Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Thunder 2/26/98
Match 1: Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho (c) v. Booker T (c) and Dean Malenko
The fans chant that Eddie sucks, and Booker starts off against Jericho and rips into him. He spinebustes him and then kicks him in the head.
Commercial already? Bullshit.
Eddie slams Malenko goes for a slingshot splash but Dean moves and so Eddie rolls through only to be tossed to the floor. As Jericho comforts Eddie Dean slide kicks Jericho. However he and Eddie double team him and Dean is sent to the floor where Jericho hammers Malenko. He rolls him back into the ring and Eddie slams him getting two. Jericho gets the tag and they double elbow him, and Jericho gets two. Malenko blocks a piledriver with a back drop. Eddie runs in and stomps on Malenko and Jericho suplexes him. Eddie is tagged in and after a drop toe hold he low dropkicks him in the head. Eddie slingshots out and nails Dean who is laid out on the apron. Booker chases him off and Jericho gets the tag and puts him in an ab stretch and Eddie provides some extra leverage. Malenko tosses him over and Eddie is right there to clock him, and they both pound him but Dean has had enough and fights back but Eddie dropkicks him in the back and right into the Liontamer and Booker breaks that up rather quickly. Booker and Eddie are in and Eddie runs into a back body drop and then he is leveled. He is gorilla slammed and Jericho eats a sidekick to the skull that sends him to the floor. Eddie stops the mommentum with a dropkick but Booker comes right back with the Harlem Sidekick, Jericho makes the save but elbows his compadre and he is sent to the floor. It is axe kick time but Jericho literally leaps across the entire ring from up top to make the save and now all four are in the ring. Malenko gives Jericho a brainbuster. Eddie was going up top and stopped for a moment and Dean has the Cloverleaf on Jericho but they are not the legal men. Eddie finishes Booker with the Frog Splash to a chorus of boos.
***1/2 That was surprising. I am shocked Eddie got the clean pin; still a fun match and perhaps Eddie is getting a push again.
Tenay calls out DDP. Tenay calls his battle with Benoit everything it was hyped to be, and they took it to another level. DDP agrees and calls it his best match and both gave their all and DDP has even more respect now for Benoit. Now to Benoit punching him on Nitro, and DDP calls him a wild Wolverine and that Benoit does not talk behind someone’s back and does it face to face and Benoit blindly punched him, though DDP will hit right back. Both he and Benoit think Raven is a piece of garbage and he will face Benoit tonight. Raven asks Page where his title shot is. DDP offers a shot now but Raven wants him next Thursday….um what about Benoit’s match tonight? Why not have the winner face off on Nitro. Oh well, it adds interest to Thunder. At least Schiavone realizes Benoit could win tonight but we now know it is a foregone conclusion.
Match 2: Brad Armstrong v. Fit Finley
They circle around one another and lock up, Fit sticks him and works over the ankle. Brad breaks the hold by getting to the ropes. They test each other, and Fit grabs the leg and is grazed by an enzuguri. Armstrong leaps into them sending them both tumbling to the floor. They get back into the ring, and Fit uppercuts him a few times and stomps on his back and pops him in the face a few times. He squeezes the trapezes area and lets it go and now they criss-cross across the ropes and Armstrong nails him and now he has the arm. Fit is up and pushes him into the corner and then whips him into the other one. He runs into the boot and Brad gets two after a flying crossbody. He back suplexes him and gets two more. He yanks him legs first off the ropes and Fit just grabs him and finishes him off with the Tombstone.
** Not bad. Fit is fun to watch and should have had a longer match with Goldberg and been the one to face him at the PPV and not Armstrong.
Match 3: British Bulldog v. Dave Taylor
Davey puts him in a side headlock, runs him over off the whip, hiptosses him and then clotheslines him to the floor. Dave takes his time getting back into the ring; he punches Davey out and tries to get crowd support but gets boos instead, and then follows up with a vertical suplex. Davey has had enough and he clotheslines him and now it is his turn for the vertical suplex. Davey is whipped into the corner, dodges the charge, powerslam and over.
*1/2 Not sure what they are going to do with Davey and I am sure WCW is uncertain too…..Oh and Mongo has a “broken” arm and is out for a bit. No real loss.
Tenay is by the ramp and calls this an uncomfortable setting and calls out Curt Hennig and mentions that he is facing Bret Hart at the PPV. He slowly strolls out and Tenay reminds him that Bret was given the opportunity to join the nWo and when he declined this rubbed Curt the wrong way. Curt responds that Bret must be the stupidest person for declining and joining with WCW. Hogan wanted to deal with Bret right away and Curt stepped up to the plate to deal with him. Curt compares the two’s lineage and brags that his dad beat Bret’s dad. Curt claims that he has to face the Anvil and that it is just a game perpetrated by Bret to avoid him. But Curt will deal with him and calls himself the greatest and all the wrestlers from Minnesota took a poll and they declared that Curt made that state famous.
Match 4: Rick Fuller v. Bill Goldberg
Goldberg takes him down by his leg and works it over; Fuller grabs the ropes and then is pulled over, mounted and pounded. Fullers shoves him off and gives him the big boot. Goldberg screams at him, spears him and Jackhammer and it is over.
