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This was released sometime in early 1985.
This is one of the first series released by Coliseum Home Video (the old VHS collection of the WWF). They put a series of eclectic matches from the time period. Some of the matches are clipped because they are far too long to fit on a VHS tape (remember they only lasted about two hours running time on SP [Standard Play], which all video releases were).
Vince McMahon opens the show describing this VHS cassette and going over the lineup of the show.
“The Incredible” Hulk Hogan & André the Giant vs. Big John Studd & The Wrecking Crew three-on-two handicap: This is from the then Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Hogan is the WWF Champion here; the Wrecking Crew is Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch, they are the tag champions. Pre-match, Hogan calls André “the boss”; André contends he will bodyslam Studd tonight. Hogan in the all-white attire here as he didn’t settle into the red and yellow consistently until late ’86. Adonis was a few years away from being “adorable” and was firmly a bad ass here, he starts with Hogan; they lock up and Adonis uses a hammerlock; Hogan reverses. Adonis uses his elbow to break it up and runs the ropes… right into a huge André chop. Hogan hammers away and Adonis retreats and tags Murdoch. They hit double elbows and bring in Studd. We cut forwards to André receiving a tag; the crowd reacts to it as this was the feud in the WWF at the time. We cut again to Hogan beating on Adonis; he tags in André who punches Adonis around. He clobbers him with a head-butt for a 360º sell from Adonis (a great overseller). He tosses him in the corner upside down but Studd gets a tag; André gets his stacked shoulder tackles in the corner; he traps Adonis, Studd and Murdoch and Hogan gives him a little shoulderblock assist. André clears the ring; Gorilla Monsoon gets his traditional, “the ring has been specially reinforced for this match” line in whenever behemoths wrestle. Studd gets a shot in off a telegraphed backdrop and André crumples to the canvas. Murdoch tags in and he and Adonis punch away. Murdoch clobbers the Giant with a top-rope bulldog takedown. Cut ahead of some of the André heat segment and Murdoch is choking the Giant with a tag rope. Hogan charges in so referee Dick Kroll has to shove him out; Murdoch now chokes right in front of Kroll. The referee tries to take it away but André snatches it and catches Murdoch coming odd the ropes with it and chokes him out. Hogan just sort of comes in when André gets close for a tag, what is this… lucha? Hogan rams the Wrecking Crew together and Adonis gets caught in the ropes backwards; Hulk tosses Murdoch into him. Hogan nails Studd from the apron. Murdoch catches Hogan with an elbow in the confusion and they take over on him. Cut ahead, lots of babyface heat segments here, that’s three by my count, Adonis slams Hogan and drives series of knees; Adonis climbs to the top but Hogan crotches him. Murdoch catches Hulk from the apron so the heat segment continues with Studd’s entry who applies a front facelock. Murdoch tags in and stomps away; he and Hogan hit head-to-head and André get the hot tag. The Giant backdrops Murdoch and punches out Adonis; a double noggin-knocker to the tag champs. Studd runs in but Hogan cuts him off, they clear the ring, and Studd tries to take a walk. André gives chase but the Wrecking Crew catch Hulk from behind in the ring. Studd has left the ring area as André heads back; Murdoch boxes Hogan but he is in mid-Hulk up, which was not as contrived as it would become, Hogan hits a running clothesline. André, the actual legal man, comes back in and nails a big boot and squashes Murdoch with an elbow drop for three. Hogan cuts off Adonis before he could make the save. 4/10 The match was slow and plodding, and quite long, even with the clipping. It did showcase André before he got too broken down and unable to move.
