[2000-08-21-WCW-Nitro] Rey Mysterio Jr & Juventud Guerrera & Disco Inferno vs Sean O'Haire & Mark Jindrak & Mike Sanders

[soup23]

Above average gives a less than average promo. K Dawg shoots on it and says it sucked. We come back from the break and have the animals going up against the Natural Born Thrillers. Konnan says the only reason they have been given the ball is that they don’t have any. Sadly, I’m warming up to Konnan on commentary which I don’t know if it is an indictment of myself or the WCW product at the time. Animals are pretty much exclusively a face. Konnan says the tag titles are at stake because why not when they are in a six man match. The Animals as faces is a much more comfortable position and this is a good match full of action. Sanders and Disco in the ring together is cringe but Rey looks a lot more comfortable. Madden says Rey is jacked to the gills. Ummmm ok. Konnan calls the ref Conan O Brien which is another funny line. Juvy does a great walk up rana and has the hot tag going nuts. Finish sees Sanders getting the reverse neckbreaker across the back on Disco to pick up the win. Afterwards, O’Haire gets Tygress the swantom bomb. **1/4

[GSR]

The ‘Natural Born Thrillers’ make their way to the ring and they’re all wearing matching t-shirts with that name on so they are officially going by it. Mike Sanders says how for the last two years they’ve been watching the so called “superstars, the top guys” draw above average pay cheques with below average ratings, while they have been abused day in, day out by a bitter, pitiful individual at the WCW Power Plant. He runs through all their physical stats before saying that because of Vince Russo opportunity has knocked, but it’s not knocking fast enough so they’re kicking the door in. The Filthy Animals are out and the first thing out of Konan’s mouth is “and I thought Tank Abbott’s promos were bad!” He tells them how they just stunk up the joint, that they’re soft, haven’t paid any dues, are straight out of the Power Plant and wet behind the ears. We cut for a commercial break and when we return the match is underway as a challenge was made and accepted while we were away.

 

Juvi kicks away at the legs of O’Haire and takes him down with a suplex. He goes for a springboard crossbody but O’Haire catches him mid-air and plants him with a modified bodyslam. Wheelbarrow into a bulldog on Jindrak, and Rey with a springboard legdrop to the back of his neck. Shawn Stasiak and Konan are providing guest commentary here and after Tony Schiavone enquires about Stasiak’s injured knee, Konan (who calls Shawn ‘Stan’) jokes he doesn’t even know how he got the injury as all he does is stand in the corner and pose! Release pump handle belly to back suplex by Sanders on Disco. Combination jawbreaker/springboard clothesline from O’Haire and Jindrak. There’s no one home on the splash in the corner and Disco with a Russian legsweep on Jindrak. Great springboard spinning heel kick by Juvi after a Disco reverse atomic drop. Top rope frankensteiner for two. Rey heads upstairs but O’Haire kicks him in the back from the apron and he crotches himself on the top rope. Delayed vertical suplex by Jindrak and a Sanders assisted powerslam sees Rey only just kick out. Sit out powerbomb and this time Disco is in to break up the pin. Double leap frog, but Rey counters the Jindrak tilt-a-whirl with a satellite headscissors. A bronco buster for Sanders, one for O’Haire and Tygress then enters and gives one to Jindrak as Konan repeatedly screams “face full of stuff, a face full of stuff”. All six men are in the ring and Juvi with a crossbody that sends himself and O’Haire flying over the top rope to the outside. Headscissors over the top to the floor by Rey on Jindrak and Sanders and Disco are all alone. Sanders with what looks like a variation of a backbreaker, although Schiavone calls it a variation of the Hangman’s noose neckbreaker and the NBT get the win. Tygress attacks ‘Above Average’ Mike afterwards, but a quick snapmare and O’Haire lays her out with the ‘Seanton bomb’.

 

I felt Sanders did a decent job on the opening promo. It dragged in the middle without question when he started to run down the size, weight etc. of all the Thrillers, but there was some nice stuff before and after that. Rey and Juvi both looked tremendous here and probably the first time I’ve thought, yeah, maybe Jindrak and O’Haire can both be players. They’ve always had the size, the look, the agility, the moves, but now it looks like they’ve started to get ‘it’. There was a noticeable downturn in the action when Disco and Sanders were in there together, although the latter worked as a great base when Juvi was running wild with all his headscissor variations. Konan appeared to be enjoying himself way too much on commentary mocking and making fun of the Thrillers.