Coliseum Video Presents: The History of the Intercontinental Title
by Scrooge McSuck
Time to go back into the Vault of the WWF home video library, specifically the Coliseum Video era, and pick up a video that I'm sure was popular among the more hardcore fans around the time because of the presentation and deep cuts provided in an era that wasn't exactly keen on reliving the past, and if it did, it was usually stuff no one wanted, like digging into the vault for garbage with Captain Lou Albano or Ivan Putski (among others).
As the title suggests, we're going to take a trip down memory lane as we relive the history of the Intercontinental Championship, which only existed for a little more than seven years at this point. God, I feel old just typing that. In fact, at the time of this video's production, the list of (unique) Champions was still in the single digits. A fresh-faced Craig DeGeorge is our host from the WWF command center. He runs down the list of men who have held the title, and good news for the WWF, that almost every former holder of the belt is either in the company as in-ring talent or behind the scenes in some capacity.
We open the tape with the last 3-4 minutes of Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage from WrestleMania III. A long time ago, there was a point where I considered this match to be overrated by the masses, and boy I can't believe I was that much of a troll. This match, which is only in the 10-15 minute range, is the perfect showcase of athleticism and story-telling, having a packed stadium on their feet, reacting louder for every near-fall. If you don't know the finish, Savage attempted to use the ring bell on Steamboat, a callback to how he injured Steamboat back in November ‘86, but George Steele, long-time nemesis of Savage, ran interference, and Steamboat took advantage of the opportunity, countering a groggy Savage's slam with a small package to win his one-and-only Championship in the WWF. Truly a 5-star classic, and probably higher on versions that retain "Sirius" from the Alan Parsons Project.
We get the closing moments of Pat Patterson (the first Intercontinental Champion) defending against and defeating Dominic DeNucci (trainer of people like Mick Foley and Shane Douglas, among others) from the December 17th, 1979 card held at Madison Square Garden. I guess they couldn't find the footage from the tournament in Rio de Janeiro where Patterson got the better of 15 other men.
Pat Patterson (c) vs. Ken Patera (w/ The Grand Wizard):
Taped on April 21st, 1980 from Madison Square Garden. At the time of this video's release, Ken Patera was making his return as a babyface, having served time for most of 1985 and 1986 for the McDonald's incident where he and Mr. Saito assaulted the police officers attempting to arrest them. I would go into more detail, but I want to try and enjoy this tape, because we all know Ken Patera is a complete scumbag. Comparing the presentation of 1979-1980 to Steamboat/Savage from the start of the tape feels like way more than 7 years has passed.Lockup into the corner and Patterson gives a clean break. Patera shoves Patterson into the opposite corner and poses for the crowd. Patterson with a pair of arm drags, sending Patera to the apron to rethink his strategy. Back inside, Patterson works the arm. Patera escapes with forearms. They do an extended crisscross that sees Patterson regain control of the arm. We cut ahead in the action, and Patera is still on the defensive side of the action. Patera forces a break in the corner and drives a series of knees to the midsection. Patterson avoids an elbow drop and it's back to the arm, yanking the hair for good measure. Patera with another fired-up escape, throwing Patterson over the top rope. That's a heck of a bump for 1980 WWF. Patera brings the fight to the floor, slamming Pat face-first into the guardrail. Back inside, Patera with a gorilla press into a back-breaker for a near-fall. Whip to the corner and Patera catches Patterson in a bearhug. Patterson pulls back and lands a series of strikes between the eyes as the crowd roars with excitement. Patera teases the Full Nelson, but Patterson gets in the ropes immediately. Patterson counters a second attempt, hitting Patera with a mule kick and taking him over with a BAAAACK body-drop. Patera begs for mercy, but Patterson isn't giving in to those demands and wraps the leg around the post. Patterson continues targeting the knee with exaggerated selling from Patera. The Figure-Four is applied, but Patera is too manly of a man to surrender and manages to get to the ropes to force a break. Patera reverses a whip to the corner and charges in, meeting nothing but the post. Patterson covers, but Patera gets a foot on the ropes as the hand is about to come down for three. Patterson comes off the ropes with a shoulder block and Patera has the referee take the hit instead. Patera climbs the ropes and drops a knee across the back of the neck. The referee counted three at 14:43 (20:48 is Fink's announced time), despite Patterson getting a foot on the ropes, and we have a NEW Intercontinental Champion in Ken Patera. I hate those kinds of finishes to have someone save face in losing, but for the era, this was a heck of a fight, and the crowd was eating up every second of it. ***½
