APRIL 29TH — STATE COLLEGE, PA — LIVE
MATCH #1: WCW TELEVISION CHAMPION BOOKER T VS. CURT HENNIG
NOTE: This is Hennig’s first appearance since March 20th edition of Saturday Night where he teamed with Barry Windham against the Horsemen for the tag titles. According to Tenay, Hennig was dealing with a nagging knee and back injury.
FINISH: Late in the match, Stevie Ray runs to the apron and hits Hennig with a slapjack. Thus, Hennig wins the match by disqualification. Booker T is left confused.
Bob’s Take: I’m thinking Hennig is taking it easy upon his return because this was rather slow and boring. At one point they had gotten the crowd into the match early when they squared off to trade strikes, but Hennig didn’t do much of anything while carrying the offense. The cheap finish is annoying as Booker should just go over Hennig since Hennig doesn’t have anything of substance going on. 0 for 1
HARDCORE HAK PROMO
CONTEXT: Hak says that he’s shown everyone on the planet that he’s the most extreme wrestler on the planet. Hak recalls coming out on his first night and beating up Bam-Bam Bigelow within an inch of his career. Hak talks about winning at UnCensored in the most brutal match in professional wrestling history. Hak believes he beat Goldberg up within an inch of his career, too. Hak asks Chastity who she wants him to call out. Hak dismisses the first option she whispers to him. The second option is too old and Hak can’t beat him up tonight. Hak wants her to think big and she suggests Big Sexy. Hak looks a little bit confused, but says “whatever little sexy wants, little sexy gets.” Chastity wonders if Nash is man enough.
Bob’s Take: In some kind of twisted way this match could be seen as a dream match, but only for how potentially horrible it could be. The promo was corny, and not the kind of delivery I’d expect from Hak. 0 for 2
BOOKER T & RICK STEINER BRAWL
CONTEXT: Backstage, Rick Steiner confronts Booker T and they have a brawl for a moment. There wasn’t security to intervene before they cut away from the brawling.
Bob’s Take: They are wrestling at Slamboree and clearly Steiner has issues with Booker’s brother getting involved in matches. This was a quick and effective segment to build the title match a little bit. 1 for 3
BUFF BAGWELL IMPERSONATES SCOTT STEINER
CONTEXT: Bagwell is wearing a blonde wig with a blonde goatee acting as if he’s WCW United States Champion, Scott Steiner. ‘Steiner’ says it took him three seconds to realize who bad Michigan sucks after seeing Penn State. ‘Steiner’ has a new catchphrase calling himself the ‘Big Bad Doo-Doo Daddy.’ ‘Steiner’ watches BET to steal a line for his next promo and says ‘I’m not a player, I’m just on parole a lot.’ ‘Steiner’ accepts a challenge for Slamboree. Bagwell says “Big Poppa Dump” is an idiot holler if you flush me.
Bob’s Take: I’m actually surprised this segment would be on Thunder. I’d say it was mildly funny and promotes their Slamboree match fairly well. Bagwell is likely going to get destroyed for mocking Steiner. 2 for 4
MATCH #2: JERRY FLYNN VS. STEVIE RAY
NOTE: It’s mentioned on commentary that Kevin Nash has accepted the challenge made by Hak.
FINISH: Ray plants Flynn with the Slapjack to win the match. Throughout the match, Flynn had to fight off Vincent, Horace, Brian Adams and Scott Norton.
Bob’s Take: Well, the push for Jerry Flynn is likely over with. I’m more supportive of a push for Stevie Ray as I’ve found him to be far more enjoyable than I remember him being during this run/era. The match wasn’t anything other than a gang beating and Ray picking up the easy win. 2 for 5
MATCH #3: KEVIN NASH VS. HARDCORE HAK — HARDCORE MATCH
FINISH: Nash puts Hak through a table with a Jackknife Powerbomb to win the match.
Bob’s Take: Hak wasted no time bringing weapons into the mix with a kendo stick, ladder and table. It’s an interesting visual to see Kevin Nash involved in a hardcore match on a random Thunder. Nash even went through a table in the corner, which is one of the bigger bumps he’s probably ever taken at least in WCW. Actually, getting hit with a kendo stick may be worse and he experienced that a few times. As are most hardcore matches, it’s a fun match and it’s especially compelling because it’s not an environment Nash tends to be in. 3 for 6
BAM-BAM BIGELOW INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Mean Gene is in the ring to conduct an interview with Bigelow. Bigelow wants to talk about tradition that started in Asbury Park with the Jersey Shore where he lives. Bigelow thinks there is a lot of wrong going on in WCW. Bigelow wants to beef up the hardcore on Thunder tonight. Bigelow says he grew up with WCW World Champion Diamond Dallas Page in Jersey. Bigelow challenges DDP to a match to determine the king of Asbury Park in a hardcore match. Bigelow recalls them saying they’d help each other when they reached the top and Bigelow wants a title shot tonight.
