 |
| The Dangerous Alliance | |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Members | See below |
| Debut | 1987 |
| Disbanded | 1995 |
The Dangerous Alliance was a professional wrestling stable that was active in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1987 and in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s. The group derives its name from "Paul E. Dangerously", the ring name of its founder and manager Paul Heyman.
In the spring of 1987, Paul E. Dangerously formed The Dangerous Alliance with Adrian Adonis and The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose) in the American Wrestling Association (AWA).
In October 1987, Dangerously successfully led Condrey and Rose to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship from Mid-South legends Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee, only to lose the titles to The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) two months later. Dangerously also helped Adonis in his feud with Tommy Rich and his bid to win the AWA International Television Championship, in which Adonis lost the title in a tournament final to Greg Gagne. By 1988, the Dangerous Alliance disbanded, as Dangerously, Condrey, and Rose left the AWA, while Adonis died that July in a van accident during a tour in Canada.
In 1988, Dangerously and the husband and wife duo of Eddie Gilbert and Missy Hyatt reused the Dangerous Alliance name for their manager/wrestler/valet partnership in the CWA and Continental territories. By the end of the year, all three were signed to WCW.
After Dangerously was "fired" as an announcer for World Championship Wrestling , the precursors to resurrecting his stable came at the Halloween Havoc pay-per-view 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, the reigning World Tag Team Champions 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 the returning "Ravishing" Rick Rude. 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.
The storyline was furthered at Clash of the Champions XVII on November 19, 1991 in Savannah, Georgia. At the beginning of the Clash, which was televised live on TBS, WCW United States Heavyweight 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 Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger could attack him from behind by clipping his knee, the same one Sting injured in February 1990. 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. It turned out that Eaton had been conspiring with Dangerously and Rude to ensure Sting did not make it out in time for his title defense.
When it came time for the match, Sting was a no-show and Dangerously declared Rude the United States Heavyweight 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. On the following episode of World Championship Wrestling (this was before Monday Nitro ), Dangerously announced the formation of the Dangerous Alliance, which included Rude, Eaton, Anderson, Zbyszko, Madusa, and ”Stunning” Steve Austin.
The Dangerous Alliance went on to dominate WCW for the next six months, as Anderson and Eaton won the WCW World Tag Team Championship and Austin held the WCW World 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 WrestleWar (1992). During the match, Rude removed the turnbuckle from the post; Zbyszko tried to hit Sting with the metal hook, but 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 at Halloween Havoc in October and she came after him, Austin went on forming a tag team with Flyin Brian. By the end of November 1992 after the Clash of the Champions XXI, the Dangerous Alliance had disbanded after Dangerously left after a bitter contract dispute.
Arn Anderson, in an interview video with RF Video, referred to the Dangerous Alliance as one of the greatest gatherings of talent ever. However, Anderson opined that it never became a memorable group because of WCW's incompetent bookers (i.e. Jim Herd, Kip Allen Frey, and Bill Watts) failing to promote stars.
Dangerously revived the Dangerous Alliance in NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (NWA-ECW) in 1993 with Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco, The Dark Patriot and "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert. On the October 19th, 1993 episode of ECW Hardcore TV, Paul Heyman introduced a new Dangerous Alliance featuring ECW Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas and Sherri Martel as Director of Covert Operations. When Heyman attempted to introduce Sabu as the bodyguard, Shane Douglas balked and stated that he was not consulted on this decision. Sherri Martel sided with Shane Douglas and the arguments continued in the locker room. By August 1994, when ECW broke away from the NWA and renamed itself Extreme Championship Wrestling, Dangerously formed the last incarnation of the Dangerous Alliance composed of The Tazmaniac, Sabu, and 911. Tazmaniac and Sabu wound up winning the ECW World Tag Team Championship in February 1995, before losing the titles three weeks later. In April 1995, Sabu was fired by Dangerously, due to choosing a tour with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) over a booking on April 8. In July 1995, The Tazmaniac, now under the name Taz, suffered a serious neck injury during a tag team match in Florida. With Sabu fired and Taz injured, Dangerously finally disbanded The Dangerous Alliance.
Martin Anthony Lunde, better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a manager. Although he is widely regarded as one of the finest tag team wrestlers in history, he is also a 4-time NWA/WCW World Television Champion and has often referred to the championship as his "World Title". His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable The Four Horsemen in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). After his retirement Anderson worked as producer for WWE until 2019, when he joined AEW. On March 31, 2012, Anderson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Horsemen. His son, Brock Anderson also pursued a career in professional wrestling, performing for AEW.
