Let's Talk About...

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

I liked the thread about X-Factor, and was looking forward to the one for this week... but it never came, so I will initiate one.

 

What did you think of WCW during the year of the monkey, 1992?

[Guest Nitro 24/7]

WCW 1992 was fuckin awesome! Incredible wrestling. The Dangerous Alliance were one of the best heel stables ever in my opinion with some of the best workers in the business Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zybysco, Steve Austin, Rick Rude and Paul Heyman. Then there was Sting, The Steiners, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham as the main babyfaces. Also the monster heel Vader and also Cactus Jack , Ron Simmons, Gordy and Williams tons of talent.

 

Some of the greatest wrestling TV I have ever watched was in WCW in 1992.

 

When you look at the Dangerous Alliance and the major faces at the time there, the was so many matchups they were able to put on TV and there was so many shows we got to watch at the time. WCW Saturday Night, Main Event, Power Hour, Worldwide, Clash of the Champions, and PPVs.

 

Also had Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura on commentary.

 

Great time for wrestling!

[Diamonddust 0]

WCW 1992 was fuckin awesome! Incredible wrestling. The Dangerous Alliance were one of the best heel stables ever in my opinion with some of the best workers in the business Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zybysco, Steve Austin, Rick Rude and Paul Heyman. Then there was Sting, The Steiners, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham as the main babyfaces. Also the monster heel Vader and also Cactus Jack , Ron Simmons, Gordy and Williams tons of talent.

 

Some of the greatest wrestling TV I have ever watched was in WCW in 1992.

 

When you look at the Dangerous Alliance and the major faces at the time there, the was so many matchups they were able to put on TV and there was so many shows we got to watch at the time. WCW Saturday Night, Main Event, Power Hour, Worldwide, Clash of the Champions, and PPVs.

 

Also had Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura on commentary.

 

Great time for wrestling!

 

Agreed. 1992 was a very fun time, especially with Paul E. and the Dangerous Alliance running wild. You had Vader absolutely destroying people and breaking backs, Steamboat and Rude having an excellent feud, and a lot of real good tag-team stuff. The first half or so of the year was excellent, although things started to go a bit down as they got closer to 1993.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

The first half or so of the year was excellent, although things started to go a bit down as they got closer to 1993.

 

Really? I have a love/hate attitude towards the Watts area. I strongly disagreed with his politics, but he booked some very good TV.

[cabbageboy 0]

There are really two halves to 1992 WCW. The first half was more the K. Allen Frey regime with the Dangerous Alliance being the main heels, but by mid year Watts had taken over and things shifted from that angle to Sting/Vader and Williams and Gordy started destroying people.

 

There was some great action in WCW circa 1992 and really makes me wonder if Flair was ever as essential to their promotion as people think. On a weekly basis it was probably stronger than the WWF, but the WWF's best matches from that period are still my favorites.

 

I do think my favorite WCW show ever was from 1992. It was the show where Jake Roberts debuted and attacked Sting, leaving him unable to face Vader for the world title. A lottery was held and Ron Simmons won the title shot and then he went on to beat Vader. This was just captivating storytelling that made you really CARE about what you were seeing. I'm amazed no one has done an angle like this again.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

Well after 91 sucked a dick in it's last half you really got to give WCW kudos for finally pulling it together at that point. Vader tearing shit up. The Steiners getting upset by by Williams and Gordy. The Japanese coming over fairly frequently. This was the peak of my interest in WCW.

[Red Baron 0]

Was the actual Vader/Simmons match any good. I've seen snippits of it and the crowd was electric, but match wise was it any good?

[Guest Nitro 24/7]

There are really two halves to 1992 WCW. The first half was more the K. Allen Frey regime with the Dangerous Alliance being the main heels, but by mid year Watts had taken over and things shifted from that angle to Sting/Vader and Williams and Gordy started destroying people.

 

There was some great action in WCW circa 1992 and really makes me wonder if Flair was ever as essential to their promotion as people think. On a weekly basis it was probably stronger than the WWF, but the WWF's best matches from that period are still my favorites.

 

I do think my favorite WCW show ever was from 1992. It was the show where Jake Roberts debuted and attacked Sting, leaving him unable to face Vader for the world title. A lottery was held and Ron Simmons won the title shot and then he went on to beat Vader. This was just captivating storytelling that made you really CARE about what you were seeing. I'm amazed no one has done an angle like this again.

