Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Thunder 2/19/98
I feel as if I should introduce the show, but my recap speaks for itself and it is Thunder.
A recap of the finale from Nitro.
Earlier today: Tenay is with Jericho, and the nWo is chasing Luger and Savage and they all beat both up. Luger and Savage run? I think they just caught up to them and both men were talking…..The nWo is carrying Savage back to the arena.
Match 1: Fit Finley v. Goldberg
Fit takes his jacket and whacks him with it and Goldberg no self everything. Goldberg nails him with a big gutbuster. Goldberg takes him down and has him in a leg scissors. Finley tries to fight him off with blows but Goldberg yells at him and Fit backs off and begs off. Goldberg knees him in the gut, and whips him into the corner with alacrity. He puts him in a bearhug, but fit punches free and puts him in a sleeper. Goldberg tosses him over and takes him down again. Now it is Spear and Jackhammer time.
*** Fit does deserve better but Jesus were the fans rabid.
Match 2: Psychosis v. Chavo Guerrero
Pyschosis hits him and starts hitting him more in the corner, takes his boot and chokes him out. Now they whip each other around and Psychosis wins with a powerslam off the whip. Psychosis is knocked to the floor and Chavo literally flies over the top rope with a suicide dive turned into a somersault. Chavo rolls him back into the ring and gets a two count. Chavo misses off the whip but Psychosis does not miss the lariat. Chavo is dumped to the floor. Both are on the apron and Chavo is dropkicked off. He is rolled back into the ring and slammed. Psychosis goes up top and Chavo catches him with a dropkick and then kicks a leaping Psychosis into the ropes, Chavo gets a near fall after a bulldog and follows up with a missile dropkick to the back. Psychosis is up top and he fights Chavo off and finishes him with the super guillotine legdrop.
*** 1/2 I really liked this, I was hoping Chavo would pull it out as he is fun to watch in the ring and it should have been longer.
Here comes Hogan and Biscoff. Bischoff has the mic and assures us that the non-believers and everything is under control. Hogan uses a big word: copasetic and that Savage is back in the hold despite his hard head and a bump in the road. Macho knows how much they really love him and how much the nWo really cares for him. He hopes Sting is at his best tonight as Savage is going to hit the big elbow. He wants Savage to save a little bit for him as he wants to beat him once and for all at the PPV. There will be no controversy this time, as he and Nick Patrick were robbed. With all his money and prayers the entire nWo is behind him as he is the only official to ref a match of this magnitude. He prays to God that he will be the man to count the three. The nWo is just too sweet.
Match 3: Scotty Riggs v. Booker T
Riggs attacks him in the corner and then dropkicks him getting a two count. Booker gets in some blows and kicks him, pancakes him down with authority and Riggs rolls to the floor. Booker goes after him and Lodi makes his presence felt and this allows Riggs to take control, running him into the railing and then rolling him into the ring. Riggs gets a two count and goes for a suplex but it is blocked and Booker nails him with one. Riggs strikes with forearm and hits him a few times but Booker tries to fight him off, Riggs fends him off only to run into a sidekick. After the spinarooni he kicks him again and he gets the win after the axe kick.
** Wow that was a sudden ending.
Saturn is yelling at the Flock and he wanted the Flock to leave Booker alone.
Tenay is in the back as Luger is laid out getting his ribs wrapped. He asks Luger why he was with Savage in the parking lot and Luger tells him to get out.
Match 4: Kidman v. Juventud Guerrera
Kidman wails on the back, twists the arm and kicks him but is booted and slammed after missing the charge in the corner. Juve is sent to the apron and Kidman goes up top but is tossed off. Juve goes up top and takes him down with a top rope head scissors getting two. Juve chops him, but is grabbed by his legs and slammed over the back of Kidman. Kidman telegraphs the back drop and Juve kicks him and knocks him over the top. He wants a suicide dive but Lodi grabs him and pulls him to the floor. Kidman leaps out and Juve moves and Lodi gets clocked. Juve tries to suplex him to the floor but he is sent in and he lands on Kidman getting two after the quasi busted move. Juve is flipped back and Juve lands on his feet, Kidman whips him into the corner but runs into boots and Juve slams him and finishes him with the 450.
