WCW: Thunder
October 22, 1998
Albuquerque, NM
Tingley Coliseum

The current WCW champs are as follows:
WCW World Champion: Bill Goldberg (7/6/1998)
WCW U.S. Champion: Bret Hart (8/13/1998)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Giant & Scott Hall (7/20/1998)
WCW World Television Champion: Chris Jericho (8/10/1998)
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Billy Kidman (9/14/1998)

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Lee Marshall. They hype up our Halloween Havoc main events and show what went down between Goldberg and Diamond Dallas Page on Nitro.

• Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Super Calo

I’m pumped for this one as a Super Calo mark and of course Rey being one of the greatest ever. These two had a really good match at Fall Brawl in 1996, so we’ll see what happens here. Rey returned on Nitro and wrestled a time limit draw with Billy Kidman. Calo working heel here shines to start. Nice double jump missile dropkick connects with Mysterio for two. He grounds Rey with an ab stretch for a short time. Mysterio on his feet is trouble, but Calo takes him to the apron and dropkicks him to the floor. He then kicks Mysterio through the ropes and delivers the somersault senton on the floor. VINTAGE SUPER CALO! Back in, Calo gets two. As Rey runs the ropes, he catches Calo and springboards off the middle rope for a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Mysterio does the 619 fake dive using the ropes and ducks a charge from Calo causing him to crotch himself on the ropes. Rey backdrops Calo and hits a flying legdrop for two. Calo counters the Inverted Pedigree, but gets crotched up top as Rey hits a Super Hurracanrana for the win. (4:16) Not much of a story there. Some great spots and not much more. **½

The LWO comes out and confronts Rey Mysterio. Eddie Guerrero is wearing sunglasses and a red bandana around his forehead. Eddie wants Rey to join the LWO. UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL. Hey look, here comes Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Pepe! Rey tells Eddie that he runs on his own. Eddie gets ANGERED and the LWO boys have to hold him back. What did Chavo have to do with anything?

Get the WCW/nWo Magazine! You can see never-before-seen pictures of Road Wild! Find out who is on Warrior’s hit list. Scott Hall speaks out against former best friend Kevin Nash! SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Order your WCW/nWo Home Video releases – “The Best of Halloween Havoc” and “The Best of Bash at the Beach” – for only $20 bucks (a piece). You can also get them in stores. Well, I own both of these videos, and I certainly didn’t pay $20 bucks for both of them!

Goldberg and DDP hype ad for Halloween Havoc.

Since Gene doesn’t work on Thursdays, Tony Schiavone brings out Diamond Dallas Page to the ring. DDP felt like what happened between he and Goldberg on Nitro was “pure RAW intensity”, so you can only imagine what will happen when the WCW world title is on the line at Halloween Havoc. When he thinks of the world title, DDP thinks of one word: Goldberg. When he thinks of how to beat him, DDP thinks of two words: DIAMOND CUTTER. He is a simple kind of man. He calls Tony “T-Bone” which is super cringe. When you work as hard as DDP does, he rides a lightning bolt long and hard, and plans on riding that lightning bolt straight into Las Vegas right to Halloween Havoc. He’ll be jumping off the lightning bolt and right onto Goldberg. The crowd boos! DDP has a “whatever” for the people. So much for being the People’s Champion. Either DDP is who’s next or Goldberg is going to get BANGED. Find out at Halloween Havoc!

Get your DDP – BANG t-shirt for only $20 bucks!

NEW WCW BASHIN’ BUDDIES. It’s like they’re alive!

Get your WCW Mastercard so you too can go deeper and deeper into debt!

• Alex Wright vs. Johnny Swinger

Not that he’s a regular on this show, but this is the Thunder debut for Johnny Swinger. He’s more of a WCW Saturday Night and WCW Worldwide regular than anything else at this point. Some wristlockage traded to start while our esteemed commentators discuss – you guessed it – Rick Steiner versus Scott Steiner! OF COURSE. Swinger delivers a cool neckbreaker and a back suplex for two. Wright catches Swinger with a jumping side kick and hangs him out dry. Crowd chants USA to piss off Alex. Swinger finds a facebuster and avoids a dropkick. He climbs up top, but Wright catches him on the way down with a dropkick. The REVERSE NECKBREAKER ends Swinger in 3:24. ¾*

They replay the Steiner Brothers confrontation from last week’s Monday Nitro. Buff Bagwell’s appearance doesn’t air.

