Reliving The War Episode 190.5 - WCW Thunder (July 1st 1999)

[@jamesbounds]

A bonus Relieving The War episode is always a nice treat.

[@mavis1108]

Hell yeah, and it was a decent Thunder at a time when they weren’t very often to say the least

[@17thN.O]

F'n right!! I used to watch Thunder every week even at this time. Sometimes it was good, other times it was ridiculous, but I was watched it tho.

[@givemebackmypurse.6894]

Smackdown starts soon.

[@jamesbounds]

@@givemebackmypurse.6894 Yep after Summer Slam if I remember correctly.

[@michaelgartner4454]

Word

[@MrBeardsley]

“I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE I’M GOIN’” wasn’t one of Savage’s better catchphrases.

[@ReinEngel]

He's going to get there in fifteen minutes, though. Who are you to doubt El Randy?

[@jeffupton8799]

It doesn't top "What is that...some kind of biiiiiird?!"

[@BigBadJerryRogers]

Not knowing where you're going, or where you've been sounds like madness to me, brah. Just get really mad about it and you've got Macho Madness.

[@tempestfennac9687]

@@jeffupton8799 When did he say that?

[@justinperry8445]

hardly a catchphrase

[@phillyphi12]

You’re gonna have your work cut out for you for the first 6-12 weeks of Smackdown. To get the show over at the very beginning, they made it as good or better than Raw most weeks. McMahon comes back on screen and wins the WWE title, Triple H fights 5 matches in one night, buried alive match where an ambulance gets crushed, Rock faces Triple H and gets super kicked by special guest referee HBK. It was crazy!

[@mavis1108]

Smack down’s halcyon days, they were excellent indeed

[@zlinedavid]

Back when it was a show and not a “brand”. 🙄

[@kylereece1979]

My favourite episode of Smackdown was when Arnie arrived on it to promote the End of Days movie. His commentary during the final match, and then lending hand to Stone Cold the chair to smack The Rock is amazing. And when Michael Cole loses it as Arnie "takes out Triple H" is utterly incredible.

[@whyequalswhat]

@@zlinedavidits still a show. You’re annoyed at nothing

[@ajk]

Also......Taker quits on same episode Trips fights 5 times, leading to American Badass transformation a bit later.

[@01kilik10]

Few people know that Goldberg originally used the chin lock as his finisher. He had to switch to the jackhammer when Hogan said "That doesn't work for me, brother".

[@bigpoppajersh]

All Bomus RTW episode are a treat.

[@AguilaDeOnix85]

"I don't even know where I'm going" is one of the most prophetic lines for a dying promotion ever spoken.

[@MrBeardsley]

More Reliving the War content? Hell yes!

[@GreatWhiteHope]

We need all Smackdown/Thunder episodes

[@BOABModels]

Macho Man should be glad with 15 minutes! He only gave Spider-Man 3 minutes! "3 minutes of 'play time'!"

[@zlinedavid]

Booooooooonesaw is rrrrrreeeeeeaaaaddddyyyyy!!

[@BORRRK]

@@zlinedavid HEY FREAK SHOW! YOU AIN'T GOIN' *NOOOOWHERE*

[@TheBandit025Nova]

@@BORRRKThat’s an cute outfit did your husband give it to you

[@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090]

@@TheBandit025NovaOoh faced! Wait wrong movie.

[@skullwolfsteam]

smackdown!? YES YES YES YES give us the rocks show! we need more of that!

[@kidthorazine]

Yeah I suspect that will be necessary for a while, because I remember that for the first few months of it being a regular TV show they actually advanced major story-lines on it, before it really settled into being the B show.

[@TehBuzz]

As feed back I’d just like to say that this is currently my favourite series on KZbin and I honestly can’t get enough of it. More and more bonus episodes would never get old to me. I’d happily watch you review all four shows on a weekly basis, but I’ll not ask for too much! 😅 I’m currently catching up with these episodes from the beginning whilst watching the latest episode weekly. I’m just about to begin Breakdown 98, so I’ll shortly be looking for more and more content.