WWF Women’s Championship The Fabulous Moolah (w/Capt. Lou Albano) vs. Wendi Richter (w/Cyndi Lauper & David Wolff): This takes place at Madison Square Garden on July 23, 1984; pre-match, Capt. Lou Albano says Moolah cannot be beat. Moolah says she is ready for tonight. Moolah says she’s held that title for twenty-seven years. Moolah and Richter trade arm drags; she tosses Richter through the ropes, right on top of commentator Gorilla Monsoon and David Wolff, Wendi comes back with an armbar but misses a splash on the arm. Cut to Moolah choking Richter on the ropes and snapping her head across the top strand; Moolah stomps away on the hands and floors her with a punch. Richter hits a desperate head-butt to the “lower abdominal area”, ahem, Moolah retreats to the apron but Richter flips her in the ropes entangling her upside-down. Wendi stomps away; clipping to, Moolah trapped in a full nelson. Lauper hops up on the apron and nails Moolah with her fuzzy purse, right in front of the referee. I assume that would have been a DQ but it wasn’t; Albano throws a fit on the floor. Wendi hits a nice dropkick but gets only two. She tries a scoop suplex; we clip ahead to Moolah backdropping Wendi for… two, because Moolah pulled her up by the hair. BIG MISTAKE! Moolah shoves her in to the buckle and hits a belly-to-back roll-up and the referee counts three, with both sets of shoulders down. Post-match, Moolah and Albano celebrate, but the referee declares Wendi the winner and NEW CHAMPION! That is history. Moolah dropkicks the referee and Albano stomps away in frustration. The replay shows Wendi got her shoulder up right as the three count was coming down. 3/10 It’s hard to get a read on this match because of the clipping; as it stood with, kinda boring with a history noting victory by Richter as they had billed Moolah as an unbeatable champion for twenty-seven years! Not sure how much of that title legacy is hearsay but it sure was instrumental in setting up WrestleMania I.
Gorilla Monsoon vs. “Baron” Mikel Scicluna: Muhammad Ali is in the front row, which is the point to this match. Scicluna attacks Monsoon (the babyface) and hammers away; Gorilla comes back with chops and Scicluna to the floor. Ali hops up and points the finger at Gorilla; Ali pulls off his jacket, shirt and tie and runs into the ring. I guess Scicluna got counted out. Post-match, Gorilla avoids some jabs and, Monsoon throws some jabs as well and then lifts him up in a fireman’s carry and spins him in an airplane spin. Monsoon looked like he wanted to drop the big splash but Ali’s trainer gets him out of the ring. Monsoon gets a few words with commentator Vince McMahon (in awesome red blazer) about Muhammad Ali. Gorilla says he does not belong in a ring with a wrestler; he gets his “wristlock from a wristwatch” line in that he used on commentary for years. It is funny listening to Monsoon cut a promo because he sounds no different from his play-by-play. 4.5/10 As for a match, nothing; as for a famous moment in pro wrestling, big.
Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka vs. Bobby Bass: This is a squash match from the WWF’s weekly syndicated programming (I’m guessing mid-‘84); the match may be one-sided but it is cool to see old style WWF television, that I remember from when I was about eight or nine years old. Bass attacks in the corner as Snuka is adjusting his kneepads. Jimmy comes back with a float-over out of the corner, a backdrop, slam and a pair hiptosses. Bass, and his skullet heads to the floor, he reenters the ring and gets a shot in. He whips Superfly off the ropes but it gets reversed and a pair of leapfrogs leads to the flying head-butt. Snuka sets up the finish with a backbreaker and drops a beautiful Superfly Splash for three. 2.5/10 El squasho.
Here is one, if not the, most famous Piper’s Pits of all time, André the Giant turning on Hulk Hogan, may be the most famous, but this one is probably the defining moment of the interview show. Roddy Piper’s guest is Jimmy Snuka; Piper begins to run him down (in classic Piper fashion) and decides to make him “feel at home” so he gives him a pineapple, bananas and coconuts. Piper apologizes for not providing a tree for him to climb. Funny, yet a bit racist, stuff; pro wrestling was always way behind the PC bandwagon. Snuka asks if he is making fun of him; Piper denies it and then NAILS him in the head with a coconut. Snuka falls through the set and Piper beats on him, shoves bananas down his throat and whips him with his belt. We get a little image of Piper laughing in the upper left corner of the screen, leading me to believe this was a replay from Tuesday Night Titans, the WWF’s Tonight Show-like weekly program. Snuka fires up so Piper escapes through a locked door; Snuka pounds on the door. 8/10 Classic wrestling history here; every wrestling fan should have seen this at some point in their lives.
Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper: This match was obviously spawned from the previous segment; it takes place in MSG, probably mid-Summer ‘84. Piper charges in with punches but Snuka comes back immediately with a whole bunch of chops; Piper screams and charges again, same result. Snuka hits a jumping head-butt and Piper goes down again, managing to clothesline himself on the ropes on the way down. He keeps the heat on until Piper pokes him in the eye; Piper moves in slowly and gets some thrusts to the throat. He snapmares Snuka into a series of punches in the face; he fired back and chops Piper over the top to the floor. They fight on the floor where Snuka rams his head into the ring apron. They try an Irish whip but Piper accidentally gets his head caught in between the top ropes and clotheslines himself; Snuka improvises with chops and then a whip into a sleeper hold, which is rare for Jimmy. They both tumble to the floor but Snuka refuses to relinquish the hold; Piper backs him into the ring apron to break the hold. Snuka posts Piper and continues the onslaught on the floor. Piper grabs a chair but can’t use it; Snuka rams him into the open chair. Piper retreats to the ring, busted open, Snuka follows up and screams; he viciously works the cut as the fans go bananas, or perhaps coconuts, in line with the storyline. Snuka hits the running head-butt drop. He heads to the top and flies in the air for a flying body press but Piper catches him; they are too close to the ropes, so Piper just kinda brushes him aside, onto the top rope. Snuka falls to the floor as Piper collapses in the ring. The referee counts Snuka out so this feud can continue. 6/10 Wild crazy out-of-control brawl that had Piper get the count out win; since this feud drew tons of people it made fiscal sense to continue it. It became one of the legendary feuds of the mid-eighties.
Vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship: Black Tiger vs. The Cobra: This match is from December of 1984 at MSG, even though this title was mainly contested in Japan. The Cobra is George Takano and the Black Tiger, I believe to be, the Dynamite Kid, they bill him from England, as well. Cobra gets an arm wringer but Tiger rolls through. Tiger gets a series of snapmare/knee drop combos and applies a side headlock; the Cobra Mexican arm drags free into an armbar. Tiger reverses it and applies his own armbar; commentator Gorilla Monsoon notes the similarities in Black Tiger’s mask and that donned by Tiger Mask. [Black] Tiger whips him into the ropes and nails a running clothesline; rolling senton gets only one. They run the ropes again and Cobra launches a backdrop; he settles into a side headlock. Cobra does to the second rope for a standing elbow, but it gets lightly botched, and he lands on the Tiger who shoves him aside, allowing Cobra to score with a spinning kick. Cobra hits a knee-press bomb off the second rope; nice gutwrench suplex by the Cobra. I think this match has some clipping but it is seamlessly done to the point where it is hard to tell when they happen. Cobra gets a nearfall off the suplex and then rolls him up in a reverse crucifix for two as well. Cobra settles into a seated head scissors until Tiger nips-up. They standoff and go again; Cobra hits a fireman’s carry gutbuster and quickly applies a Boston crab. The crab does not illicit a submission so Cobra switches into a Mexican surfboard; Tiger shifts his weight and releases himself. Tiger looks for a full nelson but Cobra counters with an elbow and a standing dropkick. Tiger goes up but the Cobra Flairs him off (that was one of the highlight clips shown at the beginning of every Coliseum Home Video during the “in the beginning…” segments). Cobra slows it down, into a figure-four head scissors, they run the ropes and Tiger surprises with a clothesline. He drops a swinging neckbreaker, now we get an obvious clip to both guys down, spinning wheel kick by the Cobra gets a nearfall; a backdrop follows. Cobra kills Tiger with a running dropkick right to the face! Tiger falls to the floor, a move RARELY seen in the North during this time period follows, as the Cobra topés out onto him. They reenter the ring and Tiger heads to the top for a top-rope falling splash; float-over vertical suplex gets a nearfall for the Black Tiger. The crowd is pretty alive now; Tiger gets a scoop-piledriver and gets another nearfall. He tries a Tombstone but it gets reversed and Cobra piledrives him. Cobra to the top and hits a Senton bomb for three. 8.5/10 Sick match; lots of mat work (common for the time) and speed (less common) combined for a great match. You can tell (almost feel it) how good the match was live as the crowd was DEAD in the opening but built to a nice upsurge in the end.
