Road to Wargames: Dangerous Alliance Vol. 5 (Rude, Austin, Anderson, Zbyszko, Eaton, 1992)

Hey yo Stud Muffins and Foxy Ladies,

What the hell is in the water over in the UK?

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WCW TV Champion Steve Austin w/Mad USA vs. Scotty Steiner - WCW Saturday Night 3/14/92

Paul E. describing Madusa as Oliver North of WCW made me chuckle. The Pride of Michigan and Champion of the West hit the Tiger Driver/Frankensteiner combination on Austin, but Paul E. called for Plan B and the World Tag Champs Arn Anderson & Beautiful Bobby stormed the ring, but big brother Rick made the save. Scott Steiner seemed more restrained and focused in this match than in previous outings. He worked the mat really well and established early that he would dominate in that domain unless Austin pulled the hair. In addition, he was following up his highspots (suplexes and throws) with covers or matwork. He did have a tendency to start each exchange with a  kick to the gut or a whip into the ropes. This over reliance  seemed lazy and demonstrated poor transitions. Austin was perfect in bumping and selling for Steiner. Outside of the clothesline, Austin really had nothing in the way of offense. Pretty much Scott hurting himself or a Madusa kick was the majority of Austin offense. His over reliance on the chinlock is not 2005 WWE bad because he does work in some cheating, but overall it leaves a lot to be desired. Steiner delivers a hot finish stretch, which as a bomb thrower is his specialty. Steiner is adequate at selling and with some better transitions I thought this was the best showcase for Scotty Steiner as a future main eventer. Austin knows the fundamentals, but there was still plenty room to grow.

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Dangerous Alliance (Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko) w/Mad USA vs The Steiners - WCW Saturday Night 3/21/92

The Steiners are great TV match workers because they have a ton of spots to pop a crowd that make you want to watch them in longer matches even if those matches do not always result in excellent matches. It does not get much better than Eaton and Zbyszko stooging and bumping for these powerhouses. The one element that Zbyszko brings that Anderson does not is heat and lots of it. The Larry Sucks chants started early and did not let up. The first three quarters of this match is a Steiners showcase. Scotty is so good at combining power moves with his amateur moves that make for a lot of cool spots. Rick is always there to knock the heels down the peg when they are feeling smart with a Steinerline. Eaton finally looks to get something going with an eyerake, but Scotty catches him with a belly to belly on the floor, but as Scotty ducks under Eaton he eats a spinkick from The Living Legend. I liked how that transition was earned rather than just abruptly changing course. Scotty is no great shakes as a FIP, but the heels were good at taking it to him with choking, sweet Eaton punches and a flying elbow. Would have liked to seen a Zbyszko piledriver that they teased. Scotty hits a Tiger Driver and tags in Rick for the home stretch. Madusa gets sandwhiched between Larry Z and the ropes. Scotty detains Eaton while Rick hits a belly to belly and the Steiner Bulldog for the win. It is an excellent showcase match for the Steiner, but without making the Dangerous Alliance to be jabronis. They still got their heat and Larry Z added a lot of heat to this match.

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Arn Anderson (w/ Paul E  Dangerously) vs Ricky Steamboat - WCW Pro 3/28/92

Steamboat has answered all his criticisms from me in this feud. Steamboat is one of the greatest championship match workers, but sometimes leaves something to be desired in a blood feud. In the Dangerous Alliance angle, he has been red hot and taking it to the Alliance members with unwonted aggression. When AA jumps him at the outset with his robe still on, The Dragon fires back with kicks, chops and even eye gouges. Even when Anderson starts to connect with punches and a backbreaker, Steamboat is still coming at him. This is a perfect time for a chinlock as Anderson needs to slow the match down, catch his breath and sap Steamboat's energy. When Steamboat comes back off those rope with that high-energy attack and Anderson catches him in midsection is such high-quality wrestling. Steamboat is looking to keep it uptempo and at every turn Anderson is looking to slow it down. The spinebuster is another excellent sudden cutoff that keeps the match in Anderson's favor. Unfortunately for Anderson, he knocks his back into Steamboat, which is a great trademark Anderson spot. When he comes off the rope for double axehandle and he is caught in the midsection and flips over. I have to give them credit with how seamless this looked. So many times, the heel will stop short or it looks like he could never hit a move, but here it looked like Anderson would have hit the move if not for Steamboat connecting. The finish and post-match with Steamboat actually getting his hands on Paul E. and hanging Rude really surprised me. Paul E. does not strike me as someone to get physical (I know that changed with Punk and he took a mighty good asskicking) and I just thought it never happened on WCW TV. It was look to see Steamboat get in some licks on the loudmouth yuppie. Then hanging Rude after all Rude had done to him just shows how deep under his skin Rude had gotten to the Steamer for that to happen. Steamboat and Anderson should have a gotten a chance to have a classic on PPV, but still this was quite good. Each played their roles fantastically and worked at an excellent clip. The post-match really but over the new asskicker Steamboat in a real crowd-pleasing way. ***1/2

