With the “Greatest Royal Rumble” just around the corner, Matthew Roberts delves into the Coliseum Home Video – WWF World Tour (1990) to take a look at a video release that highlighted the WWE away from their North American base!
With the possible exception of SummerSlam 1992, the WWE has arguably never held a higher profile “foreign” show than the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble but ever since the late 1980’s the company have constantly toured abroad. This 1990 video release, now available on the WWE Network, brings together some of the alleged highlights of 1989 and 1990 in one handy package.
Hosted by Sean Mooney (who has recently returned to WWE Home Video hosting) the action kicks off with a profile of “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, involving two matches filmed in the good old US of A. Well, a “world tour” doesn’t preclude America, does it? Sadly both matches are rather abysmal, although whether the included Snuka promo is even worse is open to question. A commentary team of Tony Schiavone and Lord Alfred Hayes brings us a June 1989 match from the Nassau Coliseum pitting Snuka against Boris Zhukov. If you know anything about either man in 1989 that is not a prospect that fills you with joy. And indeed we get seven minutes of stalling, non-action and downright boring “wrestling” before Snuka hits the Superfly Splash for the 1-2-3. The Superfly profile is rounded out with a match from Madison Square Gardens later in 1989 against The Honky Tonk Man.
Tony Schiavone is joined by Hillbilly Jim on commentary this time and the only positive thing about that is at least he’s more entertaining than he was at the 2018 Hall of Fame ceremony. The match is the usual HTM affair, only with it being the post-Intercontinental era of Honky Tonk Ma he does a clean job and can’t escape with a screwy DQ or Count-Out loss. It’s another ten minutes of your life that you will never get back. Still, at least that’s the end of the Superfly profile.
From there we finally head overseas as Bret Hart and Dino Bravo clash in London, in October 1989. Even then, firmly in his Hart Foundation days, it was clear that Bret had a ton of potential (although I defy anyone watching him in 1989 to have suggested he would ever have become the main event star he did) so this at least has some expectation heading into it…even if Dino Bravo by this stage was another muscled-up, power worker in a roster that wasn’t exactly short of that in 1989. There is some fun pre-match stalling and the action is solid enough overall. It’s just all very pedestrian when Bret isn’t on the offence (and hardly fought a lightning pace when he is!) Still, it almost feels like a five-star classic after the Snuka matches you’ve just sat through. It does remain a fascinating look at Hart when WWF World Title status must have seemed like a faraway dream.
A look at Hulk Hogan in Brussels promoting the legendary, award-winning, movie No Holds Barred is nothing more than an advert for that classic. Lord Alfred Hayes giving us a “tour” of Paris and London would have seemed hokey even back then; viewed today you can’t even say it has a warm feel of nostalgia to it. It’s just a pointless interlude.
From there we head to Paris and, with the bonus of a Sean Mooney snail pun, the thought of The Rockers against The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers quickens the pulse somewhat. It’s very much the “house show” match that most WWF performers would go through in this era, but the bumping and selling of Marty and Shawn elevate the match and it’s a fun match, even if nothing too special.
WWF World Tour (1990) ; WWF/AJPW/NJPW Wrestling Summit
The Ulitmate Warrior Vs. “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
April 13, 1990 – Tokyo, Japan
Next, it’s off to Japan, and the April 1990 Supershow in conjunction with New Japan. The Ultimate Warrior defends his recently won WWF Title against The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase. It’s little more than the extended squash you’ve seen from The Warrior a hundred times, albeit with a unique atmosphere considering the location. It is fair to say that if Jim had got that gig as Big Van Vader he might not have made the success of it that Leon White did.
WWF World Tour (1990) ; Honky Tonk Man Vs. King Jim Duggan
October 10, 1989 – London, England
We’re back in London for The Honky Tonk Man against “King” Jim Duggan. There surely should have been some law against including two HTM matches in one compilation tape that would have stopped this atrocity. The best thing that can be said about it is that it’s kept relatively short. I would have much preferred my fellow countrymen to have booed Duggan out of the building for his “USA, USA” shtick than blindly chanting along, mind you.
WWF World Tour (1990) ; Hulk Hogan Vs. Randy Savage
October 13, 1989 – Paris, France
We sign off with Hulk Hogan against the Macho Man Randy Savage from the same Parisian show the earlier Rockers match was from. Of course, on paper, coming hot on the heels of their WrestleMania V feud, it sounds like a very enticing prospect indeed. Even if Lord Alfred is on commentary again (this time accompanied by Gorilla Monsoon). But this is 1989 House Show WWF, and even a hot French crowd doesn’t mean that either man puts in any more effort than is necessary. Which is not even meant as a slight on either man. Lots of stalls, lots of Sherri and Elizabeth, and not much else. It’s telling that Sherri took more bumps than either man who was actually in the match.
The main appeal of this compilation in 2018 would be nostalgia. And on that level it works; although the matches are largely pedestrian and dull, there’s a smattering of acceptable action and the novelty of foreign crowds, different looks and unique atmospheres mean that it is different enough from the “normal” environs of late 1980s WWF to at least partially reward longer-term viewers of the promotion with a nostalgic trip down memory lane.