SuperBrawl II Review: History of the Dangerous Alliance Vol. 4 (Rude, Anderson, Austin, Eaton and Zbyszko)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Today I got a free burrito at Chipotle and the only reason I can surmise is because I am what a real, sexy man is supposed to look like. I thought that poor girl was going to pass out from hyperventilating just looking at me. That's Animal Magnetism, BABY~!

I thought it would be fun to do a little compare and contrast between where WCW was at the time of SuperBrawl II and where WWF would be a month later at Wrestlemania VIII. I went back and forth on the criteria I would use to judge who had the advantage. First and foremost, I am a fan so in-ring quality and entertainment are the most important factors to me. However, drawing power, booking and just overall star power were taken into consideration.

Top Talent Leaving

Hulk Hogan/Sid Justice/Jake Roberts/Roddy Piper vs Lex Luger

In one fell swoop, the WWF lost two out of three top babyfaces and heels coming off Wrestlemania VIII. Jake Roberts was just hitting his stride as a sinister heel in the Savage feud and would have served well as a No. 2 heel under Flair to facilitate the rise of talent. Sid is a strange cat. You just can't put your finger on why he is over, but he always finds a way to get over with the live audience. He could have went either way as a main event face or heel and would have given WWF a big man option when it was about get a lot smaller. Finally, you have the two cornerstones of the Hulkamania Era. You can go either way on their departure. You never want to lose big time talent like Hogan and Piper that have a history of drawing. However, they were able to parlay Piper's exit into a big time Wrestlemania victory for their now number 2 face, Bret Hart. Hogan's rub for Sid even if half-assed was moot because of Sid leaving shortly after Hogan. When the main event of your biggest show does not even stick around for Summerslam, that's going to send the WWF reeling. 1992 was a time of transition by the time Hogan returns in early 1993 it is evident that Vince could not stop the bleeding and they had careened into the Dark Ages. WCW also had a main event leave after SuperBrawl II, but Luger for all intents and purposes had been written out of the storylines. He was just there to put over the new top dog, his buddy, Sting. Going into Luger's 1991 WCW World Title run is a whole another blog, but suffice to say Vader had everyone saying Lex Who?

EDGE: WCW. WWF had way too much top talent leave all at once. WCW was better prepared for their exit building around the Dangerous Alliance and gaining Vader and Miracle Violence Connection.

Ace Face

Sting vs Randy "Macho Man" Savage

Up until the '97 Crow Sting character, this was Sting at his height in terms of crowd reaction and card positioning. He was feuding with Cactus Jack, Luger and the Dangerous Alliance all at once and holding his own. He was on his way to the historic Sting/Vader series, one of the few WCW series that gets talked on the same level as WWF series by WWF fanboys. Still there was seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel for WCW in terms of business. Was that Sting's fault or WCW's business direction? A lot of folks have poked holes in Sting's WON Hall of Fame candidacy due to his inability to draw. However, that is hindsight coming out of SuperBrawl II and looking towards Vader, it seems like the sky is the limit for WCW and the main event scene. On the other hand, things look bleak for Savage as the remaining bastion of the Hulkamania yesteryear gone by. His story from Wrestlemania II to Wrestlemania VIII (just tracked by Wrestlemanias) is amazing and climaxed him with getting his girl back, returning from retirement and winning the World Title. Unlike movies or TV, wrestling never ends, but it should have ended there for Savage. Don't get me wrong Savage had plenty left to give, the way story arc was setup it was hard to go anywhere. He had a dearth of opponents. They seemed content to let Flair work on top for the rest of 92, but never be The Man. They lost Sid and Roberts leaving a newly minted singles Shawn Michaels to be the number two heel. The fact that story felt like Savage was an old man coming back for one last hurrah and just not having any opponents made this a bad situation for Savage.

