[1994-07-17-WCW-Bash at the Beach] Terry Funk & Bunkhouse Buck vs Arn Anderson & Dustin Rhodes

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Dustin takes a crazy bump at one point outside the ring, down the stairs in front of the ring and to the floor. Arn's turn is so telegraphed by him not wrestling in the match and being slow to come to Dustin's rescue when he is being attacked on the outside. Decent match, but great angle and continuation of this feud.

[Kevin Ridge]

Dustin misses a running cross body and goes flying out of the ring down the ringside stairs. Arn spends the whole time on the apron not getting involved all that much while Dustin is getting double teamed. Not like Dustin makes a whole lot of attempts to tag out anyways. Finally a tag and the Arn turns on Dustin. Very obvious. What you get for picking a partner that takes a few days to decide on whether he will team with you.

[Exposer]

This is a decent match highlighted by Funk and Bucks selling and Dustin taking the craziest of his missed crossbody bumps. The real story here is Arn's heel turn and the continuation of the best feud in WCW of 1994. The turn was executed perfectly and gave a real twist in the feud. Great stuff.

[soup23]

I enjoyed this a good bit. Funk did some great goofy selling and him pinning Buck was nice. I also thought the commentary did a good job in justifying why Arn was hardly in the match saying it was Dustin’s fight he was just there for back up. The turn was executed well and got a great reaction from the crowd.

[El-P]

Good match, as even Arn was excellent on the outside despite not actually wrestling. Buck is still dull as all hell, but Funk is so great it doesn't matter. In true WCW fashion, the director actually misses Arn's DDT. The highlight of a decent feud thus far.

[goodhelmet]

I don't know what version you were watching but the DDT on the comm release is about as clear as day.

 

I have more to say about this match but I think you guys completely undersold how awesome of a performance this was. I will go all Matt D and break it down soon.

[Bix]

They definitely missed the DDT on the live PPV.

[PeteF3]

Another good match in the feud, and 3-for-3 on good matches on the PPV. Arn does a very good job on the apron, acting supportive while subtly doing things that are in the Stud Stable's favor--all without telegraphing the turn. Before that this was a great fiery performance from Dustin in a glorified handicap match setting. Arn pumps himself up off the hot tag and of course levels Dustin with the DDT (I remember the live show missing it too, but the Network version has it). He teams up with the Studs to break Dustin's arm afterward, and once again they've made it a point to mention that Dusty isn't around. Great way to kick this feud into another gear.

[DMJ]

I just saw this for the first time and really liked it. I didn't think the turn was TOO telegraphed, though, I think any longtime wrestling fan would go into this match with at least a little bit of awareness that the turn was a possibility.

 

I like how Dustin's comeback doesn't seem unrealistic because he really is the young lion in this group and the elbows are obviously such a beloved Rhodes-trademarked move (that are sold so well by Funk and Buck) that I'm totally willing to believe they could reverse the momentum of a match. When Dustin doesn't tag in Arn right away, it made sense to me because of his fire and because this whole feud has been a personal one. Then, when Anderson comes in, he doesn't just attack Dustin, he milks the crowd pop and seems fired up to finally get to unload on the heels...only to turn with a DDT (on the Network, it is shown in all its glory).

 

As someone unfamiliar with the feud, as a first time viewer, I'm guessing Anderson's reasoning was that Rhodes didn't tag him in? That this was an act of disrespect? Even if it wasn't that (and was more along the lines of Anderson just hating the Rhodes family), the turn worked for me and I thought was really well-exeecuted. Throw in the fact that everything that came before it was really engaging, action-packed, and passionate, and I am left eating my hat about anything bad I ever said about Bunkhouse Buck. This rivalry (and I've only seen stuff on PPVs and Clashes so far) has been tremendous fun.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Dustin Rhodes & Arn Anderson vs The Stud Stable (Terry Funk & Bunkhouse Buck) - WCW Bash At The Beach 1994

 

The match exists as a back drop to the AA turn on Dustin. As it is official, all of Dusty's old enemies (Funk, Anderson, Fullers?) are taking out their frustrations on Dustin and Dusty is nowhere to be found. Dustin is absolutely fantastic in this as he basically wrestles this as a handicap match. The crossbody bump out of the ropes over the ringsteps to the floor is incredible. Funk & Buck do some weird selling and their heat segment is not great. Dustin's comeback is all types of awesome and so is The Enforcer cheerleading on the apron especially when you know what is going to happen. Bionic Elbows for everyone, double noggin knocker and Funk pins Buck, which is funny. Dustin finally tags Arn, who is pumped only to drop Dustin with a DDT. Perfect. Heels beat down Dustin and Daddy is nowhere to be found. Great angle!

[cactus]

Honestly, if the Arn turn wasn't spoiled by the chapter listings on the Network, I'm not sure I would of seen it coming. It did look a bit strange for Arn to be coming down to the ring slapping hands with fans, but my knowledge of WCW from this period is rather limited. Like anything Terry Funk is involved in, this was enjoyable. Funk trash talking while they run the ropes during the opening exchanges added some character to something we see in pretty much every match. The majority of this match is Dustin getting beating down, before making the tag and getting DDT'd by his own partner. Great angle, okay match. 

★★★