Written by: Kevin Kindelberger
WCW Thunder 10/8/98
Tenay has been invited to a bar to interview Hall who acts drunk. He wants to know if you can say butt on TBS! He tells Nash to get his butt down here and face him.
Soon after a limo leaves to go after Hall.
Match 1: Kanyon v. Prince Iaukea
Kanyon taunts the crowd. Kanyon is run into the corner and then dropkicked. Prince slides under and then sends him to the floor with a rolling kick. Prince leaps on him from the apron. Now they get back in the ring. Prince is caught up top and given a neckbreaker. Kanyon gets another near fall. They go back and forth and Kanyo gets two after a swinging neckbreaker. Kanyon puts him in a rear chinlock in order to slow things down. Kanyon takes him down and gets another near fall. Prince though goes after the knee and bodyslams him and then follows up with a backdrop and now a fireman’s carry take down. He slingshot somersaults into Kanyong and gets a near fall. Prince leaps at him but is picked up and spiked and then finished with the Flatliner.
*** Nice match.
Buff and Scotty come down. Buff wants the crowd to shut up as he and Steiner do not like Indianapolis and do not want to live there and tells the crowd to shut up. The PPV match will not happen as Rick is scared and the weaker brother. Scott Steiner has the mic and shouts out to his freaks and none of the women have ever been with a man like him before. Scotty does have an issue and it is with Buff’s mom and how he needs to control her. Buff wants to keep her mother out of this. Scotty calls what happens an embarrassment to them and the nWo. Women listen to Scotty. Buff reminds him to back off and now they threaten one another about getting beat up. Buff states that this is Scotty’s fault. The neck. The fans agree and Scotty backs off a bit. Scotty does not like that and the nWo is for life. This is his world. Buff does not like the fact that it is always about him and leaves. Scotty gets in a parting shot that Buff needs them more then they need him.
Match 2: Meng v. Jerry Flynn
Meng makes quick work of him.
* Squash.
Jericho is in the parking lot waiting for Goldberg and will wait all night. He wants to teach him some respect.
Meng is still in the ring. Chris Adams comes down and he too is put in the Deathgrip! Wrath comes down and pulls him off and now they go back and forth. The brawl heads to the floor as they pummel one another. The bell is ringing ineffectually in the background. Wrath gets walloped by a chair and he responds by tossing him over the railing….Commercial.
Flair is outside with Dillinger. He has been served papers. He is not allowed inside. Jo Jo is wondering why and it is Bischoff’s doing. The police will not allow him in either. Flair is going to kick back and chill until it all gets settled.
Match 3: El Dandy v. Tokyo Magnum
They are going back and forth. Schiavone raises the obvious question that Dandy is not at weight for the Cruiserweight Division. Scott Norton comes in and powerbombs both. He is the IWGP Champ and struts off.
Eddie is in the ring talking to El Dandy and tells him that it was Bischoff who sent Norton out here. It will keep happening until they are united. He shoves Magnum and tells him to beat it because he is not Hispanic. Dandy joins and Eddie screams La Raza and the fans give him some support.
Match 4: Renegade v. Saturn
My bad it is Scott Putski. Putski is getting destroyed. But after a side kick to the head he comes back with a flurry and clotheslines Saturn to the floor. He goes after him and flings him into the railing. Back inside the ring, Saturn is suplexed, Scott pulls him and works over the kidneys. Putski drops him and puts him in a sleep but Saturn counters with a jawbreaker. He strikes with an over the top release suplex. He slams him again and goes up stop and gets a near fall after a Frog Splash. Putski whips him into ropes and powerslams him. Now he follows up with a side slam getting two. He misses in the corner and is kicked and driven into the canvas. DVD finishes him off.
** Decent.
Disciple has the mic and struggles to speak. The fans are dead silent. He is absolutely babbling about Hogan throwing his weight around and he is sick and tired of it. He made his name years ago and does not need Hogan. Hogan claims he has gotten jobs for many, and one of them is Horace Boulder who does not belong in a ring.
Match 5: Disciple v. Horace
They go back and forth and the Disciple strikes with a swinging neckbreaker. He chokes him out on the ropes. Disciple finishes him with the Apocalypse!