Ken Patera (c) (w/ The Grand Wizard) vs. Pedro Morales:
Taped on October 20th, 1980 from Madison Square Garden (almost every match in the first half of this tape is from MSG, but that's mostly due to this still being from the era of regional territory booking, and MSG was one of the few arenas they taped from on a regular basis). We're of course reminded in the present time that Pedro is the only man to hold every Championship in WWF history. Patera tries getting the jump on Morales, but the plan backfires, and Patera hauls a$$ in the arms of the Wizard. We cut ahead later in the match, with Patera in control of a bearhug. Morales rings Patera's bell to escape, but Patera is all over him with kicks and forearms. Morales rakes the eyes to create separation and unloads with rights and lefts in the corner. The referee gets thrown trying to get them to come out of the corner. Things continue to get out of hand, with both men getting a hold of the referee and throwing him out of the ring! The poor guy has had enough, and signals for the bell at 3:00 (shown at an announced 16:19), and it's a Double Disqualification. Morales ignores the bell, choking Patera out. A group of wrestlers get in the ring to try and get things under control, but some of them almost come to blows as well. Can't really rate the match with only the last few minutes shown, but this was a classic case of setting up the rematch for next month. Unfortunately, we do not get that match.
Pedro Morales (c) vs. The Magnificent Muraco:
Taped on June 20th, 1981 from the Philadelphia Spectrum. I'm used to the bloated Don Muraco, but here, he's as lean as I've ever seen him. Morales defeated Ken Patera on December 8th at the Garden, a show that was not televised (and also the same night of John Lennon's murder). Lockup, Morales sends Muraco into the ropes and takes him over with a back body-drop. He quickly follows that up with a slam, sending Muraco to the floor to reset. Back inside, Muraco offers a handshake that no one in their right mind would accept. Muraco dishes it out in the corner. Morales meets a knee in the corner, but pops up immediately to prevent Muraco from going to the top rope. Muraco maintains control, slowing it down with a chin-lock. Whip to the ropes, Muraco with a shoulder block, followed by a slam. Morales tries fighting out of another chin-lock, but Muraco yanks the hair to keep control of the hold. Morales rakes the eyes to break the hold (what a hero). Muraco meets the post in the corner, opening the door for Morales' comeback. He drives a pair of elbows to the midsection and takes the eyes again. Morales unloads with left hands and sends Muraco flipping upside-down in the corner. Muraco gets knocked out of the ring and Morales follows, sending him into the post. Back inside, the referee gets bumped trying to clear them from the ropes. Morales with a back-breaker and the Boston crab, but Muraco is clearly in the ropes even if the referee was awake. Morales checks on the referee, allowing Muraco to recover. He blasts Morales with a pair of brass knuckles and covers for three and the Championship at 9:08. This was fine, but it wasn't doing too much for me. **½Craig DeGeorge is standing by with words in the present day from Muraco, leading into...
The Magnificent Muraco (c) vs. Pedro Morales:
Taped on October 19th, 1981 from Madison Square Garden. We join the match in progress, as Morales works the body of Muraco and sends him into the turnbuckle. Muraco gets sent to the floor, where he's in a world of hurt and showing color. Back inside, Morales continues to punish Muraco with left hands. Muraco backs Morales into the corner with elbows and Morales retaliates by biting the cut. Morales with more left handed punches, knocking Muraco through the ropes. Muraco throws a right hand that has nothing behind it. Morales is 100% in control with Muraco barely able to stay on his feet. The referee steps in the middle of things, checks on the cut of Muraco, and signals for the bell at 4:15 (shown). Morales won't stop despite the bell, giving us one last big bump from Muraco. We get the announcement from The Fink that Morales is the winner, but the title doesn't change hands. Man, we're getting some of the greatest hits of cheap finishes! Morales was a one-trick pony, but that one trick worked with a lot of the WWF audience at the time.
