Coliseum Video WrestleMania Cards

In lieu of doing another wrestling VHS box post, I felt like I should maybe come up with something a little bit different this time. So, I thought it'd be fun to look at the first eight WrestleMania events, which are chronicled in a set released through Coliseum Video, the WWF's home video distributor at the time, in 1993.

These cards are pretty basic with some artwork detailing the event, like this one from the first WrestleMania in 1985. The back gives a brief description of the event. These cards came in three card panels that were given out as a free gift when you rented a WWF tape from your local video store.

Some of the cards would feature artwork very similar to the VHS box cover, others like these from WrestleMania 2 and WrestleMania III featured generic pictures or posed shots. The one thing I don't really like about the WrestleMania 2 card is the fact they didn't use the giant red "2" from the original logo.

WrestleMania IV and V were odd in that they were held in the same venue, Trump Plaza (aka the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall) in back to back years, 1988 and 1989. Also, WrestleMania IV was interesting in that it was the beginning of the year long story between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage which led to them facing each other at WrestleMania V for the WWF Title.

In 1990, the WWF went across the border for WrestleMania VI and ran the Skydome in Toronto to feature the title vs. title showdown of Hulk Hogan against Ultimate Warrior. For this card, I wish they would have used the VHS artwork instead of just a generic Ultimate Warrior picture. The VHS cover is awesome with a space background and the two just looking as crazy as humanly possible.

These two are some of my favorite early WrestleMania shows. I've already detailed my love for WrestleMania VIII in the original VHS box posts but I think often WrestleMania VII gets overlooked. It's got a great match between Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage, the WrestleMania debut of the Undertaker, and the final pay-per-view match of the original Hart Foundation. There's also the main event with Hulk Hogan facing Sgt. Slaughter.

Completing the nine-card set is this promo card of WrestleMania IX. When these cards were produced, the event had yet to take place but going back and looking at it now, it was a very unique show with a Roman coliseum theme to it. While I think it gets a bad rap as the "worst WrestleMania ever" in a lot of countdowns (WrestleMania 11 and WrestleMania 32 are far worse), it's a fun show to watch. 

That does it for a quick look at these WrestleMania cards from Coliseum Video. I hope everyone enjoys the marathon show that WrestleMania will be this year!

The Yard Sale Cards: Wrestling

This weekend just happens to be a big weekend in the world of WWE with both NXT Takeover and Money in the Bank happening in Chicago. The Money in the Bank event over the last few years has sort of begun to fill the void of a mega-event in between WrestleMania (March/April) and SummerSlam (mid/late August), a spot that was held in the 90s by King of the Ring. I figured this would be as good a time as any to show off some of the wrestling cards from the yard sale lot.

Speaking of WrestleMania, I'll start with these 1993 Coliseum Video WrestleMania tear off cards. As with most Coliseum Video stuff from this time, these were most likely handed out as free gifts when you rented a WWF tape. 

Not only were there the loose cards, but there were also some of the panels still in tact. If the prices for the uncut panels on COMC and eBay are to be believed, then I could probably sell some of my extras off and cover my yard sale costs.

Next up are some postcards from Coliseum Video. In addition to the Bret Hart and Crush postcards, there are also Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Undertaker, and Steiner Brothers cards as part of the six card set.

These cards are tiny but they're cool. Again these were distributed by Coliseum Video. I've got four of the five cards in the set, the only thing missing is the Undertaker card.

Here are some stickers. These look like they're more recent, as in possibly released in 1994, as opposed to 1993 like most everything else was so far.

There were a ton, I mean a TON of duplicates of this five card Bret Hart set that chronicles both his tournament win at King of the Ring 1993 and his WWF title win at WrestleMania X. Interestingly enough, these are not in chronological order. 

Moving on from the Coliseum Video cards, there was also a good amount of variety featuring the sets put out by Classic in the early 90s. This blue bordered set was the last set that Classic produced from 1991. I think my two favorite cards here are the Ricky Steamboat card which captures him breathing fire and the Sensational Sherri card right next to it in which she looks like an extra from the set of CATS.

Classic only made WWF sets for three years, 1989, 1990, and 1991. These cards are from the inaugural 1989 set. I still forget some times that Barry Windham had a very brief WWF run in 1989.

