WCW: Thunder
February 5, 1998
Beaumont, TX
Beaumont Civic Center

The current WCW champs are as follows:
WCW World Champion: Vacant (1/8/1998)
WCW U.S. Champion: Diamond Dallas Page (12/28/1997)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Outsiders (1/12/1998)
WCW World Television Champion: Booker T (12/29/1997)
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Chris Jericho (1/24/1998)

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Lee Marshall.

They replay the interaction between both Steiner brothers from Nitro. We’ll see how that story evolves later on tonight when the Steiners face Buff Bagwell and Konnan.

• Hugh Morrus vs. La Parka
  

Hugh Morrus appears to be a beloved character in Beaumont. Maybe they are just hot for the opening match. La Parka struts around a little too much and gets wiped out with a clothesline. From there, it’s mostly a squash. Morrus lands the NO LAUGHING MATTER for the win. (2:46) Boy, La Parka is a missed opportunity after Souled Out, amirite? Afterwards though, La Parka drills Morrus with his chair and celebrates to a chorus of boos. ¾*

GOLDBERG VIDEO.

• Bill Goldberg vs. Jim Powers
  

Talk about a guy who looks like he belongs in a different era and then look at Goldberg. Just as I say that, Lee Marshall remarks how Goldberg looks like a throwback with just the tights and boots. What’s old becomes new again, I suppose. Powers tries his knee lift on Goldberg, but that doesn’t do anything and he gets run down with a spear. JACKHAMMER wins once more. (1:08) Heenan has started calling him DA MAN now.

WCW Saturday Night! Watch it – IF YOU WILL! 6:05PM eastern time! TBS! Glacier takes on “The Cat” Ernest Miller! Apparently they are feuding now. Bill Goldberg meets Disco Inferno! In the main event, Raven takes on Chris Benoit! Scott Hudson and Mike Tenay have taken over commentary, but it’s still the MUTHASHIP!

• Kidman (w/Lodi) vs. Juventud Guerrera
  

These two will be having some much more important matches later on in the year. Juventud gets aggressive to start slapping Kidman and dropping him with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. He tries another one, but Kidman faceplants him instead. Crowd seems to think Lodi sucks. A suplex battle ends with Guerrera on the apron. He shoulder butts Kidman away and drills him with a springboard dropkick to send him to the floor. As Lodi encourages his buddy, Kidman stops Juvi up top only to take a headscissors off the apron into Lodi! Excellent. Back inside, Kidman avoids a springboard legdrop, but takes a headscissors off the top rope for 1-2-NO! Kidman tries a hurricane DDT, but Juventud counters with a northern lights suplex for two. He nails the JUVI DRIVER to set up the 450 SPLASH, but Lodi is on the apron and must be dealt with. Guerrera catches him with a missile dropkick to send him away. Kidman comes up behind Juventud for a springboard bulldog. That puts Juventud in position for a SHOOTING STAR PRESS to the back for the win. (4:50) They are certainly showing us here signs that they have chemistry for future matches. I enjoyed this. By the way, Kidman is the real luchador. **½

Mike Tenay brings out Diamond Dallas Page for a talk. Why would YOU – the U.S. champion – make the challenge to someone like Chris Benoit? DDP wants competition. He then puts over Benoit saying he’s a “jacked dude” and that when he’s jacked, there’s nobody better. Later on tonight though, we’re going to see who the best is.

Is it strange that both WCW and WWF are invading Texas right now?

WCW MOTORSPORTS VIDEO!

