Written by: Kevin Kildenberger
Thunder fell again to a 2.03.
Match 1: Jerry Flynn v. Bam Bam Bigelow
This is a Hardcore Match. Norman comes out as the two combatants battle. Knobs is yelling at him to leave and the Barbarian is there too. Norman is acting scared. Back to the ring and Flynn is clotheslined. He bashes the can onto the head of Flynn and now a baking sheet. He drops an elbow and uses a broom to choke him out. Norman is shoved off his chair…..He fell off in fear actually. Bigelow is still nailing Flynn with goods but is nutted with a broom. Bigelow blocks and strikes with a DDT. He goes up and misses the flying headbutt and gets a thrust kick to the chest from Flynn and he is hammered in the corner. Bigelow blocks a kick and drops a head to the nuts. Barbarian enters the ring and unloads on Bigelow. Now he is doubleteamed and clotheslined. Knobs is belted by a chair courtesy of Norman. He gives it to Bigelow as he backs off. Barbarian is nailed with it. Hart eats a chair too. Bigelow covers Flynn and wins.
**1/2 Not a bad opener.
Disco is on the phone with a booker and wants to bet on Prince Iaukea or against him. 50 grand. He is informed that they do not take bets on wrestling as it is fake. Disco is appalled and wonders when it has been fake.
Buff and Terry Taylor shake hands…..
Here comes Disco.
Match 2: Disco Inferno (c) v. Prince Iaukea for WCW Cruiserweight Title
Disco clocks him and shoots him into the ropes but falls down and so Prince drops the elbow. He works over Disco who fights back and elbows Prince down. Disco keeps after him and after a two count applies a chinlock. Prince escapes and dropkicks Disco but misses a second one. Disco drops the elbow on the back of the head and gets one. Disco kicks him and strikes with a DDT. Some guy has come down and there is a present for Disco. Disco opens it and it is a fish. Disco is worried, Prince rolls him up for the win.
** Okay. Angle advancement.
Disco knocks Prince silly with the fish and then leaves.
Gene is with Evan and even though the guy has not won in a while….He just said there is something fishy about Disco. Jesus. He is doing it for love too.
Hammer tells Curt they have a match tonight and then says something and the fight is on. They are finally pulled apart.
Match 3: Maestro v. Evan Karagias
Actually this has not been half bad. Evan wins andthen awkwardly makes out with Madusa.
**
Gene admonishes the Revolution about Torrie. Saturn talks about pulling body parts off of Barbies. Dean is worried. Saturn has some personality now, I will give him that.
Disco is on the phone talking about his issues.
Benoit and Terry greet each other. I guess Taylor is a caterer now….he gives him a drink. Buff runs up and asks if that was Benoit and heads after him….
Parka and Kaz have voiceovers again. They talk about promos and being the man and all sorts of randomness. Gene is baffled and wonders what the hell he just heard.
Buff asks Benoit not to put the Crossface on his neck….Benoit ignores him and starts to leave. He is attacked and now it is on! They are brawling and security breaks them apart.
Match 4: Kaz and La Parka v. Silver King and El Dandy
Back and forth. Parka takes both down and then spazzes as he dances and kicks at nothing. Then he ducks and takes both out. Dandy gets in some offense and here comes Silver King and they backdrop Parka and dump him to the floor. Kaz comes in and takes both out. Now Parka flies into them sending them to the floor. Kaz suicide dives onto King as Parka takes out Dandy and gets the win.
**1/2 Fairly short but fast paced.
Parka takes both down.
Now Buff and Hennig are trying to get at each other!
Match 5: Curt Hennig v. Van Hammer
Buff has come down as they go at it. Hammer hotshots Curt’s throat off the top rope and Curt heads after Buff who taunts him. Now Hammer runs at Curt and is kicked and beaten out on the floor. Back in the ring and Curt keeps after him choking him out. Hammer mounts a comeback and knees him in the head and slams him. Another slam and he slowly goes to the middle rope but misses the somersault. Hammer is able to knock Curt to the floor and Buff tears into him. Here comes Benoit and those two go at it. Curt is back in and manages to take out and finish Hammer. Buff is not happy.
**1/2 Not bad.
Chavo is trying to sell Liz and Luger some Amway.
Shit Lash is given a mic…..He is terrible on it.
Match 6: Lash Leroux v. Kenny Kaos
Kaos has controlled most of the match. Nothing really good though. Just punching and some knee shots. Kaos slams him and gets two. Lash knocks him to the floor but Kaos knocks him back from the apron only to be slid kicked back down and Lash leaps on him but is caught and run into the railing and then into the ring. Kaos climbs up top and strikes with a top rope lariat and he gets two. Lash is able to get him up and hits his finisher and it is over.
** I liked the last couple of minutes.
Gene is with the FA. They are involved in a mixed elimination tag match at the PPV. It is for Torrie I think. Torrie is with them though.
Match 7: Chavo Guerrero v. Barbarian
Fans boo as Chavo tries to sell Barbarian some Amway and now the ref. He bumps Barbarian with the case and then turns to the ref so he is nailed with the case and a boot finishes him off.
DUD. Seriously? Fucking terrible.
Buff is working out….Great!
Match 8: Vampiro v. Meng
Meng is destroying Vampiro. Vamp is actually getting in some offense! But he is taken down and Meng hammers him and stands on his throat. He kicks him to the floor and the Misfits grab at Meng but it does nothing. Vamp is flung into the railing and down he goes. They battle for another minute and it is Deathgrip time and over. Meng finally lets go.
**
Liz slowly comes down and enters the ring. I guess Luger and Meng are facing off on Sunday. She is apologizing for what happened on Nitro. He goes for the Deathgrip and awkwardly stops. Package starts hitting him in the head over and over and now drives it into his ribs and now the knee and ankle.
Match 9: Buff Bagwell v. Chris Benoit
Benoit goes after him right away and batters him with kicks, chops and punches. He low kicks him and tries to suplex him to the floor but Buff hooks the ropes and knocks Benoit to the floor. Buff stomps away. Benoit is dumped throat first onto the top rope. Back in the ring Benoit is getting annihilated and is dropped. After a two count Buff puts him in a chinlock and then chokes him out. Benoit has had enough and stomps a hole in Buff who collapses to the floor. Benoit is relentless and drives his head into the railing. Benoit takes him back into the ring where he chops away and gets two after a backbreaker. Now he pulls back on the arms. Benoit knocks him to the floor and drives him into the railing and tells him something and then rolls him back into the ring where he is caught and pounded. Buff spikes him and gets two. He follows up with a suplex and pulls him up but Benoit goes off and forearms him square in the head and then runs him down with a lariat. He heads up top and misses the headbutt. Now Buff starts to head up and Curt intervenes and it is Crossface time and Benoit wins!
*** Some shenanigans but nice to see Benoit win.
Benoit is not happy but ignores Curt and leaves happy. Buff slowly gets up and looks displeased as Hennig taunts him. Hennig decides to get in the ring and they brawl.
**1/2 Hard to rank it on par with SD but the show advanced some of the angles and paved the way for the PPV. It focuses mostly on wrestling and that is a good thing. Not great wrestling but there were plenty of brawl in the backstage area too instead of useless vignettes. Not bad.