Sage Cortez
Heading into SuperBrawl, the job WCW had was to put on compelling television without being able to use their world champion. They did exactly that, and I’ll be reviewing the things they did to ensure that. In addition to that, with Jim Herd out of the picture, it’s likely that WCW’s television would get less and less stupid.
– Taped to air January 25th, 1992, on Worldwide, from Municipal Auditorium in Columbus, Georgia
Larry Zbyszko (w/Paul E. Dangerously and Medusa) vs. Ricky Steamboat
Pre-Match Thoughts: This seems like a good dway for me to kick things off. At this point, the squash format was subsiding and WCW was showing many more competitive matches on television than they had in the past. I really love this Dangerous Alliance program, and they could have pushed it out even longer than they did if they really wanted to.
Match Review: Zbyszko and Steamboat lock up, and tumble into the corner where they break cleanly. When they lock up again, Zbyszko tries a headlock. Zbyszko sunset flips Steamboat for 2 after that, and cradles him for 2 as well. That’s a page out of Steamboat’s book. Steamboat takes Zbyszko down with an interesting pin for 2, and a small package also gets 2. He chops Zbyszko to the outside, and he must take a break. Zbyszko gets back in there and goes back to the headlock, but Steamboat reverses to a wristlock. Zbyszko grabs hair to get the headlock back on, and he gives Steamboat an inverted atomic drop. A swinging neckbreaker follows that, and it gets 2. Zbyszko stomps on Steamboat’s face, then puts a chinlock on him. Steamboat gets out and starts brawling, then clotheslines Zbyszko for 2. Steamboat trips him for 2, and hits him with a flying forearm for 2. Steamboat goes to the other side and Medusa pulls down one of the ropes, then she kicks him in the ribs. Zbyszko goes to suplex Steamboat in, but Steamboat chops away at him and flies in with a cross body for 3 at 6:22.
The rest of the Dangerous Alliance runs out, and it’s time for all of them to stomp on Steamboat. Paul E. has Rude wrap a belt around his fist, but this time Sting runs out to stop the whipping! Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, and Ron Simmons are out there too, and the fans go crazy as they beat the Dangerous Alliance to the back.
My Thoughts: This match was very standard, with no intention of going all out or trying to take away from any other potential match. The post-match was excellent, the crowd showed exactly how much they cared about this. I think this had to be the first match on the show given the level of excitement for everything that happened in it. **1/4, amazing stuff after the match.
– Taped to air February 8th, 1992, on Worldwide, from Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville, Georgia
Big Van Vader (w/Harley Race) vs. Sting in a BOUNTY MATCH
Pre-Match Thoughts: The bounty was put on Sting by Lex Luger, as that was a way to get out of Luger’s title defense. Of course, their match still went down. This is a good precursor to the matches between these two later in the year. Doubt anyone thought they’d fight over the title, although with this match in front of Sting before SuperBrawl, maybe it was more obvious than I’m thinking. I FEAR NO MAN, I FEAR NO PAIN, AND IT’S VADER TIME! How can anyone not love this guy?
Match Review: This is quite a big confrontation, and when they lock up, Vader pops Sting in the mouth. He does that quite a few times, driving Sting back to the corner. Sting comes back with his own stuff, and hits Vader with the STINGER SPLASH. A clothesline puts Vader down, and they go outside of the ring. Sting runs at Vader again, but Vader drops him with a STUN GUN onto the rail. He clotheslines Sting after that, and goes back into the ring to wait for him. Vader gives Sting a back suplex, and levels him with another clothesline. Sting goes for a sunset flip, but Vader sits on his chest. Vader drops a big elbow, and hits him with his own splash in the corner. This is really good stuff. Vader picks Sting up and powerslams him, and squashes him with a big splash that Sting kicks out of at 2. Sting tries to come back, but Vader blocks his bodyslam and goes for a suplex that Sting blocks. Sting follows with a GERMAN SUPLEX, then picks him up and slams him. Sting heads up top, and down he comes with a big splash for 2! Sting goes up there again, and missile dropkicks Vader out to the floor. Vader takes control out there, but goes to crush Sting against the post and misses his charge. As such, Vader gets counted out at 6:13.
