[1994-02-20-WCW-Superbrawl IV] Sting & Dustin Rhodes & Brian Pillman vs Rick Rude & Steve Austin & Paul Orndorff (Cage)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This should have been tornado rules and had everyone wearing street clothes and using weapons. Enforcing rules with these six in a cage match limited them more than it helped them. The cage was also way too big to be as much of a factor in the match as you'd like it to be. Austin seemed to be the only one who was really trying to work it into the match. Even with the cage there, this should have felt more special - like more than a decent free TV match. Yes, there was some juicing so there's that, but I wish they hadn't been so limited by the format. Not enough brawling.

[Kevin Ridge]

Agreed. The cage seemed to be more in the background. Pillman gets tossed into the cage a few times but I kept waiting for this to get to the next level and it didn't.

[shoe]

This could have been more, but what we got was still pretty damn good. Pillman was great here. The structure seemed off to me. Like if we had the Rhodes and Pillman segments witched around and then built to the finish would have been better served. I thought the heels were really good at working Pillman's cut. Orndorff brings an intesnity that is fun to watch. The angle at the end was a nice piece of business to further Sting and Rude feud. Their seemend to be some miscommunication between Sting and Orndorff. Like Sting give Paul enough time to blade. Still I enjoyed the bout at end though it could have been more.

[Exposer]

This was really just a good WCW 6-man tag. Like Loss said, there wasn't enough emphasis on the cage and it lacked brawling. Austin put on a hell of a performance though in my book.

[soup23]

Easy to see why this was a one time endeavor based on heat and structure of this match. The enforcing of rules and scale of the cage really hindered the movement and intensity of the match. Austin bump where his leg got caught in the cage was insane. Really disappointing match that I remembered being much better than it was.

[El-P]

I thought it was a very good, all action 6 man tag with lot of heat. Of course the cage didn't play enough of a role, but they did take a few good bumps in it, and Pillman bled a little. Everyone was at least good, even Rude, with Austin and Pillman being the stand-outs. Excellent post-match attack on Sting by Rude. Really good stuff.

[Smack2k]

This should have been tornado rules and had everyone wearing street clothes and using weapons. Enforcing rules with these six in a cage match limited them more than it helped them. The cage was also way too big to be as much of a factor in the match as you'd like it to be. Austin seemed to be the only one who was really trying to work it into the match. Even with the cage there, this should have felt more special - like more than a decent free TV match. Yes, there was some juicing so there's that, but I wish they hadn't been so limited by the format. Not enough brawling.

Exactly...this said it perfectly...if you are putting them in this cage, let it be wild....maybe if they put the smaller cage inside around the ring and then dogs in between??? Wonder if that woudl have worked...

[Superstar Sleeze]

WCW International World Champion Rick Rude, WCW US Champion "Stunning" Steve Austin & "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff vs Sting, Brian Pillman & Dustin Rhodes - Superbrawl IV Thundercage

 

I take everything back about what I say Austin was not a big bumping heel. He takes the first bump into the cage and then takes the bump of the match by straddling the cage. The thundercage is a rickety, bush league Hell In A Cell with steel bars as opposed to mesh. Austin was the badass of the match because he also hit the offensive move of the match when he hotshotted Pillman into the cage busting Pillman wide open. Then after almost shredding his knee he bumps all over the place for the babyfaces. Pillman gets his blowoff victory to a huge pop after Sting press slams him onto Austin. Well so much for my theory in the previous match about protecting Austin from having to job to Pillman. The crowd was hot for this match with "Paula" chants to start and they did not let up in heat. What a friggin' bitchin' match. No one is going to mistake this for a high end Wargames, but this is still a really high-end six-man tag with tons of effort for all. On the babyface side, everything was so well-executed. Sting is a such a great shine babyface, Pillman as the plucky face in peril and Dustin as the energetic hot tag. The one big misstep I thought was having Sting be the one to get the hot tag and bust Orndorff open. You see once Dustin gets tag in how much better he could have done that sequence. Plus, Dustin/Orndorff were dance partners in this match. Orndorff looked great in this match targeting Sting's arm, hitting an absolutely wicked belly to back suplex on Pillman and blading off some cage shots. Again, I think Rude in a tag team was a perfect place for him at this time. He knows how to get heat better than almost anybody else. He still had highspots like his top tope knee drop. I also dug the Dustin bulldog crotch on the top rope. I was happy that Pillman ended up being the final hot tag in the match as he just unloaded on Austin before he got the win. It was an action-packed match, where every character played their role to perfection and the execution was off the charts.

 

If I didn't know anybody better, all the booking and in-ring work point to Austin and Pillman being pushed heavily, but both had pretty lackluster '94 after this. Well, Austin had the Steamboat feud, but still he did not have a hot angle. Those who are low on the match because it was played too much like a six-man. I would say that cage was used in the pivotal transition spots twice. Into the heat segment, it was Austin hotshot on Pillman and to the final hot tag, it was Austin taking wicked straddle bump from the apron. The cage was used effectively. I don't think it is as good as the high-end Wargames matches. I would still give this **** and say one of the better American six-man tags of all time. It is too bad WCW did not build on Pillman's win and the fact that Austin was finally breaking out.

[goodhelmet]

I think the expectations of the cage hurt the opinions of this. Ignore the cage and focus on the match and this was really fucking fun. Great fire sections from Sting early and Dustin later. Solid FIP from Pillman. Austin was a bumping machine adn had two great bumps using the cage. Clean finish with Pillman getting the pin after getting his ass beat all match. I really liked this match.

[PeteF3]

I thought this was pretty fucking great in spite of the obvious flaws--in the end the match felt rushed, and the two FIP segments felt abbreviated. And this was *mostly* a routine 6-man that happened to have a giant cage surrounding it. But...the in-ring action was really fucking good while it lasted, and Austin and Pillman in particular made awesome use of the cage, flinging themselves into it with reckless abandon. And I'm not a blading advocate, and in fact I'm almost ashamed to say this, but the blood from Brian and Orndorff was kind of nice and refreshing. Good quick post-match angle too, as Rude slams the door on Sting's head and then gives him the Rude Awakening on the floor, nicely re-igniting that feud.

[Zenjo]

The Thundercage is basically Hell in a Cell without the roof. There were a couple of minor blade jobs but, like everyone else is saying, it was strange how little usage they got out of the cage. Maybe tornado style would've worked better? Having said that it was a decent 6 man tag. Never got bogged down, had a nice rivalry and the fans were into it too.