The SmarK Rant for Coliseum Video presents Fan Favorites
The gimmick here is that this is a collection of “fan requested” matches from 1989, with both “fans” and “requested” in quotations, as Coliseum moves away from the “Best of the WWF” series and shifts to themed collections instead to disguise the lazy dark match “exclusives”.
Hosted by Sean Mooney, although all the matches are called by Tony Schiavone & Lord Alfred Hayes
Brooklyn Brawler v. Koko B. Ware
They actually take time to film two fans, who presumably collected their $10 payoff to “request” this match. One them goes way overboard and declares that seeing this match would be “awesome”. I mean, always good to have a chance to go buy some nachos I guess. This one comes via a dark match at a Superstars taping from the third circle of Hell. With Lord Alfred Hayes on commentary. Brawler attacks to start and beats Koko down, but Koko dropkicks him to the floor to stop that flurry of offense. Back in, Koko gets a hiptoss and headscissors to send Brawler to the floor again. Back in the ring, Brawler puts him down with an elbow, but Koko fights back and then misses a blind charge, allowing Brawler to stomp him down. I hope those dumbass fans are happy now. THIS IS AWESOME, clap clap clap-clap-clap! They fight to the floor and Brawler runs him into the timekeeper table and then chokes him out on the ropes. Back to the floor and Brawler runs him into the post, but Koko comes back in with a sunset flip for two. But then Brawler clotheslines him down again for two and we go to a chinlock. Koko somehow fights out of that, so Brawler chokes him out in the corner as the announcers note that Lombardi is “a little ponderous” with his offense, which is an understatement. Brawler with another chinlock, but Koko necks Brawler on the ropes to break free as concession stand sales peak for the evening. Koko makes the comeback and goes up with a missile dropkick, landing on his feet, and then finishing with the Ghostbuster at 10:15. That missile dropkick was pretty slick, I’ll give him that. *
Dusty Rhodes v. Greg Valentine
This one is requested by a fan who declares that it’ll be “the greatest match of all time” with a straight face. Another dark match, from Wrestling Challenge this time, and Dusty is still in the pre-polka dot era. Dusty’s pre-match promo is pretty wacky, as he declares that he’s representing “Americana and the common people” in his fight with Valentine, as I’m not really sure how Greg doesn’t qualify for either one. Hammer works on the arm to start, but Dusty hits him with an elbow and Greg does a Flair Flop to sell it and takes a breather outside. Back in the ring as Alfred calls the referee “Bob Marella” and Dusty beats on Valentine with chops in the corner and slugs him down. Big Dust drops the big elbow, but that misses and Hammer beats him down with his own elbows. Valentine goes to a chinlock while Alfred notes that Dusty has been in “many matches that have gone more than a hour long”. I think he might have been confusing him with Flair. Dusty chops Valentine down and tries for his figure four, which explains the confusion with Flair, but Valentine blocks him. Greg goes to work on the leg himself and tries his own figure-four, but Dusty cradles for two. Greg goes to a chinlock and Dusty makes the comeback, but misses a blind charge, like when McDonalds switches from the breakfast to the lunch menu and he’s making a break for the counter before they stop serving the hash browns. Jimmy Hart tries climbing the top rope for some reason, but Rugged Ronnie Garvin gets involved and pulls Jimmy down, allowing Dusty to get an incredibly lazy rollup for the pin at 10:14. Probably would have been much better a decade before. *1/4
The Twin Towers v. The Hart Foundation
I’m becoming increasingly convinced that these aren’t real fans requesting these matches. We get a rare gear mismatch from the Harts here, with Bret wearing the usual pink and black scheme with pink tights and black straps, while Neidhart has the opposite. Usually they’re better coordinated than that. Bossman and Anvil do a power showdown to start and Anvil dropkicks him. Bret goes to work on the arm, but tries a bodypress and gets caught and slammed. Over to Akeem, but he misses an elbow and Bret goes up with an elbowdrop on him for two and starts working the arm. Bret with a sleeper attempt, but Bossman clobbers Bret from behind to break it up and Akeem sits on Bret to take over. Bossman slugs away on Bret and chokes him out on the ropes. Akeem comes in and the Towers give him the double splash in the corner, and Bossman goes to the bearhug. Over to Akeem for more of the same, and Bossman beats Bret down with elbows to cut off a comeback attempt. Hayes notes that Bossman is “only 24” and has a lot of years ahead of him. Which wasn’t true, he was actually 25 or 26 here, but still, holy crap he was young. Finally Neidhart gets the hot tag and runs wild like Akeem is his crack dealer and owes him product, and Anvil dropkicks Akeem and slingshots Bret onto him for two. Everyone fights on the floor after a pescado from Bret and somehow the Towers move faster than the Harts and beat the count at 13:18. If you want to see Bret Hart selling bearhugs for 10 minutes this is the match for you. *1/2
