Thunder - June 3, 1999

Thunder

Date: June 3, 1999

Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina

Commentators: Mike Tenay, Larry Zbyszko

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

Things have to be getting better soon. I mean, I don't think it's possible for them to continue being this bad. WCW has been trying this idea of just throwing every boring idea they have out there to bury the good stuff and it's bombing horribly. The lower card stuff is terribly uninteresting and the main event stuff is awful but there's a little glimmer in there with all the talent they've got. If some of that got a better focus, there's serious potential in there. Let's get to it.

The announcers do their intro and the fans want Goldberg. You'll have to wait until production wraps people.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Scotty Riggs

Before we have the match, Riggs has the referee hold the mirror for him. Bigelow, mentioned as a Tag Team Champion but sans belt, hammers away in the corner. Riggs escapes a slam and dropkicks Bigelow into the corner for ten punches, followed by another dropkick and choking. The big man takes him down with a drop toehold of all things and headbutts the leg before going to a chinlock.

Riggs tries to fight back but gets dropped by a knee to the ribs. They head outside with Bam Bam working on the chest and sending Riggs into the barricade. Back in and Bigelow drops a headbutt for two but gets rolled up for the same. Bigelow takes Riggs' head off with clotheslines but charges into a boot in the corner, followed by a Fameasser for another near fall. Riggs goes up and dives into a punch, setting up Greetings From Asbury Park for the pin.

Rating: C-. Shockingly competitive match here as a new champion had to rbeak a bit of a sweat to beat a narcissistic....Riggs is a heel right? He has a heel character but he was wrestling like a face here. The match wasn't bad for an opener and it actually entertained me instead of making me look for a pillow and blanket.

We look back at Bigelow and Page winning the Tag Team Titles on Monday. Shouldn't that have aired before the match?

Clip of Brian Knobs attacking Hak on Monday.

Hugh Morrus vs. Kidman

Morrus hammers away to start but gets caught by a headscissors. A hurricanrana and dropkick put Hugh outside and Kidman nails a nice plancha. Jimmy Hart tries to get in a cheap shot and is stared away in fear. Back in and Hart interferes again to let Morrus take over as the power game begins.

Morrus hammers away on him in the corner and gorilla presses him down for two. He sends Kidman into the corner for a running splash but misses another charge, allowing Kidman to hit a missle dropkick. Morrus comes right back by clotheslining Kidman out to the floor. Back in and Kidman avoids the top rope elbow, setting up a Bodog out of the corner for two. Morrus' powerbomb is of course countered but Brian Knobs runs out to break up the Shooting Star for the DQ.

Rating: D. Much more basic match here as we're now using Kidman to push the First Family. Again, we have an example of a guy that could have moved up the card being used to push more dead end older characters that aren't going to go anywhere but for some reason keep getting the push over someone like Kidman.

Post match the First Family destroys Kidman until Hak makes the save....and beats Kidman down as well. That's what you get for tearing the house down with Mysterio and Guerrera for months.

Brian Adams vs. Buff Bagwell

Adams, ever the gentleman, offers a handshake but gets posed at instead. Buff hammers away in the corner and they trade atomic drops with Adams' having no effect for some reason. An armdrag and dropkick send Brian to the floor and us to a commercial. Back with Buff fighting out of a bearhug but walking into a belly to belly suplex. We break away from that to listen to some words of wisdom from Vince. A backbreaker gets two on Buff and Adams throws out him out to the floor. Vince gets in a few more shots because he can talk trash and forearm people in the back.

Back in and Buff avoids a knee drop to start his comeback with the usual stuff: clothesline, neckbreaker, cross body, strut. The referee gets bumped so Vince brings in a chair (he can do THREE things!) and accidentally hits Adams (I didn't say he could do them well). The referee wakes up to count the pin but says it was two, even though he slapped the mat three times and Buff's music played. We keep going with Adams nailing a big boot and sending Buff to the floor for a beating from Vince. Bagwell dispatches him pretty easily of course and the Blockbuster gets the pin.

Rating: D. Too long here and the ending made me say “great. We get to keep going.” Adams really isn't all that good other than being a generic power guy and there are tons of them in WCW. The match went on longer than it should have and Bagwell really doesn't look all that special from beating up Vince and Adams.

We see Savage vs. the fake Nash from Monday.

This Week In WCW Motorsports.