Texas Death Match: The Magnificent Muraco (c) vs. Pedro Morales:
Taped on November 23rd, 1981 from Madison Square Garden, and the rematch from the match we just covered. I know we've moved on, but really, stopping matches for small cuts and trying to say it's too much blood is such a weak finish. Either the guy needs to tap an artery for that to work, or it fails as a finish. We join the match in progress. Muraco sends Morales to the ropes and takes him over with a back body-drop. He starts punishing the leg and goes for a spinning toe hold, but Morales escapes by going after the eyes. Morales stuns Muraco with body blows and the crowd is getting fired up. He sends Muraco into the corner, flipping him upside-down and getting caught in the ropes. The action spills to the outside, with Muraco getting bashed face-first into the post, busting him wide open. There's no saving him this time! Muraco continues to absorb punishment and gets caught in the ropes to make matters worse. Muraco breaks free from his prison and hits Morales questionably low to disrupt his momentum. Morales' selling makes Hulk Hogan's quiver antics seem believable. Whip to the ropes and a shoulder block sends both men to the canvas. Muraco is up first, digging into his tights for a pair of knuckles. Morales ducks under the wild swing, headbutts Muraco, causing him to drop the knuckles. Morales picks them up, decks Muraco with a left hand, and covers to win the Championship for his second reign at 6:27 (shown). Hard to give this a definitive rating, but I wasn't in love with it. It was OK.
Pedro Morales (c) vs. The Magnificent Muraco:
OK, time to move on from Morales vs Muraco. Taped on January 22nd, 1983 from Madison Square Garden. Just one more match from MSG and it's a little more variety in locations. Morales' second reign would stand as the second-longest behind the Honkytonk Man's until that record was broken by Gunther's reign that spanned 2022-2024. Muraco jumps Morales during introductions. As expected, Morales fights him off, even taking the time to remove his jacket. He smacks Muraco across the back with his title belt, and the referee is OK with it (the bell has already sounded to signal the start). Morales tears the shirt off Muraco, wraps it around his neck, and throws him across the ring. We've got Vince Jr and Monsoon calling the action, which never sounds like the right combination. Muraco reverses a whip, but Morales leaps over a charge and takes Muraco over with a sunset flip for two. Muraco powders, but Morales doesn't give him long to rest. Morales climbs to the top rope and teases jumping down, but Muraco crawls under the ring to avoid certain death.Back inside, it's all Morales. Muraco with an "unorthodox move" (a low blow) to turn things around in his favor. Muraco chokes Morales, and now Morales kicks Muraco below the belt ("that doesn't make it right, but it makes it even"). Morales sends Muraco to the corner and rams his own knee into the turnbuckle on a failed charge. Muraco drags Morales to the corner and pushes off the second rope for a super-sized leg snap mare. Morales teases a comeback, but the knee gives out on him. Muraco with a Figure-Four applied, but nothing can make Morales quit, and he turns the hold over until they both end up in the ropes. Muraco thumbs the throat and Morales rakes the eyes. These two guys are fighting like two people who hate each other. Morales counters a second Figure-Four, sending Muraco shoulder-first into the post. Morales with a back-breaker across his injured knee, much to Monsoon's surprise. He turns Muraco over with a Boston Crab, but the knee is hurting too much and he gives up the hold. Whip to the ropes, Morales scoops Muraco up for a slam, but the knee buckles and Muraco lands on top for three and his second reign as Intercontinental Champion at 10:53 (announced as 11:34, but the entire match was here). Solid match that told the story of two rivals who have been through the wars over the years. I'm surprised they didn't sell the idea that Muraco pulled the rights or something. ***
Highlights of Tito Santana vs The Magnificent Muraco from the February 11th, 1984 card held at the Boston Garden. The finish is said to be lost/unusable, so we don't see Santana win the belt. It wouldn't be until the following Spring where the WWF would regularly tape from the Boston Garden for broadcast on NESN. We follow this with an interview from Tito Santana, not unlike what we got from Muraco earlier in the tape. We follow THAT with a short clip of Tito Santana vs Greg Valentine from the August 25th card held at Madison Square Garden (a match I did not care for, as it was thrown at the end of a show where they did a big injury angle with Jimmy Snuka).