[@17thN.O]

Same here. RTW really makes my day when it drops. Great work and thank you Wrestling Bios!!

[@Killer-Kron]

Yes please! It needs to happen, maybe once he starts reviewing Smackdown he can create another series. Sunday Night Blues? Lol

[@the_ktb]

Dirty Dom was the real MVP of WCW, they went under because he got so much heat, that people stopped watching. Please don't argue, this is the only truth.

[@linkvagar2336]

The Jersey Triad was hands down the best thing in WCW around this period

[@smac919]

That’s one of the only things I even remember from this period.

[@Kuudere-Kun]

The last Smackdown right before Unforgiven 99 is one I remember more vividly then most. HHH having 5 matches in one night was a fun story arc. And of course it will feature the return of a certain RLTW main character.

[@deanhooper3641]

That elbow from DDP should be called the Jersey Bang.

[@ctwwtc8761]

With less then 2 years of the war. The more bonus eps the better

[@jeffupton8799]

I know, i wonder what he's going to do after its done theres always a ecw retrospective or he could start getting into TNA but Marky123 is already doing a great job on that one

[@smac919]

@@jeffupton8799Smackdown early years.

[@jeffupton8799]

@@smac919 yea theres that to, i guess he could do a thunder vs smackdown since they both were on thursdays, but damn that thunder content would be hard to sit through

[@michaelaburns734]

WCW Thunder and WWF Smackdown Special Episodes are a special treat.

[@Steeldragon493]

I hope you cover the October 13th episode, it's the one where Kevin Nash is on commentary and he hams it up so much

[@AFMountaineer2000]

I'll always say yes to more Wrestling Bios content

[@timothymattson5369]

Surely this show was named after the most powerful magic spell in Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link.

[@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090]

Or, or- that which comes before Lightning.

[@AquamentusLives]

Wait, I read it as Blunder first and got EXTRA excited 😂

[@jaystreet46]

Way to date yourself. And remind me of my age

[@linkvagar2336]

@@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090 You know thunder comes after lightning, not before. Right?

[@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090]

@@linkvagar2336 Yeah, Just making a joke.

[@brettrossi034]

Bonus??? Thanks buddy ❤ you're too kind to us

[@SpiritSoaring13]

1:00...Mate, any video you put out is one the vast majority of us are going to want. Your work actually goes beyond simply Reliving the War; you help us escape and remind us of simpler (maybe even better, for some) days and times.

[@donypaddy6859]

That Savage Nash segment felt like a Russo thing to do funny thing is Russo ain't even there yet Savage constantly swearing gets me.😂

[@alazmatfilms]

I'm glad you're doing this. Thunder and Smackdown had some notable and memorable matches. I feel like the Monday Night Wars wouldn be incomplete without making mentions of events in these shows.

[@carlcouture1023]

Episodes like this are why I still kinda liked WCW in the downfall years. You still had luchadors and good midcard matches. It also felt like the story going on with Macho and Nash made sense. The swerve of it being Torrie worked better than 95% of WCW swerves and made me interested in what was coming next. I even thought the main event was OK. Certainly better than the half baked things we've seen on Nitro lately.

[@Arecapalm24]

Thank you WB for this random bonus episode because I never even knew that Savage phone call segment existed. Absolute gold

[@PhilBertran]

I love bonus episodes! More please and thank you.

[@Noddy87]

Courage the Cowardly Dog followed by WCW Nitro (Friday) and WCW Thunder (Saturday).... weekend sorted

[@TheBandit025Nova]

Return the slab

[@JStorm90TV]

Or suffer my curse

[@Biffo316]

Nash: gimme back the world title belt Sid: that doesn't work for me brother. Sid channeling his inner hulkster. Creative control control running wild

[@gildartswinters4984]

Great idea, man. Great idea. These episodes provide context to larger storylines, and that. Some of these Thunder-Smackdown episodes are important to what is happening in the larger picture.

