Supertape Volume 2 Rant

[Guest Daredevil21]

Supertape Volume 2 Rant

 

         Back again with the second installment of the Supertape series, and thankfully, this one looks to be way better than the first tape.  The fact that no Bushwhackers match seems to be on here automatically makes this tape better in my eyes.  Nevertheless, let’s get right into the tape and see if it is actually that much better.

 

-  We get a shill for the Battle of the Superstars video from Coliseum Video.  I’m sure I’ll get around to that one soon enough.  I mean, a tape with Sean Mooney in army fatigues has got to be gold, right?

 

-  Speaking of the corporate tool, we seemed to have interrupted playtime, as he’s playing with a bunch of the old WWF Hasbro figures.  Since he doesn’t seem quite ready to start the show, he sends us to the Hasbro toy ads.

 

-  Two commercials; one featuring the figures, and the other, the ring.  Good memories.  Anyway, now that we have that out of our system, let’s get onto the actual program.

 

-  Sean is the host, and is once again in the Coliseum Video headquarters.  The running gimmick in this particular program, is that every time he says “Supertape,” a booming, echoing voice repeats it.  Yeah, that won’t get old fast.  We get a quick rundown of everything featured on the tape, and it looks like we’ve actually got some good stuff to work with this time around.

 

-  “Macho King”  Randy Savage vs.  “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan-  I guess this is their re-match from when Savage won the crown from Duggan.  This looks to be a dark match from a Saturday Night’s Main Event taping, which isn’t a good thing, since I can’t ever recall seeing a good dark match from a SNME taping.

 

Savage takes forever to disrobe while standing on his throne, so Duggan knocks it over, and they brawl on the outside.  Duggan sends Savage into the corner, followed by a clothesline, but only gets 2.  Sherri gets involved early, distracting Hacksaw, enabling Savage to attack him from behind, and throw him to the outside.  Macho Man follows up with a double axe-handle from the top rope to the outside.  Back in now, and Savage charges, but Duggan ducks, and flips Savage out.  Duggan goes for the cover, but Sherri once again gets involved, and breaks up the count.  Duggan chases Sherri around the ring, and we get a unpleasant panty shot (from Sherri, of course).  In a scenario that we would see countless times, Sherri loads her purse and hands it to Savage, who is able to knock Duggan out, while Sherri distracts the ref.  The pin should be academic here, but Duggan is able to kick out after 2.  Hacksaw hits the 3 point stance, but it sends Savage to the outside.  Duggan tries to suplex him back in, but Sherri grabs his foots and holds it down, while Savage puts his feet on the ropes for the pin at 9:11.  Well, if one cliché finish doesn’t work, another certainly will.  *¼.  Not a good thing, when the manager is the most involved person in the match.  Not exactly a SUPER start to this tape.  

 

-  Superstar Profile: The Rockers-  Well this sure is better than the freaking Bushwhackers.  A quick promo from the Masters of Motions servers as evidence that their strong points are definitely in the ring.  

 

-  Rockers vs. The Powers of Pain-  This one is from the January ‘90 MSG show, and I’m left asking why this one is here.  Now, I know that it may be an ok match, but surely there were better Rocker matches laying around at this point than this one.  The Rockers were slowly moving out of their JTTS tag team status, but still had a couple months to go.  The POP wouldn’t be around as a team much longer after this, as Fuji sold their contracts so he could focus on his new team, the Orient Express.

