Thunder – October 29, 1998
By Scott Keith on March 22, 2014
Thunder
Date:
October 29, 1998
October 29, 1998
Location:
Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Commentators:
Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay
Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
Halloween
Havoc is over and the main story coming out of Monday is Bret Hart
losing the US Title to Diamond Dallas Page. Unfortunately this is
one of those taped Thunders so we’re not going to get much of
anything as far as high level storyline development. God bless the
midcard I guess. Let’s get to it.
Havoc is over and the main story coming out of Monday is Bret Hart
losing the US Title to Diamond Dallas Page. Unfortunately this is
one of those taped Thunders so we’re not going to get much of
anything as far as high level storyline development. God bless the
midcard I guess. Let’s get to it.
The
announcers talk about how great Nitro was and tell us of two title
matches tonight.
announcers talk about how great Nitro was and tell us of two title
matches tonight.
Wrath
vs. Van Hammer
vs. Van Hammer
It’s
strange to see Wrath in there with someone his own size. Wrath
shoves him into the corner and hammers away with various strikes.
Hammer blocks a whip into the corner by putting his boot up to stop
himself. An elbow to the jaw drops Hammer and they head to the floor
with Wrath sending him into the barricade. Back in and Wrath hits a
top rope forearm but Hammer comes back with chops and punches in the
corner. A powerslam gets two on Wrath but he Hulks Up and hits the
Meltdown for the pin.
strange to see Wrath in there with someone his own size. Wrath
shoves him into the corner and hammers away with various strikes.
Hammer blocks a whip into the corner by putting his boot up to stop
himself. An elbow to the jaw drops Hammer and they head to the floor
with Wrath sending him into the barricade. Back in and Wrath hits a
top rope forearm but Hammer comes back with chops and punches in the
corner. A powerslam gets two on Wrath but he Hulks Up and hits the
Meltdown for the pin.
Rating:
D. I guess Van Hammer is an
upgrade for his size but Wrath is still just squashing jobbers. Why
he got one shot at Jericho and never did anything else with him is
beyond me but the Meltdown looked good. Wrath is getting stronger
and stronger reactions from the crowd so points for WCW for making
something work.
D. I guess Van Hammer is an
upgrade for his size but Wrath is still just squashing jobbers. Why
he got one shot at Jericho and never did anything else with him is
beyond me but the Meltdown looked good. Wrath is getting stronger
and stronger reactions from the crowd so points for WCW for making
something work.
Clips
of Alex Wright vs. Finlay.
of Alex Wright vs. Finlay.
Finlay
vs. Alex Wright
vs. Alex Wright
Because
the world was waiting on the third match in this series. Wright
hides in the ropes until Finlay goes over and gives him a clean
break. Finlay cranks on the
arm but Alex comes back with some uppercuts and a slingshot belly to
back suplex. Some dancing allows Finlay to take over with his own
European uppercuts before working on the legs as this is already
dragging. The announcers
pick things up a bit by talking about Finlay breaking Alex’s father’s
leg back in the day.
the world was waiting on the third match in this series. Wright
hides in the ropes until Finlay goes over and gives him a clean
break. Finlay cranks on the
arm but Alex comes back with some uppercuts and a slingshot belly to
back suplex. Some dancing allows Finlay to take over with his own
European uppercuts before working on the legs as this is already
dragging. The announcers
pick things up a bit by talking about Finlay breaking Alex’s father’s
leg back in the day.
Alex
tries to run but Finlay easily catches him and wraps the leg around
the post. Back up and Wright falls down so we hit the leg lock
again. A knee drop and kick
to the leg in the corner have Wright in trouble but he cartwheels
away from a whip. Why don’t more people use that instead of getting
whipped across the ring? Alex bails outside but snaps Finlay across
the top rope and scores with a missile dropkick. Since this match
hasn’t gone on long enough, Finlay is knocked into the referee….but
he grabs Wright for a tombstone and Nick Patrick counts the pin.
tries to run but Finlay easily catches him and wraps the leg around
the post. Back up and Wright falls down so we hit the leg lock
again. A knee drop and kick
to the leg in the corner have Wright in trouble but he cartwheels
away from a whip. Why don’t more people use that instead of getting
whipped across the ring? Alex bails outside but snaps Finlay across
the top rope and scores with a missile dropkick. Since this match
hasn’t gone on long enough, Finlay is knocked into the referee….but
he grabs Wright for a tombstone and Nick Patrick counts the pin.
