder tackle, but there's no one to count. Hercules runs in to drop an elbow. We get heel miscommunication as Roma hits Hercules with a missile dropkick, and Animal finishes Roma with the powerslam at 5:01. Short and inoffensive. *We get an extended cut of Okerlund and Heenan giving us golf tips, with Heenan ripping off the old Honeymooners joke about addressing the ball ("hello, ball!") and just being a total goof about everything while hitting on an unseen female attendant. Okerlund sinking a putt from a decent distance is an unexpected highlight wrapped around Heenan's cheating.
The Rockers & The Big Boss Man vs. The Nasty Boys & The Mountie (w/ Jimmy Hart):
Taped on June 18th from Fresno, CA. This is labeled the "tag team match of the month" by Sean Mooney, an on-and-off "feature" at the time for the home video releases. Alfred gives kudos to the matchmaker for giving us this six-man tag. Michaels and Mountie start. Michaels quickly tags in the Boss Man, so Mountie runs and tags in Sags. They trade blows, with Boss Man getting the better of things in the corner. Whip across the ring, Boss Man ducks a clothesline and plants Sags with a powerslam. Sags brings up the knees to counter a splash, and now Mountie wants in. Boss Man catches him mid-leapfrog and connects with a spine-buster. The Nasty Boys run into the ring and the Rockers knock them to the floor with a pair of Super-Kicks. Knobbs tries his luck and Boss Man nails him with an enzuigiri. Jannetty with a bulldog from the second rope. Knobbs blocks a roll-up, so Jannetty turns it into a modified sunset flip for two. Michaels with the blind tag and another Super-Kick. Whip is reversed and Michaels with a diving clothesline. Whip and Boss Man with a boot to the face. Sags with a cheap shot from the apron, turning things around for Camp Hart. Mountie puts the boots to the Boss Man and Sags drops a series of elbows. Whip and Mountie with his signature diving back elbow for two. Boss Man is getting worked over so much his shirt is coming undone. Knobbs with a slam, setting the table for the Mountie. He gives Boss Man a slap and Boss Man responds with a flurry of strikes, capped with a right uppercut. Michaels gets the hot tag, running wild on Knobbs with rights and a Super-Kick. DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER to Mountie and Sags. Heck breaks loose with all six men in the ring. The Mountie and Nasty Boys collide in the middle of the ring. Michaels intercepts the motorcycle helmet and whacks Knobbs. Mountie has the shock-stick, zapping Michaels. Jannetty with the illegal switch to cover the still-unconscious Knobbs for three at 10:11. Dragged a little in the middle, but a perfectly fine match thanks to the babyfaces keeping the pace going. **½The Dragon vs. Demolition Smash:
Taped on June 3rd from Madison Square Garden. "The Dragon" is Ricky Steamboat, rarely acknowledged by that name at the time, but the name was mentioned here and there. The Alan Parsons Project's "Sirius" is gone and replaced by some music that guarantees it won't get a pop (I don't mean the usual re-issue music from the 2000's onward; this was a theme created for him in 1991). Despite hanging around for most of 1991, this is Dragon's only non-PPV coliseum video appearance. Smash as a singles prelim guy is the final nail in the Demolition coffin. Lockup and Smash with a knee to the midsection to get the early advantage. Dragon counters the wristlock, taking Smash to the canvas. Dragon does his skin the cat spot and dumps Smash over the top rope. Smash creeps back in and gets caught with a snap arm drag. Dragon counters a slam with one of his own and goes back to the arm bar. Smash with an inverted atomic drop and clothesline across the top rope. This crowd is D-E-A-D. Dragon fights out of a chin-lock, so Smash dumps him through the ropes. Smash follows, sending him into the post and planting him at ringside with a slam. Back inside, Smash connects with a back breaker for barely a one-count. Dragon teases the comeback, but Smash cuts him off with clotheslines. Smash with a sleeper, and the arm drops three times, which Monsoon calls out (along with complaining about the execution of most of Smash's offense). The old story was if Dragon did that, it meant he wasn't putting his full effort into the match. Dragon throws chops and sends Smash through the ropes with a dropkick. Dragon follows him out, diving off the second rope with a body press. Back inside, Dragon avoids a charge to the corner and finishes with the flying body press at 10:15. If you ever need to know if Ricky Steamboat was capable of bad matches, here you go. *Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. The Barbarian (w/ Bobby Heenan):
Taped on May 7th from Green Bay, WI, and recycled for the May 28th episode of Prime-Time Wrestling. You know... I wonder if this was added because the previous match mentioned the Barbarian was coming up, even if that was part of an MSG broadcast, and this is an unrelated match from a TV taping. Lockup and Barbarian with a shove into the corner. Roberts goes for the arm but Barbarian clubs him across the head to break free. Whip to the corner, Barbarian misses the charge, and Roberts goes back to work on the arm. Whip to the ropes and Roberts with a knee lift. He signals for the DDT but Barbarian bails. Roberts drives Barbarian into the post and lays him out with the short-arm clothesline. Barbarian counters another DDT attempt with a back body-drop. Hard whip to the corner and blatant choking while the referee is distracted by Heenan. Barbarian with a back breaker for two. Whip to the corner and this time Roberts brings up the knee. Barbarian ducks the clothesline and rocks Roberts with a boot, knocking him into the ropes and the Andre Special. Roberts frees himself immediately and hits the DDT, but here's Earthquake to draw Roberts' attention, so Roberts takes the count-out at 7:26. Woof. ½*Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs. Haku:
Taped on April 24th from London, England. Mooney calls this a Coliseum exclusive, but this was part of a show called "UK Rampage 91" and featured on the international coliseum home video market. Oh, he meant for us yanks. GOT IT. Lockup and Haku with a side headlock. Valentine counters with a top wristlock and they end up in the ropes. Valentine with a side headlock and shoulder block. Crisscross and Valentine with an atomic drop, followed by a running elbow that sends Haku to the floor. Back inside, Haku with chops and stomps in the corner. Valentine turns things around, throwing chops of his own. Whip across the ring and Haku brings up the foot to cut Valentine off. Haku with a pair of back breakers for a two-count. Valentine fights out of a seated chin-lock but runs into a knee. Valentine fights to his feet again, landing a series of elbows to the midsection. Haku cuts him off with a back suplex for two. Valentine blocks the turnbuckle and gives Haku a taste instead. Valentine is a terrible babyface comeback. Whip to the ropes and Hammer with an elbow on the chin. Haku rolls away from an elbow drop and throws more chops. Valentine wins the strike exchange and drops down across the midsection. He teases the Figure-Four, but Haku rakes the eyes. Valentine with a slam and wind-up elbow drop. Haku blocks the Figure-Four again, sending Valentine into the turnbuckle. Whip to the ropes and Valentine with a sunset flip for three at 8:42. Perfectly acceptable wrestling. **
The Orient Express (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Power & Glory (w/ Slick):
Taped on May 28th from Tucson, AZ, and featured on the June 10th episode of Prime-Time Wrestling. I love when we would get the occasional heel vs heel match. I'm always curious about any motivation behind doing so. Lots of shtick and stalling to start. Hercules and Kato start. Lockup and Hercules easily throws Kato to the canvas. Lockup to the corner and Kato doesn't hesitate to throw a cheap shot. Hercules blocks a whip and unloads with right hands. Whip to the ropes and Hercules with an elbow. Kato avoids an elbow drop and brings in Tanaka for some double-team chopping. Hercules no-sells a whip to the corner and dumps Tanaka with a press slam for two. Whip and P&G with a double clothesline. Crisscross and Tanaka with a Super-Kick to Roma. Whip and Roma turns Tanaka inside-out with a clothesline. Roma plants Tanaka with a slam and dives off the top with a forearm across the chest for two. Kato with the illegal switch and a diving back elbow. Snap mare and Kato drops an elbow across the chest for two. Roma fights out of a chin-lock, only to get tripped up by Fuji. Double-clothesline from the Express for two. Combination leapfrog splash across the back for another two-count. Roma dives over a double clothesline and Hercules wipes out both Express himself. Roma with a whip and dropkick for two. Whip and Slick pulls the ropes down on Kato. There's the receipt we should've expected. The managers get into a shoving match, then the two teams' brawl at ringside to a double count-out at 8:29. This was OK, but as usual, the heel vs heel match ends with a non-finish. *½Coliseum Exclusive: At home with Paul Bearer. It's a 5-minute segment of Paul Bearer, 100% in character, showing off his humble abode. I'm more curious about how these ideas are presented, and who oversaw doing so. Did the fine folks at Coliseum Video ask for this kind of stuff? These are questions that we need answered, and likely never will be.
The Ultimate Warrior vs. The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer):
Taped on June 2nd from Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, and our final match of the tape. This is quite the feature at the time, considering the participants involved. Warrior doesn't waste time throwing right hands. He sends Taker to the turnbuckle and charges into the corner with a clothesline. Taker avoids a second attempt, but Warrior manages to put on the brakes and knocks Taker over the top rope. Taker takes advantage of Warrior's aggression and hangs him up across the top rope. Back inside, Taker with a jaw grip while Paul Bearer cheeses at ringside. Warrior forces the break and starts doing his no-sell routine, but it must be the underpowered phase as he over-sells a headbutt after no-selling the first blow. Taker comes off the ropes with the diving clothesline and Warrior can't decide if he's selling or not. Warrior avoids an elbow drop, but it doesn't mean much when Taker doesn't sell anything either. Warrior with a slam and more clotheslines. Whip and Taker surprises him with a right uppercut. Taker hits the Tombstone Piledriver, but he chooses to d*ck around before covering, buying Warrior time to kick out. Taker is fed up with this match and clobbers Warrior with the urn for the disqualification at 7:44. Post-match, the dastardly duo of death place Warrior in the body bag, but he makes the Superman comeback and clears the ring. Match was trash. ZERO STARSFinal Thoughts: This was par for the course when it comes to early 90's Coliseum Videos (and yes, pun 100% intended). You had a mix of content pulled from various sources, only a couple of matches featured from national television, and an assortment of the talent the roster featured at the time. The action is hit and miss, with a few gems and several stinkers. The wrap-around segments are entertaining, which helps break things up. If you're a fan of the era, I can say you'll find some pleasure out of this one.
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