[1998-04-22-WCW-Thunder] Lex Luger & Rick Steiner vs Buff Bagwell & Scott Norton

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This is that match. The Luger-Norton stuff is pretty fast-paced and better than you'd think, even though it doesn't last long. Steiner botches a top rope bulldog and Bagwell can't move. Luger and Steiner break character and stay in the ring by his side. Back from commercial and Bagwell is still laid out. The WCW guys are gone but Norton and Vincent are helping get Bagwell on a stretcher, and the show stops dead in its tracks. Schiavone and Tenay do a really good job handling this, and Heenan, perhaps because neck injuries are a soft spot for him, leaves the broadcast booth to check on him. This is tough to watch, but it's a reminder that wrestlers are people too.

[soup23]

I thought this was one if those hidden gem matches someone had dug up until the finish happened and I remembered that this fit the time line. The Luger vs buff sequences were well done and actually made me think a ppv match of them two wouldn't be that bad. The injury was unfortunate and everyone handled it as well as could be expected. (**1/2)

[PeteF3]

Are there more examples of Norton the big bump machine? I've never seen him this active before. The match isn't bad nor is it good but of course none of this is really the story here. Bagwell's head collides with Rick's back in a pretty horrific scene and Thunder is held up for close to a half hour so Bagwell can be immobilized and removed from the ring. Schiavone does an excellent job during this, bringing to mind Michael Cole after Jerry Lawler went into cardiac arrest on Raw. I'm also somewhat relieved that the South Carolina crowd remained rather well-behaved during this delay--some other crowds might not have been so patient.

[TravJ1979]

Bagwell legit hurt. Everybody is concerned until, you know, he pops up out of the wheelchair still an nWo member later in the year.

[Zero]

I'd never seen this before. Bagwell's head extending backwards after ramming into Rick's back, frightening. The show comes to a halt, and the updates leave you thinking the worst.