MARCH 18TH — LEXINGTON, KY — RUPP ARENA
MATCH #1: KENNY KAOS VS. BOBBY DUNCUM JR.
FINISH: Duncum wins the match following a reverse side Russian leg sweep (the Stroke).
Bob’s Take: I was going to write about how Duncum Jr. hadn’t been seen much since his debut in late ’98 that included a WCW TV Championship match on PPV, but then I remembered Duncan was actually in the WCW Tag Team Title Tournament. That shows you how memorable that tournament was on television. This match was a lot better than I was ever expecting it to be. Duncum looked good in there with some quality offense. There was some competitive action and it honestly held my interest throughout. 1 for 1
MEAN GENE INTERVIEWS CURT HENNIG
CONTEXT: Gene notes that Hennig was recently tag champs with Barry Windham. Hennig says this isn’t the school of wrestling where he teaches Cruiserweights how to win titles and walk away. Hennig talks about how every 15-20 years someone comes along that everyone wishes they had what they have. Hennig thinks he’s that guy. Hennig says he gets no respect from WCW. Hennig focuses on the WCW World Champion & WCW President Ric Flair. Hennig issues a challenge for Flair tonight to give him a WCW World Championship match. Hennig thinks everyone knows he’s the best athlete ever produced. Hennig tells Gene that he’s tired of short people. Hennig brags about closing the door on the Horsemen a couple of years ago. Hennig says he’s giving Flair only fifteen minutes to respond to him.
Bob’s Take: Is this a pivot away from Hennig be in a tag team? I’m sure it’s more of them needing a decent TV main event for Thunder and Hennig has a history with Flair to make it more interesting and relevant to the current product. 2 for 2
MATCH #2: EL VAMPIRO VS. PRINCE IAUKEA
NOTE: It is noted on commentary that this is Vampiro’s re-debut in WCW. Vampiro previously appeared on Nitro in June ’98 winning a match against Brad Armstrong. During the match, Perry Saturn appeared and watched the match.
FINISH: Vampiro picks up the win following the Nail In The Coffin
Bob’s Take: I don’t know what’s going on, but this is another match that I actually enjoyed. Vampiro’s offense came across very well and he looked great. I liked the tease of a potential association with Saturn considering they are sporting a similar look. Hopefully Vampiro will be a regular this time around and not vanish for nearly a year. 3 for 3
HORACE & BRIAN ADAMS ARGUE OVER LEADERSHIP
CONTEXT: Horace is backstage sniffing his boots and doesn’t like the smell when Brian Adams enters the room and asks what is going on with the NWO. Horace complains about Stevie Ray. Adams tells Horace that he was put in charge and thinks that Hollywood is going to put him in charge of the Wolfpac, too. Adams goes on to say he’s looking to kick butt tonight, but is decked by Horace, who tells Adams that he’s in charge and that’s the scoop.
Bob’s Take: Well, if they wrestle tonight then it serves a purpose. I find it hilarious that these guys still think they are in charge. They need to watch the replays of these shows and see they are all being played like fools. 3 for 4
MEAN GENE INTERVIEWS WCW WORLD CHAMPION/WCW PRESIDENT RIC FLAIR
CONTEXT: Flair lets Gene and the fans know that he’s the champion, president and he hates the Kentucky Wildcats. Flair explains his behavior because he’s tired of sucking up and notes that his suit costs more than what people make in a year. Flair taunts a fan about taking his girlfriend home and making a woman out of her. Flair announces that Scott Hall has been stripped of the WCW United States Championship and a tournament begins tonight with the finals taking place at Spring Stampede. Hennig eventually comes out and Flair tells Hennig he’s got respect for Hennig, but he’s not wrestling the champ tonight and instead Hennig will wrestle Hollywood Hogan. Hennig is find with that and Flair tells Hennig if he touches Flair tonight he can go to the other two wrestling companies or go home.