[@AFCManUk]

This is a great idea. There were some absolute classic Smackdown episodes, especially during 2000/2001. Think Stone Cold and Booker T in the supermarket 🤣🤣

[@WidSilson]

"Price check on Jackass!"

[@BOABModels]

Will that be covered though? It's after the demise of WCW

[@labbaby189]

Unfortunately that's after the war. I think he did the Invasion already, other I would've suggested him do an epilogue series. A lot of important things happened after the war that impacted wrestling... Jeff Jarrett getting fired and starting TNA, Heyman starting his on screen character run after ECW folded, Austin walking out (he also covered this), HHH getting injured and his comeback after, Jericho merging both titles, the SmackDown Six being half ex WCW guys, etc.

[@BOABModels]

Incidentally, Maven just did a chat with Booker T about that very event on his channel.

[@Kindaserious365]

Go to mavens page. He had Booker T on his channel a couple days ago and they broke down that segment

[@RE-vy4wn]

Say what you want about WCW in 1999, but damn if Macho Man wasn't extremely entertaining.

[@Dr_1212]

As a wrestling fan in his 30.s who grew up watching WCW thunder was good when it started out 👍🤷‍♂️

[@17thN.O]

Agreed. I watched it every week.

[@Dr_1212]

@@17thN.O 😎👍

[@Nickzstuff]

Rtw on a Sunday. We’re spoiled

[@yoholmes273]

"YOU CAN'T HANDLE the MADNESSSSSSSS" - Macho

[@LGBrandonWhoopWhoop]

I love the idea of Smackdowns and Thunders that are integral to the stories of Raw and Nitro having their own videos. Especially at the very end of 1999 with Thunder/Nitro when the things that happened on Thunder actually affected Nitro.

[@mattlewis8889]

I'll take all the RTW I can get.

[@tommyfraz.]

I’m truly happy we live in a time that we have someone like WB, that is acting as a modern wrestling historian. He truly deserves the respect and love from the business.

[@Abraxaspowerhour]

I used to watch thunder with my dad, and I remember this one because I made a crack at how Macho Man was confused about directions cause of his age... And that my Dad also had problems with directions because of his age.... Ya kinda had to be there....

[@WarmasterMoloch]

If you're not sure why you're enjoying it more than Nitro, I can sum it up thus: 1. No NWO B-team. 2. No Ric Flair and Roddy Piper nonsense. 3. Fewer promos used as filler. 4. Really good in-ring talent, used well. 5. Outside the ring narrative used to provide breaks in the action, rather than overshadow it. Wrestling done right, basically. Ironic that WCW still had a clue how to put on a good show, but only on their B-show, while they still insisted on drowning the main show in trash.

[@330wiz7]

Do i want bonus episodes of RTW????? ABSOLUTELY YES I DO!!!!!

[@DMForever1]

Be careful crossing Blackman at wrestlecon! I’ll be there so I got your back, just from a distance

[@TreFKennedy]

I’m here for smackdown episodes

[@travismiller4320]

Getting close to a countdown clock debuting and a certain governor showing up for Summerslam…can’t wait

[@chrishollister80]

Barry, for the love of God, what were you wearing???

[@SouradeepSBK]

I am a simple man, I see La Parka, I click and drop a Like. Feel like he was underutilized on Nitro. Mainly featured in large cruiserweight matches alongside others, but this guy could work (still does). Mainly wanted to check this video out for him.

[@aihf]

It's crazy how many jobber teams there were in WCW that had full gimmicks and team names for some reason - Disorderly Conduct, High Voltage, The State Patrol, etc.

[@rattlehead1003]

Ahhh, finally. Got a good band on wcw. I totally forgot Megadeth was in Universal Solider? The only thing good about that movie. The album Risk itself sucks too.