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Bobby Eaton w/ Paul E. vs. Dustin Rhodes - WCW Power Hour 5/8/92

Wow! This one should not have snuck up on me given who is involved, but when I saw the 9 minute length on the video I thought I would I get a fun, but uneventful bout. Instead, Dustin and Bobby brought their A games and packed about as much as they could in less than 9 minutes. Stone Cold is so right it all begins with the lockup. They have an intense lockup and everything falls into place. Bobby hits his big right hand only for Dustin to return the favor. You are not going to intimidate this youngster. Bobby takes a huge bump off a shoulderblock to the floor. It is little things like that transform the otherwise ordinary shoulderblock into a spot. Dustin somehow starts bleeding hardway from his nose and in retaliation throws Eaton's head into the post, hits a huge dropkick on the floor and lariat on the outside. Dustin is PUMPED! Back in the ring, Eaton is able to chopblock Dustin and take over on the knee with some really good work including busting out a spinning toehold. I need to watch some Ricky Morton because I am really starting to think that '91-'94 Dustin cant be touched in the selling department. The ref gets bumped off a push off on the spinning toehold attempt. Dustin gets a sort of half bulldog/cross body on Eaton because he is selling the leg. Dangerously calls for help. Austin tears Dustin's head off with a wicked clothesline. If you are only going to have one move make it a badass one. Austin just so happens to be facing Dustin's partner Windham in a TV title match later that same weekend. Windham makes the save and the Lonestar Blonds clear house. Dustin was on fire here and Eaton matched him with great bumping early and knee work here. About as good of a 8ish minute match as you will get. ***1/4

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WCW World TV Champion Steve Austin w/Paul E. Dangerously vs. Barry Windham - WCW Saturday Night 05/09/92 Saturday Night

Austin cut off his golden locks, but retained the shitty birthday part tights. You changed the wrong part of your presentation, brutha. Apparently though, Austin has said that his long hair was nuance in the ring because it was so thin that it easily tangled and pulled. Plus it was starting to thin all compounded into obvious need for a hair cut, but still a major upgrade to the tights is still necessary. I have watched this match a couple times before and have always been lukewarm on it. I finally can put my finger on it. There is really no comeback. Windham gets his ass kicked for the majority of the last two falls and then Austin swings and misses and it is all over. Windham clearly had the fire in his belly for the Clash and SuperBrawl matches, but here treats it as just a regular match. Don't get me wrong, he puts on a great showcase of selling, but he seems content, just to sell whereas Steamboat as this time was constantly struggling and making the heel earn it. Also, much like the SuperBrawl II match Austin ran out of offense in the third fall. He looked great in the second fall, but in the third fall he resorting to chinlocks. There is a decent enough kayfabe reason that time is on Austin's side because he retains the title in the event of the draw so it is behooved of him to wrestle conservatively. It just is not very entertaining. For me, the first two falls were by far the best work and the third fall was very anticlimatic.

The first fall was actually a pretty solid TV wrestling match unto itself. I would give that fall the same rating that I would give for the entire match. Austin works the headlock early, but Windham puts more effort into keeping moving with a back suplex, pinfall attempts and a top wristlock attempt, before cracking it with a second back suplex. Windham is so crazy athletic that when Austin sets early he just steps over him and hits a dropkick. That's wild. Windham hits a lariat and a floatover suplex (he won the first fall against Austin a couple weeks ago with that move) for a pair of nearfalls. Austin hits with his game-changing clothesline (ask Dustin) and looks like he busts Windham's lip open. Austin works a headscissors to keep Barry at bay using the ropes for leverage. I prefer holds like this to sap a babyface's energy rather than when you already have the babyface down and out. Upon the ref breaking it for the cheating, Barry hits the DDT, but before he can capitalize Austin nails him with a right. However, Windham is able to hit his beautiful floatover superplex to pick up the first fall. Really great work with Barry hitting big bombs looking for the win and Austin trying just to hang on.

In the second fall, with his back against the Austin really ratchets up his intensity. This is the best he look in the ring at this point in his character. He hits a stiff back elbow that sends Windham reeling through the ropes to the floor. Austin is just suffocating with his full court press on Big Barry: double axe-handle, gutwrench suplex, vertical suplex. Austin applies a camel clutch and Barry uses his head to hit Austin in the nether regions. Austin's game-changing clothesline keeps it in his favor and he hits the Stun Gun to even it up. Windham made Austin look like a million bucks with his classic glassy eye sell. The third fall is pretty mundane as it consists of Austin trying to milk the clock with holds and occasionally hitting an elbow drop. When the ref is inadvertently caught with a boot, Austin looks to blast Windham with the belt, but whiffs and Windham rolls him up to win. I was like all for that finish. No big comeback. I guess you want to protect Austin, but it was literally all Austin for the last ten minutes and it seemed like Windham just backed into a championship. Austin is rightfully pissed off and whips Windham with the belt, hits the Stun Gun and leaves with the TV Title in hand. I would put his match with Dustin at Havoc '91 over this, but this is still a solid TV match. ***1/4

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!

