The Coliseum Video Rant XXII: Reader Requests R Us!

The Coliseum Video Rant XXII – Reader Requests R Us!

– Yes, thanks to Gabe Hollingsworth, my Coliseum Video collection is increased by another EIGHT videos, and we can FINALLY get to the one video that tops everyone’s request list, and another video that contains a match I get bugged about constantly.

Tape #1: SMACK ‘EM WHACK ‘EM.

– Yes, this is the fabled tape. Read on if you don’t know why it’s fabled.

– Hosted by Lord Alfred Hayes, who is doing the shoot from a demolished house. Your theme: Home improvement with the Bushwhackers. As funny as it sounds.

– Berzerker v. Crush. Crush was still a nice young man, in the words of Gorilla, at this point. Hayes notes that he needs a killer instinct. Perhaps some weapons charges? Crush gets a belly-to-belly, and Berzerker wants the test of strength. Crush is SO STRONG that he shoves Berzerker right out of the ring. Back in, Berzerker pounds away, but gets shoulderblocked right out of the ring. The WWF completely missed the boat in not making Berzerker into a huge babyface. He had a catchphrase, a distinctive look, and you could market Viking hats out the yin-yang. Hell, if “What” can be a chant amongst the sheep, why not “Huss”? Berzerker pounds away and gets nowhere, but uses a big boot and another shoulderblock, which also is powerful enough to send Crush out of the ring. Those are some powerful shoulderblocks. Back in, piledriver gets two. The SOUL-CRUSHING KNEEDROP OF DEATH misses (could this guy BE anymore of a low-rent Bruiser Brody?) but Crush gets tied in the ropes. The boots to the face just infuriate him, however, and he makes the comeback with a bad atomic drop and clothesline. Backbreaker sends the heat machine into throes of ecstasy, and Berzerker misses a dropkick. The head-vice (lord what a stupid finisher) finishes at 6:15. This gets NOTHING and comes back for more. 0 for 1.

– Repo Man v. Earthquake. Quake overpowers him to start and pounds away, shrugging off Repo’s attempts at offense. Big fat corner splash nearly unmasks Repo (who could it BE?), but Repo recovers and slugs back. He goes up with a clothesline and gets a legdrop for two. Quake casually pushes him off. Repo goes to a neck vice, which gets nothing. Quake steps on him to come back, but misses an elbow and Repo continues the so-called punishment. Gorilla notes that they’re pulling out all the stops here. Geez, I’d hate to them dogging it, then. Repo goes up and gets caught in a slam, and the Big Fat Buttdrop finishes at 4:21. 0 for 2.

– Cooking for the Single Man, with Yokozuna. He eats. A lot.

– Profile on Bret Hart. THIS is the meat of the tape, fast-forward to this part and stop the tape when it’s done.

