APRIL 22ND — ORLANDO, FL — ORLANDO ARENA — TAPED
MATCH #1: HARDCORE HAK VS. HUGH MORRUS — HARDCORE MATCH
FINISH: Hak punches Morrus off the top of a ladder causing Morrus to crash through double stacked tables. Hak followed up with the white Russian leg sweep onto the broken tables to pickup the win.
Bob’s Take: I’d say this is one of the better WCW TV hardcore matches we’ve seen to this point. The finishing sequence was good and I enjoyed the action these two provided. Morrus should be doing more than hardcore matches or be stuck in a potential hardcore division if that becomes a thing down the line. The crowd reacted well to the match and not in a comedy sense either. 1 for 1
MATCH #2: KONNAN VS. SCOTTY RIGGS
NOTE: Riggs has a new catchphrase saying that he “gets better looking everyday.”
FINISH: Konnan avoids a dropkick and locks in the Tequila Sunrise to earn a submission victory.
Bob’s Take: Another decent match between these two. Riggs kept on doing his Rick Rude style hip taunts, but the camera refused to film it so there were a few cutaways throughout the match. The Orlando crowd loves Konnan and there was a good energy to the match. Riggs could fill a midcard heel role fairly well and be used to elevate babyfaces with decent matches on TV. I’m not sure if the self absorbed gimmick that Riggs is using will do much for him, though. 2 for 2
MATCH #3: EL VAMPIRO VS. AL GREENE
FINISH: Vampiro picks up the win with a victory roll.
Bob’s Take: There wasn’t much here for me to be interested in or entertained by. Vampiro is a good worker, but Greene isn’t a worker that I care about at all which likely impacted my interest in the match. Plus, could Vampiro not win the match by hitting his finisher and instead used a rollup? I’m interested in seeing how Vampiro is portrayed on TV moving forward, though. 2 for 3
MATCH #4: WCW TELEVISION CHAMPION BOOKER T VS. BOBBY DUNCUM JR.
FINISH: Booker hits a missile dropkick to pin Duncum and retain the title.
Bob’s Take: A solid title defense by Booker. Duncum Jr. has been having some solid matches in a singles role since arriving in WCW and certainly here in 1999. Booker is another guy that the Orlando crowd is responding well to. Booker needs to be elevated up the card sooner rather than later. 3 for 4
MATCH #5: BUFF BAGWELL VS. FIT FINLAY
FINISH: Bagwell picks up the win following a middle rope blockbuster.
Bob’s Take: Finlay got a bunch of offense and controlled the majority of the match. Bagwell works well when he’s playing the underdog role and he’s always been an effective babyface dating back to his early years in WCW. This is an average match to fill TV time, but that’s not a bad thing in this instance. 4 for 5
MATCH #6: RICK STEINER VS. DISCO INFERNO
FINISH: Steiner hits the top rope bulldog and then locks in a death lock/chin lock to earn the submission victory.
Bob’s Take: Inferno was basically treated as if he was an enhancement worker. There’s no way he’s associated with the Wolfpac since the Wolfpac doesn’t exactly exist anymore anyway. If there was any desire to push Inferno as a heel I’m not sure why they’d have him be used here to get destroyed by Steiner. 4 for 6
THE CAT GIVES GOLDBERG A CHANCE TO LEAVE
CONTEXT: Cat gives Goldberg the opportunity to leave the ring and not have a wrestling match. Cat demands respect and he’s going to start at the top and work his way down. Cat gives Goldberg five-seconds to leave the ring. Goldberg doesn’t leave. Cat cheap shots Goldberg to lead into the match.
Bob’s Take: I wasn’t expecting Cat to get any sort of momentum, and this promo makes the viewer want to see Cat get his ass kicked even more. So, it’s effective. 5 for 7
MATCH #7: GOLDBERG VS. THE CAT
FINISH: Goldberg wins the match quickly following a spear and jackhammer.
Bob’s Take: Orlando loves Goldberg and Cat added to the heat with his promo work. There’s no denying that Goldberg is an absolute star and I’m honestly surprised he’s on Thunder and not in the main event even if the match was less than two minutes long. I enjoyed this. 6 for 8
MAIN EVENT: WCW TAG TEAM CHAMPION KIDMAN, CHRIS BENOIT & DEAN MALENKO VS. WCW TAG TEAM CHAMPION REY MYSTERIO JR., RAVEN & SATURN
FINISH: Late in the match, Arn Anderson hit a spinebuster on Mysterio. Malenko decked Kidman from behind causing Kidman to land on top of Mysterio. Charles Robinson, the referee, did a rather fast count for the pin.
Bob’s Take: An interesting dynamic to have the tag champions on opposite sides when there’s been some issues between them in recent weeks, but they’ve been on the same page mostly. I could see how this development can create a wedge. I’m getting a vibe that if there’s a turn it’s going to be by Kidman. I’m not sure how they’d approach it, though. As for the match, I thought it was a bit underwhelming. I was expecting a much faster pace and some far more entertaining offense. That wasn’t the case. It’s not a bad match, but it certainly didn’t reach levels of what they are all capable of doing. So, that’s a disappointment. 7 for 9
An enjoyable episode of Thunder this time around. Thunder continues to be the program that focuses heavily on in-ring action especially when the program is taped. They could use more of the established names to draw an audience as Thunder is barely above Saturday Night in terms of overall quality of action.
They did book more established names on this episode and it was a much more enjoyable viewing experience when that’s the case. I’m not even saying that they need main event guys on the show every week. I’d settle for the WCW United States Champion on the show on a weekly basis to give that title a focus.
4/22 TV RATING: 3.3
Thanks for reading.