WCW Thunder, Thursday, 3/18/99
WCW Thunder, Thursday, 3/18/99
By Bill
- In case you are wondering why they'll be a span of time you won't see Scott Steiner on TV, read this.
- We are live from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass State, and the state flower is the goldenrod and the state tree is the tulip tree. The state bird is the cardinal, and the state mammal is the gray squirrel. The state fish? That would be the Kentucky Bass while the state insect is the Viceroy Butterfly. The state gemstone is the freshwater pearl. The state fossil would be brachiopod, which is most likely Kentucky’s most common fossil. And, in case your were wondering, the official state soil is Crider Soil.
For more information on Kentucky, check out Geobop's Kentucky Symbols page.
DDT Digest...doing it's part to help America's students learn their geography.
- Schiavone talks about the tag team match of "epic proportions" on the last Nitro.
- No mention of the less-than-epic ending.
Heenan thinks Flair was right to walk out on the match. Schiavone agrees, but Tenay thinks they're wrong.
As if.
- Kenny Kaos vs. Bobby Duncum, Jr.
- Wow, it's only 8:07 p.m. Matches are starting an hour earlier than on Nitro.
- Kaos is trying to play the face before the match, but he's getting booed.
- I think it's wonderful that Ted Turner has spent all that money to build such a great roster so that we can have matches like this.
- Lockup...break...lockup...break...lockup.
- Tosses and snapmares are exchanged. Slam by Duncum but he misses an elbow. Kaos goes to work.
- Kaos sends Duncum outside the ring, but doesn't follow up.
- Kaos eventually suplexes Duncum back in from the apron.
- Slam by Kaos and leg drop from second rope.
- Kaos with a few more power moves, but Duncum comes back with a belly-to-back.
- Duncum with a big foot to the face and a clothesline.
- Duncum pulls up Kaos instead of getting the pin. Schiavone says "you should never pull up on a man". He may be right, but Too Much says you should always pull out.
- Duncum with a shoulderbreaker and then a chinlock.
- Duncum continues with the power moves, but runs right into a powerslam.
- Over-the-top release suplex by Kaos.
- Duncum catches Kaos with a face-first Russian Leg Sweep and gets the pinfall. Kind of an anti-climactic ending.
- Replay of the nWo black-and-white confrontations from Monday night. In case it didn't suck enough the first time you saw it. And if the clips in the locker room weren't bad enough, they replay the ending of the Stevie Ray / Horace match.
- Mean Gene brings out Curt Hennig.
- Hmmmm, is it possible for a show that's already not moving to come to a screeching halt?
- Hennig challenges Flair for the title tonight.
- Hennig says he's sick of short people.
- Hennig gives Flair 15 minutes to respond.
- Ummm...an ultimatum only works if they are consequences.
- El Vampiro vs. Prince Iaukea
- Nice tattoo job.
- Spinning kick by Vampiro and a big chop.
- Prince comes back with some kicks and chops and a dropkick from the top rope.
- Armwringer by Prince and a back elbow, but Vampiro nails Prince as he comes off the top.
- Vampiro goes after Prince outside the ring, and he sells a shot from the Prince that was about a mile away.
- They go back outside again, with Prince keeping the advantage.
- Back in, Vampiro goes to work.
- Saturn appears on the entrance ramp, and it distracts Vampiro.
- Vampiro gives Prince something like a jackknife powerbomb, and Saturn returns to the locker room.
- Vampiro hits the Rock Bottom, and then a leg drop.
- Vampiro hits a big standing side-kick, and hits the Nail In The Coffin and gets the pin. The Nail In The Coffin looks like a crappy Greetings From Asbury Park.
- Brian Adams and Horace in the locker room. Brian claims to the leader, and Horace decks him.
- On WCWSN, Bam Bam Bigelow, Disco Inferno, Rick Steiner, Booker T defends, and the Tag Team Champions defend against Hennig and Windham.