BURNIATE: A History of the Dangerous Alliance Vol. 3 (Rude, Austin, Anderson, Eaton & Zbyszko Feb 92)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

If you like efficient, fundamentals movies like I do, then you will dig the hell out of Maleficient. It was just good, 'ol-fashioned A-B->C storytelling with a lot of emotion as the driving force. Too often nowadays, I think we get the razzle dazzle or overwrought 3 hour epics to construct a smokescreen that is not much in way of hard-hitting emotion and character development. If the plot devices are simple, but dripping with emotion that is enough of a hook for me. I am a sucker for the theme of "Love transcends DNA" and this film executed that perfectly. Of course, there is plenty in the way of eye candy with bitchin' costume design and amazing visual effects depicting the fantastical realms of the Moors. Plus, I loved how the creatures of the Moors are portrayed as classically ugly and scary to humans, but actually are good-natured and fun-loving especially the young Maleficient, who looks like the spawn of Satan, but has a heart of gold. For a wrestling comparison, I would say this movie is similar to the CM Punk/Dean Ambrose or the Dustin Rhodes/Arn Anderson matches I recently reviewed. All these stories are sensible and well-executed on a basic level, but you are sucked in by the emotion driving every move or action.

If Thats Evil I Dont Want To Be Good

Wow! I have been taking longer than usual to deliver some pro wrestling analysis goodness. I am going to attempt to turn out 4, YES, 4 blogs this week. The first one here is a shorty by my standards just to whet the 'ol whistle. We are looking four Dangerous Alliance matches in the run-up to the big and badass SuperBrawl II card. Sting/Luger was the main event de jure in order to get the title off the departing Luger and get onto the over like rover Sting. However, with Luger not appearing at all in the run up to SuperBrawl II, the real heat was on the US Title Feud between the leader of the Dangerous Alliance, Rick Rude and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Rude laid waste to Steamboat at the Clash with the two Rude Awakenings and belt whipping. Before SuperBrawl, there was an excellent 8-Man Tag that showcased a great build to a Rude/Sting confrontation (I love how WCW allows for multiple interactions for each wrestler), Dustin ruling playing Ricky Morton and the babyfaces finally isolating one member of DA long enough to have Steamboat score the pinfall. In addition, there is a great showcase for why Rick Rude was having a King Heel Run in 1992 by having bitchin' TV matches like he did with Brian Pillman. It was not on the level of TV matches Pillman had with Flair (few are), but again demonstrating why Rude was just untouchable in 1992.
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Match Listing:

Larry Zbyszko w/Paul E. & Mad USA vs Ricky Steamboat - Worldwide 01/25/92 (Great post-match angle that adds more heat to Steamboat/Rude)
WCW TV Champion Steve Austin w/Mad USA vs Ricky Steamboat - Power Hour 2/8/92 *** (Austin has such a solid grasp of heel psychology and Steamer is on fire)
WCW US Champion Rick Rude w/Paul E. vs Brian Pillman  WCW Pro 2/15/92 ***1/2 (Great showcase for the type of year Rude is having)
Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko) vs WCW (Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes)
WCW Saturday Night 2/22/92 **** (Great build to Rude/Sting confrontation, great Dustin FIP and great Steamboat hot tag. Cant ask much from a TV multi-man tag)
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Larry Zbyszko w/Paul E. & Mad USA vs Ricky Steamboat - Worldwide 01/25/92

Madusa, what the fuck? Her fashion sense is truly abysmal. It actually would have been funny if Paul E. appointed Missy as the Director of Covert Operations only she is the biggest blabbermouth and keeps ruining his plans. It had potential to deliver some decent comedy segments. The added benefit of Madusa was clearly physicality, but God from pant suits to being dressed like a 12 year old from the early 90s (in her defense it was the early 90s, but she still she was a grown woman). Enough of all this stalling (see what I did there), lets get to the action. Actually Larry Z gets right to business and takes a page out of Steamboat book with two quick nearfalls early and gloats to the Steamer. The fans sure do love telling Paul E. he sucks and even better when they stop he starts his own Paul E.Sucks chant, but pounding the mat in rhythm. Well played, Mr. Dangerously! Steamboat says two can play that game and gets two quick nearfalls of his own, but instead of gloating he chops him. Larry Z powders claiming to have been chopped in the throat. Returning to the ring, The Living Legend actually strings together some offense catching Steamboat in a criss cross with an atomic drop and then a spin kick, that was pretty neat. Steamboat's comeback was a little tepid and he takes a spill when Madusa pulls down the middle rope. Zbyszko looks to bring him in the hard way, but Steamboat chops him away and propels himself on top of him to garner the victory. After the match in a show of unity, the Dangerous Alliance come out to lay the boots to Steamboat, The crowd calls for Sting as Rude threatens to belt him and Sting & Co. (Dustin, Windham, Simmons) make the save. That was the most Four Horsemen the Dangerous Alliance has looked. Still the Four Horsemen always talked about partying together and it really felt like a close-knit group. This still feels more like five wrestlers that happen to have the same manager, which there is nothing wrong with that business model. I just don't think it is a totally apples to apples comparison. These two had a great match in them, but unfortunately did not have the time to deliver it.

