WCW Thunder - Thursday, January 28, 1999

• Nick Gentle sends in:

  Have you heard about this Horsemen vs nWo for control of WCW thing. I personally think it could be huge! It's the easiest possible way to push a wrestler as a good guy or bad guy. They could have matches going for a month with the climax on a PPV. All I ask is that they get rid of Mongo and bring in someone, I think it would be cool if it were Bret Hart but from what I'm hearing it will probably be DDP. DDP is okay but Hart is the MAN!

• Kevin J. Sobiski declares:

  Okay, I may be biased because I live in Indy, but it seems to me that the Thunder shows in Indy are the best Thunders. I mean, how often does Flair or DDP show up on Thunder? Plus, only one match was a straight jobber match, all the other matches featured at least one upper mid-carder. Do you think that Heenan has any influence because Indy is his home town?

• Senyaka from Sri Lanka makes a correction on last week's report (one in which I am thankful for):

  On the last Thunder I don't think the crowd was chanting for Shiavone. I think they were chanting "Bobby". At least, I pray that they were chanting "Bobby".

• Ron Boucher points out:

  I watch most of Thunder and I have to say it was a good show because there were a lot of good talent WRESTLING. I love watching wrestling for wrestling and not for the Hulk Hogan show. Anyways, I live in Canada and I get Thunder on TBS and CTV'S sportsnet. On the sportsnet, thunder was about minute ahead of TBS. I am not sure if it was live or not. I thought it was weird that in Canada it was shown ahead of the US. Thought I pass that little tibit across, maybe they making up for a three day late Nitro.

• Finally, Grimace1 takes some shots at Booker T. Now, can you dig it? Uhhhhh!

  Hiya Aldo,

  Well, I'm gonna take a major shot at Booker T here.

  First of all, he's at best a mediocre wrestler, but these spin wheel kicks are big time lame in a match, especially since it's about all he knows how to do.

  I can let that go... I'm an easy going man.

  BUT, that axe kick has GOT TO GO! How many times do we see that set up and the opponent has to make an effort to stay bent over long enough for Booker to hit it? And on Thunder last night... sad! Poor Norman was standing upright and literally had to bend over for no reason so Booker could hit the move. Lame with a capitol L.

  Oh God, even my cynical side can't deal with that.

  Take it easy bro.

Irish whip -- as in the man who first started flinging guys around the ring: Whipper Billy Watson, aka The Irish Whip.

• The announcers say that after a week's absence, the Wolfpac is in the house.
• Schiavone talks about Flair vs. Hogan at Superbrawl.
• Schiavone then has the gall to call Superbrawl the "Super Bowl of WCW."

• Psychosis comes out. He's shown a good amount of improvement since he first arrived.
• His opponent will be Hugh Morrus.
• Mickey Jay is your referee.
• Lockup, Morrus pushes Psychosis down.
• Psychosis goes behind and rolls-up Morrus for two.
• Morrus locks on an armbar.
• Psychosis rolls through and does a somersault roll-up for two.
• Morrus hits a clothesline.
• Headbutt by Morrus.
• Morrus sends Psychosis into the corner and runs into him.
• Psychosis is whipped and hits a spinwheel kick in which Morrus barely sells.
• Morrus reverses a corner whip.
• Psychosis leaps to the turnbuckle and is grabbed by Morrus.
• Psychosis escapes harm by applying a headscissors takedown.
• Morrus then goes outside.
• Psychosis connects with a suicide dive over the top rope!
• Morrus gets back into the ring.
• Psychosis goes up top and lands a missile dropkick for two.
• Morrus lands a shot in the midsection.
• Morrus applies a snapmare and a chinlock.
• Psychosis is whipped, ducks a kick, and trips Morrus.
• Psychosis dropkicks Morrus out of the ring.
• Psychosis does a plancha and is caught in mid-air.
• Morrus puts Psychosis down and sends him into the outside stairs.
• Morrus bodyslams Psychosis on the concrete.
• While Morrus distracts Mickey Jay, Jimmy Hart gets his kicks in.
• Morrus tries an outside dive but misses.
• Psychosis attempts to get back into the ring, but Hart grabs on his leg.
• Psychosis then dropkicks Hart and goes to the apron.
• Morrus grabs Psychosis and suplexes him back into the ring.
• Morrus goes for a cover and Psychosis gets out when his foot reaches the ropes.
• Morrus with a whip and a clothesline. Two-count.
• Morrus applies a chinlock.
• Morrus brings Psychosis onto the mat.
• Psychosis struggles to get out of the chinlock.
• Psychosis lands two elbows, goes to the ropes, and meets a lariat.
• Morrus covers for two.
• Morrus goes back to the chinlock. Doesn't he know any other restholds?
• The referee starts raising Psychosis' hand.
• At the count of three, Psychosis shows life and tries to power out.
• Morrus pounds Psychosis and scoop slams him.
• Morrus goes up top and misses a splash.
• Psychosis then goes up top and hits what Schiavone calls a "spinning flying body attack." Uhh, he connected with the leg, Tony, not the body. Sheesh.
• Psychosis goes back up top and misses a moonsault.
• Morrus scoops up Psychosis and slams him down.
• Morrus goes up top, jaws to the fans, and lands the No Laughing Matter for the win.
• YOUR WINNER: Hugh Morrus via No Laughing Matter in 10:15.