These cards look like they're tear outs from the WWF Magazine and after a bit of research on TCDB, it turns out that the Jim Ross card is. The other cards I can't find any record of on quick search on TCDB, COMC, or eBay. I might have to do some more digging to see what I can find.

WWF cards weren't the only thing included. There was also a good amount of WCW cards from the early 90s, back when WCW wasn't exactly at the top of its form. These are from the 1991 Impel WCW set and if I can remember correctly, after I sorted them I think I came up about 10-12 cards short of a full set.

These black border cards are also from 1991 but were put out by Championship Marketing. I've seen the Impel ones numerous times and while they're kind of funky and have that 90s vibe, these definitely seem a bit more on the serious side. I think the black borders give them an edgier feel and the photography doesn't seem as cheesy as well.

Also, here's a set I wasn't aware of until I pulled the cards out of the box, that being this 1995 CARDZ WCW set. I really, really like it but I think my favorite part of the set has to be the cards of the pay-per-view posters. Those are super cool. 

This box provided a nice array and some new and definitely unique additions to my wrestling card collection. Who knew there were so many WWF oddball cards in the mid-90s? The WCW Impel cards I could've lived without but still, if I can complete the set, I'll probably binder it up but it's not a priority. Hope everyone enjoys the wrestling this weekend!

Wacky Wrestling VHS Boxes #9: Another WrestleMania Edition

It's WrestleMania Sunday and you know what that means .... time once again for a trip back in the time machine to look at some old WWF VHS boxes! I found a bunch more scans online and picked out a bunch more of WrestleMania VHS covers to examine. 

WrestleMania 2 (1986)

Scan credit: VHS Wasteland

I know I actually used to own this tape sometime back in the early 2000s but I can't remember exactly when. It had to have been around 2001 because I clearly remember making a homemade VHS cover for my copy of WrestleMania 17 I taped off pay-per-view based on this box. Anyway, when I first watched this show, I thought it was kind of boring but it's a show that has definitely grown on me.

The unique thing about this show is that it's the first (and only) time that the WWF broadcast a show on pay-per-view from three different venues. I always thought that the first half of the show is pretty dull with all the undercard matches from the New York being four minutes or less and the Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T boxing match being pretty boring, but the matches got better starting with the NFL vs. WWF battle royal in Chicago and the British Bulldogs vs. Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake match, which seems to get overlooked at lot. The LA portion has some really fun matches with Ricky Steamboat against Hercules, The Funk Brothers against Tito Santana and the Junk Yard Dog, and, of course, the main event of Hulk Hogan against King Kong Bundy, which I always thought was a bit of an odd choice.

WrestleMania IV (1988)

Scan credit: The Canadian Collection

I don't know why, but there's something I've always kind of liked about this particular WrestleMania. Maybe it's the setting in the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City (called Trump Plaza by the WWF), maybe it the funky opening graphic with the casino slot machine, maybe it's the fact it's got a little bit of everything from a 16-man tournament, to a battle royal, to completely random undercard bouts. It's just a fun show to watch. This being the first WWF show that was nearly four hours long, when it was released it was split into two tapes, and look at that price ... $59.95 for two tapes? Sign me up! Plus, how could you not love the fact there was a pop-up Hulk Hogan in the middle of the case. Don't believe me?

Scan Credit: The Canadian Collection

I rented this show when I was a kid from the local Blockbuster Video and I remember being fascinated with the show. So much, in fact, that I built a set and an entrance ramp out of K-NEX toys for my wrestling figures. In the realm of the WWF, this show started the year-long Mega Powers storyline with Randy Savage winning the tournament to capture the WWF Championship with the help of Hulk Hogan. Over the next year, the two teamed together with the seeds of jealousy slowing being sewn here and there. Finally, near the beginning of 1989, on an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event if I'm not mistaken, Savage turned heel and attacked Hogan in the locker room as Hogan was looking after and injured Miss Elizabeth in the locker room. Savage's attack on Hogan cemented him a a bona-fide heel which led into the main event of WrestleMania V. Speaking of which ...