– Ladder match: Bret Hart v. Shawn Michaels. This was the first-ever ladder match in the WWF, and was intended only as a demo for Vince’s benefit. The idea was to do it “for real” at Summerslam ’92 (if it had ended up in Washington instead of Wembley Stadium) with Shawn winning the title, but Summerslam ended up being Bret v. Bulldog instead, and the ladder match was put on the shelf until 1994, when Vince McMahon suddenly “remembered” that he invented the idea, and gave it to Shawn for his feud with Razor. Lockup to start and Shawn hammers away in the corner, and they do the hiptoss-flip sequence, which ends with Bret clotheslining him and pounding on him. Backdrop and Bret keeps on him in the corner, as Shawn bumps like a freak. And people wonder why his back is screwed up. Bret gives him a forearm and Shawn does a half-gainer on the sell. Those were the days. Shawn stomps him down and gets an elbow, and hits Bret with a knee to the gut that puts him down long enough for Shawn to make a break for the ladder. Bret lets him drag the ladder back to ringside, and then heads out to attack him. Smart move. Shawn, meet post. Post, Shawn. Back in, Bret headbutts him down and drops the elbow, which allows him to get the ladder. Sherri meddles in his business, and when Bret chases her like an idiot, Shawn makes the first climb. Bret yanks him down and beats on him in the corner, but Shawn goes to the eyes. Bret makes a quick climb, but gets pulled down and kicked by Shawn. Shawn gives Bret a little ladder action to the gut, but tries it one time too many and hits the post with it. He remains on offence, but puts his head down and gets kicked in the face. Bret charges and gets whipped into the ladder as a result of his own momentum, however. Shawn climbs again and the crowd goes NUTS with fear. Bret grabs the leg to stop him, but gets stomped down. Bret pulls him off again, and brings the ladder down on Shawn as a bonus. Bret goes for it, but can’t steady the ladder and Shawn follows him up, which results in a headbutt that sends both guys crashing down. Shawn gets the better of it and climbs again, but Bret is right there to stop him. The ladder gets put in the corner and Shawn rams Bret into it a couple of times, but charges and misses. Bret KILLS him with a clothesline off the second rope and Shawn spins a couple of times on the sell. Bret then catapults him into the ladder, putting Shawn out. Backbreaker and Bret sets up the ladder again and climbs, and Shawn shakes him loose before he can grab the belt. Double KO, and Shawn is up first. He climbs again, as does Bret. The ladder gets the worst of it, and both guys go crashing off. They slug it out and Sherri trips up Bret, and Shawn is able to superkick him down and out. Teardrop suplex (his finisher at the time) and Bret is dead. Finished. Done. Shawn climbs, seemingly a formality, but can’t reach the belt, and Bret dropkicks the ladder, sending Shawn crashing crotch-first onto the top rope and out. Bret climbs and retains the title at 13:43. This was actually a different match than more recent ladder matches – it was built around the drama of the climb, not the degree of the spots. And judged on that basis, it was DAMN good. ****1/4 Bret and Shawn may have hated each other, but they could wrestle, boy. 1 for 3.

– Bret Hart v. Kamala. Talk about your contrast in styles. Kamala pounds away to start, but Bret grabs an armbar. Kamala slams out of it, but misses his chops and Bret keeps on the arm. Kamala wants a test of strength, but Hayes and Mooney think there might be subterfuge and chicanery involved. The crowd seems to agree. Kamala seems appalled at the very suggestion. Bret immediately goes back to the arm, however, and stomps on the bare feet. Well that’s not very sportsmanlike. Kamala hits him with a double-chop in retaliation, however. Kamala hits the bearhug and a spinkick, and chokes him out. I’m on the edge of my seat. Kamala uses the dreaded Purple Nurple on Bret in lieu of an actual submission hold (you know you’re watching a bad match when ) but Bret comes back with a legsweep for two. He pounds away in the corner and Kamala hits foot on a charge, which allows Bret to get the flying clothesline for two. Monkey flip sets up the second-rope elbow. Sharpshooter, but Harvey and Kim Chee butt in. Kamala hits Kim Chee by mistake and Bret gets the pin at 8:48, none of which I’ll ever have back again. 1 for 4.

