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WWF SuperTape (Vol. 2)

by Scrooge McSuck

- Sean Mooney is our host, once again coming from the generic Coliseum Video set. There's a running gag on this edition, where some voice keeps repeating "Supertape!" every time Mooney mentions it. The end result... it's a stage hand hiding behind the curtain. Yes, they ripped off the Wizard of Oz for a lame joke that stopped being funny about six seconds into. Mooney runs down what we're going to see, including our Feature Profile, Fan Favorite Match, and more Call of the Action with Lord Alfred Hayes! With all this and more set on this edition of Supertape (SUPERTAPE!), let us get down to things with our first feature of the cassette...

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. "Macho King" Randy Savage (w/ Queen Sherri):

This is pulled from the January 27th, 1990 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, and it's presented to us by "WWF Magazine", much like the Tugboat squash on the 1st Suprtape. Sadly, there's new commentary has been dubbed over by Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes..Duggan isn't impressed with the King of the WWF, who takes his sweet time disrobing of his extra attire. Duggan heads outside and dumps over his thrown, just because. We go into the ring, and Duggan misses a charge to the corner. Savage with a boot to the chest, followed by a clothesline and some choking. Irish whip is reversed, and Duggan connects with his own clothesline. Whip to the corner, and another clothesline gets a two count. Duggan with an atomic drop, then unwisely goes after Sherri, allowing Savage a sneak attack. Savage to the top rope, with a double axehandle on the arena floor. Back inside, and Savage comes off the top with another axehandle for a two count. Savage hangs Duggan up across the top rope and covers for another two. Duggan avoids some contrived spot, then misses an elbow. Savage rakes the good eye, but gets back dropped over the top rope on a charge attempt. Sherri gets involved again, delaying the action. Duggan goes for Sherri, but ends up hitting Savage with a clothesline. Back in the ring, and Duggan plants Savage with a slam, then drops a knee across the chest. Sherri with more antics to disrupt the flow of the match. Duggan nails Savage with three more clotheslines, and then Sherri gets involved, AGAIN. Savage with a running high knee from behind, but he jumps into a fist from Duggan, going for another axehandle. Sherri loads up the purse and passes it off to Savage, then gets the referee's attention. Savage KO's Duggan with the purse, but Duggan kicks out at two! Duggan counters a slam with a small package for his own two count. Duggan with an atomic drop and, you guessed it, a clothesline. Duggan changes it up with a shoulder tackle, then nails the big clothesine, but it knocks Savage outside the ring. Duggan tries to suplex him back in... and you know the finish. Savage with the three count at 9:14. There was the occasional flash of decent action, but it always seems to be derailed by the antics of Sherri, Savage stalling, or Duggan's offense consisting entirely of clotheslines. On the other hand, I've seen worse.

- Tag Team Profile on everyone's favorites, the Rockers, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty. Mooney says we'll hear about their wild antics, in and outside the squared circle... um... wasn't the WWF marketing towards children at this point? I'm sure, if this were a shoot, their night-life antics would definitely be a TV-MA rating, or something. They cut generic promos in between their matches, and that's it. Nothing cute, like with Mean Gene and the Bushwhackers on the last Supertape. Just rejected Event Center Promos.

The Rockers vs. The Powers of Pain (w/ Mr. Fuji):

(Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty vs. The Warlord & The Barbarian)
Who knew two editions of SuperTape would feature a Powers of Pain match in the "Superstar Profile" segment of the tape? We're coming to you from the January 15th, 1990 card held at Madison Square Garden, with Gorilla Monsoon and Hillbilly Jim calling the action. That show got a half-assed review from me, so here's a fresh recap of this one... WWF Magazine ran an article about a potential program between these two teams, but I don't know if it ever came to fruition on the weekend shows. I mentioned this before in the MSG recap, but WHY is Jannetty wearing the magic tape around his waist? Michaels and Barbarian start, and Barbarian easily shoves Michaels across the ring. Michaels with a side headlock, but a shoulder block goes against him. Michaels with a cross body, and with the help of Jannetty, gets a two count from it. Jannetty tags in and works the arm, and the Rockers with quick tags, working the arm in the process. Double reverse crescent kicks and clotheslines to both Powers to clear the ring. Warlord tags in, and clubs Michaels across the back. Michaels takes Warlord over with a hurricanrana (again, with Jannetty's help), but Warlord doesn't like selling, and works Jannetty over. Michaels with a dropkick, and Jannetty covers for two. Jannetty goes for a head scissors, but Warlord counters with the second-half of a powerbomb.

Warlord, predictably, plays to the crowd before clubbing Jannetty across the back, then lifts him WAY up, almost off camera, on a back drop. Irish whip, and Warlord does it to Jannetty again, face first this time. Barbarian chokes Jannetty from the apron, while Warlord keeps the referee distracted. Barbarian tags in, and quickly lands a headbutt across the spine. Whip to the corner, and Barbarian with a big boot, sending Jannetty out of the ring. Fuji is standing by, and gets to earn his paycheck with a well placed cane shot across the back. Barbarian adds injury to insult, ramming Jannetty into the ring post. Back in the ring, and Barbarian with a clothesline, complete with the inside-out over-sell. Jannetty tries mounting a comeback, but Warlord is TOO STRONG. Barbarian tags in, and it's bearhug time! Jannetty with an ear smack to escape, followed by a fist off the second turnbuckle. He tries a cross body, but Barbarian counters with a powerslam. Barbarian heads to the second rope, and misses the elbow drop, of course. Michaels with the hot tag, and he unloads on the Barbarian, then takes his shots at the Warlord. Jannetty with a sunset flip on the Warlord for a two count. Irish whip is reversed, and a cross body gets another two count. Everyone brawls in the ring, and Jannetty and Warlord get whipped into each other. Michaels gets tripped up by Fuji, allowing Barbarian to drop an elbow for the three count at 9:59. After the match, the Rockers try gaining revenge, but Jannetty takes a shit kicking for it. Match was surprisingly good. I say that because of the fact that the Powers of Pain, more often than not, didn't bring much to their matches.

The Rockers vs. Dino Bravo & Greg Valentine (w/ Jimmy Hart):

Pulled from the July 3rd, 1989 episode of Primetime Wrestling, and a bit of an odd match to feature, just because of the finish based on the dated material. Speaking of dated, remember when Bravo and Valentine were the (New) Dream Team? Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred are back in the booth, yay. Bravo throws Jannetty down on the initial lockup. Bravo with a side headlock, followed by a shoulder block. Jannetty with a headlock, and Michaels with the blind tag and a surprise dropkick. Slams and dropkicks to both heels to clear the ring. Michaels with a wristlock on Bravo, but he yanks the hair to escape, and Valentine tags in, to "hammer" away. Valentine works over the arm, and sends Michaels shoulder-first into the corner. Valentine charges, and rams the post in the process. Michaels returns the favor, working the arm over. Michaels with a snapmare, and Jannetty comes in, with a splash across the arm. Repeat the formula, trade places. Bravo tags in and lands a series of headbutts, followed by chops. Whip to the corner, and Jannetty with a monkey flip, followed by a clothesline. Jannetty tries it again, but Bravo counters with an inverted atomic drop. Valentine tags in and takes Jannetty down with a suplex for a two count. Abdominal stretch, and yes, there's some double team efforts. Bravo with a gutwrench suplex for a two count. Valentine with an elbow to the back of the head and a headbutt to the midsection. He calls for the end, turns the shinguard around, but Jannetty kicks off the Figure-Four attempts. Bravo with a front facelock, and you know the spot by now. Valentine tags in and quickly slaps on a chinlock. Michaels eventually gets the hot tag and takes Bravo down with a back drop and a cross body for a two count. Irish whip is reversed, and Michaels surprises Bravo with a suplex. Michaels with dropkicks for everyone, and it's time for the top rope fist drops. Valentine breaks the pin attempt, though. Bravo and Michaels collide heads, and Valentine rolls Bravo on top for a two count. Jannetty tags back in and rolls Bravo up, but Valentine clotheslines Jannetty, allowing Bravo to counter for a three count at 11:38. But wait... newly assigned referee Ron Garvin comes to the ring and through some illogical logic, reverses the decision, awarding the match to the Rockers. What the fuck ever. The match was tedious and half-assed. Nice to see the Rockers job both of the matches in their "feature" profile.