Tons of double-teaming from the Rockers to start, and they are able to rid the ring of the POP fairly easily.  The tides turn however, as Marty goes for the huracanrana, but the Warlord catches him and turns it into a power bomb.  This is followed with a huge back drop from the Warlord that sends Marty high into the air.  Quick cover only gets two.  Off the ropes, and the Warlord throws Marty high into the air and crashing into the mat face first.  If you couldn’t tell, the Rockers are saving this one by getting their asses handed to them.  Well, Marty at least.  The Barbarian in now, and his big boot sends Marty flying over the top rope, and onto the floor, where Fuji gets in a few cane shots.  Back in now, and the Warlord catches Jannetty with a clothesline that causes him to 360.  Marty attempts a cross-body from the second rope, but is caught by the Barbarian and power-slammed.  Hot tag to Shawn, and he cleans house.  The ref gets distracted allowing Fuji to trip Shawn with the cane, and set up the easy pin for the Barbarian at 9:57.  Ok, we have the Rockers jobbing in THEIR profile?  I guess I’m missing the logic here, but whatever.  **¼.  I don’t see why the Rockers had to job, since the POP were being separated in a matter of weeks anyway.  Match was saved thanks to Marty being destroyed, and the occasional Rockers double-teaming. Shawn gets tossed to the outside following the match, and so the POP and Fuji triple team Jannetty some more.  The hell?  Did Marty piss someone off?  And if they were going to pick a match where they jobbed, they didn’t have to pick one where they jobbed AND were made to look like total jobbers.

 

-   Rockers vs.  Dino Bravo/Greg Valentine-  Now I know they had matches against established teams, so why are we seeing them take on some second rate makeshift team?  Worst yet, this is a dark match from a Superstars taping.  Bleh, they sure dropped the ball on this profile.

 

Dino overpowers Marty to start things off, but the Rockers clean house when all four men get in the ring.  Suplex by Greg gets 2 on Marty.  And then the action stops. I mean it literally stops.  Nothing of note happens, as the Bravo/Valentine combo take total control of the match for the better part of 7 minutes, leaving the action at a minimum.  Finally, Marty gets the hot tag to Shawn, and the match gets some life pumped into it.  Rockers hit the double fist-drop on Bravo, but Greg breaks up the pin attempt.  Marty with the roll up on Bravo, but Valentine comes in as the ref is distracted, and reverses it, securing the win for the heels at 11:35.  Wow, that sucked.  Oh, but wait, Ronnie Garvin (who had been made a ref by this point) comes out to argue with the call, and gets the decision reversed.  Now, why can’t that happen every time someone wins with crooked methods, and not just when it is needed?  Bah, this was a crappy match, made worse by the whole end. ½*.  Just in case you missed this, we have a Rockers profile that is highlighted with them technically jobbing twice, being made to look like jobbers in one of them, and also being made to look like a team that can’t win without any help.  Certainly a travesty of a profile for one of the better teams in the late 80’s/early 90’s.

 

-  Fan Favorite Match:  Hercules vs.  Akeem- Further proof that these “fans” are completely fictitious.  I mean, I know that wrestling fans in general aren’t too bright, but I don’t think anyone would have ever requested this match.  But, if there is one, it’s “Laura Kalani from Hawaii,” who should seek help if she is real.  Hopefully, she isn’t, because I think it would be too disturbing to know that such a twisted individual actually exists.  

 

We only get Herc’s entrance, which blows, since that means that we don’t get to hear “Jive Soul Bro.”  This match is going to be bad enough, couldn’t they have given us one redeeming factor, and just let us hear it?  Guess not.  Both guys were in career limbo at this point, as Akeem was just a couple months away from leaving the company, and Herc was floating around the midcard, a JTTS face.  Anyway, this one is about as good/bad as you’d expect, as there must be a no wrestling move rule going in this one, since all they’ve done in the first 3 minutes is throw some half-assed punches.  One of these punches sends Akeem to the outside, and he and Slick try to regroup.  Herc breaks it up, irritating the Slickster so much, that he throws done his jacket, and tries to get in the ring and fight him.  You just don’t piss off a brotha like that, I’m sorry.  During one of these many non-action moments, I take note that from behind, Akeem’s flabby body resembles Danny Devito’s Penguin from Batman Returns.  Slick thankfully puts me out of my misery by pulling down the rope and sending Herc to the outside, prompting the ref to call for the DQ finish at 5: 00. DUD.  Would have reached negative stars, but the match was wisely short.

After the match, Hercules slams Akeem’s fat ass.

