WCW Thunder 7/16/1998

Written by: Kevin Kindelberger

Three hours tonight? Fuck.

They start off with an earlier interview with a somber Kevin Nash who is talking about Hall and the fallout that has occurred with Hall’s issues and wanting to be with Hogan. They are like brother’s and he thought all was well but it was not when Hall attacked him. He calls EB and Hogan vicious and they essentially turned Hall against him. Tenay asks how to solve that problem and Nash answers that it was strike two on Monday and it is time for some tough love. He may have to beat some sense in him.

Wolfpac time.

Match 1: Konnan v. El Dandy

Crowd is into Konnan. Dandy is getting demolished. Dandy comes back with a clothesline. Internet is out. Doing this via Works. Dandy got in a couple of moves and is finished.

** Now Konnan is over so they need to push him a bit harder.

Match 2: Ultimo Dragon v. Lizmark Jr.

Dragon does his usual and unleashes a flurry of kicks. Lizmark dodges and flips out of the corner, kicks Dragon and gets a two count. Lizmark snap suplexes him and he gets a two count and puts him in a rear chinlock. Dragon is up but is caught and nailed with a spinning backbreaker and Lizmark gets two. Dragon escapes, they go back and forth but he is hooked and rolled over and nearly pinned. Dragon springs off the turnbuckle but is caught in a bridged fall away slam but he rolls him up for two. Lizmark goes up but leaps right into a dropkick, nope Dragon leaped into it and a Samoad Drop almost finishes him but Dragon counters with the Sleeper and it is over.

**½ fans booed a lot but was a good match.

Tony is in the ring and here comes DDP. Tony asks him about the chair shot last week. DDP pauses and asks Oakland what is up. He is sick of Hollywood Scum Hogan. DDP calls him a big mouth and a lowlife. He may have been laid low on Monday but this is Thursday and he is in Oakland. He is going to stick his fist right through his big off. Tonight Hennig has agreed to face him in the main event. Curt will feel the bang!

Match 3: Alex Wright and Disco Inferno v. Public Enemy

Disco is in charge, taking it to Rock and he trips him, tags in Wright who stomps away. Disco is tagged back in and misses some elbows, and now they clothesline one another. Grunge gets the hot tag and unloads and now all four are in and the heels get whipped into one another. Disco is sent to the floor and Wright is guillotined off the top rope. Rock scissors himself out of the ring and takes over Disco! Table time! Wow what a fuck up. Tokyo Magnum comes in and moves Wright free and cannot set up the table upside down so Grunge waits for a month and finally just leaps and grazes it and acts like he was shot.

*½ Had potential with a terrible ending. PE won btw.

Dean Malenko is with Schiavone and claims this is not the end and he will get at him as this will never be over. They replay what Arn did to Jericho at the PPV and Dean wants to see him and will not leave until he speaks with him face to face.

Match 4: Rick Fuller v. Jim Duggan

Duggan knocks him around and gets a huge USA chant after he clotheslines him to the floor. Fuller is in command but is lured to the floor after Duggan lowers the ropes. Duggan heads out after him. It is Roadblock and not Fuller. I am a mess. Roadblock gets some offense in but is spiked and now Duggan hammers him with some big rights. Roadblock fires back and drops him and slows it down with a rear chinlock. Duggan powers up and slams him and then finishes him.

** Amazing how over Duggan is.

Here comes Bret Hart and he has the stick. He tells the crowd that it is okay that they do not like him; it is mind over matter and they do not matter. He goes over who has beaten and names Flair and their hero Benoit, and he is home. He makes fun of Booker’s black speech and asks who has lazy legs around. Bret cannot get any respect around here and so the only way to get respect is to kick the crap out of everyone. He will beat everyone and nobody is safe.

