(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude – WCW Beach Blast 1992

I never watched WCW growing up and didn’t learn about it until much later which, in hindsight, is a big shame because I clearly missed out on a lot of great wrestling. But that’s one of the benefits of the modern digital age: someone somewhere has footage of these older matches and has been gracious enough to share that with the world. In this case it’s a WWE-managed YouTube account centered on that old school WCW goodness. And with it being Christmas I figured I’d give myself a gift and watch one of the best ironman matches to ever take place.

The Story

Several months prior at Halloween Havoc 1991 Rick Rude returned to WCW and joined the Dangerous Alliance. Less than a month later he won the United States Heavyweight Championship which led to his involvement in many top feuds. Eventually he crossed paths with Ricky Steamboat and at one point Rude and others gave Steamboat a beatdown and – in storyline – broke Steamboat’s nose.

Naturally Steamboat wanted revenge but unfortunately he wouldn’t be as free to dish that out as he wanted. This was because Beach Blast was the first WCW PPV showcased under WCWs new booker Bill Watts. Upon his promotion Watts mandated several new guidelines, many of which contradicted WCW’s in-ring direction. Three in particular would affect this match in one way or another: 1) limited high-spots, ringside brawling, and use of the barricade; 2) no low blows; and 3) the use of any top-rope move would lead to a disqualification, allegedly because in kayfabe such moves had a higher risk of injury to both the user and the recipient.

The Match

This took place on June 20, 1992. It was rated ***1/2 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer. Rude comes out and cuts a heel promo and then Steamboat comes out to a solid babyface pop alongside his wife and young son.

This is not for Rude’s WCW United States Championship. Steamboat attacks Rude the second his son is safely out of the ring with chops. Steamboat hits a big gutbuster and a shoulder thrust in the corner which, according to the commentators, may have busted Rude’s ribs. He spends the next few minutes focusing on the ribs with strikes and a bearhug. He lands two more shoulder thrusts but Rude blocks a third with a knee to the face. Steamboat fires back with a fireman’s carry slam into a side bow-and-arrow hold. Rude escapes with an eye rake but Steamboat fires back with a Boston crab. Rude escapes around the five-minute mark so Steamboat faceplants him and lands more shots to the ribs. A gourbuster/kneedrop combo get Steamboat a two-count. Steamboat sends Rude into another corner and charges but he runs into another big knee. He collides with this one so hard that Rude easily cradles him to get a three-count out of nowhere.

Rick Rude = 1; Ricky Steamboat = 0

There’s no breaks so Rude follows up with kneedrops to the head, knees to the gut, and his Rude Awakening neckbreaker finisher. One, two, three. Rude gets another fall about a minute after the first.

Rick Rude = 2; Ricky Steamboat = 0

Rude lands a rib breaker and goes to the top rope. Then he dives off the top rope and lands a diving knee drop which, again, was illegal courtesy of booker Bill Watts ~supposedly~ wanting to take WCW back in a more believable direction. Meh, argumentative, especially given the impending influx of cruiserweights and high-flyers. Either way, Rude’s diving kneedrop results in a disqualification and a point for Steamboat at the ten-minute mark…

Rick Rude = 2; Ricky Steamboat = 1

…but it enables Rude to easily land a small package for an easy three-count seconds later.

Rick Rude = 3; Ricky Steamboat = 1

Steamboat attempts a comeback but Rude shuts him down with a faceplant. Rude follows with a snapmare into a camel clutch. Rude drops his weight on Steamboat’s back and goes for his hip swivel taunt but can’t do it because of his hurt ribs. Undeterred, Rude applies another camel clutch but this time Steamboat powers up, gets to his feet with Rude on his shoulders, and falls backwards. Steamboat goes for a splash but Rude gets his knees up. Rude lands a swinging neckbreaker and uses his powerful arms to force Steamboat’s shoulders to the mat but only manages some two-counts. Rude applies a sleeper but Steamboat fights free, only to run into another kneelift. Then Rude rakes the eyes and lands a piledriver. He goes for a Tombstone Pilerdriver but Steamboat reverses and spikes Rude with a Tombstone of his own for a three-count out of nowhere at the 17-minute mark.

Rick Rude = 3; Ricky Steamboat = 2

Rude lands a sudden counter to send Steamboat face-first into a turnbuckle but Steamboat fires back with a superplex. How a top-rope superplex is legal and a top-rope dive isn’t is beyond me; someone with the power to channel Bill Watts explain it, please. Steamboat gets up first and covers for two. A double-down follows at the 20-minute mark. Rude gets a two-count but Steamboat powers into a backslide to get a three-count. The score is tied!

