I don't know how many of you remember the VWA, or Video Wrestling Association, which came into being in 1986 seemingly out of nowhere yet managed to gain national prominence amongst the youth of America until the superior Tecmo World Wrestling Federation, which had more stars, a better visual layout, and just a general superior feel, replaced it. However, the VWA held a special place in the hearts of many people long after its demise, especially for nostalgic reasons.

This recently discovered tape, released in 1990, covers the legendary career of Star Man, who was an incredible anomaly for 1986 wrestling. He had skills parallel of Dynamite Kid (though he had a limited offense), a charisma reminiscent of the young Hulk Hogan, and a really, really weird superhero-like costume as flashy as those sported by lucha wrestlers today, complete with a red mask that had a big black star on it. Not long after his amazing rise to the top of the VWA, Vince McMahon, always ready to spot a money making opportunity when he could see one, signed Star Man away in 1988, where he toiled as a jobber until he went to Japan, and replaced his star mask with that of a tiger, much like an older wrestler had before him. I wonder how his career turned out?

Anyway, this tape is a great reminder of how Star Man was a dominant force in wrestling, especially in a federation consisting of a mere 6 superstar wrestlers. The matches are incredibly short, sometimes barely spanning a minute, so the star ratings have been adjusted in accordance.

Match #1: Star Man vs Fighter Hayabusa. This is a January 1986 match from the VWA Arena, which I think was located somewhere near Newark. The crowd, however, is very hot for every move and make the matches seem that much better. Star Man immediately starts out with a flying forearm (reminiscent of Tito Santana's Flying Jalapeno), which gets him barely a 2 count right off the bat. He slams Hayabusa, but gets caught with a spinning kick to the face when Hayabusa gets up. However, another flying forearm gets him another 2. Another forearm, then Star Man lures Hayabusa lower in the ring and hits his amazing flip kick. Every time I see it, it amazes me that he never broke his legs executing the move, since he did it a great number of times. Hayabusa comes back with a second spinning kick, but Star Man takes him out with a brainbuster (a nice one, too) for 2. Hayabusa gets a slam in the top right corner, then they do a double KO spot (at 46 seconds-told you these matches went fast). Star Man is up first, and he ascends to the top turnbuckle and hits the Star Drop(he drops both knees right into the gut of the opponent, a crazy spot for 1986!), but the ref is out of position and Star Man only gets 2. It's amazing that the refs are ALWAYS out of position and have to do a fair degree of running to make the count. Where did the VWA get these bums? Star Man is rightly peeved, and hits another flying forearm. A second, even more vicious brainbuster is enough to finish at 1:06. A Star Man squash to kick off the tape, but a good primer to his skills. * _

Match #2: Star Man vs Kin Corn Karn, February 1986 from the VWA Arena. Too bad this tape has no interviews, because the Star Man/Corn Karn feud was HOT in 1986, drawing almost as much as Hogan/Orndorff did. For general reference, every match between these two is good. Star Man hits three straight forearms to start, which gets him 2. Bodyslam sets up the flip kick. Dueling slams leads to another forearm for 2. Star Man goes for ANOTHER forearm, but Corn Karn blocks and Star hits a spin kick instead. Brainbuster gets 2. Slam by the corner, but a splash misses. More slams traded, then a whip leads to a high knee from Star. STAR IS TRIPLE H! Sorry. Double KO, then Karn hits a slam, then goes up top and hits Star's own knee drop, just as he'd promised before this match. However, Karn refuses to cover, and this proves costly, as Star hits another flip kick out of nowhere to get the pin at 2:14. Not the best Star/Karn match, but yet another good primer. However, I really wish they'd included the 5 minute time limit draw they had four months previous to this match, which got ***** from just about everyone who saw it. Well, this match was at least worth ** _, just on general principle.

Match #3: Star Man vs Giant Panther, March 1986 from the Palestra in Philadelphia, PA. Panther looks a lot like Paul Orndorff at this point, which was definitely no coincidence. However, he is DEFINITELY better than Orndorff ever was. They trade slams, then Panther hits two suplexes, the second of which takes Star Man outside! Wicked bump, especially on the unpadded floor. Then Panther goes and pulls out a MOTHERFUCKING TOPE OVER THE TOP ROPE on Star, who's on the ground! Jesus, who was doing topes in 1986 in the United States? Star, however, recovers and hits the flip kick, and both of them get in at the count of 18 (the VWA had 20 counts like Japan). Another slam from Panther. Man, he's dominating early. Star runs away, then hits the forearm off the ropes for a 1. He hits two slams, then another flip kick to come back. He goes up top, but thinks better of it, but Panther's waiting when he gets down and suplexes him outside the ring AGAIN! Spin kicks aplenty from Panther, but Star hits (you guessed it) the forearm to come back, then a brainbuster for 2. He slams Panther, and hits the Star Drop for 2(!). Panther takes his own NASTY bump as Star slams him outside, but Star misses his own tope (!!) and Panther whips him into the steel. But Star whips him back and both of them roll into the ring, where Star hits a spin kick for 2. A second Star Drop misses (ouch), and Panther rolls on top for 2. High knee from Panther gets 2. Star comes back with a spin kick for 2, and a brainbuster sets up the Star Drop for the pin at 3:21. Crowd goes NUTS. Whew. What a great fucking match from these two, especially for the time period. **** _. Would have been more if they'd wrestled just a tad longer.