** Shit it is hard not to root for Goldberg. I know he catches a lot of flack for not being solid in the ring and of course injuring people but so far so good for me.
Raven makes his way towards ringside and the rest of the Flock follows behind.
Match 5: La Parka v. Yuji Nagata
Parka has the chair and swings it around a bit and finally after some admonishment by the ref puts it down. The bell rings and Parka does the Crane Kick formation and Yuji kicks him a few times for his audacity, and Parka misses a sidekick but Yuji does not. Parka reverses a whip and clotheslines him. Yuji is kicked in the back, hung upside down and he strikes with a running spinkick. Parka sets up the chair and leaps off of it and tries to balance on the top rope, kind of succeeds and nails Yuji; he flings him into the steps, puts him on the apron and then bashes his head into the chair and then whips him into it. Parka rolls him back in, and he goes up and grazes him with a corkscrew plancha. Sonny is yapping at Nick Patrick and Disco runs down and pulls down Sonny and gives him the Chartbuster and so Yuji kicks the chair into Parka’s head and finishes him off with the Nagata Lock.
** Not sure about the ending here.
Here comes Hall. It is survey time and WCW gets a mixed response and Cedar Rapids is clearly nWo country. Everyone knows that in two weeks Hall finally gets his shot at the big gold belt, and he calls Sting “scary man” and wants to compare the last two years of their careers; while Sting has been hanging out in the afters as Hall has been wrestling every night. He admits that Sting has a cool entrance but he has to prove what he has once he gets in the ropes. The fans chant for Sting and Hall states the fans want you but not as bad as I do, so don’t sing it, bring it.
After the break Tony informs us that WCW has been in negotiations with Sting and Savage and the two will team together on Nitro.
Buff comes out with a cue card and acts like Michael Buffer and he introduces Scott Steiner.
Match 6: Scott Steiner v. Marty Jannetty
Not sure if there will be a match; Scotty kisses his bicep, and he recaps that he had breakfast with Luger, Rick and Sting and then Lex dared to attack him and challenge him to a fight. Scotty accepts and will leave him lying again. Lex is an educated man but he did not go to Michigan as they did not want Lex; they wanted himself because he is the better athlete. He repeats some Michigan fight song lines, and Lex may have a million dollar body but if he challenges him again he will be sucking his meals through a two cent straw.
It is a match and Marty is just getting dismantled. He is stomped, gorilla slammed and then hung upside down in the corner. Scotty clubs the chest and does it again. Steiner crushes him with a belly to belly and just hammers the back. Marty is placed up top, and Scotty is up there and finishes him off with the Frankensteiner.
*1/2 Epic Squash; I am sure Marty got a decent payday.
Match 7: Curt Hennig v. Jim Neidhart
They lock up and the Anvil shoves him into the corner and then tosses him across the ring; Curt falls to the floor and is picked up by his hair and hammered. Curt is getting pounded as Steiner goes to the announce table and threatens to beat up Schiavone for spreading lies; he tells his brother that he made the right decision in joining the nWo and he needs an answer from Rick tonight and the door is still open….Anvil has him in a submission move and Vincent runs in and gets the thumb treatment. Brian Adams comes in and side slams him and now Anvil gets pounded. Here comes Davey and the ring clears.
** Pure angle advancement.
Match 8: Raven v. Kevin Nash
Raven states it is obvious that Nash is not popular with the suits at the corporate Superstation and neither is Nash so they made this match. They figure someone is bound to get hurt and that is what they want; it will be battle royal rules! Okay….
The Flock runsin and promptly get destroyed and tossed over the top; Lodi leaps on his back is dropped back down. Hammer missile kicks him from the top and Saturn looks on as Nash goes for the powerbomb on a shaking Lodi and he connects! He is cuffed and stuffed and Raven and Saturn are nowhere to be seen.
** Not sure if Nash is being built as a monster heel because the fans love it.
Match 9: Chris Benoit v. DDP (c) for WCW US Title
They lock up and Benoit takes him down by the arm, turning and twisting it. DDP reverses it and straddles the shoulder and sits on him; Benoit shoves him aside and puts him in a rear chinlock. They do some back and forth and end up out on the floor; they then brawl out in the crowd where Benoit is whipped into the railing. My fucking DVD got all screwy; why never during jobber matches! Benoit gets two and then stomps a hole in him. Nick pushes him back and DDP then flings him into the corner and assaults Benoit with a series of stomps and clotheslines Benoit. Both men are down and Raven comes down; he is warned by Nick Patrick but he ignores the warning and heads in and stomps both men and the bell is rung; Benoit is not happy and tackles him through the ropes and they tumble to the floor and Benoit hammers him. DDP slingshots on top of both and we are out of time.
I got maybe half of the match and of course the DVD fucks up during good matches. Fuck that. Oh well, Raven and DDP and Benoit has been a fairly solid feud and it seemingly will continue for a bit longer.
*** A by the numbers Thunder. Nothing great here. Some decent wrestling but overall they downplayed alot of the major players though Nash did get a powerbomb and Hall a promo and that is it. Some Hennig/Hart advancement and from what I saw a good main event. Nothing great but overall enjoyable.