Thunder
Date: February 12, 1998
Location: Myriad Convention Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall, Bobby Heenan

We’re closing in on SuperBrawl and things are getting very interesting in WCW. Hogan and the NWO have basically thrown Savage out but Randy still wants to fight. The NWO also got a rare jump on Sting with the help of a net dropping from the ceiling. As for tonight Ric Flair is back and he’s facing one of his most famous rivals in Lex Luger. Let’s get to it.

Here are Hogan and Bischoff to open the show. Bischoff says it’s time to get serious because things are getting out of control. The NWO is declaring war on anyone associated with WCW. They’re going to start in alphabetical order and go from Anyone associated with WCW, from Ted Turner to the guys to mow the lawn at Turner headquarters. Hogan says even the fans are fair game, but let’s get to the B’s (were any A’s mentioned?). The number one B on Hogan’s list is Bret Hart, who is to blame for Hogan not holding the belt. He doesn’t know where, but Hogan is going to beat up Bret Hart somewhere.

On a lighter note, Hogan wants to talk to Randy Savage face to face right now. Macho comes out and Hogan says he knows when he’s right but he’s wrong in this whole thing. It’s time to look Savage eye to eye and let everyone know that an apology is necessary. Before we get to that though, this coming Monday it’s going to be Hogan/Savage vs. Luger/Sting. Hogan says Savage should thank Bischoff for the match but now it’s time for the apology. However it’s Savage who needs to apologize and that’s exactly what he does, right before decking Hogan and Bischoff with right hands.

The announcers are thrilled.

We talk about WCW Motorsports for a few moments.

Kidman vs. Prince Iaukea

Louie Spicolli has chased Lee Marshall off commentary. Kidman and Lodi taunt Iaukea into a chase, allowing Kidman to get in a shot as they get back inside. The Prince snapmares Kidman to the floor as Louie talks about eating pizza with Larry Zbyszko. Kidman dropkicks Iaukea into the apron but runs into a foot in the corner back inside. We cut to the back to see Raven sending Riggs off to get Van Hammer. Mortis comes up to Raven, apparently wanting to join the Flock. Raven asks why Mortis dresses in these clown costumes and says if he wants to be in the Flock, Mortis has to be himself. Oh and beat DDP as well.

Back in the ring Iaukea breaks out of a chinlock but gets taken down by a jawbreaker. A superkick doesn’t drop Kidman so Prince fires off some chops. Kidman clotheslines him down and goes up but dives into a belly to belly suplex for two. A guillotine legdrop misses and Kidman hits a quick Shooting Star Press for the pin.

Rating: D+. Based on what we saw this wasn’t much. Kidman was talented but he needed someone better than Prince Iaukea to have a good match. The Raven thing stopped the match in its tracks but that was a common idea for WCW: make it look like anything could happen at anytime. There is something to be said about that idea instead of having segments happen right after a match ends.

Meng vs. Hugh Morrus

Hugh jumps Meng before the bell and pounds on him in the corner but a splash has no effect. Meng comes back with chops to the chest and punches to the ribs followed by some choking on the ropes. A top rope splash gets two for Meng as Louie asks if Heenan used to manage him which shocks the Brain. Morrus comes back with a spinwheel kick and loads up No Laughing Matter, but Jimmy Hart rolls Meng out of the way. Tony informs us that we’ll have the Steiners vs. Outsiders again at SuperBrawl along with Louie vs. Zbyszko. Meng kicks Morrus in the face and the Deathgrip ends this pretty quickly.

Post match Barbarian comes down to break up the hold but gets put in the Deathgrip as well.

US Title: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Mortis

Vandenberg shouts that he owns Mortis on the way to the ring. Mortis gets caught in a quick tilt-a-whirl side slam but bails to the corner to avoid the Diamond Cutter. Page misses a charge into the post and Mortis takes over, allowing Vandenberg to choke in the corner. The champ pops up and pounds away on Mortis, only to get kicked in the face and hits with a neckbreaker out of the corner for two. We hit the chinlock as Tony announces Page vs. Benoit II at SuperBrawl. Page suplexes his way to freedom and hits a discus lariat followed by a running Diamond Cutter to retain.

