WCW Thunder (June 4, 1998)

 

Original Airdate: June 4, 1998

From Peoria, Illinois; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall, and Bobby Heenan

Best of Seven Series Match: Chris Benoit (3) v Booker T (1): They trade hammerlocks to start, until Booker pops him in the jaw, and delivers a vertical suplex. Booker adds the Harlem sidekick for two, and a bodyslam leads to the axekick for two, as Booker looks to stay in the game by throwing bombs early. Booker with a backelbow for two, but a clothesline misses, allowing Benoit a three-alarm rolling German suplex. Chris with a snap suplex and a knife-edge chop for two, followed by a corner whip, and a side suplex for two. Chris lands a clothesline to set up the flying headbutt drop for two, as Stevie Ray arrives to try and motivate his brother. Benoit goes for the crippler crossface, but Booker is in the ropes before he can get it properly applied. Benoit argues with the official, allowing Booker to recover with a spinkick, and he adds a spinebuster. A flapjack follows, but Benoit pops up with a clothesline for two. Chris tries dumping him over the top, but Booker lands on the apron, and stuns Benoit with a missile dropkick at 6:22. This was solid work, maybe a hair below last week's match, but better than a lot of their other efforts thus far. ** ¼ 

WCW World Tag Team Champion Giant joins us, and since Sting is off being buddies with Lex Luger in the Wolfpac, he doesn’t want to be tag partners with him anymore. And since he has physical possession of the tag title belts, he’s deciding to give Sting’s half to Brian Adams

Van Hammer v Reese: Marshall’s run down of the Flock angle accidentally exposes how nonsensical the booking has been. Van hammers him into the corner, but a cross corner whip attempt goes badly, and Reese side slams him. Reese with a corner whip of his own, and a hanging vertical suplex gets him two. Hammer fires back with a chincrusher, and he throws a series of rights and lefts, then a pair of clotheslines to take Reese down. That draws a shot with a stop sign from Horace, and Reese chokeslams Van at 3:04. They were trying, but the crowd was giving them nothing here. Afterwards, the Flock attack, but Juventud Guerrera (of all people) makes the save. ½*

Eddie Guerrero v Alex Wright: Alex attacks before the bell, but Guerrero blocks him in the corner, and unloads on the ropes, as Chavo Guerrero Jr wanders out. Eddie keeps throwing chops like they’re going out of style, until Chavo runs in at 1:11, giving Wright the DQ win. DUD

Tony brings Lex Luger out, and Lex wants a shot at Giant and Adams’ tag title, tonight. And, you’d think, that would be an easy set up for Giant/Adams v Sting/Luger to settle the dispute, but nope, he asks Diamond Dallas Page to be his partner. Guess the booking isn’t only nonsensical with the Flock’s stuff

WCW Television Title Match: Fit Finlay v Psychosis: I’m digging all these super random pairings Finlay is getting during this reign. Fit looks for a takedown, but can’t get hold of the challenger, and Psychosis nails him with a spinheel kick. But then the idiot decides it would be a good idea to trade punches, and that ends very badly. Fit with a stiff short-clothesline for two, and he works a chinlock for a bit. Fit with a bodyslam and a reverse chinlock, but Psychosis fights him off, and hits a rana off the top. Corner whip, but the follow up charge misses, and Finlay drills him with a rolling firemans carry slam, and a tombstone finishes at 4:01. This was a major clash of styles. ½*

Saturn v Glacier: Saturn sneaks into the ring with a German suplex for two, so Glacier bails, and that was some shitty refereeing, as the official saw Saturn sneaking up, and just stood there like a goof. Saturn with a plancha, and he adds a dropkick from the ring apron, then takes Glacier in for a legsweep that gets two. Saturn with a cross corner whip, but Glacier blocks the charge in, and Glacier unloads in the corner. Cross corner whip, but Saturn reverses, and turnbuckle smashes him. Saturn with a modified vertical suplex, but Glacier sweeps the leg before he can follow up. That draws Lodi onto the apron, and the distraction allows Saturn to recover. He nails Glacier with a superkick, and sets up a death valley driver, but Kanyon runs in while the referee is bumped. He takes Saturn out, and Glacier recovers with a superkick at 4:10. ½*

Curt Hennig and Konnan come out, and since Curt is still on crutches, Konnan offers to take his place in the US title match against Bill Goldberg at the Great American Bash. What a nice guy!