WrestleMania V (1989)

Scan Credit: The Canadian Collection

As much as I like WrestleMania IV, that's how much I really don't like WrestleMania V. From the first shot inside the arena, it feels like it's just a hand-me-down show. To start with, it's held in the exact same venue as the year before and, something I don't think anyone else has ever picked up on, they used the exact same banners but just put tape over the "I" in IV. To me, that just sort of screams low rent. The card itself has a ton of random undercard matches, but there are a few decent ones including a fun Rockers vs. Twin Towers match, the first in the Ultimate Warrior/Rick Rude series which would carry on through the summer, and Owen Hart's first WrestleMania match as the Blue Blazer against Mr. Perfect.

The box itself is a mystery to me too. The front is a full-bleed design with barely a mention of Coliseum Video, except for the lower left corner. It's also a normal sized box at a time when Coliseum Video was putting all it's tapes out in oversized boxes. I always though that was kind of strange as everything before and after was in the oversized boxes (except for WrestleMania IV but that was two tapes long) up until late 1992. The front has a generic fire background with Hogan and Randy Savage and the back is pretty basic with a black background, the WrestleMania logo and the long list of all the matches on the show. I remember watching this when I first rented it and it felt interminable and it still does to this day. It ranks second on my list of worst WrestleManias, just ahead of WrestleMania XI.

WrestleMania IX (1993)

Scan Credit: The Canadian Collection

I think this show gets a lot of unnecessary grief but if you sit down and watch it and actually give it a chance, then it's not a bad show at all. Sure, it's cheesy with the Roman coliseum get-up, announcers dressed in togas, and other wacky stuff, but there are some pretty fun matches, especially the Headshrinkers vs. Steiners match, the WWF debut of Jim Ross on commentary (and the banter between him an Bobby Heenan is great), and it's got Bret Hart's first WWF Championship match at WrestleMania. The thing that makes a lot of people mad though at the end of this show is the fact that Hulk Hogan swoops in at the end of the show and beats Yokozuna in 90 seconds in an impromptu match to win the WWF title. That doesn't really bother me though as this is a fun show I really enjoy watching from time to time.

Let's look at the box though, the front is all kinds of crazy with Caesar's Palace in the background, representing the bright lights of Las Vegas, Bret Hart and Yokozuna because they face each other in the main event, Brutus Beefcake and Hulk Hogan because their in the co-main event, and ... Jimmy Hart? Not sure what warrants him being on the cover but oh well. The back is about what you would expect from a WWF tape with the match listing and some studio photos. One match that's listed that didn't take place is Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Kamala, which is a shame as I would've liked to have seen that.

WrestleMania XV (1999)

Scan Credit: The Canadian Collection

Normally I try to keep these posts in the Coliseum Video era but this particular show is special for me as it's the first wrestling pay-per-view event I ever ordered. It was the spring of 1999 and I was at the tail end of eight grade. I remember always asking my mom if I could order a pay-per-view show. Eventually, she said I could but I would owe her the price of the show, which was $30. I agreed and I ordered the show. To me, it was a new experience as I had never seen any pay-per-view event before let alone a wrestling show.

The main draw on this show was definitely Austin vs. Rock. It was the first meeting ever between the two and it had all the appeal of the Mega Powers a generation before, the two top names in the company battling it out for the top prize in the industry. Sure, there were parts of the show I was disappointed in such as the Undertaker vs Big Boss Man Hell in a Cell match and Big Show's first match for the WWF on pay-per-view but overall, I enjoyed the show and to this day it's a show I still like to revisit from time to time just to bring back the thrill of seeing my first pay-per-view all over again.

That wraps up another edition of Wacky Wrestling VHS Boxes. I know I focused more on nostalgia this time around that the actual VHS boxes themselves but sometimes this stuff just writes itself. WrestleMania this year looks like a really interesting show. I haven't had time to watch a lot of Raw and Smackdown leading into it but I've been checking out the highlights and I'm pretty excited. With the return of Daniel Bryan, the debut of Ronda Rousey, A.J. Styles fighting Shinsuke Nakamura, and Roman Reigns battling Brock Lesnar (again), it should be a fun show.

Enjoy WrestleMania everyone!

WrestleMania Week: Wacky Wrestling VHS Boxes - WrestleMania Edition!

Happy WrestleMania Sunday everyone!

