WCW Beach Blast 1992 Review

Light Heavyweight Championship
Scotty Flamingo Vs Brian Pillman

“There is no such thing as a cheap victory. There is victory - any way you can get it.” - Jesse Ventura

An amazing start to the night! Two fantastic workers are given the best part of twenty minutes and certainly make the most of them. Flyin' Brian continues to please crowds with his athletic offence, although he is hampered by Bill Watts' moronic top rope DQ rule brought in at this time which makes much of his arsenal illegal. His opponent is the future Raven, working his rookie year in WCW. Before the numerous years of ECW and drugs, Flamingo is a well rounded, surprisingly seasoned performer and actually deserves his upset victory here. The match builds steadily from a really crisp sequence of grapples and counters leading into a fast and exciting exchange that takes the action to the outside.

Another of Watts' bad decisions was to remove the safety mats from ringside, which Ross describes as a WCW “trademark”. Why would you want your company to be synonymous with dangerously unsafe working conditions? No one should have to wrestle on concrete EVERY NIGHT for their job, end of story. I hate when promoters decide they want to make wrestling a more legitimate “sport”. It both disrespects the history of the performance art and overlooks the higher frequency of such performances. Besides, the best action in this match doesn't happen on the floor but on the mat. Once they're back inside we get a really sharp sequence where Flamingo uses the ropes for leverage on his rest hold, the ref knows he's doing it - but can't catch him because he's so quick! This leads into a thrilling section where Pillman escapes and hits one of his awesome dropkicks, before Flamingo shows off impressive strength utilising a beautiful scoop-slam.

Both men are salesmen and make each other look formidable. At one point Pillman can hardly stand and seems to legitimately collapse under his own weight. Flamingo takes this opportunity to flourish and show off his already-veteran heel mannerisms, slapping and stomping Pillman in the face before walking off and taunting the audience. Pillman takes a sick bump on the ramp, diving over the top and literally bouncing off his own face. The no top rope rule leads Flamingo to hit his flying finisher from the second rope instead. The move looks really weak, but thankfully this is only moments after the big bump so you still believe it gets him the win. A classic opener that draws you in all the way with an incredibly talented pair of performances.

Rating: 4.5 Stars


Ron Simmons Vs Terry Taylor

I like the “Taylor Made” gimmick Terry Taylor ended up in after the York Foundation folded. Had he been given more opportunity he might have made something of it, but instead he spent his career bouncing between WCW and the WWF and never getting very far in either. Tonight Taylor can't quite keep up with the stronger, faster Simmons leading to some sloppy bumps and messy sequences. Simmons gets a great military press in from the ramp but takes Taylor over the other side with a clothesline which inadvertently smacks his head into a chair. Given the absence of mats, perhaps this is the least of the poor man's problems. The match is all Ron Simmons who is getting pushed towards the world title soon, leaving Taylor to take the bumps and do the job. Decent enough.

Rating: 2.5 Stars


Greg Valentine Vs Marcus Bagwell

At this point in his career, Valentine is just a poor man's Ric Flair. He's got the robe, the hair, the chops, the figure-four - all he's missing is some charisma. Bagwell is enthusiastic but still very green. He flickers between selling and no-selling constantly, suddenly remembering at times and starting to sell out of nowhere. You know, I'm not sure why this match is happening. It's the classic rookie Vs veteran tale, only the veteran gets a clean and fairly dominant win. How does this push Bagwell? Oh, you don't want to push him? Then why is he on PPV? He can get his mediocre experience time on TV, get him off the super-card!

Rating: 2 Stars


Falls Count Anywhere
Sting Vs Cactus Jack

I can't figure out why this isn't the main event, it's not for the world title but Sting is still the champion after all. It starts with an epic stare-down on the ramp befitting this long-term feud. Before they can even get in the ring they're fighting on the walkway so the ref just saves us all some time and rings the bell. The cameras capture this part vividly; both men look like titans as they brawl towards the ring. Foley winds up in a backslide but kicks out and they end up on the floor. I know I said I hate the lack of padding but I'll admit the exposed concrete adds to the impact of every move performed on it and the action here makes me wince repeatedly. They go to the ring briefly, but soon they're back on the floor and Foley has a new best friend – the steel chair. Sting takes a beating but eventually wrestles it away from him and lets loose, herding Cactus Jack back towards the entrance. Foley kicks out of a Scorpion Death Lock on the ramp and hits a DDT, but his comeback is short lived. Sting sprints and knocks Jack down, hits a flying clothesline from the top rope back onto the ramp and gets the win. I'd have liked the ending to have been built up a bit more and the whole match could have done with another act, maybe in the crowd. Still this is one of the best hardcore matches of this style, it's well wrestled and hard-hitting throughout. One to go back to.

