WCW: Thunder
March 19, 1998
Terre Haute, IN
Hulman 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)

STING REPELLING FROM A HELICOPTER WILL GO DOWN AS THE MOST DRAMATIC ENTRANCE IN THE HISTORY OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING. I honestly don’t think it had much of a dramatic tone to it. ‘Over the top’, maybe? But dramatic? Not in my eyes.

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Lee Marshall. Tony announces that Sting will defend the WCW world title against Randy Savage at Spring Stampede.

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

Jericho has a man bun going here. He’s so ahead of his time! The town of Terre Haute gets mispronounced for the lulz. Jericho is so great right now, but it’s SUPER CALO TIME~! Calo looks pretty strong here against Jericho – taking him down with monkey flips and headscissors. The Jericho sucks chants get to him, but he hits a suplex and the C’MON BABY cover gets two. They trade blows, but Jericho wins that exchange and delivers a slingshot splash for another nearfall. Jericho applies a chinlock, but then misses a corner charge and goes flying out to the floor for the tope con hilo. This crowd is HOT! Calo gets a couple CLOSE nearfalls, but then Jericho blocks a victory roll and applies the LIONTAMER for the tapout. (4:35) Fun little back and forth there. *½

WCW Saturday Night! Watch it – IF YOU WILL! 6:05PM eastern time on TBS! Chris Adams, Glacier, Disco Inferno, Saturn, Hammer, and many others from WCW and the nWo will be in action! It’s the MUTHASHIP! Take it to the PAY WINDAH, baby!

• Kendall Windham vs. El Dandy
  

My copy is JIP with Windham in control out on the floor. Raven and the Flock are shown heading down to ringside. Raven stole the U.S. title belt from DDP on MTV Live (which became TRL or Total Request Live in the fall of 1998) yesterday afternoon. Welcome to 1998, ladies and gents! DDP wanted to be here tonight, but Tony says he’s suffered a concussion and couldn’t make the trip. I’ve provided a clip of what went down below. Back to the match, Dandy makes a comeback and Kendall suckers into the corner to hit the RUNNING BULLDOG for the win in 1:17 shown.

Tony Schiavone brings out Curt Hennig and Rick Rude. Tonight, Hennig faces Rick Steiner in the main event. It’s quite a drop from the recent big name main events we’ve been seeing since the beginning of the show back in January. Hennig feels he and Rude got the job done at UnCeNSoReD ridding WCW of Bret Hart. Once again, the nWo makes it seem like they have won the match. Rude cuts a Road Warrior Hawk-style promo about puss and boils. Hennig does a Scott Hall impression at the end there. That was a little strange.

• Saturn (w/Lodi) vs. La Parka
  

La Parka looks like he’s wearing a frilly white apron to the ring. Mike Tenay joins us at the commentary table. La Parka does his strut and turns around into a clothesline from Saturn. He sends La Parka sliding under the bottom rope to the floor for a nice bump. Saturn follows up with the Cesaro Superplex from the apron and our esteemed commentators don’t seem to find it all that special instead putting over the DDP-Raven MTV incident. They trade some nasty clotheslines and kicks on each other. La Parka sends Saturn to the floor and he leaps onto Saturn and Lodi. Back in, a flying spinning heel kick from La Parka gets two. La Parka brings his chair in the ring, but Saturn dropkicks La Parka into the corner and he eats the chair. Saturn delivers a head and arm suplex and then applies the RINGS OF SATURN for the win. (3:54) Good to see the luchadores in action tonight, but man they are getting jobbed out. ¾*

MFGWLM HYPE: Ray Traylor, “Total Recall” (1990) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

• Ray Traylor vs. Barry Darsow
  

Lee Marshall is back. Terre Haute seems to love them some Ray Traylor. This match feels very ’80s. As far as the NWA goes, we’ve got Krusher Khruschev and Big Bubba Rogers going at it. Anyways, Darsow is serious about some arm work. Traylor slams him with his good arm, but misses an elbow drop with his bad arm. Darsow misses a corner charge though running his shoulder into the post, but then turns around into a BOSSMAN SLAM to give Traylor the win. (4:10) You know I love me some simple ring psychology. *½

This Week in WCW Motorsports: MONSTER TRUCKS~! YEEHAW~!

