WWE Vintage Collection TV Report #30 – December 28^th, 2008

Shown on Sky Sports in the U.K.

By Stephen Lyon.

This Week: A ‘WWF Wrestlefest 1995’ Coliseum Video special, with WWF tv taping matches from Spring 1995. Jeff Jarrett headlined this television show, in a unique match vs Razor Ramon, with the Roadie (BG James) in a shark cage hoisted above the ring. Other matches included Shawn Michaels vs Tom Pritchard, The Smoking Gunns vs Men On A Mission, and Bob Holly & Alundra Blayze vs Hakushi & Bull Nakano. 

Clearly Jeff Jarrett isn’t banned from WWE tv, and isn’t being erased from WWE history, despite his involvement in TNA.

Introduction:

Mean Gene Okerlund opened the show. This week, every matches aired came from a variety of WWF television tapings from Spring 1995, and were all featured on the ‘Wrestlefest ‘95’ Coliseum Video release.

1) Shawn Michaels defeated Tom Pritchard (w/Jimmy Del Ray & Jim Cornette in his corner). This match was taped on May 16^th, 1995, and also aired on the May 27^th, 1995 edition of ‘WWF Superstars’. The announcers for this match were Vince McMahon and Dok Hendrix (the name that Michael Hayes was going by at the time). Michaels had only been a babyface for a month, after turning face the day after Wrestlemania XI on April 3^rd. A few days prior to this Pritchard match airing, Michaels had defeated King Kong Bundy in a ‘King of the Ring’ qualifying match on Monday Night Raw, and the announcers talked about this at the start of the match. Michaels was very over in front of the small tv taping crowd, and Vince was putting him over like crazy on commentary, calling him ‘controversial’, and ‘the most entertaining man in the WWF’. Michaels did his full entrance and stripper dance in the ring. Michaels started the match quickly, taking down Pritchard, then cockily slapping him and walking all over him. He slipped to the outside, took the tennis racquet from Jim Cornette, and nailed Cornette on the ass with it, which Cornette sold great.

Back in the ring, he backdropped Pritchard, then threw Del Ray and Cornette into each other on the outside. Michaels caught Pritchard’s foot as he was about to superkick him, but as he spun him around, Pritchard threw Michaels through the ropes and to the outside. Pritchard distracted the referee, as Del Ray posted Michaels, then gave him a swanton bomb off the ring apron. Del Ray threw Michaels back into the ring, where Pritchard placed Michaels in a Boston Crab. Michaels managed to break free, but sold his back. Michaels gave Pritchard a side suplex, then hit a flying forearm off the ropes. He slammed Dr. Tom, then gave him a top rope elbow drop. Michaels had him pinned, but Cornette distracted the referee. Michaels caught Del Ray coming off the top rope, and crotched him, then superkicked Pritchard for the pinfall win. This was a very good tv win for Michaels.

The announcers for the next four matches were Gorilla Monsoon (doing color commentary) and Stan Lane (handling play-by-play).

2) The Smoking Gunns defeated Men On A Mission. This match was taped on May 15^th, 1995, at the Monday Night Raw tv tapings in Binghamton, New York, and only aired on the ‘Wrestlefest ‘95’ Coliseum Video release. Before the match, Gene Okerlund narrated how the Smoking Gunns had retained the WWF Tag Team titles, defeating Men On A Mission earlier in the year, and how the loss had not sat well with M.O.M., who turned heel by attacking the Gunns after the match, and turning on their long time manager, Oscar, too. A clip aired of Men On A Mission apologising to the Gunns on ‘WWF Wrestling Challenge’ the following week (March 26^th, 1995 edition of ‘Wrestling Challenge’), only to turn on the Gunns again and leave them laying, fully cementing their heel turn, leading into this match.

Both Billy & Bart Gunn had tremendous matching ‘porn star’ mullets and moustaches, and wrestled in blue jeans and cowboy boots. Mabel had dyed his mohawk hairstyle a ‘Mr T’ black. This match largely sucked, so I’ll be somewhat brief in my description. Bart Gunn worked and sold for most of the match. The heels would double team Bart, and Billy would try to make the save, and/or tag in, and the referee wouldn’t see it or allow it. Meanwhile the heels would pretend to tag in and out, making the slapping noise behind the referee’s back without actually tagging. Darn those evil heels! Rinse, lather, repeat (ad nauseum). Finish came when Mabel legdropped Bart, stood on his chest, then missed a middle rope elbow drop. Billy finally made the hot tag and cleaned house. Mabel clotheslined both Billy & Bart, but then accidentally squashed Mo in the corner, and Billy rolled up Mo for the winning pin.

3) Bob Holly & Alundra Blayze (Madusa) defeated Hakushi & Bull Nakano (w/Shinja in their corner). Shinja was Akio Sato, one half of the ‘Orient Express’ tag team in 1990, who returned briefly as Hakushi’s manager, and wore an all white suit and white facepaint. This match was taped on March 13^th, 1995, at the Monday Night Raw tv tapings in Stockton, California, and only aired on the ‘Wrestlefest ‘95’ Coliseum Video release. This was a fast-paced match, and Stan Lane was actually allowed to call wrestling moves by their actual names, which made a refreshing change from nowadays. I never used to think Lane was much of an announcer back in the day, but on this show he was easier to listen to than Michael Cole is nowadays. The females started the match, with Blayze moonsaulting Nakano virtually straight away, and Nakano ‘hair-maring’ Alundra all over the ring.