Rating:
C-. The leg work was good as
the announcers pushed the idea that Finlay
was trying to do the same thing to Alex that he did to the father.
Unfortunately at the end of the day this is the third match these two
have had in two and a half weeks and any interest in that story is
long gone.
C-. The leg work was good as
the announcers pushed the idea that Finlay
was trying to do the same thing to Alex that he did to the father.
Unfortunately at the end of the day this is the third match these two
have had in two and a half weeks and any interest in that story is
long gone.
We
look at JJ getting beaten up on Nitro.
look at JJ getting beaten up on Nitro.
Tuff
Tom vs. Disciple
Tom vs. Disciple
Oh
yeah they’re not even trying tonight. Disciple throws him to the
floor to start but has to deal with Mean Mark. Shame it’s not Mean
Mark Callous to make this the slightest bit interesting. Back
in and Tom hits a neckbreaker on Disciple for no effect. After a
slam it’s the world’s slowest Stunner to pin Tom.
yeah they’re not even trying tonight. Disciple throws him to the
floor to start but has to deal with Mean Mark. Shame it’s not Mean
Mark Callous to make this the slightest bit interesting. Back
in and Tom hits a neckbreaker on Disciple for no effect. After a
slam it’s the world’s slowest Stunner to pin Tom.
Eddie
Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
Feeling
out process to start despite these two knowing each other so well.
Eddie grabs the arm before switching to the leg and taking Dean to
the mat. We get the always cool lightning fast technical exchange
with both guys getting near falls and trading quickly broken holds.
That leads us to a stalemate and we take a break.
out process to start despite these two knowing each other so well.
Eddie grabs the arm before switching to the leg and taking Dean to
the mat. We get the always cool lightning fast technical exchange
with both guys getting near falls and trading quickly broken holds.
That leads us to a stalemate and we take a break.
Back
with Eddie escaping a monkey flip but getting slammed down and
chinlocked. Guerrero fights up and scores with a headscissors and
dropkick to the side of the head. Dean pops back up and suplexes
Eddie down and right into the chinlock again. Guerrero fights up
just as easily as he did the first time and hits a belly to back
suplex of his own. The
control doesn’t last long again as Dean just throws Eddie into the
air for a big crash down to the mat. A Cloverleaf attempt sends
Guerrero running outside and the match takes a breather.
with Eddie escaping a monkey flip but getting slammed down and
chinlocked. Guerrero fights up and scores with a headscissors and
dropkick to the side of the head. Dean pops back up and suplexes
Eddie down and right into the chinlock again. Guerrero fights up
just as easily as he did the first time and hits a belly to back
suplex of his own. The
control doesn’t last long again as Dean just throws Eddie into the
air for a big crash down to the mat. A Cloverleaf attempt sends
Guerrero running outside and the match takes a breather.
Dean
hammers on Eddie in the corner but gets sent into the corner to
change control again. A brainbuster puts Dean down but Eddie spends
too much time yelling at the crowd and gets superplexed down to put
both guys on the mat. Eddie
is up first and sends Malenko to the floor. They trade whips into
the barricade before heading back inside for a quick surfboard from
Eddie. That goes nowhere so we hit the quick rollups again. Dean
hammers away in the corner but here’s the LWO for the DQ.
hammers on Eddie in the corner but gets sent into the corner to
change control again. A brainbuster puts Dean down but Eddie spends
too much time yelling at the crowd and gets superplexed down to put
both guys on the mat. Eddie
is up first and sends Malenko to the floor. They trade whips into
the barricade before heading back inside for a quick surfboard from
Eddie. That goes nowhere so we hit the quick rollups again. Dean
hammers away in the corner but here’s the LWO for the DQ.
Rating:
B. This was getting awesome at
the end but the stupid ending hurts it. At least we got a solid
match with some length here, even though we had to miss three and a
half minutes of it for the commercial. Van Hammer, Finlay and
Disciple get full matches, but these two get their cut. Naturally.
B. This was getting awesome at
the end but the stupid ending hurts it. At least we got a solid
match with some length here, even though we had to miss three and a
half minutes of it for the commercial. Van Hammer, Finlay and
Disciple get full matches, but these two get their cut. Naturally.
The
Horsemen come out for the save.
Horsemen come out for the save.