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WCW TV Champion Steve Austin w/Mad USA vs Ricky Steamboat - Power Hour 2/8/92

Stunning Steve gives Madusa's Canadian Tuxedo a run for her money with is 80s floral lampshade wrestling trunks. The Dangerous Alliance needed to hire a Director of Wardrobe Operations.

Steamboat is at the very least in contention for being the best championship wrestler of all time. I love how his intent is to always win a contest. Now of course, this leaves something to be desired often when he is in a blood feud, but in a nice little TV title defense he is in his element. The opening with him trying a barrage of nearfalls and just hurling his body at Austin looking to pick up the win. I thought this is best I had seen Austin look this early in his career. He is definitely taking a lot from Flair and Arn, but it looks great with him being totally discombobulated by Steamboat's onslaught. They worked a nice transition using Madusa as a distraction for Austin to hit a clothesline. Austin's clothesline was way ahead of his punches and stomps at this point. Austin is a great heel dropping Steamboat neck first on shit and eyerakes. Steamboat's selling was a little comical especially on the outside. I get playing to the cheap seats, but he looked liked a Dad trying to make his baby laugh with his funny contortions of his face.  I don't mind the draw finish, but at 10 minutes it is a little short and it is not a very dramatic home stretch with Austin and Steamboat heads colliding and neither one really able to capitalize. It is a good showcase to see how well Steamboat is on offense and how well Austin understood the role of the heel so early on in his career. ***

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What I would like right now is for all you Savannah Sweathogs to quiet down...

WCW US Champion Rick Rude w/Paul E. vs Brian Pillman  WCW Pro 2/15/92

Rick Rude was untouchable in this timeframe as a main event heel. His in-ring work finally caught up to his commanding presence and great character work. Much like the Arn match with Dustin, Rude makes everyone out to be winner by selling his knee like a million bucks. By making Pillman look that good, it made the victory mean that much more and made the match one of the best of this angle. I am a mark for a good drop toe hold especially when it is chained into a hold so Pillman gave me the double whammy and then Rude sold his ass off to make it the hook of the match. Little things like Rude hitting a kneelift with the wrong leg preventing him from capitalizing so he ends up getting that knee wrapped around the post. Or as Rude is working over Pillman's back with slams and a bearhug how Pillman will try to throw shots at the knee. This does not reach the level of Pillman's famous TV matches with Flair because Pillman just does not seem as fiesty and violent as he did in those matches. His comeback featured only two overhand chops, we need more violence. Rude kicks out Air Pillman surprisingly and escapes to the outside, but Pillman wont let him breathe and dives onto him. When Pillman looks to leap off top again, Rude catches him with the Stun Gun and a Rude Awakening is all she wrote. Rude looked like the next main event WCW cash cow in this match. He is different from Flair enough, but still fills the void Flair left in having great TV bouts with babyfaces. If he stayed healthy, the sky was the limit (well with WCW's promotional capabilities who knows, but still). Pillman did not look like the cant miss star like he did in early '91 facing Flair and Windham. I would need to watch more, but it looks like the Light Heavyweight Champion "promotion" may have sapped his zeal. This is a great showcase for how good Rick Rude was at this point. ***1/2

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Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko) vs 

WCW (Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes) 

