10 Things About WWE (Coliseum) Home Video You Didn't Know

Home videos for professional wrestling fans have been a mainstay for decades. Home video sales still proved to be strong in late 2021 with Impact Wrestling releasing Slammiversary 2021 on VHS which sold out almost instantly. Despite streaming, some fans still wanted the physical copies that were released before future edits were made.

A big home video announcement was made in late 2021 by WWE in that DVD and Blu-ray production in North America was going to stop, with Survivor Series 2021 being the final release. After 36 years of home videos, WWE certainly made a mark.

10 Very First Home Video

wrestlings-bloopers-bleeps-and-bodyslams

WWE released their very first home video in 1985. With the technology at the time, videos were released on VHS cassettes/tapes and LaserDisc. At the time their home video distribution outlet was known as Coliseum Video and would have that title for more than a decade before becoming WWF/WWE Home Video. Coliseum Video featured an amazing variety of compilation and superstar profile films and although there were very few at the time, PPVs would also be released.

Many may think WrestleMania 1 was the first home video but it was the fourth, however, it does hold the distinguished honor of being the very first event released on home video. Sitting in the top spot of the Coliseum Video catalog with the reference number WF001 is the compilation tape Wrestling's Bloopers, Bleeps and Bodyslams that was hosted by Gorilla Monsoon. This is not to be confused with the 1994 video Bloopers, Bleeps and Bodyslams.

9 Limited LaserDisc Releases

LaserDisc was a digital format of home movie viewing that began to be sold in the late 1970s to be a better alternative to VHS tapes; the concept of digital videos would later evolve to the Digital Video Disc (DVD). LDs were about the size of a vinyl record and could be printed on both sides of the disc which was needed in many cases as there was only a one-hour memory per side, meaning a standard feature film would have to be cut into two parts with each being on an individual side.

WWE did have some LaserDisc releases but due to low sales, the list of LD releases remained at a limited four titles. Along with their VHS counterpart, the only WWE LaserDisc releases were Wrestling's Bloopers, Bleeps and Bodyslams, Hulkamania, The Best of the WWF Vol 1, and WrestleMania 1 which also were the first four Coliseum Video titles in that order.

8 First Superstar Profile Video

Superstar profile films allowed viewers to have compilations of their favorite superstars with some having stand-out footage collections from their best matches; it would not be uncommon for the full match not to be included due to the amount of space on the tape or disc. Along with being able to relive some in-ring classics, documentaries on the wrestlers began to be featured. The documentaries began as in-depth showcases on the characters but eventually would become more of a profile on the real-life person.

Exceptional profile videos that would later be released were featured on names like Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Steve Austin, and The Undertaker. The very first superstar to have a video released of themself was Hulk Hogan with Hulkamania which would go on to have six sequels. Hosted by Vince McMahon despite "Mean" Gene Okerlund being the noted host on the box, Hulkamania featured five WWE Championship matches of Hogan against Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, "Dr. D" David Schultz, The Iron Shiek, and two bouts against Big John Studd with one being a Steel Cage match.

7 First PPV Home Video

The first WWE PPV was released on home video in 1985 coming in the form of The Wrestling Classic. For those thinking it would be WrestleMania 1, the reason for that is the same reason why WrestleMania 1 was technically not a PPV, it was broadcasted on closed-circuit television whereas the first event actually broadcasted on Pay-Per-View was The Wrestling Classic but WWE still files WrestleMania 1 under the PPV category. As noted, WrestleMania 1 was the first event released on home video.

The Wrestling Classic featured a 16-man tournament with all matches taking place on the broadcast. The winner of the tournament was The Junkyard Dog who would see a rise in popularity following the night along with Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat. Though the finals was the main event and the tournament was the main focus of the show, the event also saw a WWE Championship match between Hulk Hogan and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

6 First WWE DVD

October 26, 1999, was the date when WWE went into the digital realm with their home video releases. Although VHS cassettes were still the main form of home video media at the time, DVDs began to become a hot commodity going into the new millennium. WWE released two DVDs for their first attempt but does specify a first and second title.