• Silver King comes out in a cowboy motif, complete with lasso.
  
• He'll be taking on Chris Jericho.
• For once, Jericho has most of his hair down. He's still got a small ponytail in the back, though.
• King teases Jericho with the lasso.
• Jericho gets the mic and wants us to remember that as our role model he is better than all of us.
• Jericho then asks the crowd to give him a round of applause.
• The crowd boos.
• Your referee is "The Dude That Beat The Dude That Lost to the Chick" Johnny Boone.
• Lockup, Jericho takes King to the ropes and breaks clean.
• Lockup, Jericho applies a side headlock and takes King over with a headscissors.
• King applies an armbar.
• Jericho flips out and gets levelled to the mat.
• Jericho gets sent out and shows the ref where he got hurt.
• Jericho lands a kick and a chop back inside.
• Jericho puts on a side headlock.
• Jericho with a clothesline.
• We go to commercial...
• King lands chops on Jericho in the corner.
• King whips Jericho into the corner.
• King charges at Jericho and runs into a boot.
• King sidesteps Jericho and grabs his legs on the takedown.
• King catapults Jericho out of the ring.
• King then goes to the turnbuckle and hits a plancha!
• King flips over the apron to get back into the ring.
• Jericho does his reversal-into-an-inverted suplex.
• Jericho starts kicking on King.
• Jericho applies a vertical suplex.
• The C'mon Baby cover gets two.
• Kneelifts send King out of the ring.
• Jericho goes outside and lays some punishment on King.
• Jericho grabs the TV cables and chokes King with it.
• Jericho sends King back in.
• King then takes his lasso and connects with it!
• King hooks the lasso around Jericho's neck and goes up top.
• Jericho grabs King and tosses him off the turnbuckle.
• Jericho undoes the lasso and whips King.
• Jericho lands a powerbomb and goes for the Liontamer.
• King gets to the ropes.
• Jericho whips King into the corner and runs into the post.
• King picks up Jericho and does his airplane spin slam!
• King does the somersault press and gets two.
• Jericho whips King into the corner.
• King leaps on the turnbuckle and is grabbed by the legs.
• Jericho slams him down and locks on the Liontamer for the win.
• YOUR WINNER: Chris Jericho via Liontamer in ~7:53.