WCW Saturday Night 2/22/92

If Ricky Morton never existed, I think we would call it "Playing Dustin Rhodes" because hot damn is he just tremendous in FIPs. I saw Steamboat in there and I was like "O they will probably have Steamboat set up by the hot Sting tag", but was very, very pleasantly surprised that Dustin got to play Ricky Morton. I loved when he was mounting a comeback on Larry Z and he was starting to go wild and he stymied himself when he kicked with the wrong foot. He just lost control of himself in the moment and then sold it. Arm really digs the assisted hotshot as transition to a heat segment. I will give him that is very effective, but I would like to see him switch it up. Eaton clipping the knee really set up some great work. Rude busting out the missile dropkick, a wicked Arn DDT and an Eaton figure-4 was a great showcase for the Dangerous Alliance's offense. Especially after the WCW Franchise Players were mopping the floor with him. I would have liked to see Windham show the same intensity that he did in Clash 18, he got in there with The Cruncher and treated him like anybody else. Arm did a great job throughout the match especially trying to rile up Steamboat, but The Dragon was too smart to venture over to his corner. I thought The Living Legend was by far the best bumper and stooge for the babyfaces in this match making Dusting look great and his verbal selling is close to Flair's level. Of course, the entire beginning built to the big marquee confrontation between Rude&Sting. WCW how did you not run this at Havoc or Starrcade (Starrcade he would have been injured so I guess they get a pass). The crowd was absolutely nuclear for this match up. Sting just rocked it here. Everything was simple, but really popped the crowd and was fun stuff. Then he let Dustin handle the heavy lifting of selling for the Dangerous Alliance. I liked the finish with the faces turning the tables on the Dangerous Alliance. In most of the matches to this point, Dangerous Alliance had taken advantage of the chaos to have Eaton nail an Alabama Jam and score the victory. This time Steamboat is able to isolate and pin Larry Z with a top rope cross body. The match is great fun, but disjointed would be my major issue. The shine builds to Rude/Sting. They blow that off to get to heat segment and finish. Each are great, but I think there is a better way to connect them still best tag match of the Dangerous Alliance so far. ****

Alabama Jam: History of the Dangerous Alliance Vol. 2 (Rude, Austin, Anderson, Eaton, Zbyszko. WCW Jan 1992)

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.

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.

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.)

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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. ****

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. ***

Rude Awakening: History of the Dangerous Alliance Vol. 1 (WCW, Rude, Austin, Anderson, Zbyszko, Eaton Nov-Dec, 1991)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

We made the big haul out to Indiana and back again all in one whirlwind weekend to end the Ball State graduation festivities for my sister. Chirp! Chirp! They have friggin Waffle House in Ohio. New England needs to get on the ball and upgrade itself pronto. Those waffles are damn tasty.

Friends dont let friends eat pancakes

Speaking of some down home Southern cooking, I am returning again to my favorite promotion of all time, WCW. After weeks analyzing 00s puroresu and giving some love to the modern product especially to the Shield, it was time to return home and just enjoy some good 'ol Dubbya-See-Dubbya. Even though, I am a huge WCW fan, I am rather young thus I am still playing catch up to watch all of its glory and misery. I realized I had never seen the consensus best match in WCW history: Wargames 1992. Wargames 1992 is the climax to the Dangerous Alliance angle, which is one of the few WCW angles that receives universal praise. I have watched a match here and there from the storyline which lasted from Halloween Havoc '91 to Wrestlewar '92 (the stable continued, but fizzled out after Wargames due to get another regime change this time to Bill Watts). The best place to start is of course the beginning.

Paul E. Dangerously having been fired as an announcer from WCW returned at Halloween Havoc to inform us he renewed his manager's license and had a new client the mysterious Halloween Phantom. The Phantom turned out to be none other than top WWF heel, "Ravishing" Rick Rude. After the Great American Bash '91 debacle, WCW hit rock bottom without their cornerstone in the form of Ric Flair and the crowd openly mutinying with chants of "We Want Flair" all night long. The debut of Rude was the shot in the arm WCW needed. At Clash of the Champions XVII in November, Great American Bash 1991 seemed like a distant memory because in 4 short months, WCW turned their product around hitting what might have been their in-ring peak. They ran a tremendous angle pitting Rick Rude against their top babyface and US Champion Sting. Rude won the title under nefarious circumstances with Sting being chop blocked earlier in the night coerced to be admitted to the hospital only to hijack an ambulance and put up a valiant, but losing effort to the fresh Rick Rude. However, the night was not full of disappointments as Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat returned to help Dustin Rhodes to wrest the Tag Titles off the Enforcers (AA & Zbyszko had crushed Dustin's partner Barry Windham's hand in a car door at Halloween Havoc) in one of the greatest matches in WCW history. In one night, Steamboat & Rude had everyone saying Nature Boy Who? It was smart booking putting titles on these hot returning acts elevating the talent, the titles and the show. The sinking ship had been salvaged as Rude and Steamboat billowed the sails.

Good 'Ol JR, Stunning Steve, Paul E., The Living Legend, The Enforcer, The Ravishing One & Beautiful Bobby

The boon of Rude and Steamboat arrivals were compounded by the founding of the Dangerous Alliance. The Dangerous Alliance, managed by Paul E. Dangerously and the Director of Covert Operation, Madusa often in her father's hideous suits, was comprised of the US Champion Rick Rude, TV Champion Steve Austin, the soon to be World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton (I dont know why they swapped Zbyszko out for Eaton) and Larry "The Cruncher" Zbyszko. It was the entire of main event heel roster (save for the World Champion Lex Luger) paired together just wrestling a rotating cast of babyface such as Steamboat, Sting, Dustin Rhodes, Steiners and the returning injured Barry Windham to badass match after badass match. There are often comparisons made to the Four Horsemen and the dynamic was a little different because the Dangerous Alliance was not created to protect the World Champion, but rather Paul E.'s vehicle to attack WCW by attacking its franchise faces. It is a subtle difference, but a key one in the presentation. In addition, the Four Horsemen felt like a gang of friends that were united together to protect Flair and in the process help each other. The Dangerous Alliance felt more like a manager's stable where the only connection between the wrestlers were that were managed by the same man. They clearly were united and helped each other out, but there was not the same sense of camaraderie.

