When it comes to super heel stables in WCW, it’s usually two names: The Four Horsemen and the New World Order. But 30 years ago, another stable dominated WCW that could give either of those two groups a run for the money. For the better part of six months, the Dangerous Alliance was a stunningly powerful group. They held several titles, ran roughshod over the faces, and were a force to contend with.
It was a perfect storm of talent. The group's manager Paul E. Dangerously put together a stable of veteran heels in Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Larry Zybsko, and Bobby Eaton. The faction also included the beautiful but deadly Madusa and a young rising talent by the name of Steve Austin. Together, they became an amazing unit. True, by the end of 1992 they were neither dangerous nor an alliance, but they were fantastic when they were good. Here are some facts fans should know about one of WCW’s greatest stables and their impact on the company.
10 Paul E. Dangerously
The story of the Dangerous Alliance begins with Paul E. Dangerously. Before he was the architect of ECW, Paul Heyman was a loudmouthed manager best known for carrying around a huge cell phone (back when those weighed about 10 pounds) as a weapon.
He’d had mild success in WCW before going into broadcasting. That led him to be “fired,” but there was a loophole in Heyman still having his manager’s license. So, Dangerously announced he would get back at WCW by putting together a crew to tear the company apart and dominate big time.
9 Rick Rude Was The First To Join
At Halloween Havoc 1991, a masked man called the “Halloween Phantom” beat Tom Zenk. Dangerously came out to announce his plans to tear apart WCW and the Phantom unmasked to reveal himself as Rick Rude.
Weeks later, at Clash of the Champions 17, Madusa aided in setting up Sting in an attack from Lex Luger. Despite the injury, Sting was forced to defend the U.S. Title against Rude, who took advantage to pin Sting for the belt. That laid the seeds for the foundation of a stellar group.
8 The Alliance Forms
Right after Clash of the Champions, Heyman and Rude appeared with Madusa to formally announce the formation of the Alliance. First up were Arn Anderson and Larry Zybsko, who had just lost the tag team titles to Dustin Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat.
Next came “Stunning” Steve Austin, the TV Champion. That was followed by Bobby Eaton, who had been a face but now revealed to have set up Sting for the U.S. Title loss. Gathered together, the Alliance vowed to do whatever it took to get ahead in WCW.
7 Heyman Picked Austin
In his 2014 documentary, Heyman revealed that WCW had simply wanted another version of the Horsemen, just four guys. But Heyman felt an additional player was needed to spark it up and so he pushed for Steve Austin, who was clicking as a singles star.
It turned out to be a tremendous move as Austin was a stellar heel but also the fresh quality needed to spark up the team. Austin also benefited from working with veterans like Anderson and Rude, and thus, the Dangerous Alliance was a crucial move to Austin’s own rise to stardom.
6 Their Title Success
Like any good heel group, the Alliance was able to add a lot of gold to their stable. Rude was already the U.S. Champion (and would hold the belt for almost all of 1992), while Austin was a strong TV Champion.
Anderson and Eaton beat Rhodes and Steamboat for the tag team titles and would hold them for three and a half months, with the veteran tag team workers doing great work. While they never challenged for the WCW World Title (held by Sting before he lost it to Vader), the Alliance did have some good championships on their roster to add to their dominance of WCW.
5 Madusa
At a time when women in wrestling were just valets, Madusa Miceli was something else. Ahead of her time as a worker, Medusa (labeled the “head of covert operations”) wasn’t content just distracting guys with her good looks.
Instead, she would get physical in the ring, beating down guys with her martial arts training and ready to fight with the rest of the Alliance. More than just a valet or pretty face, Medusa showed the Alliance’s power as a group willing to strike at any time and gave them more spark with fans.
4 Their Main Rivals Were The Best Of WCW
For their six months together, the Alliance tore through WCW and feuded with just about every major star in the company. Ricky Steamboat was a huge target, not just suffering a broken nose and injured ribs but Dangerously even bribing women to claim affairs with “The Dragon.”
That led to Steamboat and Rude’s classic “Beach Blast” Iron Man match. The Alliance also faced Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, the Steiners (who beat Anderson and Eaton for the tag titles), and Sting. This took place in combinations of singles and tag team matches, culminating in a big way….
3 The Greatest War Games
Wrestle War ‘92 may well boast the greatest WarGames match ever. The Alliance took on Sting’s Squadron of Sting, Koloff, Rhodes, Steamboat, and Windham. What followed was an absolute war on every level, with highlights including Madusa scaling the roof of the cage to throw Heyman’s phone into the fray.
It culminated in Zbyszko getting a ring hook to attack Sting but accidentally hitting Eaton, which led to Sting’s team winning. The Alliance arguing with each other over the loss was the first sign things were going to be breaking….
2 The Alliance Breaks
A key problem with the Alliance’s future was Bill Watts taking over booking for WCW and shaking things up. First, after more tension, Zybsko was finally fired from the team, briefly turning face after they injured his arm in a beatdown.
Before long, Anderson and Eaton were hanging with Michael Hayes while Austin came out along after losing the TV Title to Steamboat. Dangerously still had Rude but after he fired Madusa at Halloween Havoc, she beat him down. Thus, the Alliance basically broke a year after forming.
1 Heyman Finally Leaves
For a time, there were hints Dangerously might restart the Alliance with Rude, Anderson, and Eaton. But then Rude left WCW in a cloud after an injury and a clash with Bill Watts. Dangerously then had an epic clash of his own with WCW management that was so controversial that to this day, Heyman is legally prohibited from discussing it.
Thus, with him going, the Alliance finally fell. Heyman tried to revive it in ECW, yet that WCW run remains great. Perhaps they weren’t the longest-lasting heel stable around but when they were on top, the Dangerous Alliance was one of the greatest heel groups wrestling has ever seen.