Race gets in the ring and tries to beat Sting up, but Sting drops him with the STINGER SPLASH. Sting locks him up in the SCORPION DEATHLOCK, but Vader gets up. So, Sting flies out to the floor with a plancha and leaves the scene!
My Thoughts: This really was a great sign, and I think anyone who saw this would have known these two would meet again. This was very short, but it was also good. Vader’s thing was a perfect match for Sting, and as everyone knows, there were far more better matches than this one. **1/2. Sting going strong over Vader didn’t happen much, but I think this qualifies.
– Taped to air February 15th, 1992, on the Main Event, from Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville, Georgia
Brian Pillman vs. Rick Rude (w/Paul E. Dangerously) for the WCW United States Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Rude’s routine will never get old. This is a good match for him too, with a good opponent. Have to expect something good will come of this. The run time of this video is also nearly ten minutes long, so I’m quite pleased. As said previously, Pillman needed to change his look and it becomes more readily apparent every time I watch his matches.
Match Review: Pillman and Rude do an interesting staredown to get things going, with an insincere look on Rude’s face. They lock up, and Rude wants to shake hands. Pillman’s a smart guy and doesn’t want to. He slaps Rude’s hand away, so Rude clocks him. He takes Pillman down for a headlock that gets 2, but Pillman gets out of it and takes Rude down with a drop toe-hold. Pillman threatens to break his leg, and tries his best for a little while. Eventually Rude gets to his feet, and knees Pillman in the gut, hurting his own knee. Pillman trips him again, and goes for a figure-four only to be kicked to the outside. Rude gets tripped by Pillman and has his leg wrapped around the post, which would appear to hurt. Rude gets up and gives Pillman a flapjack, then gets in some big rights. He follows that with a suplex, which gets 2. Rude dishes out a backbreaker next, and continues to sell his injured leg. After a bodyslam by Rude, he gets in some gyrating for the crowd. Rude puts Pillman in a bear hug to continue the theme of working on the back, which Pillman has to fight out of. He goes for a crucifix, but Rude uses a Samoan drop for 2. Rude heads up top now, but Pillman meets him with a dropkick on his way down. Rude gets up first and goes for the RUDE AWAKENING, but Pillman gets in the ropes. Pillman comes back with some chops, and some right hands in the corner, which leads to him going for AIR PILLMAN. Rude kicks out at 2 and rolls out of the ring, so Pillman follows with a plancha! He throws Rude back in and heads up top, coming down with a cross body that gets no count thanks to a distraction. Rude then catches a cross body attempt, drops him with a STUN GUN, and finishes him off with the RUDE AWAKENING after about 10 minutes.
My Thoughts: This was really good, and was nice in showing what Rude could do with the lower card workers, as well as what Pillman could do with guys up the card. We already knew the latter, and they really needed to push him in any capacity possible. Obviously, Pillman wasn’t pushed as hard as he deserved, but Rude certainly was and it was the right thing to do. *** for the best match so far. Lots of back and forth.
– Taped to air February 15th, 1992, on World Championship Wrestling, from Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
On this show, they had GREG VALENTINE MAKE HIS DEBUT. In case you can’t see the video, Valentine ran out there to help Taylor beat up Marcus Alexander Bagwell. Valentine should have been in WCW YEARS before this.
Arn Anderson (WCW Tag Team Champion) & Larry Zbyszko (w/Paul E. Dangerously) vs. Barry Windham & Ricky Steamboat (w/A NINJA)
Pre-Match Thoughts: Nice to see the Enforcers reunited in a straight tag team match. I need stuff like that in my life. Without question this is a great television matchup, and all things considered, is likely to be an excellent match. The crowd will also probably be extremely heated. WCW needed to go away from their commentary format at this point, I don’t like the show being hosted by one guy, even when it is Jim Ross. Wonder if this ninja angle will be paid off. Steamboat brought the ninja there to make sure nobody interfered in his matches, and he was there for a few weeks.