Since this is just volume one, that seems like a fitting stopping point summarizing the introduction of the group and the comparison to the vaunted Four Horsemen. I just want to reiterate how awesome the Tag Title match between Steamboat/Dustin and The Enforcers is. Whether you are a fan of WCW or not, it is definitely worth checking out and one of the best return matches ever especially for Arn's and Larry's reaction at the beginning. Since that match happened on a Clash, it is a generally well-known. To call your attention to a hidden gem TV match, definitely check out Bobby Eaton vs Ricky Steamboat. Eaton is on point with offensive arsenal and demonstrates a mean streak that often kept his match getting over to the next level. Steamboat is just a master at selling then unleashing his onslaught of nearfall combinations. It is a great mixture of brawling and technical wrestling that leads to a hot, hot finish run. In the future volumes, I look to break down individuals and the how impactful (or not) the Dangerous Alliance angle was.

Choice Cuts

WCW World Tag Team Champions The Enforcers (Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko) vs. 

Dustin Rhodes & Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat - Clash of the Champions XVII ****1/2

WCW US Champion Sting vs "Ravishing" Rick Rude w/Paul E. Dangerously - 

Clash of the Champions XVII (Not a great match per se, but a great angle!)

Bobby Eaton w/Mad USA vs. Ricky Steamboat - WCW Saturday Night 12/14/91

DANGER! DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE!

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The Enforcers one of the best short-lived tag teams. Promos were money

WCW World Tag Team Champions The Enforcers (Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko) vs. 

Dustin Rhodes & Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat - Clash of the Champions XVII 

This is the type of great match that I somehow always forgot about when I am making lists.Then whenever a wicked hot girl at the club asks me to rattle of My top 10 best WCW matches of the 90s and I list them then she says "What about Steamboat's return with Dustin against the Enforcers". I just rip off the nearest blazer from some hotshot, drop a knee on it and ask her to marry me on the spot. If I say it enough, this is bound to happen. Point is after this match, I am never forgetting about this match again. I don't know if it is in my top ten because it is fuckin' awesome and deserves all the praise it gets.


To me all time great matches, need urgency and struggle. You have to believe these two men or teams are actually working to achieve victory. In this match, every single spot is worked for because how great all four of these men are. It has become almost cliche to praise how well the Enforcers put over Steamboat's return, but that only shows how great a job they do from the facial expressions to "NOT RICKY STEAMBOAT!". I watched this match with my mother and brother and when he said "He's just a man!" They popped huge. (My whole living with my parents may be a detriment to the above fantasy). I always, always loved that line. This tag match is like manna from heaven after being in the desert of WWF tags. Look, I have seen plenty of great WWF tags don't get me wrong, but there is nothing like Mama's home cookin'. I have come home, baby!

Jim Ross sums up the beginning the best when he says the Enforcers have been totally psyched out my Ricky Steamboat explaining how they are just generally so cerebral, but this surprise has really unnerved. I love that is how that match really unfolds as the story in and out of the ring really connects. The babyface shine is just one of those really feel-good ones, but credit to the Enforcers they are still working to get the advantage they are just discombobulated by the presence of Steamboat. I would rank Ric Flair as the greatest verbal seller of all time, but Larry Z is definitely up there with him. From the beginning, Dustin looks like he belong in there with these three veterans as he is excellent at delivering some great babyface offense. The Enforcers are cheating and stalling like muthafuckas, but nothing seems to take effect as the babyfaces will just not be denied. The thing I really took away from this match was that the transition to the heat segment maybe the greatest transition I have ever seen. Larry Z slaps Steamboat to get him hot and he bails. The Steamer gives chase. Larry Z gets back in and tags Arn. As Steamboat gets back in, Arn hits him. Dustin goes to argue and Arn comes crashing down on the Dragon's back while the Living Legend holds him. Tony puts over that looked "helter-skelter", but it was actually a well-laid plan. That was the fuckin' beauty of it. It is did not look rehearsed. It looked like a really intelligent piece of strategy to finally give the Enforcers the advantage. The Enforcers work a kickass heat segment, but that's like telling you the sun is coming up tomorrow. It is just a clinic as they focus on Steamboat's back and constantly are keeping him in their corner. My favorite part is the Boston Crab where Larry Z is pushing Arn's head back just for that extra little bit. In a match like this, every inch counts. What I really want to make a point of is in a WWF tag usually the heels just do their thing. Here, Steamboat is still clawing at everything. He is still throwing strikes. He is looking to claw his way back into this anyway he can. This entire match has just had so much struggle to it and that's makes it so timeless. Who ever is on the defensive is still putting up a fight. Steamboat gets an atomic drop, but Arn's head snaps back and they crack heads. The ref's count is on, but the Dragon makes it to the Natural. Dustin is a house afire. He hits a wicked lariat and here comes the bulldog on AA. He tags Steamboat back in so Steamboat can hit the cross-body on Arn so he can get the feel-good moment in winning the tag titles in his return.