– WWF World title: Ric Flair v. Bret Hart. Welcome to the OTHER reason to get this tape, as Ric Flair was told by Vince McMahon one afternoon that he was going to be shuffled into the midcard, and they were changing the title that night. They happened to be in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for a TV taping, and before the naysayers could say “nay”, Bret Hart was decided to be the chosen one. No one in the audience had any clue that they were about to witness a title change. Flair holds a lockup in the corner as long as humanly possible to start, and goes to the headlock. They work off that for a bit, and then trade hammerlocks. Flair gets the worst of that. Flair tries that lockup again, and they scrap in the corner until Bret goes for the arm and works it. Flair starts with the chops and whips Bret from pillar to post. Bret suplexes him for two, though. Now Flair gets whipped around and backdropped, and Bret does his dramatic stomp to the gut. Flair takes a breather and heads back in, and now Bret grabs a headlock. They turn that into a wristlock sequence, which Bret wins. He holds an armbar in the corner until the ref forces him to break, and goes back to the arm again. Flair takes him down, but gets reversed into a hammerlock. That’s the kind of stuff they need to re-train the fans to pop for. Flair tries to escape, but that gets turned into a wristlock, so Flair just reverses, which Bret reverses again. So Flair does the obvious: He cheats. Bret gets tossed, but sunset flips back in. Flair blocks with a punch and Bret bails. Bret tries the sunset flip again, and this time uses the tights to get two. Flair gets backdropped out of the corner and Bret goes nuts with clotheslines, as the crowd pops like mad. Flair bails and takes another breather. Back in, Bret hammers him, and the Flair Flop allows Bret to get two. Flair cheats again, however (I hope all you kids are paying attention – even the world’s greatest wrestler knows that the secret of life is to CHEAT TO WIN) and whips Bret around the ring to take over. He goes to the knee and now, whoo, we go to school. He mixes in the chops (it’s so weird not to have the chorus of “whoos” with them), but misse a kneedrop. Bret goes for a figure-four, but Flair kicks him off with ease and grabs another headlock. Bret turns that into a kneecrusher, however, and goes to work on Flair’s leg. Figure-four and he gets a near-fall, but Flair makes the ropes. Bret drags him back to the middle, but misses an elbow. Flair’s hiptoss attempt is turned into a backslide for two, however. Flair slugs him down, but Bret comes back with a sleeper. Flair suplexes out of that for the double KO. Flair cradles for two. Butterfly suplex gets two. Kneedrop right in the face, but Flair hurts his own knee a bit. Flair chops him down for two. He works the count, too, which is great to see. Bret rolls him up for two during an argument with the referee. Flair chops away, and gets the kneecrusher into the figure-four, and Bret’s in trouble. Flair gets a bunch of near-falls out of it. Bret finally reverses, and they both roll into the ropes. Flair keeps on the leg, even as he argues with the legendary Fatboy at ringside. Man, that kid must follow Flair all around the country or something. Flair works him over in the corner, killing the knee, and it’s back to the figure-four, but Bret reverses for two. Flair chops away, but Bret fires back and charges, and hits boot as a result. Flair goes up for some reason, and gets slammed off. Bret makes the comeback and backdrops him out of the corner, and drops an elbow for two. Legsweep gets two. Backbreaker sets up the second-rope elbow, which gets two. Suplex gets two. Flair begs off, but comes back with chops. That just pisses Bret off, however, and he wins a slugfest. They head up and Bret superplexes him, and that sets up the Sharpshooter for the submission and the title at 26:30. To say that the crowd goes insane would be an understatement. You know, Bret said later that he was disappointed with this match, but I can’t find fault with it, aside from some of the leg and arm psychology going nowhere. But even then it led to a figure-four from both guys. Otherwise, this was just awesome, with a great, old-school build and Flair putting Bret over clean in the middle like the pro that he is. ****1/2 If this had been shown on TV, people would still be talking about it in reverent tones today. One of the few times that Gorilla’s proclamations about matches being a true classic live up to the hype. 2 for 5.

– Razor Ramon v. Undertaker. Ramon gets in UT’s face, and then smartly takes a powder right away. Back in, he attacks and slugs away, which proves to be a mistake. Taker chokes him out and blocks a charge with his foot, then does the old-school ropewalk. At the time, he just yelled “School!”. Thank you, I’m here until Thursday, good night. Taker misses an elbow and gets dumped, but comes back with a necksnap on Ramon. Back in, Ramon gets the bulldog, but UT no-sells. Ramon stomps him down and Taker bails. Ramon uses a chair, still no selling. Ramon whips him into the stairs, nothing. Back in, Ramon uses the BODYSLAM OF DOOM, and Taker keeps sitting up. Sideslam, and he won’t stay down. Elbowdrops by Ramon, and UT doesn’t even register impact. He drops like 10 of them, nothing, and UT sits up again. Urn to the head puts him down, and Alfred thinks that we’re about to see the finish. It gets two, but Taker sits up. Chokeslam, and Ramon bails and calls it a night at 7:28. I’m with Ramon. 2 for 6.

The Bottom Line #1: There’s only two matches worth getting here, but they’re two of the best matches in the history of Coliseum Video, and both are WELL worth going out of your way to seek out.

Tape #2: WrestleFest ’93.

