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Coliseum Video: WWF World Tour 1992

by Scrooge McSuck

- Unlike the previous editions of the World Tour series, I'm pretty sure every match featured on this video is from the WWF's overseas tours, from the Fall of 1991 and the Spring of 1992. I want to say I either reviewed this tape before and really hated it, or tried to review it, hated it so much, and quit before completion. I want to say the latter, because I think I would remember a match between Randy Savage and Shawn Michaels. After some searching around, apparently I did to a review of this tape, so long ago, that I know longer want to admit where to find it, because it's that bad.

The Texas Tornado vs. The Mountie (w/ Jimmy Hart):

Oh sweet Jesus. This is from the UK exclusive PPV, Battle Royal at the Albert Hall, originally held on October 3rd, 1991. I was going to recycle that review, but I'm not very proud of that, so here's a new recap... By now, Kerry Von Erich was put way down on the bottom of the card, and just hung around until finally being released/quit in the Summer of '92. The Mountie was getting primed for an IC Title program with Bret Hart, so take a guess who's going over. Lockup to start, and Mountie gives a clean break. Another lockup, and Tornado goes for a cheap shot, but Mountie blocks. Tornado hits his second attempt at a sucker punch, knocking Mountie out of the ring. Back inside, and Tornado works a wristlock. Irish whip, and Tornado sends Mountie out of the ring with another punch. The crowd chants "Jailbird", as we get more stalling. Where's the count-out?! We're five-minutes in, and we've had more stalling than I'd care to explain. Mountie finally returns to the ring, and quickly slaps on a sleeper hold. Seriously? That spot eats up another three minutes. Irish whip is reversed, and Tornado with his own sleeper. Maybe I wasn't too harsh, this match still blows. Tornado ends up posting his shoulder, allowing the Mountie to gather himself, then stomp away. Mountie with a snapmare, and a weak right has Tornado over-sell, flying over the top rope. Mountie follows, and rams him into the steps. Tornado pulls Mountie back out of the ring, and returns the favor. Tornado goes for the spinning punch, but he hits the post, then rolls back into the ring? Mountie pounds away on the newly "injured" hand, but Tornado comes off the ropes with a clothesline. Tornado blows a monkey flip, and Mountie rolls him up for the three count at 13:18. Just terrible. For two men who aren't notoriously bad workers, this was awful.

- Clips from the Battle Royal at the appropriately named show at the Albert Hall. We're down to three men: Davey Boy Smith, The Mountie, and Typhoon. Despite having the odds against him, Davey Boy manages to survive the double teaming of Jimmy Hart stable-mates. Heel miscommunication leads to the Mountie being eliminated, and Davey Boy sends Typhoon over the top rope not too long after to pick up the hometown victory. Was there a reason this had to be included, when there's another Battle Royal later in the tape?

The British Bulldog vs. Irwin R. Schyster (w/ Jimmy Hart):

From the UK Rampage PPV, held on April 19th, 1992, in Sheffield, England. I'm pretty sure this was the match that closed out the show, no doubt due to Davey Boy's status as the local hero. If this were the 2000's, Bulldog would not only be doing the job, but humiliated, too. I.R.S. is one half of the reigning Tag Team Champions. Bulldog's pop is electrifying. The crowd is so jacked, I can barely hear the bell. Bulldog with a headlock to start, followed by a shoulder block. They go at it again, with the same results. I.R.S. with a hip toss, but Bulldog kicks him away, takes him down with his own hip toss, and a clothesline sends the tax man out of the ring. Back in the ring, and I.R.S. quickly bails. That was pointless. Back in the ring (again), and Bulldog goes to work on the arm. I.R.S. nails Bulldog with an enziguri, then tosses Bulldog out of the ring. I.R.S. follows, and puts the boots to the Bulldog, then drops a pair of elbows. Back inside, and I.R.S. with the abdominal stretch. Yes, he DOES use the ropes for leverage. Bulldog escapes with a hip toss and rolls I.R.S. up for a two count. I.R.S. quickly puts Bulldog down with a clothesline, then hits the diving variety (the Write Off?). I.R.S. with a leg drop for a two count, then slaps on a chinlock. Yes, he DOES use the ropes for leverage, and yes, I DID use that same running gag twice in the same match. Blame Rotundo for his paint-by-numbers formula for this match. I.R.S. tosses Bulldog out of the ring, again. Bulldog with a sunset flip back into the ring for a two count. I.R.S. remains in control, though, and drops a leg for a two count of his own. Bulldog gets tossed AGAIN, then tossed back in the ring. What was the point of that? Bulldog counters a suplex with his own, with delay, of course, for a two count. Bulldog goes for a splash, but meets the knees. Bulldog barely sells it, and sends Irwin into the buckle ten times. Bulldog takes advantage of I.R.S.' wearing of a tie, but gets thrown chest-first into the buckle. Irwin goes for the briefcase, but Bulldog fends it off, and the running powerslam finishes things off at 12:52. Very underwhelming, but watchable. Sadly, that's as positive as things are going to be for most of this tape.