EDGE: WCW. Savage had two things going for him. He was a better wrestler than Sting and he had Vince McMahon. The WWF promotional machine could buoy Savage even if he did not have much in the way of talent. Sting had his charisma and better opponents and booking. As a businessman, I'd take Savage and Vince, but I am not a businessman. I am a fan and give me Sting and Vader.

Nuclear Heel

Rick Rude vs Ric Flair

Flair in WWF was just weird. I need to do some more research on Flair's post-Wrestlemania run up until his departure in January of 1993. He was definitely the top heel in the promotion, but was seemingly never really featured again. He was just an odd fit in the WWF. I know he would regain the title and have two great matches with Bret, but it just did not seem right. Rick Rude on the other hand was just hitting his stride. The heat he was getting at SuperBrawl II and how well he was wrestling. Rude's 92 is on par with just about any single year heel runs. I am talking Flair in '85 or '86 or Savage in '86 heel run level.

EDGE: WCW. This is a slam dunk. Flair is Flair, but WWF was not letting him run the show. Rude was getting to Flair levels in '92. He was besting him at his own game.

Biggest Return
Ricky Steamboat vs Ultimate Warrior

The fan in me says this is an easy decision. Steamboat all day, BABY! However, in the sea of departures, Warrior was the lone bright spot for the WWF. He was young enough not to be considered to be a part of the old guard, but old enough to have veteran experience working in Wrestlemania main events. He was a huge boon to Vince to utilize him with Savage to give Savage a partner and opponent on his level. However, Warrior was also batshit crazy and would flame out anyways. Steamboat was cool and calm. Every week, you knew Steamboat was going to have a great match with anybody. He was a great utility player helping out Dustin and Douglas as a tag partner, Austin as a opponent or carrying the company as the top feud with Rude.

EDGE: WCW. Closer than you would thinking going in, but Steamboat offers too much flexibility and proved to be able to work on top with Rude. Warrior is just too unstable. 

Rising Heel
Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels

This is where WWF starts to pick up the slack. It is almost like 1992 was this role reversal. For years, WWF was so strong on top while WCW could claim a higher amount of good working depth. However, WWF had a strong crop of young talent. Austin would end up being one of the biggest crossover superstars of all time and destroying Shawn Michaels, but in 1992 there was no way you could tell that. He barely had any offense. He was strong in the fundamentals, but still too green. Shawn has been kicking ass with the Rockers since 1986 and was a veteran at this point. Yes, he was in a new role as a singles heel, but having watched a shit ton of Rockers footage this guy could flat out go. He was thrusted into a number two heel role that he was not really ready for, but still had great matches with Savage and Bulldog on the year and main evented Survivor Series '92. Not too shabby for a tag team specialist, right Gorilla.

EDGE: WWF. Hindsight, give me Austin every time. In 1992, this is a slam dunk, HBK crushes Stunning Steve. 

Rising Babyface

Ron Simmons vs. Bret Hart 

WWF may have had a bleak present, but the future was so bright that their next top talent needed to wear shades during promos. Ok, that cant all be gems. In Simmons' defense, he was a decent power wrestler. I would need to see more of his promos to gauge his charisma. He was overpushed too soon to attempt recreate Junkyard Dog's magic, but I think he was a solid hand. Bret offers a Steamboat like flexibility with a promotional machine that could manufacture Sting-like charisma. Bret did have charisma, it was subtle and mostly demonstrated in the ring, but McMahon is a genius because his booking and promoting extracted the most out of it.

EDGE: WWF. The future is bright from a fan's perspective for WWF.

Creepy Character

Catcus Jack vs Undertaker

This one is the toughest of the match ups. Undertaker had a great mystique and character. The matches, which in part were due to his opponents, were just bad. The wild man Cactus was having better matches and also being pushed harder in the main event. He was Sting's opponent at Beach Blast and the main thorn in Simmons side (he was injured and forced to be a manager). 