Match 5: Saturn v. Kanyon

Kanyon takes him down, rolls him up for two. He sits on his head and gets two more. Saturn blocks him and hits belly to back. He kicks him and works over the arm but Kanyon counters with a neck breaker. Fucking Schiavone will not shut the fuck up about other things and how great WCW is doing. Fuck off. Kanyon puts him in a chinlock and Saturn punches free but is hotshotted off the top rope and nearly pinned. Kanyon places him up top and goes after him. Saturn shoves him off and leaps right into a great looking bridged suplex. Kanyon nearly pins him. They go back and forth, Saturn is rolled up and nearly pinned. Saturn kicks him in the head but Kanyon kicks out. Kanyon hits his finisher but is slow to follow up and Saturn gets two after a pump handle toss. Saturn gets two more after a Perfect Plex and Kanyon fights back amidst Flair chants but is finished with the Death Valley Driver.

*** Great back and forth match.

Match 6: Eddie Guerrero v. Psychosis

They tussle around and Eddie snap suplexes him and starts to chop away. But Psychosis comes back and runs him over and then tosses him. He spin kicks him in the head and Eddie rolls to the floor. Psychosis takes a week to go up top and leaps on top of him as Eddie just stand and stares. After a chop he rolls him back into the ring but he is picked up and given a gut buster, Psychosis was, and Eddie works over the arm. But Psychosis is up and drops Eddie. He goes up top and here comes Chavo so he leaps on top of Chavo and hammers him. Eddie leaps on both, rolls Psychosis back into the ring but runs into the boot after a whip into the corner. Psychosis places him up and Frankensteins him off. He pancakes Eddie, and slowly goes up top again and Chavo swings Pepe at him, whiffs but does not the second time and Eddie finishes him off with the Frog Splash.

**½ Nice back and forth match.

After a replay of the Nash interview. Here comes Hall. He hypes up the Black and White and calls Nash a big goof and claims he carried him. It is all about the Benjamins. He went through a personal crisis and he needed the money, and it was Eazy E and Hogan who gave him the money he needed. He wants to be called the Nash killer, and if Kev wants to give him some tough love he is easy to find, just look for the guy more handsome than ten stars. The Black and White is just too sweet.

Match 6: Scott Norton v. Ciclope

Norton destroys him. Epic squash.

Stevie Ray is in the ring discussing what is wrong with Booker T and he claims that Booker was injured. He was carted off at the PPV, and he looked up at Ray with his big brown eyes like little brother’s do. And stated that Ray was right and called him big brother and he knows Ray is a better champion and can take it from him. He passed on power of attorney. Ray has proof, a note that Booker wrote. Ray sucks on the mic. He goes on that Booker wanted him to defend the title and be a great champ. Booker even chose his opponent.

Match 7: Stevie Ray v. Damian for WCW TV Title

Tony is skeptical that this guy is the top opponent that Booker would pick. But Ray insists he is the top contender from Mexico. Ray is annihilating him. He powerslams him. But Damian slams him and hit’s a weak backsplash from the top and then runs into a boot from Ray and is clotheslined. Ray finishes him.

*½ Squash.

Here comes Curt and Rude with Vincent and Hall in tow. Rude makes fun of Goldberg and calls him a fart in the wind. Curt goes off on DDP and here comes Konnan who does his thing but Curt still talks. He finally stops and Hall mocks Konnan who rambles and then slaps Curt, backs off making fun of the Black and White the entire time.

Match 7: Rey Mysterio Jr. v. Juventud Guerrera

Rey has the arm and Juve escapes, slides under but misses an enzuguri. Both men are back to their feet and catch their breath. They lock up and Mysterio drops him, pulls him up and they counter with some standing switches and Juve chops him and sends Rey to the apron only to run into a shoulder but he dropkicks Rey off the springboard attempt. Juve suplexes him and gets a two count. He applies a rear chinlock. Juve elbows him and gets two more. He hauls him up but is grabbed and rolled up with Rey getting two. Juve flips off the back of Rey but is armdragged and Rey stomps on him. Juve is sent to the apron and he strikes with a missile springboard and he gets two. Rey punches him off as they are up top. Rey leaps and takes him out. Rey scissors him over after slingshotting into the ring. Rey flips off the ropes but is grabbed and given the Juve Driver. Juve takes a year to pull him into position and gets crotched after going up top. Bret Hart has come down and takes both out with a chair. He puts Juve in the Sharpshooter!! He releases it and decks the ref. He grabs Rey and it is Figure off the post time!! Bret finally releases it.