 

-  Call of the Action with Lord Alfred Hayes-  Just as I had remembered, this one features the Orient Express against Jim Powers and a jobber.  Hayes breaks down such technical holds as the forearm and the knife edge.  Let’s move on, shall we?

 

-  Demolition vs.  The Orient Express-  From the March ’90 MSG show, two weeks before Wrestlemania VI.  Tons of stalling in the opening minutes, with the Demos getting a couple of near falls being the most exciting thing happening.  Just as they are about to put Tanaka away with the Decapitator, Fuji gets Ax’s attention, who foolishly chases him around ringside, and ends up with a face full of salt courtesy of Sato, and gets counted out at 10:59.  Yes, it was nearly 11 minutes, and I listed everything that was even remotely noteworthy.  Just a horrible match;  -**.  That’s the problem with a lot of the matches from these old arena shows.  Just about everyone got at least 10 minutes, even those who weren’t capable of putting on anything presentable over five minutes.  The Orient Express would pick up a win over the Rockers with the exact same finish at Wrestlemania.  On the same show, the Demos would win the tag titles for a record third time.  Yes, back in those days, titles actually meant something, and weren’t easy to come by.  

 

-  Bret Hart vs. Rick Martel-  Hey, now this is more like it.  Also from the March ‘90 MSG show.  This was right near the end of one of Bret’s many aborted singles pushes (number two I believe), and he would be back to teaming with Jim Neidhart in a matter of weeks.  Rick Martel was a few months away from feuding with Jake Roberts, and until that time, he would do next to nothing of note.

 

Bret goes for a small package almost right off the bat, but only gets 2.  Gorilla and Hayes make several notes about their stamina, and the slim chances of either one running out of gas, which should automatically tell you where this one is going.  Backslide from Bret gets 2, followed by an arm drag, and an arm bar.  Martel buys some time by tossing Bret to the outside.  Rick suplexs Hart back in, and follows with a pin attempt, which only gets 2.  Rick works the abdominal stretch for several minutes, before the ref catches him using the ropes, at which point, he makes him break it.  Bret in control now, and he follows an elbow with a cover that only gets 2.  Scoop slam, elbow from the second rope, and a cover that only gets two.  Bret follows it up with several more near-falls over Martel.  The action spills to the outside, and the bell rings, leading most to believe that there has been a count-out, but the official announcement reveals that we have reached the famous 11:45 time limit, and this one is a draw.  The fans are none too pleased with that, but are rewarded with a brawl between the two following the match.  Match was real solid, and there was little resting.  The closing minutes were pretty hot; wish they had gone 20 minutes if there was going to be a time limit draw.  ***.

 

-  Manager’s Profile: Slick- Alright, the Doctor of Style!  The “profile” consists of a brief promo from the Slickster and a 40-second Slick video package set to “Jive Soul Bro.”  Well, that makes up for not letting us hear it earlier in the tape.

 

-  Cage Match: Rick Rude vs. Roddy Piper-  From the December ‘89 MSG show, we get the much anticipated blowoff match of their lengthy feud that spanned back to the end of the summer.  Mow this is when a cage should be used- in the final match of a heated rivalry; not when ratings are low, and they need something different to spike them.  

 

