Hey yo Stud Muffins and Foxy Ladies,
I hope everyone had a bitchin time with their mothers on Mother's Day. My mother and I did are favorite thing, which is watch loads of General Hospital. Heel Luke Spencer (most likely an impostor when all is said and done) has been absolute treat since Luke had really gotten to feel stale as a character. They are really going full-bore with him sexually harassing women and powdering his nose in the ELQ office. This is what makes a great heel someone that is completely loathsome. Too often in wrestling now, heels are cool or badasses and they are afraid to show ass or be hateable. Dangerous Alliance worked because it was 5 wrestlers that were not afraid to stooge and look like buffons, but when the time came to get that heat they were meanest dudes on the block. Luke has really invested himself into being a detestable human being. In addition, the downward spiral of Sonny Corthinos has really been riveting television. This another case where I think wrestling come learn from their cousins in the Soap Opera world and that is develop a babyface with a tragic flaw. For so long in wrestling, the top guy has had to be this perfect model citizen, which is why Cena gets chastised because he is too perfect and too clean. Fans want to get behind somebody who feels real warts and all. EDIT: After posting this I remembered a recent example of a wrestler that fit this bill, Daniel Friggin' Bryan. If you can remember all the way back before Summerslam, they were running a complex angle where Daniel Bryan felt the need to prove himself because of his stature to Kane and Randy Orton against the Shield and against Orton. Then add in his well-known anger issues and you had a dynamic character, not a gimmick, but someone who experiences real emotions and motivations. Of course, once they decided to push him as the number one babyface they eschewed all the character development for the wrestling underdog that is banging against the glass ceiling and is a populist icon, which really is not as interesting.
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| Sonny Off His Meds was some of the best TV in years! |
In addition, as always I got my a wrestling-related gift (which Im sure she loves), this year it was DDP Yoga. My DDP now it is my Mama's Yoga!
I hate to rush, but there is plenty of KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji (it has been surprisingly good so far), but I feel expressed everything I wanted to say in the reviews so no point in rehashing. Except, I implore all wrestling fans to seek Arn Anderson vs Dustin Rhodes from the Jan 4, 1992 edition of Saturday Night. It is a badass match that is exemplary of Arn as a worker, proof that Dustin deserved his place on the card and is woefully underrated and how to work an engaging, interesting match with just fundamentals. It is really tremendous work.
If you are a mother and are feeling underloved, you can take solace in that fact that Mr. T loves you. He does not just love you on Mother's Day or your birthday, he loves you on Arbor Day, Flag Day, even on Fathers Day! That joke will never get old.
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| FOOL! |
Match Listing
Arn Anderson w/Paul E. Dangerously vs Dustin Rhodes - WCW Saturday Night 01/04/92 **** (Arn & Dustin own it in a fantastic match)
Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton) vs
Sting's Squadron (Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Marcus Bagwell) ***1/4 (Sting is over like rover. Definitely peak overness until the Crow Era Sting. Love the build to Sting/Rude confrontation)
Dangerous Alliance (Larry Zbyszko, Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton) vs.
Dont Step To Sweetwater (Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes & Ron Simmons) -
Clash of the Champions XVIII ***3/4 (Barry Windham is back and he is out for revenge, Yep it is as fantastic as that sounds)
Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude & Steve Austin) vs. Dragon's Sting (Sting & Ricky Steamboat) Clash of the Champions XVIII *** (Bit disappointing given the talent, but Rude's selling and the post-match make up for it.)
Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude & Steve Austin) vs. Dragon's Sting (Sting & Ricky Steamboat) Clash of the Champions XVIII *** (Bit disappointing given the talent, but Rude's selling and the post-match make up for it.)