** Another match that should have been longer. But Juve has a tendency to foul up moves and this was no exception.
Jericho comes out after him, but Juve battles back and Jericho runs him off.
Match 5: Hall and Nash v. Mike Enos and Scott Bloom
It is survey time. WCW gets a solid pop and Hall runs around with the mic as they cheer for WCW. The nWo gets drowned out and now there are some boos. Nash calls it one more for the good guys. He has not seen the Giant since Souled Out. He brags that he has basically retired him.
Hall and Enos go back and forth and Enos is chokeslammed. Hall does his Giant mockery, and this allows Enos to powerslam him and get a near fall. Bloom gets the tag and he is hit by Nash and he hits him right back only to turn right into a Hall clothesline. Nash gets the tag and he just hammers poor Bloom. He calls for the powerbomb and he hits the ref and powerbombs him! Enos just stands and stares on the apron. Hall covers Bloom for fun as Nash, Hall and Dusty celebrate.
** For the powerbomb.
He is cuffed and stuffed
Curt, Adams and Rude are in the ring with the mic. Rude is mocking Bret Hart and his motto and that it is a bold statement. Rude claims that Hennig eliminated that phrase on Nitro. He wants to know why Hennig would focus on Bret “I Quit” Hart. Hennig calls himself the best and Brian Adams would be that too. Anvil and Davey Boy come out. Anvil screams that they are really good at hitting people from behind and they are here right now. Bulldog bellows some thing and the fight is on and the bell rings.
All four are going at it and Hennig and Adams have the upperhand with Hennig working over Bulldog, Rude lent a hand. Adams pounds on Anvil in the other corner. Davey gives Hennig an inverted atomic drop and catapults him into the corner. Adams clotheslines him to the floor and Rude whips him into the steps. Anvil comes has Adams down and Curt hits him a couple times and then runs to the floor and then back in as Anvil is double teamed. Rude uses his tie to choke out both men. Now Anvil fights back after the bell rings and Davey gets back up and takes it to Curt.
*** Fun brawl. The fans chanted for “Bret” and from what I have heard and not sure if I mentioned this but apparently after Davey and Anvil got their release, the three could not team together. Not sure if this is true.
During the break they continued to brawl.
Tenay calls out Rick and Scott Steiner. Rick brags about being the champs and that Hall and Nash will not get the titles back. The barks he hears sends chills down his back and he starts barking…..
Match 7: La Parka v. Super Calo
Parka has the chair and the ref tells him to put it down. He does and then shoves Calo, and Parka gets shoved and then armdragged twice. Calo nails him with a spinning backbreaker, slams him again and gets two. Parka retreats to the corner and he runs at Calo, leaps and misses. They tussle around and Calo is clotheslined. Calo is hung upside down in the corner and Parka low spinkicks him in the chest getting two. Parka keeps up the pressure but then runs into a boot and Calo has him in a powerbomb position and he flips him into the corner. Calo though gets knocked to the floor, Parka is sitting up top and he helps Calo up and he scissors Parka off getting two. Calo bashes his head onto the top buckle. Calo kicks him off the apron and then leaps out on top of him. Disco runs down and shakes the ropes and down goes Calo and Disco runs to the apron and Parka gets the win. He crawls into the ring and gets waxed by the chair and Parka dances.
** 1/2 Not sure about this clusterfuck of an ending.
Match 8: Chris Jericho (c) v. Dean Malenko for WCW Cruiserweight Title
Jericho has the mic and quotes Cheap Trick: “I want you to want me” and Tony calls it Peter Frampton….Jesus Schiavone. He tells us that Juve is really ugly without the mask and he looks like Quasimodo and calls him Air Quasi and he makes fun of him for a bit.