Tito Santana (c) vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (w/ Capt. Lou Albano):
Taped on September 24th, 1984 from London, Ontario, part of the All-Star Wrestling/Maple Leaf Wrestling TV tapings, and broadcast on October 13th. Santana comes into the match with a seriously injured knee. We cut ahead in the action, with Valentine playing coward in the corner. He takes advantage of Santana's aggression and goes for the leg. Santana turns it around, but only briefly. Santana blocks a Figure-Four attempt, sending Valentine face-first to the canvas. Valentine is like a shark that senses blood, and keeps going for the leg. Santana surprises him with the Flying Forearm, but Valentine gets a foot under the ropes at two. Santana thinks he has the match won, allowing Valentine to hit him from behind with a knee and cover for three and the title at a clipped down 1:35 (the full match isn't much longer, this was taped for TV where long matches were 4-5 minutes). Valentine adds insult to injury, applying the Figure-Four. Not much of a match, but a memorable angle for the time.Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (c) vs. Tito Santana:
From the November 26th, 1984 card held at Madison Square Garden. We're Joined in Progress, with Valentine in control with a chin-lock. Santana fights to his feet, but Valentine drives a knee into the back of the neck to keep him in a compromised position. Valentine loads up and drops a pair of elbows for a near-fall. Santana pounds the body, but Valentine cuts him off again, sends him to the corner, and charges in with a shoulder to the midsection. He tries it again, but this time Santana launches Valentine over the ropes, smacking the post. Santana with running boots to the face of Valentine, who is bleeding all over the canvas. Santana slams him face-first into the canvas and covers for two. Whip to the ropes and Santana with the Flying Forearm, but Valentine gets a shoulder up at two. Valentine tries to bail but Santana grabs hold of the tights and hits him with an atomic drop. Santana drops a headbutt across the midsection and covers for two. He brings Valentine in from the apron with a suplex. Whip and Valentine counters a back body-drop with a punt to the chest. Now he's punishing the leg, but Santana quickly turns it around and surprises Valentine with a small package for two. The bell rings at 7:30 (shown) and it's a curfew time limit draw. BOO! This felt like the final minutes of a fantastic match.
Steel Cage Match: Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (c) (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Tito Santana:
Taped on July 6th, 1985 from Baltimore, MD. It must have been the go-to line back in the day to say (in the WWF) that it was highly unusual for a championship to be contested inside a steel cage. We're Joined in Progress, with Valentine in control, putting the boots to a fallen Santana. Valentine sends Tito face-first into the cage and dives off the second rope with an elbow. The after-the-fact PBP from Monsoon and Johnny Valiant is best left on mute. Valentine goes for the door, but Santana blocks. They trade blows, with Valentine smacking the back of his head against the cage and taking the tree-falling-in-the-woods bump on the apron. Santana is no better off, crumpling to the canvas. He manages to block a Figure-Four attempt, giving Valentine another taste of the cold steel. Tito climbs over the cage, avoiding Valentine's attempts to stop him. Valentine goes for the door instead, but Santana kicks the door in his face and reaches the floor to win his second Intercontinental Title at 2:50 shown. Post-match, Valentine loses it, destroying the belt by smacking it against the cage. The crowd litters the ring with trash as Santana recovers to celebrate with what is left of his victory. Too short, but from a more extended cut, this was a pretty good match, and even the few minutes we see here are worth checking out.More words from Tito Santana, then some clips of a match with Randy Savage from the January 11th, 1986 card held at the Boston Garden. Savage walked away the victor, but not the title, as a result of a count-out. Savage used Elizabeth as a shield and not-so-subtly dumped her to the floor, taking Santana out of the match to check on her, allowing Savage to get the jump on him. This leads to the finale of the tape...
Tito Santana (c) vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth):
Taped on February 8th, 1986 from the Boston Garden. Danny Davis is the referee, and quite distracting, wearing khaki pants and white tennis shoes. Did he lose his gear and couldn't find any place open that sold black pants? Like most content on this tape, we're Joined in Progress, with Santana attacking the left knee of Savage. Tito sweeps Santana out of the corner and has the Figure-Four locked on in the center of the ring, but Savage rolls over several times, ending up in the ropes, forcing a break. Santana brings Savage in from the apron with a suplex and goes for the leg again, but Savage kicks him off and scrambles to the apron. Savage digs into his trunks for a foreign object. Santana ducks under a swing and scoops Savage up for a back suplex, but Savage connects with the gimmick on the second try and covers Tito to win the Intercontinental Title at 2:00 shown. The full match is another goodie, but we're just getting the necessary hits as the tape winds down.Final Thoughts: Considering the era where the company was very selective in what history was allowed to be remembered, this was quite the tape for the more hardcore audience. I think they could have trimmed out the excessive use of Morales vs. Muraco so we could get more than a couple of minutes of Santana and Savage's reigns at the end, but that's my only gripe, and those matches weren't awful, just not lighting my world on fire. Definitely a solid 2-hours for a rainy day.
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