• Super Calo, Lizmark Jr., & Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Silver King & Los Villanos
  

Lucha libre rules apply, I suppose. Lizmark shines against I believe Villano IV to start. He snapmares out of a chinlock and hits a springboard dropkick. Lizmark gets yanked into the rudos corner, but then he gets whipped into his own corner as he blocks a monkey flip from one of Los Villanos. Super Calo comes off the top in a Doomsday Device type deal. Calo is all over Villano V, but gets drilled with a clothesline that lands him on the back of his head. Good grief. Chavo and Silver King take their turn as Chavo hits him with dropkicks. Villano IV though drops him with a DDT. Calo comes in and he’s triple-teamed into a double press slam by Los Villanos. Lizmark cleans house on the rudos and planchas onto one of the Villanos. Meanwhile, Chavo hits the TORNADO DDT on Silver King only for Psychosis to appear and fly in with a GUILLOTINE LEGDROP. He turns Silver King over onto Chavo for the three-count. (4:30) Chavo versus Psychosis feels like a main event for Saturday Night. I’m kind of glad they didn’t add it to the SuperBrawl show. Babyface Chavo has never been intriguing to me. He’s always been a better heel. This was fine, but they never really went all out here. **

They replay the interactions between Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage from the last two weeks of Monday Nitro.

• The Steiner Brothers (w/Ted DiBiase) vs. Buff Bagwell & Konnan (w/Vincent)
  

Dusty Rhodes comes out and replaces Lee Marshall on commentary. OH YES. Dusty is here to speak the truth. The nWo boys try to sneak attack the Steiners and DiBiase. It works for a moment, but only for a moment. Great to see DiBiase laying in blows on Vincent. Since the Steiners have already done the dog thing, Rick starts the match against Konnan. Powerslam and elbow drop on Konnan gets two. Buff nails Rick from behind to turn the tide. Tag to Buff, he throws Rick to the floor for a ride into the guardrail. Back inside, a splash by Buff hits knees. Hot tag to Scott, there’s Steinerlines everywhere. Butterfly slam to Konnan! DiBiase pulls Vincent off the apron for a beatdown. The crowd is going NUTS for this. Scott Hall is out. He gets nailed by Rick. Scott throws Buff over the top rope. A bell sounds. (3:30) The STEINER BULLDOG is coming for Konnan, but Hall shoves Rick off the top into Scott. The Steiners are awarded the match via DQ. DiBiase and Rick try to explain to Scott what happened to him. Will they be repackaged in six weeks as the Steiner Brothers 2000. *

While Dusty was out here at the commentary table, Heenan of course played nice to him – to find out information. Tony of course treats this like he committed treason.

• Raven’s Rules: Raven (w/Lodi) vs. Marty Jannetty
  

This is a return match from last week where Raven won. Jannetty beats up Raven in the aisle and superkicks both Raven and Lodi. Lodi had a sign that said “I can beat Jannetty”. In the ring, Jannetty hits his jumping back elbow. Raven turns things around with a turn you inside out clothesline. Raven brings a chair in the ring and gives Jannetty a running bulldog. He then puts Jannetty in the Crippler Crossface and yells out to Benoit to “beware the DDT”. He clearly wants Benoit. I guess he wants to pop that Saturday Night rating. Raven tries to pump splash Jannetty with the chair over him, but Jannetty brings his legs to block. Jannetty crotches Raven up top and dropkicks him to the floor. Tony points out that Lodi is still knocked out on the floor. After some ringside violence, Jannetty rolls Raven back inside for a flying fist drop. The Rocker Dropper fails though. Raven gets the EVENFLOW DDT for the win. (5:43) During this period, Raven is just a ton of fun to watch. Lodi is still floored. **½

“The Blues Brothers” plays after Thunder tonight with Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman hosting the movie to hype up the Blues Brothers 2000 movie. In theaters everywhere tomorrow!

THE GIANT VIDEO.