As it is the biggest pro wrestling event of the year, this will be an all WrestleMania edition of the "Wacky Wrestling VHS Boxes" series. Unlike the standard four tapes I usually include in these pieces, I'll showcase five of these this time!

WrestleMania III (1987)

Starting this off comes a tape I found just recently that was buried in a crate full of books ... WrestleMania III! The main event is one of the most legendary matches ever, Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant in front of over 93,000 people (or so it's claimed) at the Pontiac Silverdome. Also on the card was Randy Savage defending the Intercontinental Championship against Ricky Steamboat in a classic, action packed bout, and Roddy Piper competing in his "farewell match" against Adrian Adonis. This was one of the early WWF tapes as well, judging by the black clamshell box. Also, look at the price on the bottom left corner ... $39.95! That's the same as $85.50 today!

WrestleMania VII (1991)

I mentioned in the first entry in this series that WrestleMania 8 was my favorite WrestleMania of all time. I wouldn't say this one is anywhere near it, but it's still a really, really good show by all accounts and right in the middle of three really good WrestleMania shows. This particular show had a "Stars and Stripes" theme to it since it took place during the Gulf War and we had Sgt. Slaughter, an Iraqi sympathizer, defending the WWF Title against Hulk Hogan. Also, there is a fantastic match between Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage in which the loser must retire. The problem is that on this tape, about five minutes of the match is cut out. I'm not sure why, perhaps to make sure the whole show fit on the tape? 

The case itself is one of the old oversized cases that the WWF did for their tapes for a few years. I really like the design on the front with Hogan and Slaughter face to face and the American flag in the background. The back is pretty basic with just the standard stock photos and the complete card. To be honest, the back of this tape and the back of the WrestleMania 8 tape look nearly identical, except for the color. The front also says that "each and every match" is complete, which as I mentioned earlier, is lies!

WrestleMania X (1994)

There are two matches on this show that make it legendary. First, there was the ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon but before that, a classic match between Owen Hart and Bret Hart opened the show. By this time, the roster had completely flipped over from the Hogan era with most of the stars from that era gone, with the exception of Randy Savage and Earthquake. This would be the final WrestleMania for both as well. There was supposed to be a 10-man tag team match as well on here but it was canceled. This is a show I could watch over and over again as it just breezes by. The box for this though seems pretty standard, at least on the front. The back also looks really squished with the giant logo and all the matches and info having to be crammed into the bottom half.

WrestleMania XI (1995)

Going from one of the better editions of WrestleMania to one of the worst, if not the worst. This show is widely regarding as one of the worst WrestleMania shows ever. In the main event, Lawrence Taylor, yes the NFL player, fought Bam Bam Bigelow. The match was better than it had any right to be, mainly because of Bigelow, but it's still lauded as one of the worst WrestleMania main events of all time. The other thing about this show is that it just didn't have that aura that WrestleMania is supposed to have. It was marred by technical difficulties throughout the show, the arena was small and dark, and when there's a match on it that Bret Hart calls "the worst match of his career", you know you've got a bit of rubbish. The box however isn't that bad. I really like the design on both the front and the back and it really makes you forget just how bad the show really is.

WrestleMania 13 (1997)

The last WrestleMania on this entry and the last one released by Coliseum Video before they went kaput later that year, this show is remembered for one match ... Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin in a Submission Match. If you just mention the words "Bret vs. Austin" to any wrestling fan, their mind immediately goes to this match. It was an all out brawl from bell to bell and has the famous ending of Austin passing out in the sharpshooter and special referee Ken Shamrock stopping the match. Words honestly can not do justice as to how great this match is, so I would advise you to seek it out in any way possible.

That being said, the rest of this show was rather unmemorable and so is this box if you look at it. My biggest issue is that a lot of the poses on the front and the back look very forced and what is Sid holding in his hand on the front cover? I think Coliseum Video knew they were on the way out and did as little as possible for the box cover. Compare it to the others I've show here and see for yourself.

Hope everyone enjoyed these old WrestleMania VHS boxes and WrestleMania week in general. Enjoy WrestleMania tonight and tomorrow is Opening Day for baseball and a return to some baseball card related fun.

Wacky Wrestling VHS Boxes!

