Hollywood Hogan is the WCW World Champion. The New World Order is reformed and stronger than ever. WCW has reverted back to the storyline that led to great TV and PPV success for several years. However, the WWF is producing record numbers and has surpassed WCW in terms of popularity. Will a storyline that is arguably played out get WCW back on track?
Ric Flair is the new WCW President, but is only in control for thirty days. The way it was kind of presented on Nitro it feels as if Flair’s power means nothing now that the NWO once again has possession of the WCW World Championship.
Souled Out is only ten days away, and the only match officially announced for the show is Ric Flair teaming with his son David Flair to battle Curt Hennig & Barry Windham. Safe to say that’s not a major draw for a PPV.
The main takeaway from Nitro has to be that Goldberg was screwed out of the rematch with Kevin Nash and doesn’t know how to cross the street with a police escort to arrive to the arena in time to compete. Again, the police station is across the street from the Georgia Dome and Goldberg couldn’t get there in time. While ignoring that, as long as they keep to the plan there is several months worth of material for Goldberg to dismantle the NWO and once again get his hands on Hogan.
Lets see the fallout from the Fingerpoke of Doom.
January 7th — WCW Thunder — Richmond, VA
WCW PRESIDENT RIC FLAIR SPEAKS
CONTEXT: Flair talks about tradition and how Richmond is full of tradition. Flair started the promo in a much softer tone than his typical erratic behavior. Flair knows that in ten years both Hogan and Nash will tell their kids that the match was a scam. Flair actually lies down and makes Gene count to three. Flair is much more intense than he started off. Flair blames himself for allowing the match. Flair notes that Lex Luger has everything going for himself, except leadership. Flair orders Bischoff to be at his office at 8AM to discuss the situation between Hogan & Nash with Ted Turner and Dr. Harvey Schuler. Flair claims they’ll have a plan for them this Monday on Nitro.
Bob’s Take: I don’t think I even really thought about it, but Flair is at fault for allowing the match to take place. Flair being the President for a week and he’s already made the biggest blunder that he could by allowing the NWO to gain possession of the WCW World Championship. It didn’t come across as if Flair wanted to be the man to get the title, but rather be behind the solution of getting the championship back to WCW. The only man who should be chasing for the gold is Goldberg. (1 for 1)
MATCH #1: THE CAT DEFEATED PERRY SATURN
FINISH: Chris Jericho came out and pulled the referee out leading to a argument on the floor. Cat rolled Saturn up from behind and Scott Dickinson came out of nowhere to count the fall. A replay is shown where Dickinson slid into the ring and only counted to one before calling for the bell.
Bob’s Take: I’m indifferent about the involvement of Dickinson here to screw over Saturn. The heat is more on Dickinson than it is on Jericho at the moment. Jericho is getting Dickinson to do his bidding, but the issue is more so between Saturn and the referee at this point. The action between Cat and Saturn wasn’t too bad, actually. (2 for 2)
THE NEW WORLD ORDER ARRIVES, BUT SEPARATELY
CONTEXT: Giant, Hennig, Adams, Vincent, Norton, and Horace were already in the parking lot waiting for NWO Wolfpac to arrive. Giant doesn’t appear to be too happy. Wolfpac arrives in a limo and they are in a great mood. Giant confronts Hogan asking what is going on and is upset that Hogan didn’t tell them what was going on. Hogan asks for them to watch their back for a few minutes as they go to the room to regroup. Hennig departs with the NWO Wolfpac, but it’s worth noting that Hennig was the only guy to not be wearing an NWO t-shirt.
Bob’s Take: Clearly the group that consists of Giant and the others are on the outside looking in. Giant is just about done with WCW at this point, so they’re likely going to make him look like the biggest loser possible. The current formation of the Wolfpac is probably the best version they could go with. However, it hasn’t been addressed about the status of Konnan. I’d imagine he’s not going to be in the group. (3 for 3)
MATCH #2: WCW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION BILLY KIDMAN DEFEATED PSYCHOSIS BY DISQUALIFICATION TO RETAIN THE TITLE
FINISH: Kidman was on the top rope looking for the Shooting Star Press, but Juventud Guerrera got involved to cause the disqualification. After the match, Psychosis and Guerrera beatdown Kidman until Rey Mysterio Jr. hit a top rope crossbody onto both men. The NWO Wolfpac make their way out, as well.
Bob’s Take: For what was shown in the match, I felt a bit underwhelmed from these two. It’s obvious that the match was more a filler for the angle to follow. (3 for 4)
THE NEW WORLD ORDER TAKES OUT THE LWO , GIANT IS PISSED, AGAIN.
