- Michael Stakely says:
I get the feeling I'm trapped in that old Star Trek episode about the evil parallel universe. Jerry Flynn getting a push. Tony "Sidewalk Slam" Schiavone threatening Mike Tenay and The Brain. Ed Leslie with yet another "heel" turn. Hogan driving off the Four Horsemen so easily, Benoit and Malenko with two punches each, Anderson with only a forearm and an eyerake (I get a mental image of a TV flying out a window while somebody yells "Bill! What in the HELL are you doing?") only moments after no-selling about ten or so of Flair's knife edge chops.
They always usta' say there aren't any monsters, well there are. They're called "Hulkamania" and "Nash with the book."
- Rik Geerts speaks about Flair and the Hulkster:
OK, last Thunder hit about 9 out of 10 on the WTF (What the f*ck) scale!! Does anyone really believe that the aging Orange Ego could knock down The Four Horsemen on his own?
WCW is really doing some useless stuff in booking matches. Flair is a great heel but Hogan back as The Hulkster??!! Here's a guy who has been fleeing from matches for years now. He's never Hulked up in the past but all of a sudden, out of the big f*ckin' blue, this guy finds some long lost energy. Why? BECAUSE HE'S A FACE! Flair has been kicking out of finishers recently but he can't kick out of Hogan's Granny Legdrop of Eternal Doom?! Why? BECAUSE HE'S A HEEL!
Not only does this hurt the credibility of the sport but it throws wrestling back years. Not necessarily a bad thing, if they would take the good parts like logical angle building and feuding! But the Face's hulk-up and the Heel's cheating win...cliches of the past!
The good: Ed Leslie's contract is almost up.
The bad: This is a work to put Hogan over.
The ugly: The Orange Ego is going to run wild on The Horsemen. Guess Nash and co. really don't care about Tradition. - R. Hopkins comments on my "mark" report last week:
I know that you were joshing, but that one will go down in the anals (not annals) of markdom.
- Matt Horton has in interesting take on last week's main event:
One quick comment about the main event last night. I ws acutally cheering for Hogan. Before you delete this, let me finish. If Ed won his contract got renewed for 3 years at double the money. Scary. this means he would have to get a push. Scarier. He would probaly have to develop/copy some new moves such as the Zodiac Cutter, the Butcher Crossface, The Barber Driver, and finally the always dreaded Man with no Name Deathlock. Scariest.
As always great report, I laughed.
- Staleking writes:
Aldo, I had to scroll back to the top of the page to double-check the author's name. You didn't sound like your normal self. Regardless, I found the temporary new you to be quite funny... you did the "faked sincerity" bit quite well! "Smiley with the full arm drag and twist. Only Schiavone can call that correctly because everyone else SUCKS" ... this had me laughing out loud.
Good stuff Aldo, thanks for the entertainment.
Thanks. I speak for the truth, you know. Forget Ix Nay Tenay. When you hear Tony Schiavone call a spinning flying body attack or a back-leg front kick, you know you are dealing with a quality announcer.
- You know, it'd be pretty sweet if WCW bought the rights to play Drivin 'n' Cryin's "Fly Me Courageous" for Evan's theme.
- It'd be even better if they axed "Psycho" for Rey's opening music.
- Evan's playing the heel tonight.
- Lockup, Rey gets in a headlock.
- Evan flips Rey backward, sends him to the ropes and hits a shoulderblock.
- Both men go off the ropes some more and Evan drops Rey to the mat.
- Evan covers for two.
- Rey gets sent to the ropes and does the Tiger Mask Fake Out.
- Rey evades a dropkick, goes to the apron and hits a springboard legdrop for two.
- Rey lands some fists, goes off the ropes and runs into a powerslam for two.
- Evan goes to the apron and hits a springboard crossbody for two.
- Evan goes to the chinlock.
- While Evan puts on a front chancery he places his legs on the rope for leverage.
- Johnny Boone catches this and breaks the hold.
- Evan sends Rey out of the ring.
- Evan drops down with an axehandle.
- Evan sends Rey to the rail.
