WCW Thunder (February 19, 1998)

Original Airdate: February 19, 1998

From Birmingham, Alabama; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall, and Bobby Heenan

Earlier today, Mike Tenay was trying to catch up with WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho outside of the building, when the nWo pushed past, attacking Lex Luger and Randy Savage in the parking lot. I liked how they gave the camera a reason for being there, as opposed to just randomly having a crew in the parking lot for no reason. Now, why they’d schedule an interview in the parking lot to begin with is another matter entirely, but I appreciate it nonetheless

Bill Goldberg v Fit Finlay: Fit attacks before the bell, but Goldberg quickly fights him off, and delivers a press-slam. Fit tries punching, but Goldberg is just not interested in selling at all. Goldberg tries a suplex, but Fit blocks, and gets a sleeper on. Goldberg quickly powers out, and takes him down in a hold, but Finlay is in the ropes. Spear connects, Jackhammer finishes at 2:34. ¼*

Chavo Guerrero Jr v Psychosis: Chavo gets a side-headlock and a hammerlock to start, but Psychosis throws an elbow, and takes him into the corner to pound. Criss cross allows Chavo a jumping forearm, and a dropkick allows him to take Psychosis into the corner for abuse. Psychosis comes back with a powerslam, and a cross corner whip sets up a charge, but Guerrero sidesteps, and Psychosis takes a spill to the outside. Chavo is on him with a wild suicide dive, and he hooks the leg for two on the way back into the ring. Psychosis throws a clothesline as they pop up, and he dumps Chavo to the outside so he can dive at him with a dropkick from the apron. Psychosis with a bodyslam to set up a dive on the way back in, but Chavo throws a dropkick to block. Chavo with a springboard bulldog for two, and a missile dropkick finds the mark. Guerrero takes him upstairs, but Psychosis blocks whatever he was going for, and leaps with a flying legdrop at 4:42. Fun match here, with both guys working quick, but not sacrificing execution. ** ½ 

Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff join us to clarify that Randy Savage is a nutcase, but he’s their nutcase. Even if they have to keep him in the group by force. Sounds like a healthy relationship 

Booker T v Riggs: Riggs rushes him at the bell, and pounds Booker down for some stomping. Dropkick sets up a pair of elbowdrops for two, as the announcers are still talking about the nWo attack earlier, now getting into a lengthy debate over exactly how many minutes Luger and Savage were talking before the bad guys showed up. Riveting. Riggs with a plancha for two, but Booker reverses a vertical suplex. Riggs pops up with a high knee before Booker can follow up, and Riggs bodyslams him. 2nd rope elbowdrop misses, allowing Booker a comeback, as the announcers talk about how Courtney Cox is a WCW fan. Yeah, as if Courtney Cox would ever be associated with WCW in any way. Booker with the axekick at 3:57. Not garbage, not good. But pretty much exactly what it needed to be, with Booker going over a member of the Flock ahead of SuperBrawl. ¾*

Backstage, Tenay tries to check in on Lex Luger, but Lex is in a mood. Lex Luger? Having a bad attitude? I know, I’m shocked, too

Juventud Guerrera v Kidman: They fight over a cross corner whip for a while, and Guerrera takes him down with a headscissors. He goes to climb, but Kidman blocks. Kidman goes up himself, but gets slammed off, and Guerrera dives with a flying headscissors for two. Victory cradle, but Kidman counters with a wheelbarrow suplex. Backdrop, but Guerrera blocks, and sends him over the top with another headscissors. He goes for a dive, but Lodi trips him up. That allows Kidman to recover with a dive of his own, but he ends up landing on Lodi, and Guerrera topples him for two on the way back inside. Reversal sequence ends in Guerrera with a spinheel kick, and a scoop sitout brainbuster sets up a flying 450 splash at 3:13. Kidman’s great run continues! Afterwards, Chris Jericho runs in, and unmasks Guerrera, but Juvi has another one underneath, and he hits Jericho with a missile dropkick to win the battle. ** ¼ 

The Outsiders v Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom: What, so we’re not even pretending they’re brothers anymore? Bloom looks like he wants to join the Outsiders, if anything. Scott Hall dominates Enos to start, but walks into a powerslam for two, and Bloom tags in. Kevin Nash takes a cheap shot before he can get too far, however, and Kevin tags in to unload on him in the corner. Big boot finds the mark, and he drops Bloom with a powerbomb for the DQ at 2:08. The best part is that the fans are totally into Nash killing guys with it, they could care less that it’s supposedly some giant heel move. DUD