– Hosted by Mean Gene & Bobby Heenan, who are in the midst of a road-trip with a stalled car. Bobby is the Brain, however, and he can fix it. Or not.

– WWF tag team title: Money Inc v. The Nasty Boys. Big brawl to start and they all end up on the floor, and Sags starts proper with Dibiase. He charges and misses, and Ted starts working the arm. The champs work it over in the corner, but Dibiase misses an elbow and gets caught in the Nasty corner and double-teamed. So they work the arm, shocking me with more technical expertise than usual (I mean, okay, it’s a wristlock, but baby steps first) but unfortunately my dreams are shattered when they go for the Pitstop, the 90s equivalent of the Stinkface. IRS comes in to block, however, but now his arm gets the punishment. He uses a slick drop toehold to stop that, into a headlock, but Knobs reverses to a hammerlock. The Nasties stay on the arm, so IRS punches Sags in the mouth and turns the tide. Dibiase sends him to the floor and IRS gives him some cheapshots to make him YOUR mutt-in-peril. Dibiase whips him into the corner and IRS comes in to help with some double-teaming in the heel corner. Dibiase actually goes to a bearhug of all things, as does IRS. Sags uses an atomic drop to escape, but Money Inc cuts off the tag. Dibiase and Knobs execute PRECISION spitting, hocking choice loogies halfway across the ring at each other, which leads to Sags making the hot tag to Knobs. He’s a house afire! It’s BONZO GONZO and Dibiase and IRS both wind up on the floor, and that’s enough for them, but the ref gives the old “If they walk, they lose the titles” speech, so back to the ring we go. Sean Mooney points out, helpfully, that he can’t actually do that, but it works long enough to get the champs back in the ring and the brawl continues. Sags charges and hits boot, and Dibiase gets the Million $ Dream as a result. Knobs breaks just as Sags is about to lose it, so Dibiase tries a backdrop instead, but gets rammed into the mat as a result. Both guys are out, and tags abound. Knobs hammers on IRS and sends Dibiase out, and the Nasties double-team IRS. Sags heads up for the Shitty Elbow, but Dibiase saves lest IRS die of embarrassment due to jobbing to that move. A belt to the head is just icing on the cake, and IRS gets the easy pin at 13:23 to retain. This was actually AMAZING stuff compared to the shit that the Nasty Boys pumped out in WCW later on, with a great fast pace to it and some unusually solid WRESTLING from the Nasties, and was a legit ***3/4 match, plus ¼* for the pinpoint precision of the spitting contest. 1 for 1.

– Papa Shango the Supreme Voodoo Pimpin’ Machine v. Crush. Nation of Domination: The Early Years. Shango attacks to start. Oh my god, Shango has used his evil voodoo powers to turn Crush’s tights ugly neon colors! Oh, wait. Shango pounds away and gets a corner splash as Hayes extols the virtues of attacking from behind your opponent’s back. Crush superkicks Shango out of the ring, and back in he wants a test of strength. Alfred endorses the Cheat to Win philosophy, which disgusts Sean Mooney. Well, what does he know? Crush monkey-flips out of the test of strength and clotheslines him, but misses a charge by so much that he could have sent a telegram saying “Dear Papa Shango (stop) Am about to make a run at you in the corner (stop) You have approximately 30 seconds to get out of the way and think about a new gimmick (stop) Your friend, Crush”. Shango pounds away, but misses an elbow as Mooney & Hayes discuss Monsoon’s failed career as a doctor. That explains a lot about his commentary and fixation on anatomy, actually. Crush comes back with a clothesline and an enzuigiri, and a big boot puts Shango on the outside. Back in, but Crush clotheslines him out again. This is gonna end badly for Crush. This time, Shango grabs his magic wand and blows sparklers into Crush’s face. That fiend. It’s a DQ at 6:44, obviously. 1 for 2.