• Super Calo comes out, making me think this is luchador night.
• Finlay comes out to make sure the luchas remain winless this evening.
• Your referee is Zack Morris, err, Charles Robinson.
• To start, Finlay grabs Calo's mask and drops an elbow.
• Both men grapple on the mat.
• Finlay tells a "redneck" to shut up.
• Finlay applies a headlock and takes down Calo.
• Finlay does an atomic drop and lands a forearm.
• Calo is whipped, but hits a dropkick. Two-count.
• Finlay sends Calo out of the ring.
• Calo comes back with a headthrust and a roll-up for two.
• Finlay does his forward-roll slam.
• Finlay sends Calo out of the ring again.
• Finlay pushes Calo into the apron.
• Calo tries to get some support from the fans outside.
• Big scoop slam by Finlay for two.
• Finlay puts on a facelock.
• Finlay whips Calo into the corner and dives into him shoulder-first.
• Finlay covers for two.
• Finlay drags Calo to the apron and jerks him head first to the concrete.
• Finlay grabs a chair, but Robinson yanks it away.
  • Hey, they didn't allow that tom-foolery in Saved By The Bell and they won't tolerate it here!
• Finlay applies a half-crab.
• Calo struggles to reach the ropes.
• Finlay with a scoop slam.
• Finlay goes up top and does a splash but Calo raises his knees.
• Calo gets control for all of three seconds.
• Finlay lands a lariat.
• Finlay sends Calo down again and covers for two.
• Finlay applies a snapmare.
• Finlay kicks Calo in the back.
• Finlay throws Calo out of the ring.
• Finlay puts Calo in a fireman's carry and sends him face-first to the apron.
• Finlay has had about 99% of the offense in this match.
• Back inside, Finlay does the first European uppercut of the night.
• Schiavone then talks about how the ex-LWO members are benefitting by rejoining WCW and getting fights against guys like Finlay. Hmm, I don't recall seeing Super Calo join the LWO. Rather, he was beat down by them.
• Schiavone is about as bad with WCW history as is Scheme Gene overpaid.
• Finlay lands a headbutt.
• In the corner, Finlay punches on Calo's face.
• Finlay slams Calo to the mat.
• Finlay goes for a powerbomb but Calo slips out of it.
• Calo goes to the ropes and kicks Finlay.
• Calo gets in a back kick and an elbow splash.
• Calo goes up top and lands a splash for two.
• Finlay reverses a corner whip.
• Calo leaps to the turnbuckle and slips, landing crotch first. That looked like it was a blown spot, but I could be wrong.
• In any case, Finlay ends the match with the Tombstone Piledriver.
• YOUR WINNER: Fit Finlay via Tombstone Piledriver in 8:47.

• The announcers talk about Goldberg as Bigelow enters.
• To show how much WCW cares about the cruiserweights, they book Bigelow to face Kaz Hayashi. Sakes.
• Lockup, Bigelow takes Hayashi to the corner and flings him across the ring.
• Lockup, Bigelow shoves Hayashi to the corner.
• Hayashi tries some offense and is sent down.
• Bigelow picks up Hayashi in a military press position and motions to fling him into the crowd a la Spike Dudley.
• Hayashi gets out of the military press and tries a sleeper.
• Hayashi is rammed into the turnbuckle.
• Hayashi tries a sleeper again and gets sent down.
• Bigelow works on Hayashi's leg.
• Bigelow applies a vertical suplex.
• Bigelow chokes Hayashi on the rope.
• Bigelow whips Hayashi into the corner and lands a lariat.
• So far, this is been nothing short of a squash.
• Bigelow, thinking he is Meng, no-sells some chops.
• Bigelow lands two falling headbutts.
• Bigelow with a scoop slam.
• Bigelow goes up top and misses the diving headbutt.
• Bigelow no-sells a Hayashi dropkick, but reacts to the second one.
• Hayashi goes up top and lands a crossbody for one.
• Hayashi tries a frankensteiner and gets caught.
• Hayashi then does a victory roll for one.
• Bigelow hits a clothesline.
• Bigelow then ends it all with the Greetings From Asbury Park.
• YOUR WINNER: Bam Bam Bigelow via Greetings From Asbury Park in 5:33.

• We're in for long intros, a few commercials breaks, or both.

• Disco joins The Outsiders for this main event bout.
• The Outsiders refer to Disco as their gopher.
• Commercials.
• WCW Saturday Night Promo. Featured talent:
  • Fit Finlay and Dave Taylor in tag team action.
  • Perry Saturn.
  • Norman Smiley vs. Chavo Guerrero, Jr.
  • Rey Mysterio, Jr. vs. Psychosis vs. Kidman in a triple threat match.
• Rap music brings out Konnan and Rey.
• Funny, didn't Konnan turn on Rey back in mid-1997?
• [CATCHPHRASES]
• Of note, Konnan refers to his opponents as "the three strawberries."
• Nash says to speak on this and delivers a crotch chop, along with Hall.
  