- Back inside, Evan drives his knee into Rey's arm.
- Chinlock #2 is applied.
- Rey tries to elbow out but is thrown into the corner.
- Evan lands some rights.
- Rey gets sent to the opposite corner.
- As Evan charges, Rey floats on top of him and does a headscissors takeover.
- Evan runs over Rey with a clothesline as we go to some...
- Commercials.
- Evan covers for two.
- Chinlock #3.
- Evan modifies his chinlock with a type of surfboard resthold.
- Evan lands a right knee.
- Evan shoots Rey to the ropes and hits a clothesline for two.
- Evan lands some boots to the chest.
- Evan slams Rey's face into the turnbuckle.
- Evan makes a motion about the belt being around his waist and beats on Rey some more.
- Evan applies a snapmare and does Chinlock #4.
- Evan sends Rey into the corner and runs into a turnbuckle.
- Rey sent to the corner, goes to the apron as Evan charges.
- Both men grapple on the ropes, with Evan getting tied up.
- Rey goes on the apron and hits a springboard legdrop for two.
- Rey sends Evan into the corner and runs into the turnbuckle.
- Evan whips Rey and tries a gorilla-press slam, but Rey gets out of it.
- Evan applies a gutwrench powerbomb for two.
- Evan does a front slam and heads up top.
- Rey trips Evan and sets him up on the top turnbuckle.
- Rey then hits his super frankensteiner for the win!
- YOUR WINNER: Rey Mysterio, Jr. via super frankensteiner in ~8:24.
- One of the clips shows Kevin Nash powerbombing Public Enemy member Rocco Rock onto a table.
- Wrath looks like he's running with the devil tonight.
- The really bad 70s rock brings out Damian. You're kidding, right?
- UofLHoops points out:
That facepaint Damien had on his match with Wrath made him look like the guy in "Magic's Secrets Revealed" on Fox... unfortunately all Damien revealed was his steady diet of squash.
- Tenay wonders when the WCW committee will give Wrath a title shot. Probably when they strip Nash of the book, which means never.
- Wrath shoves Damian down.
- Damian tries to grapple with the big man and gets shoved down again.
- Damian gets in a headlock and is sent to the ropes.
- Damian tries a shoulderblock but he ends up flying out of the ring.
- As Wrath heads outside, Damian goes in.
- Wrath pulls Damian out by his legs and sends him to the rail.
- Wrath hits a chop and brings Damian back in.
- Wrath lands a kick and whips Damian.
- Wrath misses a lariat and no-sells a couple dropkicks.
- Damian goes off the ropes and runs into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.
- In the corner, Wrath lands some kicks and biels Damian.
- Wrath puts on what Zybzsko calls "The Web" in the corner. It looks like a standing chinlock with one of Wrath's legs wrapped around Damian's.
- Wrath does another biel.
- Wrath misses an elbow.
- Wrath blocks a whip to the corner and sends Damian in chest-first.
- Damian rebounds into a belly-to-back suplex.
- Wrath tries a vertical suplex but Damian flips out and rolls Wrath up for two.
- Wrath knocks Damian down with an elbow.
- Damian is sent out of the ring.
- Wrath lands a knee as Damian tries to re-enter, sending him to the rail.
- On the apron, Damian hits a couple shoulderthrusts.
- Damian does a springboard sunset flip for two.
- Wrath hits a clothesline and sends Damian to the corner.
- Damian tries some kicks, goes off the ropes and hits a crossbody for two.
- Damian tries an axehandle from the middle turnbuckle but is caught into the Death Penalty, if you smell-la-la-la what Wrath is cookin'.
- Wrath kicks Damian in the midsection and sets up for the Meltdown.
- I go out and add two more lanes to each direction of downtown Interstate 4 and come back just in time to see the Meltdown completed for the win.
- YOUR WINNER: Wrath via Meltdown in 5:55.
- Shoot me now!
- Catchphrases.
- Gene mentions Disco Inferno's mockery of Konnan's videos and calls them atrocious.
- Konnan mentions something about representing his people.