Match #4: Star Man vs King Slender for the VWA World Title, May 1986 from the VWA Arena. This was set up after Star Man's popularity had reached its zenith and the VWA bookers decided it was time to pass the torch from Slender, who was not as much a draw as had been expected. Slender has a funny orange tan at this point, much like a certain WWF wrestler of the time. He is about as talented, too, but had been very popular in the AWA, which is of course why the VWA snatched him up and made him champion. This is a very famous match, and the one that launched the VWA as Star Man became the #1 man in the fed. Great psychology from Slender to start as he moves away every time Star bounces off the ropes, the sign of the forearm. Star eventually hits, though, and slams him. Double KO, but Star's up and he gets a 1. Star hits another forearm, but gets caught with a spin kick. Wow, these guys used a lot of the same moves, huh? Star gets a German suplex (!) for 2, but Slender gets his own and slams Star outside. Geez, Star must have a back of stone or something. They whip each other around, then roll back in. Star hits a spin kick for 2, then the flip kick for 2. Slender gets another German suplex, then a big splash, but he picks Star up and Star hits a brainbuster for 2. Slam leads to the Star Drop, which only gets two. Slender tries to hulk up, but a forearm ends that, which should have been a sign right there of the end. Star hits a VICIOUS brainbuster (I mean, his head almost went through the mat) and gets the 3 at 2:01 for the title. Fans go APESHIT as Star celebrates. Match was okayish, but really good for Slender. Star, of course, carried the sucker on his back. ** _

Quick photo of Star Man posing with the belt, arms folded, next to a big trophy. Is it just me, or is the lady on that trophy sticking her chest out?

Match #5: Star Man vs Kin Corn Karn for the VWA World Title, July 1986 from the Manhattan Center in New York, future home of WWF Monday Night Raw. This was set up basically because they hate each other, the benchmark of every great feud. Three straight forearms by Star to start, cause he's REALLY PISSED OFF. Karn gets a slam, but Star hits the flip kick for 1. Star slams Karn to the outside, then they brawl outside for a bit then roll back in. Star hits a spin kick , then the flip kick for 1. German suplex gets one. Bodyslam for one, but Karn hits a German suplex to retaliate. Star gets another slam, then lures Karn into the corner and hits a spin kick, then gets a splash for 1. Karn's taking some good abuse, but he keeps coming. Forearm leads to a German suplex for 2. Karn gets two slams, but Star hits a brainbuster and gets the pin to retain at 2:07. Yet another relatively short match, but hey, I didn't pick these matches. Still, much more action-packed than the other Star/Karn match on this tape, even though it was shorter. Great workrate for this period. ***

Match #6: Star Man vs King Slender for the VWA World Title, October 1986 from the VWA Arena. We do some major time skippage, going over ANOTHER **** Star/Panther match and a Star/Amazon match with a CHEAP countout ending. Star ended up winning a lot of matches by countout, which eventually cheapened the VWA belt beyond repair, but was the best way for Star to win. By the way, for all you Amazon fans out there, you'll get a match later, trust me. I have no idea why this rematch was so far along the line-Star had to go back and fight Hayabusa, Karn, Panther, and Amazon all in order again to get to the long-awaited rematch. The usual forearms to start, then Slender gets a slam. Flip kick out of nowhere gets one. Star gets a German suplex for one. Spin kick leads to a brainbuster for 2. Flip kick and slam for 2. Slender gets a backbreaker, but Star counters with a forearm. Big top rope splash misses, but Slender gets caught with a spin kick. He goes for a suplex, but Star reverses into the brainbuster for the pin to retain at 1:32. Slender was being jobbed out anyway, so no big surprise. I don't know what the point of putting this on the tape was, as the hype had been killed off by the long wait and the match was short and not all that good. Well, I guess it's important for historical reasons, although kind of useless for a Star match. I'd have preferred Star/Panther II, but such is life. **

Match #7: Star Man vs The Amazon for the VWA World Title, February 1987 from Madison Square Garden in New York. Massive jump in history here, a full 4 months after the last match. Guess we didn't need any more Star vs Hayabusa, Karn, or Panther matches, which all ended in countout anyway. Talk about cheap, huh? Anyway, this is great to have because the Amazon was definitely something different, which we'll probably never see again in wrestling history. Basically he was a fish-man mutant thing who didn't wrestle very well, but was so vicious in the ring that he won a lot of matches by sheer violence. Anyway, this is the 3rd time they've fought, but the heat is still intense. So intense, in fact, that the VWA bookers had faith in going into WWF territory with this match headlining. The show sold out, the only MSG sellout the VWA would ever have. This is a very well-known match, maybe the most famous match the VWA ever had, before the unification match with Wolf Mask (cue ominous music...).

