JULY 14TH — BIRMINGHAM, AL — JEFFERSON COUNTY CIVIC CENTER — TAPED
MATCH #1: VAN HAMMER VS. VAMPIRO
FINISH: Vampiro manages to rollup Hammer and picks up a clean, upset win! After the match, Hammer attacks Vampiro delivering a cobra clutch slam.
Bob’s Take: Hammer looked better than he had in previous weeks, so naturally he suffers an upset loss here. It’s an upset since Vampiro has not been presented in any fashion of being a wrestler worth substance aside from pyro in his entrance. I was not expecting Vampiro to win this and certainly not win it cleanly. I’d have to think this is a sign that Hammer’s brief push is officially over with now. For what this was, I actually enjoyed it. 1 for 1
MATCH #2: RICK FULLER VS. SICK BOY
FINISH: Fuller powerbombs Sick Boy off the middle rope to pickup a clean victory.
Bob’s Take: What in the world is going on here? Fuller hasn’t been on major programming since the fall of ’98. Fuller won his last match against Lash LeRoux back in December on Worldwide. Sick Boy is sporting a bleach blonde look, and hadn’t been on major programming since roughly the same time that Fuller had been on Nitro or Thunder. This is truly a bizarre match to have on Thunder of all places. Two unknown or even forgotten about talents working on a primetime wrestling show. Sick Boy tried to do a springboard arm drag out of the corner a few times and didn’t do well attempting them. If someone were to tell me that Sick Boy had wrestled more than 30 matches prior to this outing, I wouldn’t have believed them. This is Fuller’s first, and only primetime WCW TV victory, ever. The crowd got bored and vocalized that toward the end of the match. This got way too much time and should’ve been on the weekend shows. 1 for 2
MATCH #3: NO LIMIT SOLDIERS (BA, CHASE & SWOLL) VS. DAVE TAYLOR, FIT FINLAY & STEVEN REGAL
FINISH: Swoll pins Taylor following a heart punch for the clean victory.
Bob’s Take: I feel a bit bad for the trio of Taylor, Finlay and Regal for being in the ring and jobbing out to the entourage members of the No Limit Soldiers. Chase Tatum has a great look, and is a good looking guy. I can see why WCW would be inclined to push him or use him in some manner. I can’t remember the last time there were three straight clean finishes on WCW programming that weren’t enhancement matches. It wasn’t a bad match as the veterans carried the match pretty well. It probably got too much time as I felt like I tuned out the more the match kept going. 1 for 3
MATCH #4: WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPION DAVID FLAIR VS. BOBBY EATON
NOTE: Torrie Wilson is not in David’s corner for this bout. Instead, David has Asya and Ric Flair in his corner. Perhaps Torrie associating with Nash recently had been remembered. Ric also gave Eaton a wad of money to essentially take the dive for David.
FINISH: Late in the match, Asya low blows Eaton, but also nailed Ric with the low blow. David locks in the figure four and pins Eaton following a fast count.
Bob’s Take: As you’d expect, this is a horrible match. Ric selling a low blow that Asya certainly didn’t mean to clip him with was a funny moment, though. I feel bad for Bobby Eaton having to do this. 1 for 4
MATCH #5: BILLY KIDMAN VS. MIKEY WHIPWRECK
NOTE: During the match, Mike Tenay officially announces that WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan will defend against Kevin Nash at Road Wild on August 14th.
FINISH: Kidman hits the Shooting Star Press and pins Whipwreck cleanly to win the match
Bob’s Take: At UnCensored ’99 these two had a good PPV match and this time around they put forth a solid TV outing. Compared to anything else on the show to this point, this is easily match of the night. I wish Whipwreck had more of a shot in the Cruiserweight division, but they have been pushing the hardcore narrative onto Whipwreck instead. 2 for 5
MAIN EVENT: WCW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE TRIAD (KANYON, BIGELOW & DDP) VS. THE WEST TEXAS REDNECKS (BARRY WINDHAM & CURT HENNIG)
NOTE: During the match, the Rednecks switched which wrestlers were representing them similar to what the Triad do for their title matches.
FINISH: The match ends due to all seven men brawling in the ring causing a double disqualification.
Bob’s Take: It’s tough to get invested in a heel vs. heel match. I feel as if the West Texas Rednecks would be seen as the more likable team out of the two teams, though. I liked how both teams were using the Freebird rules as it brought a level of chaos to the match that otherwise wouldn’t have been there. There was some decent brawling, but it was a rather boring match. The aftermath didn’t add any entertainment to the segment either. 2 for 6
As per usual, taped Thunder episode had a heavy focus on in-ring wrestling, but sadly this was not a good episode. Kidman/Whipwreck was a solid TV bout, but their UnCensored bout is far superior. The only other positive on the show as Vampiro getting a clean victory over Van Hammer in a fairly big upset for the time.
7/15 Thunder TV Rating: 2.1
Thanks for reading.