Thunder – April 15, 1999: DDP Is A WHAT?
Thunder
Date: April 15, 1999
Location: Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 9,429
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Larry Zbyszko
WCW is on a nice mini roll but they’ve long since lost me on believing this is going to last. The main story coming out of Nitro is Page vs. Nash being set up for Slamboree due to Flair making the match as well as Nash wanting to get back at Page for injuring Hogan. We don’t have much else on the horizon for the show yet but maybe we’ll get something tonight. Let’s get to it.
The announcers welcome us to the show and tell us about Mysterio vs. Guerrera for the Cruiserweight Title tonight. Works for me.
Vampiro vs. Buff Bagwell
The fans are into Buff so he does the Karate Kid pose and dances a bit to start. An armdrag puts Vampiro down and it’s time to dance some more. Buff blocks a right hand in the corner and nails Vampiro in the jaw. Vampiro comes back with a kick, headbutt and chop followed by even more strikes to Buff’s chest. Buff nails a quick dropkick and some punches in the corner, only to get hot shotted onto the top rope.
A middle rope spinwheel kick sets up a cross armbreaker on Buff. That goes nowhere so Vampiro goes back to the kicks to the chest to maintain control. Even more kicks, including one that looked rather low, sets upa chinlock on Bagwell. The fans really don’t seem all that interested in this kick-a-thon.
Buff’s quick comeback is stopped by a kick (of course) and Vampiro hooks an ankle lock. Bagwell fights up again but gets dropped by even more kicks. Vampiro finally tries something else with a suplex but Buff counters into a slingshot suplex. Maybe Vampiro should stick with the kicks. Buff goes to the middle rope but dives into a Rock Bottom. Vampiro tries a top rope hurricanrana, only to get shoved down, setting up the Blockbuster for the pin.
Rating: D. Egads this match was dull. Vampiro continues to be nothing in the ring and puts me closer to a coma every time I have to see him. When you remind me of Ernest Miller before he got funny, something is very wrong. Nothing to see here and not a good choice to open the show.
Jerry Flynn vs. Wrath
Wrath easily throws him around to start before nailing a middle rope shoulder. Flynn is whipped out to the floor as we appear to be in total squash mode. A hard whip sends Jerry into the barricade but he sends Wrath into the barricade to come back. Back in and Wrath scores with a clothesline before choking a lot as something seems wrong. They head back outside for some brawling and Flynn is sent into the barricade for a double countout. I’m not going to rate this as Wrath shredded his knee somewhere in there and the finish had to be rushed. He would be out for nearly a year.
Horace vs. Meng
It’s a brawl to start (of course) with Meng pounding away but Horace takes him into the corner. Meng pounds his own head into the corner because he’s not all there and Horace looks scared. A superkick puts Horace down and Meng chokes a lot. They head outside with Horace being whipped into the steel but he gets up a boot to stop a charging monster. Horace channels his inner Sting though and splashes the barricade by mistake.
Back in and Horace pounds away to almost no effect as Meng comes back with a powerslam. Meng busts out a dropkick of all things and they slug it out again until Horace hits a spinebuster that the announcers claim was an atomic drop. Horace clotheslines him out to the floor and nails an actually decent suicide dive. They head back in with Meng countering a slam into a small package of all things. Horace nails some clotheslines and a Hogan legdrop for two. Then, like the nitwit he is, he tries a sunset flip and gets Death Gripped for the submission.
Rating: D. They surprised me with some of the stuff they did in there but the match was six minutes of Meng vs. Horace. There was no way this was going to be interesting no matter what they did. That suicide dive wasn’t bad though and it at least gave me a break from the barrage of punches and clotheslines.
Flair, Anderson and Robinson are in the back with Charles pouring champagne. A woman brings in some papers for Flair to sign, which he does without reading them. Arn points out how stupid this is but Flair tells him to calm down.
Disco Inferno vs. Mikey Whipwreck
They trade headlocks to start until Mikey takes him down with a pair of armdrags into an armbar. Back up and we get armdrags number three and four with Mikey still in control. Disco comes back with a shoulder and clothesline followed by a middle rope elbow for two. These guys certainly aren’t cranking up the variety tonight. Whipwreck is sent outside as we go to a break.
Back with Disco being sent into the barricade and Mikey legsweeping him into it again. They head back inside with Mikey snapping Disco across the top, dropping a springboard legdrop and forearming him in the face for two each. He misses a top rope splash though, setting up Disco’s piledriver for another near fall thanks to Mikey’s foot touching the rope. Back up and a swinging neckbreaker sets up a chinlock on Whipwreck.