Fan Favorite Match: Hercules vs. Akeem (w/ Slick):

Who in their right mind would want this match, other than a fictional fan from Hawaii. This isn't even a Coliseum Exclusive, it's pulled from the September 25th, 1989 episode of PrimeTime Wrestling. Tony Schiavone and Lord Alfred Hayes call the action, surprising since Schiavone was already back with WCW by the time this tape was released. Lockup, and Akeem rakes the eyes and pounds away. Whip to the corner is reversed, and Hercules nails a clothesline. Hercules with mounted punches, and Akeem staggers out of the ring. Hercules takes a shot at Slick, who gets miffed and "attempts" to get in the ring, but gets held back by Akeem. Back inside, and they do a mock boxing match, or something. Is this supposed to be entertaining, funny, either, or neither? Irish whip, and more punching. Hercules goes for a slam, but Akeem blocks it. Slick with a length of wire/tape and chokes Hercules with it. Whip to the corner, and Akeem misses a charge attempt. Hercules with MORE punching, then rams Akeem to the buckle a bunch-o-times. Irish whip, and Hercules with a running knee lift, followed by a pair of clotheslines. Slick pulls the top rope down on Hercules, drawing the Disqualification at 5:11. Well, that as utterly pointless. afterwards, Hercules avoids a splash, then slams the massive Akeem. Impressive... except not really, since they let Smash of Demolition do it on a nightly basis all summer. Match blew, but it was short.

- It's time for the Call of the Action, with Lord Alfred Hayes! We're taking a look at the Orient Express in action, performing such moves as the following... forearm, reverse whip, leapfrog, back drop, knuckle blow (punch), knife edge (chop), crescent kick (not croissant kick), jump karate kick, and a power bomb (sit-out variety, like the Liger Bomb). This just goes on forever, since it's done in slow-motion thanks to freeze frame action, and then we see it again in "real time." Blech.

Demolition vs. The Orient Express (w/ Mr. Fuji):

(Ax & Smash vs. Sato & Tanaka)
This is Coliseum Video's Tag Team Match of the Month, and we're coming to you from the March 19th, 1990 card held at Madison Square Garden, with Gorilla Monsoon, Lord Alfred Hayes and Hillbilly Jim in the broadcast position. They're already hyping the upcoming WrestleMania VI, and blatantly ignore that a team has won the tag titles on three occasions. Lord Alfred manages to ruin Monsoon's "would you buy a used car" joke, as Smash tosses Tanaka into the corner. Irish whip, and Smash with a clothesline, complete with over-sell. Demolition with a double clothesline, then some double team pounding in the corner. Ax tags in, takes Tanaka over with a snapmare, and does his usual chinlock. Sato tags in, and Ax takes him over with a side headlock, followed by a hip toss. Whip to the corner, and Ax nails Sato coming in with an elbow. Monsoon talks about Fuji and his former partner, Prof. Tanaka, and his new-found career in Hollywood. He must be bored. Tanaka nails Ax from the apron, allowing Sato to stomp away. Tanaka tags in and works Ax over with chops, but Ax fights back and rams him into the boot of Smash. Back breaker by Smash gets a two count, then he goes to the armbar. Ax tags in and works the arm, as well. Irish whip, and a double back drop to Tanaka puts him up in the lights. Tanaka rakes the eyes of Smash, and Sato tags in for some chopping. Smash fights back and takes Sato down with a hip toss, then smashes away on him. Tanaka surprises Smash with something from the top rope, then tosses him out in front of Fuji, who earns his check for the match. The Express control, doing nothing much worth noting, just lots of kicks and chops. The crowd is practically dead for this. Whip to the corner, and Smash charges out with a clothesline on Tanaka. Ax tags in, and hammers away on Tanaka, then rams him into the buckle. Whip to the corner, and Ax with a sloppy powerslam for a two count. They go for the finish... and it's the WrestleMania VI finish, except Demolition is filling in for the Rockers. Ax goes after Fuji, Sato spins him around, salts him, and it's a Count-Out victory for the Express at 10:57. Really boring, consisting mostly of punch-kick offense, and really no structure.

Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. "The Model" Rick Martel:

Also pulled from the March 19th, 1990 Madison Square Garden card. Seems a little odd, since Bret was back to the tag team ranks at this point, although the Foundation weren't really doing anything until after WrestleMania, and the Model just kind of floundered until his feud with Jake Roberts in the Fall. Martel starts with a knee to the midsection, then rams Bret to the buckle. Whip to the corner is reversed, but Martel avoids the charge. Bret quickly nails Martel with a clothesline, and cradles him for an early two count. Monsoon gives his usual overly scientific way to describe the back of the head, as Martel stalls. Back inside, and Bret work a wristlock. Martel with a handful of hair, but he misses a charge to the corner, allowing Bret to go back to the arm. Irish whip, and Bret counters a hip toss with a back slide for a two count. Bret with an arm drag, then back to the armbar. Irish whip, and Martel side steps the Hitman, causing him to spill outside the ring, right in front of a little kid dressed like the excellence of execution. Nerd! Martel heads out to ram Bret into the side of the ring, then plays to the crowd to buy some time for Hart to recover. Martel brings Bret back into the ring with a suplex, and covers for a two count. Martel puts the boots to the Hitman, then sends him hard to the buckle. Martel slaps on the abdominal stretch, and yes, he does use the ropes for leverage. The referee forces the break, but Martel maintains control. Bret surprises Martel with an inverted atomic drop, then takes him over with a suplex (and a beauty!), followed by an elbow drop for a two count. Bret with a scoop slam, followed by a second rope elbow for another two count. Side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Martel rolls out of the ring, and we see Vladimir the Superfan cheering the action on. Bret brings Martel back inside and connects with a back breaker for a two count. Martel rolls away again, but Bret is in hot pursuit. Bret with a standing dropkick, followed by a stomp to the midsection for a two count. Martel rolls away, again, then rakes the eyes. Bret blocks being rammed into the canvas, and returns the favor. Bret with an atomic drop, sending Martel into the post, but the bell rings at 11:43... for a time limit draw?! I guess there was a clip job, considering how sweaty Martel got in such a short amount of time. Martel with a post-match attack, but Bret clears him from the ring with a clothesline. Match was pretty good, but I don't know how it was in it's entirety.

- Manager's Profile, with the Doctor of Style, Slick. He cuts a generic promo, then we get a bunch of clips set to Jive Soul Bro, including footage of Slick getting funky, rewound and played over and over again. This might've been worse than the Bobby Heenan feature on the first Supertape, but at least we got to jam out to Jive Soul Bro.

Steel Cage Match:
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs. "Ravishing" Rick Rude (w/ Bobby Heenan):

From the December 28th, 1989 card held at Madison Square Garden, and you know what? It's Copy and Paste Time! Roddy helped cost Rude the Intercontinental Title at Summerslam, and was also waging verbal wars with Heenan on Primetime Wrestling every week, so that was good enough to pair these two up for a few months to help reestablish Piper, coming back from his first of many retirements. You can win this match by either escaping the cage, or pinning or making your opponent submit. Oh, and it's the big blue bars cage, of course.