EDGE: WWF. However, at SuperBrawl II, Cactus seemed like a niche character, before being pushed up the card. Whereas, Undertaker seemed like a huge deal beating Jake at Wrestlemania VIII before being put in his own little world where he fights strange monsters. So just looking at the two events I would take Taker, but down the road I would say Cactus. 

Top Heel Tag Team

Arn Anderson/Bobby Eaton vs Money Inc.

As much as I hate to say, Anderson & Eaton are overrated on name value. If they stayed together longer or positioned better than maybe they could be an all-time great tag team. Instead they are dream team that does not live up to the hype. They felt behind the Rude/Steamboat, Austin/Windham and Windham/Zbyszko feuds in the Dangerous Alliance pecking order. Whereas, Money Inc carried the shallow WWF tag division through '92 into '93 even being Hogan's opponents for his return at Wrestlemania IX.

EDGE: WWF. Money Inc. was a solid ace heel tag team and a good use of DiBiase and Rotundo in the twilight of their careers. Anderson & Eaton should be better on paper, but were overshadowed by their fellow Dangerous Alliance members.

Top Face Tag Team

Steiners vs Natural Disasters

I don't care how many people tell me the Steiners are just spot monkeys. They are my kind of spot monkeys. Two big Michigan Men throwing around jabronis. I don't know if they make my top ten tag teams of all time, but they are two of my favorites. I don't care how many people tell me John Tenta is not that bad. One half of the Natural Disasters is the fuckin Shockmaster!

EDGE: WCW. GO BLUE!

Did WWF have anymore tag teams?
Dustin Rhodes/Barry Windham vs Field

LOD/Nasties were horribly misused by the WWF, which could have had a deeper tag division. The WCW was downright shallow by their standards, but I wanted to spotlight how good the Dustin/Barry team was because they are so neglected. They had classics against Zbyszko/Austin, Rude/Austin and Miracle Violence Connection. I would actually say they were a better tag team than Steiners in '92. Also, what a great learning experience for Dustin and a way to protect him from a singles run too soon and a great way to keep Barry relevant and help out the kid.

EDGE: WCW. Definitely check out a lot of Windham & Rhodes in '92.

Overall: WCW wins 6-4, but in an uncharacteristic fashion. WCW, to me, has always been the deeper promotion. In this comparison, they won based on their strength on top. Sting, Rude, Steamboat and later Vader is a murder's row of main event talent. However, WWF has a stronger midcard with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels waiting in the wings to rise to the top. Austin and Dustin were a lot greener than Hart and Michaels, but were certainly promising prospects. The tag division in both promotions were much more shallow than they had been in the 80s, but Dustin & Windham still turned in a year really strong year as a team. WWF struggled to find a groove in 1992. WCW had a remarkable first half to 1992 before strange booking decisions (hey it is WCW, after all) torpedoed any momentum.
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WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs Brian Pillman WCW SuperBrawl II ****1/2 (Match of the night for me in a loaded night. This holds up remarkably well that not only showcases Liger and the New Japan Junior style, but it is also a string struggle for the newest WCW title. I loved the finish as a "live by the sword die by the sword" spot)

Dangerous Alliance (Larry Zbyszko & Steve Austin) w/Mad USA vs.Lonestar Blonds (Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes) - Superbrawl II ****1/4 (One of the best tag team matches in 90s WCW history. Barry and Dustin are red-hot looking for revenge and Zbyszko & Austin are excellent heels in every way. This is a must-see match)

WCW World Tag Champions Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton) w/ Mad USA vs The Steiner Brothers - SuperBrawl II ***1/4 (Dream match on paper underwhelms. They did not seem on the same page and nothing really flowed)

WCW US Champion "Ravishing" Rick Rude vs Ricky Steamboat - WCW SuperBrawl II ****1/4 (This match is not talked about enough. Yes the Beach Blast match is better and candidate for best WCW match of the 90s. This match does have the sort of weak finish, but features some absolutely great wrestling and Rude proving why his '92 run is one of the greatest in history)