Rating: 4.5 Stars


30 Minute Iron Man
Ricky Steamboat Vs Rick Rude

Next we have another classic showdown and again – it's non-title! I'm all for grudge matches but this time it's kind of a waste. There's logic in keeping the world title away from the Falls Count Anywhere match - given the legitimate sports atmosphere Watts aspired to as a booker - but this is one of the most sporting wrestling encounters I've ever seen! Why not for the title? I'm a big fan of the Iron Man gimmick, especially as it's applied here to two great athletes. The guaranteed length allows for some unique storytelling, an increased tactical psychology and nail-biting drama. Steamboat starts out dominant and aggressive, as usual defending his family's honour. He controls for almost the full first third, but out of nowhere it's Rude who pulls a decision. From there, Rude takes control and racks up the points both from pin-falls and an intentional DQ, giving Steamboat his first and only fall of the first half.

Steamboat was always surprisingly strong for a man his size and shows amazing will when he lifts Rude onto his shoulders out of a camel clutch and into an electric chair drop. The Dragon's comeback is shut down quickly with some great counters by Rude, but it's a reversed tombstone pile-driver by Steamboat that finally earns him his first solid decision. Not long after, Steamboat gets another and ties it up at three a piece. This ends the second third and the final act begins with a renewed sense of urgency from both men and a flurry of near-falls. They stay tied going into the final minute after Rude snaps on a sleeper and locks his legs around the waist. Steamboat collapses in the corner, but with one last gasp he runs up the turn-buckle and pushes Rude down into a cover. With only moments remaining Rude goes berserk and covers The Dragon over and over, but it's too late. This is the match that sold the idea of the Iron Man stipulation in North America. Both men are fantastic as usual, kicking off the concept in a well performed and dramatic fashion.

Rating: 4.5 Stars


Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham and Nikita Koloff Vs The Dangerous Alliance
Special Guest Referee: Ole Anderson

A bit of filler to push the Austin/Windham feud and get the Dangerous Alliance on the card. The twist is Ole Anderson as the guest referee, who actually calls it straight - much to the fury of Arn and the Alliance. The match also has another function; the establishment of the new top rope DQ rule. I understand the need for it, but did it have to be the second to last match? Surely such a thing should be the opener? Regardless this is still a fun, hard-hitting, southern-style six-man tag with good talent on both sides. The DQ finish could have been set up better and it's all just moving us along to other angles. This sort of match doesn't belong on PPV.

Rating: 3 Stars


World Tag Team Championship
The Steiner Brothers Vs The Miracle Violence Connection

In wrestling as in life; it's all fun and games until someone hits a belly-to-belly. In this case that would be Rick Steiner. While I can't see the logic in putting this match in the main-event, anywhere else in the mid-card this would be a welcome addition. With the big tournament coming up at the next Clash you'd expect this match to merely be set up. It is, but as set up bouts go this one is pretty good, giving us a full 30 minutes of quality big-man wrestling. Strong slams, smooth grappling – what you'd expect from these four. I've got to mention here how much I love the pair of JR and Ventura at the booth. Two of the best ever working together, the brash character of The Body contrasting nicely with reserved red-neck. The Connection dominate for most of the match, but they aren't quite able to get the job done within the time limit. The Steiners make a good come back at the finish and might have done it too, but we'll have to wait til next time to find out who's the best. As a match in isolation this was very good and I don't mind the ending, however as the main-event of a PPV the finish is just a bummer and, considering the alternatives were there, this oughtn't have been the last match.

Rating: 3.5 Stars


WCW Beach Blast 1992 Final Score: 4 Stars

If you just shuffled this card around I think Beach Blast '92 would be remembered as one of the great PPVs. There are three classic matches and nothing really bad around them, but the best matches are in the middle of the show instead of the end. What's even stranger is these matches featured the two biggest singles champions in the company and were the promoted attractions prior to the event. I'm not a fan of the new DQ rules, nor do I endorse the ringside area being made intentionally more dangerous and these Watts-lead changes manage to affect nearly every match. The only one I'd say benefited was the Cactus Jack/Sting bout, and only because it made simple moves on the outside hardcore by themselves. These changes won't last forever though, so I suppose they're an interesting novelty in retrospect. The WCW roster is fantastic at this time so, mats or no mats, you can usually depend on them to deliver a good show.