CONTEXT: Nash powerbombs Psychosis. Nash doesn’t touch Mysterio and instead tells him to leave the ring. The other members are beating down the LWO. Hall uses a taser on Psychosis and rip off his LWO shirt. Nash claims that the match with Hogan on Monday was a classic and a bout that people will take about forever (he’s right.. on one aspect). Hogan chimes in and says they will take everything in WCW and considers Goldberg to be a coward. The Black & White team come out led by Giant. Giant wants to know what’s going on, and Hogan claims it was a timing thing tonight about removing the LWO. Hogan thinks there’s an issue with Giant and reminds Giant that Flair is the President because Giant dropped the ball and got suckered by Savage on Nitro two weeks ago. Hogan reveals a plan to trim the fat and believes there is only room for one giant in the NWO, and that’s Nash. Eventually, it’s determined that we’ll get Nash vs. Giant on Nitro this coming week to determine the true giant of the NWO.
Bob’s Take: It felt like Hogan didn’t want to be there for Thunder, and I don’t blame him, really. The segment essentially kills off the LWO due to Eddie Guerrero’s car accident at the beginning of the year as he’s out of action for many months. Giant has been one of the worst booked wrestlers in WCW history. There was a period of time where Giant peaked in 1997, but his turn to NWO the second time in ’98 was the beginning of the end. It’s an obvious outcome for Nitro between Nash and Giant. I’d rather Giant just be beaten down by the whole group and continue his career in the WWF. Giant doesn’t have any credibility as a babyface, but by the sounds of it he’d still want to be part of the NWO. So, it’s a heel vs. heel match on Nitro is how I’m taking it. (3 for 5)
RAVEN & HIS FAMILY
CONTEXT: Raven is sitting in the living room with his mother and grandmother. Raven’s mother wants him to finish treatment, but Raven didn’t like the doctor. Chastity, Raven’s sister, joined the segment, too. Raven doesn’t want to go back to the insutition and wants to be left alone. Kanyon is in the room, too. Raven’s mother calls him Scotty a few times, but Raven walks off.
Bob’s Take: It’s kind of a mystery as to what they are talking about in regard to an insuitition. Raven being rich, spoiled kid isn’t far fetched, really. If you think about his ECW career, the whole story with Dreamer was that Dreamer stole his girlfriend at summer camp. Summer camp probably isn’t cheap, right? I’m willing to give this a chance. (4 for 6)
MATCH #3: BAM-BAM BIGELOW DEFEATED JERRY FLYNN
FINISH: Bigelow wins the match in less than 30-seconds following the Greetings From Asbury Park.
Bob’s Take: It’s a quick squash and they’re still going to push Bigelow in early ’99. Bigelow’s momentum has to be toward Goldberg and these quick wins are fine. (5 for 7)
BARRY WINDHAM & CURT HENNIG INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Windham tells Flair that Flair made a mistake leading the lamb (David) to slaughter (them). Windham promises the end to David at Souled Out. Hennig reminds us that he slammed the door on the Horsemen two years ago. Hennig can’t believe that Ric is sacrificing his kid against two great wrestlers at Souled Out. Hennig says that David will be handicapped when they’re done with them. They accept the match for Souled Out. Windham says the kid is soft and they’re going to finish him off.
Bob’s Take: There’s an obvious history between Flair and both Windham & Hennig. However, I’m not finding myself interested in it. David being inserted into the match isn’t enhancing it, at all. It’s a rather random direction to go in. If David doesn’t work well, it damages Ric for allowing it to happened. Ric and Arn endorsing David to be a wrestler and David failing to produce quality is going to make them look foolish. (5 for 8)
BACKSTAGE SEGMENT WITH JUVENTUD GUERRERA
CONTEXT: Juventud Guerrera is in a hurry and looks nervous about the Wolpac. Guerrera says “they got Eddie” and is worried about being next. Guerrera runs to his car to escape the arena.
Bob’s Take: I don’t think there needs to be a panic segment to get over the Wolfpac. They’ve been dominating TV in one way or another for several years. It’s an interesting approach to suggest that the NWO took Eddie out in the car accident. They could address that when Eddie returns later in the year. (5 for 9)
MATCH #4: DISCO INFERNO DEFEATED CHAVO GUERRERO JR.
FINISH: Late in the match, Norman Smiley came out and grabbed Pepe to distract Chavo. The distraction allows for Inferno to hit the Chartbuster to win the match.
Bob’s Take: It looks like we’re getting a feud between Smiley and Chavo, but I’m not sure what the issue is aside from them having wrestled a couple of times already. Inferno needing help to defeat Guerrero is odd. Inferno has a loose association with the NWO and was involved in the main event at Starrcade. There’s not upward advancement for Inferno if he’s unable to win matches without assistance. (5 for 10)
MATCH #5: FIT FINLAY & DAVID TAYLOR DEFEATED SUPER CALO & LIZMARK JR. IN A TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT MATCH
FINISH: Taylor pinned Lizmark Jr. following a bridging double under hook suplex.
