WCW Thunder 12/17/1998

Written by: Kevin Kindelberger

WCW Thunder 12/17/98

Match 1: Konnan v. Kaos for WCW TV Title

Holy shit, I forgot Kaos carried one half of the tag titles…..Jesus WCW, at least do something with them. Steiner comes out to the broadcast table and is all riled up and they are right to be a bit scared.

Konnan and Kaos are rolling around the ring and Konnan stomps him in the head. Luger and Hall are facing off tonight and Steiner is going to help him out and Buff agrees. Kaos picks him up and slams him down and then drives the elbow into him from the middle rope. After some give and go Konnan back kicks him and bulldogs him and Konnan makes him tap with the Sunrise.

** Decent. Tag champ is more of a chump.

Rage has arrived on the scene. They argue back and forth and the fans drown it out with Flair chants….they do not have mic’s either. Who cares. Thank God they panned away.

A limo has pulled up. The Flair family has arrived.

Match 2: Mike Enos v. Fit Finlay

Fit strikes with uppercuts, snaps him over and drops the leg getting two. Fit knocks him to the floor and then drives him into the side of the ring, he then hotshots the man’s throat off the top rope and after he crawls back into the ring Enos is put in a sleeper. Enos flips him over his back and tosses him across the ring and then runs him over in the corner. Enos kills him with a shoulderbreaker and he snaps him over and drops the elbow. Fit is up top and he turns a fall away into a powerslam from the top rope. He picks up Fit who attempts a clothesline but it barely moves him and Fit is taken down but he rolls up Enos for the win.

** Enos is not that bad.

Enos attacks him after the bell and beats him up the ramp, and now they both brawl.

Bischoff in a pre-recorded interview feels horrible about the things he said etc.

Hey Yo. Hall is facing off with Luger. He talks about how good Luger is. He admits that when things go wrong he is in the thick of it. He has nowhere to go. He wants the world and Lex is in the way….um, okay.

Match 3: Rey Mysterio v. Prince Iaukea

lWo stops Iaukea who just grins stupidly, and they tell him he is not going to the ring tonight or bad things will happen like with Kidman. Prince agrees and leaves. Juve is going to be the next Cruiserweight champion and Eddie sics him on Rey.

Juve chops him a couple of times and flips over Rey, but is elbowed and Juve counters with some chops. Rey knocks him to the floor and Juve crashes into the railing. Juve gets back in the ring and they go back and forth, and exchange roll ups. Rey is on his shoulders and dropped face first onto the top buckle. Juve takes his time as he goes after him and here comes Eddie….Rey is tossed to the floor.

Commercial.

Juve has him down with a chinlock and Rey is up and elbows free. Rey slides under and strikes with a spinning backbreaker. Rey is whipped into the ropes and he leaps and powerbombs Juve who barely kicks out.  Juve is sent to the apron, and he springs into a crossbody getting two. Juve goes up and leaps and Rey dropkicks him but Rey is slow to get up. Rey is up and charge and is caught, picked up and he tries to punch free but driven down with a powerbomb. Juve slowly goes up top and is crotched. Rey is down and Eddie Frog Splashes the back and Juve finishes him off.

*** Fun match.

Ref runs down to reverse the decision. I hate that. lWo comes out and Prince does too and he cleans house before being sent to the floor.

Steiner and Buff are still working on Luger. Konnan comes in and talks about Pac and wants them out. Lex does not mind that they are there. Konnan boots them out and reminds Luger they have talked about this. Luger claims he is cool and Konnan leaves. We hear a crash and Konnan is laid out as Luger goes out, and Hall is there and they jaw at each other and Hall is willing and ready tonight.

Match 4: Disco Inferno v. Nobanaga

I think that is how you spell the opponents name. It has been a back and forth match. Until the Chartbuster.

** Okay…..

Match 5: Jerry Flynn v. Norman Smiley

Norman slams him and dances. About four minutes of back and forth and Norman gets the win with the Chicken Wing.

*1/2

Match 6: Chris Jericho v. Saturn

The crowd is riled as Saturn pushes him down and the crowd chants that Jericho sucks. Jericho wants a Rocker Dropper but is flipped off, but he lands on his feet and takes down Saturn. He kicks him a couple of times. But Saturn fights back and gets two after a guillotine legdrop. He applies a rear chinlock but Jericho is up and slams Saturn and works him over. Saturn ducks, is picked up for a suplex and he stumbles when he floats over. But he recovers and takes him down, and then kicks away in the corner. Jericho misses a flying kick and is nearly pinned after a belly to belly. Saturn goes up top and Jericho dodges and Saturn flies into the ref. Jericho goes for the Liontamer but he powers Jericho down and goes for the Rings. But here comes the Cat who is tossed, and the same happens to Jericho. Now the Cat recovers and he takes down Saturn with a roundhouse and Jericho applies a Liontamer and Jericho gets the win.

**1/2 These two need more time.

Tony is welcoming the Flair family and asks the crowd to stand and welcome them. They have not come out as the fans stand up and chant for Flair. They finally come out. Jesus that took awhile. Tony hugs Beth Flair.

Match 7: Scott Hall v. Lex Luger

There were some long recaps. I thought Flair’s family was going to talk but they just sat down. Disco comes out with a Wolfpac shirt and Lex shakes his head at him!

They lock up and Hall pushes him into the corner. Luger pushes him down. They lock up again and Hall has him in a side headlock and here comes Buff and Steiner (What happened to Rick?). Luger pushes him down again. Luger is run into the corner where he is sandwiched. Hall has him down and pulls back on the arms as Buff cheerleads for Lex. Scotty and Buff are on the apron and they jaw at Hall who spits at them. Luger is up and reverses the move, but Hall back kicks him in the nuts. Hall rolls over and gets maybe two. Both men are up and they slug it out, Luger is sent front first into the corner but strikes with a back elbow and now a clothesline, another one and the bionic forearm. Luger calls for the Rack! Scotty and Buff run in and kick the crap out of Hall. Luger just stands there. Here comes Konnan who tells Luger what really happened and so Luger attacks Steiner and he and Buff bail to the back.

*1/2 Not much here. Angle advancement.

Okay here is the Flair family. Tony asks stupid questions to Reid and David. EB walks down looking sad. Tony asks about the rough year they had and the heart attack…..like they would discuss three days after their dad had a heart attack on live TV! Oh yeah it is wrestling. EB comes down and is again apologetic, and wants no problems. He admits taking things to far and apologizes for the legal proceedings etc. He calls Reid a fine young man and now to David who has talked about being a wrestler. He thinks he can fill his dad’s big boots. Last before we leave; he wants to close this story and he wants Flair here too and he shakes his fist telling him to get better. EB states that he is sorry that Flair has a weak heart and he will have to beat up David and punches him and then again. Reid not sure when to grab EB finally does so and the nWo comes down and holds him up as EB beats up David. His slaps do not connect. Finally Beth gets by Dillinger and begs for it to stop. She shoves Bischoff and EB grabs and kisses her! He shouts a Woooo!

***1/2 Good show. They did some work going into Starrcade, helping to set it up. The ending was predictable but I must admit it makes EB an absolute douche and him kissing Beth was a great touch.