WCW World Champion Lex Luger w/Harley Race vs Sting - WCW SuperBrawl II (This is not Luger being lazy. He was leaving for a new job and was conditioned for that new job. It is clear early that he was trying hard to get his buddy, Sting over. Even if the match is underwhelming, Sting has come such a long way since 1990 and really feels like the Ace of WCW)

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WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs Brian Pillman 

WCW SuperBrawl II

I have this match on the Brian Pillman DVD set and have always thought it was great, but at the time they were editing out Jesse's commentary. I have to say I was really impressed with The Body and how much he put over Liger. Dusty, God bless him, I think really did like the luchadores, but just did not take them seriously. The less said about Heenan and the Luchadores the better. Here, Jesse was putting over how intimidating Liger looked, how great he was both on the mat & the air, and how he had earned the respect of the crowd and that the USA chants were just out of reflexive patriotism. I used to think it was a close call between Jesse and Heenan, but the more and more I watch the more it is becoming a no contest in favor of The Body.

Watching the match this time around, it definitely came off more as an exhibition and showcase of Liger and Pillman's talents as athletic wrestlers. I would call this an out and out spotfest because the transitions were still pretty tight, but it was clear that story was to WOW. After the early establishment that they were equals, I did like that Pillman was wrestling his usual rugged style (dropkick to the outside, chops, matwork) as a contrast to Liger's moonsault and back handspring (nice pop for that one). It was weird they did not payoff the Liger surfboard attempts. It is always great when an opponent has something scouted and give maximum effort to avoid it, but I thought after wearing him down more that we would get the surfboard for a good nearfall type spot. There were some parts of the match that I did find too back and forth. Like Pillman hitting a nasty back drop driver and then pretty much immediately taking heat to the knee. I thought Pillman had been working pretty effectively as the subtle heel so maybe this was to reestablish him as the babyface, which seemed to work because in the figure-4 was when the U-S-A chants started. After the figure-4, Pillman starts to mount a comeback, but Liger drops him over to the floor and heads to the top. It was cool to watch the crowd all stand and be stunned by the somersault from the top to the floor. This is an example of why I would not say this was a total spotfest at this point they has demonstrated that Liger is a high-flyer so they want to showcase Pillman in that role so they have an epic struggle over a suplex back into the ring and ends up with Pillman running Liger's head into the turnbuckle leaving him prone to Air Pillman. Sure, Pillman blows off the legwork, but hey at least he did not just hit Air Pillman they actually bothered working a transition. Now Pillman hits a suplex over the top rope to the floor, which I always mark out for because it is so rare and then a cross body from the top to the floor. Two can play at that game, Mr. Liger. Here again is where it gets a little spotty with Pillman taking signature chin bump on the railing (always nasty), but then meeting Liger with a dropkick (pitch perfect) as he came off the top.

Too often you will only see wrestlers establish they are equals by going for the same moves early on, but I like they continued that thread later into the match with both going for dropkicks and spinning wheel kicks. It felt like you were watching the two of the best in their respective styles. They do a really hot Japanese-style finish stretch with a ton of bombs and nearfalls that is very reminiscent of the Pillman/Badd finish stretch at Fall Brawl '95. I am not going to do a laundry list of moves as it much better to watch it yourself, but I will give them praise for their urgency and struggle they gave these spots. Also shout out to Liger for taking that super front suplex hard on his stomach. The build to the superplex was well-done and when it did not get Liger the fall, it got a nice pop. Liger going for the kill with the diving headbutt, but crashing and burning was an excellent finish. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. I am surprised my man, Jesse The Body did not bust out that cliche because that was a perfect way to sum up the finish. ****1/2

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Dangerous Alliance (Larry Zbyszko & Steve Austin) w/Mad USA vs. 