Rating: C-. Just a simple title defense here with Page hitting another version of the Diamond Cutter to fire up the crowd. Mortis’ offense continues to change almost on a weekly basis with new moves coming out all the time. I miss midcard champions having matches against some random opponent like this. It doesn’t hurt Mortis to lose because he’s in over his head, so why not do matches like this more often?

Post match the Flock minus Raven comes out and carries Mortis from the ring ala Riggs when he joined the team. Raven appears at the entrance and DDTs Mortis on the ramp.

We recap British Bulldog vs. Steve McMichael. I keep forgetting this feud is happening.

Steve McMichael vs. Jim Neidhart

Neidhart shoulder blocks him down to start and a forearm smash sends Mongo to the floor. Mongo is sent into the steps but comes back with a three point shoulder block inside to take over. McMichael goes to the floor and picks up the steps, but the Bulldog runs in for the save and the DQ win for Mongo.

After the break we get a video of them brawling through the commercial.

Chris Adams vs. Buff Bagwell

Adams hits two quick slams to start but walks into a backdrop so Buff can pose. They shove and slap each other a few times until Chris takes over with some clotheslines. Adams misses a charge and clotheslines himself on the ropes to give Bagwell control. Buff gets two off a neckbreaker but a splash hits knees. Adams makes a comeback with basic stuff followed by a terrible looking piledriver for two. Vincent gets superkicked down but the distraction lets Bagwell drill Adams from behind and finish him with the Blockbuster.

Rating: D. This really didn’t work. Adams was trying but the lack of chemistry crippled any chance they had. He was 43 years old at this point and long past his best days but he could still do basic stuff well enough. Bagwell never was much in the ring but the Blockbuster looked as good as ever.

Video on Juventud Guerrera and how important his mask is to him.

Cruiserweight Title: Chris Jericho vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Jericho has to be threatened with a DQ to take the belt off. Chavo chops him down but Jericho hits a running forearm to knock Chavo outside. A suplex back in allows Jericho to pose for the crowd, only to be SHOCKED by the booing. Jericho hits the butterfly backbreaker for the arrogant cover, only to miss a charge in the corner a few seconds later. He jumps over Chavo in the corner but gets caught by a back elbow to the face. Chavo’s tornado DDT is easily countered into the Liontamer for the submission to retain Jericho’s title.

Jericho won’t let go of the hold so here’s Juvy for the save. Chris goes for the mask but Juvy knocks him to the floor, sending the champion running away.

British Bulldog vs. Sick Boy

What an odd pairing. Eric Bischoff kicks Lee Marshall out of commentary and wants to know who is behind the conspiracy against the NWO, namely because They Live (a Roddy Piper movie) is playing right after Thunder. Bulldog hits a powerslam (not the powerslam) sets up a delayed vertical suplex but Sick Boy hits a springboard back elbow to take over. Sick Boy pounds away and Bischoff storms off. We hit the chinlock as Tony says They Live as many times as he can. Bulldog avoids a charge in the corner and catches Sick Boy in the powerslam for the pin. This was a commercial for the movie, not the match.

Post match Mongo hits the ring to attack Bulldog again.

Chris Benoit vs. Raven

Raven’s Rules of course.  Raven jumps Benoit on the way to the ring and sends him head first into the steps. They head inside with a chair for the drop toehold but Raven is sent twice into the chair wedged between the top and middle rope. Benoit stomps a mudhole in the corner but Sick Boy pulls Raven out of the way, sending Chris into the chair. Benoit comes right back with rolling Germans but Kidman comes in for the save via a springboard…..right into the Crossface for a tap out, which is good for the submission win? I want to see a copy of Raven’s rules.

Rating: C. This was intense while it lasted but they needed more time to make the match work. The ending didn’t make a ton of sense but then again neither did the Flock in general. Raven didn’t wrestle often in WCW but when he did it was usually something good if not great.

