WCW Thunder (June 11, 1998)

 

Original Airdate: June 11, 1998

From Buffalo, New York; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall, and Bobby Heenan

nWo Hollywood open the show, surrounded by what look like a bunch of (Buffalo caliber) strippers, and they announce that Giant selects Disciple as his partner to carry the WCW World Tag Team title after he beats Sting at the Great American Bash

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Dean Malenko v Riggs: Dean uses a drop-toehold into a front-facelock right away, but Riggs counters to a wristlock, reversed by Malenko. He turns it into a pin for two, and a snapmare allows Dean a chinlock. Riggs escapes, and puts the boots to him, then wins a criss cross with a dropkick for two. Riggs with a bodyslam for one, so he ground Dean in an armbar to wear him down. Dean escapes, so Riggs throws a shoulderblock, and he chokes Malenko down. Riggs with a fistdrop for two, so he works a bow-and-arrow, but Dean won’t stay down, so Riggs hammers on him some. So odd seeing a grandpa in the crowd wearing a ‘Macho Man’ bandana on his head. Riggs throws a clothesline for two, but a second one misses, and Malenko lands a leg lariat to set up the Texas cloverleaf, but Riggs is in the ropes before Dean can get it on. Malenko responds with a side suplex for two, and a cross corner whip works, but the charge in gets blocked, allowing Riggs a vertical suplex for two. Riggs goes upstairs, but Dean knocks him off the top, and gets the cloverleaf on at 6:01. Solid action to start things off. * ½ 

WCW United States Champion Bill Goldberg video. WCW was always horrible at these sorts of videos

Chris Jericho comes out, telling Malenko to enjoy the belt while he can, because he’ll be giving it back to Chris just as soon as JJ Dillon can push himself away from the dessert table to get the paperwork through

Juventud Guerrera v Kidman: They reverse each other a bunch to start, ending in Guerrera dumping him to the outside, but missing a plancha, and hurting his leg on the landing. Kidman grabs him for a powerbomb on the floor, but Guerrera tries to block, so Kidman drops him on the guardrail instead. Kidman adds a shooting star press from the apron, and he rolls Guerrera in for a leveraged pin, but the referee catches him at two. Kidman responds by putting the boots to Guerrera, and a snapmare allows him a chinlock. Guerrera escapes and lands a clothesline for two, but a wheelbarrow bulldog gets countered into a wheelbarrow suplex for two. Kidman with a corner splash, but Guerrera dodges, and gives Kidman a few turnbuckle smashes ahead of a flying spinheel kick for two. A reversal sequence ends in Kidman using a powerslam for two, and a sitout spinebuster gets another two. Another reversal sequence goes Guerrera’s way with a scoop sitout brainbuster, however, and Juventud gets to the top for a flying 450 splash at 7:06. The chinlock spot went on for a bit too long, but this was good action otherwise. Something about it just felt like it didn’t fully connect, though I can’t put my finger on what/why. ** ¼ 

Tony brings Lex Luger out to talk about the tag title situation, and while Lex is disappointed about the whole Dusty Finish, he’d still love it if Diamond Dallas Page would join the Wolfpac. Maybe if they actually tried to make the save for him on Nitro when Hollywood Hogan and Dennis Rodman were beating him with a chair, he might consider it. They need to work on their recruitment techniques 

Eric Bischoff brings Bret Hart out, and nWo Hollywood are doing some recruiting of their own: making a play for Chris Benoit

Best of Seven Series Match: Booker T (3) v Chris Benoit (3): The winner of this gets a WCW Television title match at the Bash. Hart and Bischoff hang out by the entrance for this one, and Benoit smiles at them as he makes his way out, but doesn’t offer more. Benoit with a chop and a headbutt right away, but Booker blocks a hiptoss, so Chris throws more chops, then a backelbow for two. Chris with a corner whip and a snap suplex on the rebound for two, but a dropkick to the leg misses, and Booker spinkicks him. Chris immediately bails, but Booker is on his tail, and bashes his head into the apron. Back in, Booker throws a backelbow for two, but a series of kicks backfires when Benoit catches him in a corkscrew legwhip. Booker bails, but has to hustle in to beat the count, with the leg still twisted. Chris jumps on the opening, working the leg. He batters the part so badly that Booker collapses in a heap during a corner whip, but Chris shows no mercy, giving him another corkscrew legwhip. Booker tries a backslide for two, but Benoit quickly cuts him off, and bashes the leg into the mat. Chris works a toehold, but Booker gets to a vertical base in the hold, and uses a leg-feed enzuigiri to escape before Benoit can legwhip him again. Unfortunately for Booker, he’s still battered, and Benoit is up first, cracking him with a chop for two. Suplex, but Booker hooks a small package for two, leaving Benoit scrambling to cut him off again. Chris unloads in the corner, and he hangs Booker in a tree of woe for more abuse. Benoit with a short-clothesline for two, and he traps Booker in a Muta-lock. Booker inches for the ropes, so Benoit butterflies the arms while still holding the bridge, but Booker powers to the ropes. That was great. Booker comes back with a kick, and a flapjack follows, but the leg slows him down, and he misses the Harlem sidekick. That allows Chris a three-alarm no-release rolling German suplex for two, and the flying headbutt drop gets another two. Chris goes to town in the corner, but the referee pulls him off, and while they argue, Bret Hart nails Booker with a chair! Chris saw it, however, and doesn’t want it that way. He refuses to cover, but the referee is counting Booker out. He nearly does so, but Benoit just can’t accept that kind of a win after this grueling series, and tells the referee what happened - costing himself the match by DQ at 15:14. The finish was a great bit of storytelling, but it felt like kind of a letdown after the series they had. This was a great end to the series, too… these matches got better as they went on. ***

