Five From The Vault Review: From Amazing Red to WrestleRock

That’s right friends, it’s time for another trip into the rarities of the WWE Vault. I’ve taken a few side trips the last few visits – least watched videos, mixtapes and Shotgun Saturday Night – but now it’s time to check out another five rarities.

My rules for being a rarity: it isn’t uploaded by WWE on any other legal streaming platform in the U.S., which generally means on Peacock but can also mean The CW’s app or very shortly Netflix. All five features today fit the bill – dark matches, behind the scenes and things we didn’t know existed.

As always, my star ratings do not matter. Nobody’s star ratings matter. Form your own opinions. My personal enjoyment of a match is very possibly the complete opposite of yours. Somebody else’s five star match might be the bore of the century to me. It’s okay to like what you like.

WWE Champion John Cena, World Heavyweight Champion Batista & Hulk Hogan vs John Bradshaw Layfield, Shawn Michaels & Kurt Angle

This is a dark match from an episode of Raw that aired on August 8, 2005. The crowd deserved this after the matches they sat through on the actual show – Eugene vs Angle, Chris Masters vs Shelton Benjamin, Rob Conway vs Viscera, The Heart Throbs & Victoria vs Hurricane, Rosey & Super Stacy, Chris Jericho vs Chad Patton and the hot main event of Matt Hardy vs Snitsky.

This is shot with the full set of cameras like the rest of Raw would have been but no commentary. We get the Lilian Garcia ring introductions first. JBL gets general boos, Angle eggs on the “you suck” chants, and HBK gets more of a subdued reaction than I expected. Cena and his serious face get a good reception, Hulk gets a pretty good pop, and Big Dave gets the mega pop. Batista gets his full pyro despite this being a match that didn’t air.

The faces charge the ring and we start out with all six men trading blows. They toss their three opponents out and then split up outside, Hogan knocking Angle and Shawn’s heads together. Batista and Angle start us properly with the two trading blows in the corner. Angle keeps throwing punches at Batista who shoves him away, Angle running to the corner to clutch JBL’s legs and put his face directly in his crotch. Angle tags in a very reluctant JBL. They lock up and Layfield gets the advantage in the corner, backing off and laughing. They lock up mid-ring and Batista shoves JBL down. Shawn jumps in then jumps right back out to the laughter of the live crowd.

Batista takes Layfield to the corner again for elbows to the head and then a choke with his big boot. Batista whips Layfield across the ring but runs into a boot. Layfield charges back out at him but right into a slam for a two count. JBL is thrown to his corner and tags in Shawn. The fans chant “Hogan” and Shawn tells Batista to not listen to them. Batista shoves Shawn down repeatedly, which leads to Shawn slapping Batista. Batista angrily punches Shawn in the corner, with Shawn reversing into loud chops. Batista whips Shawn into the corner and slams him as well for a two count. With Shawn in the corner, Cena is tagged in who hits Shawn with mid-section blows before running into a boot. Shawn bodyslams Cena and goes up, with Cena popping up to slam Shawn to the mat. To the loud crowd, Cena goes for the five knuckle shuffle but is kneed in the back by Angle on the apron.

JBL is tagged in and beats down Cena in the corner. He hits a Clothesline from Hell for a two count, then tags in Angle. Angle knocks Cena with a series of punches and uppercuts before Cena runs into an overhead suplex. Angle points at Hogan and does the ear pose, then tags Michaels back in. Shawn chops away at Cena in the corner again, beating him down on the mat. As Shawn distracts the referee, Angle throws Cena into the barricade before rolling him back in for a two-count. Layfield tags back in and tries for a suplex on Cena which is reversed. The two trade blows with JBL locking on a sleeper. Cena reaches for his partners but just can’t reach. He fades to the mat but miraculously finds that second wind, fighting to his feet before suplexing Layfield down.

Cena gets the hot tag to Hogan, who punches Layfiend and an interfering Angle down. He pulls Shawn in as well and beats him up in the corner. Hogan hits Shawn with the big boot while Batista runs in to stop an interfering Angle. Layfiend comes back in however and beats down Hulk. Hulk hulks up, does the point, and hits the boot on JBL. The crowd’s into it as he hits the leg drop and gets the three.

Post-match, we get a full seven minutes of posing. Cena is the awkward one out here, but Batista is clearly having the time of his life being in the ring and interacting with Hulk. Of course, 2024 Batista and 2024 Hogan would probably be having a different discussion while 2024 Cena would be posting word salad inspirational quotes on Twitter.

I dug this a lot. It was good for a dark match and really I give it two extra stars for Big Dave having fun. ****

Funkin’ Dojo Showcase: Kurt Angle (with Dory Funk, Jr.) vs Christian Cage (with Jim Cornette)

WWE Vault lists this as Kurt Angle’s earliest recorded match (his third ever) though video also exists of his second ever match against Shawn Stasiak. This was on an August 22, 1998 World Wrestling Alliance event. WWA served as a developmental territory for WWF in the early Attitude era. Funkin’ Dojo itself was a mini-camp run by Funk and Dr. Tom Pritchard, detailed here in a WWEClassics.com article.