Lonestar Blonds (Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes) - Superbrawl II

Paul E. must have hired a Director of Wardrobe Operations as Madusa looks a million times better in that green dress, but what the fuck Stunning Steve. You go from tights that have a floral lampshade pattern to the design of birthday party plates for a seven year old. Dr. Tom was right. What the hell is so Stunning about Stunning Steve?

Well his clothesline duh. At this point, it was pretty much Austin's only offensive weapon, but boy was it one helluva weapon. Anytime, he got in trouble he would bust that bad boy out and Dustin sold it like a sumbitch. I will say just to get the negative out of the way early: Austin's greeness rears its ugly head in this match and is what drags this match down just a tad as he really does not have the offense to compete at this level. His reliance on the chinlock especially during the Dustin FIP took a match that I would say otherwise is a MOTYC down a notch. I hate to sound down on the match because I was rocking and rolling with them in lock step and I was looking forward to the Dustin FIP because he is so great in that role, but I thought Austin stymied him with such a blase control segment that it cooled off the match. Enough dwelling on the negative, when there is so much positive in this match namely Larry Z getting his ass royally kicked.

The Texans whoop the Dangerous Alliance's ass early. This is where Austin is in his element. He may not have much in the way of offense, but he ain't afraid to show ass and bump around for the babyfaces. Of course, Larry Z made his career on being an obnoxious heat-seeking magnet. When Big Barry is done playing around with Austin and throws him to Larry, the crowd is on Zbyszko with a big "Larry Sucks" chants and he has a conniption fit on the apron. What ensues is some of the best babyface revenge you'll ever see with The Cruncher bumping, stooging and screaming for Barry & Dustin. When Barry picked up Larry from the cover, it is those type of small things that really put over a blood feud match. This is not about wins and losses, but inflicting pain and gaining retribution. The little things are what separate the classic matches from the great ones.  I loved Dustin going after the hand of Larry and would have loved to seen that explored more in depth. In contrast to the Dustin FIP, the Windham FIP was really well-done with Barry working in some great hope spots (like going for the lariat, but only propelling himself over the top rope to the floor) and selling really well. The Dangerous Alliance was really on point with using the guard rail and keeping things moving with Windham. The Dustin hot tag was fun because Austin and Zbyszko are just so good at maximizing the impact of a babyface's offense at this point. They really make you feel that everything has gone off the rails and they could be beaten at any moment. Then Austin blasts Dustin with a clothesline. I discussed the Dustin FIP above and wished we would have saw more Cruncher at this point.  Dustin hits Austin with a nasty Stung gun where Austin's forehead looks to catch the top rope. Windham is in like a Zbyszko-seeking missile and crushes with a barrage of lariats capping off with one off the top to win that match.

Short of calling this a street fight and adding blood, this is about as damn good a heated, revenge match you will see in the context of a normal tag rules match. The babyfaces were out for revenge and came out swinging early. The Dangerous Alliance bided their time and when the opportunity arose they cheated like muthafuckas to get the advantage and Austin had Dustin's number with the clothesline. Dustin and Windham would not be denied on this night and picked up the victory and a modicum of revenge. Dustin still looks wise beyond his years. Windham was red-hot and looked great in his face in peril. Larry Z is perfect for these matches with his verbal selling and stooging. Austin would eventually become the complete package, but in terms of bumping there were few better at this time. One of the best WCW tag team matches and a great showcase for the heat that Larry Z could generate. ****1/4

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WCW World Tag Champions Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton) w/ Mad USA vs The Steiner Brothers - SuperBrawl II