 

 

Ah yes I forgot that even Jake Roberts was in WCW in 92 for a little bit. Awesome build up with his feud with Sting. I really loved how we saw just about every combination of the Dangerous Alliance vs Sting, Steamboat, Windham, Rhodes, Steiners and Nikita! I also forgot Nikita was there, but yeah during that time any WCW show you turned on had either a singles, tag, six man, or 8 man of the Dangerous Alliance/Stings Squadron feud and on Saturday we usually got 3 shows worth of action. Plus the BLOODY Wargames 92 was the perfect finale for the feud.

 

How about the Steiners vs Gordy & Williams matches? Good stuff there.

 

Yeah and all this without Flair, Sid or Luger. I think though that if those 3 guys had also been in WCW at the time it would have been the same greatness if not a whole hell of alot more. The booking was excellent and it seemed that everyone from the opening match to the main event had a good program and something meaningful going on.

 

What would you have done with Flair, Luger and Sid if they had been there as well?

 

Flair against the Dangerous Alliance? wow

 

Flair forming a heel or face Horesman group with Sid, Luger and maybe Windham

 

I think I can honestly say that aside from the Monday Night Wars, 1992 was my favorite year of wrestling. WWF was rockin to at the time.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't that the same year that brought Ricky Steamboat back to WCW? He came in subbing for an injured Barry Windham in a tag match, IIRC? That was a pretty good surprise.

 

The start of the Dangerous Alliance angle was when I first started watching WCW ever, actually. I remember seeing Paul E. become manager of the Enforcers (Arn and Larry Z) around then. Up until then, my family didn't have cable, so the only chance I ever had to see any NWA/WCW programming was at a friend's house once in a great while. Other than that, it was pretty much all WWF for me.

[majormayhem1 0]

I believe '92 was the year that they retired the U.S. tag team titles. The last title match was on WCW Saturday Night and featured The Freebirds vs. The Barbarian and Greg Valentine?? My memory is a little fuzzy.

 

[King Kamala 0]

I'm posting just to say I've got dibs on next week's Let's Talk About thread.

 

 

I haven't seen much pre-Hogan WCW, I started watching in February-March of '94 and even then I mostly watched WWF until I caught my first Nitro on Memorial Day '96 (good episode to start with).

 

But I vaguely recall renting Starcade '92 as a mark and I did recently watch the angle where Sting got attacked by Jake Roberts and Ron Simmons won the lottery to replace him against Vader and won the title on YouTube. Wow, what a hot angle. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a crowd as emotionally involved in a match as the crowd for Simmons-Vader was. I love the black guy in the front row, jumping up and down and crying tears of joy after Simmons one. They really blew Simmons' title reign though. It could have been huge but it was always overshadowed by whatever Sting was doing.

[cabbageboy 0]

Yeah and also aside from Vader I don't think Simmons really had any other heel challengers. I think they were going to have Rude beat him for the belt, but Rude got hurt. So he was left to screw around with The Barbarian and what not.

 

WCW did have its dubious aspects in 1992, stuff like the top rope rule and all that.

[Diamonddust 0]

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't that the same year that brought Ricky Steamboat back to WCW? He came in subbing for an injured Barry Windham in a tag match, IIRC? That was a pretty good surprise.

 

The start of the Dangerous Alliance angle was when I first started watching WCW ever, actually. I remember seeing Paul E. become manager of the Enforcers (Arn and Larry Z) around then. Up until then, my family didn't have cable, so the only chance I ever had to see any NWA/WCW programming was at a friend's house once in a great while. Other than that, it was pretty much all WWF for me.

 

Steamboat came back in November of '91... teamed with Dustin Rhodes against Zybysko and Anderson. It was probably one of the few instances where the "mystery" partner angle paid off in spades as the crowd went NUTS for Steamboat. Larry and Arn also sold it as if it was the end of the world for them.

 

 

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Yeah and also aside from Vader I don't think Simmons really had any other heel challengers. I think they were going to have Rude beat him for the belt, but Rude got hurt. So he was left to screw around with The Barbarian and what not.

 

While Simmons was tussling with the Barbarian and Butch Reed, Rude was working programs with Nikita Koloff and Masahiro Chono.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

For what it's worth, the Observer of the time said Simmons was going to or probably going to retain the title against Rude. If the decision had already been made to put the belt back on Vader, which seems likely, that result does make sense.

[cabbageboy 0]

That's odd. I always kinda figured Rude was getting the title since he hadn't had the world title yet, and that going back to Vader was the panic move once Rude went down.

