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This is from sometime in the mid-90’s according to WWEGreatestMatches.com. I wish there were a website that not only showed the Coliseum Videos but also the year they were released. It was on the website as part of the January 2012 theme (though it had no relation to the Viewer’s Choice theme) and it is good timing for me since I just finished reading Bret’s autobiography a few days ago.
Gorilla Monsoon is here to host this shindig.
-Bret Hart(c) vs. Bam Bam Bigelow for the WWE Title-
This was recorded in North Carolina, probably for a Superstars taping, on March 8th, 1993. All of the information I have is from historyofthewwe.com for those wondering. Jim Ross, Randy Savage and Bobby Heenan are calling the action here. Bret mentioned Bigelow briefly in his book and it appears that Bret did enjoy working with him. Bigelow charges at Hart and Hart ducks out of the way – ending up with Bigelow smashing his own face into the mat. They lock up and Bigelow shoves Hart aside because he is bigger and stronger than the champ. Bigelow shoulderblocks Hart who falls to the outside. Bigelow misses an elbowdrop in the ring and Hart works the arm. Bigelow tries a military press but Hart falls on top of Bigelow for two. Bret crawls to the outside making me wonder if Bigelow was just supposed to press slam him to the apron and out. Hart elbows Bigelow who falls to the outside. Bret follows and tries an axehandle from the apron but Bigelow catches him and posts his back. Bigelow slows things down by working Bret’s back in the ring, even dropping a headbutt to the small of the back. Bret is sent hard into the corner a few times and then puts Bret in a body-vice over his shoulder. Bret is almost out but he gets free and gets a back suplex that knocks them both out. Bigelow is up first and does a nice tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee. Bigelow heads upstairs but misses on a flying headbutt. Bret fights back and pounds on Bigelow in the corner. Bret’s side Russian legsweep gets two. A clothesline off the second rope also gets two. He continues with a bulldog off the second rope. Bret tries to put Bigelow in the Sharpshooter but Bigelow is able to kick him off. Bigelow catches Bret with a bearhug but Bret bites his way out of it. Bret tries another back suplex only to have Bigelow fall on top of him for two. Bret is sent to the corner but blocks a charge with a boot to the face. He goes to the top and gets a victory roll on Bigelow which gets the pinfall at 13:45. This was a fun match, with Bret selling the back against his bigger opponent and showing the guile and wrestling ability needed to defeat him. ***.
-Bret Hart vs. Blake Beverly(w/ The Genius)-
This was from Primetime Wrestling that aired on October 12th, 1992, though it was recorded on September 22nd. Blake starts with an armdrag and some sauntering. Blake tries an O’Connor’s roll but Bret blocks by holding onto the ropes and awkwardly leaps onto Blake for two. Blake comes right back with a reverse chinlock. Bret breaks and manages to monkey flip Blake out of the corner. Heenan complains about the name of the move asking, “when was the last time a monkey did that? They should call it a human flip.” I miss Heenan. Hart comes off the ropes but the Genius trips him up. Referee Earl Hebner sees this but declines to ring the bell, ring the fucking bell and instead just tosses the Genius to the back. Blake catches Bret with a backbreaker and a headbutt for two. Blake puts Bret in a bearhug and that about describes his offense for the night. Thankfully Heenan is on commentary talking about midget tag wrestling. Blake misses a splash in the corner and Hart is able to slam Blake’s face into the mat thanks to a handful of hair. Bret backdrops Blake and clotheslines him down. The side Russian legsweep gets two. Bret puts Blake in the Sharpshooter but as he does Beau walks out. He distracts the ref as Bret has the move on Blake. Bret releases it to knock Beau off but gets blindsided by Black who axe-handles him in the back and covers for the pinfall at 9:49. Sgt. Slaughter comes out and tells the referee to reverse the decision and now Bret has won via disqualification. Blake was in no position to go 10-minutes with Hart and not even Hart could carry that dead weight. *1/2.
