[1992-05-23-WCW-Saturday Night] Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff & Dustin Rhodes vs Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko (2/3 falls)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This is a good match, but I think it's been a little overhyped. They're given lots of time and there is some definite good stuff that I really liked, but it's also really one-sided. Heel in peril definitely applies to this match because 80% of this is the heel side taking bumps for the babyfaces. As a result, this never built heat like it could have and should have.

 

The positives were things I really, really liked, but there just wasn't enough focus on them. Steamboat getting his face worked over with Arn pulling off his nose tape and punching him was tremendous. I thought Eaton looked really good too, and the storyline with Zbyszko was furthered. I do sort of wish though that Eaton, who while he looked good was probably still injured at this point, could have been subbed for Austin, and Koloff could have been subbed for Windham. I'm sure that would have made for an even better match.

 

It just seems like this match never gets going. The first 10 minutes of a 20 minute MX match are usually the MX being embarrassed and putting shine on the babyfaces. Here, that is pretty much the whole match and the heels don't get a lot of heat put on them. I think that's what keeps this from hitting the next level, even if there is some really, really good stuff going on at times.

[Dylan Waco]

Maybe I need to rewatch this, because the last time I saw it I thought it was at worst a contender for top ten all time WCW match.

[Frankensteiner]

I saw this after reading the hype and while I like it, I don't know that it's substantially better than any of the other great WCW/DA six man matches. Top 10 seems high. I think this would make the bottom of a top 100 but that's about it.

[KB8]

I plan on picking the yearbook up in the next few days, so I'll get around to re-watching this whenever it gets here, but my thoughts were similar to Dylan's after I last watched it. I slacked big time and never got a list together for the Smarkschoice poll, but I figured this would be a top 20 lock after I saw everything I wanted to (which never happened).

[Tim Evans]

Maybe I should watch this again cause I wasn't feeling it the first time. The 2/3 falls stip hurt it.

[shoe]

I liked this match. In no way would I put it in a top 10. Still a lot of cool stuff that Loss alludes to. Even though Steamer didn't sell that much the stuff he did was super effective. Arn was tremendous here with his stooging and what not.

[KB8]

Watched this again last night, and I still love it. Steamboat is just out of this world spectacular as a face in peril in the third fall. Would've liked him to be worked over for a few minutes longer, but what can you do? Babyfaces probably take too much of it on the whole, but that's another minor quibble.

 

I'm with Dylan -- this feels like it belongs at the top end of a top 100.

[ohtani's jacket]

What other great Dangerous Alliance six mans are there? This is the great Dangerous Alliance six man. From memory I had this in my top 5.

[Loss]

I liked Rude/Austin/Eaton vs Sting/Steamboat/Bagwell from Pro on 1/18 better. Also, Rude/Austin/Arn vs Steamboat/Windham/Dustin on the 4/4 Pro. The only "great" multi-man match from the DA era is the 8-man from the 2/22 WCW Saturday Night.

[El-P]

This is clearly one of the best Dangerous Alliance match on WCW TV, as the 2/3 falls actually served a purpose here and they got enough time to work around it. Plus the stip works better in tag matches anyway. Arn and Steamboat were the standouts. Koloff brings nothing to the table, and it's a shame he took Simmons spot on the faces side to oppose the DA.

[Kevin Ridge]

Koloff seemed pretty useless but other wise thought it was a good match. Koloff just seems out of place in this feud. I think the 2 out of 3 falls concept does work for this type of match as you got a bunch of guys involved.

[WingedEagle]

Arn's stooging and his and Eaton's bumping really made the early portions of this match. They're just such pros. Zbyszko eats the first fall and instrumental in Arn losing the third, though I don't recall any big payoff to his taking all this heat. Unlike most weekly main events, the 2/3 falls stip served a purpose in the story. This group had better matches earlier in the year though.

 

***1/4

[PeteF3]

I do think this was the best of the DA 6-mans (though not as good as the 4-man as Loss mentioned). This is the first truly standout Eaton performance on the set, as he works a fabulous sequence with Steamboat and is back to being the big-offense, big-bumping Beautiful Bobby of old. Also a very clever finish that furthers the Zbyszko dissension angle (that leads to the most anticlimactic wrestling breakup in history, but oh well).

[MikeCampbell]

I dug this a ton, but I wouldn't rate it all that highly. The heels didn't really get to get any heat until the third fall when they got to work over Steamboat for a time. It helps that Koloff was mostly kept on the apron and only involved for important spots, like setting up the finishes to the first and third falls. I really didn't like the finish to the second fall either, there's no reason why the heels couldn't have used the phone to steal the win.

