WCW Thunder - Wednesday, 06/24/98
WCW Thunder - Wednesday, 06/24/98
By Bill
- Trivia Question: Who is the man most widely acknowledged to have been the man in the Black Scorpion outfit until he unmasked to reveal Ric Flair? Answer at the end of the report.
- Does anyone have a copy of Brian Pillman "wrestling a match" against a five-foot inflatable pencil. Supposedly, he did this while in ECW and I'd love to get a description of it. Let me know if you have it.
- If you haven't already seen the Monday Nitro report, it was Chan and Charlie's last regularly scheduled one. Four hours every week (watching, writing, and editing) is an incredible commitment, and I'm sorry to see them go. However, on the bright side, we've shifted the schedule around and got everything except {Pro} covered. The new regular line-up will be:
- {Pro}: tbd
- Worldwide: Cubs Fan
- Saturday Night: Jesse G.
- Monday Nitro: Wade
- Thursday Thunder: Bill
I've already got a bunch of guys lined up for a "try out" for Sunday {Pro} this weekend and will be taking one of them on as the regular {Pro} Reporter.
- The show starts off with a promo for the DDP/Malone vs. Hogan/Rodman match. I guess instead of Thunder, we're going to get an infomercial.
- We are live from Orlando, Florida.
- Not coincidentally, this weekend will supposedly be the last-ever Universal Tapings for matches to be shown on Worldwide and the {Pro}. Supposedly, once they get through the matches from this weekend in two or three months, those two shows will become like WWF Live Wire...showing previously shown matches with a new voiceover.
- The announcers prattle on about the upcoming PPV.
- Big Tobacco and Vincent come out.
- Got a light?
- Giant, smoking, tells the monkeys in the crowd to shut up and he says that Sting stole the tag belts.
- Giant says Sting is gutless, Nash isn't in the building, and he tells Sting to find a partner and put the belts on the line tonight.
- Giant's going to beat Sting like a dog.
- Public Enemy vs. Raven and Sick Boy w/Lodi
- Lodi's sign: "Raven Scares Saturn"
- Raven gets on the mic to threaten Kanyon and announce the match is under Raven's rules.
- Public Enemy go on the attack to start the match. Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge go to work on Sick Boy.
- Sick Boy tags Raven in.
- It's still all Public Enemy.
- Four-body pin attempt by Public Enemy.
- Johnny Grunge with a sleeper on Raven. Heenan: "They know a hold! They know a hold!"
- Raven and Sick Boy come back and start working on Johnny Grunge.
- Grunge with the hot tag to Rocco.
- Pandemonium ensues. Sick Boy is put on the table and Raven pulls him off. Saturn blindsides Raven and lays him out on the table.
- Saturn climbs to the top turnbuckle, and splashes Raven through the table. Incredible.
- Meanwhile, back in the ring, Rocco Rock pins Sick Boy following a drive-by.
- Eddie Guerrero vs. "The Laughing Man" Hugh Morrus w/Jimmy Hart
- Thunder's on Thursday next week, and Wednesday next week.
- It's all Morrus to start, overpowering Eddie.
- Eddie comes back with the classic dropkick to the knee to bring the bigger man down.
- Eddie with a flying head-scissors and then goes back to work on the legs.
- The fans are chanting "Chavo".
- Eddie continues to work on the left knee.
- Hugh comes back with a press slam.
- Hugh attempts an elbow off the top. Nobody home.
- Eddie with a suplex and Eddie goes up top.
- Jimmy Hart threatens Eddie with a chair, and nutty Chavo comes out.
- Chavo nails Jimmy Hart, Eddie comes off the top, but Hugh Morrus catches Eddie in a powerslam.
- No Laughing Matter, and Morrus gets the 1-2-3.
- Eddie runs away from nutty Chavo after the match.
- Wolfpack in the house!
- Sting's got a red face, his hair pulled back, and he's acting like a complete goof.
- Konnan does his schtick.
- Yep, it's the cocky, goofy, early 1990s Sting.
- Some asshole has a laser pointer.
- Sting's partner tonight will be Lex Luger.
- He calls out Luger, and Luger doesn't come out. So Sting goes back to get him.
- Hmmm, teasing a Luger turn, it seems...
- Mike Tenay goes to the back to interview Chris Benoit about the four fingers.
- Stevie Ray vs. Sumo Fuji
- Sumo Fuji's barefoot.
- Stevie Ray's squashing Fuji...and spitting into the camera.
- Stevie Ray beats up Fuji outside the ring, saying to Booker T. "This is how it's done".
- Big boot by Stevie Ray in the ring.
- Pancake by Booker T., aka the "110th Street Slapjack".
- Wow, a complete squash. The only other complete squash I can remember on Nitro in the last year and a half was Benoit vs. Lodi.
- WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho vs. Ultimo Dragon
- Jericho rips up a Jerichoholic sign on the way to the ring.
- Sign: "Incurable Jerichoholic - Addicted to his whine"
- Yadda, yadda, yadda. Jericho claims to know all the loopholes. He's not going to defend the belt against Malenko. That brings out J.J. Dillon.
- Dillon says that if Jericho spent as much time defending the belt as he did looking for loopholes, he'd be a great champion.
- Dillon says that the Executive Committee has changed the rules...Jericho must defend the belt at Bash at the Beach against Dean Malenko.
- Jericho throws a tantrum.
- So, now, we finally get our match.