The British Bulldog (w/ Andre The Giant & Winston) vs. Earthquake (w/ Jimmy Hart):

Our feature on Davey Boy Smith continues, and we're in Barcelona, Spain for this one, originally taped on October 5th, 1991. Unlike on the 1991 World Tour video, Andre's appearance along with Davey makes sense, because of Earthquake injuring Andre for refusing to join Jimmy Hart's stable. I wonder whatever happened to Winston... maybe the Boss Man fed him to Davey. Holy crap, is EVERYONE dead here... Bulldog, Quake, Andre, referee Joey Marella, and color commentator Lord Alfred Hayes are all no longer with us. I could really stretch and include the dog (this was 20 years ago, it's long dead, too). Lots of stalling to start. Lockup, and Quake with a pathetic excuse for a shove. We're so bored, Mooney discusses Christopher Columbus and sings the 1492 rhyme we all learned in third grade. Bulldog with a pair of dropkicks, sending Quake out of the ring. Back in the ring, and Bulldog gets caught in a bearhug. Bulldog escapes and goes for a slam, but 'Quake lands on top for a two count. Andre and Joey Marella sure did have memories of a similiar spot... and HOLY CRAP, Sean Mooney actually aknowledges WrestleMania III, afterwards. Someone left their notes behind. Earthquake with another bearhug to waste more time. Quake with a powerslam, and he signals for the end. Quake chooses to go after Andre, instead, and kicks him in his leg after the referee stopped the use of the crutch. Quake hits the ropes, and Andre whacks him with the crutch afterall. Bulldog with a big slam, and that's enough for the three count at 8:13. That finish came out of nowhere and had zero enthusiasm from the broadcast team. You'd think someone slamming Earthquake would get more than "oh, and a slam" as a reaction, but that's the power of Mooney and Hayes.

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs. The Barbarian:

Also taped from Barcelona, Spain, on October 5th, 1991. I'm not looking forward to this one, so I'm going to quietly (and by quietly, I mean quite loudly) pray for it to be very short. The Barbarian was in JTTS mode by this point, and Piper came out of inactivity AGAIN for another brief run to close out 1991 and leading through WrestleMania VIII. We get a lame face-to-face while Mooney and Hayes ramble about nonsense. Lockup into the corner, and the overly exaggerated "fury" is quite laughable. Am I watching a Three Stooges short? We get a shoving match, won by Piper, somehow. Barbarian with a sucker punch, but Piper no-sells it and retaliates. Piper with a side headlock, but a shoulder block doesn't do anything to the Barbarian. They go for the test-of-strength spot (ugh...), and I didn't think it was possible for a European crowd to not be hot. Barbarian pounds away, then charges, getting back dropped over the top rope for his efforts. Back in the ring, and Piper hammers away, but Barbarian is too strong and sends Piper to the canvas. Barbarian with some choking, and I'm waiting for the inevitable bearhug. Barbarian with a back breaker for a two count. There we go with the bearhug, I can't believe it took him that long. Piper with the Bees ear clap to escape, then jumps into another bearhug. Piper starts freaking out again and escapes with biting. Irish whip, and Piper with a small package for a two count. Piper goes for a cross body, then counters a slam with another cradle for a two count. Barbarian with a clothesline, knocking Piper through the ropes. If they do the sunset flip spot... yup, they did it, and Piper is victorious at 8:57. I swear, you can make a version of Bingo to sync up with Barbarian matches... growling? Check... Bearhug? Check... Sunset flip spot? Check... match blew, but not nearly as bad as the opener of this tape.