Jericho still has the belt on and refuses to take it off. Malenko tires of waiting and he goes after him. After some blows he catapults him into the corner and stomps away. Now Jericho whips him into the ropes but his monkeyflip fails and he is kicked in the chest. Malenko sandwiches him in the corner, and Jericho blocks a suplex attempt and he gives him a nice looking reverse suplex. He picks him up and gives him a vertical suplex getting a two count. He snaps him over and applies a reverse chinlock. Jericho clotheslines him and he stands on Dean, flexes and gets two. The fans chant that he sucks and Jericho stamps his feet in anger. He goes after Dean in the corner and chops him. He runs at him and goes headfirst into the top buckle, but he recovers first and kicks him in the ribs. He gives him a backbreaker and holds it down. He releases it, scoop slams him and misses the Lionsault. Dean misses the shot but he is able to push Chris to the floor. Dean slides under him and pulls him down headfirst onto the apron. Dean rolls him back into the ring, but he runs into a boot only to grab him by the hair and staggers him with some forearms and now he takes him down and tries to turn over the Cloverleaf but Jericho grabs the ropes. Jericho is tripped up and Dean rolls him up getting a near fall. Malenko ducks a blow, kicks him and has him in the double underhook but he is back dropped. He grabs Dean and turns him over into the Liontamer and Malenko taps.
** 1/2 Not bad. They are serious about Jericho as this is a big win, Dean seems to be on the decline in a push.
Match 9: DDP and Chris Benoit v. Saturn and Raven
Benoit and Raven are in the ring but DDP tags himself in right as the bell rings and Benoit reluctantly departs. Saturn now will start and he is knocked down and DDP knees him and powerslams him. Raven runs in and gets planted and Benoit takes out Saturn and now DDP and Benoit bump into each other and after a slight glare at each other keep their eyes on the heels. Raven and Benoit are in and Raven kicks him a couple of times but Benoit chops him and then runs him over with a lariat, and Saturn got the blind tag and he drops Benoit and stomps away.
Commercial.
Benoit chops away but is tossed back in a belly to back, and he goes for a suplex but Saturn is taken down and put in the Crossface. Raven makes the save and DDP gets the hot tag. Raven is in too and DDP goes off, and Raven is knocked to the floor. Saturn is clotheslined and DDP goes for the Cutter but Riggs hits him with him the chair. Saturn slams him and gets a near fall. Raven comes in and clotheslines DDP and now he gets a two count. Raven hammers him in the corner; Saturn gets the tag and he bodyslams him and then gets two after a springboard legdrop. Now Raven is in and he taunts DDP so he gets a punch in the gut. He fires back and Saturn is back in and they doubleteam him. Saturn has him in a front facelock as DDP struggles to get to his corner to make the tag and they make it but Kidman is distracting the ref. Benoit is sent back and DDP has Raven rolled up but the ref is out of position. Raven sets up the chair in the middle of the ring. DDP fights back but DDP falls into the chair off the toe hold, and Saturn goes for a moonsault but DDP moves. Saturn tries to get up but Benoit gets the hot tag and punches the chair into Saturn’s face and he snap suplexes Raven twice onto the chair and pins him, not sure if he is the legal man. Benoit connects with two German suplexes on Saturn and now all four are in the ring and DDP calls for the Cutter and the fans love it but Saturn blocks it and has DDP in the Rings but it is broken up by the diving headbutt. Raven wants the Evenflow but it is blocked and Raven gets the Cutter and Benoit applies the Crossface and Saturn taps.
***1/2 A great ending. Good stuff. Benoit got a much needed win.
Match 10: Randy Savage v. Sting
Hogan comes out first and the nWo is carrying Savage out. Savage’s chest is spraypainted and he is wearing a Sting mask! They lay him out in the middle of the ring. EB welcomes everyone to their show and Hogan reminds everyone that when you are nWo your nWo for life and no one knows that more than Macho. He is sorry to disappoint everyone that the Sting and Savage match is not going down tonight. As he is now a part of the nWo and he wants to save Sting for Hogan at the PPV. All the nWo-ites will have to tune in to the PPV and watch Hogan pin him and everyone will worship him. There is no way that the yellow belly coward that is Sting will show his face with the nWo in the ring and he runs out and the brawl is on. Hogan backs off as Sting fights off the nWo and he keeps fending them off but the number games starts to take its toll and Luger runs out as Sting works over Hogan. Now Sting and Luger with a knocked out Savage are left in the ring.
No rating. Sure there was no match but this is not Nitro and so it does not really matter and if anything sets up the PPV.
***1/2 Another solid Thunder. There was some good wrestling and the build to the PPV was fine too. Nearly everyone involved got in some play. Jericho continues to be entertaining. Goldberg continues to dominate and perhaps we are now nearing the end of the Hogan/Sting feud and it will be interesting to see where they go from here.