[@ricstormwolf]

I've always been a fan of Brad Armstrong. But, the gimmicks they gave the poor guy for almost 10 years were a travesty. They just didn't know how to use an actual wrestler.

[@Stamatos]

I always liked Thunder. I remember it as less of the ongoing story and more wrestling. I liked seeing the less popular guys and I remember it having more wrestling to story ratio than RAW or Nitro.

[@loboneiner1034]

That's good to hear cause several Thunders and Smackdowns had big implications

[@Saddison01]

I look forward to you covering the Thunder in September/October thats Kevin Nash's last show as booker, featuring the main event of Lex Luger & Rick Steiner vs Buff Bagwell & La Parka

[@lighthadoqdawg]

Honestly, now that Smackdown's come into the picture and did serve to give a lot of the corparate ministry angle some context on it's debut seeing it being highlighted when it's relevant and using that as an excuse to talk about thunder more sits right by me. the Blunder content was good imo anyway, so more reason to talk about thunde ris fine by me

[@joelchristensen9503]

Ddp and LaParka? Thunder is awesome! No Big Botverst though😢

[@robcressey7228]

I did like Thunder's stage and lighting but, other than the wrestlers theme music, everyone's entrance looked the same.

[@camschuster5947]

I love me some Gorgeous George, but I’d say Randy won that trade for Torrie Wilson. 🔥

[@AmazingGuy13]

What was with WCW and fake Stings?

[@anotheratheist]

14:55 I‘m disappointed that B.A. doesn‘t get a „Shut up!“ from Bret.

[@UndertakerNeverDies]

I may be in the minority with this and I realize Thunder was forced upon WCW by the network but I genuinely think Thunder is an underrated show. There’s a lot of hidden gem of shows and matches that fly under the radar because Thunder has a negative reputation in hindsight. Also good luck Wrestling Bios determining which Smackdown shows to cover as bonus episodes because I feel like Smackdown added to whatever was going on on Raw. So I feel like even if you’re not gonna cover every Smackdown as bonus episodes you’re probably still gonna have to reference them when you do the usual Reliving the War episodes.

[@chrisbelos2834]

so that's where the lucha was in 99, on thunder. watching RTW nitro has barely any in 99 so far

[@JDJohnDorian]

I know logistically it’d be a bit of a nightmare to do both regular reliving the war and Thunder/SmackDown episodes every week but I’d absolutely love it as I’m sure a lot of other people would

[@jorgevargas1368]

Bonus epsodoes get my competitive juices flowing

[@alaskanatomchild8801]

This was great, PLEASE do more Thunder/Smackdown episodes! There's some real hidden gems on Thunder as you've discovered. And man, that Savage/Nash stuff had me rolling!

[@dwightconway4072]

Definitely enjoy. Great idea. Thank you WB

[@bigpoppajersh]

Anyone rlse get shredder vibes from la parkas ring suit?

[@rmyoung87]

As I recall, because they generally taped 2 episodes a night for Thunder they couldn't do too much of importance storyline. Given the state of the nonsense in Nitro, that probably is a good thing for Thunder in retrospect. Just have matches and minor story that won't make audiences wonder wtf.

[@quietdignityandgrace]

My concern is what are you gonna do when the Monday Night Wars are through?

[@gumdeo]

Macho was the only wrestler who was entertaining just by existing.

[@michaelhannell4083]

Of course we want more thunder and smackdown on reliving the war. It was also awkward going to life thunder shows bc you got 2 thunder episodes on was aired live then the second one was recorded for the following week. That's one reason with nitro/thunder episode sorry lines got weird

[@borobinson7005]

That's how macho man talked on the phone no matter who he was talking to 😹

[@markbrandon235]

We always enjoy seeing your videos! It’s the only wcw-wwe videos I watch on KZbin. You’re the best!

[@Cyklopz007]

Thunder is my favourite wrestling show. ⚡ Man that remix at the end is fire too btw.