Bob’s Take: If this is any sign of the tag team tournament to crown new champions, I’m a bit concerned. It has nothing to do with the four men involved in the match, but rather the fact that they neither team are regular partners in WCW. If this leads to Taylor & Finlay teaming on a regular basis I’m all for it. I tend to enjoy them as singles wrestlers and they’re solid heels. Despite the random pairings, I didn’t hate the match. (6 for 11)
NEW WORLD ORDER ARRIVES — AGAIN
CONTEXT: The Wolfpac attack everyone involved in the previous match. It’s Wolfpac and the Black & White this time. Hall zaps everyone with the taser. Hall cuts a promo about the tag title tournament and Flair talking about tradition. Hall says that tradition bites. Hall says the Outsiders couldn’t be beat as a tag team and assures us that the tournament isn’t going to happen.
Bob’s Take: Well, at least they allowed the match to conclude. Is the tag tournament just going to lead to the winners wrestling the Outsiders? I could get behind that, but they’re going to need a strong tag team to make that believable. I don’t think the entire NWO stable needed to be involved and it screams overexposure already. (6 for 12)
MATCH #6: BOOKER T DEFEATED LA PARKA
FINISH: Booker T wins after sending a chair into Parka’s face with a leaping side kick.
Bob’s Take: It’s an average match, but I like both wrestlers. Plus, Booker is a ton of fun to watch and his offense comes across very well. The crowd loves Booker and it’s obvious that Booker should be on the verge of an absolute breakout in ’99. (7 for 13)
RAVEN’S FAMILY — CONTINUED
CONTEXT: Raven was sitting at the pool with his family talking. James (ECW’s Sandman) arrived to the pool party and shoved Kanyon into the pool after a pat on the back. Jim is acting a little flamboyant. Jim takes a seat at the table to talk to the women. Raven comes over and is annoyed with his mother for preventing James from visiting Raven. James leaves the table to go chat with Raven indoors.
Bob’s Take: It’s a drastic difference in presentation for Sandman to be presented as a non-alcohol drinking, smoker. The angle is a mystery, but I’m intrigued to see what direction they plan on going in. (8 for 14)
LA PARKA LAID OUT BACKSTAGE
CONTEXT: La Parka has been laid out by the NWO, as obvious by the NWO being spray painted next to his body.
Bob’s Take: Poor La Parka. (8 for 15)
MATCH #7: KONNAN DEFEATED CHRIS JERICHO
FINISH: Late in the match, Jericho sent Konnan into the referee and used brass knuckles, but Saturn came out and pulled Dickinson out. Dickinson runs backstage. Konnan hit a facebuster and covers Jericho where Saturn makes the count.
Bob’s Take: So, technically the match isn’t official since Saturn isn’t a referee. That’s one way to protect a heel. The match was fine for what it was. It’s a bit interesting that the announcers aren’t addressing Konnan’s status with the NWO. Since it’s being avoided, I think the obvious direction is that Konnan is distancing himself from the group. (9 for 16)
MAIN EVENT: BARRY WINDHAM DEFEATED CHRIS BENOIT
FINISH: Late in the match there is a referee bump as Windham tried for a slam. Hennig comes out and Benoit put Hennig in the Crossface. Windham ends up kicking Benoit in the head and that’s enough to win the match. After the match, Mongo came out and attacked Windham and Hennig to save Benoit.
Bob’s Take: I understand that Windham is involved in a top program with Flair, but to have Windham beat Benoit here is quite frustrating. Especially since all it took was a boot to the head. Windham didn’t load the boot up or anything it was a stomp to the head. The action itself wasn’t bad, but the booking of the match is leaving a poor taste in my mouth. Windham losing to Benoit wouldn’t damage the tag match at Souled Out anyway. (9 for 17)
It’s a decent Thunder as they followed up Nitro’s happenings fairly well. I’m a bit surprised that Flair didn’t have any interaction with the NWO, though. Giant vs. Nash appears to be the main attraction for Nitro next week, and the outcome to that is quite obvious. I don’t think it would help the ratings, so hopefully the whole show it put together stronger to make up for it.
The Raven storyline is keeping my interest largely because I don’t know the direction they’ll go with it. Sandman’s character came across flamboyant, but I don’t believe he’ll be presented in that manner. It’s likely just how he interacted with the women in the segment.
Hopefully the tag team tournament gets a bit stronger with better teams involved. Booker T needs to be a main event wrestler for WCW. He has the charisma and the crowd reacts to everything he does in a positive way.
WCW 1/7 Thunder TV Rating: 4.27
Next show, 1/11 Nitro featuring a showdown between the giants, Kevin Nash & The Giant.
Thanks for reading.