Dangerous Alliance
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| Dangerous Alliance | |
| Stable | |
|---|---|
| Members | See below |
| Debut | 1991 |
| Disbanded | November 1992 |
| Promotions | WCW |
The Dangerous Alliance was a heel professional wrestling stable that made a name for itself in World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Contents |
[edit] History
At the beginning of his career, Paul Heyman took on the stage name Paul E. Dangerously and worked as a commentator and a heel manager in WCW. In storyline, he was "fired" as a commentator because he was too controversial and outspoken. However, in 1991-1992, he formed a dominant faction of professional wrestlers, which came to be known as the Dangerous Alliance.
[edit] Halloween Havoc 1991
The precursors to Dangerously forming his stable came at the 1991 Halloween Havoc PPV in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Prior to the show, announcer Eric Bischoff was working as a valet in the parking lot. When Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham pulled up and got out of their car, heel wrestlers Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko ran up to Bischoff and Windham and slammed the car door on Windham's hand, breaking it. It was from this incident that Zbyszko gained his nickname from around this time, "The Cruncher."
Later at the same show, the mysterious WCW Halloween Phantom appeared, and squashed Tom Zenk in a match using a reverse neckbreaker. Then, in an interview segment with Bischoff, Dangerously brought out the Phantom and had him unmask to reveal "Ravishing" Rick Rude, fresh from leaving the rival World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Dangerously stated that even though he had been fired as a commentator, he still had his manager's license, and would use Rude to exact his revenge on the company that fired him.
[edit] Clash of the Champions XVII
The storyline was furthered at Clash of Champions XVII on November 19, 1991 in Savannah, Georgia. At the beginning of the Clash, which was televised live on TBS, WCW U.S. Champion (and perennial face) Sting was in the ring doing an interview. Madusa came out dressed as a harem girl and distracted Sting so WCW World Champion Lex Luger could attack him from behind by clipping his knee. Luger then bashed the knee against the runway repeatedly to make it seem like Sting had suffered severe damage. Several face wrestlers, including Bobby Eaton, ran out to run the heel Luger off and take Sting to the hospital. Sting, however, had to defend his title against Rude that night and did not want to leave. Eaton kept telling him he would have time, so he left. Bischoff rode in the ambulance with Sting and gave live updates on the condition of Sting from the hospital between matches to announcers Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone. Meanwhile, Dangerously had found a loophole in the match contract that specifically stated that if Sting was not able to defend his title, he would have to forfeit it to Rude. The announcers relayed the message to Bischoff, who in turn passed it along to Sting. Commotion could be heard in the background as Sting tried to leave the hospital and return to defend his title.
When it came time for the match, Sting was a no-show and Dangerously declared Rude the U.S. Champion (which had been their plan all along). The telecast featured a split screen of the ambulance arriving at the back area of the arena with Sting's knee wrapped up. Dangerously demanded referee Nick Patrick start the match and count Sting out, but he kept interrupting the count which allowed Sting enough time to make it out to the ring. After having trouble finding the right door to enter the building, his fight song started playing and Sting limped out. Rude met him at the runway with punches but Sting was so pumped he took it to him instead and the match was underway. Rude defeated Sting, mainly due to his injured knee, with a small package pin. The next WCW Saturday Night (this was before WCW Monday Nitro), Dangerously formed his group with Rude, Eaton, Madusa, Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko and "Stunning" Steve Austin.
[edit] Feuds
The Dangerous Alliance went on to dominate WCW for the next six months, as Anderson and Eaton won the Tag Team Titles and Austin held the Television Championship for a time. Their main feuds were with Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, and Nikita Koloff. The Alliance and its rivals went back and forth until they settled their issues in a gruesome "WarGames" match at Wrestle War on May 17, 1992 in Jacksonville, Florida. During the match, Zbyszko unscrewed the turnbuckle and tried to hit Sting with the metal part. However, he ended up hitting his stablemate Eaton instead, allowing Sting to apply an armbar to Eaton and garner a submission victory for his team. After the match, Zbyszko was expelled from the Alliance, which began the group's downfall.
Rude and Madusa went their own separate way and had much success. Anderson and Eaton started running with Michael Hayes, but they came back to Dangerously when he fired Madusa publicly and she came after him. By the end of November 1992, the Dangerous Alliance had disbanded, but Dangerously revived it in ECW a year later with Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco, The Dark Patriot and "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert. Anderson, in an interview video with RF Video referred to the Dangerous Alliance as one of the greatest gatherings of talent ever, but opined that it never became a memorable team because of WCW's incompetence in promoting stars.
[edit] Members (WCW)
- "Ravishing" Rick Rude - Won the WCW United States Heavyweight Title and was the centerpiece of the Alliance, occupying a position similar to that of Ric Flair in the Four Horsemen. He feuded heavily with Ricky Steamboat, Nikita Koloff and Sting while in the Alliance.
- "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson - Won the WCW World Tag Team Titles with Eaton as the main tag team of the Alliance. He feuded heavily with Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat and Rick & Scott Steiner while in the Alliance.
- "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton - Won the WCW World Tag Team Title with Anderson as the main tag team of the Alliance. He feuded heavily with Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat and the Steiner Brothers while in the Alliance.
- "Stunning" Steve Austin - Won the WCW World Television Title and frequently teamed with Rude and Zbyszko. He feuded heavily with Barry Windham and Sting while in the Alliance.
- "The Living Legend/The Cruncher" Larry Zbyszko - He feuded heavily with Ron Simmons and Barry Windham while in the Alliance. He teamed frequently with Austin and occasionally Anderson.
- Michael "P.S." Hayes - He was barely with the Alliance. He managed Anderson & Eaton and helped Dangerously against Madusa.
- Paul E. Dangerously - Mastermind, leader, and manager of the Alliance. He feuded directly with Madusa after firing her.
- Madusa - She was the valet for the Alliance. She usually went to ringside with Rude, but frequently went out with the others when the Alliance first formed. She feuded with Missy Hyatt and Dangerously after he fired her while in the Alliance.