Arn Anderson w/Paul E. Dangerously vs Dustin Rhodes - WCW Saturday Night 01/04/92
I'll never ever get tired of Beautiful Bobby flying randomly into the screen to drop the leg on an unsuspecting babyface covering an opponent. I have actually seen this match twice before and I loved it. I remember the double bodypart psychology and each men's selling being the hooks of the match. For the life of me, I couldnt remember the finish and then JR says we will show the finish tomorrow I was like "Fuck, the reason I dont remember it is because I never saw it". Then fuckin Eaton flies out of nowhere to nail Dustin with the Alabama Jam. I love pro wrestling.
The fundamentals and selling really carry this match into instant classic status. There are really few highspots in the match, but the entirety of the match is absolutely riveting because how each men is struggling to gain the edge on the other, the organic transitions and their selling made every little thing mean so much more. Early on, Dustin seems to be outwrestling Anderson slightly establishing a hammerlock/armbar base, but Anderson never really lets the match get away from him. When Dustin hits a flying lariat (the only early highspot), Anderson rolls out and kills Dustin's momentum. He goes to throw Dustin to the outside, his domain, but Dustin turns the tables on him by scooping his leg and wrapping it around the post. Thus the awesomeness begins. It is not because how well Dustin worked the leg. It is because Arn never stopped struggling. He did not let the moves happen to him. He was still eye-raking, but Dustin was persistence with the back heel trip into the figure-4. "Break his leg" the crowd chants, we need crowds like this now! Everytime Arn is trying to cutoff he continues to sell the knee and how hard it is just to stand. He fights through it and nails a spinebuster, but cant capitalize immediately. He throws him outside to buy himself some time and Paul E. is able to inflict some damage with his brick cell phone. In an arm for a leg moment, Arn rams Dustin shoulder into the post thus begins Dustin's awesome selling of the arm. An Anderson dissecting an arm and a Rhodes selling it for all its worth is pro wrestling. Dustin making one arm comebacks was friggin bitchin. Paul E. gets another cell phone shot and the kid kicks out and a woman nearly throws her baby into the ring throwing a fit. WE NEED CROWDS LIKE THIS! Dustin fights through the pain to let it flip, flop and FLY! JR says TV time is running out. BULLDOG! Paul E on the apron! Cover! All the way from Huntsville, Alabama, Bobby Eaton flies in and nails Dustin with the leg drop. Steamboat is in to rectify the situation with the ref and we go off the air.
This is meat and potatoes wrestling but if only all wrestling could be this good. When you sell like this everything is better. Your opponent looks better. The moves mean more. The match means more. Your heat skyrockets. Vulnerability sells. The transitions were all hard-fought and logical. No one every stopped fighting. Dustin and Arn were always struggling. Sometimes, I will see wrestlers content just to let the person on offense do moves to him and sure they will sell, but where's the struggle! Dustin proved to be wise beyond his years. Arn is the master of the fundamentals. Overall a great showcase of why I love pro wrestling. ****
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| Overall a great showcase of why I love the internet. |
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Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton) vs
Sting's Squadron (Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Marcus Bagwell) - WCW Pro 01/18/92
Sting is over like rover and the crowd is molten for the Sting/Rude confrontation. Rude is the God King of Stooging and is the total highlight of the shine selling the Steamboat wristlock and atomic drop like only he can. Bagwell is inoffensive in his section. I was not digging Sting clearing the ring seemed lackluster, but the crowd loved it. Eaton and Dangerously hold Rude back on the apron while Sting stands alone and the crowd is losing its shit at the prospective clash. However, it is not to be as Austin/Sting resumes. To my surprise, the story is not the rookie, Bagwell being in over his head, but rather Steamboat takes the heat. Overall, this is much better for my enjoyment, but I don't know if it is logical. The crowd let us know "We Want Sting" while Eaton hits two nice Billy Robinson backbreakers on Steamboat.Rude comes in hits a move and that hip swivels in front of Sting when Sting goes for the swipe he takes a step back and keeps swiveling. Thats dedication to the craft! Steamboat gets the hot tag to Bagwell!?!?!?!? The crowd goes mild to say the least. Melee ensues and Sting/Rude hook it up and the crowd goes nuclear. Bagwell powerslams Austin, but the ref loses control. Everybody all together now, Bobby Eaton flies through the air with the Alabama Jam to take out Bagwell and puts Austin on top for the Dangerous Alliance victory. It is a fun, popcorn type match that showcases where this angle helped the most and that is delivering good to great matches on a weekly basis. However, there has been a lack of progression, but hopefully with a Clash and Superbrawl coming up we will start to see a change in that front. ***1/4
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| One of my favorite short-lived tag teams: Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham |
Dangerous Alliance (Larry Zbyszko, Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton) vs.