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Dean Malenko v Silver King: They feel each other out to start, dominated by the champion. Malenko catches him with a leg lariat for two, and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker is worth two. Dean uses a snapmare to set up a chinlock, but King fights him off, and throws a few chops, but misses a corner splash. That allows Malenko a side suplex for two, as Chris Jericho wanders out, and rings the bell. The match stops dead as Jericho comes into the ring, and decides to show Dean the wrestling rulebook from 1934 he found at the Library of Congress. So, the match is a no contest at 2:36. Shame, too, since it was pretty good while it lasted. Anyway, Jericho has found the Strangler Lewis Loophole, which apparently entitles him to getting the title belt back. So he demands Dean give it to him - which of course Malenko is more than happy to do, right upside his head. ½*

Raven’s Rules Match: Raven v Disco Inferno: Raven charges in and beats Disco down in the corner, but a corner charge gets blocked, and Disco manages a turnbuckle smash. Disco chokes him with some wrist tape, and a swinging neckbreaker gets him two. Backdrop, but Raven blocks, and dumps him to the outside for a whip into the steps. Raven brings a chair with him as they head back in, and he whips Disco into it in the corner, then tries a hiptoss onto it, but Disco counters with a smash into it. Disco unloads in the corner, but an Irish whip gets reversed, and Raven uses a drop-toehold onto the chair, ahead of a DDT at 2:56. Afterwards, Raven calls Kanyon out to meet him one-on-one, but no one shows. ½*

Handicap Match: Bill Goldberg v Barbarian and Hugh Morrus: They attack Bill before the bell, but then stupidly stop to gloat, and Goldberg gets vertical. Spear for Morrus, so Jimmy Hart tries distracting him, but gets chucked into both of his heels. Goldberg then double spears them, and each guy eats a jackhammer - Morrus taking the fall at 1:15. Goldberg matches may not be ‘good,’ but they are undeniably fun. ¼*

WCW World Tag Team Title Match: Giant and Brian Adams v Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger: Boy, they really liked doing tag main events during this period. Adams and Luger start, and I appreciate Lex changing up his look to go with his new faction, but working in jeans is never a good look. Lex with a clothesline, and he passes to Page, who somehow does make working in jeans… work. Page with a belly-to-belly suplex for two, and he tags Lex back in to hiptoss Brian. Adams is bumping around a lot here. Backdrop, but Adams counters with a piledriver, and that allows the tag to Giant. The champs go to work on Luger, until Giant misses an elbowdrop (which Lex half sells anyway, nice guy that he is), and DDP gets the hot tag. Giant cuts him off before he can hit Adams with the Diamond Cutter, so Sting comes out to chase Giant around, and Page hits the move on Brian to win the title at 6:30. This wasn’t ‘good,’ but it was at least a coherent match. Afterwards, JJ Dillon calls in from CNN Center, and informs the home audience that the title change won’t stand, since it wasn’t a sanctioned match. But, he rules that Giant will face Sting at the Great American Bash, and the winner gets to keep their half of the tag title, and then can select a partner. I kind of expected the title change not to stand, but at least they let the live crowd go home happy. ¾*

BUExperience: The booking is becoming increasingly erratic, and with less focus on delivering great matches, it’s becoming more noticeable as the weeks go by. It’s not boring, and it is still fairly entertaining, but it also isn’t at the same level it was at a year or two earlier.