This predates both Angle and Christian’s WWF TV debuts, with Christian in the tights and singlet combo we’d see him in much later in his WWF run and not the vampiric look he’d debut with on television. Angle is in solid black and yellow tights, not yet discovering his true love for the red, white and blue. Angle leads the crowd in a clap as Christian yells for them to shut up. Angle takes down Christian and ties him up, but Christian runs and clings to the ropes as Cornette gives him advice. Christian alleges hair pulling as the crowd chants “boring.” Angle takes Christian down with a lockup again, which leads to Christian again clinging to the bottom rope. Cornette has a comb and combs Christian’s hair back into place for him.

Funk can be seen kneeling and watching ringside as Christian and Angle trade rear lockups, Christian taking Angle down with a back suplex and into a headlock. Angle reverses into a rear armlock. The men get to their feet and Christian whips Angle into the ropes, who takes him down with a series of shoulderbocks and another headlock. They trade pinfall attempts all while the headlock is locked in. After working back to their feet, Christian punches Angle against the ropes. Angle takes down Christian with a drop toe hold and again locks in a headlock, Cornette screaming that it is illegal. Back up, Christian backs Angle into the corner and kicks him down before giving him a standing suplex and yelling “did you feel that!.”

Christian throws Angle to the gym basketball gym floor outside, holding Angle as Cornette unloads on his back with the tennis racket. Funk shuffles over and Cornette runs off. Back in the ring, Christian stomps Angle before slamming him and locking in a headlock. Angle elbows out but runs right back into a pin attempt for two. Christian tells the ref to count again, getting a two again. Christian runs into a series of clean back suplexes and then a side suplex for a two count.

Christian finds his way to the top and leaps off at Angle, missing. Angle locks Christian into a leg lock while rolling him into a successful three count and the fans cheer, having been won over.

This was interesting for a few reasons. Angle of course was one. This was his third match ever and he wrestled better than some who have been doing this for a decade. Christian was also interesting to me though, having not seen anything prior to his WWF arrival. Seeing him act more like he would later on in the Edge & Christian days and getting to ham it up was a lot of fun. I give it *** both for being a good match and a genuine fun curiosity.

Sights and sounds of AWA WrestleRock 1986

This is from before my time as a fan. I’ve probably watched WrestleRock 1986 once, and it was probably back when WWE Classics On Demand was a thing and I paid Comcast for it and watched every single thing they put on there, whether I cared or not. Held at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (the Triple H?), WrestleRock was a pretty big deal for AWA with a string of three cage matches ending the show. It is probably best known, however, for the WrestleRock Rumble music video.

This eleven minute behind the scenes video starts with on-screen text. “In April 1986, the AWA held its biggest show of the year, WrestleRock, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Hours of behind-the-scenes footage was shot for the event. Here, released for the first time, are the sights and sounds of WrestleRock.”

We start with poolside shots, Shawn Michaels doing a bad promo and then Scott Hall and Curt Hennig in their little bathing suits walking out of the pool and lipsyncing their parts in the WrestleRock Rumble video. Curt is pushed into the pool by the women and of course finds a way to flip as he does it. Ken Resnick, in quite the suit, does his lines and makes me wonder if his look was the inspiration for Dok Hendrix. He looks like he smells like cigarettes.

Shawn Michaels and an Elvis impersonator cut a promo. A woman interviews people backstage, including Marty and Shawn who are on about six different substances. Marty says they’re going to every bar they can after the show. She also talks to fans outside, cigarettes and Miller Lite everywhere. It was a different time. A gentleman sells programs. We see backstage footage of an AWA official giving production directions to the camera crew, including the angle to film wrestlers on the floor. An adorable fan says he wants to see Greg Gagne and I hope somebody invites him to the Blog of Doom.

We continue through fan interviews, then head into the arena where the interviewer talks to the Governor and Verne Gagne. The Gov had declared it Verne Gagne Day and says Verne is winning tonight. Then we cut to footage during the event of Curt & Scott walking back to the back as well as numerous women ringside cheering it on. You know what, I love this. Wrestling is for the women. Various other shots: shots from behind fans, shots of the camera men, shots of a guy who might be 16 or 36 selling t-shirts and Roar Warriors action figures for only six dollars.

We watch the crew set up the cage as other fans chant “Sherri sucks” (the nerve). Two women cut a promo on how we should all be there as we get an extended shot of a man eating nachos and cheese. Yes. A woman in a cowboy hat yells “STOMP HIM.” The guy setting up the cage says hi to his mom. Verne Gagne cheers from ringside. The fans are INTO it all.