We get the entire training sequence as Hulk Hogan tries to get Gene Okerlund in wrestling shape for their tag match. Hogan barges into Okerlund’s Minneapolis home at 5 a.m. as Okerlund is reading the paper and smoking a cigar. Hulk makes Gene his breakfast as they drink raw eggs. Gene’s super 70’s yellow kitchen is awesome. They run through a park to the cheers of the fans; they run through the streets of Minneapolis. Okerlund tries to get a beer and a brat on the street but Hogan catches him. Gene begins to doubt himself and they head to the Olympia Gym; Hogan has a Mean Gene-O-Mania shirt on; we get a workout montage complete with music. They run up the stairs on the arena, each with each other on their backs, they do wheelbarrow sprints up stairs. Gene is psyched by the end of the training.
Hulk Hogan & “Mean” Gene Okerlund vs. George “The Animal” Steele & Mr. Fuji: Hogan is in his blue trunks tonight; Gene is in black trunks and is holding Hogan’s WWF title to the ring. Weird seeing Steele as a savage vicious heel considering the babyface he would eventually turn into. Hogan and Fuji start off, who was still a competent wrestler here, instead of just a manager. Hogan dominates with a hiptoss and a bodyslam. Steele gets the tag and acts weird, yet competent, where he gets angry at Hogan for mimicking his hand gestures. We clip forward to the Animal jabbing at Hulk and the referee checking for a foreign object; Steele punches and stomps until Hogan fires up and punches away. Fuji comes in and immediately gets knocked to the floor; Steele retreats there as well and Hogan gives chase. Okerlund stomps on Fuji’s hands on the apron and he and Hogan share a high five. Uh oh, the referee considers that constitutes a tag. Gene is forced into the ring with Steele so Gene shits himself. Okerlund gets cornered by the Animal but he runs through the legs and tags Hogan back in; Steele backs off but Hogan rams the heels together. Clipped to Hogan double chopping Fuji and atomic dropping Steele; Mr. Fuji goes into his tights, whilst Hogan is with Steele, for some salt; he goes to toss it into Hogan’s eyes but Okerlund interrupts his arm movement from the apron causing him to drop all of the salt. Hogan whips Fuji off the ropes, makes a tag, drops down and Fuji runs into Okerlund while he is trying to get into the ring. Hogan slams him on top of Fuji and holds him down for the three count. Post-match, Hogan whips both heels into Okerlund’s boot in the corner and celebrate via posing. 5/10 Hogan did all of the wrestling for his team obviously and Okerlund gets the pinfall in his hometown. Good, harmless fun, which is a rarity and since these “Best of the WWF” tapes are hard to find, it will continue to be.
Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko: This match was aired on syndicated WWF television and is the classic student turns on the teacher storyline, but this one drew lots of money for the WWF. Bruno is known as “the Living Legend”; this is the same Larry Zbyszko who commentated for WCW. They lock up and stalemate a few times. Zbyszko goes-behind and Sammartino switches, Larry cannot switch out though, so Bruno just releases the hold. Bruno applies a side headlock but Zbyszko fires him off and hiptosses him, he gets a nearfall, and a “holy shit” stare down. Larry applies a headlock; Bruno fires him off into a drop-toehold leglock and releases. Wrestling! Zbyszko bodyslams him for another two count and Bruno returns the favor, yet backs off. The storyline here is that Sammartino (babyface) is toying with Larry (heel), playing mind games and believes he can polish off his former pupil anytime he wishes. This is usually the heel toying with the face but here it may be a “lulling into a false sense of security” stratagem from Sammartino. Larry goes-behind again and Bruno counters into an armbar and releases. Bruno, an immigrant from Abruzzi Italy, as is my father; and this is the reason he got me into pro wrestling when I was really little. We also all share the same Abruzzi fuzzy chest/back hair. Zbyszko gets another armbar and segues into an abdominal stretch; Bruno quickly hiptosses out, frustrating Zbyszko further. Vince McMahon sells the impossibility of defeating the living legend (Sammartino) and merits Zbyszko’s few nearfalls thus far. For all of the flak that Vince gets about his commentary, he really understands match logic and psychology; by that simple prior statement, he sells the sheer importance of a simple two count early in the match, to the viewer. Larry gets a slam and another nearfall, which now seems that much more impressive than “just another nearfall”. Zbyszko applies a half-Boston crab; Bruno, as usual, casually