Interestingly enough, this episode of Thunder was taped prior to Nitro due to the layoff. This show was first developed a week before the 5/17 Nitro program. I’m not certain how much there will be here in terms of notable developments due to the order of context potentially getting messed up.
MAY 20TH — WICHITA, KS — KANSAS COLISEUM — TAPED
BUFF BAGWELL OPENS UP ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AT SLAMBOREE
CONTEXT: Bagwell appreciates the fan sticking with him and notes that Scott Steiner turning on him wasn’t a surprise. However, Bagwell considers Rick Steiner turning on him to be a surprise. Bagwell thinks there’s no loyalty and no friends in WCW. Bagwell is sick of everyone gaining position in the company. Bagwell turns his attention to Randy Savage. Bagwell suggests Savage try to beat him up tonight on Thunder. Bagwell is going to show Savage that he’s buff and the stuff.
Bob’s Take: Bagwell talking about loyalty is kind of ironic. Just back in October Bagwell turned on Rick and all of WCW with the ploy about his broken neck and acting as if he had left the NWO. Obviously that was a massive mistake by WCW and they eventually pivoted to Bagwell being a babyface. The idea of Bagwell vs. Savage is interesting and fits well for a Thunder main event. 1 for 1
MATCH #1: WCW TELEVISION CHAMPION RICK STEINER VS. SCOTT PUTSKI
NOTE: Rick Steiner is wearing black and red NWO T-shirt. Tenay mentions it and wonders why he’s wearing it.
FINISH: Steiner hits the top rope bulldog and forces a submission with an elbow lock.
Bob’s Take: There wasn’t much to this for Putski as he got his ass kicked for a few minutes. Steiner is a believable badass when it comes to delivering strikes and being an overall bully. I don’t think Steiner is interested in or capable of having good matches at this point. 1 for 2
THE HORSEMEN MEET WITH BARRY HOROWITZ
CONTEXT: Flair calls for Horowitz to talk to them in the hallway. Flair needs a favor from Horowitz and tells Horowitz that his kid is going to be a champion and part of the Horsemen. Flair tells Horowitz that he’s wrestling David Flair. Flair promises to give Horowitz job security and needs Horowitz to lose to his son willingly. Flair forces a handshake, but Horowitz ends up assuring Ric that he understands the message.
Bob’s Take: Part of me doesn’t hate this angle of blatant nepotism, but Flair keeps creditability by forcing talent to lose to his son because he’s aware that David can’t win on his own. Thus far, they’ve used talents that have zero creditability, so it’s not a big deal. 2 for 3
MATCH #2: JUVENTUD GUERRERA VS. KIDMAN
FINISH: Kidman counters the Juvi Driver with a rollup and picks up the victory
Bob’s Take: A good, quality match with the crowd invested in the action. It’s not on the level of their previous Nitro or PPV outings, but it was an entertaining bout. 3 for 4
MATCH #3: WCW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION REY MYSTERIO JR. VS KAZ HAYASHI
NOTE: Kayashi is still wearing Glacier’s gear during his entrance.
FINISH: During the bout, Randy Savage makes his way out with his ladies. Savage focuses on Mysterio Jr. saying he has a fine reputation. Savage talks about how Mysterio is a giant killer and has beaten Kevin Nash. Savage wants to recruit Mysterio onto his team. After a commercial, Mysterio wins the match following a top rope hurricanrana.
Bob’s Take: At one point in the match, Hayashi did the People’s Elbow and the crowd let out a noticeable groan. Savage’s involvement completely distracted me from the bout. I understand the connection since Mysterio holds a victory over Nash. I just wish they had allowed the match between Mysterio and Hayashi to have gone without any distractions. 3 for 5
RANDY SAVAGE CONFRONTS REY MYSTERIO JR.
