[2000-08-02-WCW-Thunder] Lance Storm vs Juventud Guerrera

[soup23]

Storm comes out and renames the Crusierweight Title to reflect the metric system. That is funny. It is easy to see in the sea of bad gimmicks, how Storm would come out looking like a highlight around this time. Cat comes out and sets up three matches for Lance tonight. The first is the cruiser title vs. Juvi. Lance busts out his rulebook banning the Animals from ringside. Again, why is Juvi all of a sudden a face here? To keep the theme alive tonight, this was a fun short match that was given around four minutes so it had a bit to develop. If I hear this commentary team say book or booker one more time. Fuck, you might as well have a camera backstage showing us the real time rewrites. Juvi goes for the 450 and lands on his feet and gets a nearfall. Storm is being put over big and he gains the win with the Single Leg Crab. *1/2

[GSR]

Lance Storm makes his way to the ring and he’s carrying all three of his titles with him. He welcomes everyone to ‘World Canadian Wrestling’ and claims that the company had tried to keep him down, but he’s risen above it through honour and dignity! Tony Schiavone then has a funny line about how he’s only been in WCW for a few weeks and that’s not really long enough for them to keep him down! In accordance with the Canadian metric system, Storm then renames the Cruiserweight title the ‘Canadian 100kg and under championship’. He’s interrupted by ‘Commissioner Cat’ who says that since Lance is such a bad man, why doesn’t he put his title on the line tonight? When he questions “which one?”, ‘the Cat’ tells him to put all three of them on the line. The people want to see title matches and he’s going to give them three title matches against three different opponents; for the Cruiserweight title he’ll face “Juvi the Juice”, for the Hardcore title, Norman Smiley, and for the US title he’ll take on a great American, a bad man, ‘the Cat’ himself. The first defence is happening right now and the Filthy Animals make their entrance. Tygress looks great in the silhouette by the way and I might have actually found her purpose. Although to be fair when the curtain drops, she looks pretty great out of silhouette too! With all the Animals in the ring, Storm hands referee Billy Silverman a booklet. Dave Penzer then informs everyone that according to Canadian rules, all matches in the ‘100kg and under division’ are to be contested in a scientific environment, which means no other persons are to be present at ringside and the Filthy Animals are therefore barred from being in Juvi’s corner.

 

As the Animals reluctantly return to the dressing room, Juvi is levelled from behind by Storm. Backbreaker, Irish whip, however as he goes to press Juvi, ‘the Juice’ nails him with a dropkick. Spinning heel kick followed by a headscissors takedown. ‘Juvi Driver’, but Storm rolls to the outside before he can go for the pin. There’s no escape though as Juvi with a flip dive to the floor. He throws Storm back inside, but misses a crossbody off the top. Lance backdrops Juvi over the top rope, however ‘the Juice’ lands on the apron and then clotheslines Storm on the top rope. Springboard splash back in side for two. Frankensteiner off the top and Lance gets his shoulder up at the last split second. Whip to the corner, but Storm sidesteps the charging ‘Juice’ who goes crashing into the turnbuckles. Release German suplex, however Juvi lands on his feet and stuns Lance with a wheelbarrow into a bulldog. Storm avoids the 450 but Juvi sticks the landing anyway. ‘Death Valley Driver’ for his closest near fall yet. He goes for another headscissors takedown, this time though Storm pancakes him to the canvas and transitions to the single leg crab for the submission win.

 

I’m starting to warm to Lance after being initially cold on his heel stuff. The referring to the Canadian rulebook to get rid of the Filthy Animals made me laugh, and there was the additional bonus that we didn’t have to listen to Konan run through his catchphrases! Decent TV match, if on the short side, with the crowd getting into Juvi’s near falls towards the end of things.