[@nicktaylor2657]

If Rey knew Dominick would cost him a match in 2024;he would take back his shout out even though he was a child 😊

[@AmazingGuy13]

Why was LA Parka allowed to use the chair?

[@PoeticProphetic]

UGHHHH would’ve gotten over better than Hoody Hoo!

[@Jesusisafriendofmine]

Love how you've given yourself more work cause you love what you do, thank you so much for the content dude 👍

[@razorblademask]

Y'know what honestly as a kid I enjoyed thunder. It had that underdog feel to it. Also The Chimp Channel usually followed and I was a big fan 🤣

[@HereticalKitsune]

More RTW? Yes, please! If it doesn't stress you too much, I am all for it!

[@YaboiiB1gJ1uice]

Reliving the War has been a way for me to experience it. I got into wrestling in the late 2000s so any content covering this time is a must watch for me.

[@AMP3083official]

10:25 - When a video game unexpectedly throws a time limit at you.

[@efu707]

underrated comment right there.

[@thomasmeehan4581]

Greatest series on KZbin. Thank you for all your hard work!

[@Deadneckdave]

Love the idea of Thunder and Smackdown being included in the Reliving The War series. As always, I massively appreciate the amount of work you put into this channel. Mental that we're 190 and a half episodes in! Keep it up, can't wait for Tuesday's upload!

[@Reversebadarts]

Do it regularly

[@stevengrvp]

More war videos let's go

[@RobJaskula]

This all seems perfectly decent!

[@RebelliousEra]

REY’S BEEN STALKING EDDIE’S SON THAT LONG?!

[@srichardf]

We're at the point in the war where Eric Bischoff was trying to get rock bands in for mini-concerts in an attempted to turn the ratings around. He'd book KISS about a month later.

[@PresidentClambake]

Its like a hidden bonus track!

[@Comrade-Corvid]

I did it!!! I've finally caught up after months of binging my way through the series!! Thank you so much for so many hours of entertainment! I'm looking forward to the rest of the journey!

[@AmazingGuy13]

Dirty Dom 1999 shoutout

[@eljubre]

There's something about pre-2000 Thunder that I've always had a liking for. It could be the stage, it could be the lighting, it could be the variety of underutilised talent. Or it could be all of the above.

[@McPoshSquatch]

Good God, re-watching this episode of Thunder! you realize just how truly atrocious it was. It's like they took a handful of sh*t, threw it against the wall as hard as they could and well.... this is what we got!

[@EssexAggiegrad2011]

Thunder in a nutshell

[@iamdb1990]

I can't wait for the mashup of the Thursday shows, Thundown... or Smacker, but I prefer Thundown lol

[@robertwarf3316]

Best series on KZbin. I always watched thunder and Smackdown. But I also always watched Saturday Night, Worldwide, Heat, Velocity, etc.

[@Pensfan5919]

So, looking through... I have zero clue why WWE couldn't legally use "Crush 'Em" other than royalty chaos. Both the Universal Soldier 2 soundtrack AND "Risk", the album it was eventually the lead single for, are both owned by Universal Music Group. It's literally WWE being cheap, like usual, with WCW footage.

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

Haa! Poor Savage, he didn't just not know where he was going, he probably didn't fully even understand what was going on. Wouldn't be surprised if he actually went to that address looking for a payphone thinking it was a shoot instead of a work. 😆👍

[@WoodrosWorld]

Vince woulda pushed Bagwell had he jumped ship.. he had the Vince look.. Ripped, tan, and flashy..

[@Andre-f8y]

Why you enjoy Thunder more than Nitro? ... Just you wait for "Positively Kanyon", reading from his new Book, with a blonde wig and delivering Kanyon-Cutters! ...then you know.^^

[@lateralus5925]

no horace hogan thank god

[@nakamaswarrior292]

I would watch more of these 👍😃👍