• It will be Hall and Rey to start.
• Hall makes motions to break Rey and fling him into the crowd.
• Hall then hits the Toothpick O' Death^TM.
• Hall shoves Rey and misses a punch.
• Rey answers with a dropkick and a spinning heel kick.
• Rey gets out of a pickup and goes to work on Hall.
• Rey goes to the apron and lands a springboard gullotine legdrop for one.
• Tag to Nash.
• Nash laughs as he teases a test of strength.
• Rey tags in Konnan, who delivers a crotch chop of his own.
  
• Nash plays with his hair, then goes to work on Konnan.
• Kneelifts to Konnan in the corner.
• Nash sets up for the back elbow.
• Nash does his hamstring stretch.
• The announcers talk about Nash's basketball career.
• Konnan's a house of fire in the corner.
• Konnan sends Nash in the corner, goes to the turnbuckle, and punches on him.
• Hall gets in and receives some punishment.
• The heels regroup out of the ring.
• The Outsiders tells Disco to get in the ring.
• Disco talks to the ref and faces off against Konnan!
• Konnan lands a clothesline.
• Disco reaches for a tag but is waved off.
• Hall then throws Disco out of the ring as Rey is tagged in.
• So, it will be Hall and Mysterio, but not before...
• More commercials.
• As we come back, Rey is down in the ring.
• Tag to Nash.
• Nash delivers the Snake Eyes in the corner.
• Tag to Hall.
• Hall does his fallaway slam.
• Tag to Nash.
• Nash with a backdrop slam.
• Nash hooks the leg and gets two.
• Nash sends Rey away from the face corner and tags in Hall.
• Hall puts Rey on the turnbuckle and delivers a belly-to-back suplex.
• Cover for two.
• Tag is made to Nash as Rey struggles to get to the neutral corner.
• Nash with a HUGE biel throw.
• Nash taunts Konnan, who comes in.
• As Charles Robinson deals with Konnan, Hall and Nash make the illegal switch.
• Hall kicks Rey around in the corner.
• Hall lands a standing discus punch and tags in Nash.
• Rey lands some midsection shots, goes to the top rope, and tries a sunset flip!
• Nash grabs Rey by the neck, picks him up, and throws him into the corner.
• While being thrown, Rey manages to tag in Konnan.
• Konnan cleans house of both heels.
• Konnan then applies the Tequila Sunrise on Nash!
• Disco comes in to break it up and receives a facebuster for his troubles.
• As Konnan deals with Nash, Lex Luger comes into the ring and blindsides Konnan.
• YOUR WINNERS: Konnan and Rey Mysterio, Jr. via DQ in 11:10.
• Scott Steiner is out and tosses Rey back into the ring.
• Now, the nWo come out in full force, with Hogan bringing up the rear.
  • Hey, we got a frontal shot of Liz, so it's all good. :)
• Horace, Luger, and Bagwell hold Konnan while Steiner throws Robinson out of the ring.
• It looks like we will be seeing a replay of Souled Out, with Rey Mysterio, Jr. doing his David Flair impersonation.
• Four nWo members grab each of Rey's limbs and hold him a foot above the ground.
• Nash hands the belt to Hogan and sings the chorus of The Allman Brothers' "Whipping Post," with Hogan doing supporting vocals.
• Nash then sings a bar of the instrumental as Hogan flails away on Rey.
• Nash thanks the crowd for coming out and watching the Wolfpac.
  • Nash may suck in the ring, but he's definitely one of the best mic workers WCW has.
• Hogan takes spray paint from Liz as he and Buff paint nWo on Rey's back.
• Hogan rambles in the camera as the rest of the nWo put the boots to Konnan and Rey.
• Hall, Nash, and Disco celebrate as we fade...

The Good: For a televised show, we had some matches with decent length. The luchadores were also given a chance to show their wares, even if they were booked to job.

The Bad: I think we get the picture that the nWo can overpower a guy who is 5' 10" and a guy who is 5' 3".

The Ugly: Hogan's singing ability. He tarnished the Whipping Post spot when he sang "Good Lord, I feel like I'm dying."