Not Quite 16-Man Battle Royal

(Joined in Progress: Remaining Participants: Davey Boy Smith, Bret "Hitman" Hart, Sgt. Slaughter, "El Matador" Tito Santana, Road Warrior Hawk, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, The Mountie, Repo Man, Jerry Saggs, Col. Mustafa)
Taped in Munich, Germany, on April 14th, 1992. I don't understand having to do something Joined in Progress, especially when they wasted so much time on this tape already with nonsense. Just seconds into the remainder of the match, and the Mountie ducks Santana, who goes flying over the top and to the floor. There's the usual hugging and punching going on, until the Mountie tosses Bret, who was preoccupied trying to toss Saggs. Hawk runs through Repo with a clothesline, but misses another, and goes flying out, too. Bulldog tosses Mustafa out without much trouble, then saves Slaughter from being eliminated... why? Mountie has heel miscommunication with Saggs, but I think they blew the spot somehow. Repo Man with a SUNSET FLIP on Bulldog, and wow, this crowd is DEAD. Nothing happens for a while, until Duggan gets to do the same spot that saw Bret eliminated earlier in the match. We get the inevitable "heels and faces join forces and talk strategy" spot, and Slaughter gets triple teamed, but Bulldog slams all three men across the ring and saves Slaughter for the second time. I guess it makes sense, now... right? Bulldog with clotheslines for all, and still waiting for someone to get tossed. Slaughter FINALLY tosses Repo Man, but celebrates too much, and gets tossed by the Mountie (with a little help from Repo Man, hanging around on the floor). Mountie gets the cattle-prod, but hits Saggs by mistake. Bulldog clotheslines Saggs out, then tosses Mountie for the victory at a clipped 9:55. Battle Royals fall under two categories: fun or boring. This one was VERY boring. I can't imagine how boring the full version was.

WWF Intercontinental Championship Match:
Bret "Hitman" Hart © vs. "The Model" Rick Martel:

Also from the UK Rampage '92 PPV. Damn, that's a lot of pink to look at for 15-minutes. I have nothing interesting to talk about here, I just want to finish this tape. Lockup to start, and Martel puts the boots to the Hitman. Irish whip, and Martel with a cartwheel to anger the crowd. Have I mentioned how awful of a heel Martel was? Lockup into the ropes, and Martel with a cheap shot. They do it again, just to hammer the spot home. Martel fails at a roll up attempt, and Bret sends him running following a clothesline. Back inside, and Martel slaps on a front facelock. Bret escapes, but is quickly put down with a clothesline, and Martel goes back to the facelock. Bret escapes again, and hits his own clothesline. Whip to the corner is reversed, but Martel misses a knee to the corner, and Bret quickly starts working over the left leg. Bret with a leg grapevine, then a step-over toe-hold. Martel kicks out, but gets taken over with a hip toss. Bret with a sweep of the legs, then back to the grapevine. Bret continues to target the leg every time Martel attempts to fend him off. Martel chokes his way out, after several attempts at legal ways to escape. Bret is like a shark sensing blood, but goes to the well one too many times, and taste the ring post for his efforts. Martel follows Bret to the outside, and rams his back into the ring post. Back inside, and Martel sends Bret to the corner, followed by a series of elbows across the back. Irish whip, and Bret with a punt to the chest. Bret pops up after playing possum, connects with an inverted atomic drop, and pounds away with rights. Bret with a Russian leg sweep for a two count, followed by a snap suplex for another two count. Bret with the side back breaker and second rope elbow for a two count. Irish whip, and Bret goes flying out of the ring on a roll up attempt. Back in the ring, and Bret goes down hard on another roll up attempt... it's a TRAP! Bret surprises Martel with a small package, and that gets the three count at 13:03. Not an outstanding match, but perfectly acceptable wrestling, especially compared to a lot of the other stuff featured on this tape. Bret gives us a thumbs up, for whatever reason, after picking up the three count.

