Paul Heyman has had quite a run in WWE in the last few years, advocating for the reigning and defending former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar to acting as special counsel and wise man for Roman Reigns.
He is the devious mind behind the Bloodline. He is one of the most recognized personalities in WWE. He is also responsible for many of the storylines that we have come to know. This year, Paul Heyman will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Did you know that The Bloodline is not his first faction? Way back in 1991, He was living Dangerously in World Championship Wrestling. Then known as Paul E. Dangerously, he represented a technical fan dream faction.
The Dangerous Alliance was ahead of its time in many ways. It was also Stone Cold Steve Austin’s first Major singles run. Paul E. Dangerously was the brains behind the brawn.
Early Years
In 1987, the wrestling world was a different place. Territories still existed but were slowly being bought out by the WWF, a man by the name of Paul E.
Dangerously arrived in the Atlantic Wrestling Federation and caused an immediate buzz. Never without his brick-sized cell phone, Dangerously was always conducting a business deal.
He acquired the talents of Adrian Adonis and the Midnight Express. His twisted mind combined with their skill was an unbeatable combination. In October, Dangerously led the Midnight Express to the AWA tag team championship.
He also helped Adonis win The AWA International TV Championship. Unfortunately, after a year the first inclination of the Dangerous Alliance disbanded due to the Midnight Express leaving and the death of Adrian Adonis.
Dangerously tried a second version of the Alliance with Eddie Gilbert and Missy Hyatt. However, that did not last long, as all three were hired by World Championship Wrestling.
Both Paul E. Dangerously and Hyatt were hired to be color commentators. Dangerously would always come off as this spoiled brat, which wasn’t far from the truth as the son of an influential lawyer in New Jersey.
His claim to fame was a segment called the Danger Zone. This was a weekly segment where Paul would spew his comments. Many of his comments were too Extreme. Living Dangerously, Paul E. angered the wrong people and was unceremoniously fired.
The Dangerous Alliance Forms
In Chatanooga, TN, at Halloween Havoc 1991, Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham were attacked in the parking lot by Arn Anderson and Larry Zybysko.
During that altercation, Zybysko slammed a car door on Windham’s hand. Later in the show, a mysterious masked wrestler named The Phantom appeared.
Any wrestling fan would immediately recognize the mannerisms of the one and only Ravishing Rick Rude, especially when he hit The Rude Awakening. Later in the show, Paul E Dangerously appeared with Rick Rude and Madusa.
He said that even though he was fired as a commentator, he was still an active manager. Dangerously wanted to use Rude to get revenge on WCW starting with Sting.
Around this time, someone started sending Sting gifts. At Clash of the Champions XVII on November 19, 1991, Sting was in the ring for his last gift. Madusa, dressed as a Hareem girl in a box, distracted him so Lex Luger could ambush the Stinger.
Luger proceeded to take out Sting’s knee by ramming it into a ring post. That night Sting was scheduled to face Ravishing Rick Rude for the United States Championship so he did not want to go to the hospital.
Bobby Eaten convinced Sting to go for his health. As Sting was being tended to at the hospital, Paul E. Dangerously found a loophole. If Sting can not defend the title he will forfeit it. It turned out that Bobby Eaten was hired by Paul E to get Sting out of the arena.
When Sting did not show up, Paul E Dangerously declared Rude to be the new champion. However, no one should ever count out Sting. Sting made his way to the ring as Nick Patrick started the count.
Sting made it but was heavily taped up. He was an easy target for Rude as he injured Sting more and won the United States title. After that, Paul E Dangerously officially announced the arrival of the Dangerous Alliance.
WCW’s Dangerous Alliance
WCW was now in The Danger Zone. The Dangerous Alliance went on to run rapidly through WCW. Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaten won the WCW Tage Team Championship. Stunning Steve Austin won his first WCW Television Championship from Barry Windham.
They were dismantling WCW brick by brick, just as Paul E predicted. The Alliance also clashed with the likes of Ricky Steamboat, Nikita Koloff, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, and Sting.
The war was finally settled at WCW WrestleWar 1992 in the war games match. Larry Zybysko accidentally missed Sting with a turnbuckle hook, hitting Bobby Eaton.
This allowed Sting to get the win. For that reason, Paul E booted Zybysko out of the Dangerous Alliance.
The Dangerous Alliance Disintegrates
The Alliance started falling apart. Ravishing Rick Rude and Madusa saw other opportunities. Most Notably, Madusa would become a thorn in Paul E.’s side for many months. Paul E. Dangerously fired Madusa publicly at Halloween Havoc 1993.
He claimed he alone was the brains behind the dangerous alliance. Madusa kicked him in the face for his troubles. This scuffle resulted in several intergender matches with Madusesa making short work of Paul E Dangerously.
After that, she headed off to WWF to begin her career anew as Alundra Blayze. Stunning Steve Austin teamed up with Flying Brian Pillman.
Together, they became the Hollywood Blonds and set a new precedent for the tag team title. WCW’s version of the Dangerous Alliance imploded.
ECW’s Dangerous Alliance
In 1993, Paul Dangerously resurrected the Dangerous Alliance in NWA-ECW. This group consisted of Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco, The Dark Patriot, and the returning Eddie Gilbert. The Leader of this version was none other than Shane Douglas.
Douglas, along with Sherri Martel. Sensational Sherri was fresh off her WWF and WCW runs. She still could put any guy over. Heyman also wanted Sabu as the bodyguard but Douglas did not like that idea.
By August 1994, ECW had broken from the NWA and was now Extreme Championship Wrestling. The very last version of The Dangerous Alliance was Taz, Sabu, and 911. Taz and Sabu became ECW tag team champions.
Shortly after they lost the titles, Dangerously fired Sabu. Taz suffered a neck injury. Based on that, the ECW version also fell apart.
A Dangerous Alliance WWE Version?
You might ask yourselves, if WWE did a version of the Dangerous Alliance today, who might the members be? Would it be Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, or any of the Bloodline?
Could you see AJ Styles finish out his career with Paul Heyman? How about Austin Theory? Finn Balor could use a change. What about a surprise like Dolph Ziggler coming back?
He fits the mold of both Rick Rude and Steve Austin. You could also throw in a returning tag team like the Revival. The revival of the Dangerous Alliance has endless possibilities.
