Welcome to my second review of Home Video Classics! This time, I will take a look at a collection of Shawn Michaels matches from the New Generation Era and see if they’re any good or not. Let’s roll!
The first match on this Coliseum Video is Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, which I already looked at in my Bret Hart Coliseum Video review.
1. WWF Tag Team Championship – Shawn Michaels & Diesel (c) vs. Razor Ramon & The 1-2-3 Kid
This match took place in White Plains, New York on September 28th 1994 in an episode of Action Zone. This match featured 4 of the biggest names of the New Generation Era and the tag team titles were on the line, so this was a huge match for a C-show of mid 90s WWF. The match started off with Razor & Kid gaining the upperhand, with Razor managing to connect with the Razor’s Edge on Shawn Michaels before Diesel pulled his partner out of the ring. After the heels took a short timeout on the outside, they took over the match by targeting Razor and keeping him away from his corner. Razor as the face in peril made for an acceptable dynamic, as the crowd were on the edge of their seat waiting to see the 1-2-3 Kid tag in and kick the heels’ asses with his lightning quick offense. Razor sold for the heels for a reasonable amount of time as Shawn and Diesel used underhanded tactics to prevent Razor from tagging in his partner. Razor did manage to tag in the Kid, but unfortunately for him, Diesel had the referee distracted so the tag didn’t count. Remember, only heels can tag in when the referee isn’t looking. After Razor connected with a Chokeslam on Shawn, he was finally able to make the tag and the 1-2-3 Kid made a very exciting comeback for his team. They set up some amazing near falls with Shawn kicking out of Razor and Kid’s patented moves in the last second, which the crowd ate up really well. The heels managed to take over again but Shawn made a huge mistake and accidentally superkicked Diesel right in the face, which left him completely knocked out for a few minutes. They were slowly teasing a dissension so this worked very well. After the faces went on another flurry of offense, Diesel came back into the match and hit the Big Boot on the Kid which allowed Shawn to pin him and retain the tag team titles for his team.
Thoughts: Wow. This match was incredible from bell to bell and the action simply refused to let up. The crowd helped this one too as they were really energetic. This one is a must see and it’s easily a MOTY contender for 1994. Superb hidden gem. ****3/4
2. Intercontinental Championship – Shawn Michaels (c) (w/ Diesel) vs. Crush (King Of The Ring 1993)
The first of 2 PPV matches on this coliseum video. Shawn was in the midst of his second Intercontinental Championship reign and had just introduced Diesel as his new bodyguard. Crush was still a smiling Hawaiian babyface. Both men were in a tough spot, as they were performing after some exciting King of the Ring tournament matches. The match started off with Crush displaying some very surprising athleticism. Diesel got involved a few times in this match, as he helped Shawn gain the upperhand of things by attacking him on the outside of the ring. Shawn Michaels worn down Crush by tossing him into the ring post and then throwing him back into the ring for a resthold. After the heat segment, Crush made his comeback with Shawn selling well for Crush’s power moves. After Crush sent Shawn to the outside, two Doinks showed up at ringside (Doink was feuding with Crush during this time), which distracted Crush and allowed Shawn to connect with Sweet Chin Music and win the match.
Thoughts: An alright match for what it was. Crush looked really dominant as Shawn bumped well for him. Wasn’t a big fan of the finish though. **1/2
3. Intercontinental Championship – Shawn Michaels (c) (w/ Diesel) vs. Mr. Perfect (SummerSlam 1993)
Two of the most polished wrestlers of all time going at it for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam. This had classic written all over it, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations. The story of this match was all on Shawn targeting Hennig’s back, which had bothered him for years. After Curt made his comeback, he connected with the Perfect Plex on Shawn but Diesel pulled Curt out of the ring. After Shawn and Curt brawled outside of the ring, Diesel sent Perfect into the ring post which allowed Shawn to come back into the ring and retain his title via countout.
Thoughts: As I said, the match didn’t live up to expectations, but it was far from being a bad bout. The WWF expected one of the greatest matches to date, and you can’t blame them either since both men are amongst the best in ring workers of all time. Curt wasn’t in his prime anymore and the finish didn’t help matters either, but this one was still a solid bout. This ended up being Mr. Perfect’s final WWF PPV match. **3/4
4. Intercontinental Championship – Shawn Michaels (c) (w/ Diesel) vs. Bob Backlund (SummerSlam Spectacular 1993)
Talk about a clash in styles. This match took place on the 1993 edition of SummerSlam Spectacular, which served as a preview show for SummerSlam. Shawn started off by hitting 2 scoop slams on Backlund before showboating to the crowd. Backlund managed to gain the upperhand by connecting with some arm drags and a scoop slam that sent Shawn retrieving to the outside. Backlund chased Shawn on the outside before we went to a commercial break. When we came back, Shawn had Backlund in a front facelock which Backlund powered out of and began his comeback. Backlund hit an Atomic Drop and after going for the pin, Diesel stood on the apron distracting the referee. After the interference, Shawn rolled up Backlund by pulling his trunks and retained his Intercontinental Championship.