On paper, Anderson & Eaton versus The Steiners is a dream match, but like so many it falls short of expectations. It is not a bad match per se, but when you have two greatest heel tag team workers paired up against one of the most over babyface tag teams the expectations are high. The story of the K. Allen Frye regime in early 1992 WCW are matches dripping with effort due to monetary incentives. However, Arn and Eaton who never needed bonuses to compete at high level actually turned in a rather lukewarm performance. There was very little of the characteristic big bumps from Eaton or Arn's stooging and cowering. In fact, the timing seemed off and a little bit awkward such as the outside bit and the double suplex hope spot. They seemed more synchronized once the heat segment on Scott kicked in, but it was a little too late to salvage a classic. The Steiners were their usual bomb throwing selves. It was clear that Scott had no idea how to follow up any of his spots. He looked like an early UFC wrestler who knew how to take his opponent down, but had not clue what to do with him once he got him there. So you get a lot of really cool, power amateur spots taking Eaton, but he just kinda lets him back up. In some ways, it is the Steiners' fault for not knowing how to wrestle a complete match, but Anderson and Eaton have carried lesser teams to great matches so I am putting the blame on them for not being more into match and feeding the Steiners. I really liked Scotty's tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on the ramp, Rick being a goofball and the Doomsday Device. However, these are just spots and there was no real flow to the match. They tease a Dogface Gremlin in Peril section before settling into one with Scotty based off Arn running Scott's head into Eaton's head, which is such a bitchin' transitions. From there, the match picks up with the Dangerous Alliance hitting their bombs on Scotty like Eaton's kneedrop, Arn's DDT and the Rocket Launcher on the ramp. The last move takes a lot of Eaton and he tags into Arn who gets sent into Eaton's foot. The hot tag to Rick is short and features an awkward attempt at Rick trying to slam Eaton while hoisted on Arn's shoulders. Rick looks to have secured the victory with a Steiner Bulldog, but Eaton saves and Madusa hands powder to Arn throw into Rick's face. The temporarily blinded Rick Steiner suplexes the ref, which Jesse says should trigger the DQ. Scott runs through his finishing sequence hitting a Tiger Driver and Frankensteiner to seemingly win the WCW World Tag Team Titles. However, the refs convene and it is decided that belts be returned to the Dangerous Alliance since Rick suplexed the original ref. Scott Steiner was an offensive dynamo, but a definite spot monkey that really had no idea how to connect his spots. Rick is a fun hard hitting wrestler. You would think with two ring generals and capable heels like Anderson and Eaton they would be the glue to fill in between the Steiners spots, but the match felt cold and awkward at times. I am not the only who felt that way as the crowd was lukewarm until the hot finish run even chanting "We Want Flair". It is not classic that you would think it should be, but it is still a pretty decent match. ***1/4

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WCW US Champion "Ravishing" Rick Rude vs Ricky Steamboat - WCW SuperBrawl II

Rude gets nuclear heat during his pre-match spiel. He can't even get a word in edgewise until he brute forces his way through their jeers and boos. From that all the way to the end of the match, Rick Rude looked like the heir apparent to Ric Flair as the lead heel in WCW for the foreseeable future. I am not saying he is the next Ric Flair because there are plenty of differences, but the way he carried himself and structured a match is in the mold of an ace NWA touring champ heel. He shines up his opponent with lots of stooging and bumping and when it is time to get heat he is a mean sumbitch. I'm actually kinda pissed that the injury derailed him so much because I really think he was something special. His 1992 is nearly untouchable from a one calendar year standpoint as a heel. You'd have to go back to Flair in '86 or so to come close. Then imagine the 1-2 punch of Vader and Rude on top. I don't care if WCW sucked at promoting, it would be helluva lot fun to watch in retrospect. That Dustin series with '92 Rude would have absolutely killer. Enough dwelling on what could have been and let's be grateful for what we have and that is a most excellent Rude/Steamboat series.

