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“On the Marc” Best of the WWF, vol. 5 Review

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This was released sometime in 1986, I think.

This is the fifth installment in this series, released by Coliseum Home Video (the old VHS collection of the WWF). They put a series of eclectic matches from the time period. Some of the matches are clipped because they are far too long to fit on a VHS tape (remember they only lasted about two hours running time on SP [Standard Play], which all video releases were).

Gene Okerlund hosts the video from “video control” in the WWF Event Center.

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. Magnificent Muraco (w/Mr. Fuji):   This takes place on November 25, 1985 at MSG; Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura are on commentary. Pre-match, Jesse and Gorilla go through the “would you buy a used car from Fuji” line they always go through. There is a storyline here between these two; Muraco hung Steamboat by his black belt over the top rope on syndicated WWF television. They finally lock up and Muraco gets a standing side headlock; Steamboat fires him off and scores with a reverse enziguri sending Muraco to the floor. Steamboat chases him back into the ring; they lock up again and Muraco gets shoved into the corner. He gets a few shots in and drops a knee. Steamboat snapmares him over and hits a Hennig neck snap. He gets the clapping bell ringer and Muraco tumbles to the floor and stalls a bit. Back in the ring, Muraco tries to get Ricky to calm down, Steamboat gets a side kick and then wrenches in a neck crank; Muraco use an elbow to break the hold but Ricky comes back with an elbow to the gut. Steamboat chops him in the face and Muraco retreats again. Back in the ring, Muraco still cannot get anything going, as Steamboat backdrops him and cinches in a few arm drags, then settles into a reverse chinlock and maintains it for a while. Steamboat segues into a chinlock with a knee to the back; Muraco comes back so Steamboat grabs him by the snout and applies a standing front facelock; some clipping moves forward in the front facelock, so it must have gone on for a while. Muraco inverted atomic drops and clotheslines him to break; he punches away and rams Ricky’s head into the buckle. He runs him cross-corner into the ringpost, busting him open, Muraco works the cut with knee drops and bites his forehead; Muraco digs at the wound with his thumb and tosses him to the floor. Gorilla and Jesse believe the referee should check the cut for Steamboat’s safety. On the floor, Muraco slingshots Steamboat into the ringpost; the commentators sell this as possible the worst thing ever seen in wresting. Steamboat gets tossed into the steel steps; he stumbles around on the floor and makes it to the apron where Muraco slingshots him back into the ring. Muraco viciously works over the cut; Steamboat gets a few weak chops in but they begin to build up and begins to rattle Muraco. The comeback is cut off by a reverse whip and a clothesline. He continues the punishment with elbows to the face and then chucks him through the ropes onto the announce table; Mr. Fuji tries to nail him with his cane but Steamboat blocks, Muraco grabs the cane from the ring and drags Steamboat in by it. Muraco and Steamboat battle for the cane and the referee gets wiped in the equation. Muraco grabs the cane tries to skewer Steamboat with it; he avoids and hits another reverse enziguri causing Muraco to drop the cane. Steamboat grabs the cane as the referee revives, the Dragon beats on him with it and the referee sees it and disqualifies Steamboat giving Muraco the win. Post-match, Steamboat breaks the cane over Muraco’s head, busting him open; Steamboat, full of rage, tosses the referee aside and digs the broken cane into Muraco’s wound. The referee finally pulls the Dragon off of Muraco. Muraco reenters the ring and they continue to fight onto the floor where Muraco is rammed into the post. Fuji tries to get Muraco out of there but he still wants some of Steamboat and they continue to fight in the ring. Muraco finally has had enough and slips under the ropes and heads to the locker room. 7.5/10 Good match; this is what you call a blood feud; the out-of-control post-match brawl is why the fans will pay to see a rematch. Well booked match with storyline and brawl; plus Muraco won so nothing was settled as far as the fans’ are concerned. The match was good as well as no one can elicit a sympathy reaction quite like Ricky can.

Killer Bees vs. Hart Foundation (w/Jimmy Hart):   Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura are on commentary; I think this was a WWF syndicated television match. Bret Hart and B. Brian Blair start off and Bret sneaks in a knee; Blair comes back with a powerslam. Neidhart runs in and eats a bodyslam and then Blair atomic drops Bret into the Anvil. Blair tags in Jim Brunzell and works the arm. Bret tries a slam but Brunzell scoots into a sunset flip for two; Brunzell continues the arm work with an armbar. Hart fires him off and hits an elbow to the face and tags in Neidhart who applies a standing side headlock; Brunzell frees himself but runs into a bearhug. Ventura and Monsoon discuss Jesse’s match next week on television (further leading me to believe this was a televised match). Brunzell rings the bell to escape and tags in Blair; Neidhart fires him into the ropes and Bret gets his apron knee to the back to give the advantage back to the Harts. The Anvil tosses Brian into Bret’s boot and they work him over; the Hitman hits a backbreaker and drops a leg. Hart ties Blair in the ropes but misses a running splash; Neidhart is bewildered. Brunzell comes in and hits an elbow on Bret, then knocks Neidhart down, but he still recovers fast enough to break up the pinfall. Jumping Jim hits his dropkick but Neidhart breaks up the pinfall again. A mêlée ensues and all four men brawl; Brunzell goes flying out of the ring as the bell rings for a double disqualification. Post-match the two teams continue to fight on the floor. They reenter the ring and the Bees clear the ring. 4/10 Good main event television match with no clear-cut winner so they can feud on the house show circuits.