They used Dustin perfectly in this match, but not due to a lack of experience as he was just about to have an absolutely incredible '92. Steamboat was the main focus of the match. You wanted to see Steamboat kick ass at the beginning, get his ass beat and then get the pinfall because he is in the returning hero. Dustin was a sweet guitar fill to Steamboat's all-time bitchin' riff. Dustin hit a lot of good offense to pop the crowd. This is my favorite Steamboat performance because of how passionate it is and how he just works every spot as hard as he can. I don't think much more can be said about the Enforcers, just a masterful heel performance. I am so glad to finally be home, again! ****1/2

INCOMING~!

WCW US Champion Sting vs "Ravishing" Rick Rude w/Paul E. Dangerously - 

Clash of the Champions XVII

In one night, WCW turns around the entire company from what could have been a death blow at Great American Bash '91. It was really only 4 months since the nadir and I think that's actually pretty damn fast given what happened with Flair's departure. I am not saying Rude + Steamboat = Flair, but fuck if it did not make great TV right through Beach Blast '92. This match is the WWF's domain, not that they would ever come close to running an angle like this until the Attitude Era. WWF is usually better at using as a match as backdrop to run an angle, but WCW kills them on this one as this is just superb. I remember reading about this angle on Wrestlecrap and thinking what the fuck is wrong with this author this sounds bitchin'. So having watched it a couple since then, yep I was right, the execution was pitch perfect. Paul E. is excellent as the evil genius that rambles too long giving the hero enough time to make it back. Sting hitting the military press to Rude on the ramp was one of the best hope spots of all time. He really could pull this out. They do everything they can to protect Sting. Rude works over his badly injured knee, he pokes him in the eyes, Paul E. hits him in the head with the phone and finally Rude chop blocks AND grabs the tights to get the pin. I think every bit of it works. This is where you want all this shit in excess because it makes both parties garner more heat. Outside of the Vader series, this may be the best Sting performance of all time as he really milks the knee injury and delivers a great heroic performance. Rude immediately feels like a huge deal in WCW beating Sting for a title in a great dick heel performance. Kudos to the booking committee to stick the titles on Rude and Steamboat right off the bat . That's how you build on an immediate impact.

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Dustin Rhodes & Bobby Eaton vs Arn Anderson & Steve Austin - WCW Worldwide 11/23/91

Again WCW impresses by pulling off a match that is the WWF's bread and butter using a match as a backdrop for an angle. Dustin really stood out in this match as really strong performer. Calls of nepotism be damned, he earned his position and this is just further proof. Just little things like coming in hot and chest bumping Arn just reminds the audience "Yeah he fucking hates this dude because he crushed Windham's hand". The beginning of the match he just stays the course and keeps wriggling free from all the cheating/head games tactics and going back to arm, but Eaton wont stay in the ring for more than 10 seconds so it is effectively a handicap match as Tony points out. Bobby had already been unveiled as the second member of the Dangerous Alliance on TV thus Tony focused on Bobby's odd behavior. Dustin did such a fantastic job selling fatigue. He was not hitting things at crisply and that leads to him getting hotshotted. Anderson and Austin are just great old school heels always taking shortcuts before hitting their moves. Bobby is great at distracting the ref and missing tags, Bobby actually does fire off some punches when he is tagged and that can be explained away as AA and Austin are not yet in the Dangerous Alliance. The Enforcer rammed Dustin's arm into the post thus he missed a tag so Beautiful Bobby gets pissed and gives him a shoulderbreaker costing them the match. It was a tight, efficient match that got everyone over in their role and moved Eaton into the burgeoning Dangerous Alliance. Even though I dug it, the crowd was dead, but on paper it does look like a lethal lottery style tag match, but does a great job laying the foundation.

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Larry Zbyszko vs Barry Windham - WCW Main Event 11/24/91

Zbyszko is a great pure heel. He is detestable, loathsome, and obnoxious. We need more like him. He was not afraid to bump and show ass and great at  verbal selling. More Larry Legend is needed in this world.

