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[1992-11-21-WCW-Saturday Night] Big Van Vader vs Dustin Rhodes


Loss

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  • 2 months later...

I'm tempted to call Dustin Vader's second best opponent, on the strength of this match and the Clash match alone. This is an excellent TV match, about 10 minutes with Dustin getting some great offense in on Vader and throwing some tremendous punches before Vader comes back and secures the win. Dustin's 360 spin bump off the clothesline on the arena floor was awesome. I wish these two could have had a long PPV match at some point.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Haven't got to the Vader/Cactus match from Halloween Havoc on the '93 yearbook yet, but other than the brutality of the 4/17 Saturday Night match, I honestly don't recall Foley going any more overboard on the stupid bumps/self-harming with Vader than he did with Sting or Orndorff or the Nasty Boys. The powerbomb on exposed concrete after the Saturday Night rematch was obviously a pretty stupid bump, but I think MJH mentioned Kobashi's against Hansen later in the as a comparison. Doesn't make it any less stupid just because someone else did something equally daft, but on the list of retarded Foley bumps, is that one really up near the top (again, still doesn't make it any less silly and unnecessary)?

 

Of course this is all pretty irrelevant, since even with all of that said I don't think the best Vader/Foley match is as good as the third best Vader/Sting match.

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  • 1 month later...
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  • 1 year later...

Terrific match, one of Dustin's best performances yet. He gets some great offense but Vader still comes across as an unstoppable beast, particularly with the pre-match storyline of Vader coming in injured from a 2x4 attack by Sting. I think the Clash match was a little better but this still makes you want to see these two have a full-fledged program.

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  • 1 month later...

Great shine & fire from Dustin early with fists, lariats and a bulldog. Vader looks like arguably the best selling big man ever here. He can take a beating and make his opponent look like a star while never looking like some sort of fat pushover. Love how he shakes his head to clear the cobwebs. Vader soon turns the tables and roughs him up with roundhouse forearms, before they go outside where Dustin takes an awesome bump on the floor for a lariat. Vader wins clean with splash off middle rope back in the ring. This would've been an awesome feud. More Dustin! Too short to be great, but very, very good.

 

***1/2

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  • 3 months later...
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  • 8 months later...

They really sold Dustin the underdog here, as his only sustained offense came right at the beginning of the match, when Vader was dealing with Race being barred from ringside and the aftereffects of Sting's attack. Once Vader got his bearings, this really wasn't competitive. The good thing is that Dustin didn't try to throw Vader around like some of his other smaller opponents did. This was a ground-based match except for Vader's finisher. and that's the kind of match where Vader really shines.

 

Yes, the 360 bump off the clothesline was unbelievable, especially on the concrete.

 

Harley had a point about Vader having to compete right after Sting attacked him, but Watts didn't want to hear it after some of the stuff Vader had done to Sting earlier. It's a bit odd that Watts would want to be seen as condoning vigilante justice as the top lawmaker in WCW, but it fits his tough-guy persona very well. Where he comes from, people don't wait for commissioners and executive vice presidents to give them justice; they go out and make their own.

 

Hayes was very good here, although his comments about Barry's turn are nothing more than boilerplate heel stuff. With great potential color guys like Arn and Hayes in the fold, it's strange that JR hasn't had a regular color guy all year.

 

It took me a while to realize that the Thursday mentioned in the commentary referred to Thanksgiving and the Omni house show. I though there was an extra Clash or pay-per-view scheduled that no one remembered to talk about.

 

I liked Harley bitching at JR to stop the match on account of Vader being injured by Sting. The only place where the announcer has that power even occasionally is Memphis, and that's if Eddie Marlin and Guy Coffey aren't available.

 

I'm looking forward to Sting-Rude to see how they used the three ringside judges. It seems to me that having former DA member Zbyszko and former Rhodes family deadly enemy Ole judge a Dustin match is more than a bit unfair, but the concept wasn't my idea.

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  • 1 year later...

Vader vs Dustin Rhodes - WCW Saturday Night 11/21/92

 

Surprisingly I have never seen this match as I absolutely love their '94 encounter. Vader has just had a 2x4 cracked over his back by Sting. He then starts hollering "NO PAIN! NO PAIN! NO PAIN!" to psyche himself up. I would be intimidated, but Dustin does not back down. Dustin is at least as tall as Vader if not an inch taller. He stares daggers in his eyes. I love the moxie the kid shows early. He never backs down. Takes the fight right to Vader. Bulldog. Lariat over the top. The Kid is feeling it. The winner takes on Sting at Starrcade. Vader comes out of the corner with his Vader Body Attack. It is all Vader. Glorious Vader splashes and Vader punches. He just brutalizes the Kid. There should have been more hope spots, but I loved Vader's offense. Dustin eventually makes his comeback. Big lariat off the second rope. Vader does make Dustin look good bumping big for everything. Dustin knocks Vader on his ass to the outside. Vader swings a wild bear paw on the outside and Dustin goes flying 360 style on the concrete. Fucking bitchin. Vader brings in his wounded prey and then hits a second rope splash to win the match. Excellent Vader is The Man outing with a game underdog babyface. Love these two together. ****

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  • GSR changed the title to [1992-11-21-WCW-Saturday Night] Big Van Vader vs Dustin Rhodes

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