Bret Hart

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are doing commentary, taped from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect provide commentary for a new taping cycle in Lexington, Kentucky.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on May 19 and drew 7,000 fans.  That is less than half of Rupp Arena’s full capacity.

Vince McMahon moderates tonight’s panel, which features Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Hillbilly Jim, Bobby Heenan, and Mr. Perfect.  Heenan is happy that the Big Bossman was beat up on Superstars because the Bossman imprisoned an innocent man.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan take care of commentary, wrapping up the long taping in Niagara Falls, New York.

Crush’s match from Prime Time Wrestling is the first bout on the show.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps the Ultimate Warrior-Papa Shango feud.

WWE Attitude Era Unreleased DVD
Host: Corey Graves

So as you might be able to tell, this is a three disc collection of unreleased matches and segments from the Attitude Era. I did a similar set from the 80s/90s and absolutely loved it, but that is a time period I enjoy a bit more. I’m not sure what to expect here as I’ve tried to avoid the listings so I’m coming into this a bit blind. Let’s get to it.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are doing commentary for the third episode of the taping cycle in Niagara Falls, New York.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth for another episode from Niagara Falls, New York.  Heenan accuses WWF Champion Randy Savage of going AWOL prior to his interview on today’s program.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan handle commentary for a new set of television tapings.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, these took place in Niagara Falls, New York on April 28 and drew a crowd of 5,000 fans.  Lots of empty seats are seen in the upper deck of the venue.

Sid Justice has been removed from the show’s opening, signaling his departure from the company.

Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect are in the booth, beginning a new round of television tapings from Syracuse, New York.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on April 29 and drew a crowd of 4,500 fans.

Vince McMahon moderates tonight’s panel where Hacksaw Jim Duggan replaces Gorilla Monsoon.  Hillbilly Jim, Bobby Heenan, and Mr. Perfect resume their usual duties.  Duggan lets out a ton of “Hooo!” calls because he is excited to be in the studio.  Heenan hates Duggan being loud and orders him out.  Duggan picks up his 2×4 and almost comes after Heenan, stopped only by McMahon’s pleas to be civil.

The British Bulldog-Repo Man bout from Wrestling Challenge starts the broadcast.

The man lifted so much that he couldn’t pull his arms past this position at his sides. Naturally, he chose pro wrestling as a career. 

Welcome back to more Dream Matches! Have I got a wild assortment for you tonight! Mostly a bunch of odd matches starring wrestlers in their early “Jobber” phases, as we get Jim Duggan and the Pitbulls as jobbers! But we start off with a very “1986 WWF Match”, as Big John Studd has to get something out of rookie monster Ted Arcidi, a powerlifter so muscular he couldn’t even put his arms at his sides. Ted does NOT last long in wrestling… and you’re about to see why. This is advertised as “The Ultimate MuscleBear Match”, which is an interesting stipulation.

Then it’s a 1989 WWF match as the Hart Foundation takes on… the Pitbulls?! Yes, a true Dream Match! Except… it’s Durante & Wolfe as jobbers. Roided up jobbers. And come see Hulk Hogan in the WWWF take on future “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan as a Skinny-Fat jobber in 1982! Then it’s over to NWA-TNA as I look into the bizarre JTTS Altar Boy Luke, and he’s up as a jobber against Crash Holly himself- Mad Mikey! And finally it’s WCW goodness as Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff & Roma) vs. UNCLE FRED and “The latest jobber with a push” Mark Starr!

THE ULTIMATE MUSCLEBEAR MATCH:
BIG JOHN STUDD vs. TED ARCIDI:
(WWF TV, April 25th 1986)
* Yes, the video is titled just that! Presumably this is not how WWF advertised it, but the ’80s were a different time and I won’t judge. Studd is one of the top heels in the company- a 6’7″-ish giant feuding with Andre and other big guys, while Arcidi is a powerlifter hired on for his absolutely massive frame and credibility (the first man to bench press 700 lbs.), but he’s gone on to become an infamous example of bad wrestling. I’ve actually never seen him wrestle before, and couldn’t pick him out of a lineup of lifters. He’s in a teeny red singlet to show off his build, while Studd’s in the usual white tights.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, still taped from Toledo, Ohio.

Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect handle commentary, still taped from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

While the opening theme music of the show stays the same, new footage is added in to reflect the roster and the end of WrestleMania VIII.  There are also new, updated graphics in dark blue and red colors.  This is also when the show changes its name to WWF Superstars versus the longer WWF Superstars of Wrestling because the WWF lost a lawsuit over the term “Superstars of Wresting” to promoter Albert Patterson.  That is why the current WWF archive on Peacock begins with this show, so you can use that as a supplement to follow these reviews.

Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect commentate another episode of Superstars, starting a new taping cycle in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on April 8.  McMahon gives Perfect an Easter basket.  Perfect says that the Ultimate Warrior has jellybeans for brains because of his decision to mess with Sid Justice.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth and they are live from Indianapolis, Indiana.  This would be Monsoon’s last WrestleMania as a commentator, passing the torch to Jim Ross the following year.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, 62,167 fans attended and, in a bad sign for the company, more than 15,000 free tickets were distributed to pack the venue.  The buyrate for the show was 2.30 (390,000 estimated buys).  This continued a decline in pay-per-view buys for WrestleMania as the previous year’s edition had a 2.80 buyrate (400,000 buys).

Country music star Reba McIntyre sings the national anthem, departing from “America the Beautiful” that was typical fare for WrestleMania musical performances.  When she finishes, Heenan cracks that McIntyre did a great performance for El Matador’s sister, arguing that her name is “Arriba McIntyre.”

The venue is a significant upgrade over the previous year’s use of the Los Angeles Sports Arena, giving the card a “big fight” atmosphere.  The entrance has also been upgraded to have colorful vertical lights on each side of a black curtain with the WWF symbol at the top.  The one puzzling layout decision is that the company opts not to use mechanized ring carts to transport talent to the ring even though there is a long journey to make from the locker room to the ring.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan handle commentary for this episode that aired on WrestleMania Sunday.  They are taped from Biloxi, Mississippi.

The program begins with footage of Hulk Hogan defeating the Iron Sheik in 1984 for the WWF Championship.

Vince McMahon hosts the program from a studio.  The matches on this show were filmed in Biloxi, Mississippi on March 10.

A replay of the Hulk Hogan-Andre the Giant match from WrestleMania III airs.  The commentary is redubbed with Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan because Jesse Ventura had sued the WWF over royalties from his commentary on past broadcasts.

Vince McMahon moderates a one-hour episode of Prime Time Wrestling.  Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Mr. Perfect are on the panel with a new guest, Hillbilly Jim.  McMahon says that he has heard Hulk Hogan is taking time off after WrestleMania to make a film and spend time with his family and that Hogan will probably return soon after.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth for the last show of the West Palm Beach, Florida taping cycle.

Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect do commentary, broadcasting the final episode of the Tampa, Florida tapings.