The SmarK Rant for Coliseum Video presents The Women of the WWF

The SmarK Rant for Coliseum Video presents The Women of WWF

Given all the releases this week, I might as well give the women some love with their only dedicated Coliseum Video release as far as I know. The box declares “They’re HOT! They’re TOUGH! They’re Exploding In Non-Stop WWF WRESTLING ACTION!” so you know this one has some pedigree behind it.

Released in 1988

Your host is Mean Gene, and who else better to represent women everywhere? It’s not like they had any women under contract to host or anything.

WWF Women’s title: Wendi Richter v. The Spider

Back to MSG in 1985 for this, of course. Wendi was the champion since Wrestlemania and she had been working with The Spider Lady (with someone else under the hood) around the horn, but before the match Vince McMahon shoved a contract in her face and told her to sign or else, and Wendi chose “or else”. Wendi goes after the Spider in the corner and chases her to the floor, and the front row immediately chants “Moolah” because they’re completely onto the gag here already. Wendi tosses her out again and they fight on the floor, but Wendi tackles her on the way into the ring and goes to work on the leg. The Spider goes for the ropes and Wendi yanks her back and keeps on the leg, but Spider manages to reverse to a kneebar and chokes her out on the ropes. So Wendi goes for the mask and Spider chokes her out again and sends Wendi to the floor. Wendi is wisely avoiding any sort of pinning situation because she likely has figured out the deal by now, and she comes back with a dropkick and tries a flying headscissors, but Spider won’t go over for it and falls on top for two. Red flag right there for Wendi I’d imagine. More choking on the ropes gets one as Wendi makes sure to kick out fast and she comes back with a clothesline for two, but Spider gets a small package and the ref just counts three and awards her the title in a shoot pin at 7:00. Wendi tries to continue the match to the planned finish but she’s been screwed and it’s too late. Thankfully everyone learned from this situation and we never had to deal with anything like it again. ½*. And then Wendi was promptly erased from history and basically never mentioned again for decades, until her Hall of Fame induction. In fact I’m shocked they even showed a match featuring Wendi in a 1988 video, although to be fair it was a humiliating defeat for her.

Back at the studio, Gene sits down with Moolah and we get some old photos from “1935 or 1940” and Moolah explains that Wendi wouldn’t give her a rematch and so she had to wear the mask to trick her into one.

Fabulous Moolah v. Vicki Williams

We get some B&W footage from1970, at the original Garden, with Gene and Moolah doing commentary. Gene disputes that it’s from 1970 because of the poor quality of the footage, but it actually is from that year from what I can find. Although it’s actually the Boston Garden and not MSG. Still, impressive bit of historical accuracy regardless. Anyway we only get a few seconds of footage and they cut it off.

WWF Women’s title: Fabulous Moolah v. Debbie Combs

Off to May 1987 in MSG for this one as we’re into a really dead period for the division with an aging Moolah doing the same boring matches with the same boring people around the horn. Combs takes her down with a snapmare and Moolah bails to the floor, so Debbie slingshots her back in and slams her for one. Moolah bails again to escape this onslaught, and chokes away on the ropes back in the ring. Moolah with a slam for two, but Combs does the bodyscissors on the mat as we travel back to the 60s with this stuff. Moolah goes to the tights and uses a phantom foreign object to take over, and Debbie gets thrown out and bumps into the timekeeper. This match is embarrassing and wasn’t even good from a 1987 perspective, as Madusa and Sherri were already worlds ahead of this crap in the US alone. Back in the ring, Combs comes back with a monkey flip, but Moolah “hits” her with pathetic forearm shots and just won’t sell anything at all. Moolah with a Boston crab, but Combs powers out and Moolah bumps to the floor, so Combs follows her out and slams her out there, then beats the count back in at 8:51. This was complete garbage and typical Moolah, where you had to work “her” match or nothing. -**

Back at the studio, Peggy Sue shows up and Moolah storms off in disgust.

WWF Women’s tag team title: The Glamor Girls v. The Jumping Bomb Angels

From MSG on 11.24.87, just a couple of days before the Survivor Series. We immediately go FAST with Tateno flying around the ring with a backflip and double forearm on Kai, and then Yamazaki comes in with a slam on Kai for two. They do more flying double-teams in the corner and the Glamor Girls retreat. Over to Judy Martin and she slams Tateno, but she immediately bridges out and slams Martin in return. Over to Yamazaki who hits Martin with a monkey flip and a sunset flip for two as they are just going bang-bang-bang with the moves, keeping in mind this was only a couple of months after the plodding mess that we just watched with Moolah. Leilani with a fireman’s carry on Yamazaki and looks to try a GTS, but Yamazaki lands on her feet and it’s back to Tateno, who goes to work on the leg. Yamazaki misses a senton from the middle rope, and the champs go to work in the corner as Martin tosses her across the ring and chokes her out on the ropes. Martin steps on her throat as the crowd is HOT for this one, but Yamazaki gets a sunset flip off the middle rope while the ref is distracted. Kai slugs her down and goes to a headscissors on the mat, but she misses a legdrop and it’s back to Martin before the tag can be made. The Girls switch off behind the ref’s back and trade chinlocks on Yamazaki, but she comes back with a crossbody for two and the Girls cut her off again. Martin with a powerbomb attempt, but Yamazaki reverses that to a sunset flip for two and then we get a false tag with the ref distracted again. Leilani slams her for two, but Yamazaki bridges out of the pin and gets another sunset flip for two. Martin slugs her down and Kai comes in with a Sharpshooter, but Yamazaki makes the ropes while Tateno comes in to break it up for good measure. Another sunset flip gets two, but Kai puts her down with a kneestrike for two. She keeps bridging out of the pin and finally the Glamor Girls collide and it’s HOT TAG Tateno. She hits Kai with a dropkick and brings Martin in with a crossbody for two, and then goes up with a flying clothesline for two. Kai actually boots the ref to break up the pin, and it’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA, but the Angels miss a double dropkick before regrouping and ramming the Glams together. They both go up with a stereo missile dropkick on Kai, but the ref is distracted and it only gets two. And then Martin powerbombs Tateno behind the ref’s back and Kai gets the pin to retain at 14:00. The crowd was absolutely losing their mind for this and it was AWESOME. ****. That double dropkick spot alone was state of the art for 1987. Also I probably got the Angels mixed up because they didn’t even attempt to call them by their names here, but such is life.