Killer Bees & “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs. Hart Foundation & Barry O (w/Jimmy Hart):   Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino are on commentary so this match may have been on WWF Superstars. Barry O(rton) is the brother of Bob Orton and also Randy Orton’s uncle; he was essentially a television jobber. We start early in the match with Blair caught in the heel corner and Brunzell and Orndorff coming over to help. Paul Orndorff chases Jimmy Hart under the ring; the referee gets the babyfaces back into their corner and Bret gets a backbreaker. Bret keeps Blair in their corner and tags in Barry O, who looks like an Orton with a mullet who stole Lance Storm’s old ECW tights; he immediately allows the hot tag to Orndorff. He cleans house on the Harts and Barry; he hits a leaping elbow smash. Orndorff tags in Brunzell and whips Barry into a bearhug, which Brunzell dropkicks Barry O out of the sky for the three count. 3.5/10 Short rematch that gives the babyfaces a win; why the Harts picked Barry O as their partner is beyond me since he was a jobber. The JIP doesn’t clip much as the match had just begun where it picked up.

WWF Tag Team Championship Greg “The Hammer” Valentine & Brutus Beefcake(w/Luscious Johnny Valiant) vs. British Bulldogs:   This is a television main event as Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino are on commentary again. Brutus and Valentine were known as the Dream Team but that name hadn’t been established yet despite them being champions; this match took place shortly following their title win and may have been their first defense against a non-jobber team. Dynamite Kid starts off with Valentine and they run the ropes with the quicker Dynamite knocking the Hammer down with a shoulderblock. They lock up again and the heels try some chicanery but Dynamite uses his speed to avoid it and tags in Davey Boy; Beefcake also receives a tag. Davey Boy controls the arm, Bruti tries a bodyslam but Davey holds the arm and arm drags him through the slam. The Bulldogs exchange and Dynamite comes off the top with a sledge; they quick tag on Beefcake’s arm. Davey Boy utilizes a hammerlock; Beefcake uses the eye rake to counter, he tries to backdrop him but Davey flips over the back, lands on his feet, and dropkicks him. Valentine tries to get involved and eats a dropkick as well. Smith hits a gutwrench slam but Valentine breaks up the pinfall. Valentine gets a tag and they hit double standing elbows for two; the Hammer misses an elbow drop and Dynamite receives a tag. He rams the champ’s heads together and hits a backbreaker; the referee takes forever to make the count, for two. He hits a falling head-butt; Beefcake interferes, so Davey Boy wipes him out. Dynamite heads to the top for the swandive head-butt but Johnny Valiant pushes him off the top right in front of the referee out of desperation to save the title and give the Bulldogs the DQ victory. 7/10 Good match that served its purpose and gives the Bulldogs a win but not the titles; intelligently, they’d make us pay for that victory.

Mr. Fuji and the Magnificent Muraco star in Fuji General a Tuesday Night Titans scripted soap opera. Like a good heel, Muraco complains about the script, actors, director and set to compensate for his non-acting abilities. Muraco is in scrubs as is Fuji (with derby). Muraco’s deliberate cue card reading awful acting is hysterical. The director complains about non-finesse; he wants tenderness and love. Dr. Fuji is awesome, period. He has his bowtie on. It goes on a little long as Dr. Fuji and Dr. Muraco talk to a patient. They keep looking at the camera. The sick patient looks like Barry Horowitz. The director continues to yell at Muraco for not acting. Fuji, Muraco, the director and the other two actors get into a huge argument as the director rips up the script. Vince McMahon and Lord Alfred Hayes and the studio audience are laughing. Alfred is rolling around on his couch. 5.5/10 The segment ran a little long but the stuff with “Dr. Fuji” was hysterical. As Shawn Michaels eloquently put it… “I LOVE Mr. Fuji!”

