Research help/your feedback needed: Rarest commercially released wrestling tapes/DVDs

[Bix]

Tabe and I decided to do something like this article about video games for commercially released wrestling videos after daring each other to try for far too long. We need assistance from everyone to make it as good as possible. Off the top of my head, we need more details about:

 

- Whether or not anyone has ever seen an official release copy of WCW Clash of the Champions XXIII that was advertised during the show with an 800 number and then forgotten about.

- Details on the video only available with new subscriptions to WWF Magazine that included the Slaughter-Patterson Alley Fight.

- Details on the WCW Fan Favorites video (that I recall was some sort of exclusive) with matches taken from a WCW.com poll.

- A decent ranking of the last year or two of Coliseum Video releases and the early WWF Home Video releases.

- Details about Silvervision's NTSC WWF releases.

- Any details about why NWA Crockett Cup '86 was pulled so quickly other than speculation that it was related to JCP and the UWF's working agreement ceasing.

- Any details about the rarity of the various alternate versions of JCP/WCW releases relative to other versions.

- Details about the rarest WWF Home Video DVDs that were re-released with WWE inserts after the name change.

 

I'm sure Tabe will have more that he can add.

 

Thanks!

[Indikator]

Do you need cover scans? And is this WWF/WCW only?

[Bix]

Cover scans good, not just WWF/WCW or NTSC. Just limited to commercial releases.

[Herodes]

Does "Wrestling Masscares" count as rare? It was a commercial tape released in the late 90s in Euorpe with Abdullah on the cover and had Abby matches mainly from the Montreal territory against Steve Strong (DiSalvo), Sheik Ali and Kareem Muhammad and also a match against Dino Bravo from New Japan. The tape also had other action from Montreal (I think it was mid 80s) with two Dino Bravo vs Samu matches where Samu (from the SST) was a cocky heel who spoke and was managed by Eddie Creatchman and his son Floyd Creatchman. The commentators are Milt Avruskin (?) and Gino Brito Jr.

 

 

There were also a lot of IWCCW commercial tapes released in the UK and Germany in the mid 90s which had a weird mix of early 90s IWCCW (with heel Tony Atlas), early 80s memphis with Lawler, Savage, Rude and Austin Idol, 80s Savoldi ICW with Joe Savoldi, Sheepherders, Billy Graham, early Mid South with Samoans, Dibiase and Bob Roop and even some 70s stuff (AWA or Indianpolis) with Crusher, bruiser, Heenan, Blackjacks etc. They were released as "All Star American Wrestling".

 

Sorry if these are not rare at all but I hope they are of interest.

[Boondocks Kernoodle]

This tape isn't considered rare nowadays, is it?

 

http://www.amazon.com/All-Star-Wrestling-V...r/dp/6300984133

 

I got this at K-Mart when I was 8 because it listed "Tully Blanchard vs Brett Hart." That "Brett Hart" turned out to be a young Barry Horowitz.

 

I guess if it was sold at K-Mart it can't be rare, right?

[Loss]

I used to have a Wrestlemania board game that came with a VHS tape that had tons of clips from various shows. The VHS tape was somehow worked into the board game in a way I can't remember, but it was a pretty cool highlight reel.

[Boondocks Kernoodle]

Does anyone know what exactly the deal was with Coliseum Video? They were just a division of Evart Enterprises (a porn video distributor, apparently), not of Titan Sports, right?

[Bix]

As far as I know, yes. And I didn't know that Evart was a porn company but it looks like you're right. That's awesome.

[Dylan Waco]

I used to have a Wrestlemania board game that came with a VHS tape that had tons of clips from various shows. The VHS tape was somehow worked into the board game in a way I can't remember, but it was a pretty cool highlight reel.

 

Somehow I have THREE copies of this in my possession right now.

[Bob Morris]

I have a Colisuem Video tape titled "Raw Hits" which dates back to 1995. Has five matches on it:

 

* Bret Hart vs. 1-2-3 Kid (but sadly, just two of the three aired segments... the middle segment is not included, plus commentary has been overdubbed)

* Davey Boy Smith vs. Shawn Michaels (I believe it includes all aired segments)

* Lex Luger vs. Tatanka, steel cage match

* Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano (this one might be missing a segment as well)

* Bret Hart, 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly vs. Owen Hart, Yokozuna and Hakushi (another one that might be missing a segment)

 

Only Coliseum Video tape I ever bought, mostly because I never saw them sold in stores much of the time, just available for rent at movie rental stores.

[Death From Above]

Does "Wrestling Masscares" count as rare? It was a commercial tape released in the late 90s in Euorpe with Abdullah on the cover and had Abby matches mainly from the Montreal territory against Steve Strong (DiSalvo), Sheik Ali and Kareem Muhammad and also a match against Dino Bravo from New Japan. The tape also had other action from Montreal (I think it was mid 80s) with two Dino Bravo vs Samu matches where Samu (from the SST) was a cocky heel who spoke and was managed by Eddie Creatchman and his son Floyd Creatchman. The commentators are Milt Avruskin (?) and Gino Brito Jr.

I'm pretty sure that Abby tape had a North American release at some point, because I have an old VHS bootleg of it. Got it years ago but I couldn't tell you who it was from or where he got it. I think it had a different title here though (or at least it was billed to me under a different title at the time). IIRC the Abby/Bravo match was in All Japan, not New Japan, but that's a very small quibble.

 

There's also a pull apart brawl somewhere on that tape from the Montreal footage with Dan Kroffat and a very young Toshiaki Kawada running around as ring seconds, which is why I remember the Bravo/Abby match being in All Japan.

[Eduardo]

- Details on the WCW Fan Favorites video (that I recall was some sort of exclusive) with matches taken from a WCW.com poll.

This was a VHS that was released in 2000 that featured the Texas Death match with Vader vs Cactus Jack (Halloween Havoc '93), Hulk Hogan vs Sting (Starrcade 97), Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (Chi-Town Rumble), and maybe one or two other matches. I forgot who hosted the video, I could be wrong but it might have been Schiovane, but I remember the host mentioning the poll. I rented this VHS about a decade ago at my local video store, so I don't think it was rare.

 

EDIT:

 

Amazon had this pic and info:

 

 

Product Description

 

You asked for it, You got it! WCW's website invited fans to vote for the greatest matches of all time. Thousands participated and chose the four bouts on this video as history's most memorable! STARRCADE '97 Following Months of anticipation, vigilante Sting confronts NWO leaded Hollywood Hogan! BASH AT THE BEACH '96 The outsiders Kevin Nash and Scott Hall choose a surprise partner to help them against the combined might of Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage. HALLOWEEN HAVOC '93 A "Spin the wheel, make the deal" Texas Death Match, where opponents wage war with an assortment of deadly weapons! CHI-TOWN RUMBLE '89 Ric Flair battles for the world heavyweight title in one of the greatest fights of his legendary career!