Davey Boy Smith and Jim Neidhart v Curt Hennig and Brian Adams: This is an impromptu match, as the nWo guys come out to talk trash about Bret Hart, and his brothers in law step up to defend his honor. Big brawl to start, controlled by the heels. Bulldog fights Hennig off with an inverted atomic drop, and a catapult sends him into the turnbuckle. Adams dumps Davey over the top for Rick Rude to abuse, and they double up on Anvil. The referee tries to establish order, but the combatants just won’t listen to a word he says, until he finally throws the bout out at 2:20. This wasn’t really a match, just an angle. DUD

Tenay brings WCW World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers out, and why are they still walking around with two sets of belts? It’s not like in the early 90s when they had the NWA/WCW Unified belts, this is just the WCW title, no need for four title belts

La Parka v Super Calo: Tenay sits in on commentary for this one. Parka wants to use the chair at the bell, but the referee talks him out of it. They get into a shoving match instead, won by Calo. Calo with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, as the announcers talk about the parking lot stuff again, with Tony apologizing for ‘taking away from (a) great match’ for about the tenth time tonight. Parka manages a tree of woe, but Calo drops him into the corner with a modified power hotshot. Calo crotches him on the top rope, and a springboard rana brings Parka down for two. Parka ends up on the outside, so Calo dives with a slingshot somersault senton splash on the floor. Calo takes him up again on the way in, but Disco Inferno shows up. That ends up distracting Calo, and Parka puts him away at 4:01. This was kind of rough, with no real direction. Afterwards, Disco goes after Parka, but gets whacked with a chair before he can touch him. ¼*

Video package hyping the WCW United States title match between champion Diamond Dallas Page and challenger Chris Benoit at SuperBrawl

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Chris Jericho v Dean Malenko: Tenay is still with us here. Dean attacks while the referee is busy trying to force Chris to take the title belt off, and Malenko uses a catapult into the corner. Dean puts the boots to him, and a criss cross ends in Dean using a leg lariat. Cross corner clothesline connects, but a suplex gets countered with an inverted vertical suplex, as Tony clarifies that he doesn’t ‘dislike’ Jericho, ‘he’s just a lying lamebrain.’ Glad we got that cleared up. Jericho with a suplex for two, so he works a chinlock, then a backbreaker submission. Lionsault misses, however, and Dean dumps him to the outside. Malenko drops him onto the apron out there, before taking it back inside to finish. Texas cloverleaf, but Jericho is in the ropes before Dean can turn it over. Malenko responds with a turnbuckle smash, and a drop-toehold allows him an Oklahoma roll for two. Jericho tries a backslide, but Dean blocks, and a reversal sequence ends in Jericho hooking the Liontamer at 6:04. * ½ 

Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Benoit v Saturn and Raven: After a bunch of posturing, Page and Saturn start, and DDP gets the better of a criss cross with a belly-to-belly suplex. That draws Raven in, but Page cuts him off, and the babyfaces clean house. The dust settles on Chris and Raven, and Benoit cross corner whips him, but eats a superkick from Saturn for two. Saturn hammers him into the corner, and a trapping suplex gets him two. Vertical suplex, but Chris counters to the crippler crossface, so Raven saves. Both guys find tags, and Page dives in with a flying clothesline, and Roseanne Barr the door! Diamond Cutter on Saturn, but Kidman helps Saturn block, and Page eats a gourdbuster for two. Raven hits Page with a clothesline for two, and the Flock cut the ring in half on DDP. He fights Saturn off long enough for the hot tag to Benoit, and Roseanne Barr the door again! Chris gives Raven a pair of snap suplexes for two, and Saturn takes a rolling German suplex, with Raven saving after two alarms. Page comes in for the Cutter on Saturn, but Saturn blocks with a mulekick. That allows Saturn the Ring of Saturn on Dallas, but Benoit breaks it up with the flying headbutt drop. That allows Raven to try a DDT, but Page counters with the Cutter, and Benoit slaps on the crossface for the win at 10:02. This was a very solid bit of tag team wrestling. **

The nWo bring Randy Savage’s carcass out in a show of power, and they challenge Sting to come out if he’s got the guts. Of course, Sting has got plenty of that (it’s brains that he’s short of), so he runs out alone against the entire faction, but luckily Lex Luger is there to back him up, and they clean house to end the show

BUExperience: This is a much better show than Nitro, with more focus, and less bullshit.