- Konnan doesn't know how Disco got into the Wolfpac but at Spring Stampede, it's on.
- Juventud Guerrera and Disco, dressed as La Cucaracha, come out.
- Juvy introduces Cucaracha as the greatest Luchador.
- Since Cucaracha cannot speak English, Juvy will translate. Am I the only one that sees the irony in this?
- Konnan says that the man behind the mask is Disco.
- Konnan tells Cucaracha to take the mask off.
- Juvy says that Cucaracha is from Cancun, Mexico.
- As Konnan takes issue, Gene hears "Brooklyn, NY" from Cucaracha's mouth.
- Konnan calls Juvy a punk markbuster.
- Juvy informs Konnan that Cucaracha thinks his videos were worse than Disco's.
- Konnan tells Juvy to translate "Orale" and goes on the attack.
- Konnan holds his own for a short while but the heels overpower him.
- As Cucaracha holds Konnan, Juvy goes to the apron for a springboard dropkick but nails Cucaracha.
- Konnan then takes over.
- Konnan does his mule kick/facebuster combo on Cucaracha.
- The heels then flee the ring.
- This is Mikey's first match since the Uncensored PPV.
- Unfortunately, it will be in a losing effort to Hak. Surely, Mikey is used to this.
- Historical note: Back in late 1995, Mikey Whipwreck beat The Sandman for the ECW World Heavyweight Title. He would hold it for a little over a month before losing it back to The Sandman in a triangle match. The third competitor in that triangle match?
Steve Austin. - Zbyzsko notes that "extreme" means lack of science.
- Stop clapping, Wade. :)
- Hak gives the Singapore cane to Chastity.
- Mikey evades a lockup.
- Mikey ducks Hak again, takes him down and puts on an armbar.
- Hak squirms to the ropes and escapes the ring.
- Hak goes behind and slams Mikey to the mat.
- Hak puts on a headlock.
- Hak drops a knee on Mikey's head.
- Hak takes down Mikey with a left fist.
- Hak whips Mikey into a back elbow.
- Hak sends Mikey out of the ring.
- Chastity rakes Mikey's eyes on the outside.
- Hak lands a left fist.
- Mikey sends Hak to the rail.
- Mikey applies a Russian legsweep on the rail.
- Hak goes back in and Mikey connects with a lariat from the top turnbuckle for two.
- Commercials.
- Both men are out of the ring, with Hak in control.
- Hak sends Mikey to the rail.
- Hak drapes Mikey on the rail.
- Hak goes to the apron and hits a running legdrop.
- Hak brings Mikey back in.
- Hak misses a springboard legdrop.
- With Hak's head lying on the apron, Mikey does a springboard legdrop on it for two.
- Mikey puts Hak in the Tree of Woe and stomps away.
- Mikey has a chair and hits a weak shot to the head.
- Mikey puts the chair on Hak's face and does a running dropkick into it.
- Mikey tries a dive from the top turnbuckle but Hak moves so Mikey lands on the chair.
- Hak puts Mikey on the top rope, goes up top and hits a gullotine legdrop.
- Hak calls for the cane.
- Chastity throws the cane it, but Mikey swats it with the chair so the cane flies into Hak's leg.
- Mikey grabs the cane and hits Hak three times before he counters with the Russian legsweep for the win.
- YOUR WINNER: Hak via Russian legsweep in ~8:00.
- Post match, Bam Bam Bigelow makes his way to ringside.
- Bigelow assaults Hak and sends him back in the ring.
- Bigelow applies the Greetings From Asbury Park.
- Chastity then smacks Bigelow with the cane to no effect.
- Bigelow takes a swing at Chastity with the cane but she bails.
- Isn't it ironic to see a guy named after a Hispanic rap group come out to rock music?
- YES! Blitzkrieg! This guy rules!
- Lockup to start.
- Calo puts on an armbar.
- Calo drops his weight on Blitz's left arm.
- Blitz flips out into an armbar and a headlock.
- Calo connects with a dropkick.
- Calo does a scoop slam.