Dont Step To Sweetwater (Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes & Ron Simmons) -
Clash of the Champions XVIII
Barry Windham is BACK, BABY! He is coming for you Larry Z! Paul E. cuts a promo before the match saying one of the heroes of WCW will be going to the Magnum TA retirement home, but aint nobody gonna deny Barry. I loved the opening with Eaton rattling off a neckbreaker, big right and a superplex and Barry just no selling it. Crowd and I lost out shit for that. Windham hits a superplex of his own and then we get the triple figure-fours. Ron Simmons does the Ricky Morton/Shawn Michaels flip out of the double top wristlock and double shoulderblock, which is impressive given his size. He then catches Eaton mid-air into bearhug. The more I watch early WCW the more I understand the Simmons push. Then Dustin/Eaton tango and Dustin is awesome. He throws out Eaton onto the ramp and just hurls himself over the top rope onto Eaton. The babyfaces were fired up for this and I love it. Windham and Zbyszko the Reckoning! Big Barry chants. Where was the payoff singles match??? Larry Z sidesteps the lariat and Barry crashes and burns and when Barry tags Dustin he does the same thing. Jeez, Dustin you are supposed to learn from your mentor's mistakes not play Monkey See, Monkey Do. :)
Paul E. get his brick cell phone shot in Dustin, which means we get a Dustin FIP. O yes! Arn runs through his offense: spinebuser and wicked DDT, but cant keep the kid down. Eaton now hits his flying elbow, but Dustin's heart dont pump kool-aid. Eaton crotches himself on the middle turnbuckle -> HOT TAG TO BARRY!!! Melee ensues, but this time there ain't no Alabama Jam opportunity. Instead, Windham swats Eaton right out of the air with a right to pick up the win. What a great, high-energy six-man tag, definitely my favorite six-man tag. I am a big Windham fan, glad to see him back and kicking ass. The match was super tight and efficient no dead spots and everything served a purpose. The heat segment even included some cool heel moves, which is a nice treat. This was a perfect first match back for Windham. He wins, but does not exact full revenge from Larry "The Cruncher" Zbyszko setting up the bitchin SuperBrawl tag match. ***3/4
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Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude & Steve Austin) vs. Dragon's Sting (Sting & Ricky Steamboat) Clash of the Champions XVIII
The Rick Rude waddle after the two atomic drops was the highlight of the match. He must have really been in a bad way if he could not have extended his career as a tag team stooge for a couple years. Also I liked Steamboat switching it up and putting his nearfall barrage at the beginning against Austin. Austin did a good job selling exasperation. The crowd went nuts for Sting hip swivel and Im a mark for when the babyfaces illegally switch, the heel hem and haw, the ref asks the crowd and they all say NO! Thats good fun! The FIPs were fine for what they were, but not as good as the shine. Sting leaps onto Steamboat and Austin so that Sting and The Dragon pin Austin, which really works Jesse up into a lather. So that when Rude & Austin beat the living hell out of Steamboat he loves this justified revenge. Two Rude Awakenings has the Steamer paralyzed. Rude starts to whip with a belt. Dangerously with his phone and Austin hold off security. This was a great post-match angle to put some heat on the Rude/Steamboat match at SuperBrawl. It was a fun match, but nothing to write home about. ***
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