=46orearms again to start, although Amazon keeps away for a bit, then the flip kick for one. These matches tended to look the same, and often it was the long matches that really stood out. Amazon takes the super bump slam to the outside, and they brawl for a bit. Back in the ring, where Star hits a spin kick and another flip kick for one. Then Amazon grabs Star and bites his head! You can see the blood spurt out of Star's head. This is 1986, people. Star comes back with a German suplex for 2. Amazon comes back and puts Star in a headlock, then punches away. THIS draws blood, too. Sheesh, talk about hardway bleeding. Amazon begs off after doing so, I guess so the ref wouldn't DQ him. Star, groggy, totally misses Amazon with a forearm. More punching to the head, then a slam to the outside. If Star didn't have the red mask already, he'd probably have a crimson mask. Amazon hits a TOPE~! (Jesus, did EVERYONE in this fed do topes?), and Star rams him into the ring a few times to escape. Forearm inside the ring gets 2. More forearm teasing, then a slam from Star. Amazon gets a spin kick to take control, then gnaws away. Jeezus, this is sick to watch. Slam to the outside by Amazon, then ANOTHER FUCKNG TOPE~! Wow. More brawling, then back to the ring. Star gets a forearm out of desperation, then a German suplex for 2. Amazon slams Star outside AGAIN, then a THIRD TOPE~!. Star manages to toss Amazon all over the outside, then moves to go back in with Amazon on his heels (for some reason, the wrestlers only entered the ring from the bottom). However, just as Amazon was about to catch him, Star hit a spin kick, then slid in to beat the count at 2:56. Shitty-ass ending, great match. **** The fans are NOT pleased, to say the least, but Star kicks the Amazon's ass after the match to send them home happy. Well, it was the least he could do.

We skip ANOTHER countout finish, as Star beats Slender in a very, very bad match, to get to:

Match #8: Star Man vs Wolf Mask to unify the VWA and VWF World Titles, April 1987, Atlanta Omni. One of the defining moments of wrestling history. See, the Video Wrestling Federation decided to work with the VWA, and their champion, Wolf Mask (so named because he wore a mask like a wolf's head, duh) would take on Star Man in a true unification match, two years before Lawler vs Von Erich. Anyway, Star challenged Wolf to let the title change hands on a countout. Wolf, confident and stupid, agreed, which pretty much gave away the ending of the match right there. If ever you wanted a point where the VWA (and VWF) hit the downward slide to bankruptcy, here it is. Wolf Mask was the unbeatable superman here, having won 200 straight matches. Forearms from Star, as usual, as he desperately tries to stay as far away from Wolf Mask as possible. Scoop and a slam leads to the flip kick for one. Wolf tries for a piledriver, but can't hit it and settles for a slam. Another forearm allows an escape, then another flip kick gets 1. Wolf gets up and hits his own flip kick! Whoa, I thought only Star did it. Whip into the ropes leads to a massive clothesline. Star pulls out a German suplex for 1. Slam, forearm, and flip kick get 1. Wolf Mask just won't even take a 2. Double KO, then Wolf gets up and slaps on a face claw, like Barry Windham's finisher, except to the face and thus about a thousand times more painful. Yet another flip kick gets 1. Wolf gets up and hits a backbreaker. Another face claw, then Wolf goes for a kneedrop from the top rope, which misses. But he comes back with a flip kick anyway. Star just can't get any offense going. Star is knocked down by another huge hooking clothesline, then Wolf goes up for a splash, which misses, and Star covers for 1. Forearm out of desperation gets 1. Star gets sent outside (cue ominous music again...) and Wolf follows with a tope, of course. But Star comes back, rams Wolf into the ring like 30 times, and rolls in to beat the count at 2:56 and unify the titles. Half the crowd goes nuts, the other half looks ready to riot. Just a terrible, terrible ending for a unification match, which was shaping up to be really good, even though Star was getting his ass kicked. ***

We see Star Man pose with both belts and both trophies. The VWF has one of a guy shooting an arrow into the air. Ooooooooooooookay, then.

The Fallout (in clip form): Well, after this match Star Man's credibility had been destroyed beyond repair, Wolf Mask was made out to be a loser, and both feds took a tumble. Star Man kept defending in matches that went to countouts, and the fans began to stay away in droves. Finally the titles were put back on Wolf Mask, but he had even less heat and drawing power than Star Man, and he was jobbed to the Amazon in a screwy match where the ref stopped the fight because Amazon had bitten Wolf Mask to the point where he was about to lose consciousness from blood loss. And that killed both federations once and for all, as Amazon proved unmarketable and the fans of both feds went to watch the Tecmo World Wrestling Federation instead. And so, in 1989 both feds declared bankruptcy, while Star Man had already off to greener pastures. Well, that's the wonderful world of pro wrestling for you.

So do I recommend this tape? Undoubtedly. Star Man was something very different in wrestling during this time, and he could do it all, much like his VWA compatriots. This is a great slice of something that neither fed could offer, and should be required viewing for all fans.

Highest recommendations.

Oh, and if you want your own copy of this tape, I suggest starting with Nintendo's Pro Wrestling.