- Both wrestlers are tentative at first, then a lot of slingshotting.
- Dragon does his headstand, follows it up with a kick and chinlock.
- Commerical break.
- Dragon dropkicks Jericho as Jericho attempts a Lionsault.
- Jericho escapes from the Dragon Sleeper by kicking Dragon in the face.
- Moonsault by Dragon onto Jericho on the floor.
- Back in the ring, Series of two-counts going back and forth.
- Liontamer, but Dragon gets to the ropes.
- Series of kicks by Dragon.
- Big powerslam by Jericho, two-count only.
- As Jericho sets Dragon up for a power move, he says "Hey, Malenko, this one's for your dead daddy!"
- As Ultimo Dragon has Jericho in the Dragon Sleeper, Malenko runs in and starts beating on Jericho, disqualifying Dragon. Dragon protests and Malenko pitches Dragon and continues to beat on Jericho.
- Jericho escapes and runs away.
- Eric Bischoff does another interview with Scott Steiner in the director's chairs.
- I put away my laundry during this interview. All I caught was some stills of a Steiner tag match, with Scott pointing out that he was doing all the work as Rick stood on the apron.
- Hey, there's some half-naked guy in the crowd painted green.
- DDP on the phone promoting, what else, himself. Something about an 18-wheeler. I think Rodman and Malone will be on the next Nitro.
- Barbarian vs. "Cheap Heat" Jim Duggan
- It's all Duggan with the clubberin' early on.
- Barbarian starts his comeback.
- Heenan comments on Duggan's huge hands and the huge hands of Duggan's father, a retired police chief. Heenan: "Five prune danishes and an eclair cluster in each hand".
- Barbarian misses the diving headbutt.
- Duggan with ten punches to the head in the corner.
- Both men go down hard.
- Morrus comes out, grabs the 2x4, throws it to Barbarian but Duggan clotheslines Barbarian and drops Old Glory (mising by about a foot), and gets the pin.
- Backstage, Jericho is trying to convince Ultimo Dragon to lobby the Executive Committee to get the title shot at the pay-per-view. Malenko chases Jericho and Jericho runs away.
- "Crippler" Chris Benoit and Steve "Mongo" McMichael vs. Disco Inferno and Alex Wright.
- Disco and Alex Wright have separate entrances to each do their own dances.
- Benoit and Mongo come out to Mongo's music.
- The Crippler and Mongo completely clean house to start the match, including Benoit suplexing Disco Inferno out of the ring.
- Without Flair around, Benoit is the king of the backhand chop on Disco Inferno...and the crowd's eating it up.
- The backhand chops cause a "We want Flair" chant to start. The announcers, of course, ignore it.
- Mongo is tagged in, does about two moves, and tags Benoit back in.
- Benoit's just taking poor Disco Inferno apart.
- Alex Wright tags himself in just before Benoit gets the Crippler Crossface on Disco Inferno. That allows Alex Wright to get a momentary advantage.
- Mongo totally blows a run-in, and Wright goes back to work.
- Wright tags Disco in.
- Disco with a drop-toehold to counter Benoit's chops.
- Wright is tagged back in.
- Belly-to-back by Wright. Two-count only.
- Splash by Wright, but Benoit gets a foot on the ropes. Disco is tagged in. Then Wright. Then Disco again.
- Disco misses the elbow from the second turnbuckle.
- Hot tags to Mongo and Wright.
- Mongo cleans house.
- Pandemonium in your living room.
- Benoit hits the flying headbutt and slaps the Crippler Crossface on Disco Inferno as Mongo keeps Wright out of the ring by shaking his fist at him.
- The man in bellbottoms taps out.
- Michael Buffer comes out to earn an easy $8,000.
- Sting and "The Total Package" Lex Luger defend the WCW/nWo World Tag Team Titles under Wolfpack rules against Big Tobacco and Brian Adams.
- According to Michael Buffer, Brian Adams was handpicked (to job) for this match.
- Giant's got a cigarette behind his ear.
- Luger and Sting come out. Luger's way overdoing the Wolfpack stuff. Hmmmm...
- Giant tries to light one up, but has trouble with his lighter, so he attacks the other team instead. Giant gets dumped outside the ring.
- The action returns to the ring, and Giant starts manhandling Sting.
- Sting attempts a comeback, but Giant runs him over.
- Giant hits a big elbow, and then misses one. Hot tags to Luger and Adams.
- Luger gets Adams in the torture rack, and Adams gives up.
- Meanwhile, Sting hits a super-Scorpion-Death-Drop on Giant, but Giant no-sells it.
- Hennig, Rude, and Vincent rush the ring, and Konnan attempts to make the save. As we fade to black, nWo Hollywood is in control.
- Trivia Answer: "The Latin Lover" Al Perez.
An arena report from Pitvip:
The live show was great and that some interesting things happened. The first match was a dark match between a new white, blonde, American, female wrestler and an Oriental, female wrestler from Japan. I don't specifically remember their names, but it was a female wrestling match. The best crowd response was when the Japanease woman wrapped the American woman's legs around the ringpost and crotched her. The Japanese woman, who played the heel, won the match and then was attacked by the American when the Japanese woman left the ring. It was a drawn out match, but a good one.
The last match of the evening was Goldberg vs. Fit Finley. They said that it was a title match, but it was off the air. The victory (Goldberg) probably didn't count. Fit definitely jobbed to Goldberg.