Rick Rude = 3; Ricky Steamboat = 3

Steamboat gets some sudden cradles and flash pins but fails to score another fall. Rude shuts him down with a jawbreaker and lands more faceplants for a two-count of his own. Scoop slam/falling forearm to the heart gets two. Steamboat attempts a comeback but Rude goes back to the eyes. Rude lands some forearm shots and attempts another Rude Awakening. Steamboat resists, ducks a clothesline, and lands a Rude Awakening of his own. He covers but Rude gets his foot on the ropes at the 25-minute mark.

Steamboat lands some kneedrops and a vertical suplex for two, as does a back suplex. Steamboat sends Rude into the ropes but Rude retaliates with a backpack sleeper hold. Steamboat slowly sinks down to the mat, his power fading. Then we get down to the final minute and Steamboat powers up enough to climb the turnbuckle while still in the sleeper. This allows him to land on Rude in a pinning position…and get a three-count. Just like that the tables have turned.

Rick Rude = 3; Ricky Steamboat = 4

30 seconds left.

Rude rushes Steamboat over and over with basic clotheslines and tackles. But each time he covers he only manages a two-count.

Inside cradle. Two-count.

Ten seconds left.

Scoop slam. Rude covers. Five seconds left.

One.

Two.

Steamboat kicks out.

And before Rude can get up his time runs out. The bell is rung. Steamboat wins.

Winner after 30:00 (4-3): Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat

You can watch the full match here.

Review

There’s no doubt that this was, and still is, a truly great match. The question is whether it’s just a great match or an historic, must-see, through-and-through top-tier classic of a match. There’s plenty of evidence for both. It was instantly accessible and understandable with both Rude and Steamboat needing very little to establish themselves as heel and babyface, respectively. The wrestling action was simple and straightforward yet was enough to tell a compelling story. Both guys applied deep psychology with Steamboat targeting Rude’s ribs and Rude going back to the eyes whenever Steamboat attempted a comeback. It was a wild ride of a match with falls coming out of nowhere which created a palpable sense of nail-biting tension that lasted from start to finish. Rude in particular made the most out of a stupid rule by using a top-rope attack to get disqualified but follow that with an easy fall of his own (which was a lighter version of what MJF did to Bryan Danielson at AEW Revolution 2023). The pacing and match flow was so smooth it was almost silken, save for a protracted sleeper hold spot that went a bit too long. And once Steamboat got that sudden fall to even the score Rude went apeshit and threw everything he had and then some in a frantic attempt to catch up. This made for a brilliant twist: rather than lean fully into the surprise win out of nowhere Steamboat had an additional thirty seconds to milk the crowd of their excitement and bring them to their feet as Rude made a mad dash to try and catch up.

At the same time there are a few points about this match that leave a bit to be desired. The first fall coming from a single knee out of nowhere was a bit underwhelming. There was quite a bit of repetition in some places like with the faceplants and some of the restholds. As mentioned above, the sleeper hold in particular dragged on longer than necessary. The selling was great at some points but implausible at others (how was it that Rude, with his massive forearms, failed to get a fall by sleeper after having it cinched in for three minutes?). These aren’t necessarily glaring flaws but combined they poke holes in an otherwise airtight match.

Final Rating: ****1/2

This match is all kinds of great and worth going out of your way to see. Michael Fitzgerald called it one of the best Ironman matches you can find and Scott Keith put just a slight notch below Rock/HHH from Judgment Day 2000 which, of course, is highly complementary. It was far from the most intense or escalatory match yet for what was mostly an exhibition match it had enough action and tension to hook viewers immediately and keep their attention until the very end.

That being said your level of enjoyment will very much depend on a frame of reference. If you’re a younger/newer viewer and thus used to seeing blistering sprints in WWE, AEW, New Japan, and the indies, then this match will likely come across as slow, dull, or uneventful. If you’re older and used to the more deliberate and careful pacing of the 80s and 90s then this match will breezy by.

This could’ve been a significantly better match without Bill Watts’ restrictions yet the fact these guys got this much out of such limited material speaks volumes to what they were capable of. While these two took part in a significantly better match a month earlier in that 5-Star classic of a WarGames match, this match is impressive on its own and a firm reminder of why so many fans are still so nostalgic for WCW’s in-ring excellence.

Thanks for reading.