- It being the shank of the evening, Scheme Gene brings out Ric Flair.
- Gene wants a response to the challenge, but Ric Flair wants to get three things straight first.
- Flair says "whether you like it or don't like it, he's the champ", he's president for life, and he hates the Wildcats. He rags on a "fat boy" in the crowd.
- Gene wonders why Flair's being this way. Flair says he's tired of sucking up. His suit costs more than most people make in a year.
- Flair offers to take some guy's girlfriend home, gave her a ride on Space Mountain, and make a woman out of her.
- Flair says he can't find Scott Hall. So, as of last night, Scott Hall is stripped of the U.S. Title. Kind of interesting, since Hall won it less than thirty days ago.
- Flair announces a tournament for the U.S. Title, starting tonight with Bigelow and Meng, and it will conclude at Spring Stampede.
- Flair calls Hennig out.
- Flair says he respects Hennig and what he is to wrestling, but Hennig can't have Flair tonight, but he can have Hogan in the main event.
- Hennig's cool with that, he'd like a warm-up match before he wipes the mat with Flair's face.
- Flair says that if Hennig touches him tonight, he has three choices...two other wrestling organizations, or going home.
- Tony: "There are two other wrestling organizations? I didn't know that."
- Replay of Misterio's winning the World Cruiserweight Title on Monday.
- WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Rey Misterio, Jr defends his title against Juventud Guerrera
- Good luck trying to follow this...
- Lock up, chops, leapfrogs, headscissor takeover by Guerrera.
- Guerrera misses a charge, and Misterio slams him down face-first.
- Misterio hits a split-legged springboard moonsault.
- Misterio is thrown in, Flair Flips, but gets his head yanked over the top rope.
- Misterio comes back with punches, advantage is traded, and Misterio hits a kick.
- Misterio hits a Chavo Flip outside the ring onto Guerrera as we go to commercial.
- As we come back from commercial, they're slapping each other around.
- Rey with some clubbing blows and a knee. Rey guillotines Guerrera, who is caught in the ropes.
- Flips are traded, bridge by Guerrera.
- Guerrera goes for the powerbomb, Rey tries to punch his way out, but Guerrera still nails him.
- Schiavone says everyone should do what Flair says because their contracts are coming up.
- Carpermuncher by Rey.
- Twirling headscissors by Rey.
- Juvi driver by Juventud, but Misterio gets his foot on the ropes.
- Guerrera misses a running dropkick, but he crotches Misterio on the top rope. Misterio then crotches Guerrera.
- Misterio hits a Frankensteiner and gets the pin.
- Great match.
- Replay of the Disco Inferno-doctored Konnan video. This is the high point of the show thus far.
- Disco Inferno vs. Disciple
- Schiavone tries to stop Heenan and Tenay from arguing by saying "We're paid to call the matches".
Really? Could have fooled me.
- Heenan: "If Konnan wants some respect, he should get some new shocks for his car."
- Lock up, Disciple with the early advantage.
- Disciple with an three-minute long armwringer. On the bright side, it does cause Schiavone to call a "full armdrag and twist".
- Disciple with some slams. Disciple goes for the Apocolypse, but Disco slips out.
- Disco says Disciple won't beat him with his own move.
- Disco gets the advantage. Head into the turnbuckle, fist drop, back elbow.
- Disciple shrugs off a Chartbuster, hits a couple atomic drops, and a clothesline. Two-count only.
- Disco with a short advantage, but Disciple comes back.
- Disco goes for a piledriver, but it's reversed.
- The advantage is exchanged, and Disco Inferno hits The Last Dance (TMFKA The Chartbuster) and gets the pin.
- Horace vs. Brian Adams
- Seeing these two stiffs come out make me wish that RAW was on.
- Sign: "Will job for beer"
- Bear hug, punch, shove, kick.
- Club, shove. DDT by Horace.
