WCW Thunder (November 12, 1998)

 

Original Airdate: November 12, 1998 (taped November 5)

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

Glacier v Chris Adams: Glacier is beefing with anyone using the superkick, since ‘he invented’ the move. And he’s going straight to the top with his beef: Chris Adams in 1998. Glacier puts this away with a thumb spike, after interference from Ernest Miller, at 3:55. DUD

Kenny Kaos v Kendall Windham: The announcers discuss Bill Goldberg being named one of People Magazine’s ‘sexiest men alive.’ Hearing Tony enthusiastically proclaim that Bill has his ‘vote’ cracks me up. Kaos puts it away at 4:12. DUD

Stevie Ray v Jerry Flynn: Really dishing out the marquee matches, one after another, this week. Stevie hits his finish at 3:54. DUD

#1 Contender's Match: Rey Mysterio Jr v Juventud Guerrera: They clarify that the winner becomes the top contender to the Cruiserweight title… after Chavo Guerrero Jr gets his shot tonight. Well, at least they bothered to clarify. They posture to start, with Guerrera dominating. Rey ends up on the outside to regroup after getting dropped on his head, but Mysterio manages to grab a side-headlock on the way back in. Guerrera reverses, so Rey forces a criss cross, and decks him. Guerrera fires back to trigger a slugfest, and a reversal sequence ends in Guerrera dropping him across the top rope with an inverted vertical suplex. Another criss cross allows Rey a headscissor takedown, so Juvi bails to break the momentum. Back in, Mysterio manages to pound him down in the corner anyway, and he delivers a bronco buster. Rey snapmares him to set up a chinlock, but Guerrera escapes, and gets a bow-and-arrow on. Rey hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two after escaping, and a slingshot moonsault gets him another two. Backdrop gets blocked, so Rey tries a rana, but Guerrera counters with a spinebuster for two. A (sloppy) reversal sequence sees Rey hook a cradle for two, but a corner splash misses. That allows Guerrera to try going up, but Rey hooks the ankle to prevent him from climbing. That allows Rey a snapmare into a headscissors, and a standing dropkick puts Guerrera on the outside. Rey wants to dive, so Guerrera hides out in the aisle, and Mysterio is forced to abandon the effort. Back in, Guerrera chops him into the corner, and a brainbuster gets him two, as the time limit expires at 12:47. Both guys are upset, but since this is a high stakes match, the referee says the match must continue. They slug it out, and Guerrera delivers a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Guerrera with a cross corner dropkick, but Rey sidesteps, and bodyslams Juvi. Rey goes up with a flying senton splash, but Guerrera dodges. Both guys are battered, and Rey manages to cover first, for two. Guerrera fires back with a spinheel kick to send Rey to the outside, and Guerrera dives after him with a springboard flying bodyblock. Guerrera goes to the top on the way back in, so Rey tries to bring him down with a rana, but Guerrera counters with a powerbomb for two. A reversal sequence allows Guerrera a scoop sitout brainbuster, and he goes up, but Mysterio crotches him. Rey brings him off with a rana, and that’s enough at 17:12. Both guys put in a big effort, and the match was good, but the announcers were selling it so hard that it almost worked against them. Plus, Rey just hasn’t been the same guy since coming back. ** ¼ 

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Billy Kidman v Chavo Guerrero Jr: They get into several reversal sequences to start, and Kidman gets a standing dropkick, then an armdrag into an armbar. Chavo escapes, and they do another reversal sequence, won by Chavo with a headscissor takedown. He slaps on a mat-based side-headlock, and a side suplex gets him two. He grounds Kidman again in an armbar, and a powerslam gets the challenger two. Kidman fights back with a rebound clothesline, allowing him a slingshot legdrop, but Chavo fires back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Chavo uses a bridging German suplex for two, and a spinheel kick follows. Chavo goes to a chinlock, then into a Muta lock, but a clothesline misses and Kidman dropkicks him. Another one, but Chavo dodges, and delivers an elbowdrop for two. Chavo with a turnbuckle smash, but a cross corner whip gets reversed. That allows Kidman to get to the top with a flying bodypress for two, but a charge in the corner gets blocked, and Chavo hooks a sunset cradle for two. A victory roll follows for two, but Kidman hits him with a sitout spinebuster for two. Kidman with a cross corner whip, but Chavo reverses, and delivers a springboard bulldog for two. Chavo with a powerbomb, but Kidman counters to a facebuster. That allows him to go up for the finish, but the LWO run in before he can dive, causing the DQ at 10:53. Afterwards, Chavo gets upset that the LWO interfered, so they beat him up as well, but Eddie Guerrero puts a stop to it. And then Rey Mysterio Jr runs out to brawl as well. * ¾ 

Dean Malenko v Kanyon: Posturing to start, with Dean getting the better of things. Kanyon manages a rocker dropper out of the corner for two, and he grabs a sleeper, but Dean uses a side suplex to escape. Kanyon tries a flying splash, but Dean dodges, and makes a comeback. A leg lariat gets him two, and a corner clothesline connects. A second one gets blocked, and Kanyon uses a kneelift to knock Malenko out of the ring. Dean manages a schoolboy for two on the way back in, but gets caught in a hotshot. Kanyon tries for the reverse STO, but Dean sweeps the legs into the Texas cloverleaf, only for Kanyon to get the ropes before he can get it locked. Kanyon with an electric facebuster for two, and he tries another rocker dropper, but Dean counters with a powerbomb this time. He immediately shifts to the cloverleaf, but Lodi runs in for the DQ at 9:48. Afterwards, Benoit (dressed like a wannabe referee) makes the save for his fellow Horsemen. *

Giant v Konnan: Konnan tries bringing fire, but Giant topples him to block a bodyslam, and the big guy delivers a Russian legsweep. To the outside, Giant cracks him with a chop, and he grabs a table, but misses a charge, and puts himself through it. That allows Konnan to grab a chair, and he starts teeing off for the DQ at 3:43. Not much to this one. ¼*

BUExperience: We got three lengthy matches involving six great workers, though each of them was something of a disappointment in their own way. Overall not a bad episode anyway, though the commentary got increasingly annoying as the show went on, with Tony telling Bobby to ‘shut up’ probably three dozen times through the night.