*1/2 Not much. But at least Beefcake settled down on his promo.
Disciple leaves and Horace assaults him.
Jericho comes down with Schiavone. Goldberg is not here tonight….Jericho ignores that and claims that Goldberg is scared of him and he is not invincible or indestructible. In fact he is just green. Jericho demands that he be introduced despite not being here and Jericho counters that he is here and cue the music. Jericho leaps up and down as he demands a countout and he is now 3-0 v. Goldberg!
Schiavone calls down Bret Hart. Hart tells Tony to shut up and he calls Sting stupid and then the fans stupid. He listened to the fans when he should not have. Hart has waited for him for a long time and demands a match at the PPV. The Excellence of Execution will destroy you! Hart hopes that Sting’s mascara will not run when he answers his challenge.
Malenko refuses to leave until he gets a match. Bischoff comes out with a grin and calls him a moron and if Dean wants a match he will get one. Of course Dean gets a lowercarder to fight in the Barbarian.
Match 6: Dean Malenko v. Barbarian
Barbarian hammers him and Jimmy chokes him out too. Bischoff is at the announce table. Dean leaps into the waiting arms of Barbarian and he is slammed. Malenko slugs back but Barbarian pushes him into the corner where he chops him. But Dean kicks him in the gut only to have his suplex attempt fail. Dean is placed up top and Barbarian is up there too, and he is elbowed off. Malenko missile kicks him in the back of the head. Jimmy is on the apron and he is dancing around. Dean grabs him and the Barbarian goes for the big boot and it destroys Hart! Barbarian misses him again and is taken down and finished with the Cloverleaf! EB throws a hissy fit whacking Schiavone with papers, now that was fine.
** Nice win for Malenko.
Raven is out whining about his life, and how his mommy told him he would amount to nothing. DDP was once the common man, but now he is wealthy and fights Rodman while Raven gets the Flock. He also has a Playboy Centerfold for a wife. DDP comes out and has had enough.
Match 7: Raven v. DDP
Raven meets him coming into the ring and unloads on him. DDP turns the tide and clotheslines him. He goes for the Cutter but Raven escapes and clips the knee. Raven is taking it to him. Raven hammers him for a bit. DDP gets in a brief flurry but is knocked down and down to the floor. Raven rolls him back in and wants to post his leg but DDP kicks him off. DDP though cannot follow up and a drop toe hold sends him into an open chair. Lodi is dancing around on the apron and he gets knocked off. DDP wallops Raven with the chair and gets two after a clothesline. DDP strikes with a belly to belly for another two. DDP charges and is tripped face first into the corner and Raven gets two. He is slammed and it is sleeper time. DDP escapes and finishes him with the Diamond Cutter.
*** Nice match. Raven does deserve better but WCW thinks not.
Match 8: Stevie Ray v. Lex Luger
They lock up and neither get the upperhand. Again, and this time Lex runs him over. Stevie lures him in and kicks him only to be sent into the corner and backdropped. Luger runs into a boot and then a standing side kick. Ray kicks him to the floor where an awaiting Vincent hammers him. Back in the ring, Luger tries to fend him off but is clotheslined and Ray applies a reverse chinlock. Luger is up and escapes only to run into a side slam and he is nearly pinned. Luger off the telegraphed backdrop kicks him and then suplexes him. He dumps Stevie over his back and runs him over with a clothesline and now the bionic forearm. He calls for the Rack and goes for it. Hall runs out and attacks him! Luger fights back and mounts and pounds him. Luger leaps on Ray and he pounds him too. Hall is back in the game and picks him up and he is knocked out by the slapjack. Konnan runs down but he is held back by Vincent and the nWo beats him too. Hall has the mic and he is happy that he fooled Nash. He does a quick survey and the nWo gets booed. The Wolfpac gets cheered despite being laid out!
** Angle advancement.
**** Easily the best Thunder in some time. It helped set up the PPV, there was some great wrestling and solid promos. No Warrior or Hogan and that made it even better. Good stuff. Now the PPV has to deliver!