TV
Title: Chris Jericho vs. Disco Inferno
Title: Chris Jericho vs. Disco Inferno
Disco
is challenging and grabs the mic before the match. He reminds
Jericho that he’s a former two time TV Champion and Jericho needs to
respect that. Therefore, Jericho should just wrap the title around
Disco’s waist right now and be done with this. Jericho pulls the
belt back to hit Disco in the face but winds up putting it around his
waist instead. He raises Inferno’s hand and then clotheslines him
down to get things going.
is challenging and grabs the mic before the match. He reminds
Jericho that he’s a former two time TV Champion and Jericho needs to
respect that. Therefore, Jericho should just wrap the title around
Disco’s waist right now and be done with this. Jericho pulls the
belt back to hit Disco in the face but winds up putting it around his
waist instead. He raises Inferno’s hand and then clotheslines him
down to get things going.
The
referee takes the belt away from Jericho and Disco grabs a
neckbreaker and rollup for two each. Jericho comes back with a hot
shot and suplex for an Arrogant two. We hit the chinlock on Disco as
the announcers talk about Chavo Guerrero challenging Kidman tonight.
Disco gets up a boot in the corner but Jericho does the exact same
thing a few moments later. The champion goes up but dives into a
boot, giving Disco one more chance. A middle rope clothesline gets
two on Jericho but he counters the piledriver into the Liontamer to
retain.
referee takes the belt away from Jericho and Disco grabs a
neckbreaker and rollup for two each. Jericho comes back with a hot
shot and suplex for an Arrogant two. We hit the chinlock on Disco as
the announcers talk about Chavo Guerrero challenging Kidman tonight.
Disco gets up a boot in the corner but Jericho does the exact same
thing a few moments later. The champion goes up but dives into a
boot, giving Disco one more chance. A middle rope clothesline gets
two on Jericho but he counters the piledriver into the Liontamer to
retain.
Rating:
C. Both
guys looked decent out there and they were able to get the crowd
going with their various antics. Disco still isn’t much to see but
he was amusing enough. Jericho is still acting a bit more like a
face out there and he’s still working as well as you would expect him
to.
C. Both
guys looked decent out there and they were able to get the crowd
going with their various antics. Disco still isn’t much to see but
he was amusing enough. Jericho is still acting a bit more like a
face out there and he’s still working as well as you would expect him
to.
Cruiserweight
Title: Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Title: Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Chavo
is challenging. After Chavo
spends a good deal of time talking with Pepe, he asks the referee to
check Kidman for foreign objects. Chavo gets checked as well and
doesn’t seem to mind before we’re ready to go. Feeling out process
to start until Chavo dropkicks Kidman out to the floor and celebrates
with the horse. Back in and
Kidman takes over with a headscissors and stomps away in the corner.
Things are picking up so the announcers start talking about Horace
turning on Warrior.
is challenging. After Chavo
spends a good deal of time talking with Pepe, he asks the referee to
check Kidman for foreign objects. Chavo gets checked as well and
doesn’t seem to mind before we’re ready to go. Feeling out process
to start until Chavo dropkicks Kidman out to the floor and celebrates
with the horse. Back in and
Kidman takes over with a headscissors and stomps away in the corner.
Things are picking up so the announcers start talking about Horace
turning on Warrior.
A
running clothesline out of the corner gets two for the champion and a
springboard legdrop gets the same. We hit the headlock on the
challenger for a few moments but Kidman charges into a boot in the
corner. Chavo nails a good looking spinwheel kick and gets two off a
German suplex, only get caught in the lifting powerbomb. Back
up and Chavo dropkicks Kidman into the ropes before hitting a middle
rope bulldog for two. They trade forearms to the jaw and Guerrero
goes up for a sunset flip but Kidman escapes into a rollup for the
pin to retain.
running clothesline out of the corner gets two for the champion and a
springboard legdrop gets the same. We hit the headlock on the
challenger for a few moments but Kidman charges into a boot in the
corner. Chavo nails a good looking spinwheel kick and gets two off a
German suplex, only get caught in the lifting powerbomb. Back
up and Chavo dropkicks Kidman into the ropes before hitting a middle
rope bulldog for two. They trade forearms to the jaw and Guerrero
goes up for a sunset flip but Kidman escapes into a rollup for the
pin to retain.
Rating:
C+. Another nice match here
with both guys looking crisp out there. Chavo was good at balancing
the insanity with the in ring work to make for an entertaining match.
He would be even better once he dropped the horse nonsense but it
wasn’t bad for the most part. Kidman was great as always.