– Rick Martel v. Big Bossman. Bossman overpowers him to start and we get an intense discussion about hair-pulling. Even worse, MESSING UP Martel’s hair. Every man has his limits. Rick is so annoyed that he hammers away in the corner, but gets hiptossed and bails. They brawl on the outside, but Martel chokes away back in. Bossman slugs him down and works on the arm, and that goes on for a while. The abuse of Martel’s hair deeply offends Hayes. He’s lucky that Martel doesn’t spend the kind of time on it that Kevin Nash does – you don’t try that shit with Big Sexy. Martel again gets pissed off and stomps him down. Punch punch. Martel goes up, but makes the fatal mistake of pointing to his head to indicate intelligence on the way up, and law of Irony In Wrestling says that Bossman will thus prove him wrong by slamming him off, and indeed that’s what happens. Bossman makes the comeback, ramming him into the turnbuckles like Al Bundy getting acquainted with one of Kelly’s boyfriends, and Martel goes for the Arrogance, and we have a standoff: Perfume v. Nightstick. The ref calls for the double DQ at 6:12, lest any more boneheaded props get involved. My heart bleeds. 1 for 3.

– Repo Man v. Earthquake. This is actually the same match from Smack ‘em Whack ‘em, with new commentary. Talk about lazy. 1 for 4.

– Shawn Michaels v. Virgil. Same match from Bashed In the USA, which we just did. Here’s the recap, although the parts involving the commentary no longer apply: This is very shortly after Shawn won the belt from Bulldog in 1992. Bobby whistles “Sexy Boy” until Savage smacks him. Funny stuff. Virgil works a headlock, but gets taken down and taunted by Shawn. Bobby warns all the kids at home about the dangers of chewing gum and wrestling at the same time. Just another thing against Shawn’s record. Virgil then dislodges the gum with an elbow and drops a fist. Inverted atomic drop and dropkick get two. Shawn elbows away in the corner, but Virgil alley-oops over him and gets a bodypress for two. Rollup is blocked and Shawn superkicks him, but it wasn’t his finisher at that point so Virgil is still alive. Shawn stomps away and hits a standing dropkick, into the chinlock. Bobby & Randy veer into a discussion of Yogi Berra v. Yogi the Bear. Don’t ask. Virgil backslides for two, but Shawn clotheslines him back down again. Vertical suplex and Shawn has a conversation with the camera and stomps away. Shawn slugs him down, but Virgil takes him down and makes the comeback. Shawn eats boot on a charge and Virgil hits a lariat to the back of the neck and slugs away. That gets two. Virgil tries another bodypress, but headfakes Shawn and hits a clothesline from the middle rope instead for two. Blind charge misses and Shawn hits a backdrop suplex for the pin at 7:07. Thank god he changed finishers. This was Perfectly Acceptable Wrestling, as Virgil was in quite the miracle jobber zone from 91-93. 2 for 5.

– Undertaker v. Berzerker. Okay, now we’re back to original material again. Berzerker attacks from behind, which of course has no effect. Taker slugs back and they brawl outside, and back in, where Taker misses a clothesline and gets shoulderblocked out. More alleged brawling, and Berzerker uses a chair to finally register something on Taker, and they head back in. Big boot misses by a mile and Taker chokeslams him and holds the choke. He misses the elbow, but doesn’t sell anything. Man, he won’t even sell for himself. They head out and Berzerker chokes him out with the TV cable, but sadly the signal doesn’t cut out and I still have to watch the match. Back in, Taker misses a charge and gets bulldogged, but still doesn’t sell. Berzerker tries tying him in the ropes, but UT backdrops him over the top. More brawling on the outside, and they head back in for a piledriver that Undertaker no-sells. Who is he, Hawk? Another one, another no-sell. Three, three no-sells. Ha ha ha! Fuji gives Berzerker the sword, but Taker gets the tombstone for the pin at 7:53. 2 for 6.

– Hacksaw Jim Duggan v. IRS. This is from Canada, because IRS makes a GST crack before the match. And check out the mullet on Mike. That’s some quality mulletude, Tino. Holy crap, I was there for this match! This is from a Superstars taping in Edmonton, in 1991. Damn, I totally forgot about that. I was somewhere in the first few rows, but I don’t believe I’m ever visible on camera because it was kind of in the corner. Duggan overpowers him to start. IRS hammers back, but gets clotheslined. They head out and back in, and IRS keeps running before catching him with a cheapshot. No wonder I forgot about this match. Back in, IRS goes to the chinlock and blatantly puts his feet on the ropes. Elbowdrop gets two. Back to the chinlock. Duggan hammers back and grabs the tie, and hits him with the clothesline, but IRS bails. They brawl outside and both are counted out at 8:01. The length of this review in relation to the actual length of the match should tell you the kind of non-stop action it involved. 2 for 7.