Match Review: Steamboat and Arn will start this, and Arn knocks Windham off the apron so Zbyszko can put the boots to him. That’s dirty. Steamboat goes to work on Arn for a while, but Zbyszko runs into the ring and kicks him. Arn then lines Steamboat up for a shot to the ribs, and Zbyszko tags in there. He gives Steamboat a bodyslam, stomps his face, and knees him in the gut. Arn tags back in, and he uses a distraction to throw Steamboat over the top. As Steamboat tends to do, he SKINS THE CAT back in, only for Arn to plant him with a DDT that gets 2. Steamboat tries to fight back with punches, but Zbyszko tags in. Windham finally gets in there and beats him up, giving him a backdrop. Windham knocks Zbyszko down and gives him a DDT of his own, then punches him instead of covering. Windham knocks Arn off the apron, and decides to bring Steamboat back in there for a double chop that gets 2. Steamboat suplexes Zbyszko and drops a knee on him for 2, then goes to a chinlock. Larry’s loud selling is amazing. Windham tags back in and hits him after a leap from the top, then dropkicks him. Windham puts Larry in a chinlock, then brings in Steamboat for a flying chop. Heel in peril is always amusing. Zbyszko finally makes a tag, and Arn is given an arm drag. Steamboat tries to cradle Arn up, but Arn blocks it, so Steamboat hits him with a superkick. Windham tags back in for a big clothesline that gets 2, and decides to follow that up with a SUPERPLEX, only for Zbyszko to clothesline him to the outside. Arn flies off the apron with a double axehandle on Windham, and throws Steamboat into the rail right after that. Arn drops a knee on Windham for 1, and goes to a chinlock of his own. Steamboat selling the throat brings back some memories. Windham fights out of the chinlock, giving Arn a hip toss. Zbyszko makes a tag but Windham cannot, so Windham is given a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Zbyszko goes to the chinlock, and eventually lets go for a backdrop. Arn tags back in there and puts a front face-lock on his former ally, but gets right back out of there. Zbyszko chokes Windham for a while, but Steamboat punches him so Windham can give him a back suplex. Steamboat tags in and he’s a house of fire, giving both guys bodyslams. Steamboat gives them a noggin-knocker, chops them both, and decides to head up top. He gives Zbyszko a flying chop, and now the ninja runs Paul E. to the back. A Steamboat cross body on Zbyszko gets nothing, and all of a sudden the bell rings at 10:58. The rest of the Dangerous Alliance runs out to the ring again, and HERE COMES THE CAVALRY. Dustin Rhodes and Sting take out the Dangerous Alliance members, and for some reason Ron Simmons wasn’t there. Why?
My Thoughts: I’m confused as to why Ron Simmons was out of the equation, as well as the match itself. It wasn’t quite as good as I thought, but still strong. This was meant to build towards the big eight man tag on TV a week later, as well as the SuperBrawl match where Austin and Zbyszko took on Rhodes and Windham. **3/4, it was still good. I thought Jim Ross got over very well the idea that these guys weren’t really trying to win the match.
– Taped to air February 16th, 1992, on the Main Event, from Municipal Auditorium in Columbus, Georgia
Ron Simmons and Big Josh vs. The Young Pistols for the WCW United States Tag Team Championships
The Pistols had hardly defended these, and Steve Armstrong was injured so he couldn’t be on TV a whole lot either. Simmons and Josh is like, the definition of a thrown together team. I don’t know why they did this at all. I don’t have the whole match, but I do have the finish. Eric Bischoff was on commentary! This win was as clean and as unimportant as could possibly be.
– Taped to air February 22nd, 1992, on WCW Saturday Night, from Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, South Carolina
Rick Rude (WCW US Champion), Larry Zbyszko, Arn Anderson (WCW Tag Team Champion), and Bobby Eaton (WCW Tag Team Champion, w/Paul E. Dangerously) vs. Sting, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, and Ricky Steamboat (w/A NINJA)
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is the famous eight man tag. What a group of guys this is, I can think of no other tag team match like this where everyone in it was a great wrestler. Talk about getting your money’s worth at a TV taping. They chose the perfect four guys on each side of this match. Terry Taylor is on commentary with Jim Ross, which is weird.