WCW SATURDAY NIGHT! Watch it – if you will! Saturn, (former WCW TV champ, says Tony) Fit Finley, and Disco Inferno will be in action. All three of those guys are former WCW TV champs, Tony! The main event will be WCW world TV champ Chris Jericho defending his title against Psychosis.

They show the Sting not letting go of the Scorpion Deathlock on Bret Hart from Nitro.

• WCW World Television Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Kanyon (w/Raven)

We get another week of hearing that everybody is better than Kanyon. Jericho tries to do Kanyon’s bit and he gets the same result. Kanyon jumps him at the bell and backdrops Jericho. This just gets Jericho angered as he boots Kanyon down and then hotshots him. He rolls to the apron where Jericho delivers a springboard shoulderblock to the floor. Commercials! When we come back, Kanyon is back in control. He misses a dropkick allowing Jericho to hit the Lionsault for two. The vertical suplex sets up C’MON BABY for another two count. Jericho misses a corner charge and hits his head on the top buckle. Here comes Kanyon to superplex Jericho from the apron in a cool spot that Cesaro now does. Slow cover gets two. He tries another suplex, but Jericho counters and hits a reverse suplex for two. Jericho comes off the second rope, but Kanyon catches him in mid-air for a bridging suplex for another nearfall. Swinging neckbreaker by Kanyon gets a two-count. Jericho finds a Butterfly Backbreaker, but Kanyon avoids the Liontamer. Jericho tries a victory roll, but Kanyon counters with an electric chair flapjack for 1-2-NO! Over in the corner, Jericho fights off a superplex and delivers a missile dropkick, but Kanyon pulls ref Billy Silverman in the way! Jericho just laughs about it and does C’MON BABY to the ref. LOL. In comes Raven, he tries the Evenflow DDT on Jericho, and Jericho counters to the LIONTAMER. Next thing we know, the ref wakes up and calls for the bell to DQ Kanyon. (9:03) Some people are saying the ref saw Raven tapping and the ref thought that was Kanyon tapping out, but I just think it was a DQ finish. Whatevs. Our esteemed commentators talk about how Raven has “given up” on life apparently since losing the Flock. This sets up Jericho and Raven for Halloween Havoc. **½

THUNDER RINGSIDE RELEASE: “Soldier” starring Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Jason Isaacs, Connie Nielsen, Sean Pertwee, and Gary Busey. This movie looks dope, but also terrible. In theaters everywhere on October 23.

They replay the Hollywood Hogan angle from Nitro where he beat the shit out of his nephew Horace and then thwarted the Warrior’s attack.

• Perry Saturn vs. Norman Smiley

These two have a tit-for-tat suplex battle to start. Smiley catches a kick from Saturn and takes him down, but then Saturn gets up and pulls Smiley down into a Fujiwara armbar. Smiley starts up with the brawling tactics, but Saturn finds a facebuster and a swinging neckbreaker. Smiley avoids a flying moonsault and runs down Saturn to do some WOO-WOO-WOO-WOO taunt. Are we seeing the beginning of the Big Wiggle? No, he does some gyrating next. A butterfly suplex punishes Saturn, but now Saturn is mad. He palm strikes Norman and superkicks him down. These two are just messing around. A T-bone suplex sets up a Falcon Arrow. The DEATH VALLEY DRIVER ends Smiley. (4:20, man) Saturn smiles and gives ref Charles Robinson a noogie like Charles is his five-year old brother. *

We check in with This Week in WCW Motorsports. FUHFUHWID.

• Lex Luger vs. Riggs

Mike Tenay takes over for Lee Marshall for the rest of the night. Luger really has nothing going on right now, huh. Riggs still looks like he’s in Raven’s Flock – even though there is no Flock left. I like Lex’s red on black boots. This is your vintage Lex Luger match – he beats the crap out of a guy, something happens and he gets beaten down, and then he comes back with the Bionic Forearm. However, Riggs jawbreakers Lex to turn the tide. He then misses a flying body press. Luger powerslams Riggs and applies the TORTURE RACK for the win. (5:46) Yep, glorified squash match. ¾*

They replay Eric Bischoff shoving the owner of the United Center and getting arrested from two weeks ago on Nitro.