-Bret Hart(c) vs. Fatu (w/Afa) for the WWE Title-
This is from the March 1st, 1993 episode of Raw and I reviewed it on the Monday Night Raw Seasons 1 & 2 DVD, and that review has been pasted here. Bret had been the champion since around November and this match, against the wrestler who would become Rikishi, showed that Bret was a fighting champion. The original commentary has been re-recorded by Heenan, Savage and Savage. Here’s your interesting tidbit – Fatu’s stomach scar was the result of a drive-by shooting in 1987. Hart’s early crossbody is caught by Fatu and Hart is slammed down. Hart takes him over and starts working over the arm. Hart fakes a knee injury and schoolboys Fatu in the confusion. There’s a cool spot with Hart rolling through a bodyslam to keep on the arm of Fatu. Hart slams Fatu’s head into the mat but he’s Samoan so he no-sells and superkicks the hell out of Hart for two. That was almost the Goldberg Special. Fatu controls as Samu makes his way to ringside. Hart hits a crossbody for two but on the kick-out Hart is sent outside. This allows Samu to attack Hart while the ref is distracted by Afa. Samu bodyslams him on the floor and sends him into the steps. The cut Bret had on his nose coming into the match has been opened as Fatu continues getting near-falls. Fatu hits a nice piledriver for two. Hart goes sternum first into the corner and Fatu gets a two-count from that. A side suplex from Fatu leads to a second-rope head-drop for two. Fatu heads upstairs but Bret gets up and he superplexes him off the second rope for two. A running bulldog should have no effect but it does and Bret covers for two. Bret hits a backbreaker and follows with a second rope elbow. Bret locks on a Sharpshooter but Samu attacks from behind. He rolls Fatu out of the ring and Samu covers for two. The Headshrinkers do another switch so Bret sends the two into each other; Samu gets hung between the top two ropes, Afa is dropkicked off the apron and Bret locks on a Sharpshooter to end this at 12:54. This was quite an exciting match and Bret carried Fatu to a great match. This showed that Bret could work with anyone during this time and have great matches with anyone given the time. ***1/2.
-Bret Hart(c) vs. Shawn Michaels (w/Sensational Sherri) for the WWE Intercontinental Title-
This is from Syracuse, New York, the same place where Shawn would get beat up by 2-15 Marines and cause him to “drop” the title to Dean Douglas. This match took place a few years before that incident, on April 29th, 1992. This also makes an appearance on the newest Bret vs. Shawn DVD that I will be reviewing sometime in 2012. The team of Gorilla Monsoon and Jim Ross (which is an interesting duo) joke about Hart’s family dinners and how Helen probably never went through the Express Line of 12 items or less. Michaels pulls Hart down by the hair after an armbar but Hart kips up. I wonder if Shawn stole that from Hart? Shawn tries a hammerlock but Hart charges the ropes and ducks down in time to send Shawn hurtling to the outside. Bret pulls Shawn in and is sent to the corner but Shawn flips over Bret, a move that is obscured by Sherri’s head. She was standing right in front of the floor camera. It’s funny to hear Ross and Monsoon call these guys the wrestler’s of the 90’s and how right they’d be, at least for the period between 1992 and 1997. Shawn sends Bret hard to the corner and Shawn starts stomping away. Sherri gets in a cheap shot behind the referee’s back, too. Shawn connects with a high knee for two. Somewhere a young Paul Levesque was watching this match thinking that’s a move he should add to his repertoire. Bret frees himself from a chinlock but runs into a super kick. This was still a good year before that was his finisher and even longer before it was called Sweet Chin Music. Shawn goes for his teardrop suplex but Bret blocks. Bret is sent to the corner but blocks and leaps at Shawn from the second turnbuckle with a clothesline. Hart gets an atomic drop (which Shawn sells well) and a clothesline to the back of Shawn’s head for two. A backbreaker sets up the second-rope elbow for two. Bret should’ve hooked the leg. Bret complains about the officiating (a common theme in Bret/Shawn matches) which allows Shawn a chance to revive. Bret gets a sleeper and Shawn escapes to the outside, sending both guys out. Shawn makes it back to the ring but Bret is pulled on the apron by Sherri. Shawn elbows Bret off into the barricade (that was some bump) and Bret is counted out at 8:52. Of course, the title doesn’t change hands on a count-out. Why would you show this on a Bret video? I mean – he lost. Shawn takes out Joey Marella after the match because Joey tried to get the belt back. Bret returns to the ring and nails Michaels with it before dispatching him to the outside. At least Bret got his heat back. This was your average Primetime main event type match, with some good action but a bit too much on the rest-hold side of things. **1/2.
-The Bottom Line-
If you’ve waited a long time to watch Bret wrestle half of tag teams, then this is your tape! It’s an interesting tape because he’s not really wrestling anyone who would’ve been considered a main event threat at that time. There are other Bigelow matches on other DVD’s, the Fatu match is on the Raw: Seasons 1 & 2 DVD, the Blake match is one that is best forgotten and the Shawn match is available on the Shawn/Bret DVD. I’d take a pass on this tape since the only match that hasn’t been released anywhere on DVD is the Blake Beverly match, and the Beverly Brothers are no reason to EVER purchase ANY wrestling DVD.
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