Match Review: The babyfaces attack to start this thing, and they clear the ring! Eaton and Windham will begin the wrestling aspect, and Windham goes to work, until Arn knees him from behind. Windham brings Arn in as a response, and follows with a noggin-knocker on him and Eaton. He clotheslines Eaton, and forces Arn and Eaton to retreat into a corner to get away from him. Windham backdrops Eaton, and Eaton makes a legal tag to his co-champion. Arn spits at Steamboat, which brings him in after a tag. These two trade punches and chops, until Steamboat goes for a cradle that Arn blocks, only for Steamboat to kick him in the face. Eaton runs in and eats some elbows in the corner, and the Dangerous Alliance needs a timeout. Arn tries to pull Steamboat’s hair and knock him down, but Steamboat kips up and kicks him again. Zbyszko tags in there, and dishes out his own kicks. Steamboat nails him with a clothesline, and in comes Dustin Rhodes for one of his own that gets 2. Zbyszko arm drags him, but Dustin counters with his own. So, in comes Rick Rude. He got the most heat of all these guys. The heels don’t want Dustin to tag in Sting, so they argue about it for a while. Rude wants Sting, though. Sting makes that tag in, and Rude needs prepped for combat. They trade bombs and Sting gets the best of it, eventually backdropping Rude. Sting clotheslines him after that, and dishes out an atomic drop that Rude sells as great as always. An inverted atomic drop is sold the same way, but Rude rakes the eyes and forces Sting back to the corner. Sting fights his way out of it, and goes after Zbyszko, giving him a press slam. Eaton runs in for a press slam, but Arn and Rude decide they don’t want any part of that punishment. Sting blocks a backdrop with a kick, and tags in Windham to deal with Zbyszko. Windham dropkicks Zbyszko, and tags in Dustin for a double clothesline that gets 2. Eaton tags in there and signals for a test of strength, but Dustin arm drags him. After a hip toss by Dustin, he goes for a flying head-scissors, only for Arn to grab him, drop him on the top rope, and throw him over the top. Zbyszko and Rude run over to ram Dustin into the rail, then Eaton clips his leg out from under him. Rude gets in there, and it’s time for Dustin’s left leg to get worked over. Rude heads up top, and down he comes with a missile dropkick! Never would have expected that. His cover gets 2, so Rude goes back to the leg. Arn is brought in to do the same, and he drives Dustin into the mat with a DDT that gets 2. Eaton, Arn, and Zbyszko keep working the leg, and the match cycles back to Rude doing it. Rude goes for the RUDE AWAKENING, but Steamboat gets in the ring. Dustin gives Rude a DDT thanks to the distraction, but Eaton cuts him off from the tag. He locks Dustin up in a FIGURE-FOUR, and Arn helps him cheat with it. Arn makes an illegal switch in, and Dustin kicks him into his own corner. Rude stops the tag with an elbow, and tags in Zbyszko, who gets beaten up for a bit.
Dustin makes a tag while being atomic dropped, and Steamboat runs in with chops. Everyone’s brawling now, and Steamboat bodyslams Zbyszko. He heads up top, comes down with a flying chop, and the cover gets broken up. This is a crazy brawl. Dustin and Zbyszko wind up in the ring, and Steamboat heads up top! Down he comes with a cross body, and he picks up the win over Zbyszko at 15:32. After the match, Rude runs in there and gives Steamboat a RUDE AWAKENING!
My Thoughts: This match is so fun, and it’s a great sign of what’s to come from WCW in the year of 1992. They had this talent on their roster all yeah, and these guys were just so good. This really could have gone 30 minutes, but that wasn’t the point of the exercise. Fans rarely got to see big tag matches with this kind of talent in it, so it’s quite a treat. I don’t know how else to praise this match, because I could go on about it for a long time. ****. Dustin Rhodes, by the way, was excellent in this kind of role, and pretty much any role at a later point. For him to have never been a world champion is something I’m incapable of understanding.
Sadly, I could not find the match where Greg Valentine and the Taylor Made Man became US Tag Team Champions by beating Ron Simmons and Big Josh. I don’t particularly care either. One thing worth mentioning about WCW at this time is that there were constant rumors about new wrestlers entering the company. Some from the WWF, and some from elsewhere. Guys like Marty Jannetty, Shane Douglas, Scott Norton, Terry Gordy, Steve Williams, and Nikita Koloff were all thought to possibly be joining WCW. Also, at the worst possible time, a story was aired saying that WCW had a racial discrimination issue, and it was pointed out that they had people who pretended to be black on their roster. Who could those people be? The SuperBrawl card looks no less than spectacular, but I’m not watching that next. First, it’s going to be WWF matches leading into WrestleMania 8. There are a ton of news bits to post pertaining to that, too.
Best: 8 man tag. Without a doubt.
Worst: Having two tag titles. Time to stop with it.