• Juventud Guerrera vs. Prince Iaukea

Headlocks and shoulderblocks to start. Juventud shows off with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, but runs into a foot in the corner. Snap suplex by Iaukea gets two. He works a chinlock in between abusing Guerrera in the corner. Juvi flips out of a suplex and gives him a Rocker Dropper. There’s a wheelbarrow bulldog for two. He follows up with a flying spinning heel kick. He heads up top again and DISCO INFERNO appears to trip him up, but Juventud instead lands a split-legged moonsault for the three-count. (4:03) After the bell, Disco jumps Juventud and looks for a Piledriver only to waste time doing La Macarena. KIDMAN flies in from out of nowhere with a flying clothesline on Disco to save the day, but then Juventud gives Kidman a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Everybody is fighting everybody! Kidman and Disco go to the floor so Juventud can fly on top of both of them to end the segment. *½

Our esteemed commentators take us back to Monday Nitro to show us the Mayor of Minneapolis declaring Monday as “Ric Flair Day” and Eric Bischoff showing his ass in front of John Randle, Kirby Puckett, and Minneapolis’ Finest before having his car towed for reasons.

Halloween Havoc ad airs.

• Konnan vs. Scott Armstrong

Gee, I wonder who will win this one. Apparently, Konnan was supposed to wrestle Eddie Guerrero, but obviously didn’t happen. Konnan hits the Rolling Lariat and the low dropkick to send Armstrong running. Back in, Armstrong lands a jumping dropkick and the crowd BOOS. He rips at Konnan’s face and runs him into the buckle. Armstrong sits down on a rear chinlock, but Konnan fights out to hit a Hurricane Bulldog. They trade rollups, but Konnan is coming back with the K-FACTOR to set up the TEQUILA SUNRISE for the win at 3:12.

Bret Hart and Sting ad for Halloween Havoc.

This Friday night on “Dinner and a Movie”, we’ll see Goldie Hawn and John Hurt in “Deceived” (1991) while eating some Meatless Meat Loaf.

A special video look at the Four Horsemen airs.

• Dean Malenko vs. Kendall Windham

Kendall dares to get on the mic to tell Dean Malenko that he’s not worth being in the Four Horsemen and plans to show him why tonight. So wait, if Kendall beats Malenko, does that mean Malenko is so bad, he shouldn’t be in the Four Horsemen? Isn’t that really more of a dig on Kendall Windham? Malenko goes nuts on Windham with stomps in the corner. Where is Barry Windham at these days? Short match as Malenko ends him with the TEXAS CLOVERLEAF for the win in 1:29. That’s why he’s a member of the Four Horsemen, you loser! As for Eric Bischoff, the Four Horsemen have always defied authority as he welcomes the rest of the crew to the ring. Yes, even Ric Flair is here. Arn Anderson is PISSED about Eric Bischoff claiming his family is low class on nationwide TV. If he does it again, Arn says he’ll break in his house and bring the Glock, I’m guessing. Over to Ric, the party has just begun, Eric. He puts over the Four Horsemen as STYLIN’ and PROFILIN’. They will continue to represent the best of the sport and one day Bischoff will bow to them and work for the NATCHA BOY. Wow, he already knows what’s ahead.

MFGWLM HYPE: “Invasion U.S.A.” (1985) starring Chuck Norris.

• Sting vs. The Giant

I didn’t think Sting worked Thursdays. Hmpfh. They punch on each other and Sting goes for the Stinger Splash, but Giant catches him in mid-air and slams him down. He walks on Sting and beats him around the ring. Giant hits a Russian legsweep, but misses a jumping elbow drop. Sting nails Giant with THREE Stinger Splashes and slams the staggering Giant. WOO! As Sting goes for the Scorpion Deathlock, Scott Steiner runs down and whacks Sting in the knee with a chair for the DQ. (2:39) SCOTT HALL, VINCENT, and STEVIE RAY join in to beat up Sting. Hey, here comes RICK STEINER. He’s brought with him a baseball bat! Rick whacks his brother Scott’s chair with the bat and then tosses the bat to Sting as he goes after his brother. Sting then cleans house on the nWo B&W boys. Stevie Ray is the only one smart enough to leave. Kevin Nash, Lex Luger, and Konnan join the Stinger as the nWo Wolfpac look UNITED to close out the show. ½*

Hot ending to Thunder! This was actually one of the best Thunders in a LONG, long while. Until Havoc, so long for now.

World Championship Wrestling presents “Halloween Havoc”
LIVE on October 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
ONLY ON PAY-PER-VIEW

DOUBLE MAIN EVENT: WCW World Heavyweight Championship:
Goldberg (c) vs. Diamond Dallas Page
DOUBLE MAIN EVENT:
The Warrior vs. Hollywood Hogan
WCW U.S. Heavyweight Championship: Bret Hart (c) vs. Sting
WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Billy Kidman (c) vs. Disco Inferno
Kevin Nash vs. Scott Hall
No-DQ Match: Rick Steiner vs. Scott Steiner
Wrath vs. Meng