JUNE 17TH — SYRACUSE, NY — ONONDAGA WAR MEMORIAL ARENA — TAPED
MATCH #1: THE TEXAS HANGMAN VS. BOBBY DUNCUM JR. & CURT HENNIG
FINISH: Hennig picks up the clean victory following the Hennig Plex. After the match, Duncum Jr. hog ties the Texas Hangman until Konnan and Mysterio attack to make the save. Mysterio hits a rough rider in the corner and Konnan plants Duncum with a facebuster.
Bob’s Take: It’s a bit noticeable that the team of Hennig and Duncum got an overwhelming positive reaction. I’m sure the Syracuse crowd was likely more inclined to cheer for the heel duo because of Hennig’s presence and connection to the WWF from the late 80s to early 90s WWF. It’s a bit silly to suggest the crowd would cheer for the Texas Hangman. This is an odd booking approach to have a heel duo presented as a babyface team. It’s not a bad match and I found myself interested in the action. However, the presentation could be seen as confusing. Are we hating or liking Hennig & Duncum? Is this the ultimate approach of choose who you like and hate depending on circumstance? 1 for 1
MATCH #2: SCOTTY RIGGS VS. DISCO INFERNO
FINISH: Inferno picks up the clean win with the Last Dance (Chartbuster).
Bob’s Take: Commentary is noting that Inferno is aligned with the young group of wrestlers who think it is time for the old guard to step aside. Inferno hasn’t been presented all that strongly on television. So, I’m not sure I’d put Inferno in that group as it stands now. A decent match here with it being a bit more competitive than I figured it would be. Disco seems to be over with the crowd despite not having much momentum. Inferno could be a reasonable addition to the young core if he’s given the chance to breakout. 2 for 2
MATCH #3: PRINCE IAUKEA VS. EVAN KARAGIAS
FINISH: Karagias picks up a clean win with a rollup.
Bob’s Take: What a bizarre match to have on an episode of Thunder. I feel as if I’ve said it before, but Thunder was supposed to be nearly on the same level of Nitro, and for a bit that may have been the case in ’98. However, by the summer of ’99 it’s more and more evident that Thunder is being treated as a larger scale version of Saturday Night. It’s a show occurring in 5k seat venues. There’s no reason this shouldn’t be on Saturday Night. Why on earth is it on primetime Thunder? Iaukea being on TV in his current character is a bit baffling, too. Iaukea hasn’t been relevant since maybe the spring of ’98? The crowd is noticeably checked out during the match, too. Honestly, this is a rather boring match and I was not interested in it. 2 for 3
MATCH #4: BRIAN KNOBBS & HUGH MORRUS VS. LA PARKA & SILVER KING
FINISH: Morrus hits the No Laughing Matter on King to win the match.
Bob’s Take: Obviously this is mostly putting over the First Family as a unit, which I don’t mind. Knobbs and Morrus are an interesting tag team and I think I’m liking the partnership. I enjoyed the match for what it was. 3 for 4
MAIN EVENT: THE BARBARIAN VS. BOOKER T
NOTE: This is Booker T’s return from injury having last appeared on the May 17th edition of Nitro.
FINISH: Booker picks up a clean victory following a rollup out of the corner.
Bob’s Take: It’s nice to have Booker back on television after being off for a month. I’m hopeful that Booker is part of the young core storyline as they attempt to overcome the old guard. He’d fit in there perfectly. While I’m excited for Booker’s return, this was a rather flat and boring bout as Barbarian didn’t provide much to make this an entertaining bout. 3 for 5
NOTE: The remaining 20+ minutes of showtime focuses on GAB stills and a full replay of the eight man tag from Nitro.
As you can see this taped episode of Thunder provided virtually nothing for added hype or context to what is currently going on in WCW. The only thing worthwhile is the fact that Booker T has returned to TV. Aside from that it was mostly a Nitro clip show and undercard wrestlers getting extended in-ring time.
6/17 Thunder TV Rating: 3.0
Thanks for reading.