By Liam Byrne @tvtimelimit
In a wrestling world that allows you to watch action from around the globe practically at the touch of a button, the desire from fans for WWE to put WCW Thunder on the Network is somewhat confusing. It is the very definition of viewing built out of schadenfreude; the chance to find enjoyment in other people’s pain. Though Nitro would eventually fall into a similar downward spiral of poor booking decisions, it is often Thunder that is cited as where a lot of the more bizarre antics took place as WCW began to circle the drain over the next couple of years.
The first episode of Thunder should have been a chance for WCW to be celebratory. Coming off the back of what should have been a clear, feud-ending match between Sting and ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan at Starrcade 1997 and with interest in the company the highest it had been pretty much since the start of the Monday Night Wars had begun in earnest, Thunder could have been the show that allowed the company to exert even more pressure upon the WWF. Instead, the first twenty minutes of the opening show only served to encapsulate – somewhat beautifully – the decisions that would become emblematic of WCW as it lost its way amid an inability to see the wood for the trees and the clashing of egos.
Having Larry Zbyszko defeat Eric Bischoff at Starrcade 97 to ‘win control of Nitro’ should have been coupled with the ousting of Hogan by Sting to signal the demise of the NWO: a stable and a storyline that had run its course. Whilst reams and reams of words have been split about the Hogan versus Sting contest and its aftermath, it is the kayfabe shifting of power from the Zbyszko versus Bischoff contest that led to an opening twenty minutes of Thunder that sought to show that WCW was back in control, but proceeded to trick fans and ultimately let them down.
The first ever match on Thunder is unique in and of itself for showcasing two wrestlers that cut their teeth in the territory days of the mid-80s, before their careers went in vastly different directions. Whilst Randy Savage would transition his larger than life personality and curb some of his Memphis tendencies in a move to the WWF to play foil to Hulk Hogan, Chris Adams would have his most successful time in the mid-80s as friend, and then foe, alongside the Von Erich brothers in Texas. Adams, whilst technically adept, had struggled to rise above this heyday for both himself and the World Class promotion as a whole; a ten year stint bumping from independent promotion to independent promotion arguably a waste of a serviceable talent.
WCW at least realised that Adams could play the role of a serviceable midcard hand, though initial proposals for him to be a Blue Blood alongside Steven Regal was curbed. Adams had barely been in the company at this point, but was chosen to be the man who could potentially benefit from a spot in the opening match of Thunder, especially with the finish that the company had in mind. As was a common theme for Savage in WCW at the time, the initial stages of the show mused over whether he would even be there. When the music hit, it was a disgruntled Savage that made his way down to ringside; events at the last Nitro had led to Savage and Hogan fighting as internal conflict within the NWO threatened to boil over.
Adams offered little on offense in the opening exchanges, though as the fight went to ringside, he would send Savage into the ring post. This served as a signal for Lex Luger to run down the aisle with a steel chair in hand, waffling Savage around the head and allowing Adams to pick up the huge upset. The crowd pop was huge, mainly for the embarrassment of an NWO member, but the whole situation could so easily have been harnessed into something more for Adams.
However, with the focus on officials and the refereeing of matches after the fallout from Hogan versus Sting, it would take less than ten minutes for J.J. Dillon to come out for interview and reverse the decision. The match that had initially seen Adams pick up the biggest victory in his career in over a decade was turned into a win for Savage via disqualification. There was no gnashing of teeth over the decision, or chance for Adams to seek revenge on a verdict that had seen him wronged – Adams and Savage would never even face each other again in order for Savage to put any doubt of his superiority to bed. The first match in Thunder’s history gave the fans in attendance a taste of something different and exciting, only for it to be scrubbed from history in next to no time and without any further development.
Whilst I understand that WCW were attempting to present the idea that the rules were now there to be enforced, even if it cost loyal WCW wrestlers against nefarious NWO members, they couldn’t have imagined that this match and the booking around it would serve as a microcosm of the problems that would plague the company over the course of the next three years.
The match sandwiched a Hogan and Bischoff promo that continued to dwell on Hogan’s belief that he had defeated Sting fairly at Starrcade, a perfectly valid opinion considering the lethargic ‘fast count’ by one Nick Patrick. What Thunder presented to its fans in these opening segments didn’t serenade a brand new era, like it should have done. Instead, it told the fans that the NWO were here to stay, no matter how tired the storyline was and its natural conclusion being a clear Sting victory at the PPV. It also foreshadowed, via the Savage versus Adams match, a time in the company where finishers, matches, storylines and angles would become a confusing mess that only served to swerve and fool the fans for no appropriate reason. It began with the best of intentions; it ended with a miasma of awful that shepherded in the end of an era only a few years later.
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