The Four Horsemen was a professional wrestling stable in Jim Crockett Promotions as part of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling and later World Championship Wrestling. The original group consisted of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, and Tully Blanchard. Flair and Arn Anderson were members of each incarnation of the group until Anderson's retirement after a neck injury.
Richard Erwin Rood, better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).
Alan Robert Rogowski, better known by his ring name of Ole Anderson, is an American retired professional wrestler, referee, manager and promoter. Part of the Anderson family, a fictional family, Anderson was a founding member of the influential stable The Four Horsemen.
Debrah Ann Miceli, better known as Madusa, is an Italian-born American monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. As of 2015, she has been the commissioner of Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. In professional wrestling Miceli is also known by the ring name Alundra Blayze, which she used while in the WWF/WWE. Outside of the WWF, she wrestled under her professional name of Madusa, which was shortened from "Made in the USA". Her early career was spent in the American Wrestling Association, where she once held the AWA World Women's Championship. In 1988, she was the first woman to be awarded Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Rookie of the Year. The following year, she signed a contract with All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, making her the first foreign wrestler to do so.
Robert Lee Eaton is an American retired professional wrestler, who made his debut in 1976. He is most famous for his work in tag teams, especially his days as one-half of The Midnight Express. Under the management of Jim Cornette, he originally teamed with Dennis Condrey and, later on, with Stan Lane. He also worked with a number of other tag team partners, including Arn Anderson, Koko B. Ware, Steve Keirn, and "Lord" Steven Regal.
Lawrence Whistler, better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler and author perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his work as a wrestler and color commentator for World Championship Wrestling. Among other accolades, he is a two-time world champion having twice held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. He is the final holder of that title.
The Midnight Express was the name used by several professional wrestling tag teams of changing members, usually under the management of Jim Cornette. The group started in 1980 with Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose in Southeast Championship Wrestling. In 1981 they were joined by Norvell Austin. This group disbanded in 1983, but later the same year a new version of the Midnight Express was formed in Mid-South Wrestling by teaming up Condrey and Bobby Eaton, with Cornette as their manager. After leaving Mid-South, the Midnight Express competed briefly in WCCW (Dallas) before moving on to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). Condrey left in 1987, and was replaced by Stan Lane. Eaton and Lane competed in JCP and WCW, where they briefly feuded with "The Original Midnight Express" of Condrey and Rose. This version of the Midnight Express disbanded in October 1990 when Cornette and Lane left WCW. In 1998, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) teamed up Bob Holly and Bart Gunn as "The Midnight Express", who were also managed by Jim Cornette. From 2004 until 2011 various combinations(though mostly Condrey and Eaton) competed as The Midnight Express on the independent circuit.
The Clash of the Champions is a series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The specials were supercards comprising pay-per-view caliber matches, similar to World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) Saturday Night's Main Event. Clash of the Champions shows were famous for typically not airing commercials during matches even though many of these matches were 20 minutes or more.
Chi-Town Rumble was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It took place on February 20, 1989 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.
The Enforcers were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko who worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1991 and 1992. Together they held the WCW World Tag Team Championship and were voted the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Tag Team of the Year in 1991.
The First Family was the name of three professional wrestling stables led by Jimmy Hart, first in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association, then in the late 1980s in World Wrestling Federation, and finally in the late 1990s in World Championship Wrestling.
Randall Alls is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Randy Rose.
The Diamond Exchange was a professional wrestling stable led by Diamond Dallas Page in the American Wrestling Association from 1988 to 1989. Page led a spiritual successor known as The Diamond Mine in World Championship Wrestling from 1991 to 1992.
Starrcade (1991): Battlebowl - The Lethal Lottery was the ninth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event. It took place on December 29, 1991 from the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia. The event consisted of the Battlebowl battle royal and its "Lethal Lottery" tag team qualifying matches. 40 wrestlers, paired in randomly chosen tag teams, competed in qualifying matches; the winning team advanced to the 20-man Battlebowl Battle Royal to determine the winner.
Starrcade (1988): True Gritt was the sixth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It was the first Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and it took place on December 26, 1988 from the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia. Shortly before the event, Ted Turner bought Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), and the company became WCW.
SuperBrawl II was the second SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 29, 1992 from the Miller High Life Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
WrestleWar 1992: WarGames was the fourth and final WrestleWar professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on May 17, 1992 from the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida.
WCW All Nighter is a series of late night specials that aired on TBS.
When Worlds Collide was the name of two professional wrestling live events produced by the professional wrestling promotion Eastern Championship Wrestling/Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1994 and 1996 respectively. Both events were held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States.