 

Man, the WWF and WCW both did the same unbeatable fat fuck heel champ thing in 1993. Is it any wonder the industry really hit the skids around that time?

[King Kamala 0]

That's odd. I always kinda figured Rude was getting the title since he hadn't had the world title yet, and that going back to Vader was the panic move once Rude went down.

 

Man, the WWF and WCW both did the same unbeatable fat fuck heel champ thing in 1993. Is it any wonder the industry really hit the skids around that time?

 

 

Eh, I think the industry was starting to hit the skids in '92, shortly after SummerSlam. Though having two monster heel champions in '93 certainly didn't help things (Though I did like both Vader and Yoko's runs with the belt).

[majormayhem1 0]

I believe '92 was the year that they retired the U.S. tag team titles. The last title match was on WCW Saturday Night and featured The Freebirds vs. The Barbarian and Greg Valentine??

 

According to Wikipedia, the Fabulous Freebirds lost to The Barbarian and Dick Slater on June 25th and the title was officially retired on June 31st, 1992. However, Greg Valentine was a co-holder of the title with Terrence Taylor in February of '92.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cabbageboy 0]

For whatever deranged reason I sometimes wonder about that final US tag title match. Why on earth would WCW want a makeshift team like Slater and Barbarian as the last champs instead of the Freebirds? Did Hayes and Garvin want to lose the belts as to not be "the team that killed the US belts?"

 

Oddly enough I could probably stomach Vader more than Yoko since he at least seemed tough and vicious and was also at least having good matches. Besides, WCW had 2 different world titles floating around on the same show back then, so if you didn't like Vader you could focus on the other (bogus) belt.

 

Yoko should have jobbed to Luger at SS 93. Not saying he couldn't have won it back on Raw at some point and then done the UT feud, and then lost it to Bret for good....but Luger was built quite well and they needed to pay that angle off. Instead we got about 10 months of uninterrupted Yokozuna tedium.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Stomach Vader? Vader was amazing. And Yokozuna was a very exceptional worker who hid his weaknesses very well.

 

Also, I am glad that Luger never won the WWF Title. Fans just weren't that into him.

[cabbageboy 0]

Ah, but I was a huge Bulldog fan so I desperately wanted him to beat Vader in 1993. Besides that I've simply never been a fan of long term heel champions.

 

It does deeper than that anyway. As a 13-14 year old in 1993 I saw these fat fucks like Vader and Yoko with the belts and to me these were the sort of guys that Hogan simply would have beaten in the 1980s. When Yoko actually beat Hogan that was a real "Whoa, WTF?" kind of moment for me. Yoko was the typical fat heel that Hogan would have gone through like a knife through butter from 1984-87. Ironically enough I was proven right about Vader being such a heel since Hogan beat his ass in WCW.

[Darth Pipes 0]

Yeah and also aside from Vader I don't think Simmons really had any other heel challengers. I think they were going to have Rude beat him for the belt, but Rude got hurt. So he was left to screw around with The Barbarian and what not.

 

WCW did have its dubious aspects in 1992, stuff like the top rope rule and all that.

 

Years before the Big Show was the WWE's first mid-card champion, Ron Simmons was it for WCW.

[RonL21 0]

I don't know if this had happened in 92..

 

But I started watching WCW more religiously back when I was 7 or 8

 

so 92/93 whenever Papa Shango had Ultimate Warrior throwing up the green stuff.

 

It freaked me out so I started paying attention to WCW More.....

 

WCW on Saturday nights and the occastional Clash of the Champions on the weeknights were

 

good stuff as a young mark...Kind of feel bad for the youth today...Only have 3 shows a week... and from one company at that...

 

Someone said in thread in the WWE folder that having wrestling on 4 nights a week would be overkill...

 

I remember when I was kid, WCW and WWF had like three/four shows a piece every week, mixed in with some regional shows on the weekend as well...

 

Back then it was all Saturday Afternoon and Early Evening and Prime Time Wrestling on Mondays for the WWF was merely a recap show of what happend over the

 

weekend....

[Diamonddust 0]

I don't know if this had happened in 92..

 

But I started watching WCW more religiously back when I was 7 or 8

 

so 92/93 whenever Papa Shango had Ultimate Warrior throwing up the green stuff.

 

It freaked me out so I started paying attention to WCW More.....

