WCW Thunder (January 29, 1998)

Original Airdate: January 29, 1998

From Memphis, Tennessee; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall, and Bobby Heenan

WCW United States Title Match: Diamond Dallas Page v Sick Boy: Heenan is really putting Sick Boy over as a threat, bless his heart. Page with a schoolboy for two right away, so Boy gets an armbar on, but Dallas reverses. Boy bails, but still ends up in a wristlock once getting back inside, and Dallas delivers a tilt-a-whirl slam. Diamond Cutter, but Boy mulekicks him in the leg to buy time, and dives with a springboard flying dropkick. Boy works the leg, but Page fights him off in the corner, so Boy drops him with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Boy argues the count, allowing Page a schoolboy for two, and he makes a comeback. Cutter, so Boy goes to the leg again to buy more time. Boy whips him into the ropes, but Page reverses, and pulls out a pop-up Cutter at 4:34. I don’t think anyone other than Heenan bought Boy as an actual threat, and the match didn’t really click. ½*

Mike Tenay brings JJ Dillon out so JJ can announce that WCW will be fining Kevin Nash $50,000 for using the banned powerbomb this past Monday night

Jim Duggan v Meng: Jim pounds him into the ropes to start, and takes him down with an axehandle, so Meng bails. Jim follows to post him, so Jimmy Hart distracts him, but Duggan fights off Meng’s sneak attack. He loses control on the way back in, however, and Meng ropechokes him. Meng with a nervehold, but Duggan fights free, and both guys collide for a double knockout. Hart tries passing Meng the 2x4, but Jim catches it, and cracks Meng with it. He stops to take Jimmy out as well, but the distraction allows Meng to sneak up with the Tongan death grip at 4:14. DUD

Raven's Rules Match: Raven v Marty Jannetty: Jannetty fights off the blitz, hitting a pair of clotheslines, and a dropkick to send Raven to the outside. Marty follows to bash him into the guardrail, but Raven reverses him into the post - complete with a great bump from Jannetty. Raven brings a chair with him on the way back in, and a drop-toehold introduces Marty to it. Raven with a corner whip, but the charge in goes badly, and Jannetty bulldogs him. Jannetty with a series of matslams for two, and a ten-punch in the corner rattles him for a schoolboy for two. Jannetty with a superkick to set up a flying fistdrop for two, but Raven blocks a wristlock, and dropkicks a chair at Marty. DDT finishes at 3:56. A nice little match here. I wouldn’t have minded a couple of extra minutes of this. * ½ 

Bill Goldberg v Yuji Nagata: Nagata actually manages a takedown into an armbreaker at the bell, but Bill quickly gets out of it. Nagata goes to the eyes, but Bill counters a hiptoss into an anklelock, so Nagata grabs the ropes. Nagata tries a suplex, but Goldberg counters with a swinging neckbreaker, and adds the spear. Jackhammer, and good night at 1:32. Goldberg’s definitely one of those guys on the short list of ‘must watch’ squashes. ¼*

Newest nWo member Dusty Rhodes explains his turn, and apparently it’s about upholding wrestling tradition. That’s… certainly an interesting take. He was always a weird fit with this group

Disco Inferno v Scott Hall: Hall attacks before the bell, and drops Disco with a chokeslam. Outsider’s Edge, but Disco slips away, and hits the Chartbuster. Cover, count, but Dusty pulls Hall out of the ring at two. Hall comes back in with fury, and knocks Disco around, ahead of a stepover-toehold. Fallaway slam leads back to the Edge, and this time it’s over at 2:57. The usual Scott Hall ‘oh, I make guys look great before beating them’ match that’s actually just Hall gobbling them up. ¼*

Tenay brings Nick Patrick out to answer for his behavior at Starrcade, and as usual, he’s incredible. The more I’ve seen of his promos, the more I think he was completely wasted as a referee. I’m not saying he should have been a wrestler, but he would have been an incredible mouthpiece for someone

WCW Television Title Match: Booker T v Saturn: Saturn pounds him into the corner to start, but misses a charge, and Booker unloads. Clothesline, but Saturn ducks. He tries a clothesline of his own, but Booker is ready with a powerslam. Savate kick, but Saturn ducks, and suplexes the champion. Booker bails, so Saturn dives with a plancha, and whips him into the rail. He charges, but Booker backdrops him into the first row, and back in we go. Saturn manages a suplex for two, but a straddling ropechoke misses, and Booker lands a spinkick. Axekick follows, and a side suplex leads to the Harlem sidekick. That draws the Flock over, but Booker fights them off with Rick Martel’s aid, and rolls Saturn up at 5:20. Afterwards, a miscommunication during the chaos leaves Booker and Martel having heated words. ¾*

Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero v Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit: Jericho and Malenko start, and Chris stalls. Dean gets a headlock on once they engage, but Jericho quickly escapes, and they measure each other. Jericho gets Dean into the heel corner for a tag to Eddie, and they double team. Eddie takes Dean into the corner for chops, but Malenko turns the tables. Suplex, but Eddie counters with a rollup for two, and he goes to the eyes. Dean comes back with a powerslam for two, and he passes to Benoit. Jericho tags in as well, and eats a shoulderblock right away, but comes back with a hanging vertical suplex for one. Jericho takes him into the corner for chops, but Benoit turns the tables, so Jericho hooks a bridging German suplex for two. Bodyslam sets up the Lionsault for two, so he passes to Guerrero, but Benoit fights off the double team. He gets Eddie in the Crippler crossface, but Jericho saves, and Eddie suplexes Benoit for two. Tag to Dean for a combo, and it’s Texas cloverleaf time, but Jericho saves. He goes for the Liontamer on Dean, but Malenko counters with a cradle for two, and delivers a leg lariat. Vertical superplex sets up a flying headbutt drop from Benoit, and the crossface finishes Jericho at 6:25. This was all action, but felt kind of unfocused. Afterwards, Tenay comes in to talk to Benoit about never winning a title, which Chris thinks has to do with his ‘political incorrectness.’ Yeah, I’ll buy that. That draws WCW United States Champion Diamond Dallas Page out, and he understands exactly how it feels to be overlooked by promoters, so he’ll give Benoit a shot next week. Good reality-based promo here. Except for the part where Tenay called Benoit ‘silent but violent.’ * ¾ 

WCW World Tag Team Title Match: Kevin Nash and Konnan v The Steiner Brothers: Konnan and Rick Steiner start, and Rick thumps him right away. STF follows, as does a suplex. In comes Nash, but Scott Steiner cuts him off, and the Brothers clean house. The champs take a cheap shot to turn the tide on Rick, however, and they go to work. Rick blocks a corner charge from Nash, so Buff Bagwell comes out, and pulls Scott off of the apron to prevent a tag. Rick still hits Konnan with a powerslam anyway, so Nash decides to nail Rick with the title belt for the intentional DQ at 4:51. Afterwards, Nash powerbombs the referee for getting in his face, which gets him hauled away in handcuffs again. DUD

BUExperience: This was a decent episode. Nothing major happened, but the DDP/Benoit angle was solid.