The Hell Yeah: Stone Cold's Saga Continues documentary compilation was the second title released on the first day but for categorizing sake WWE officially recognizes WrestleMania 15 as the company's very first DVD release. The event's main event saw "Stone Cold" Steve Austin battle The Rock for the WWE Championship.

5 Final WWE VHS

By the mid-2000s the VHS format had run its course and was on its way into extinction. DVDs were now the performed form of media for their enhanced video and sound quality. WWE still continued to regularly produce VHS tapes as well as DVDs to reach the largest audience they could for home video viewers but the end was coming near for VCR owners.

WWE would release their final VHS title on September 20, 2005, with SummerSlam 2005. Despite having 2 world title matches on the card, the night was headlined by the infamous "Icon vs. Legend" showdown between Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan that became more of a spectacle than a wrestling match.

4 UMD Releases

The Universal Media Disc (UMD) was the medium used by Sony for their Playstation Portable console in the mid-2000s, which was a small optical disc encapsulated in a cartridge. Movies and TV shows were released on the format and WWE got themselves a piece of the pie as well, though some of the releases were shorter on time than their DVD counterpart.

WWE did release their video games on the PSP console and started movie releases on September 27, 2005, in the United States and the United Kingdom with three titles. Those were Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story, The Monday Night War, and The Self-Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior. WWE would only release one PPV on UMD in 2008 with WrestleMania 24 which would also be the last UMD movie title released of the 14 total.

3 First Blu-Ray Release

After VHS was phased out, DVDs were the only format for home video releases for a few years. Blu-ray Disc or Blu-ray (BD) was released in 2006 meant to supersede the DVD. BDs have a blue tint on the memory side of the disc and are able to hold high-definition information. Sony was the first video game manufacturer to use Blu-ray technology with the Playstation 3; years later Microsoft would adapt to Blu-ray technology starting with Xbox One.

Going into 2022 all commercial home movie production companies release their titles on BD and DVD; WWE was in that category until they announced the seizure of their home video releases. WWE first began to produce BDs in 2008 starting with WrestleMania 24 on May 20. The historic event had a spectacular main event seeing The Undertaker challenge Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship.

2 Best-Selling Home Video

Home videos were not just a means of entertainment, they helped with actual real events in the professional wrestling world. The 2004 documentary The Rise and Fall of ECW was an incredibly successful product that sold tremendously well, so much so that it was the main factor in ECW being revived in 2005. As strong as the sales were it was not the best-selling title to be released. That honor goes to the 2006 PPV WrestleMania 22.

In only 1.5 months since its release, WrestleMania 22 became WWE's best-selling DVD ever with 345,000 units sold just in the United States; the numbers grew worldwide. The night included a Money In The Bank Ladder match, a Hardcore match, a Casket match, a No Holds Barred match, Rey Mysterio's first world title win, and the polarizing main event of Triple H vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship. The 2006 Hall of Fame ceremony was also included in the DVD release featuring the induction of Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

1 Foreshadowed Editing

In March 2021 WWE Network and Peacock announced they were removing several controversial segments from WWE's past. Included in the cuts was "Rowdy" Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 6 in 1990. Piper had infamously painted himself half black for his match against Bad News Brown; a rib was played on Piper that night when Andre The Giant dumped the paint removal solution and replaced it with water, leaving Roddy in that state for days.

Due to the controversial racial overtone, Piper's backstage interview with "Mean" Gene Okerlund and the match with Brown were removed in 2021. For owners of the original WrestleMania 6 Coliseum Video 1990 VHS release, they too will notice that a notable segment was removed. The Piper-Brown match was included on the tape but Piper's backstage interview with Okerlund was omitted. Whatever the reason was at the time, it was quite the foreshadowing as 31 years later the segment would once again be pulled from distribution.