• Perry Saturn vs. Disco Inferno
  

Ahh, the rematch that nobody asked for. At least the TV title isn’t involved. Lodi decides to sit this one out it appears. After some initial lockup stuff, Disco bails out to avoid the RINGS OF SATURN. Back inside, Disco grabs an armbar only to receive an overhead belly to belly suplex. Commercials! When we come back, Saturn is in control. He is roughhousing Disco to build to a comeback. Atomic drop and swinging neckbreaker to Saturn gets two. He flies down into a head and arm suplex though. Falcon Arrow to Disco, but he rolls away from a flying legdrop. CHARTBUSTER to Saturn! He’s too pooped to cover. When he does cover Saturn, Kidman is there to put his foot on the bottom rope. While Disco argues with the ref, he turns around into a superkick. Cover, 1-2-NO! Disco catches Saturn with a clothesline, but misses a flying fist drop. There’s a back superplex, but Disco falls on top of Saturn for 1-2-NO! As Saturn staggers back into the ropes, Kidman shoves him down onto Disco in position for the RINGS OF SATURN to get the submission win. (7:04 shown) That finish feels familiar, but I’ve seen SO MUCH wrestling from this era. This was a little better than their TV title matches with some better nearfalls. When Saturn won’t release the hold, Booker T (in street clothes) comes out and saves the day. *½

Mike Tenay chats with ref Nick Patrick about being the ref for Sting-Hogan III at SuperBrawl VIII. Patrick feels his suspension is a giant conspiracy by WCW. Everybody booing him have been brainwashed by the WCW announcers. Nevertheless, he’ll be reinstated as the head official of WCW this coming week on Monday Nitro. Tenay asks him how that could be possible. Patrick is basically blackmailing JJ Dillon into getting his suspension lifted.

Scott Hall brings Louie Spicolli with him to a quick nWo survey. Louie is carrying all four of the tag belts. Despite some of the signs in front of the hard camera, this seems like a WCW town. He’s still confused about why he doesn’t get the WCW world title shot at SuperBrawl VIII. Piper may short change the people, but the Outsiders take pride in being *our* champions. He switches gears to the Steiner brothers and challenges them to a match on Monday Nitro. He asks Spicolli if he’s serious about taking Hall’s commitments until he gets his world title shot. Spicolli confirms. He’s got Jim Neidhart next.

• Jim Neidhart vs. Louie Spicolli (w/Scott Hall)
  

Marshall pulls an “Animal House” reference out and thinks Spicolli should now be called Flounder. Neidhart quickly goes for the ORIENTAL SPIKE on Spicolli, but Hall jumps Neidhart for the DQ. (0:56) Davey Boy Smith scares Hall out of the ring leaving Spicolli to take the RUNNING POWERSLAM. Steve McMichael comes out wanting a piece of Davey Boy. He turns his Super Bowl ring around to punch him, but Davey Boy blocks. He and Neidhart then clothesline Mongo out of the ring. Now McMichael adds Neidhart to his list as well. Why is this feud happening?

• WCW U.S. Heavyweight Title Match: Diamond Dallas Page (c) vs. Chris Benoit
  

We are on the fifth episode of Thunder and this is the first main event that does not include a member of the new World order. Real slow start as they let this one build just staring at each other from opposite corners. Strong tie-up takes them both on the floor. Page hits the first bomb with a tilt-a-whirl sideslam. They twist on each other’s arms, but DDP comes out of that and delivers a gutbuster. Benoit counters a suplex into the CRIPPLER CROSSFACE, but DDP is in the ropes. Belly to belly suplex on Benoit gets two. Benoit escapes the Diamond Cutter and they come at each other nose to nose. DDP misses a swing and gets a kidney shot to set up a back suplex. Benoit stomps on DDP, but he comes back fighting. He misses a corner charge though, but counters a hiptoss into a DDT. It could be Diamond Cutter time, but here comes the Flock for the bell. (6:09) Raven doesn’t mess with DDP and drops Benoit with the EVENFLOW DDT. Because hey, beware the DDT. With Benoit down, DDP goes on a Diamond Cutter frenzy on the entire Flock. Of course the best Diamond Cutter is the one done to Kidman. Once Benoit is back up, he locks eyes with DDP. This was like a twenty minute match cut short for sure. **

I want to see that Benoit-Raven match from WCW Saturday Night now. When I looked up the result, it appears that it’s over in 33 seconds with a run-in by the Flock. There’s a big pull-apart brawl though, so it doesn’t sound all bad.

Until next time, so long for now.