WWF Championship Match:
"Macho Man" Randy Savage © vs. Shawn Michaels (w/ Sensational Sherri):

Final match of the tape, and we return to Munich, Germany. Looking at things today, this looks like a hot match, but at the time it of it's origins, Michaels was only three months removed from being a bottom-feeding tag team wrestler who was still tuning his heel persona, so there's no mystery that Savage wasn't going to be leaving empty handed. Savage is limping around, selling... I don't know, maybe something from WrestleMania VIII. Feeling out process to start, with Michaels seemingly eyeballing the leg. Lockup to the corner, and Savage avoids a low tackle attempt. Lockup, and Savage with a side headlock. Michaels counters into an overhead wristlock, then comes off the ropes with a shoulder block for a quick two count. Shawn grabs the leg, but Savage kicks him off, then rolls out of the ring for safe cover. Savage tosses a crappy chair into the ring, just because he can. Or because he's a crazy bastard, you pick. Sherri cheap shots Savage, allowing Michaels to knock him off the apron. Michaels keeps going for the leg, but Savage keeps fighting him off. Savage reverses a whip, sending Michaels into the ring post. The action continues taking place outside the ring, and Savage slams Shawn face-first into the steps. Back in the ring, and Savage comes off the top with a double axehandle. Savage sells the impact on his knee, then covers for a two count. Whip to the ropes is reversed and Savage hits his guillotine clothesline for another two count. Shawn counters a slam with a small package for a two count, then Savage nails Shawn with an elbow for another two count of his own. Shawn teases walking away, but Savage unwisely follows, limping the whole way, and throws Michaels back into the ring. Why would anyone do that?! We get heel miscommunication, and Savage with a roll up for a two count. Michaels surprises Savage with an atomic drop, impacting the knee,. Michaels charges to the corner, and Savage uses the injured knee to stop his momentum.

Savage goes down, clutching his knee again, and Sherri wraps the leg around the post while Michaels distracts referee Joey Marella. Michaels comes over and drops the weight of his body across the knee of Savage, then slams it into the canvas. Michaels continues to put the boots to Savage, and Sherri gets in some more shots of her own. Michaels kicks Savage off his feet, then sandwiches the leg between both his legs, and comes crashing down with preasure. The formula continues, with Shawn doing some damage, then turning the referee around to give Sherri some shots. Michaels with some mock-Savage posing, then works a spinning toe hold before slapping on the figure-four in the center of the ring. Sherri gives Michaels some assisted leverage, but Savage won't stay down, and slowly crawls to the ropes to force a break. Michaels obviously goes to the leg again, and goes for another figure-four, but Savage counters with a cradle for a one count. Michaels remains in control, and wisely reapplies the figure-four. There's no law saying you can't do the same hold. Savage turns the preasure over though, but it rolls into the ropes. Shawn with a scoop slam, and he signals for the end, whatever that might be. Savage sends Michaels into the corner, and lays Michaels out with a clothesline. Savage hobbles his way to the top rope, and comes crashing down with his signature elbow drop, and that's good enough for the three count at 14:29. After the match, Sherri attacks Savage's leg with a chair, and Michaels tosses the referee from the ring. They continue to assault Savage until a gaggle of officials break things up. As a tag team wrestler, Shawn had some high quality tag matches, but this was definitely his first big time performance on tape, that established he could hang with the top of the card guys. This is definitely one of the gems on Coliseum Video worth checking out, and I'm sorry that I didn't find much appreciation in it back when I first caught this tape years ago.

Final Thoughts:
The tape finale definitely deserves a viewing, and there's a solid match between the Hitman and Martel, but the rest of the tape is the same typical junk these World Tour tapes are known for. The opener is one of the worst matches I can think of from the WWF video library, and there's a lot of Davey Boy Smith in half-assed performances. Much like I said about World Tour '91, it's not AS bad as I had originally anticipated, and the Savage/Michaels match saves it from ever being on a "Worst Video" candidate, but it's still pretty hard to get through. Find a copy of the above mentioned match, and skip the rest of it.

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