WCW: Thunder
March 5, 1998
Columbus, OH
Convention Center

The current WCW champs are as follows:
WCW World Champion: Sting (2/22/1998)
WCW U.S. Champion: Diamond Dallas Page (12/28/1997)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Outsiders (2/22/1998)
WCW World Television Champion: Booker T (2/22/1998)
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Chris Jericho (1/24/1998)

I find it funny that despite this technically not being an “nWo” video that they still used the same voiceover guy. Wouldn’t the nWo be a little mad at that guy?

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

Hollywood Hogan and the nWo head out to scoff at the very idea of Randy Savage thinking he’s a “real man”. Hogan brings up Elizabeth as also being his manager. He’s the reason she kept those legs looking good for all these years, brothers. Bischoff can’t believe he went there. He suggests that after the beating he gave Randy Savage on Nitro that JJ Dillon should find him another opponent for UnCeNSoReD. If Savage had the intestinal fortitude to show up tonight, Hogan says he would beat him up again just for the sake of entertainment. Brian Adams interrupts this diatribe and tells Hogan that it would be an honor and a privilege to beat up Randy Savage for him tonight – that is if Randy Savage had the guts to show up and accept his challenge. Hogan thinks Savage won’t show up anyways because he and the nWo are just TOO SWEET.

• Bill Goldberg vs. Vincent
  

Vincent faces Goldberg duties this week. Heenan mentions that Mike Tenay is trying to tally up how many wins Goldberg has had since coming to WCW. That does sound like Tenay work to me. Vincent catches Goldberg coming through the ropes, but Goldberg immediately fires back with the Spear and the JACKHAMMER in :31.

MFGWLM HYPE: Eddie Guerrero, “Best of the Best” (1989) starring Eric Roberts.

This Week in WCW Motorsports. Zzzzz.

• Eddie Guerrero vs. Prince Iaukea
  

The Iaukea Experiment, Pt. 2 began on Monday Nitro when the Prince picked up a random win over Psychosis. Columbus lets Eddie know that he sucks right off the bat. Iaukea flying mares out of a hammerlock and Guerrero complains about hair pulling. Nobody in the mainstream does that anymore. He dropkicks Eddie to the floor. Guerrero walks away from a pescado, but Iaukea stops himself on the apron and delivers a CANNONBALLLLLL. Back in, Eddie sees a springboard coming and pulls the ref in the way. Iaukea manages to put on the brakes just in time, but Eddie seizes the day and dropkicks the Prince in the knee. Eddie hilos on the knee because he’s the man. He even stays on the knee with a spinning toe hold, but Iaukea cradles him up for two. Iaukea kicks Eddie in the jaw and powerslams him for a nearfall. Bridging suplex gets two as well. Iaukea tries another springboard and Guerrero dropkicks the knee to send him crashing to the mat. FROG SPLASH! That’ll do. (3:25) It was short, but not a bad little match for Iaukea. *½

WCW Saturday Night! Watch it – IF YOU WILL! 6:05PM eastern time! TBS! Disco Inferno meets Lodi, Dean Malenko takes on Kidman, and the feature bout will be Scott Steiner against Ray Traylor! It’s the MUTHASHIP! Take it to the PAY WINDAH, baby!

Kimberly, Fyre, and Spice tell us about the Road to Spring Break ’98 in Panama Beach. Despite Nitro being in Winston-Salem which is home of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, the Nitro Girls will be at Duke University. Kimberly makes a point to say that the Blue Devils basketball team are ranked #1 in the country. Being that Thunder is in Ohio State territory tonight and the Buckeyes were the worst team in the Big Ten that year, the crowd doesn’t seem too interested in discussing college basketball tonight. There’s going to be free Dominos and WCW merch giveaways – like an AWESOME Outsiders pin set! Oh, the poor Nitro girls just keep rubbing it in about Duke. It’s like they have turned heel tonight. I’m about to throw up *my* Dominos.