– The Nasty Boys & Repo Man v. Tito Santana & High Energy. Two Repo Man matches on the same tape is usually a bad sign. Well, this should prove interesting if nothing else. The face team is certainly a ringing endorsement for multiculturalism. Owen tries to start a “Fat boys” chant for the Nasties. Hey, maybe Brian Knobs is the guy that follows Flair around for every match! Repo Man gets caught in the face corner early on, but tries a sunset flip on Tito, unsuccessfully. Owen works the arm, but Repo goes to the eyes and Sags hammers him in the corner. Owen does his wristlock-flip sequence, but gets put on the floor when Knobs pulls the rope down. Back in, Sags gets a sideslam for two. Choking follows in the heel corner and Sags gets a legdrop. Knobs backdrops him and they try the Pitstop, but Owen reverses it. Oh, the irony. He slugs back on Repo Man, but can’t make the tag and gets worked over. Knobs cuts off the tag again and Repo hammers away, but misses a charge. Hot tag Tito and he gets the Flying Jalapeno for two. It’s BONZO GONZO, although this match is so lethargic that I’m loath to waste the term on it. Santana hits El Pace With Extra Piquante Sauce on Sags, but there’s no ref. He sees the shenanigans and calls for the bell at 7:33, DQing the heels. This was so pedestrian that it could cross the street and cars would stop for it. 2 for 8.

– “Terrific” Terry Taylor v. Randy Savage. This was a REALLY short phase in Taylor’s career, as he came over from WCW in 1993 and was quickly turned into an announcer after completely failing to get over. Savage takes him down with a couple of armdrags to start, and Gorilla talks about a hush falling over the crowd due to the anticipation. That’s one way to put it. Savage gets yet another armdrag and holds onto the armbar. Taylor cheapshots him, but gets armdragged again. Shoving results and Taylor hides in the corner, but gets nailed by Savage and dumped. They brawl outside and Savage goes for the axehandle, but Taylor nails him coming down. Back in, he stomps away and gets a jawbreaker, and choking follows. He quickly apologizes to the ref in a cute bit. Backbreaker gets two. Atomic drop gets two. Dropkick gets two. Savage cradles for two. Sunset flip gets two. Taylor uses the old shot to the throat trick to take over again, and he grabs a sleeper. Well, might as well pack up the ring, it’s over. Oh, wait, Savage breaks with ease, but walks into a spinebuster. Wait a minute sleeper spinebuster I smell main eventer! Savage small package gets two. Backslide gets two. Taylor quickly clotheslines him down for two. Savage walks into an elbow and Taylor goes up, but misses a pump splash. Savage hits him with a lariat and pounds away in the corner. Necksnap sets up the flying axehandle for two. Atomic drop flows into a backdrop suplex, which gets two. Good wrestling there. Taylor charges and hits boot, and that’s enough for Savage to go up and finish with the big elbow at 9:44. This was actually some tremendous stuff for the washed-up Savage and the aging Taylor. 3 for 9.

– The payoff for the car-repair skits: It turns out that there was a gerbil in the engine.

– Bret Hart v. Kamala. This is NOT the same match from Smack ‘Em Whack ‘Em – that one was for the World title, and this for the IC title. Why the world needed two Bret Hart-Kamala matches, however, I cannot answer. Kamala uses his butt in the corner to get Bret off-balance, but misses a charge and Bret goes for the arm. And yes, Kamala wants the test of strength. See, it may not be the same match, but it’s the same match, if you know what I mean. And yes, Bret stomps the toes again and goes back to the arm. Bret tries to overpower him, but walks into a double-chop to the throat. Kamala goes to the bearhug, but Bret bites free. He walks into a spinkick, however. Kamala keeps hammering away and uses that dreaded TITTY TWISTER OF DOOM to keep Bret down. He moves to the choking and keeps hammering away. Back to the Purple Nurple, but Bret fights up again. Legsweep and Kamala sells like Russell Crowe getting electroshock therapy, and Bret gets two. Charge hits boot and Bret gets the flying clothesline for two. Monkey flip sets up the elbow, and Kim Chee runs in for the DQ at 10:08. Well, at least the finish was different. 3 for 10.

