10,000 in attendance at the Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia.
This week on Thunder: a World Heavyweight contract signing, an all-star six-man tag, and the semi-finals of the WCW United States Championship tournament! Catch all of this and more below the break!
1. Opening the show by running back their match from Saturday night, Rob Van Dam once again picks up the victory against Psicosis in 9:37 with a Five Star Frog Splash. (80)
2. Commentary hypes the contract signing between Chris Jericho and Dwayne Johnson for their upcoming World Heavyweight Championship match! (68)
3. Backstage, Adam Castle approaches Bret Hart and Christian Cage. He says that he wants to speak to him alone later, and that he's got something he wants to talk about. (71)
4. WCW US Tourney Semi-Finals: Tajiri defeated Curt Hennig with a Buzzsaw Kick after 7:49, advancing to the final four way ladder match for the championship at Slamboree. (81)
6. The Machines (Super Strong Machine & Human Suplex Machine) defeated Jung Dragons in 8:06 by disqualification after Juventud Guerrera attacked Human Suplex Machine. Commentary noted that Super Strong's surprise new partner seemed oddly familiar, but danced around who it might be. (70)
7. In the back, Vader and Ron Simmons are hanging out. Vader tells Ron that he's noticed that Ron seems to have lost his mojo since the match he had with Sid. As his friend, Vader says he wants to get Ron back into fighting spirit. He challenges him to a match at Slamboree to help him shake off the nerves and get back into top shape. Ron says that might be just what he needs, and shakes Vader's hand. (72)
8. WCW US Tourney Semi-Final: D'Lo Brown defeated Hector Garza in 7:57 with the Lo Down to advance to the final round of the tournament. (77)
9. We cut back to commentary where they hype up one of the main attractions of Slamboree - the legends! The list of names confirmed to appear at Slamboree include Larry Zbyszko as a guest commentator, Greg Valentine & Bob Backlund, who will be competing in a special legends match, and Harley Race, who will present the new WCW United States championship! But that's not all - plenty of surprises are in store for the pay-per-view! (60)
10. WCW US Tourney Semi-Final: Ricky Steamboat defeated Scott Norton in 9:08 with the flying karate chop to advance to the finals. (80)
11. Co-Commissioner Ric Flair is in the ring! He says what Paul Wight did last week was an atrocity. Not only did he put his hands on his boss, he attacked the World Heavyweight Champion after the match that he forced himself into, which could have put Chris Jericho's entire title reign in jeopardy. Flair says that there are plenty of things he's happy to let get settled in the ring, but what Paul Wight has done is too far. However, he sees a lot of potential in Wight - he's young, he's dominant, he's a future world champion. He doesn't want to have to fire Wight and lose out on money to be made, like that. Flair says that there is someone who can take the blame for everything, though, who he wouldn't mind setting free. Flair calls out Ted DiBiase! He tells DiBiase that due to what he's persuaded his client to do, he can consider his job forfeit! DiBiase counters by saying that if Ric Flair goes through with firing him, he will coat WCW in so much legal red tape that they'll have no choice but to reinstate him - and fire Flair, while they're at it. Ted says that everybody's got a price, especially high-end lawyers who know what "wrongful termination" means. Flair gets especially heated, and says that if he can't settle things the corporate way, he'll just have to do it the only way he knows how. Ric Flair lays down a challenge to... Ted DiBiase for Slamboree! Will Ted DiBiase come out of retirement to face Flair? (83)
12. Adam Castle, Bret Hart, and Christian Cage are backstage. Bret tells Castle that he's got their attention, now he needs to say his piece. Castle says that he's thankful to Bret for helping get him back on the same page as the rest of the Harts, but he feels like some of them still don't trust him. He wants to earn their trust again with a good, respectful match at Slamboree, and who better to have a great match against than his best friend Christian? Christian seems to like the idea of having a fun match going back and forth with Adam, and Castle continues talking. He says that it would be an honor if the referee for the match between Adam Castle and his best friend was none other than the leader of the Hart Foundation himself, Bret Hart. Bret asks Christian what he thinks, and Christian says he likes the idea; he wants to show everyone what he and Castle have to offer. Bret says it's official, he'll ask the commissioners to make the match happen. Adam Castle vs. Christian Cage with Bret Hart as the special guest referee at Slamboree! (81)
13. WCW US Tourney Semi-Final: Nova defeated Juventud Guerrera in 7:09 with a small package, pulling off the upset and advancing to the finals. (60)
14. Kevin Nash and his henchmen, Bam Bam Bigelow & Gannosuke are in the ring with a bag and the WCW Brass Knuckles championship. Nash says as the well-deserving and most impressive Brass Knuckles champion in the title's history, he feels like the world is done a disservice with the championship being represented with such an ugly belt. Nash says he felt so strongly about this that he personally had WCW go and produce a new design for the championship - one that's much less "traditional". Nash unveils the new championship and poses with it! He says that finally, the "prestigious" Brass Knuckles championship has a belt that's worth it - one that hasn't been covered in blood by psychos like Mick Foley. (80)
15. The Light (Big T & Glenn Gilbertti w/ Killings) defeated Tiger Unit (Tiger Mask III & IV) in 4:08 when Big T hit Tiger Mask IV with the Pearl River Plunge. The match saw Big T dominating, and Glenn even looked good out there, with Killings barking orders whenever he felt like Glenn was slipping back into doing comedy. (47)
16. When Ric Flair returns to the commissioners' office, Eric Bischoff bolts out of his seat and starts yelling. He calls Flair insane, and says that he's being insanely unprofessional. He reminds Flair that DiBiase has been retired for years, and likely wouldn't be medically cleared to compete at this point. Bischoff says that Flair's eventually going to need to choose between having power and being a professional wrestler, because he's proving right now that he can't do both. (70)
16. WCW Television Championship: Steve Corino defeated John Tenta in 6:32 with the Old School Expulsion. Corino seemed surprised to see Tenta out there, and began the match by suggesting that Tenta lay down for him so they can go on and go home. Instead, Tenta decked Corino, leading to a back and forth match between the two partners. (79)
17. In an insanely hot main event, the team of Diamond Dallas Page, Steve Austin, & Keiji Mutoh defeated Scott Steiner, Paul Wight, & Mike Awesome in 11:17 after Austin caught Mike Awesome with the Stunner. Everyone was firing on all cylinders for this match, leading to an extremely well-received contest. (99)
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