[Zenjo]

I can certainly see why this would've been overhyped back in the day. I can't add to that without sounding even more condescending. A 25m encounter spread over 3 falls, thanks Bill Watts. All the guys worked hard and it never got bogged down. Koloff was best suited to a tag environment for protection. He did look like Goldberg. I do like Steamboat, but some of his selling makes The Rock look subtle by comparison. It was all Larry's fault for both falls as the dissention grows. Good stuff.

[garretta]

First fall: This is set up to be almost bigger than WarGames, which is a major tactical error. In fact, the argument could be made that this match shouldn't be happening at all so soon after WarGames, which is supposed to be the ultimate showdown between factions in WCW. Maybe they could have swapped this for Muta/Armstrong the following week in order to give those who saw WrestleWar a chance to digest what happened there.

 

This is very, very slow-paced, which is the norm for the first falls in this two-out-of-three series. It only picks up toward the very end, in time for the pin.

 

Casper is mostly there for JR to bounce his football references off of, which doesn't sound like much unless, like me, the last match in this series that you saw was Borne/Arn from 5/2 with the unforgettable Jason Hervey on color.

 

Heyman may be the standout performer on his side for the fall: yelling at cameramen to get out of his face, registering concern, and browbeating Zbyszko for questioning his strategy. By the way, we missed the Nikita/Larry match that supposedly started the whole dissension angle.

 

This fall does an excellent job of establishing that the DA just aren't all on the same page. Arn makes several mistakes due to his mind wandering, Heyman and Zbyszko publically argue, and Zbyszko gets caught by a blind (at least to him) tag and is pinned by Steamboat, who's now presumably replaced Sting as Public Babyface #1, so to speak. For those who wanted the DA to have more offense, they might have if this was the supergroup who was firing on all cylinders as they were at the beginning of the year. Right now, they're falling apart at the seams, with Larry on the outs and Arn thinking mostly about singles glory. It makes perfect sense that the more unified babyface team dominates them.

 

Lines of the fall: Casper (after JR tells him that he can just call Bobby "Beautiful"): "I will, at least to his face."

 

Bobby (to Zbyszko, after he and Heyman get into a verbal spat, in an "aw shucks" voice): "Gee, Larry, listen to him. He's pretty smart." (It's all in the delivery, folks.)

 

Second fall: There's not a whole lot to say here, as the faces continue to dominate. The DA gets a brief advantage when Dustin's shoulder gets rammed into the post, and Arn works it over a bit, but the advantage doesn't last long. We get a great triple figure-four spot from the faces, which leads to the referee forgetting (intentionally or otherwise) who the legal men in the ring are. The ending furthers the dissension storyline even more, as it's Larry who's elected to throw the phone into the ring, but his pass bounces off Bobby's hands, and Dustin makes the pick on the deflection, then inexplicably waffles Bobby for the DQ.

 

I agree with Mike here; if the idea of the fall was to make Larry look like a schmuck, the ref (Mike Atkins, I think) should have caught the phone and DQ'd the DA, thus giving them a loss in two straight. Otherwise, Dustin should have been pinned; he had no real reason to hit anyone with the phone (now once again a "foreign", as opposed to "international", object, according to JR in the Borne/Arn match) except that they felt they had to give the DA a fall somehow.

 

I wonder what the DA took a vote on. We overheard Paul and Arn discussing that early in the fall. Could it have been Larry's dismissal?

 

Once again, Casper pretty much confines his remarks to the old Raiders, including a comparison of the DA's current situation to the infighting his Raider teams went through. Not that the comparison wasn't apt, but guest commentators who barely know anything about what they're seeing is a trademark of Vince's that he's rightly panned for, and outside of that one statement (which was audibly spoon-fed to him by JR), he's had nothing to say about the match he's watching. Even Hervey. as annoying as he was, tried to talk about the match intelligently now and again. If JR can't handle working with Jesse every week, get Dusty out of the office and put him in the booth, or let JR go it alone, which he was practically doing here anyway.

 

Third fall: The DA finally takes control, as Arn nails a surprise DDT and they then launch a spirited attack on Steamer's head, face, and neck. People here have complained about his selling, but how would you act if you were in the middle of an athletic event and someone hit a knee right in your already-broken nose? Chances are you'd act like you'd been shot, just like Steamer did. The only problem here is the lack of blood, but this is WCW TV; no one's allowed to have any in their body lest it come out by accident.

 

Eventually, we get the hot tag to Nikita, and that leads to one of the most well-done "accidental" finishes I've ever seen. Arn's holding Nikita for a doubleteam with Larrry, but Nikita ducks and Larry nails Arn instead. While they're collecting themselves, Arn spots Nikita coming with the sickle and warns Larry, who ducks. Arn gets blasted and pinned. The question is: Did Larry duck out of instinct, or did he deliberately set Arn up to get hit, thus costing the DA the match? The DA, to a man, goes with answer number two, and it's hard to blame them considering what a selfish sleazeball Larry's always been. Heyman takes his jacket off to challenge Larry, which JR all but cracks up at, and we end on a confrontation between The Enforcers.