– Razor Ramon v. Tito Santana. Does this tape EVER end? Ramon attacks to start, but gets hit with the Flying Jalapeno and bails. Back in, Santana frustrates him with a takedown. Santana goes for the arm, and gets a dropkick that sets up an armbar. Razor slams out of it, but can’t buy an elbowdrop. Back to the armbar. They slug it out and Ramon hotshots him to take over. He gets the abdominal stretch, but Tito reverses. Ramon hiptosses out of that and grabs a bearhug, but Tito walks over the back and into a sunset flip for two. THAT was cool. Santana rams him into the turnbuckle a few times, but Ramon blocks a monkey flip. Razor’s Edge and that’s all she wrote at 4:42. Tito was game but this was essentially booked as a squash. 3 for 11.

– Mr. Perfect v. Ric Flair. Holy CRAP. Speaking of highly requested matches, this is the famous loser-leaves-town match from Monday Night RAW in 1993 that everyone always wants to know my opinion on. They get all in each other’s face to start and Flair overpowers him, but Perfect takes him down and chases him out of the ring. Flair consults with Bobby Heenan, and heads back in for a hammerlock sequence. They exchange chops and Flair wins that battle, but Perfect jabs him down and Flair is on his heels again. Flair tosses him over the top to buy a moment, but can’t use a chair. We head back in after a commercial break and Perfect bumps over the corner post and to the floor, and Flair hauls him back in and starts laying in the cheapshots. Perfect is bleeding, and Flair goes after it with zeal. ¾-nelson (and feet on the ropes) gets two. Flair denies any wrong-doing, of course. Perfect fires back, and they slug it out, which leads to a Perfect forearm shot and rollup for two. Flair goes low to stop that rally, but a Perfect backslide gets two. He hammers away in the corner, but Flair goes low again and gets a rollup for two. He bails as Perfect goes after him again, so Perfect suplexes him back in for two. Flair gets the sleeper, but Perfect makes the big comeback and rams Flair into the turnbuckles to break. Perfect gets his own sleeper in what looked like one guy was going for a leapfrog and the other a sleeper, and that gets a couple of near-falls. Flair suplexes out of it. Figure-four follows, with the ropes providing timely assistance, and that gets several near-falls on Perfect. Flair goes up, but gets slammed off, and we take another break. We return as Flair finds brass knuckles in his kneepad, and he uses the POWER OF THE PUNCH to KO Perfect. Elbowdrop gets two, as the foot landed on the ropes. Another try gets two. Flair goes to work on the cut again and lays in the chops, but Perfect has HAD ENOUGH. He returns fire with chops and backdrops Flair out of the corner, and hits him with a forearm shot. Flair Flip and he charges to the top, but Perfect catches him coming down with a clothesline for two. Flair pins him in the corner using the ropes for two. The ref kicks him off and Perfect reverses for two. Flair puts his head down, Perfectplex, goodbye at 17:32. Flair would be in WCW again the next month. I can’t believe they gave this 20 minutes on RAW. This was a great note for Flair to leave the promotion on, a great, intense TV match with Flair again putting the other guy over clean in the middle. ****1/4, and 4 for 11.

– Gene and Bobby hitchhike a ride, and Gene leaves Bobby standing in the road to end the tape.

The Bottom Line: You know what match THIS tape is worth it for.

The Bottom Bottom Line: Two winners this time around, featuring three of the great WWF matches of the 90s in all their uncut glory. The rest of the tapes are mostly crap, but if you’re looking for the Bret Hart title win and Flair’s last WWF match, these are the tapes you want to get.