Dean Malenko brings JJ Dillon out, and he’s so sick of Chris Jericho’s bullshit, that he’ll gladly surrender the title to JJ just to be done with it. So Chris comes out to collect, but JJ won’t give it to him: instead telling him that if he wants it, he needs to beat Malenko at the Bash. So Jericho, of course, whines and cries, so his dad (Ted Irvine, former pro-hockey player) comes out to call him an embarrassment for crying all the time. This whole segment was kind of stupid, with Malenko looking a little weak, and Jericho’s dad showing up out of nowhere. I dunno, didn’t work for me

Scott Putski v Konnan: Konnan dominates early, but Scott wins a criss cross with a dropkick, and Konnan ends up on the outside. Back in, Konnan lands a rolling clothesline, and he chops Putski into the corner, then uses a snapmare to set up a seated dropkick. Konnan adds a sitout facebuster for two, and he puts Putski in a kneebar, but Scott makes the ropes. Konnan responds with another hold, but Scott keeps fighting, so Konnan uses a cradle for two. Monkey flip, but Scott counters with a cradle for two, reversed by Konnan for two. Scott fires back with a vertical suplex, and a bodyslam sets up a flying splash, but Konnan gets a boot up to block. That allows Konnan a cradle DDT, and the tequila sunrise finishes at 4:08. Why did they keep pairing Putski with guys who had no chance of carrying him? DUD

Saturn v Glacier: Mike Tenay joins us for commentary here. Glacier skips his entrance so he can attack Saturn from behind, and he hammers on him, as Raven makes his way down. Glacier with a short-sidekick and a nicely executed snap suplex, but Saturn reverses another suplex, so Glacier tries a roundhouse kick, but Saturn blocks. He takes Glacier to the mat in an STF, but Glacier has the ropes. Saturn pounds him, but loses a criss cross to a spinkick for two. Cross corner whip, but Saturn reverses, and uses a backdrop on the rebound. Glacier comes back with (yet another) kick, but the superkick misses, and Saturn goes low. Nicely timed spot there, eliciting groans from throughout the arena. And that allows Saturn the death valley driver at 3:44. This had no flow. Afterwards, Raven fires his riot squad for being so inept, but one of them unmasks as Kanyon, who takes Raven out before getting chased off by the Flock. This whole angle isn’t really landing. ½*

Tony brings JJ back out, and after reviewing what happened in the earlier Booker/Benoit match, he wants to bring Booker out to talk about it, since they both feel sick about it. So Booker comes out, and he doesn’t want to win it that way either, and suggests a redo. Stevie Ray thinks he’s a fool, of course. But JJ takes that to heart, and throws the match they had tonight out, signing Booker/Benoit in a redo at the Bash, with the winner getting the title shot later that night. Just book a damn triple threat match and get on with it

Bischoff and Miss Elizabeth come out, and Liz is still fuming that Randy Savage said he’s been ‘over her’ for a ‘long time’ on Nitro, and she clarifies that she dumped him. And, anyway, his checkbook was the only good part about being with him. Bitchy Liz is fun, but this didn’t feel like it had a real storyline purpose

Randy Savage and Lex Luger v Giant and Disciple: Giant and Disciple attack before the bell, but the Wolfpac fight them off. The dust settles on Savage and Disciple, but Bischoff and Liz are back out, and they goad Randy into chasing them up the aisle… right into an obvious trap with Hogan and Hart attacking. Kevin Nash makes the save, and the bell just starts ringing a bunch, so I’m assuming it’s a no-contest at 1:45. This was just an angle, but I can’t really complain, since that’s about all most of these guys are good at these days. DUD

BUExperience: This was a breath of fresh air after the very talky, angle heavy Nitro. It’s nice when they let this show just breathe and be about the in-ring stuff.