Recap of Scott Norton vs. Ernest Miller.

Scott Norton vs. Silver King

I don't see this ending well. King tries to come in with a missile dropkick but it just bounces off of Norton's chest. The pain begins with Norton just toying with King, blasting him with a hard clothesline and even harder chops in the corner. A pair of headbutts put him down again but Norton finally misses a charge. Silver King's moonsault press has the same effect as the dropkick and it's another clothesline followed by the powerbomb to complete the squash.

Rating: D+. See, this is the Scott Norton I could get behind. He was never going to be a big deal in WCW but you could make him look like a monster for someone to beat in a big win. Maybe throw him into the midcard title scene if those belts weren't locked up by the Steiners for whatever reason.

Recap of rap vs. country.

Curt Hennig vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

If Hennig tries this could be awesome. He jumps Mysterio during his entrance and sends him face first into the buckle. Rey comes back by sending Hennig head first into the mat and nails a quick springboard legdrop to send Curt outside. Back in and Curt snaps Rey throat first across the top rope and hits a quick atomic drop to seen Mysterio throat first into the buckle. They head right back outside with Mysterio being thrown into the barricade and dropped throat first onto the barricade as we take a break.

After we look at ads for WCW Magazine, we come back with Mysterio headscissoring Hennig down and going after his knee. He dropkicks it down and hammers away in the corner until Curt rakes the eyes. Hennig drops some elbows to the chest and face, followed by the Hennig Neck Snap for two.

We even get a Rick Rude hip swivel as a nice tribute before Curt scores with a dropkick. Back up and Rey goes to the knee again, setting up a split legged moonsault out of the corner for two. Curt counters a standing Lionsault but gets sent chest first into the buckle. It's right back to the knee to set up a springboard seated senton for two, followed by a low dropkick to the face. There's the Bronco Buster but Bobby Duncum comes out and breaks it up for the DQ. So Konnan will stop cowboys from beating up his friends but not hardcore freaks?

Rating: C+. Yeah it was good but of course it had to end in a DQ because Heaven forbid we get a pin in anything but a squash. Mysterio looked good out there and the knee work was a nice running idea throughout the match. These two getting PPV time and a finish could be great stuff.

The cowboys double team Mysterio until Kidman and Konnan make the save.

We see the septic tank stuff with Nash and Savage from Nitro.

Chris Benoit vs. Ric Flair

Think this is going to be better? Asya is the only second in the entire match. Ric takes him into the corner to start and they trade some chops until the referee breaks it up. It's Benoit taking over with more shots in the corner to send Flair out the floor and up the aisle. Back in and Benoit takes him to the mat and puts on a Figure Four to check off a spot on the Flair Bingo card. Ric realizes he's about six inches from the ropes and the hold is broken.

Flair begs off but gets beaten up in the corner even more. Naitch finally goes to the eyes to get a breather and stomps away on the ropes. Asya plays old school JJ Dillon by getting in some shots but unfortunately doesn't take off her shoe. Benoit comes back with a bunch of right hands in the corner and a backdrop to put him down again. The veteran begs off and trips Chris up for a rollup with feet on the ropes in the corner for two.

They fight outside for some Canadian chops before Benoit takes him back inside for a snap suplex. Both guys ram heads to put each other down. It's Benoit up first with a sleeper until Ric counters, only to be sent face first into the buckle again. Chris gets two off an O'Connor Roll and fires off even more chops.

Flair kicks him in the face and tries the Figure Four but gets rolled up for another two. Ric gets in a knee crusher though and now the Figure Four goes on. The hold is turned over and Benoit makes the ropes before nailing an enziguri to put both guys down again. Back up and Benoit nails his running clothesline but Bigelow and Page break up the Swan Dive for the DQ.

Rating: B-. The intensity here alone makes it a better match but it's not quite a great match. Benoit looked more than capable of hanging in a main event match and should be ready to move up the card. It's a good match but we're reaching the point where you know someone is going to run in and that's ruining a lot of entertaining matches.

Benoit takes an elevated Diamond Cutter and isn't saved to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The main event brings this up a lot and it's certainly one of the better ones, but the DQ's need to stop. They keep doing the same thing over and over to protect people for the big matches, but then the same thing happens in the big pay per view matches. At least it was better than some of the more recent shows, even though it still wasn't anything great.

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6