CONTEXT: Savage knows that Mysterio is shocked that Savage would even talk to him. Savage recalls Mysterio having beaten Nash earlier in the year. Savage believes Mysterio is the man. Savage wants Mysterio to join his group. Savage wants Mysterio to join the group and include Mysterio on their secret plan. Mysterio says he respects Savage and it would be an honor. However, Mysterio appreciates the offer, but has other plans. Mysterio declines the offer and the crowd boos the answer. Savage wants Mysterio to reconsider his offer. Mysterio declines the offer again. Gorgeous George shoves Mysterio from behind and Savage decks Mysterio with a clothesline. Mysterio hits a springboard dropkick on Savage. Mysterio is attacked by the ladies and that allows Savage to spike Mysterio with a piledriver. Kidman runs out and nalils Savage with a leaping clothesline off the top. Madusa slaps Kidman and Savage drops Kidman over the top rope. Savage spikes Kidman with a piledriver. Mysterio gets lipstick on his back as they write Macho on his back. Konnan slides into the ring and attacks Savage. Konnan nails Savage with a rolling clothesline. George cuts Konnan off with a low blow in the corner. Savage heads to the top rope and hits an elbow drop on Konnan.
Bob’s Take: Judging by the response, the crowd would have loved a partnership between Mysterio and Savage. I enjoyed that Savage actually bumped for Mysterio, Kidman and Konnan. The whole segment came across well and it was an entertaining segment. Savage using the piledriver could be a useful secondary or even primary finish if he wants to stop doing the elbow drop to save his hips/knees. 4 for 6
MATCH #4: WCW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS PERRY SATURN & RAVEN VS. HORACE & VINCENT — NO DISQUALIFICATION
FINISH: Late in the match, Horace accidentally hits Vincent with a chair shot. Saturn plants Vincent with a Death Valley Driver to win the match and retain the titles
Bob’s Take: This is only the second time in his WCW career that Vincent has been involved in a title match. Saturn and Raven have developed a good routine as a team. Kanyon is at ringside and they seem to be doing some kind of Freebird gimmick as Kanyon stood on the apron at one point. However, he never got involved in the match. It was a decent tag defense with minimal usage of the no disqualification stipulation until the finish. 5 for 7
FOOTAGE FROM THE TONIGHT SHOW
CONTEXT: Footage of Bret Hart appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno is shown to answer Kevin Nash’s challenge. Hart says that he was never contacted to be on the show. Leno suggested that Hart is afraid to wrestle Nash. Hart seemingly accepts the match with Nash to take place on the show. Hart shows footage from Slamboree where Hart attacked Goldberg with a chair and promises that Nash will be toast just like Goldberg.
Bob’s Take: I’m honestly stunned they’d show this on Thunder and not on Nitro. I’m all for the spectacle of Hart vs. Nash on the Tonight Show. I think it’s a great idea. 6 for 8
MATCH #5: DAVID FLAIR VS. BARRY HOROWITZ
FINISH: Horowitz misses a knee strike in the corner and hits the turnbuckle. Flair locks in the figure four and wins the match by submission
Bob’s Take: There is a moment early into the match where Horowitz tried to win, but was reminded by Arn Anderson to not win. It’s a short match and not good for what it was. 6 for 9
MATCH #6: CURT HENNIG VS. DISCO INFERNO
NOTE: Tenay notes that Disco is one of the few remaining NWO Black & Red members due to injuries. This is shocking since there has been virtually zero association with any of the members since Hogan’s injury.
FINISH: Randy Savage enters the ring, but Inferno quickly attacked Savage causing the match to be thrown out. Inferno is held by the ladies and attacked by Savage. Savage presses Inferno’s face into the cement floor. Buff Bagwell runs out and shoves Savage into Madusa in the corner leading to the main event.
Bob’s Take: This is hardly a match and more so just a segment to put over Savage as a top heel. 6 for 10
MAIN EVENT: RANDY SAVAGE VS. BUFF BAGWELL
FINISH: Savage chokes Bagwell with a chair on the floor and is disqualified. Savage tossed the referee on the floor. After the match, Savage continues to attack Bagwell and chokes Bagwell with the chair. George and Madusa enter the ring to hold the chair in place. Savage goes to the top rope, but security enters the ring. Savage doesn’t do the elbow drop and instead decks security before departing the ring.
Bob’s Take: This is the first extended showing for Savage in a singles match and it’s kind of a sad viewing experience to see one of my favorite wrestlers not be able to compete at a high level. I now have no doubt that Savage vs. Nash is going to be very, very bad in-ring action wise. 6 for 11
Thunder 5/20 TV Rating: 2.9
Thanks for reading.