WCW Thunder (October 1, 1998)

 

Original Airdate: October 1, 1998 (taped September 24)

From Norfolk, Virginia; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan, with Lee Marshall (first hour), and Mike Tenay (second hour)

Diamond Dallas Page v Lodi: Lodi talks too much, so Page attacks him before the bell. Lodi manages to fight him off, and uses a ropechoke, but Dallas quickly shakes him off with a discus clothesline. DDP with a gutbuster, and the Diamond Cutter at 1:36. DUD

Mike Enos v Jerry Flynn: Really throwing the big matches out there for us this week, aren’t they? Scott Hall drunkenly stumbles out as they go at it here, and decides to cut a promo in the ring, so the match just kind of stops. Gosh, Enos should have slugged him. Fool me once, and all that. Flynn ends up going after him, and gets decked, so I guess that’s a DQ at 4:39, because the referee calls for the bell off of it. So, with this pesky match out of the way, Hall accepts Kevin Nash’s challenge for Halloween Havoc - but it’ll be on Scott’s ‘terms.’ Bottle on a Pole match? DUD

Riggs v Kanyon: I’m so confused as to who does and doesn’t get their first names back now that the Flock has dissolved. Seems Riggs does not. Kanyon cuts a promo on him, so Riggs throws a punch to kick start the bout. Riggs with a dropkick for two, and what was up with guys who had great dropkicks topping out as JTTS? Not across the board, but it felt like every era had one or two JTTS guys who had incredible dropkicks, and little else. Riggs works the arm for a bit, but Kanyon fights him off with a facebuster. Riggs tries a hiptoss, but Kanyon counters to a swinging neckbreaker for two, and the reverse STO finishes at 6:21. ¼*

Somewhere in the bowels of the building, Raven is brooding, preparing for his World title match against Goldberg later

Wrath v Ciclope: Wrath knocks him around with ease, and dives with a flying elbowdrop. Ciclope tries to kick at the man, but that ends badly when Wrath casually chucks him out of the ring, and Wrath follows to feed him the guardrail. Wrath with a big clothesline on the way back in, and a cross corner whip rebounds Ciclope into a jumping shoulderblock. Wrath with a pumphandle powerslam at 3:22. A total squash, but Ciclope went out of his way to make Wrath look like a star. ½*

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Billy Kidman v Chavo Guerrero Jr: Posturing to start, dominated by the challenger. Kidman blocks a cross corner whip, and uses a headscissors to send Chavo to the outside, and Billy is on him with a plancha. Kidman with a bodyslam on the way back in, and he quickly adds a legdrop. Backdrop, but Chavo blocks, and delivers a modified bulldog. Hiptoss, but Kidman tries to reverse, so Chavo reverses back - right over the top rope. Chavo stays on him with a dive into the aisle, and he rolls Kidman in to cover for two. Chavo grounds him in a chinlock from there, but Kidman escapes, and throws a dropkick. Clothesline, but Chavo blocks, and delivers a springboard bulldog for two. Chavo works a headscissor hold, and an elbowdrop follows. Chavo uses a snapmare to set up another chinlock, but Kidman blocks a side suplex. He tries a bulldog, but Guerrero drops him across the top rope to block, and uses a rana to bring him off for two. Chavo with a clothesline, and he goes back to the chinlock. Kidman escapes, and hooks a sunset flip for two, but Chavo throws a leg lariat for two. Backdrop, but Kidman blocks, and blasts him with a clothesline. Dropkick, but Chavo stops short to avoid it, and he delivers a side suplex for two. A cross corner whip follows, but the charge in misses, and Kidman delivers a belly-to-belly suplex. He goes upstairs, but Guerrero crotches him on the top, and brings him off with a vertical superplex for two. Chavo gets into trouble in the corner, however, and Kidman uses a sitout spinebuster to set up the flying shooting star press at 9:08. This was given plenty of time, and they made the most of it. ** ½ 

Van Hammer v Lenny Lane: Some measuring to start, and Hammer gets control with an overhead wristlock slam for two. Backdrop, but Lane blocks. Lane tries a hiptoss, but Hammer counters with a short-clothesline for two, so Lenny goes to the eyes. That allows Lane a turnbuckle smash, but a second one gets blocked, and Hammer side suplexes him for two. Lane buys time with a chincrusher, but wastes that time, and gets backdropped. Hammer delivers a cross corner clothesline, and a vertical superplex follows. Hammer with a whiplash at 3:37. Hammer wasn’t destined to become a big star, but as a middle of the card, borderline JTTS guy, I never got the hate for him. ¾*

Raven navigates the subtleties between laughing and crying

Dean Malenko t-shirt ad

Disco Inferno v Damian: Damian wins a criss cross with a bodypress for two, so Disco hides in the ropes to break the momentum. Disco with a cross corner whip, but Damian rebounds with a clothesline for two, only to miss a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop. That allows Disco a swinging neckbreaker, and a bodyslam sets up his own 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two. Superplex, but Damian blocks - only to land on a boot while trying a dive. That allows Disco a piledriver at 2:56. Nothing to this one. Afterwards, Disco puts the boots to Damian, until Juventud Guerrera shows up to make the save. ¼*

Konnan v Stevie Ray: The announcers talk about the look of ‘intensity’ on Konnan’s face, when he’s literally dancing around. Konnan hits Ray with a rolling clothesline right away, and a snapmare sets up a seated dropkick. Backdrop, but Ray blocks, and hammers on Konnan. Ray throws a clothesline for two, and he grounds Konnan in a chinlock from there. Vincent takes some cheap shots from the outside for good measure, but Ray runs into a boot in the corner, and Konnan bulldogs him. Konnan adds a sitout facebuster, so Vincent distracts him, and Ray grabs the slapjack. He nails Konnan with it, but the referee sees it, and calls for the DQ at 4:17. Afterwards, they make with a beatdown, but Kevin Nash makes the save. DUD

WCW World Title Raven’s Rules Match: Bill Goldberg v Raven: DDP is hanging around on commentary for this, and quotes Raging Bull. Posturing to start, dominated by the champion. All considered, why isn’t Kanyon running in immediately, instead of wandering around ringside? Goldberg with a front-powerslam, but a charge in the corner ends in Bill smashing his knee into the turnbuckle. That leaves Bill down on the outside, and Raven attacks him out there. He feeds Bill the steps, and puts him on a table, but misses a dive, and goes through it himself. That allows Goldberg a superkick on the way back in, and he throws a spear, but Raven shoves the referee into it. Bill stays on him, so Kanyon comes in with a chair to put the champion down. That draws DDP in to help, as Raven plants Goldberg with a DDT. Again, but Bill blocks, and delivers the jackhammer at 4:02. Hey, at least we finally got some onscreen interaction between Goldberg and Page ahead of Halloween Havoc. DDP was horrible on commentary, though. Like, wow. ¼*

BUExperience: This had its moments, but was a pretty nondescript episode for the most part. Nothing really happened. I did enjoy the Cruiserweight title bout, though.