On the latest episode of Nitro, it was implied that WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan and actor Chuck Zito were stalking David Flair at a local gym to beat him up. Will this development be addressed on Thunder? Why didn’t Ric Flair ask what Eric Bischoff meant by he’d have the last laugh on several occasions while being stuck in the dunk tank?
Hardcore Hak made his official WCW debut on Nitro and it appears that the angle involving Raven as a rich kid and Hak being his Uncle Jim has been completely dropped. It’s likely a better direction to bring Hak in and use the Sandman mannerisms and appearance. WCW doesn’t have an official hardcore division, nor a hardcore championship. So, it would look like Hak is going to be regulated to random hardcore brawls, but unlike in ECW he’ll get paid for it.
Superbrawl IX is shaping up to be a strong card. A hair vs. mask match has been added as Rey Mysterio Jr. teams with Konnan to take on Lex Luger & Kevin Nash. Mysterio’s mask is obviously on the line, but Elizabeth’s hair is at stake for the NWO Wolfpac. I don’t like the stipulation being Elizabeth’s hair. There’s not a realistic chance that she’s going to be bald. I think Luger being a guy to put his hair on the line would be better because his hair is significantly worse than Kevin Nash’s at this point.
Speaking of Luger, I think a match between Luger and Goldberg for Superbrawl would make the most sense. Luger turning on Goldberg on the January 4th Nitro has far more heat than Bigelow does and the turn by Luger has only briefly been focused on. Bigelow is cooked and isn’t a viable main event contender for WCW at this point. It’s amazing how quickly the aura of Bigelow from ECW has evaporated.
WCW United States Champion Bret Hart is scheduled to defend against Scott Hall at Superbrawl after Hall defeated Chris Benoit on Nitro. Ric Flair had booked Benoit to fight Hart outright, but Hall slid into the mix and now gets the title shot. I’m not sure why WCW would put out a potential fantastic PPV match out there and then switch it for a far less appealing match. It’s a heel vs. heel match which makes me think that there will be a switch.
Lastly, I can get behind Booker T being incorporated in the NWO Wolfpac feud. He’s projected to wrestle Disco Inferno at Superbrawl. Lash LeRoux had a fun Nitro debut against WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman. The feud between WCW Television Champion Scott Steiner and Diamond Dallas Page has nothing to do with the championship and everything to do with Kimberly, which has not come across all that well. DDP wasn’t cool with Kimberly several years ago and to potentially revert back to that presentation doesn’t seem to be a good idea.
Alright, lets get into WCW Thunder.
FEBRUARY 4TH — PROVIDENCE, RI — CIVIC CENTER — LIVE
DAVID FLAIR UPDATE
CONTEXT: Backstage, Arn Anderson was on the phone and asks about David. Apparently, nothing happened to David and David didn’t interact with Hogan or Zito. Anderson thinks something is up.
Bob’s Take: This is kind of an underwhelming development. I didn’t think anything would happen, but to have Arn on the phone and it’s briefly noted that nothing happen just feels a little lackluster. Anderson suggesting something is up is a little interesting, but he can’t possibly be suggesting that David is lying, right? 0 for 1
NWO B-TEAM IN A LIMO
CONTEXT: Brian Adams, Horace and Stevie Ray are wondering where Vincent is at. Ray reminds them that Vincent likes to be known as Vince nowadays. Adams jokes that Vince as WCW World Champion would kill the business.
Bob’s Take: I’m not sure what this achieved. It’s coming across more and more that Vincent is going to be doing something bigger. I truly hope Vincent is some kind of mastermind and isn’t as dumb as he looks. 0 for 2
MATCH #1: CHRIS JERICHO VS. SCOTTY RIGGS
FINISH: Riggs missed a missile dropkick attempt and Jericho forced Riggs to submit to the Lion Tamer.
Bob’s Take: Riggs has a new look, which he’s debuted on Saturday Night before this appearance. Riggs hadn’t been seen since World War III and had previously been wearing an eye patch. Well, he’s no longer blind and he’s obsessed with himself. So, it looks like Riggs is going to be another version of the Narcissist Lex Luger, but he doesn’t have a robe or mirror… yet. For Thunder standards, this is a good match, but also a bit odd. They are both heels, but my default Jericho is going to come across as face since he’s a far more entertaining character. That contradicts his role in his feud with Saturn, so the viewer could be a little baffled by this. Regardless, an enjoyable match to start Thunder. 1 for 3
MATCH #2: KONNAN & REY MYSTERIO JR. VS. DISORDERLY CONDUCT
FINISH: Rey Mysterio pinned Tough Tom, while Konnan forced Mean Mike to submit to the Tequila Sunrise at the same time.
Bob’s Take: Mysterio is always a joy to watch, but Konnan didn’t exactly shine in this match during his moments to do so. The match came across odd for me, and it didn’t make the duo look cool or potential viable threats to the Wolfpact at Superbrawl. 1 for 4
THE NWO B-TEAM BACKSTAGE
CONTEXT: Earlier today, outside the B-Team were outside waiting for a limo. When the limo arrives, it’s Vincent. Stevie Ray asks where Vincent has been, but Vincent doesn’t provide an answer. Vincent tells them that Hollywood Hogan has put him in control of the B-Team, but Ray isn’t buying that and says they aren’t going to be bossed around. Moments later, Ray is talking with Adams & Horace telling them he’s got their back tonight with the slapjack. Vincent enters the scene and hypes them up reminding them he’s in charge per Hollywood. They walk off not buying into Vincent as the leader.