counters into a leglock and releases. Sammartino grabs an over-hand wristlock but releases, this time it was curious, as he didn’t have a clear-cut advantage. They criss-cross the ropes and Zbyszko tries to garner the advantage with a hiplock but Bruno is one step ahead, counters into his own hiptoss; Zbyszko pounds the mat in frustration. They run the ropes quickly with Zbyszko getting the early advantages with shoulderblocks but eventually runs right into Bruno’s bearhug. He releases again, pissing Zbyszko off. Larry clamps on a hard hammerlock, Bruno cannot power free this time, so he runs Zbyszko into the ropes and momentums him to the floor. That proves that Bruno is not only stronger, but years of experience shining through there, is craftier, which makes the mountain that Larry must climb that much more insurmountable. Bruno really pisses Zbyszko off by holding the ropes open for him to reenter; Larry takes exception and knees him in the side and clubbers him down. It appears Sammartino has lit a fire under Zbyszko who tosses him into the buckles. Larry runs to the floor and grabs a wooden chair; he chucks the referee to the floor drawing the obvious DQ. Post-match, he levels Bruno in the head with it a few times, busting him open, Zbyszko then leaves in frustration. 8.5/10 Good storyline as Bruno frustrated the younger Zbyszko to the point of making him snap. This is an old school match and takes a certain type of fan (like me) to appreciate it; to the Attitude Era fan or the more modern fan this may have been painfully boring. All of the maneuvers and submission holds mean something though, this is the exact opposite of a spot-fest, and every move is technically calculated to perfection, and build to something greater as the match wore on. Then the DQ ending started a long money drawing blood feud.
We get the in-ring weigh-in for their upcoming steel cage match at Shea Stadium. Vince McMahon interviews Bruno Sammartino, who sells the brutality of the steel cage match. Bruno promises to destroy Larry Zbyszko.
Bruno Sammartino (w/Arnold Skaaland) vs. Larry Zbyszko steel cage match, escape rules only: This match is outdoors in Shea Stadium; the ring is placed at second base and behind the ring is just bare outfield grass. Bruno is reluctant to enter the cage, but it was another veteran trap, as he catches him charging over with a boot. Bruno blitzes him with boots and tosses Zbyszko into the cage a few times. Larry may be busted already. He tries to escape but Bruno is mad and rakes his face on the cage. The screen freezes but Vince McMahon’s commentary continues, don’t know if that was bad clipping or poor video quality. Zbyszko gets a desperate low blow in and Bruno crumples to the canvas. He tries to escape but Bruno cuts him off; Larry tosses Sammartino into the cage a few times. Zbyszko tries to climb out but Sammartino pulls him off the top of the cage. They sell the brutality of the match and we clip forwards to Zbyszko punching Sammartino, who is on his knees, down to the mat. According to McMahon’s commentary Bruno has taken a tremendous beating and that Larry wants to be known as the “new Living Legend”. Bruno gets a knee to the buttocks and Zbyszko is down; we get a wide shot of the ballpark and the fans are even seated in the outfield bleachers; see… drew tons of money. Bruno chokes under the bottom rope; Zbyszko tries to climb out again but Sammartino Flairs him off the top. We move forwards to Larry working over Bruno’s injured right arm. Larry asks for the door to be opened but Bruno makes the save (with one arm). Bruno avoids a charge in the corner (clipped to I think) and Zbyszko collapses; Bruno shoves Zbyszko onto the apron between the ropes and cage and rams him into the ringpost. More clippage to Bruno tossing Zbyszko into the cage over-and-over again; Bruno’s right arm is quite lacerated. With Zbyszko dazed, Sammartino asks for the door to be opened, and walks out for the victory. Post-match, a wobbly bloody Zbyszko gets in Bruno’s face and gets knocked down. 7.5/10 The clipping hurts the overall rating, as the match is incomplete, but what was there was brutal and highly entertaining. This was a great match between these two, who had a legendary rivalry for the WWF in the late seventies into the early eighties.
OVERALL 7/10 Despite many of the matches being clipped down, the tape is a good barometer of the big feuds the WWF offered in the early 1980’s; Hogan, Piper, Bruno, among others have some of their big feuds highlighted, plus a rare gem in the Junior Heavyweight match, the rare in-ring appearance of Gene Okerlund and the Gorilla Monsoon/Muhammad Ali encounter. Good tape if you can manage to track it down.