Back at the studio, Mean Gene laughs at what a clown Jimmy Hart is, and Peggy Sue gets all personally offended for some reason. Also she accuses Mean Gene of checking out her rack.

WWF Women’s tag team title: The Glamor Girls v. The Jumping Bomb Angels

This is of course the rematch from the Royal Rumble, and we’re joined with Martin working on Yamazaki in the corner. Martin with a release powerbomb for the first fall. Second fall sees Yamazaki come back with a sunset flip for the pin to even it up. And the final fall ends with the Angels hitting the stereo missile dropkick to end it at 3:00 shown. And that was the last we heard of those tag team titles.

Back at the studio, Mean Gene introduces new Women’s champion Sherri Martel, again spreading the lie that Moolah had been champion for “28 years”. They LITERALLY opened this tape with Moolah winning the title in 1985!

WWF Women’s title: Fabulous Moolah v. Sherri Martel

From Houston, as we’re joined with Moolah dragging Sherri to the floor, where Sherri comes back with a slam on the floor. Moolah gets her own slam and tosses Sherri out of the other side of the ring. But then she tries a slam and Sherri reverses to the cradle for the pin and the title at 1:40 shown. Sherri was initially positioned as a babyface but quickly switched to a heel and Moolah had to be play underdog babyface for the rematches, and that sure didn’t work.

Back at the studio, Moolah returns to yell at Sherri about having her title “stolen”, and rips off the wig from Peggy Sue, although I won’t spoil the shocking reveal here in case you decide to watch.

WWF Women’s title: Sherri Martel v. Fabulous Moolah

This is the rematch, also in Houston, from a couple of months later. And we get the nightmare commentary team of Bruce Prichard, Duke Doherty and Mike McGuirk on commentary as a bonus. Sherri attacks in the corner and Moolah hits her with hair-tosses to chase her out of the ring, and then brings her back in with a pair of catapults. God she’s still working the same shitty match even after losing the title. Sherri takes her down and works the leg, but Moolah gets a monkey flip as the fans don’t really know who they’re cheering for here. Moolah goes for the arm and Sherri takes her down and goes after the leg again, but Moolah chokes her out on the ropes and it’s same shit over and over from her. Sherri wasn’t exactly a state of the art worker but at least she was able to work a match with someone born after World War II if needed. Sherri tries a crossbody and misses, and Moolah gets two off that and takes her down with a flying headscissors for two. Moolah with a slam for two, as you can see the distinct Moolah Method that she drilled into all her girls where you always kind of fall on top of someone with the cover for some reason. It was a weird quirk and EVERYONE she trained had to do it the same way for some reason. Moolah misses a charge and Sherri runs her into the corner and gets the pin to retain at 6:53. Just another terrible Moolah borefest as Sherri got gobbled up completely. ½*

WWF Women’s title: Sherri Martel v. Desiree Petersen

From MSG, and Petersen is introduced from Edmonton, which I did not realize. Since we’re into 1988, Sherri is fully morphed into a heel now, and she has some wardrobe issues after the introductions, and then she fakes a handshake and attacks Desiree. Petersen gets a crossbody for two and goes to the arm, but Sherri slams out of that while using the hair and then clobbers her from behind. Desiree comes back with the Moolah slam for two and takes her down with an armbar and then takes Sherri over for two. Sherri slugs her down and puts her down with a facejam, but Petersen gets a jackknife cradle for two. Desiree with a dropkick for two, and another Moolah slam gets two. I just can’t unsee it now. Sherri runs her into the corner as even the announcers are wondering why they’re having such trouble getting on the same page here. Sherri boots her down and tosses her, but Desiree fights back in, and they clothesline each other for a double down. Desiree whips her into the corner and Sherri seems to try a crossbody and botches the spot, and then just slams her down on a hairpull and pins her instead at 7:37 to retain. I don’t know what the hell was going on with this one but it was all over the place. ¼*

And we wrap it up with Sherri promising to never lose the title.

Well we had one classic match here with the Angels in MSG, and that’s basically enough for a thumbs up, I’d say, but the rest is less “Women of the WWF” and more “Fabulous Moolah hangs around too long”. This definitely could have used more of a focus on the newer generation, but it’s not bad for what it is.