Bob’s Take: Yeah, I’m enjoying Vincent acting as if he’s hot shit way too much. 2 for 5
MATCH #3: NORMAN SMILEY VS. THE DISCIPLE
FINISH: Smiley wins the match by submission with the chicken wing submission.
Bob’s Take: Disciple hasn’t been seen much since the failed Warrior angle with Hogan in late ’98. Any longtime WCW should have a level of fear for this match, because WCW would typically have a guy like Disciple go over Smiley. Luckily, that didn’t happen here. A clean submission victory for Smiley is actually shocking. The match isn’t good, though. 2 for 6
NWO B-TEAM BACKSTAGE — AGAIN
CONTEXT: Horace and Brian Adams are chatting about winning the tag match tonight. Adams says they have a chance to become tag champs while Stevie and Vincent are arguing about who is the leader of the NWO Black & White. Disco Inferno enters the room asking where Vincent is at and Adams tells Inferno he’s “down there.”
Bob’s Take: I could get behind a tag team push for Adams & Horace as they haven’t bad in their matches lately. If they could get some momentum they’d likely be able to overcome the comedy aspect of the group. 3 for 7
MATCH #4: FACES OF FEAR VS. BRIAN ADAMS & HORACE — WCW TAG TEAM TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH
FINISH: Late in the match, Vincent comes out to hit Jimmy Hart with a slapjack on the floor. Vincent also hit Barbarian over the back from the apron allowing Horace to pickup the win after a middle rope elbow drop.
Bob’s Take: It’s another heel vs. heel match and it’s difficult to get behind either team. Faces of Fear are probably the most likable team of the two, but with Jimmy Hart is almost makes it an even race. The crowd didn’t like the match as it sounded as if they chanted “boring” at one point. Vincent successfully getting involved in the match makes me think that these guys could be getting a decent undercard push. I wouldn’t hate them getting a shot in the finals on PPV at this point. They’ve dedicated a lot of TV time to them. As a match, again, it wasn’t good. I was mostly bored by it. 3 for 8
MATCH #5: BAM-BAM BIGELOW VS. JERRY FLYNN
FINISH: Bigelow wins following the Greetings From Asbury Park
Bob’s Take: They’ve wrestled before on Thunder, but Bigelow won in less than thirty seconds, so this was a rematch of that, right? It’s the same result, just delayed a little longer this time. Bigelow would be a much better fit at this point focusing in the TV title division or pairing up with someone as a tag team. I can’t buy into him as a main event threat to Goldberg, at all. The ECW Bigelow is long gone and it’s purely because of how poorly he’s been booked on TV. They made better use of their time, and it’s not a boring match. However, Bigelow needs to be plowing through people to match Goldberg’s momentum. Competitive TV matches aren’t doing the job. 4 for 9
NWO B-TEAM CAN’T GET ALONG
CONTEXT: In the bathroom, Stevie Ray is putting hands on Vincent. Disco Inferno barges in and starts to choke Vincent until being pulled off.
Bob’s Take: We better get a Disco vs. Vincent TV match, that’s all I can gather. Well, and a match between Vincent and Stevie. Yes, I know he’s going by Vince now, but he’s always Vincent to me. 5 for 10
MATCH #6: DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE VS. GLACIER
FINISH: DDP wins the match following a diamond cutter off the top turnbuckle.
Bob’s Take: DDP is pissed, and the intensity came across well at the start of the match. As I’ve stated numerous times, the angle between Steiner and DDP focusing on Kimberly hasn’t been the most exciting aspect of the show, but if it leads to an intense at Superbrawl it could be worth it at the end. The crowd pops for the diamond cutter every single time. This was a fine extended squash for DDP and got his anger over well. 6 for 11
MAIN EVENT: BARRY WINDHAM & CURT HENNIG VS. BOBBY DUNCUM JR. & MIKE ENOS — WCW TAG TEAM TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH
FINISH: Windham nailed Duncum with a lariat from behind as Duncum had a rollup on Hennig allowing Hennig to pin Duncum.
Bob’s Take: The continued use of heel vs. heel matches on the show is kind of baffling me. I guess this sheds light on the fact that WCW doesn’t have a lot of babyface tag teams. Konnan & Rey are involved in a major angle with the Wolfpac, so they aren’t going to be involved here, so where else can you turn to, really? It would be shocking if Benoit & Malenko weren’t in the finals at this rate. The other team that could compete for the finals with Hennig & Windham is Horace & Adams, and when I type that out it’s more obvious that they’d never go with Adams and Horace in that spot. Which is a shame because I’ve been enjoying Adams & Horace far more than Hennig & Windham. A weak main event and it didn’t hold my interest at all. 6 for 12
While it wasn’t a good episode, the one positive for Thunder is that there’s not a lot of wasteful segments. Nitro tends to have stuff that doesn’t belong or segments that bring the show to a halt. On Thunder, it’s typically heavily focused on in-ring and it flies by. So, while it’s not all that entertaining, it didn’t feel as if it was a chore to get through.
Thunder 2/4 TV Rating: 3.5
Thanks for reading.