Bob’s Take: This would be far more effective if Bigelow had any momentum in WCW, but he’s been floundering in the hardcore division. Plus, it’s essentially a heel vs, heel match. Is DDP going to be getting cheered despite all of his recent antics? This could be a test to see how truly DDP is over if the fans cheer for Bigelow instead. 4 for 7
MATCH #4: GOLDBERG VS. MENG
FINISH: Goldberg delivers the spear and finishes Meng off with the Jackhammer.
Bob’s Take: There’s no way to deny how over Goldberg is at. I’m aware of DDP/Bigelow being the main event, but it seems as if Goldberg should probably be the main event if he’s competing on Thunder at this point. The match was what you’d expect it to be. Goldberg running through challengers continues to generate the biggest reaction on these shows. It was entertaining, but not a great match. 5 for 8
WCW WORLD CHAMPION DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Mean Gene conducted an interview with DDP regarding Bigelow’s challenge from earlier. DDP asks Gene if there’s ever been someone has lost and won the title in the same night. DDP brags that he’s the only man to accomplish that. DDP thanks Jody Hamilton, Jake Roberts and Dusty Rhodes. DDP wouldn’t reach this level of greatness without them. DDP thanks the people who are sick to their stomach watching him as the champion. DDP brags that he’s a 2x WCW World Champion (in the matter of 18 days now). DDP doesn’t need anyone other than himself. DDP accepts the challenge made by Bigelow.
Bob’s Take: DDP is doing a good job at being annoying and the crowd is crapping on him. I can’t envision the fans cheering for DDP. I would be stunned if they cheer him over Bigelow. 6 for 9
MATCH #5: RANDY SAVAGE VS. THE DISCIPLE
FINISH: Savage picks up the win following the top rope elbow drop. Savage pins Disciple with one boot on the chest.
Bob’s Take: The whole point of the Slamboree match between Gorgeous George and Charles Robinson is for Savage to be reinstated if George wins. So, they threw that out on Nitro for a sham of a match, but now on Thunder Savage is having a match of substance with Disciple. I’m taking as Savage is reinstated and the Slamboree match means, well, nothing. As much as I love Savage, this kind of effort shows that he’s an absolute shell of himself. Savage has to rely on the smoke and mirrors of George, Madusa and Miss Madness. 6 for 10
MAIN EVENT: WCW WORLD CHAMPION DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE VS. BAM-BAM BIGELOW — FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE MATCH
FINISH: DDP counters the Greetings From Asbury Park to hit the Diamond Cutter, but couldn’t cover. Randy Savage runs down to the ring and hit Bigelow with a top rope elbow drop. DDP takes advantage and pins Bigelow.
Bob’s Take: There seemed to be a decent amount of effort between these two and the fact they are pals likely led to that. I’m starting to wonder if WCW would be better off switching to relaxed rules for all their matches to allow more freedom in their matches and DQ’s would be eliminated. It didn’t come across as if the fans were cheering for DDP and Bigelow worked a face role more so than DDP did. It’s difficult to get babyface heat for either man when they’re clearly heels, but Bigelow has done far less heel actions of substance than DDP has done. It’s hysterical that I mentioned avoiding interference and then I see Savage get involved. This needs to be explained as to why Savage is helping DDP. Hopefully there’s a suitable answer and it’s not forgotten about. I’d say this was mildly entertaining to end the show. 7 for 11
On paper, this is a strong Thunder. I say that because Nash, Savage, Goldberg, and DDP all compete in matches. Plus, there’s a WCW World Championship match. Bagwell’s segment was enjoyable and Hennig made his return despite the match being mostly lackluster with Booker T.
I’m trying to figure out what approach they could go with for Savage helping DDP so often, and I can’t think of a logical direction. It’s never been answered why he helped DDP at Spring Stampede in the first place.
Live episodes of Thunder tend to be average to good, and I’d consider this leaning towards an enjoyable show overall. There wasn’t a time where it felt as if it was dragging along. Thunder is heavy on in-ring and I like how the two hours allows them to build to a match throughout the show and there’s much more structure to the show compared to Nitro.
Thunder 4/29 TV Rating: 3.5
Thanks for reading.