Holly tagged in, and had a full head of shoulder length brown hair at this point, and was wearing a red ‘racing car’ wrestling singlet. Hakushi dominated Holly, giving him a springboard elbow drop in the corner. Blayze and Nakano traded near falls executing sunset flips on each other. Finish came when Nakano tripped Holly from the outside, then celebrated like a geek. Blayze attacked Nakano, and they brawled into the ring. Blayze and Holly then did simultaneous dives to the outside on to Nakano and Hakushi respectively. Back in the ring, Blayze gave Nakano a German suplex for the pinfall win. Afterwards they played Holly’s wonderfully cheesy ‘Sparky Plugg’ racing car theme music. Fun match.

4) WWF Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Jarrett (w/The Roadie in his corner) went to a double count out with Razor Ramon, in a match with The Roadie placed in a shark cage, suspended high above the ring. This match was taped on April 25^th, 1995, at the WWF Superstars tapings in Des Moines, Iowa, and only aired on the ‘Wrestlefest ‘95’ Coliseum Video release. The idea behind the Roadie (later ‘Road Dogg’, and now known as B.G. James in TNA) being placed in a cage above the ring was to prevent his interference in the match. Before the match, Razor Ramon took the mic and addressed the heels, saying, “Tonight, you go in the cage, and you get the Razors Edge.” The cage was lowered into the ring, but Roadie attacked Ramon before the bell. He held Ramon for a Jarrett clothesline, right in front of the open cage door, and wouldn’t you know it, Ramon moved and Jarrett clotheslined Roadie into the cage, prompting the referee, Danny Davis (late 1980s heel referee in WWF, now just ‘referee’), to lock the door and the cage was hoisted above the ring.

Roadie, wearing sunglasses, a bandana, and a black sweatshirt and sweatpants, with a picture of the cover of Jarrett’s new CD ‘With My Baby Tonight’ emblazoned on the front of his sweatshirt, sold that he was afraid of heights, and constantly pleaded for the cage to be lowered. Meanwhile in the ring, ‘Double J’ gave Ramon two dropkicks, then did his Jackie Fargo strut in the ring. Jarrett had long blonde hair here, and was wearing his classic multi-coloured ribboned ring outfit. Jarrett went for a sunset flip, but Ramon blocked it. Jarrett slowed things down and placed Ramon in a chinlock, but Ramon powered out of it and gave Jarrett a backslide, leading to a nearfall. Back from a commercial break, and Ramon clotheslined Jarrett, causing the referee to be bumped. The Roadie took the string out of his sweatpants, and threw it to Jarrett down below to use. Ramon caught him and the string flew outside the ring. Ramon gave Jarrett the Razors Edge as the referee revived, but on taking the bump, Jarrett bounced out of the ring. Ramon went after Jarrett, and the two brawled down the aisle, being counted out in a disappointing finish. Razor went back to the ring and got on the mic again, saying that Jarrett and the Intercontinental title could wait for another night, and that tonight, he ‘wanted a piece of the Roadie’s hind’.

At this point the cage holding the Roadie began to lower into the ring, and hilariously, after he’d spent the entire match wanting the cage to be lowered, Roadie was now begging for the cage to be raised again. Alas for him, it wasn’t, as Ramon opened the cage door and slammed it shut on Roadie’s head, then gave him a Razors Edge in the ring. Jarrett ran out to make the save, but Ramon threw both Roadie and Jarrett into the cage at the same time, then locked the door, and the cage was raised again, with both heels locked in the cage above the ring.   

Closing thoughts: Interesting and enjoyable show this week. The Michaels vs Pritchard, and Holly & Blayze vs Hakushi & Nakano matches were very good. Gunns vs M.O.M. sucked, but their matches sucked 13 years ago as well, so time wasn’t going to make much difference. Billy Gunn looked hilariously different (and a lot smaller) than he does nowadays. The main event was an enjoyable match until the ridiculous count-out finish. Couldn’t they have just made it a non-title match and had Razor pin Jarrett? It was a dark match for a Coliseum Video release, after all. Speaking of which, I bought this Wrestlefest ’95 release back in the day, just before I became a Wrestling Observer subscriber, and can remember how annoyed I was at the misleading video front cover, which featured a picture of Ramon slamming Jarrett, with the slogan ‘Razor Ramon vs Jeff Jarrett in a Steel Cage Intercontinental title match’. I’d bought the release thinking I was going to get a regular cage match between Ramon and Jarrett. Was this the only ‘bait and switch’ WWF video release ever? Things weren’t always so great years ago.    

Match Results:

1) Shawn Michaels defeated Tom Pritchard (w/Jim Cornette & Jimmy Del Ray in his corner) (Danbury, CT: 16/05/95).

2) The Smoking Gunns defeated Men On A Mission (Binghamton, NY: 15/05/95).

3) Bob Holly & Alundra Blayze defeated Hakushi & Bull Nakano (w/Shinja in their corner) (Stockton, CA: 13/03/95). 

4) WWF Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Jarrett went to a double count out with Razor Ramon (w/The Roadie suspended above the ring in a shark cage) (Des Moines, IA: 25/04/95).

Please note: I DO NOT sell DVDs or tapes of any of these shows. Sorry!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s report. For other reports like this one, be sure to check it out my website archive at http://www.classicwrestlingreports.com .

It’s no longer updated, but this website carries all of my previous WWE Classics tv reports that have been featured on the old WrestlingObserver.com website.

As always your questions, comments and thoughts are always welcomed, and you can contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Until next week, have a good week.

Stephen Lyon,
St Helens, England, U.K.