 

This match existed solely to put Larry even further on the outs with the DA, and it succeeded. (If you wanted to stretch a little, you could also say part of its goal was to hype the Steamer/Nikita team for the NWA tag tournament.) As I said, I really liked how the finish was done, and the fact that all three decisions involved Zbyszko miscues; the only reason the DA escaped with the second fall was because Dustin went inexplicably stupid at the wrong time. There doesn't appear to be any way to repair the rift between Larry and the DA, and the only question now is: Which member does Larry target first once he's kicked out?

 

How did we not get a full-blown Larry/DA feud? Even without Heyman, everyone else from the DA was still in WCW, so they could have all had matches with the Cruncher. I don't know how I'd handle Zbyszko/Rude, since Larry's not really US champion material by now, but he should have been able to beat Eaton and Austin and hold his own in defeat against Arn.

 

By the way, when did Cactus and Abby get back together? JR hypes a match between the two of them and Dustin/Barry on the following night's edition of The Main Event.

[JerryvonKramer]

FIP sequence on Steamer in third fall is one of the best of all time.

[JKWebb]

The Co-MVP's of this match are AA and Steamboat for me. The match really kicks in during the first fall after Arn's great selling of the uppercut from Dustin Rhodes. I like how they go right back to another punch to the face when Arn's goes to the outside, and then he gets rolled back in to Steamboat. Also loved the look on Arn's face the first time Koloff gets tagged in. During the third fall Arn's DDT sets up the fantastic FIP sequence. Steamboat is great here, but so is Arn delivering the punishment. Really enjoyed the match!

[Superstar Sleeze]

Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko) vs Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes & Nikita Koloff - WCW Saturday Night 5/23/92

A bittersweet match for me is this the last hyped WCW match from the 90s I have never seen. 

First Fall: You wanna see a wicked fun babyface shine check this match out. Eaton, Zbyszko and Anderson are stooging for the babyfaces big time. Eaton eats Steamboat's offense like a champ. Zbyszko is hollering in pain. Anderson is the King Stooge. He makes Dustin's punches look like a million bucks. They build really well to Nikita's entry. The no sell of Eaton's suplex is great. I loved the finish so much. Nikita tags out. He does a drop down on a criss cross that forces Larry Z to focus on that only to have Steamboat fly into the screen and wipe him out for three. Red hot start to this one.

Second Fall: The babyface team is a runaway freight train. This feels like one of those super fun blowouts where the home team is just demolishing their archrivals. Larry Z cant do anything right. He lost them the match at Wargames one week prior. Here he loses the first fall and then the knucklelock battle with Steamboat. Arn does not fare much better against Steamboat and Dustin. I love how they are limiting Koloff. Triple figure-4 spot. A melee ensues and Dustin wraps his arm around the post. This is the first sign of life for the Dangerous Alliance. Hammerlock slam and Arn is in his wheelhouse. A PERFECT TOP ROPE ELBOW DROP FROM EATON! O how I missed Bobby Eaton! I loved Dustin's comeback with punches and Eaton bouncing off the ropes to eat more punches. This is a great match on how heels should feed a babyface. When a babyface eats, the crowd goes home full! Eaton wants the phone and Zbyszko that fucks up the phone transfer. Eaton gets clipped. Dustin smashes the phone into Larry Z triggering the DQ. Even in victory it feels like the Dangerous Alliance come out like losers.  Zbyszko cant catch a break.

Third Fall: Ok, believe the hype! This match is amazing! The babyfaces look to continue their fast break. Dustin punishing Eaton. I love how pissed Arn is when Koloff escapes a possible triple team. He knows that was his chance. Steamboat shakes the ropes causing Arn to crotch. This is so much fun. Then it happens...DDT by Arn. Changes the complexion of the match. Steamboat's nose had been busted. He is wearing tape. Arn drives Steamboat's nose into the knee of Eaton. Wow! The selling from Steamboat! This is A+ selling of the nose by Steamboat. Eaton is punching the nose and driving the face into the turnbuckle pad. This is incredible. Eaton reluctantly tags in Zbyszko lets see if he screws this up. Not really actually as it is Eaton when he gets back in that allows Steamboat to make the hot tag to Koloff. Great finish. Anderson holds Nikita, but Larry Z blasts Double A. Then as they are talking, Koloff is revving up for the Russian Sickle and Larry Z who was screening Anderson, ducks and Nikita nails the sickle for the win. 