• Yuji Nagata (w/Sonny Oono) vs. Prince Iaukea
  

Tony says Roddy Piper will be making a big announcement on Monday Nitro. It’s gonna be big. In fact, it’s gonna be YUGE! This match is another situation where the more talented Nagata has to put over another putz. Iaukea takes all the punishment, but Sonny Oono kicks Nagata by mistake into a Northern Lights Suplex for the win at 5:21. ¾*

We get some Giant versus Kevin Nash footage from UnCeNSoReD and Nash jumping in the pool to get away from the Giant from Nitro.

• Brian Adams vs. Marty Jannetty
  

Talk about WCW being like 1993 WWF. Adams uses his superior size and strength to dominate Jannetty to start. Jannetty knocks down Adams for a missile dropkick though, but can’t get the three-count. Adams avoids a sleeperhold and hits the TOUR OF THE ISLANDS for the win at 3:32.

They take us back to Monday Nitro to see the Sting rappel from the helicopter.

• Eddie Guerrero vs. Psychosis
  

No Chavo this week. Lots and lots of counters between these two to start. While the crowd tells him he sucks, Eddie gets kicked in the back of his legs and caught in the ropes as Psychosis gives him a flying legdrop. To the floor, Psychosis delivers a crazy corkscrew moonsault plancha. GEEZ. Back inside, more counters. Some succeed, some fail. Guerrero avoids a corkscrew moonsault and heads up top. Psychosis is there to meet him, but Eddie dumps him to the mat and hits the FROG SPLASH to the back for the win at 4:13.

MFGWLM HYPE: Brad Armstrong, “Total Recall” (1990) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Armstrong does his best Schwarzenegger voice. Awesome.

• Raven’s Rules: Raven vs. Brad Armstrong
  

A rematch from last week. Apparently there are plans to bring Armstrong into the Flock. Armstrong tries provoking Raven while he’s sitting down in the corner until Hammer and Reese attack him. While Reese holds Armstrong by the head, Raven cuts a promo on DDP about their confrontation on MTV. Why is Sick Boy all dressed up? When Raven is done talking, he drops Armstrong with the EVENFLOW DDT. Patrick counts the pinfall and calls for the bell even though there wasn’t an opening bell.

They air a brief vignette on Bret Hart.

• Chris Benoit vs. Scott Norton (w/Vincent)
  

This could be fun. Tenay is back out and mentions these two are rivals in New Japan. Norton rules to start with avalanches and short-arm clotheslines. Big powerslam gets two. Samoan drop garners the same result. Norton misses a corner charge and receives a release German suplex. SWANDIVE HEADBUTT connects! He applies the CRIPPLER CROSSFACE. Norton won’t tap and Vincent distracts Benoit. Here comes the SHOULDERBREAKER for the win. (5:18) That seems like an odd decision there, but a hard-worked match out of Norton for sure. *½

• Bill Goldberg (55-0) vs. Wayne Bloom
  

Tony calls Goldberg the Scariest Man In Our Sport. This is the first mention of the numbers of wins in the win streak for Goldberg on our Nitro/Thunder recaps. A pumphandle slam, a Spear, and a JACKHAMMER ends Bloom in 1:20. Saturn jumps the rail looking to get him a piece of Goldberg, but they never touch. It’s got a dash of the Sabu/Taz feud vibe.

• Rick Steiner (w/Ted DiBiase) vs. Curt Hennig (w/Rick Rude)
  

Hennig pulls off the earmuffs chopping Steiner in the corner in the early moments. Steiner comes back with the powerslam and heads up top for the Steiner Bulldog, but Rick Rude trips him up for the VERY quick DQ at 1:25.

DiBiase tries to help and nails Rude, but Hennig is there to knock him out. Steiner fights off Hennig and Rude by himself until the rest of the nWo B-team come down and beat him up. No Scott Steiner this week. Ray Traylor is here, but Rude keeps him at bay choking him out with his tie. Meanwhile, Vincent and DiBiase are fighting. Rude chokes DiBiase with his tie as well. Next thing we know, BILL GOLDBERG is coming down for the save. He SPEARS Adams and Hennig simultaneously. Norton hits him from behind, but Goldberg SPEARS him down as well. He doesn’t stand around and hang with Steiner or Traylor. He just does what he does and walks right out. With the nWo hurting, Steiner and Traylor have their way with them and clear the ring to close the show.

Our esteemed commentators put over how Bill Goldberg has sent a stern message to the nWo boys. You can see Heenan is really pumped about this guy.

Until next time, so long for now.

WCW/nWo Spring Stampede LIVE ON PPV premieres April 19
from the Denver Coliseum in Denver, CO.
MAIN EVENT
WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Sting (c) vs. Randy Savage
WCW U.S. Heavyweight Championship: DDP (c) vs. Raven