[2000-05-10-WCW-Thunder] Billy Kidman vs Horace Hogan

[soup23]

These two showcased some decent chemistry again for the two minutes this was a regular match. Bischoff keeps changing the stipulation going from No DQ, to falls count anywhere, to handicap match, to I Quit until finally Horace loses. Bischoff offers Horace a spot on the New Blood. Hulk runs out now which makes me wonder what the fuck he has been doing backstage for the past ten minutes. Nash makes his usual late run in and Russo has some words for him. Russo lets him know that he is no longer cool and responds by the red of the New Blood coming down on Nash. New Blood would love to be on Nickelodeon. This whole sequence did nothing for me and made Kidman look weak. 3/4*

[GSR]

Eric Bischoff says that Hulk Hogan and Horace forced them into this and assure Kidman, the future of Sports Entertainment, that if Hulk Hogan steps one foot in the ring before the bell sounds, Horace will be fired. Fast paced, all action opening with Horace throwing Kidman around and going to town on him. Kidman clotheslines referee Charles Robinson as he doesn’t want any more of this, only for Bischoff to change the rules to a ‘no DQ’ match, which doesn’t go down well with him at all. Horace clotheslines him over the top rope to the floor and then nails him in the back with a chair. He goes over to say something to Bischoff, but when he turns around Kidman dropkicks the chair into his face. Kidman’s struggling to lift the big guy up and get him back in the ring so Bischoff makes it ‘falls count anywhere’, however Horace is able to kick out of the pin. Back inside and a slingshot guillotine legdrop by Kidman. Horace reverses the Irish whip and a boot to the chest. He unloads with punches to his downed opponent until ‘Easy E’ changes those rules again, this time to a ‘handicap’ match. That makes it four one one with the Filthy Animals (Rey, Konan, Juvi and Kidman) all against Horace. Those odds are too much and Kidman with an elbow off the top for a two. The other three Animals leave him to carry on alone, however after Kidman ducks a lariat, Horace hits a Death Valley Driver for the win. Or so he thought… This is now a ‘Texas Death’ match, and Kidman has a ten count to get back to his feet. He’s up at nine, but Bichoff is in the ring and cracks him in the back with a chair. With him laid out, Bischoff says how that if Horace lost this match they were going to fire him, but he’s got a better idea. After all the heart he showed tonight he’s too valuable to lose, so they are giving him the opportunity to join the ‘New Blood’. Horace spits in his face, and under Bischoff’s orders the Filthy Animals all pile on Horace and cover him for the win. Match over and here’s Uncle Hulk for the save. He clears the ring of the Filthy Animals (great bump from Kidman onto the rampway) and as he tends to Horace, Bischoff is back with that chair and hits Hulk with it to no effect. Hogan chases Bischoff to the back, but that leaves Horace at the mercy of the Filthy Animals again. This time it’s Kevin Nash with the save and I don’t think he fancied working tonight as the Animals just scarper from the ring on seeing him. Vince Russo shows up at the entrance way and talks about Vinnie Vegas, Oz and takes credit for ‘Big Daddy Cool’ and says he’ll make Kevin Nash cool again, at which point the blood like liquid falls from the ceiling covering him.

 

The work between these two was again really good, but the constant changing of the stipulations was overkill. It doesn’t make Kidman look strong at all, which is pretty much the story of his month. He continues to be one of the best bumpers around, and special note for Charles Robinson and that bump he takes off the clothesline.