 

WCW on Saturday nights and the occastional Clash of the Champions on the weeknights were

 

good stuff as a young mark...Kind of feel bad for the youth today...Only have 3 shows a week... and from one company at that...

 

Someone said in thread in the WWE folder that having wrestling on 4 nights a week would be overkill...

 

I remember when I was kid, WCW and WWF had like three/four shows a piece every week, mixed in with some regional shows on the weekend as well...

 

Back then it was all Saturday Afternoon and Early Evening and Prime Time Wrestling on Mondays for the WWF was merely a recap show of what happend over the

 

weekend....

 

The weekend used to be great for a kid who was a wrestling fan:

 

Friday Night - Power Hour on TBS, unless the Braves delayed it.

 

Saturday - Depending on where you lived and what syndication deals the local networks had, you could get the WWF's syndicated Saturday programing (Usually overlapping so you'd see the same stuff all morning) in addition to regional stuff (Down in Birmingham, we'd occasionally get Memphis TV every now and then). You also had syndicated WCW programming out of Chicago and New York along with WCW Worldwide. Saturday Night was strictly WCW, which was usually very entertaining, unless you got a special treat in terms of Saturday Night's Main Event that weekend.

 

Sunday - Woke up to All American Wrestling on USA and capped off the afternoon with The Main Event on TBS.

 

Monday was the "night-cap" to it all with Prime Time Wrestling. I was a big fan of the "audience participation" stretch of the show and the roundtable format they had afterwards.

[majormayhem1 0]

Vader was simply a "human wrecking machine" in 1992. I loved watching him pummel opponents in the corner and his version of the powerbomb was the most devastating I've ever seen. I couldn't stand Yokozuna at the time but I don't think I was supposed to like him either. Looking back, he was an unbeatable champion who had amazing stamina for a man his size.

 

The 1992 WCW rule changes make more sense to me now than they did at the time. I think the downfall was that it appeared Bill Watts was trying to box the product into a more traditionally-based corner. Although, in reality, I think he was just trying to make it stand out from the competition.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

The rule change stuff in '92 just made WCW seem like they were trying to relive the glory days of the 1980s (you know, when Crockett was losing money and Vince was putting all the territories out of business). I don't really get any advantages of taking away top rope moves, and that sort of thing.

[Diamonddust 0]

The rule change stuff in '92 just made WCW seem like they were trying to relive the glory days of the 1980s (you know, when Crockett was losing money and Vince was putting all the territories out of business). I don't really get any advantages of taking away top rope moves, and that sort of thing.

 

The theory being is that everyone, including Vader, was coming off the top rope so it wasn't special anymore. Making it a banned move, much like the piledriver in Memphis, was an attempt to put some mystique and intrigue back into the time someone would actually try to come off the top rope.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I guess a semi-current example of that would be the advent of 'Extreme Rules' and how Sabu would just put people through tables in non-Extreme Rules matches . . . granted, that only lasted a month or so.

[Guest Super Leather]

When the WWF was doing that crap with Ultimate Warrior and Papa Shango, motherfucking Big Van Vader was one of the main dudes keeping my interest in watching wrestling. To lump him in with "fat fuck heels" like, say, Earthquake or King Kong Bundy is a travesty, and I would suggest to those that put Vader in that category that they take a closer look, and dare I say, get a fucking clue. Vader came out week after week and just fucking WRECKED fools left and right, and didn't appear to give a damn if they lived to tell the tale or not. I know people on here would probably say how unprofessional Vader was since his punches were always said to be legit...unprofessional or not, nobody was going to watch a Vader match and say "oh, that's fake."

 

With that in mind, fuck Yokozuna. I have more of an appreciation for what he was capable of in hindsight, but at the time, I think I would have rather pulled my own teeth out with rusty pliers than sit through his matches. How long did he have the title for again? When Bret finally got the title back from Yoko, it wasn't even exhilarating...more like "oh, thank god, it's FINALLY over."

 

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

With that in mind, fuck Yokozuna. I have more of an appreciation for what he was capable of in hindsight, but at the time, I think I would have rather pulled my own teeth out with rusty pliers than sit through his matches. How long did he have the title for again? When Bret finally got the title back from Yoko, it wasn't even exhilarating...more like "oh, thank god, it's FINALLY over."

 

You're just mad because he killed The Undertaker and ended Tatanka's undefeated streak. It's sort of his fault that Crush turned heel too.

 

Oh yeah, the onus is on xKamala to start this week's topic, so let's hear it.