Mikey fights up but gets elbowed right back down. Disco misses another middle rope elbow and gets dropkicked a few times, only to come right back with a clothesline. A Fameasser puts Disco down but Mikey takes too much time going up. Disco pulls him down for a reverse DDT, only to spin Mikey around into the Last Dance for the pin.
Rating: C-. Why was Mikey Whipwreck hired? Was it really just to screw with ECW? He hasn’t done anything special in his few months with the company and I don’t think he’s won a match yet. This wasn’t terrible, but when Disco is the one carrying your match, you can tell there’s something wrong.
Gene brings out the Black and White for a chat. Stevie says they’re the police of the WCW and wants a World Title shot tonight against “that no good beatnik fruit booty.” And so it begins.
This Week In WCW Motorsports.
Disorderly Conduct vs. Saturn/Raven
Saturn wants to accessorize his dress with a Tag Team Title. Raven and Mike get things going with Mike quickly running into a boot. Off to Saturn for a side kick before the stars start tagging quickly. A kick to the ribs sets up a knee lift from Raven who then allows the tag off to Tom. Raven takes Tom down for a top rope knee drop from Saturn for two.
Mike gets in a cheap shot from the apron and Disorderly Conduct starts making their own tags. Saturn is laid across the ropes for an ax handle from Tom. He fights back but runs into Mike’s knee and a jawbreaker gets two. Mike grabs Saturn’s arms but Tom hits his partner by mistake, allowing Saturn to suplex Tom and tag Raven. The drop toehold spot to Tom causes everything to break down and the Evenflow ends Tom.
Rating: D+. This wasn’t the worst squash in the world and at least Disorderly Conduct got to control for awhile. I miss having teams like them who are there for no reason other than to job but people might buy them as a threat because they have a team name. It’s better than Slater Gator if nothing else.
We look at Mysterio getting beaten down on Monday.
Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera
Rey is defending. They pose to start with Juvy shaking his hips on the middle rope. Juvy runs him over with a shoulder and stops to pose even more. They try a quick pinfall reversal sequence but Guerrera stops to try a powerbomb instead of a backslide. Rey sends Juvy out to the floor but he comes right back in with a tilt-a-whirl slam. A hurricanrana takes Juvy out to the floor and we take a break.
Back with Juvy missing a splash in the corner and getting faceplanted on the mat. There’s the Bronco Buster from Rey but he takes too much time to pose. Juvy tries to take him down into a powerbomb but gets countered into a sunset flip. Back up and Rey catches him in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but Juvy pops up with a dropkick.
Mysterio’s throat gets snapped over the top rope and Juvy busts out a People’s Elbow for two. Rey sends him into the corner but Juvy backflips over him and grabs the Juvy Driver. He’s too spent to cover though so the trip up top for the 450 takes too long. Mysterio crotches him down and runs the corner for a top rope hurricanrana to retain.
Rating: C+. The match was a total spotfest but the spots worked well enough. Juvy as a Rock impersonator was a bizarre choice but it would get even worse later on. Mysterio continues to be the top guy in the division and it’s hard to argue with him being the champion for as long as he was.
Robinson keeps sucking up to Flair, calling his match on Monday as good as his series with Steamboat. Anderson comes in and complains about not being able to find the woman from earlier. Robinson is sent off to find her.
WCW World Title: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Stevie Ray
Stevie yells at Kimberly to start and gets punched in the jaw by the champion. A hard forearm puts Ray on the floor and Page dives onto both Stevie and Vincent. They brawl in the aisle and then into the crowd before coming out by the set. Vincent gets punched as well before the guys actually in the match head back inside.
Stevie gets in a shot to the throat followed by a clothesline for two. We hit the bearhug for a bit before Page grabs a swinging neckbreaker to get a breather. The discus lariat puts Ray down but a Vincent distraction lets Stevie take over again. The Slapjack is countered and Page spins around Ray’s shoulders for the Diamond Cutter to retain.
Rating: D. Nothing to see here but what else were you expecting? It’s Stevie Ray getting a World Title match on the B show where they’re not really trying in the first place. I have no problem with them handing Page midcarders to build up his credibility a bit more and the Black and White isn’t going to get hurt by losing a match.
Vincent, Horace and Adams come in and get beaten up as well to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. This wasn’t the worst show in the world but it’s more meaningless TV. I’m not sure what the Flair/Anderson/Robinson stuff accomplished but it’s the only thing resembling storyline advancement that we got all night. The wrestling was passable enough and that’s about all that matters on Thunder. Worthless but not a terrible show.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LWSOTGK
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Recent Comments