*** Fun match. Kept both strong and gave Bret something to do. He is still destroying them!

Match 8: Hugh Morrus and Barbarian v. Chris Adams and Marty Jannetty

It was short. Morrus finishes off poor Marty with the No Laughing Matter.

* Squash.

Meng has come down and he goes after Morrus and Barbarian and they try to doubleteam him but cannot stop him. Barbarian is back in the Deathgrip.

Arn comes out and Dean and Mongo are there. Mongo cannot slur out a sentence, so I will not repeat. Dean tells AA that he and Benoit are best friends and the latter is at a crossroads. He tells a story about three years ago when he was in New Japan. Arn gave him the opportunity to come to WCW. Mongo and Benoit have careers that will only go up but with AA they will do better. Dean wants them to look into their heart and that he still believes in the Horseman. Arn is not too happy and goes off about work ethic, and he has not earned the right. Arn lived it for ten years and his passion burns brighter than it has ever been. There is something no one gets and takes off his shirt and shows his neck, and he cannot wrestle anymore despite himself wanting too. He wants them to just let it be and leaves…..

Match 9: Curt Hennig v. DDP

After DDP is called out the Wolfpac comes out too. Hall and Konnan have joined the respective teams. DDP and Curt start off they lock up and end up on the floor brawling. He is rolled back into the ring, DDP was after being chopped a few times. He fires back and runs over Curt. DDP misses the swinging neckbreaker as Curt scatters and tags in Hall. Konnan gets the tag and they move around one another and Konnan gets the toothpick and so he goes over and smacks Konnan. But Hall picks him up and tosses him and smacks him upside the head. Konnan grabs the arm and strikes with a short clothesline and paintbrushes Hall in return. Konnan gets a thumb to the eye and Hall is whipped into the ropes and bulldogged and Konnan and DDP hammer him. Curt comes in and all four are in. He manages to block two Diamond Cutters but is staggered and wobbles around the ring until he is decleated with a clothesline and put in a chinlock by Konnan. Hall can barely get Konnan up with the fall away! Hennig comes in and snaps the head of Konnan and knee lifts him in the gut. Hennig chops Konnan but telegraphs the backdrop and is kicked but Konnan is cut off with a trip. Hall is in and elbows the back and puts him in a clutch. Konnan counters and both men are laid out. Konnan struggles for the tag and manages to make the hot tag and here comes DDP and he goes off on both Hall and Hennig. Both are clotheslined. Hall hits him but DDP decks him back only to turn into a shot from Hennig who gets a near fall. Hennig strikes with a standing dropkick. DDP is sent into the corner and dropped off the rebound with a fist to the head. Curt bodyslams him and gets two. But then misses the elbow drop.

Commercial.

DDP pounds him in the corner but Hall blindsides him and this time the fall away works and he gets two. Hall has him in an abstretch. DDP is up and hiptosses him but Hall makes the tag and Curt comes in and stomps away. Hall is back in. Hall has him in a sleeper. DDP reverses it but is backsuplexed and both men are down. Konnan gets the hot tag and destroys Hennig with a rolling clothesline. Rude runs interference and Hall eats a Diamond Cutter and Konnan is finished with the Plex.

*** A clusterfuck of an ending. Hennig is not done apparently. I am surprised that Konnan was so hyped up and then gets the loss. Hennig should be putting him over and they have essentially buried him.

**** Surprisingly good Thunder. It had some good wrestling, Bret Hart was great and the Arn promo was solid as was Hall’s. There were no long Hogan promos or nothing that took away from the show. They stuck to the formula and it worked. Short promos and some decent matches.