WWE Vintage Collection Report: July 17th 2011
By Shaun Best-Rajah.com Reporter
Hosted by: Jack Korpela

Welcome aboard! Mean Gene’s on assignment this week, so for the first time in Vintage Collection history, we have a new guest host…Jack Korpela. To be fair, he’s a likeable guy.

I digress. With Money in the Bank upon us, today’s show is all about the Money!

Clips of the (future 1-2-3) Kid upsetting Razor Ramon from the May 17th 1993 edition of Monday Night Raw open the show. No doubt about it, this is still classed as one of the biggest upsets in Raw history to this day!

Vignettes from the following weeks of TV show Razor trying to entice the “stick man,” “cockroach” and “this 1-2-3 Kid” with Mira (money) to get back in the ring with him. After Kid turns down $2,500, $5,000 and $7,500, citing family and his wellbeing being more important than money, Razor ups the ante. With a final offer of $10,000 and the suggestion that “with this kind of money you could go out and buy a life,” Kid accepts the price is right. That’s today’s Main Event sorted.

Speaking of everyone has a price, where better to start than with ol’ moneybags himself…Ted DiBiase.

WWF Prime Time Wrestling: December 17th 1990
Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase w/Virgil vs Nikolai Volkoff
Volkoff had recently ditched Bolshevik partner Boris Zhukov to become an adopted American. Sgt Slaughter would follow Volkoff’s lead just under a year later. Virgil counts out a substantial amount for DiBiase to try and bribe Volkoff with. Volkoff pockets the cash down his trunks then gives his paymasters a double noggin knocker. Sneaky! After Volkoff sends DiBiase to the floor a couple of times, DiBiase takes control with fistdrops and an atomic drop. DiBiase misses a backelbow from the middle rope to let Volkoff back into the match with kicks and a clothesline. Volkoff goes after Virgil for no reason prompting Lord Alfred Hayes on commentary to state Volkoff is a “bit thick upstairs.” Harsh! Volkoff reverses an irish whip, DiBiase sidesteps a charge and puts Volkoff to sleep with the Million Dollar Dream. Virgil shamelessly recovers the money from Volkoff’s trunks after the bell on DiBiase’s orders. DiBiase would have to wait three-and-a-half years before finally managing to buy off Volkoff for his Million Dollar Corporation. Winner: MILLION DOLLAR MAN TED DiBIASE.

Madison Square Garden: July 12th 1986
$50,000 – 22-Man Over The Top Rope Battle Royal
Participants: Junkyard Dog, Harley Race, Billy Jack Haynes, King Kong Bundy, Sivi Afi, Brutus Beefcake, Bobby Heenan, Pedro Morales, Lanny Poffo, Mike Sharpe, Moondog Spot, Jimmy Hart, King Tonga, Big John Studd, Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, Greg Valentine, Johnny V, SD Jones, Tony Garea, Moondog Rex, & Tony Atlas:

As soon as the bell goes, Jimmy Hart scarpers to hide underneath the ring. The field wisely gang up to oust Studd and Bundy right from the get-go. Heenan quickly follows then complains/boasts about his faction being important enough to be targeted. Moondog Spot gets rid of SD Jones.

We skip to the final stages. Brutus Beefcake gets eliminated and we’re down to the final seven – Valentine, JYD, Haynes, Tonga, Davey Boy, Poffo and of course Jimmy Hart. Valentine gets cornered by his opponents, but quickly manages to backdrop Haynes and Tonga out. Valentine suckers Davey close enough into the corner to powerslam him out. After Poffo gets stunned by a JYD headbutt, Valentine throws him out too. Valentine tosses JYD through the ropes. JYD discovers Hart, pulling him from under the ring and back into contention. Hart crawls through Valentine’s legs and plays cheerleader for the Hammer. JYD hooks Valentine in a headscissors, but the momentum takes both men out. Jimmy Hart wins without lifting a finger! Both Valentine and JYD are pissed and re-enter the ring, only to see Hart scurry away. Winner: JIMMY HART.

WWF SummerSlam – August 29th 1994
Tatanka vs Lex Luger
In the months leading up to SummerSlam, Ted DiBiase had been making overtures towards Lex Luger and good friend Tatanka was convinced he’d sold out. Backstage before the bout, Todd Pettengill reveals an opinion poll says 54% agree that Lex has sold out. Tatanka takes Luger to task, bringing up many examples of Luger being caught in the company of DiBiase, eventually walking off in disgust. Luger says it’s a free country, people can do and say what they like, but he didn’t sell out and will walk out by himself and win by himself.