Bob’s Take: There’s no way to deny that that Flair is full fledged a heel. It’s amazing to me how quickly they pivoted away from Flair being a top babyface with the Horsemen to reverting back to Flair being a heel who is power hungry, which is exactly what Bischoff and company were prior. I mean, I understand that power can go to someone’s head, but we’re not doing anything different. We’re rehashing angles and inserting different guys to do the same roles. That doesn’t typically equate to quality television. Hennig vs. Hogan in the main event doesn’t bother me either since Hennig has a gripe with Hogan for kicking him out of the NWO. It’s a productive segment as I can’t forget about the US Title tournament. I hope they put the title on the a reliable competitor. 4 for 5
MATCH #3: WCW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION REY MYSTERIO JR. VS. JUVENTUD GUERRERA
FINISH: Mysterio wins the match following a top rope hurricanrana
Bob’s Take: It really shouldn’t come to anyone’s surprise that these two had a fantastic match here. These two being able to have a great wrestling match with plenty of time to develop is not a complicated thing to accomplish. This is easily the best match on Thunder thus far in 1999. I could watch these guys wrestle every week and probably not get bored by it. They managed to get the crowd invested in the action and they popped well for the finish. Managing to get that crowd reaction is a tough task for a Thunder crowd, but they did it. 5 for 6
MATCH #4: DISCO INFERNO VS. THE DISCIPLE
FINISH: Inferno picks up the win following the Last Dance
Bob’s Take: The match is basically a stunner vs. stunner match, but considering the most popular wrestler performing the move is on the competitions TV show they weren’t ever going to directly mention that. It’s a boring match for the most part, and it was a weird sight to see Inferno get a clean win over the man formerly known as Brutus Beefcake. Once again, Inferno didn’t have NWO music for his entrance, but did wear the shirt. 5 for 7
MATCH #5: HORACE VS. BRIAN ADAMS
FINISH: Late in the match, Vincent comes out and distracts the referee on the apron. Vincent slides a slapjack to Horace, who hits Adams with it and picks up the win.
Bob’s Take: Honestly, I think I much rather keep the power of the NWO angle to Vincent and Stevie Ray. It feels a little watered down to incorporate Horace and Adams into the angle and have them wrestling matches. Realistically, Stevie and Horace should have a match now and they should settle it, but I’m sure that’s not going to happen. The match wasn’t all that great and the dead crowd didn’t help matters either. 5 for 8
MEAN GENE INTERVIEWS RICK STEINER
CONTEXT: Steiner talks about sitting at home for six months and needs to get back to where he was ten years ago. Steiner wants to get down and dirty. Steiner is waiting for someone to get on the porch for him to get a bone. Fit Finlay walks into the room and says he’s walked streets where people drove down in armored cars. Finlay challenges Steiner to a match and they agree to fight on Nitro next week.
Bob’s Take: Two tough dudes wanting to prove they’re the toughest out of the two. It’s simple booking. 6 for 9
MEAN GENE CHATS WITH HOLLYWOOD HOGAN
CONTEXT: Gene talks about the UnCensored cage match and the dark cloud hovering over Flair’s title win. Hogan thinks we all know who the man is judging by the crowd reaction (some cheers). Hogan talks about how he’s never been beaten and Flair stuck a knife in his back. Hogan says that Nash told him they know what the fans want and it is Hogan not backing off and instead giving it back to challengers. Hogan thinks Flair is going to use all executive power against him. Hogan tells Gene whomever tries to take him on it doesn’t matter because he’ll beat whomever he has to beat up in order to get the WCW World Championship back.
Bob’s Take: It’s an odd feeling to listen Hogan complain about Flair in a face role considering he attempted to murder Flair a month ago in a field and was presented as one of the most hated men in WCW. I think it may be a bit confusing to viewers and a little insulting. I didn’t think this was a good promo for continuing the angle. 6 for 10
MATCH #6: MENG VS. BAM-BAM BIGELOW — FIRST ROUND WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
FINISH: Meng pins Bigelow with the Tongan Death Grip
Bob’s Take: I find this remarkable that Bigelow came in to feud with Goldberg and seemingly be an upper card heel for WCW, but now we’re about three or four months into his run and he’s doing clean jobs on Thunder. I’m not meaning to discredit Meng either. Meng is a viable threat more so than Bigelow ever was going to be in the first place. I’m all for a Meng push, but the match wasn’t good. 6 for 11
MAIN EVENT: HOLLYWOOD HOGAN VS. CURT HENNIG
FINISH: Late in the match, Hennig managed to hit the Hennig Plex, but Horace broke the cover. Hogan nails Hennig with the leg drop to win the match.
Bob’s Take: WCW doesn’t have a strong amount of heels to feed to Hogan as a babyface. Hennig never had a chance to win the match lets be real about it. The action wasn’t very good and their effort felt like it was a house show main event. Hogan competing on Thunder is certainly a rarity, but that rarity didn’t produce a good match. 6 for 12
I enjoyed this episode more than the rating would suggest. Kaos/Duncum Jr. was far better than I ever expected it to be. Duncum Jr. hadn’t impressed me previously, but he worked very well and had compelling offense. It’s just a random Thunder match, but I can’t get over how much better it was than it ever should have been.
Rey Jr. vs. Juventud was a fantastic match and overall this Thunder probably had the best in-ring action thus far in 1999. I’m also interested to see how Vampiro does in WCW as he was impressive in his outing, as well. There’s typically not anything major developing on Thunder, but this was an enjoyable episode.
3/18 Thunder TV Rating: 3.3
Thanks for reading.