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What's the story?
If you're one of the dozens that have anxiously been awaiting episodes of WCW Thunder to appear on the WWE Network, I'm afraid we have some bad news. It looks like it's going to take just a little bit longer, according to new reports.
In case you didn't know...
WCW launched Thunder on TBS in 1998, piggybacking the success WCW Monday Nitro was having over on TNT. At that point, WCW's roster was so large that it could realistically book a second weekly show - in fact, Bret Hart was supposed to anchor the program once WCW signed him away from the WWF.
However, as WCW began to fall apart, so did Thunder, and the show aired its final episode on March 21, 2001.
The heart of the matter
So, yeah, Thunder's last few episodes (that's putting it mildly) were pretty embarrassing. Is that why WWE has yet to put the show on the Network? Nah. As if WWE would ever pass up an opportunity to make WCW look bad, even now. No, the reason is that prominent WCW Thunder talent Raven and Marcus "Buff" Bagwell are currently in a legal dispute with WWE. So, until those cases are resolved, you WCW Thunder fans are going to have to stick to their VHS recordings.
What's next?
Well, like we said... we're not going to see Thunder on the Network until those court cases are resolved. In other words, we're probably more likely to see old TNA Impact episodes on the Network than we are Thunder episodes.
Author's take
I think it's safe to say that the level of interest WWE has in putting Thunder on the network is about the same as their interest in giving Scott Levy and Marcus Bagwell any more money than they already have. So if you have been waiting for it for too long, you know the answer.