To help celebrate on of WWE's longest running traditions, the Survivor Series, I wanted to focus on one of the other things I collect, old WWF video tapes from the 80s and 90s. The idea for this came from an ongoing feature that Matt over at Dinosaur Dracula does during his annual Halloween Countdown where he looks at, as he calls them, "Vicious Videocassette Boxes". So here, I'll be doing what I call Wacky Wrestling VHS Tape Boxes.

Unlike today's DVD and blu-ray cases where the back of the case is littered with the list of special features and barely has room for the movie description, VHS cases had to be attention grabbing and had to convince you to rent (or buy) the tape since there were no special features to entice someone to take a chance. The box art, front and back, was the ONLY chance to make an impression. The majority of my wrestling video experiences came in local video stores and the library, all of which had extensive collections of wrestling tapes available for rent.

This will be an ongoing series that will show up whenever one of the four tentpole WWE events (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, or Survivor Series) is taking place. Each entry will have four tapes featured. Yeah, its not baseball cards but hey, VHS boxes are made from cardboard too, right?

Survivor Series 1997

Since this is Survivor Series Sunday, I figured the best way to start this off would be with the only Survivor Series VHS tape I own, the infamous 1997 Survivor Series that featured the "Montreal Screwjob", the background of which is way too complicated to get into here (but if you want to read about it, click here).

Since this was the next to last Coliseum Video release, you can tell not much effort was made to the back of the box as it is gray and void of any graphics whatsoever. The front doesn't look like much effort was put into it either, with the graphic from the event poster and a nondescript triangle on the bottom promoting the Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart match. I haven't watched this particular tape in ages but that last time I did, it was just weird seeing the old blue Coliseum Video title screen show up at the beginning, seeing as the roots of the "Attitude Era" were firmly planted by the time this show happened and Coliseum Video seemed like an ancient relic from the past.

WrestleMania VIII (1992)

This is one of my favorite WWF events of all time and the box just absolutely grabs you the minute you see it with lots of bright yellow sent against a purple background. The show itself is pretty epic too. Beginning with the Vince McMahon narrated opening that sets the stage and the opening shot of a packed Hoosier Dome to the closing pan out, it just leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling of your childhood.

The event itself featured two huge showdowns. The first between Randy Savage and Ric Flair for the WWF Title in what turned out to be an absolute classic thanks to the wrestling, the story behind the match, and the drama during the match with Miss Elizabeth. The other was what was billed as Hulk Hogan's final match against Sid Justice that had a huge surprise at the end of the match (back when the phrase "huge surprise" meant something in wrestling). There was also a classic match between Bret Hart and Roddy Piper for the Intercontinental Title which was a great straight-up classic wrestling match.

SummerSlam 1990

Here's a show I rediscovered just recently as I hadn't seen it since probably the mid 2000's. The box for this just screams summer and blazing, brow mopping heat with the orange hue and the yellow sun in the top center. Sort of makes you want to have a big ice cream bar and jump in the pool.

While it's not the best SummerSlam on record (1989's version was way better), it still had some memorable moments with Kerry Von Erich winning his only WWF singles championship and, in probably the best match on the show, The Hart Foundation beating Demolition for the Tag Team Titles thanks to the debut of the Legion of Doom. Also, you had the first steel cage match in SummerSlam history with Ultimate Warrior against Rick Rude and a showdown between Hulk Hogan and Earthquake.

Hulkamania Forever (1990)

Last summer I stopped in to the retro game and movie store that is a few doors down from Maverick's Card Shop in Dayton. The store is laid out like an old video store with movie posters all over the walls, arcade games, and racks of DVDs and video tapes everywhere. In the back, was the "special interest" section where all the sports tapes usually reside, that was where I found this. Unfortunately, the majority of old WWF tapes are cut up like this and jammed into these clamshell boxes. This is the fifth in the series of Hulkamania tapes which were nothing more that Hulk Hogan "best of" tapes featuring matches that were taped exclusively for home video.

I haven't watched this tape since I bought it as I don't have my VCR hooked up currently but judging by the back of the box, it sounds like fun with matches against Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, and Ted DiBiase and a series of matches against Earthquake.

I'll continue this series in January when Royal Rumble comes along with a look at four more tapes in my collection. Hope you enjoyed this trip back in time.