- Calo goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, sending Blitz out of the ring.
- As Blitz stalls, Calo connects with a leg.
- Calo then does a somersault senton on Blitz.
- Zbyzsko praises Tenay for knowing more than Schiavone.
- Tenay is calling WCW Thunder "The Information Source."
- Calo sends Blitz into the steel steps.
- Inside, Calo starts with an armbar, then moves into a variation of a surfboard.
- Calo picks up Blitz who does a victory roll for two.
- Calo punches Blitz and whips him to the ropes.
- Blitz flips out of an armdrag takedown and eats a boot to the midsection.
- Blitz gets sent to the ropes and does a twisting moonsault.
- Blitz lands a shoulder and goes to the apron.
- Blitz lands a right then sends Calo out of the ring with a springboard dropkick.
- Blitz goes off the ropes and lands a suicide somersault dive! Man, he really flew that time!
- As Blitz sends Calo back in, Tenay notes that Blitz has worked less than 100 matches in his career.
- Blitz makes a cover for two.
- Blitz stomps on Calo and runs to the ropes.
- Blitz hits a somersault senton followed by his standing moonsault for two.
- Just signed for Spring Stampede: Blitzkrieg vs. Juventud Guerrera.
- Calo gets sent to the corner and evades a running lariat.
- Calo kicks Blitz in the gut, whips him into the corner and hits a running dropkick.
- Calo puts on a chinlock.
- Calo shoots Blitz into the ropes and picks him up but Blitz rolls through for two.
- Calo drops an elbow.
- Calo with some boots to the head.
- Blitz reverses a whip to the corner.
- As Calo evades, Blitz does a moonsault off the turnbuckle.
- Calo grabs Blitz from behind and applies a German suplex for two.
- Calo drops a forearm to the back.
- Calo punches Blitz and goes to the opposite corner.
- Calo then hits a running shoulderblock.
- Calo tries it again and hits the post.
- Blitz goes on top of Calo's shoulders and rolls him up for two.
- Calo whips Blitz into a tilt-a-whirl side slam for two.
- Calo lands a couple punches, goes to the top turnbuckle and gets tripped.
- Blitz shoves Calo off and goes up top.
- Blitz hits the Sky Twisting Press for the win!
- YOUR WINNER: Blitzkrieg via Sky Twisting Press in 6:29.
- Raven comes out solo for this Souled Out '98 rematch.
- Arn Anderson accompanies Chris Benoit.
- While Raven slumps in the corner, Benoit stomps away.
- Benoit pulls Raven's jacket off.
- Benoit whips Raven into a lariat.
- Benoit talks smack to Raven and stomps him.
- Benoit with one of his bad-ass snap suplexes.
- Benoit applies a backbreaker submission.
- Benoit lands a boot to the back of Raven's head.
- Benoit hurls Raven out.
- Arn picks up Rave who chokes him.
- Arn breaks free from Raven, though.
- Benoit sends Raven to the post.
- Back inside, Benoit shoots Raven to the corner.
- Punch, chop, kick, whip to corner, run into boot.
- Raven slams Benoit's head into the opposite turnbuckle repeatedly.
- Raven does a trio of rolling suplexes for two.
- Benoit blocks a whip and tries the Crossface, but Raven reaches the ropes.
- Raven hits a jawbreaker as we go to...
- Commercials.
- Benoit kicks Raven and bring his leg to the rope as he blocks a kick.
- Benoit drops his body mass on Raven's leg twice.
- Raven hurls Benoit out of the ring.
- Raven grabs a chair and throws it inside.
- Drop toe-hold on chair sequence.
- Arn reacts as Benoit lies in pain.
- Raven with a fist to the back of the head.
- Raven tries a running bulldog but is shoved into the turnbuckle.
- Benoit does the thumb across the throat!
- With Raven lying on the chair, Benoit goes up top but misses the diving headbutt, landing on the chair.
- Arn acts as cheerleader as Charles Robinson makes his ten-count.
- Raven gets up at nine and sets up for the Evenflow.