• Juventud Guerrera vs. El Dandy
  

Marshall does a great job of putting over El Dandy’s success in Mexico in several different weight classes. He even refers to El Dandy as a “supreme luchador”. Something is getting the crowd all riled up and El Dandy tries to play it off like he’s getting heat for beating up Juventud. Ahh, it’s the Flock taking their seats. During Juventud’s comeback, Heenan seems to think that Guerrera resembles Antonio Banderas for some reason. Up in the corner, Guerrera punches on El Dandy and dropkicks him to the floor for a tope. Back to the ring, El Dandy comes back with a back suplex. Guerrera hits El Dandy with a wheelbarrow into a nice DDT. They try a fancy sunset flip spot that fails the first time, but Guerrera gets a nearfall the second time. El Dandy ends up on Juvi’s shoulders and slammed down in the corner to set up the 450 SPLASH for the win. (4:26) After the bell, Konnan tries to babyface himself getting them to chant things. He repeats what he said at Nitro where Juventud is now a coward after losing his match. They will face each other next Monday on Nitro. JUVI JUICE~! NEVER SURRENDER~! *

Macho Man Randy Savage comes down to the ring. Looks like he’s got a challenge to respond to. Hollywood Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and Brian Adams appear at the ramp. After Hogan called him “delusional”, Savage tells Hogan that his nWo boys are smiling at his face and just waiting to stab him in the back. Savage says his phone has been ringing off the hook thanks to the nWo. They want to ban together and their main goal is to get Hollywood Hogan out of the crew. Crowd chants for Macho. He calls Hogan a horse with a broken leg who isn’t any good to anybody. At UnCeNSoReD inside the cage, Savage plans to send Hogan to the glue factory. As for Brian Adams, he accepts the challenge for later tonight. After Savage gets done “crushing” Brian Adams, he wants Hollywood Hogan in the middle of the ring. OH YEAH! Hogan laughs it up and accepts the extra challenge. SNAP.

Short video package of Lex Luger cutting a promo on Scott Steiner.

• Scott Steiner vs. Chase Tatum
  

Tatum looks like a WCW Power Plant guy if I ever saw one with the flat top and muscles. He resembles Mark Jindrak to me. Short squash for Steiner as he taps out Tatum with the STEINER RECLINER in 2:08.

Another buildup video highlighting the Giant giving Kevin Nash a powerbomb on Nitro.

• Curt Hennig (w/Rick Rude) vs. Jim Neidhart
  

Hennig gets frustrated when Neidhart won’t chill with the headlocks and shoulderblocks routine. He talks strategy over with Rude and goes back inside for more pounding. While Hennig takes his licking, Rude looks around ringside for weapons. He finds a 2×4 and whacks Neidhart over the back from the apron. Hennig grabs the ref so he never sees a thing. Neidhart wanted to NO-SELL it, but Hennig grabs the HENNIGPLEX for the win. (3:32) Rude and Hennig start clubbering on Neidhart in the corner until Davey Boy Smith runs down and scares them off. ¾*

Mike Tenay brings out Raven to the ring for an interview. Raven sits right down in the corner. Tenay wants to know about Raven and DDP’s past coming into the sport together. When DDP became famous, he forgot about Raven. But what about him? WHAT ABOUT RAVEN? He learned one thing being in ECW (or Barbed Wire City as he calls it) for three years: if one is scarred bad enough, one no longer feels the pain. Tonight, Raven will be vindicated. He proved to the world that he could destroy the seemingly indestructible Chris Benoit. Tonight, he will take the US title. If he wins though, the title will not be on the line at UnCeNSoReD. He wants DDP and Chris Benoit to wait and suffer just like he has done. Someone must pay for the pain of his past and it will be them. Quoth the Raven, nevermore.

We get a special look at Chris Jericho and the new personality he has found over the past several months. His fans really like him – they REALLY, REALLY like him.

• WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Ciclope
  

Jericho tells us all to “wang chung” tonight like it’s 1986. He reminds us that he’s the man of 1004 holds – unlike that putz Dean Malenko with only 1000 holds. Schiavone announces that Syxx will be at the Fargodome box office on March 14 to sign autographs. Something tells me he doesn’t show. Not to mention why would an nWo person appear at a WCW ticket sell event. That logic went out the window a while back though. After some preliminary stuff, Jericho gets kicked in the mouth and takes a brainbuster by Ciclope. Jericho takes a bump over the corner to the floor and as he’s walking around ringside, Ciclope badly misses a somersault plancha and hits the floor. Back inside, Ciclope makes another botch and Jericho just slaps the LIONTAMER on him so they can go home before this gets any worse. (2:26) Afterwards, Dean Malenko comes out and locks Jericho in the TEXAS CLOVERLEAF to tap him out for the lulz. ½*

MFGWLM HYPE: Jimmy Hart, “Best of the Best” (1989) starring Eric Roberts.

• Scott Norton vs. The Renegade
  

Schiavone mentions that Nitro will be at the Norfolk Scope on April 27 and a Nitro imitator will be close by across Hampton Roads in the city of Hampton. Of course we remember this as the night DX showed up at the Scope in a tank “declaring war” on WCW. Anyways, Norton beats the crap out of Renegade over in the corner until the GIANT COMES DOWN and POWERBOMBS NORTON! OH MAN. (1:45) Well, he now be fined $100k for his powerbombing. To show this has nothing to do with Renegade, Giant gives him a CHOKESLAM. Doug Dellinger and WCW security come down. But first, Giant cuts a promo on Kevin Nash. Knowing handcuffs won’t fit, they CHAIN and padlock the Giant like he’s King Kong and escort him out.

• Raven’s Rules – WCW U.S. Championship: Diamond Dallas Page (c) vs. Raven
  

Since Raven gets his own rules, DDP doesn’t want there to be a referee to hold him back. He tells Nick Patrick to hit the bricks and he LEAVES. So who will count the pinfall? It’s an ECW “brawl around the convention center” type of match. Chris Benoit shows up in his street clothes to fight to give us a preview of UnCeNSoReD. When all three make it back to the ring, a new giant member of the Flock appears with a flannel shirt wrapped around his waist. We know him as REESE, but of course our esteemed commentators don’t know who he is. After he gives Benoit a back suplex, DDP manages to clothesline him out of the ring. Saturn appears and puts Benoit in the RINGS OF SATURN. When DDP turns around, Raven hits him with the EVENFLOW DDT. Reese gets back in the ring as Hammer comes down the aisle carrying a section of guardrail. He and Reese lean the guardrail up against the ropes inside the ring so that Raven can DDT Benoit and DDP on it. I guess you can call it a no-contest. (4:40 or so) That was pretty wild, but had nothing to do with Raven winning the US title. *½

• Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth) vs. Brian Adams (w/Hollywood Hogan)
  

Elizabeth settles the score and declares Randy the “real” man. Hogan sells it BIG. Savage says he has another reference to confirm he’s the real man: ask Linda. Oh boy. Hogan runs at Savage and we’re off to the races. Savage beats up both guys and whips them with Hogan’s weightlifting belt. When Savage stalks Hogan in the ring and Adams grabs him for a bearhug, Elizabeth runs into the ring and sticks her claws in Adams eyes. Hogan corners Liz, but Savage saves the day. Now he throws Adams over the top rope and it’s just Savage and Hulk. Here comes the Disciple to give Savage the APOCALYPSE to finally throw out this whole match. (2:06) The rest of the nWo come out to jump Savage and leave him down and out. Elizabeth tries to get Doug Dellinger to help, but he won’t do anything unless there’s a powerbomb. Crowd wants Sting and they get Sting. He scares away the nWo, stands over Savage, and points his ball bat at Hogan. You know, just like old times. ½*

And that’s all she wrote. Until next time, so long for now.

WCW/nWo UnCeNSoReD LIVE ON PPV premieres March 15
from the Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, AL.
MAIN EVENT
Cage Match: Hollywood Hogan vs. Randy Savage
WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Sting (c) vs. Scott Hall
WCW U.S. Heavyweight Championship: DDP (c) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Raven
WCW World TV Championship: Booker T (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero
WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Dean Malenko
Bret Hart vs. Curt Hennig
The Giant vs. Kevin Nash
Lex Luger vs. Scott Steiner
Juventud Guerrera vs. Konnan