The Flock comes in for the post match beatdown but DDP comes in through the crowd to make the save. He finally gets rid of Saturn to break up the Rings of Saturn. Benoit insists he didn’t need Page’s help but Page disagrees.

Glacier vs. Goldberg

Glacier’s entrance nearly takes as long as the match. Goldberg does a standing backflip to avoid a leg sweep, spear and Jackhammer make Goldberg 30something-0.

Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger

It’s almost strange for this to not be for the world title. Luger starts with a gorilla press and Flair begs off into the corner, only to come out with the poke to the eye. Lex shoves him across the ring and flexes before slamming Flair off the top rope. Flair rolls to the apron and snaps Luger’s throat across the top rope followed by a low blow. The chops have no effect on Luger so he comes back with a clothesline and a superplex to put Flair down. Luger loads up the Rack but the referee goes down, allowing Flair to hit a chop block to set up the Figure Four. Luger turns it over but Savage runs in for the DQ.

Rating: C. This was the abbreviated paint by numbers version of Luger vs. Flair, which still makes it more entertaining than most matches you’ll find. At this point these two could have a decent match just on muscle memory alone. Savage running in makes sense given how insane he’s been lately, plus it keeps either guy from having to job here.

Flair tries to save Luger but Hogan comes in to take Savage out. The NWO beats down everyone in sight but Sting runs in to clear the NWO out of the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The show did a good job of setting up the PPV, but the focus was on the main event stuff instead of the midcard like Thunder has been focusing on so far. The Raven vs. Benoit vs. Page stuff is interesting and the matches should be very fun. There’s also the Cruiserweight Title stuff with Jericho being amazing at this point, so WCW continues to have a bright future. Good show here but nothing memorable.

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Thunder
Date: January 15, 1998
Location: Jenkins Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Lee Marshall

It’s the second episode of the show and as of Nitro, the NWO is in shambles again. The main problem seems to stem from Nash and Savage over Savage accidentally hitting Bischoff two weeks ago on Nitro. As luck would have it, the main event tonight is Nash/Savage vs. Diamond Dallas Page/Lex Luger. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video from Nitro of DDP hyping up the tag match tonight.

The announcers talk about the NWO’s problems. It’s strange to not have Schiavone doing commentary on a WCW show.

We get video from Nitro about the $1.5 million bonds put up by WCW and the NWO to ensure Nash vs. Giant actually happens at Souled Out.

Here’s Giant in the ring for a chat with Schiavone. Giant says that he’s a patient man and will be ready for Nash at Souled Out. He’ll be bringing the chokeslam to the PPV but first he has to rip up one of Lodi’s signs. Lodi is pulled into the ring via a chokeslam and the Flock swarms the Giant. The big man swats them all away and literally throws Kidman into the front row. This brings out Nash but Giant isn’t allowed to touch him, even after Nash throws coffee in his face.

Back to Nitro again to look at the issues between Nash and Savage. We get some exclusive footage from after Nitro went off the air of Savage slapping Nash and running off.

Black Cat/Ohara/Gedo vs. Steiner Brothers/Ray Traylor

Tenay tells us that DDP has been mugged in a parking lot and has a knee injury which might keep him out of the main event tonight. Traylor and Ohara start with Ohara firing off kicks to the knee. Ray comes back with some uppercuts before Black Cat comes in to be pounded down by Rick. A series of elbows get two for Rick as the fans chant USA. Back to Traylor as we take a break.

We come back with Rick clotheslining Gedo and Ohara down before ripping away at Gedo’s face. Scott finally tags himself in and explodes on Black Cat with clotheslines and right hands. An overhead suplex sends Ohara flying and Scott puts him in the Tree of Woe for some choking. Rick and Ray have their arms out for tags but Scott isn’t paying any attention to them. A move Tenay calls the Steiner Screwdriver (this was more like a sitout powerslam) is good for the pin on Gedo.

Rating: D+. This was more storytelling than a match which is a good idea. Scott’s slow burn heel turn is going well here as you can see why Rick would get upset and why Scott would think he doesn’t need to tag out. Traylor doesn’t need to be here but what else are they going to do with him?