WWF Women’s Championship Wendi Richter (w/Cyndi Lauper) vs. Leilani Kai (w/The Fabulous Moolah):   This looks to be from MSG with Gorilla Monsoon and Gene Okerlund on commentary, Dave Wolff joins them as he always does when Cyndi is at ringside. The match is joined shortly after the match begins; Kai hits a stalling butterfly suplex for a two count. Kai hits a snapmare and a legdrop. Richter comes back with a knee to the gut; Leilani comes back but Richter avoids a charge and Kai sails to the floor. Moolah tends to her and Wendi takes a swipe at her. Richter suplex-slams her back into the ring for a nearfall; Wendi applies a bow-and-arrow surfboard. The referee ignores the fact that Richter’s shoulders were down for about a twenty count, even Gorilla notices it and admonishes him. Wendi switches to the stump-puller version of the surfboard. We clip forward to Richter holding Leilani in an armbar, which goes on for a while. She fires her off but telegraphs a backdrop and Leilani boots her in the face. Kai continues the assault with a front facelock, which the commentators insist is a choke hold. Leilani, in her blue and white polka dots, tries a boot but Richter catches it and flips her back for two. Richter hits a high knee and a knee lift for two; Wendi tries a diving Flash Back and gets yet another nearfall. Richter gets a slam near the ropes but Moolah goes after Lauper on the floor and chokes her. Richter and Dave Wolff try and separate them; Moolah gives Richter a shot sending her reeling into a Leilani Kai backside for three and the title (despite the cameraman MISSING the pinfall, showing us the downed Cyndi Lauper instead). Post-match, Moolah stomps on Richter a few times and celebrates with Kai. 5.5/10 The match was not that bad and the title change was rather famous, but not as infamous as the next match…

WWF Women’s Championship Wendi Richter vs. The Spider:   This match is the “original screwjob” and it is rather pretentious of Vince McMahon to include it on the tape. Vince demanded Wendi Richter sign a new contract right before this match with the Spider (the Fabulous Moolah under a mask in an all-black leotard); she refused so McMahon had this match all set up with a screwjob ending. The referee and Moolah were in on it. Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura are the commentators. Richter gets on the apron and shoulderblocks the Spider from there; she reenters the ring and hits a dropkick. Richter tries a flying head scissors but the Spider drops her and gets a two count. Spider boots her and rams her into the turnbuckles a few times. Gorilla mentions the referee is very “tentative”, which makes me wonder if the commentators knew of the impending screwjob, as they are very rare and usually only known by very few people beforehand. Spider yanks her hair and Richter chokes her in the ropes; the Spider was going off-script at some point here. Richter gets a flying clothesline for two. The Spider tries a sloppy inside cradle for a legit one count but the referee counts three anyway and gives the title to the Spider. The bell rings and the commentators are baffled. Post-match, Richter is slow to realize what has happened to her grabs the Spider and rips the mask off reveling it to be in face Moolah. Richter attacks her and hits a backbreaker and tries a pinfall. The referee presents the title to Moolah and now Richter realizes what has happened. Howard Finkel announces the winner and new champion as “the Spider? The Fabulous Moolah?” Richter attacks her again with the belt and Moolah shoot-fights herself free. Richter stares at the backstage area and tosses the belt down in disgust. 7/10 The match wasn’t much but the non-kayfabe storyline that was involved made it highly interesting to watch. Apparently, Richter said that she thought something fishy may happen during the match. Well it sure took her a while post-bell to her to figure it out that she’d been screwed.

WWF Intercontinental Championship Tito Santana vs. Jesse “The Body” Ventura:   If you ever wondered why Jesse called Santana “Chico” on commentary this match would been its genesis. Gorilla Monsoon and Billy Red Lyons are the broadcasting team; I’m thinking this is from the Maple Leaf Gardens, judging by the entrance ramp and Lyons’ presence as Toronto is his stomping grounds. Ventura bitches to the referee about Tito’s clenched fists; it is weird seeing Jesse in a match ever, he has Hulk Hogan’s blonde skullet here. For such a flamboyant colorful dresser, he sure has some drab long black plain wrestling tights on. Jesse gives Santana a clean break on the ropes; they continue to play clean break psyche-jobs. Jesse controls with a standing wristlock; Tito counters into a hammerlock so Ventura runs to the ropes. Gorilla confirms the location on commentary; he also reveals that this is a syndicated television match. Jesse applies an arm wringer and continues to badmouth Santana calling him “Chico”; Tito reverses the hold. Ventura fires him into the ropes and shoulderblocks him twice; he wrenches up a side headlock. Jesse drops down and delivers a low knee to Tito’s “gut” to get the advantage. Ventura works Tito over with stomps and boots; nice Greco-Roman bootlace eye rake by Jesse. He jabs Santana with a few jabs to the throat and chucks him to the floor where he lands on one of the ring barricade crossbars. Ventura keeps nailing Tito preventing him from reentering the ring; Jesse joins him on the floor and rams his back into the ring apron. Back in the ring, Ventura taunts the crowd. Jesse chokes in the ropes but breaks on four; Santana gets a few body blows but Ventura thumbs him in the eye. Jesse gives him a backbreaker for two; he hits an atomic drop for two as well. Ventura gets annoyed and kicks away at Tito’s midsection and clamps on a bearhug. One guess as to how Tito breaks free… RING THE BELL! Santana fires back with more body blows and is rather angry; Jesse begs off but Tito is having none of this shit and rams Ventura’s head into the mat several times. He connects on another body blow; Jesse always bumps on his side, I guess the back injury was catching up to him. Tito slaps on the figure-four leglock but Jesse makes the ropes instantly and retreats to the entrance ramp. Santana follows him onto the ramp and they battle until referee John Bonello counts both of them out. Post-match, Tito tries to draw Jesse back into the ring and finish it; the Body tells Bonello to get lost and reenters the ring and gets his ass kicked. Tito chases him to the locker room. 4/10 Kind of boring in the middle while Jesse is on offense; I’m guessing because he was semi-retires and his back was rapidly degenerating. Santana was the ultimate babyface, especially here when he was the IC champ; too bad most recent memories of him were jobbing to the bigger stars in the late 80’s early 90’s, he was quite the talent when he was younger.