After a feeling out process, both hammer away, with Luger winning a slugfest. Luger hiptosses Tatanka out of the corner, follows up with a suplex and draws a negative crowd reaction. Luger misses an elbow drop, allowing Tatanka to take over with a powerslam, suplex, top rope chop and slam. Luger avoids a cross body and retaliates with a pair of clotheslines just as DiBiase makes his way to the ring carrying a bag of money.

With DiBiase positioned on the ringsteps, Luger turns to shout him down, allowing Tatanka to roll Luger up for the 1-2-3. DiBiase is left open-mouthed as Tatanka and Luger square up and argue with one another. DiBiase gets in the ring only for an irate Luger to kick the bag out of his hands. Tatanka attacks Luger from behind to the surprise of no-one to finally reveal he was the one who took the payoff all along. After a lengthy beatdown, Tatanka gives Luger two samoan drops, hugs his new boss and leaves, while calling us all fools. DiBiase encourages Tatanka to go back for seconds, so Tatanka obliges, putting Luger in the Million Dollar Dream then stuffing a $100 bill into his mouth. Winner: TATANKA. Heel Tatanka sucked and was taken off TV a little over a year later, resurfacing at the 1996 Royal Rumble for a brief tenure, before departing. Despite having a logical storyline, Tatanka and Luger would fill out the rest of 1994 with some boring grudge matches.

WCW Main Event: September 23rd 1990
$15,000 Gauntlet Match: Scott Steiner vs Arn Anderson
During the late 80s/early 90s WCW had three weekend shows – Power Hour, Saturday Night and the Main Event. The gauntlet concept was introduced to give someone a chance of wrestling three different opponents, one on each show. If they won all three matches, they won the money. If not, the three wrestlers would split the prize. Scott Steiner was the second man to try this gimmick after Flyin’ Brian had failed. Anderson is the final hurdle for Steiner, who has managed to knock off Bobby Eaton, then, in a major shock – Ric Flair, following assistance from brother and tag partner Rick.

We join the match in progress. AA gets to the ropes to escape a figure four leglock. AA sends Steiner outside to work over his back. Steiner manages to elevate AA out of the ring from the apron. Steiner gives AA a backbreaker on the floor. Back inside, Steiner scoops AA up, running him into the corner, then delivering a shoulderbreaker. AA comes back with a DDT, sets up for a piledriver, but Steiner counters into a backboydrop, only for AA to turn it into a sunset flip. AA holds the ropes, Nick Patrick doesn’t see and counts the 1-2-3.

Fortunately for Steiner, second referee Randy Anderson has seen this and orders a restart. Steiner catches AA in a powerslam, but before he can get the pin, Ric Flair pulls Patrick out of the ring to stop him from counting. Steiner is awarded the match and wins the money. Rick Steiner runs out to prevent a Horsemen beating. Winner via DQ: SCOTT STEINER. Rick Steiner would be the only other man to complete the gauntlet, two months after his brother. Inbetween, Bobby Eaton and Steve Armstrong would try and fail. Ric Flair was the final guy to try after Rick Steiner and lose. The concept was dropped towards the end of 1990.

WWF Monday Night Raw: June 21st 1993
$10,000 Match: Razor Ramon vs 1-2-3 Kid
We pick things up with Razor in complete control, paintbrushing the back of Kid’s head on the mat. Razor punishes Kid with a powerslam and back superplex. Razor tosses Kid to the floor, then goes out to remove the protective mats. Kid counters a Razor’s Edge with a backdrop onto the concrete. Kid slips off the top rope while going for a cross body and is lucky not to smack his head on the concrete. Clearly shaken, Kid gets back in to give Razor a moonsault (the same move he beat him with) but this time Razor kicks out. Kid decides to get the money and limp away as Razor gives chase. Razor catches up to Kid, who finally runs out of a backdoor and into a waiting car. Winner: NO CONTEST. Kid was clearly struggling after the bad bump and had trouble running. Fortunately, it turned out to be nothing serious and not long after, Razor ended up assisting Kid to beat Ted DiBiase after DiBiase started poking fun at Razor’s plight. This led to the Bad Guy turning face and beating DiBiase in the Million Dollar Man’s final WWF match at SummerSlam.

This was a surprisingly good concept. A bit of thought went into it as none of the matches or angles seemed out of place. Ted DiBiase was a natural fit for the show and never fails to entertain. The Razor/Kid interactions were also great to relive, while Steiner/AA was a good brawl while it lasted. Unfortunately, so much of the Battle Royal was edited off which meant it was hard to get into. Although Jimmy Hart’s win was a surprise and his antics were typically over-the-top, I couldn’t help but feel it was a waste of time.

See you next week for another blast from the past!

Any comments or discussion points drop me a line at [email protected]