I love how the finish of every single fall saw Larry Z fucking it up for his team. They drive it home in the post-match that Larry Z is pretty much gone from the Dangerous Alliance. I love how the work combined to advance the angle thats great pro wrestling. Insanely fun match with the babyfaces looking like champs and the Steamboat FIP is one of the ages. Check this one out! ****1/2

[dawho5]

I liked the first fall a lot, the heels really shined up the babyfaces as mentioned.  Both Eaton and Arn were phenomenal.  second fall I was expecting the heels to take control.  I get what they were going for with how they wrestled this match though.  Larry is supposed to look like the guy who is causing all of the problems in the DA.  I just love me a good southern tag is all.  The FIP on Steamer is great and the finish just drives home the story the match was supposed to tell.

Had this just been another tag match they could have had the shine-FIP-hot tag structure that would probably have gone over a lot better and been a lot more exciting.  As it was, the story is the most important part and it works really well when you look at it from that angle.

[Chorros3]

A tríos match at the Sound Stage sounds like an amazing idea on paper. The Dangerous Alliance do an amazing rudo job by stoogin, stalling and being sneaky; for some reason I always thought Arn would be awesome in a lucha setting. Loved when he deflates just by the sight of facing Nikita in the ring. Like a good lucha match, Eaton, the stooogin partner, takes his place and proceeds to be out classed in every way. Arn, like a sneaky captain, only comes when Nikita has been controlled. Good ending to the first fall, when Zbyszko misseds a blind tag Nikita and gets pinned by a surprise Steamboat plancha.

The second fall starts on a faces shine that includes simultaneous Figure Fours. The crowd is chanting along every Dustin punch until Eaton, that opportunistic bastard, takes advantage of a mistake and punishes his arm on the post outside the ring. Huge flying elbow by Eaton. Weird finish to the second fall when Dustin gets a hold of Paul E.’s phone by chance and nails Larry with it for the DQ. 
 

Crowd is engaged for the start of the third fall. Arn is such a stellar performer, switching from stooge (crotching himself on the top rope) and a bruiser (going after Steamboat’s nose, pinpoint knee drops and hitting a huge DDT) in the blink of an eye. Steamboat’s FIP section revolves around his taped nose (As if he needed a focused body part to generate sympathy). Nikita gets a mechanically awkward but otherwise effective hot tag and pins Arn Anderson after the Russian Sickle steaming from a Zbyszko mistake. Afterwards, Arn and Larry go nose to nose, teasing a breakup. This flew by, it had to with such a cast. Only thing missing were a few tope suicidas. ***3/4

[Beast]

Absolutely love this match. It's rare for a 30-minute match to keep my attention no issue and this is one I can go back to over and over and still enjoy the whole thing.

It's a masterclass in storytelling.

Each participant has a distinct role and the fun is seeing how they interact and build towards the overarching storyline of the collapse of the D.A. supergroup.

Face side - Ricky Steamboat (experienced master wrestler), Dustin Rhodes (up and coming, full of fire), Nikita Koloff (intimidating powerhouse)

Heel side - Arn Anderson (de-facto leader, at least by virtue of charisma), Bobby Eaton (brutal technician), Larry Zbyszko (can't do anything right, but is still clearly effective)

Plus Paul E. continuing to show why he's an all-timer at ringside. The little conversation pieces he has with his team on camera are tremendous and add so much. Arn complains to him after Zbyszko initially screws up (again) and Paul E. calms him down and mentions a vote Austin and Rude took (we can infer meaning to give Larry another chance), and then freaks out when he sees the camera on him.

It's the best use of the 2/3 falls era of Saturday Night and every single moment feels purposeful. You could use this as a case for 6-man matches being the best type of match based on this, with every guy able to go 100% all the time since they get rest time on the apron (while still clearly being invested and engaged in what's happening in the ring.

The endings of each fall are anything but arbitrary and the overall story is filled with so many great moments. 6 months of having the same group of 12 guys facing each other in match after match leads to the amazing chemistry seen here.

This just might be Arn's single greatest performance ever (at least in gaga heel mode). He's on the entire 30 minutes and his timing and facial expressions are out of this world.

I could write a small book on this, so I'll end for now with how disappointing it is we never really got Larry vs the DA after the breakup. Despite 12 years of heeling and a recent crushing of Windham's hand, it could have been a great story with him being separated from the bad guys, but not liked or trusted by the good guys until he finally makes the full turn over time. There was a lot of potential for even more greatness with the Dangerous Alliance versus everyone, but I guess Watts didn't get it (or like Paul E.) and that was that, even though this feels so much like the type of storytelling Mid-South was known for.

Full 5 stars for me. Maybe I need to see more from this time (although I've seen a bunch and I really don't think any of the 6-man's mentioned earlier have anything close to the depth this one has). Different strokes...