Post match Rick, Ray and DiBiase leave Scott to celebrate by himself.

Ernest Miller vs. Yuji Nagata

This is a preview match for a proposed martial arts division held under pro wrestling rules. Miller immediately kicks Yuji down for two but Nagata’s manager kicks Ernest in the back to give Nagata control. Yuji hits a quick suplex and cranks on the arm for a bit before shifting over to a leg lock. Another kick to the chest gets two for Yuji but Ernest hits a spin kick to the face to take over. Nagata chokes in the corner and gets in an argument with the referee, allowing Miller to pull himself to the top for a great looking spin kick to the face for the pin.

Rating: D. That finish looked great but the rest of the match was pretty dull stuff. The idea of a martial arts division under pro wrestling rules adds nothing at all as these guys do little more than kick each other for three minutes anyway. You can only be so interesting as that kind of a character and putting the same kind of guys against each other isn’t going to do them any favors.

JJ is here to talk about Page’s injury but the mic goes out. Page comes out on a crutch and says he’s going to do it. JJ says there are liability issues and Page might sue him. Page says he’ll sign whatever paper he has to and he’ll take WCW off the hook.

Louie Spicolli vs. Scott Hall

Before the match, Hall asks Spicolli who he is and how old he is. Spicolli is 26 but will be 27 next month. This brings out Larry Zbyszko to give Spicolli some advice. Hall challenges Larry to a fight so here comes Zbyszko, but Spicolli jumps Larry from behind. Larry clears the ring with ease.

We recap Jericho snapping again on Nitro and beating up Mysterio before Mysterio’s Cruiserweight Title shot.

Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Guerrero

The winner gets a Cruiserweight Title shot at Souled Out. Before the match, Jericho claims that Mysterio was making disparaging remarks about his family on Nitro to trigger the beatdown. Jericho offers a handshake to start but Eddie clotheslines him down instead. A jumping back elbow puts Chris down again but Jericho blocks an O’Connor roll and throws Eddie throat first onto the top rope.

Eddie backdrops out of a belly to back suplex and dropkicks Jericho’s knee out to keep control. Off to an abdominal stretch with Eddie grabbing the middle rope to cheat. Would you expect anything less of him? Jericho comes back by launching Eddie into the air and letting him crash to the mat.

Eddie rolls through a powerbomb for two before clotheslining Jericho down for two. Off to a chinlock with two knees in Jericho’s back with Jericho bent backwards. Eddie tries an upside down Gory Stretch but drops Jericho on the top of his head in a scary landing. Jericho sends him into the corner with Eddie jumping up to try a hurricanrana, only to have Jericho counter into the Liontamer for the win.

Rating: C+. This could have been something special with another five minutes. The lack of time and Jericho being dropped on his head hurt things though as the match never had the chance to really get going. Jericho is starting to look like a future star though instead of just a talented smiling good guy.

We get the Ric Flair/Jim Neidhart segment from Nitro which led to Flair and Bret brawling.

Somehow that causes the announcers to talk about the world title situation for a bit.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Bill Goldberg

Before Goldberg’s entrance, here’s the Disco Inferno to interrupt. I don’t know if it’s my video or something from the broadcast but the audio is way off as it sounds like the announcers are shouting into megaphones. Disco says people are here to see him dance instead of seeing Chavo wrestle. Chavo says Disco can’t dance and that this isn’t even his time. They keep arguing and the video feed cuts out, going to a still shot of the arena with “Lakeland, Florida” written on the bottom. Based on the audio, Disco hits the Chartbuster on Chavo before Goldberg comes out for the spear and Jackhammer on Inferno.

Back from a break with Tenay apologizing for the technical issues. The audio and video are fixed now.

We look at a clip from last week of JJ stripping Sting of the title.

Here are Hogan and Bischoff with something to say….and there go the video and audio again. It’s back to the graphic this time with the audio cutting in and out as well. Bischoff thanks Hogan for putting up the $1.5 million which Hogan says was no big deal. What is however a big deal is the NWO having problems. Hogan talks about taking a palm tree and a hippie in each hand and talking to the big NWOite in the sky.

