WCW Thunder 3/4/1999

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Thunder
Date: 3/4/1999
From: Winston-Salem, NC

Matches:
1.)Rick Steiner defeated Hugh Morrus
2.)The Cat & Sonny Ono defeated Al Greene
3.)Bam-Bam Bigelow defeated Prince Iaukea
4.)WCW World Tag Team Champions Curt Hennig & Barry Windham defeated Horace & Vincent
5.)WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr. to retain the title
6.)Buff Bagwell defeated Booker T

Angle Developments/Notes:
1. As you can see above, there is only two matches that should have any kind of interest, so the first four will not be covered in this report. I’m sure you can just guess the finish and you’d be right anyway. No sense in wasting time on filler on the B show for WCW, right?

2. Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko were interviewed by Mean Gene. Benoit congratulated Curt Hennig and Barry Windham for winning the tag team championships the way the Four Horsemen would have. Malenko notes that they didn’t go to Superbrawl to lose. They will be having a rematch at Uncensored with it being a lumberjack match with the lumberjacks having belts!

3. Mean Gene also conducted an interview with Perry Saturn, who as you may remember, is walking around wearing a dress nowadays. Saturn thinks that the ladies dig guys who wear dresses. I’ve never known that to be true, Perry. Saturn challenges Chris Jericho to a dog collar match at Uncensored. That brings out Chris Jericho and Ralphus. Jericho accepts the challenge because he wants to get rid of the dress on Saturn and to keep the show family friendly. Saturn assures us he will arrive at Uncensored wearing a freaky outfit.

4. Jim Duggan returns to television to talk about his battle with cancer. Duggan leads the crowd in prayer and thanks everyone who has prayed for him and sent him cards. He is not sure if he is going to keep his wrestling career going. Duggan is going to change who he is, which seems to be a shot at WCW officials if they want him to change his character. He assures us he is going to make a bigger impact when he returns.

5. This match is a return match from Superbrawl several weeks ago. Kidman opens the match with a couple of dropkicks and a head scissors takedown. Kidman leaps over the top rope to take Chavo out with a cross body on the floor. Kidman follows up with a slingshot leg drop from the apron back into the ring. Kidman misses Chavo in the corner and is planted by Chavo who hit a springboard bulldog! Chavo hits a Gordy Special but Kidman kicks out before three. Kidman battles back with a jaw breaker and forearm shots until he is slammed chest first down to the mat by Chavo. Kidman drives Chavo down with a sit out spine buster but can’t put him away. Kidman flies over the top rope after missing Chavo on a charging attempt. Chavo sends Kidman back first into the guard railing to continue his offense. Kidman misses a splash and hits the railing too! Kidman dumps Chavo to the floor to gain the advantage. Kidman hits a top rope cross body back in the ring for a near fall. Kidman hits a springboard bulldog but Chavo pops his shoulder up before three. Chavo hits a double under hook suplex for a two count. Kidman counters a power bomb with a face buster! Chavo avoids Kidman in the corner and rolls Kidman up for the win, but was using the ropes so the referee doesn’t say it’s over. Kidman nearly gets the win with a roll up of his own. Kidman power bombs Chavo from the top rope and hits the Shooting Star Press for the victory. It was a solid match between two of the better Cruiserweights in WCW. Some of the spots were repetitive but I found it to be an entertaining bout nonetheless.

6. This is the first singles match for Buff Bagwell since he broke his neck thanks to Rick Steiner’s bulldog. I’m kind of surprised to see that it’s happening on Thunder and not Nitro, but okay. They trade wrist locks early on until Bagwell connects with a quick arm drag. Booker avoids Bagwell in the corner and slams him down. Booker hits a vertical suplex and a clothesline. Bagwell atomic drops Booker and delivers a dropkick. The announcers are supporting Bagwell, just because of his history of injury. That just proves that he should be a babyface and use that as an angle, but I digress. Booker drops Bagwell with a standing spin kick for a two count. Booker continues to deliver spin kicks to weaken Bagwell. Booker pummels Bagwell in the corner until he is dropped throat first across the top. Bagwell gets a two count after hitting a swinging neck breaker. Booker ducks a clothesline to hit a forearm smash and hits a scissors kick! Booker drives Bagwell down with a side slam and follows up with a flapjack. Bagwell avoids a side kick and Booker hits the referee on accident. Bagwell is clotheslined to the floor where Booker comes off the apron but Scott Steiner runs down and whacks him with a steel chair! Booker is rolled back into the ring and Bagwell hits the Buff Blockbuster for the win. Actually, Booker kicked out of it but they let it go and that’s it. It was an average match between these two. Probably the best the two could pull off, in my opinion.

Final Thoughts:
An average of Thunder this week. Aside from the first four matches that were pointless, I thought the last two were solid or decent enough to hold my interest. The promos were basic as well, but considering Thunder doesn’t get the best treatment, this has to be a considered an okay show.

Thanks for reading.