The wacky WCW TV taping/airing schedule strikes again as this was taped prior to Larry earning the "Cruncher" moniker when he crushed Big Barry's hand in a car door at Halloween Havoc. We never really did a get a blowoff for that, for shame. Larry is just excellent in this short match. As good as Barry is, Zbyszko could have been in there with anybody and this would have been great. I enjoyed his infamous stalling tactics this go around especially when he went over to the chicks with the "I LOVE BARRY" sign and tears it up. What a saucy boss!  Zbyszko does every stalling tactic in the book and once gets trapped, he is not afraid to let the audience know his frustration ad they are loving it. On the flip side, when he gets his opening he is right on Windham on the outside and in the ring. You get the real sense of his desperation to control the bigger and better Windham. Thats what a heel should be hiding behind his bravado but actually wicked insecure in high pressure situations like this. Windham ends up scoring the victory with a flash pin. The Enforcers looks to put the boots to him, but Ron Simmons was in to make the save. Great Larry performance and worth seeing for a classic heel performance.

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Bobby Eaton w/Mad USA vs. Ricky Steamboat - WCW Saturday Night 12/14/91

Seeing Madusa in her father's suit, makes me want more Missy Hyatt on my screen. O wait, I always want more prime Missy on the screen (I feel like one of the few who does not mind her commentating/interviewing). Enough about Missy because this match totally rules the school. From the outset, Beautiful Bobby establishes himself he is one mean sumbitch. He chokes Steamboat with his own bandanna and is relentless on top of him. This match is a perfect example of how you can mix things up. They brawl into crowd and Eaton hits a chair shot on Steamboat. It is not a hardcore match. It is just a match between two dudes that just don't like each other. WWE seems content in having everything in their nice, neat little boxes and this match showcases how you can blend genres. On the outside, Steamboat is able to send Eaton into the post and here comes a barrage of armdrags and armwork, which affords the Dragon the opportunity to tell the "Witch" at ringside to shut up. After the aforementioned chairshot, Eaton sends The Dragon's shoulder into the ringpost, nice tit for tat. He gets a nearfall on a suplex attempt and busts out a short arm scissors (a favorite of mine). Eaton and Steamboat's selling has really been top notch.  In a moment that made me laugh out loud, Eaton goes to hit a move off the top and JR exclaims he is from Huntsville! I guess most natives of Huntsville, AL are landlubbers. Eaton eats feet and Steamboat unloads his onslaught of pinning predicaments. Eaton counters the skin the cat with a belly to back suplex and busts out a Billy Robinson style backbreaker. I like how Steamboat gets his nearfalls on flash pins and Eaton is using suplexes. It makes for good complements. Steamboat catches Eaton in a crucifix pin for the win. Austin crashes the party, but not before Barry Windham cast and all is back to make the save. Great way to build towards Steamboat/Austin next week and a badass match overall. Eaton really showed off his mean streak in this match while still putting over Steamboat's challenge. They really used everything to their advantage. All the outside work was used to set up what was to happen in the ring before they hit the frenetic finish. ***3/4

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WCW TV Champion "Stunning" Steve Austin w/Paul E. Dangerously vs Big Josh  

WCW Pro 12/21/91

Poor Matt Bourne getting saddled with Big Josh and Doink The Clown. While Doink was far superior to Big Josh (just terrible), it did have a ceiling. What is remarkable is that he wrestled in two totally different styles. Doink was presented in the ring and by Vince as a technical wrestling wizard whereas Big Josh was an untrained lumberjack brute (because all people from Oregon are lumberjacks, duh). He did a great job given the limitations of each character. The match is pretty standard, but Josh had two nice spots: airplane spin and standing on top of Austin and stepping him, which was pretty cool. Austin looked like a pretty generic heel in this one and just survived using some Paul E distraction and feet on the ropes. Big Josh was also wearing denim floodwaters. Yep, he was going nowhere.   

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Dangerous Alliance (Bobby Eaton & The Enforcers) vs 

All Gold Everything (Brian Pillman, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes) - WCW Pro 12/21/91

The first of many Dangerous Alliance six mans is a solid match, but I did not think it was exceptional. Cool that everyone on the babyface team is a champion, Steamboat & Rhodes lifted the titles from the Enforcers and Pillman is the Champion of the ill-fated Light Heavyweight division. The shine lacked panache felt like the faces were going through the motions. The heels were excellent especially Arn in selling how smart he was for stopping short of the turnbuckles only get rammed into them by Dustin. Things picked up for once Dustin crashed and burned to outside. He is such a great face in peril and the heels were just kicking ass in being assholes and taking it to Dustin. I wished Pillman got more of an opportunity to work with DA, but he was stuck being the cornerstone of the DOA Light Heavyweight Division. Pillman was a good hot tag, but the finish stretch was a little rushed. Pillman has the pin after a cross body, but the ref is distracted by all the surrounding chaos and Eaton hits a perfect Alabama Jam from the heavens to break it up. Arn gets the duke and I just love that finish. More of a harbinger of the great things to come then a great match in its own right. Post-match is the best part as Barry Windham is back to exact revenge from the Dangerous Alliance and cleans house on the three members with his cast.