Rude attacks before the bell, pounding away. Piper blocks being rammed into the cage, but gets his eyes raked. Irish whip is reversed, and Rude takes a hard bump into the cage. Rude tries to climb out, but Piper whips him with his belt, instead. Piper with some mocking of Rude's hip swivel, then more whipping. Piper bites Rude to take him down, and works that for quite a bit. Piper allows Rude to make a half-hearted attempt to climb out, but yanks him down by the tights and throws him face first into the cage. Piper makes an attempt to escape, but it seems like he's more worried about talking trash to Heenan, allowing Rude to pull him down, dropping him across the top rope. Rude has done a blade job while the camera kept it's attention to Piper and Heenan. Rude goes for the door, but Piper snags the ankle, and holds on, despite Rude's attempt to break free. Rude instead covers after a series of blows, but only for a two count, and Piper STILL has the ankle. Heenan tries helping pull Rude out, but Piper uses the trunks, yanking them WAY the fuck down, and they stay in that position the rest of the match, sadly. Piper unloads with a series of rights, but Rude with a knee to the chest, and he nails the Rude Awakening out of nowhere. Rude is slow to his feet, and he plays the "I can't see where I am" card as he crawls for the door, but he gets their with the help of Heenan's guidance. Piper stops the escape and goes for the door himself, but to no avail. Irish whip, and a collision puts both men down. Monsoon rides the referee for doing a count-out spot. Both men climb up the same side of the cage, and after a few blows are exchanged, both touch the floor, so the match MUST RESUME with both men back in the ring. Rude grabs a chair and bashes Piper good, just for the heck of it, then tosses him back in the ring. Rude with a snapmare and knee drop, then he climbs up to the top of the cage, and comes off with his signature fist drop. Piper sells it like he just OD'ed or something, but manages to kick out at two. Rude connects with a piledriver, then climbs up to the top of the cage again. This time he gets crotched across the top, thanks to Piper shaking on the wall. Piper hangs Rude upside down on the cables at the top of the cage, but gets the door slammed in his face, courtesy of the Weasel, as he tried to exit out the door. Piper manages to free himself, but a pin attempt only gets two, again. Rude with a back suplex, and both men are down and out. The camera catches Heenan digging into his pocket, then hands of a concealed weapon to Rude. Piper blocks the cheap shot, grabs the weapon of choice, and nails Rude square between the eyes™. Piper calls for the door, and just like that, he's out and declared the winner at 12:56. I don't know if these cages matches were the blow-off to their feud on the house show circuit, but by Royal Rumble time, Piper was thrown into a program with Bad News Brown, and Rude was put on the back-burner before being pushed into an oddly concieved World Title feud with the Ultimate Warrior. Not a great match by any stretch of the imagination, but it was pretty fun,had some good spots, the crowd seemed to really dig it, and it never had a long, drawn out moment like a lot of cage matches had.

- It's Bloopers Time, courtesy of Coliseum Video! Most of this stuff isn't bloopers, but funny (and some unfunny) bits. We see Monsoon and Bobby Heenan having a blast at Busch Gardens, with Heenan being scared shitless by the animals. Then we see them on a Yacht, being thrashed around the deck, with Monsoon laughing it up the whole time. Clips from the February 6th, 1989 Primetime Wrestling, where Bobby Heenan invaded a western movie being filmed. Sadly, they don't show him directing Horowitz, Strongbow, and the Sheriff. From the Halloween episode of Primetime, Monsoon is dressed like Brother Love, and Brother Love takes time to poke fun at Roddy Piper, who is cleverly dressed as Bobby Heenan. The end result: Piper knocks Love out with a small pumpkin. We see clips of a Brutus Beefcake/Genius match, where the Genius wore a wig that kept falling off. The running clip of the segment is Lord Alfred doing mouth excercises. Oh, and Sean Mooney being unfunny, doing his best (worst) Billy Crystal impersonation, and getting bitch slapped by a crew member. Not the biggest waste of time.