Piper is using a different bagpipe tune for his entrance here, not the one he used during his second run with the WWF.  This particular cage match can be won via pinfall or escape from the cage.  Rude tries to escape over the cage right away, but Roddy and his belt put a stop to that.  After laying in some lashes, Piper discards the belt, and goes straight for biting, which busts Rude open less than two minutes into the contest.  Rude then tries to go out through the door, but Piper holds him back, so he goes for a pin instead, but only gets 2.  A tug of war over Rude ensues, as Piper tries to pull him back in the cage, as Heenan tries to pull him out.  The end result- Rude with half of his ass showing.  Worse yet, he doesn’t do anything to pull his tights up after it, and wrestles the remainder of the match that way.  Rude his the Rude Awakening, but he has been blinded by the blood, and can’t find his way out of the cage.  Rick finally finds the door, but Piper holds him in by pulling his trunks down even more.  Ok, this I don’t need to see.  After colliding, both men scale the cage, and exchange blows, once they reach the top.  Both guys are over now, and both jump and hit the ground at the same time, as I start to have flashbacks to Hogan/Orndorff.  No disputes between refs however, as it’s decided immediately that the match must continue.  Before getting back into the cage, Rude and Piper brawl on the outside, and Roddy gets the worse of it, getting nailed with a chair.  Back in now, and Rude climbs to the top of the cage and jumps down onto a helpless Piper.  Nice spot.  Pin attempt only gets 2 however, and Rude follows with a beautiful piledriver.  Rude heads back up to the top of the cage, but this time, he loses his balance, and ends up straddling the cage.  Piper heads to the top, and a couple of punches leave Rude hanging upside down from the top of the cage, which just proves that Rude’s got a pair.  With Rude hung out to dry, there is seemingly nothing in between Piper and escaping the cage.  That is, except Bobby Heenan, who slams the cage door into his head, giving Rude enough time to get back into the match.  Heenan tosses in a pair of brass knucks to Rude, but he drops them, and Piper is able to grab them, knock Rick out cold, and easily walk out the door at get the win at 12:56.  Great cage match, and an awesome blowoff to a memorable feud. ***½.  

 

-  WWF Bloopers:  Basically a bunch of goofs from various WWF announcers.  The highlights for me are the portions that feature Heenan and Gorilla at various locations, including Busch Gardens, out West, and on a yacht.  Pretty humorous stuff, but then again, when weren’t they?

 

-  Main Event: Hulk Hogan/Brutus Beefcake vs. Mr. Perfect/The Genius- This one is from the February ‘90 MSG show, and luckily for us, we have Heenan and Gorilla on commentary.  Normally, having Hillbilly Jim there would suck, but Heenan usually dishes out some solid insults towards him, so we’ll see how it turns out.  This was during Perfect’s brief feud with Hogan, which would end up going nowhere, since Hogan didn’t feel that he had to put Perfect over.

 

Hogan and Perfect start things out, and Perfect actually gets the better of him, sending him out of the ring with a couple of punches.  Back in, and Perfect does a 360, following a big boot from Hogan.  Perfect oversells all of Beefcake’s dismal offense, including a high knee that gets 2.  On the outside, Genius hands Perfect the scroll, which he plasters across Hogan’s head.  Genius in now, and the way he is prancing around makes Billy and Chuck look straight.  Genius actually breaks out the moonsault on Hogan, but Hulk gets the knees up just in time.  Brutus slaps the sleeper on Perfect, but the Genius knocks him out with the scroll, while the ref is trying to get Hogan out of the ring.  Hogan chases after Genius, who runs to the back.  Meanwhile back in the ring, Perfect goes for the cover, but only gets 2.  Pretty funny stuff going on between Bobby and Jim during all of this, as Heenan keeps mocking his beard and Southern heritage.  Anyway, Hogan seemingly gets the hot tag, but the ref misses it.  Several minutes of non-action follows, before Hogan finally gets the hot tag, and cleans house, eventually getting the Genius with the big boot and the leg drop for the pin at 15:26.  *½.  Pretty dull match, with a few bright spots here and there, namely Perfect’s selling.  I was more entertained by Heenan’s commentary to be honest, but I think that’s understandable.  

 

-  Back with Sean to wrap things up, and it’s revealed that it was one of the crew members with a mic, who was behind the booming voice.  Good to know; now I can sleep at night.

 

Final Thoughts-  Pretty good stuff here.  Some bad things, but I think that the good overshadowed that.  Rude/Piper should be seen by everyone who wants to check out a good cage match.  Bret/Martel is worth a look, and it’s always fun to go back to when Shawn Michael’s couldn’t cut a promo to save his life.  

 

Mildly Recommended

[Guest fairtoflair7]

Once again, Good Reveiw....Hopefully, when I have time, I will get to a review

[Guest]

Another good tape rant. I'm mad that on Supertape 2, The Rockers job all their matches yet The Bushwhackers win all their matches on Supertape 1.