C+. Another nice match here
with both guys looking crisp out there. Chavo was good at balancing
the insanity with the in ring work to make for an entertaining match.
He would be even better once he dropped the horse nonsense but it
wasn’t bad for the most part. Kidman was great as always.
Post
match the LWO runs in and destroys Chavo until Eddie says his nephew
has to earn his LWO colors. The LWO leaves and Chavo wants to start
the PWO.
match the LWO runs in and destroys Chavo until Eddie says his nephew
has to earn his LWO colors. The LWO leaves and Chavo wants to start
the PWO.
We
look at Warrior talking about the pinfall meaning nothing at
Halloween Havoc.
look at Warrior talking about the pinfall meaning nothing at
Halloween Havoc.
Villano
V vs. The Cat
V vs. The Cat
Miller
does the five seconds thing and gets dropkicked at the count of five.
The control lsts all of a few seconds until Miller superkicks him
down. Villano gets choked and sidekicked again but comes back with a
knee to the ribs. A quick backsplash gets two on Miller but he comes
back with the Feliner for the pin.
does the five seconds thing and gets dropkicked at the count of five.
The control lsts all of a few seconds until Miller superkicks him
down. Villano gets choked and sidekicked again but comes back with a
knee to the ribs. A quick backsplash gets two on Miller but he comes
back with the Feliner for the pin.
Scott
Hall vs. Steve Armstrong
Hall vs. Steve Armstrong
No
Survey tonight but we do get the toothpick toss. Steve takes him
down to the mat with a nice leg trip and grabs a headlock. Armstrong
escapes a hammerlock and slaps Hall in the face. Hall takes him into
the corner for choking and stomping as the match becomes what you
would expect. Two straight Outsider’s Edges are enough for the pin.
Survey tonight but we do get the toothpick toss. Steve takes him
down to the mat with a nice leg trip and grabs a headlock. Armstrong
escapes a hammerlock and slaps Hall in the face. Hall takes him into
the corner for choking and stomping as the match becomes what you
would expect. Two straight Outsider’s Edges are enough for the pin.
Rating:
D. Not much for this one here
as you would expect. Hall wasn’t playing drunk here so it wasn’t as
uncomfortable as usual. I’m not sure how much there is to this, but
one report I read on this show says Armstrong actually won the match
and then this ending was filmed. I’d assume it was just something
special for the live crowd and the editing covered up any changes
they made.
D. Not much for this one here
as you would expect. Hall wasn’t playing drunk here so it wasn’t as
uncomfortable as usual. I’m not sure how much there is to this, but
one report I read on this show says Armstrong actually won the match
and then this ending was filmed. I’d assume it was just something
special for the live crowd and the editing covered up any changes
they made.
Clips
of Page taking the US Title from Bret.
of Page taking the US Title from Bret.
Giant
vs. Raven
vs. Raven
Kanyon
doesn’t want Raven to do this but Raven isn’t listening. Giant
throws Raven around with ease but misses a charge in the corner. Not
that it matters as he kicks Rave out to the floor. The average sized
guy gets Giant to chase him and scores with a baseball slide but his
plancha is caught in midair. Raven manages to escape and send Giant
into the post before blasting him in the back with a chair. Kanyon
slides in a table and Raven kicks Giant low as he gets in the ring.
Giant shrugs it off and chokeslams Raven through the table for the
easy pin.
doesn’t want Raven to do this but Raven isn’t listening. Giant
throws Raven around with ease but misses a charge in the corner. Not
that it matters as he kicks Rave out to the floor. The average sized
guy gets Giant to chase him and scores with a baseball slide but his
plancha is caught in midair. Raven manages to escape and send Giant
into the post before blasting him in the back with a chair. Kanyon
slides in a table and Raven kicks Giant low as he gets in the ring.
Giant shrugs it off and chokeslams Raven through the table for the
easy pin.
Overall
Rating: C+. This was a much
better show than usual as the wrestling easily carried the night.
It’s not a great show or anything and there was no storyline
advancement but that’s ok for a change. When you get so much stuff
on Nitro, it’s nice to have a basic and well done wrestling show
instead.
Rating: C+. This was a much
better show than usual as the wrestling easily carried the night.
It’s not a great show or anything and there was no storyline
advancement but that’s ok for a change. When you get so much stuff
on Nitro, it’s nice to have a basic and well done wrestling show
instead.
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