- Arn enters the ring and beats on Raven, sounding the bell.
- YOUR WINNER: Raven via DQ in ~7:10.
- Arn sets Raven up for a DDT but Perry Saturn comes in and nails him with an axehandle.
- While Saturn works on Benoit, Raven tries to Evenflow Arn, but Malenko makes the save.
- Saturn beats on Malenko and puts his dress over Malenko's face on the turnbuckle.
- As Saturn lands his third punch, Arn hits him with a chair.
- Benoit and Malenko beat on Raven while Arn chokes out Saturn.
- Benoit then does the DDT on Raven while Malenko applies the Death Valley Driver on Saturn.
- Malenko mocks Saturn's hand signal before stomping on him some more.
- Arn gets the mic and says that the Horsemen are back as Benoit talks smack into the camera.
- Arn tells the fans to look at the end result.
- Arn then says this is on your [the fans] hands.
- Yes!
- Maybe I'm seeing things, but Diamond Dallas Page looked like he was busted open hardway on his scalp during the match.
- Jericho gets the mic as he enters the ring.
- Jericho asks what town we are in and then says that Richmond, West Virginia is his favorite town, etc.
- Typical Jericho mic work.
- Booker T comes out. If he wins this match, I doubt they'll let Booker win at Spring Stampede and hold two titles.
- This means that Big Poppa Roid would hold the #2 belt in the promotion. Yikes.
- Very few times do I hope a prediction I make is wrong. This is one of those times.
- All night, a fan has held up a "Booker T Hug Me" sign. She got her wish. Aww.
- Jericho throws a tantrum in front of Johnny Boone.
- Lockup, Booker takes Jericho to the corner and slaps his chest.
- Booker gets the crowd to clap their hands.
- Booker works a headlock into an armbar.
- Booker with another headlock.
- Jericho elbows out to no avail.
- Booker goes off the ropes and hits a flying shoulderblock.
- Booker with another armbar.
- Jericho with some elbows to the face.
- Jericho comes off the ropes with a shoulderblock.
- Booker leapfrogs over Jericho and hits a side kick.
- Booker does a scoop slam for two.
- Booker puts on an armbar.
- As Booker breaks clean in the corner, Jericho short-cuts his way to the advantage.
- Booker reverses a whip to the corner and hits a clothesline.
- Booker sends Jericho into the other corner and hits a forearm.
- A roundhouse kick sends Jericho outside.
- Jericho motions for the camera to kiss his ass and he walks to the back.
- Right as Jericho gets to the ramp, Booker grabs him and sends him into two sets of rails.
- Back in the ring, Jericho begs off and receives a kick for his efforts.
- Jericho whips Booker and hits an elbow.
- Jericho comes off the ropes into a Booker T back bodydrop over the top rope.
- Outside, Jericho sends Booker into the rail.
- Back inside, Jericho goes up top and hits a flying elbow.
- The C'mon Baby cover gets two.
- Jericho lands a boot on Booker.
- Jericho applies a vertical suplex.
- Jericho goes off the ropes and lands a senton for two.
- Jericho applies a double-gripped chinlock.
- Jericho lands some knees to Booker's midsection.
- Jericho applies a boot choke in the corner.
- Booker gets sent to the corner but floats over Jericho and rolls him up for two.
- Jericho hits a roundhouse kick and stalls on the middle turnbuckle.
- Jericho administers a backbreaker.
- Jericho does a scoop slam and goes up top.
- Booker raises a boot as Jericho comes down.
- Booker kicks Jericho, goes off the ropes and hits his axe kick.
- Booker whips Jericho into the 110th Street Slam.
- Jericho gets whipped to the corner, floats over and flapjacks Jericho on Johnny Boone, knocking him out.
- Booker breakdances to a vertical base and hits the Harlem Sidekick.
- As Booker goes up top, Triple S comes out and hits him with a chair.
- As Jericho sets up for the win, Stevie Ray enters the ring and beans him with the blackjack.
- Booker then makes the cover to retain his belt.
- YOUR WINNER: Booker T via outside interference in 9:28.