Apparently they’ve gone to federal court where a judge said Hogan is the world champion. JJ can either give him the belt tonight or on Nitro because Hogan is getting it back one way or another. Hogan brags about being the man that wrestling revolves around and says the NWO is intact. The audio and video kept cutting up every thirty seconds or so during this.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Juventud Guerrera

This is a rematch from Nitro where Guerrera successfully defended the title thanks to a prematch beatdown by Jericho. Mysterio fires off some forearms to start but Juvy backflips out of a German suplex. A headscissors sends the champion to the floor and Rey hits a flip dive to take him down again, possibly injuring his knee in the process. Back in and Juvy rolls through a springboard sunset flip and slingshots Rey back to the floor. A BIG dive….might have hit as the video cut out again.

Juvy is up first and chops away before hitting a slingshot legdrop back inside. Guerrera loads up something similar to a Muscle Buster but drops down onto his knees to drive Rey’s neck into Juvy’s shoulder. A brainbuster gets two for the champion before they head to the apron, only to have Rey launch Juvy over his head and face first into the post. It has next to no effect though as Juvy rams him into the apron and drops a slingshot legdrop to the floor. Back in and a springboard dropkick gets two but Rey sidesteps a regular version a second later. Juvy sends him face first into the middle buckle and flicks his tongue a lot.

They slug it out and Rey hits a Killswitch (called a modified DDT by Tenay) for two. A pinfall reversal sequence gets a pair of two counts each before Rey has to pound his way out of a powerbomb attempt. Juvy counters a top rope rana attempt into a powerbomb and Rey is in trouble. Mysterio avoids the 450 though and hooks a quick rana for the pin and the title.

Rating: B-. This was pretty solid stuff but Juvy didn’t sell much of anything throughout the match. There was a good story of Rey hanging on and trying to hit one quick move to win the title while Juvy was hitting him with everything he had. This is the third title change in about two and a half weeks, which makes me wonder why they didn’t just put the title on Rey the night after Starrcade in the first place and cut out Dragon and Guerrera.

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We see the end of Nitro with Liz distracting Luger so Savage could jump him. Page made the save to set up the tag match tonight.

Diamond Dallas Page/Lex Luger vs. Kevin Nash/Randy Savage

The audio and video go out again before the entrances are done. Back from a break and it’s the Lakeland graphic again as Luger’s music is playing. Page is limping on the bad knee during his entrance so Luger volunteers to go it alone. Hogan sneaks up on Page and breaks Page’s crutch over the bad knee. Savage jumps off the top with an ax handle to Luger and beats up the trainer looking at Page’s knee. Nash wants a tag but Savage doesn’t seem all that interested.

Hogan yells at Savage to make him tag, but once Nash comes in he throws Savage to the floor. For some reason this earns Savage more yelling from Hogan as the video cuts out yet again. Nash hits a knee to Luger’s ribs in the corner before going back to Savage and slapping him in the face. Savage goes up top to dive on Nash but Hogan gets in the way. Luger gets back up and hits the forearm on Nash as Hogan comes in for the DQ.

Rating: N/A. The match was only about three and a half minutes long and about a minute of that was spent looking at a graphic of the arena so it’s not fair to rate the little I saw. This was all about drama as Page was on the floor for the entire match and a lot of the “action” was spent on Nash and Savage’s problems.

Post match Luger puts Hogan and Nash in the Rack but Savage makes the save (it’s not clear if he was aiming for Luger or Nash). Savage holds Luger for a shot from Hogan but Hollywood kicks savage in the ribs instead. They go nose to nose as Giant comes out to chokeslam Hogan (in theory as the video went out again) before getting in Nash’s face. The NWO comes out for the beatdown but Sting and Luger clean house to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Really annoying technical difficulties aside, this did a good job of advancing the NWO stories leading up to Souled Out. Also unlike last week, this show actually built on what we saw on Nitro rather than starting something new. There’s decent wrestling and good angle advancement here so there isn’t much to complain about on the second episode.

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