- Hogan does his suicide dive on Adams outside the ring, and Horace hits the gate a little harder than he expected.
- Back in the ring, big splash by Horace.
- Kick, whip, but Adams hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.
- Adams snaps Horace's head over the top rope.
- Outside the ring, Adams continues clubbing Horace.
- Back in, Adams attempts a suplex, but Horace turns it into a small package for two, in case anyone cares.
- Adams goes for a gorilla press slam, but can't quite get it all the way.
- Adams sets up for his piledriver, but Vincent appears.
- While Adams is jawing with Vince, Vince slips an international object to Horace.
- Adams goes for a belly-to-back, and Horace nails him with the object and gets the cover and the pin.
- For those of you with a long memory, that's how Savage beat Tito Santana for the Intercontintal Title in 1986 and how he beat Ricky Steamboat in the Wrestling Classic.
- Horace yells "Scalliwag!" on the way back to the locker room. Huh?
- Okerlund interviews Rick Steiner. Steiner says he wants to get more hardcore. Finlay interrupts the interview and calls Steiner a wuss (my term, not his). They agree to wrestle each other on Monday night.
- Okerlund introduces "The most popular man in the history of Wrestling" Hollywood Hogan.
- He's now "Hollywood Hulk Hogan".
- Hogan says he's going to be "crapping thunder and spitting out lightning". Ugh.
- Hogan's going back to ways of old. He's not backing up from anyone anymore. He gets a few scattered cheers. Probably not as many as he was hoping for.
- Meng vs. Bam Bam Bigelow in the first match to determine the next WCW U.S. Heavyweight Champion.
- No-sells to start.
- Headlock by Meng. Shoulderblocks traded.
- Clothesline by Meng. Headbutt to the breadbasket by Bigelow.
- Bigelow with a slam.
- Meng comes back with headbutts but misses an elbowdrop.
- Meng goes for a slam, but Bam Bam falls on him.
- Bam Bam with punches to Meng, but Meng gets back up.
- Snapmare by Bigelow into a chinlock. Punches by Bigelow.
- Double lariat. Both men down.
- Punches traded, Meng comes out on top.
- Bigelow charges in, Meng sidesteps and catches Bigelow with a kick to the jaw.
- Meng waits, hits the goozle, and gets the pin.
- Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. Perfect
- Lock up, Hennig shoved to corner.
- Hennig with a go-behind, reversal, Hennig gets to the ropes.
- Lock up, armwringer by Hogan, with a stepover into a cross armbreaker. Wow!
- Back into corner, reverse knife edge by Hennig, which is no-sold.
- Back punches by Hogan in the corner, followed by the Back Rake Of Death!
- Big clothesline by Hogan, and Hennig's head is slammed into corner. Clothesline by Hogan in corner.
- Hennig comes back with some punches and kicks.
- Hennig with the big kneelift. Horace Hogan appears at ringside.
- Chops and punches by Hennig.
- Snapmare by Hennig followed by the running seated snapmare.
- Hogan comes back with punches, and locks on an abdominal stretch.
- Hennig sends Hogan over, hits some punches, and body slams Hogan twice.
- Hogan goes outside and pulls Hennig out. He throws Hennig into the barriers, and whips him with the weightlifting belt.
- Back in the ring, Hennig hits the Perfectplex, but Horace breaks it up.
- Hogan no-sells punches and starts to Hulk Up.
- They criss-cross, Horace tries to trip Hennig but misses and blows the spot.
- After some confusion, Hogan just picks Hennig up and plants him.
- Hogan hits the Leg Drop Of Doom, and gets the pin.
- Hogan talks smack into the camera.
The Good: Monkeyed Movies after Thunder. They rule.
The Bad: Hogan and Hennig. It was like a 45 rpm record played at 33 1/3 speed.
The Ugly: Gene Okerlund, Rick Steiner, and Fit Finlay in a room with a microphone