This was a fascinating time capsule of video. First yes, it was cool to see so many different women in the crowd, but it was cool to watch in general. The 80s were a wild time and it was reflected here. *****

CM Punk vs The Amazing Red

This is a dark match from May 10, 2005. As with many of the dark matches we’re seeing unveiled on this channel, this was part of Velocity tapings. For those that don’t know The Amazing Red, he had a good career focused in TNA and ROH. He’s also run the House of Glory training school and promotion (owned by WCW legend Master P!) and trained numerous future stars.

The video of this is grainy, with tracking marks everywhere and the time markers at the bottom. Punk gets a generic introduction and boos, while Red gets a decent reaction. No commentary here. Punk tells the crowd to shut up. After several lockups, Punk pushes Red down to booing. Punk locks on a headlock, which Red reverses into headscissors (and then they do it twice more). The crowd is all over Punk. Punk shoves Red, who shoves him back and slaps away his hand. Red slaps Punk and takes him down with a series or arm drags before locking in an armlock. He works the arm, dropping knees on it. They work back up and a rope break leads to Punk punching Red. Punk slams Red, then whips him into the corner. The size difference is kind of wild here, I’m not used to seeing Punk with people that are smaller than him.

Punk locks in a headlock as the fans clap for Red, who elbows out but is yanked back to the mat by Punk. Punk locks in a leglock from behind and stomps Red to the mat, getting a two count. Punk goes back to the rear chinlock as the fans are into this one. Red elbows out again, getting a two count off a running splash. He rolls up Punk for two and hits a spinning kick for another two. A dropkick knocks Punk to the corner, where Red boots him and then tries for a pin. Red goes up and gets a two count on a flying move to Punk before going up again. The fans cheer as Red misses a flying clothesline, with Punk turns into a DDT of sorts for the three count.

This was good! I liked it. So did the fans. ***

Survivor Series Elimination Match: Aldo Montoya, Bart Gunn, Bob Holly and Jesse James vs Billy Gunn, Justin Hawk Bradshaw, Salvatore Sincere & The Sultan (with Iron Sheik & Uncle Zebekiah)

This originally aired as the Free For All match of the 1996 Survivor Series. For those of you who are young (bless you), WWE aired the Free For All starting in 1996 before pay-per-views, much like the kickoff, countdown and Zero Hour shows we see today. They aired in the corner of the Preview Channel, which was a TV channel that aired text graphics of TV listings for every channel, and on some of the pay-per-view networks. There would always be a match, and in 1996 we were.. uh… blessed with this one.

Most of these men would go onto bigger things – Jesse and Billy as the New Age Outlaws, Bradshaw evolving into JBL, and Sultan eventually becoming Rikishi before spawning ten years of Bloodline stories. Bart Gunn would have a brief moment in the spotlight. Aldo would get some time in the spotlight in ECW as Justin Credible. And Salvatore Sincere… well, he kept wrestling.

This was in MSG and has Vince McMahon and Jim Ross on commentary. We start with Montoya and Sultan. Sultan takes Aldo down with a shoulder block. Aldo whips into the ropes and punches Sultan, taking him down with a series of dropkicks to the outside. Aldo jumps outside onto Sultan, with Vince saying you’re going to see action like this at the Survivor Series. Aldo hits a bodypress from the top for a two count, but Sultan takes Aldo down with a piledriver. Sultan locks in the camel clutch and Aldo submits, the first man eliminated.

Bob Holly comes in and locks on a sleeper, turning it into a bulldog for a two count. Holly walks into a knee on the apron, falling into a belly-to-belly before Sultan locks him into a thrilling chinlock. Vince sends the original crowd to Stone Cold-Bret Hart hype as we go to what’ll be a commercial for the rest of us.

Bart Gunn and Sultan are on the outside, no eliminations since we left. Salvatore dropkicks Bart on the outside as Jim Ross hypes up the debut of Furnas & LaFon and the mystery partner of Flash Funk and friends. Salvatore walks into a sidewalk slam and is pinned. Bradshaw runs in and beats on Bart in the corner, JR calling Bradshaw “something special.” A hot tag brings in Holly, who gets a two on Bradshaw. Bradshaw boots Bob in the face as we go split-screen to Dok Hendrix. Dok announces the winner of Bret-Austin will face the WWF Champion. Dok runs into Steve’s dressing room and gets kicked back out as we go back to Holly taking a big lariat and being pinned. Jesse James rolls up Bradshaw from behind and gets the pin. Sultan takes James to the corner, whipping him in and missing a running shoulder. Double J rolls up Sultan for a small package and gets a three count. Billy Gunn is in, hitting a Rocker Dropper on James for the three.

We’re down to the Gunns and the crowd are into it. Billy locks Bart’s arms in the ropes, calls him a son of a bitch and slaps him. The referees free Bart as Billy misses a running splash in the corner. Bart nails Billy with a forearm and that’s a three count. Bart Gunn is your sole survivor.

It wasn’t GREAT, but it also wasn’t bad. ***

And with that, I close the door on the Vault rarities again until next time. Thanks for tuning in!