Chief Jay Strongbow, Rocky Johnson, Ivan Putski & André the Giant vs. Big John Studd & The Wild Samoans three-out-of-five falls:   This rare three-out-of-five falls match is from the Spectrum in Philly and the broadcasters are Dick Graham and Gorilla Monsoon. There are three Samoans here and they are Afa, Sika and Samula. Rocky starts off with a Samula; Johnson fires him into the ropes and backdrops him and a dropkick. Afa runs in to try to back jump him but André scares him back to the corner. Afa receives a tag and grabs an armbar; Rocky shuffles his feet and mule kicks himself free. Studd gets a tag as does André so Studd retreats and tags in Sika; the Giant noggin-knocks them together (Sika sells because André the Giant automatically cancels out all pro wrestling stereotypes). Sika begs off but André head-butts him and gut smashes him; Strongbow gets a tag and slaps on a sleeper hold. The other two Samoans run in and distract the referee allowing Studd to break the sleeper with a sledge from behind. The Giant charges in and all Hell breaks loose; Strongbow receives a double head-butt from Samula and Afa while Putski stands there looking like an idiot. André head-butts Sika, entangling him in the ropes (that usually happens to André) the babyfaces ram all of the other Samoans into him and all of the heels collapse onto the floor. In the mêlée, ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta wanders into the ring; apparently the heel team is DQed so André, Putski, Strongbow and Johnson win the first fall. Kind of a cheap call there; Strongbow has to start the next fall against… someone. Samula gets the call and beats him in the corner. Sika tags in and head-butts the Chief; he drops a falling head-butt and gets a three count on Strongbow allowing John Studd and the Samoans win the second fall. Gorilla credits the double head-butt earlier for Strongbow’s demise. Sika and Strongbow start the third fall and kicks the crap out of Chief; Sika tries to run the ropes but André boots him from the apron and Strongbow falls atop for another pinfall and really quickly André, Putski, Strongbow and Johnson win the third fall. A huge brawl erupts between falls. Putski has not been legally in the match and three falls have happened; Cappetta must be getting tired running up and down the ring steps so often… Gorilla makes that exact same observation as I type it. Okay, the fourth fall starts with Strongbow and Sika (funny there hasn’t been a legal tag in two falls). Strongbow finally tags Putski in and he beats the crap out of any Samoan moving. He gets rapid-fire headlock punches on Sika and rams him into Afa. Putski takes an eye rake from Afa and the original Samoans hit double chops. Samula comes in and the Samoans double head-butt him… right into the corner and he tags André; now the “fit” is going to hit the “shan”. The Giant lays out all three Samoans as Studd wanders around on the floor. Big John finally gets back on the apron just in time to nail André from behind. Samula tries to hit a second rope crossbody but André boots him out of the sky and sits on him for three enabling André, Putski, Strongbow and Johnson win the fourth fall and the match. Post-match a huge brawl erupts and the babyfaces clear the ring. 7/10 Despite the falls coming in rapid succession the match was a fun crazy “mayhem breaking out” brawl. André is the closer and gets the final fall.

OVERALL 7/10 Another good tape as they all have been good or at least entertaining thus far; this edition features the “original screwjob” (which is a rare piece of footage that most people do not even know exists) there are some good matches here plus a rare Jesse Ventura match and the silly Fuji General skit. Steamboat, the Harts, the Bees, the Bulldogs and Muraco all delivered, making this a good “card”.


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