Tito Santana v. Mr. Perfect
This should at least liven up the tape given that these two are incapable of having a bad match together. Tito works on a headlock to start and then rings his ears and puts him on the floor with a clothesline. Hayes notes that Tito is “cock a hoop” after that series of moves, which apparently means he’s really happy. So I just had to go look that up, and sure as hell, that’s a real phrase that British people apparently say. Because of course it is. Probably they get all cock-a-hoop when their spotted dick and bangers-and-mash turn out really good. I might have to start working that one in. Tito misses a blind charge and Perfect goes to work on him with the neck snap and a jackknife cover for two. Perfect slugs away in the corner and goes to an abdominal stretch, but Tito fights out of that and makes the comeback to set up a slugfest, as Perfect goes flying off that. But then Rick Martel joins us like a jilted ex-lover and Tito ignores him and hits the flying forearm for two. But Martel puts Perfect’s foot on the ropes and Tito finally has to acknowledge Martel, preventing him from completing his figure-four. So Perfect hits him from behind and grabs the tights for the weak pin at 10:00. Wow that was lazy. Huge disappointment but still OK. **1/2
Ted Dibiase v. Jimmy Snuka
Dibiase offers Snuka some money before the match, which would surely be enough to bribe at least two or three local sheriffs if the need arises again, but Snuka refuses it and chops Dibiase out of the ring. Snuka hauls Dibiase back in and then sends him out again with an atomic drop. Back in, Dibiase pounds away on him, but Snuka comes back with chops until Virgil trips him up. They fight on the floor and Dibiase gets a cheapshot from behind and then slugs away in the corner. Dibiase with a kneedrop for two, and he goes up with a double axehandle for two. That’s weird, because 99 times out of 100 that’s a setup for the babyface to hit him on the way down and Dibiase to do a front flip. Dibiase dumps him to the floor and Virgil gets a cheapshot, allowing Dibiase to suplex Snuka back in for two. So Dibiase goes up again, and this time Snuka is hip to the room and remembers to hit him, and he makes the comeback. Snuka goes up with a headbutt from the middle rope, but Virgil interferes again and Dibiase accidentally knocks him off the apron and that allows Snuka to roll him up for the pin at 8:07. Hey, three distraction rollup finishes on the same tape, tremendous. Dibiase was trying to bump for both guys here but Snuka was just not interested in doing anything. ½*
Ultimate Warrior & King Hacksaw Duggan v. Rick Rude & Andre the Giant
This is an oddly specific viewer request. I mean, I guess it makes sense given that they were the marriages at the time. Some guy in the front row is rocking the #69 football jersey. Nice. Was that a thing in 1989? I mean the general knowledge of the term, not whether people did that in the privacy of their home or backseat or whatever. Big stall to start as Duggan and Warrior discuss strategy, and THERE’S a conversation that I’d be interested in listening to. Finally even Tony is complaining about how no one is touching, and Duggan slugs away on Rude after 3:00 of gaga to start the match. Andre immediately gets tied up in the ropes and the faces use Rude as a battering ram in a fun spot. Duggan goes to work on Rude’s arm and Andre gives Duggan a swipe on the way by. Warrior beats on Rude in the corner and chokes him out, but Duggan comes in and Andre casually headbutts him from the apron to allow the heels to take over. Duggan slugs back on Andre, but another headbutt puts him down. And then Andre stops to shake the ropes at Warrior to be a dick! Andre was just delightful and I’m very sad that I didn’t get to see him more before his career ended. Andre removes the turnbuckle and chokes Duggan out, allowing Rude to come in and add some cheapshots before going to a chinlock. Duggan fights out of that and they collide for the double down, which is only lacking Jesse Ventura snarking about Duggan’s head making a “bong” sound like a bell. Andre cuts off the hot tag and holds Duggan with a bearhug, gleefully telling the ref to ring the bell and then giving Duggan a thumbs up and sitting on him repeatedly. Oh man I am all about sarcastic asshole Andre. He must have been on the GOOD painkillers that night. Back to the bearhug, but Duggan fights out and rams Andre into the exposed steel turnbuckle, which puts Andre down. Hot tag Warrior and he goes to his own bearhug on Andre in the wackiest version of running wild yet. Andre escapes from that with a headbutt and chokes Warrior out in the corner, so I guess we’re getting some selling from Warrior for some bizarre reason. Rude slugs away on him, but Warrior hits him with an atomic drop for our mandated atomic drop sell of the match, and then Duggan sneaks in and hits Rude with the 2×4 behind the ref’s back, while Rude’s grabbing his yam bag in excruciating pain mind you, and Warrior splashes and pins Rude to win at 13:00. This was goofy and fun and clearly the highlight of the tape thanks to Andre. ***
And Sean Mooney wraps it up, promising that this is just the first in a series of Fan Favorite tapes! Yeah no it wasn’t.