Hulk Hogan & Brutus Beefcake vs. Mr. Perfect & The Genius:

Final match on the tape, and it's from the February 19th, 1990 card held at Madison Square Garden, with Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Hillbilly Jim calling the action. This was during that period where Beefcake once again shoe-horned his way into whatever program Hogan was doing (see also: 1989, Randy Savage). I seem to recall at the previous MSG card this being announced as a Handicap Match for Hogan, but card subject to change, of course. The heels attack during the entrance, but the Future Manaics clear the ring and Hogan disrobes himself and the Beefer. Hogan and Perfect start, and Hogan obviously throws Perfect back in the lockup. Lockup #2, and Perfect hammers away in the corner. Whip to the corner, and Perfect knocks Hogan out of the ring. Back inside, and Perfect remains in control. Irish whip is reversed, and Hogan sends Perfect flying with a big boot. Beefcake tags in, and he noggin knockers the bad guys. Back inside the ring, and Beefcake works over the Genius, who never tagged in, I don't think. Beefcake neck jerks Perfect, and covers for a two count. Hogan tags in, boots Perfect, and comes off the ropes with a clothesline. Beefcake with a running high knee for another two count. Hogan comes in off the turnbuckle with a double axehandle, followed by a slam and elbow drops. Whip to the corner, and Hogan sends Perfect out of the ring again. Perfect grabs the scroll and bops Hogan with it, finally turning the tide. Perfect continues working Hogan over, ramming him into the security rail, before finally throwing him back into the ring.

Genius tags in, and controls with back rakes and eye gouging... so Hulk Hogan's heel offense is being used against him?! Genius prances around and tags out to Perfect, who unloads with rights. Irish whip, and Perfect with a clothesline. Genius tags in to miss something, and Beefcake gets the Fake Hot tag, working everyone over and nailing Perfect with a running knee lift. Irish whip, and Beefcake slaps on the Sleeper Hold. The Genius uses the scroll to break the hold, and now it's Beefcake's turn to play the bitch... insert your own joke, here. The video craps out for a second, but Perfect is still in control. Irish whip, and Beefcake surprises Perfect with a punt to the face. Hogan gets the hot tag... but the referee didn't see it?! Perfect drags Beefcake back to his corner by the leg, and the Genius tags in to choke away. Beefcake attempts to fight back, but gets backed into the corner and face raked by the Genius. Perfect slaps Beefcake around and thumbs the eye for the hell of it. Irish whip, and Perfect with a clothesline to the forehead. Perfect-Plex time, but Hogan breaks the pin at two. Genius tags in, but so does Hogan, and it's all over but the shouting. Hogan with a scoop slam and rights to the Genius, then a double noggin-knocker. Irish whip and a big boot to the Genius, followed by the leg drop for the three count at 12:18. After the match, Hogan sends Perfect running from the ring, and Beefcake puts Genius to sleep as Hogan tosses Earl Hebner out of the ring... the hell was the point of that? The Genius gets his 285th haircut in a span of 288 days, courtesy of Beefcake. Match was acceptable, junkie tag team main event nonsense you would see from Hulk Hogan at this time. Hogan actually gives some of the Genius' hair away to a kid at ringside... weirdo!

Final Thoughts: Not too shabby of a collection of random matches. Everything's either hit-or-miss, but there's a lot of high profile encounters, and most of the important matches delivered, especially the Cage Match and tag team main event. Even the Bloopers segment was somewhat entertaining. On the downside, there's a real dead spot on the tape, thanks to the "Fan Favorite", Tag Team Match of the Month, and call of the action being all subpar, unentertaining time wasters, and I still question showing the Rockers job in their profile feature. Probably the best of the Supertape series, but who knows, maybe I'll be surprised by the next couple of tapes, which previously left me unimpressed.

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