As much as Rude was the star of this, Steamboat looked tremendous in this. I have run hot and cold on Steamboat. Sometimes, he can just be too mechanical, but that may just be a by-product of the WWF environment because re-watching his '94 stuff and the work against Dangerous Alliance he was been on point. Steamboat was on fire early looking to avenge the belt-whippings and Rude Awakenings he had received. He was just all over the arm and not just with the typical armbars and armdrags, but wrapping the arm around the post. Rude really shines here in the way he sells the arm and continues to sell the arm throughout the entire match! Steamboat does not forget this is a championship match so he does go for a pinfall early. The struggle in this match was great with Rude desperately trying to stymie Steamboat and when he would be forced to use his left arm he would sell it and not be able to capitalize. Steamboat was always fighting back during Rude's brief spells of offense. This was the perfect time for a chinlock. You have a hot babyface opponent that got off to a wicked fast start and you want to slow the match down, sap some of his energy and get some wind back into your lungs. If people just thought about when they used chinlocks (looking at you, '92 Austin) then it would not be reviled as a resthold. You gotta love Rude selling his left arm during his hip swivels and poses. He is just the man at this point. At this point, Rude is really targetting the neck especially after delivering the two Rude Awakenings from Clash 18. He hits a hoshot and a piledriver. Great arm and neck psychology, this match is just rocking. Steamboat, who is in dire straits, grabs anything he can get his hands on and delivers a kneecrusher and applies the figure-4. Rude recovers and it is clear the arm is hindering him more as he delivers forearms off the top. We hit the Rude staple electric chair drop out of the chinlock. Steamboat levels the playing field after some back and forth with a top-rope superplex, but cant get the three. Steamboat gets a little cocky ans starts mocking the hip swiveling, but looks more like he is trying to show us some surfing moves. Would have liked to seen that spot earlier in the match as now is the time to get down to business. Steamboat hits the flying judo chop and goes for the second one, but his Personal Ninja smashes a brick cell phone over his head. I wonder who that could be?

Tack on a real home stretch and a better finish and this is a MOTYC easy. I know the Beach Blast match is better and some go as far as saying the best 90s WCW match and I look forward to rewatching that, but this match definitely deserves more praise. The body of this match is terrific with the dueling arm/neck psychology. They are struggling through every transition neither man is giving an inch. Rude and Steamboat both put on a clinic in selling and how you can make each other and match so much better by taking the time to make every spot meaning something. The finish stretch was a little abrupt and would have liked to seen an extended one. The swerve with Dangerously as the Ninja was great for extending the feud. I have no problem with the finish just that run up was too abrupt. ****1/4

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WCW World Champion Lex Luger w/Harley Race vs Sting - WCW SuperBrawl II

Most reviewers take this match to the woodshed and given that it was World Title Change, yes it was underwhelming, but it was not a bad match. My biggest bone to pick is people blaming Luger's laziness/apathy. Yes, clearly given his enhanced bodybuilding physique, wrestling was not his number one priority. However, if you watch his performance he was trying his damnest to give his buddy Sting a good match. In fact, at the beginning of the match, I thought they were wrestling at a clip that would have made this a great match. Luger was explosive and it was during this time the crowd was at its hottest until the finish. It was a well-done story of one up manship. Luger started of offense and Sting hit the Stinger Splash. Luger hit the powerslam and Sting his the German Suplex. Luger goes for the Rack and Sting puts him in the rack. Once Luger wriggled free, I first noticed him breathing heavy. The match quality and heat declined precipitously with Luger meandering around the ring trying to get his wind back during his heat segment. It was interesting to me how much Luger incorporated Flair's style into this match. He used corner cheating twice and begged off twice. Sting's kick out of the piledriver was very anticlimatic. Sting's comeback was ho-hum, but his punches looked better than usual and Luger sold pretty well for him. The cross body sure is a popular finish for world title changes as the initial pop was small because it was unexpected, but the sustained ovation shows that Sting was definitely over like rover with the WCW crowd. As soon as, Luger lost his wind so did the crowd and the match never recovered. I would blame Luger's physique rather than his attitude for the failure of this match. I would have loved to see Luger bumping around for Sting before the win, but still it was a nice moment for Sting. Sting feels like a bigger deal in 1992 than he does in 1990 and it finally feels like he has arrived.

I NEED A TIME MACHINE!