Thoughts: Nothing special to see here. It’s really difficult to rate a match that has a long commercial break in it, as we lose some parts of the bout and you simply don’t know how the competitors got to where they are once the action returns. The match was pretty bland and the finish came out of nowhere. *1/2
5. Intercontinental Championship – Shawn Michaels (c) (w/ Diesel) vs. Kamala (Raw 1993)
This match took place on the June 28th 1993 edition of Monday Night Raw. Shawn started off by trying to lure Kamala in for a handshake. After Kamala declined Shawn’s request, he went on a flurry of offense before accidentally injuring his left leg by ramming it into the turnbuckle. Shawn then went to work on Kamala’s left leg and Kamala did a good job selling and gaining vulnerability from the crowd. Kamala was able to send Shawn shoulder first into the post before he began his comeback. Kamala connected with a big splash on Shawn, but he didn’t know how to cover his opponent. Diesel stood on the apron to distract Kamala which allowed Shawn to connect with Sweet Chin Music and retain his Intercontinental Championship. After the match, Diesel and Shawn laid in a beatdown on Kamala to draw some extra heat.
Thoughts: A pretty harmless bout. It was fun seeing Kamala work his gimmick and both men did the best they could in this situation and they pulled off a solid enough match. **1/4
6. Shawn Michaels (w/ Diesel) vs. Razor Ramon (Raw 1994)
This match took place on the August 1st 1994 edition of Monday Night Raw, in Youngstown, Ohio. The match started off with both men exchanging fast paced offense, before Razor threw Shawn out of the ring. Once Shawn got back in, he connected with a swinging neck breaker. After Shawn got in a bit more offense, Razor connected with a slingshot that sent Shawn crashing to the outside of the ring. Unfortunately for Razor, he couldn’t get the control of the match because of Diesel’s interference on the outside, with Big Daddy Cool connecting with a clothesline behind the referee’s back. Shawn had a sleeper hold on Razor before Razor powered out with a back suplex. Razor made a nice comeback, connecting with a big back body drop and a vicious clothesline for a two count. Shawn managed to connect with the Superkick, which Razor kicked out of. Diesel got on the apron and Razor tried to punch him down, but after Razor ran into the ropes, Diesel connected with a big boot which led to Shawn rolling up Razor and scoring the win.
Thoughts: Great Raw match. Shawn and Razor stole the show at WrestleMania 10 in a ladder match, and even though this match wasn’t as good as the aforementioned classic, it was still nice to see Shawn and Razor battling under traditional rules. They had a lot of time for a 1994 Raw match and they took advantage of it. The action was great and they set up some nice nearfalls by the end. This one comes recommended. ****
7. Shawn Michaels, Diesel & Tatanka vs. The Smoking Gunns & Lex Luger
This match took place on September 28th 1994 in White Plains, New York. This was a month after SummerSlam 1994, in which Tatanka turned heel and so it impacts the dynamic of this match. Shawn and Luger started this match off for their respective teams. Luger hit a clothesline and sent Shawn into Diesel which gave the babyfaces an early advantage. Tatanka and Bart Gunn then continued the match. The Smoking Gunns hit a nice double team move on Tatanka. Luger tagged in for his team and was going after Tatanka, but the Native American tagged in Shawn before any damage was caused. Luger immediately made the tag to Bart Gunn and the babyface team worked on Shawn’s arm for a little bit. After Bart Gunn was sent into the ropes, Diesel pulled the ropes down which sent Bart Gunn crashing into the outside. Looked like a nasty fall. The heels then laid in a beatdown on Bart on the outside before Shawn slapped on a chinlock inside the ropes. Bart Gunn managed to escape and send Shawn crashing into the mat. Bart tagged in his partner Billy for the hot tag. Billy hit a succession of moves on Shawn before he went to the top rope for a huge bulldog, which got him a two count. After that, every competitor started brawling in the ring with Luger finally getting his hands on Tatanka. During the melee, Diesel managed to get in the ring and hit the Jacknife Powerbomb on Billy Gunn and Shawn took advantage and pinned him for the win.
Thoughts: Really solid match here. The only complaint I have is that I wish Luger was more active in this one. It would’ve been nice to see Luger get the hot tag on Tatanka to get his revenge. Nonetheless, the match was solid enough for a coliseum video exclusive. **3/4
And that will be all from me today. In contrast to the Bret Hart one, this coliseum video featured some of Shawn’s best matches from the mid 90s along with some PPV matches. The only match that was coliseum video exclusive was the six man tag. This coliseum video easily comes recommended.
The next Coliseum Video I will take a look at will be the Undertaker: He Buries Them Alive! released in March of 1995. Until then, thanks for reading and take care!
