Basler’s Blog
by Al Basler
Thunder Shock
Last week, I talked briefly about the transformation of Johnny Thunder over the last couple of months here in New England Championship Wrestling. To fully grasp this change, you need to know to whole story. So, pull up a chair and allow me to tell you the tale of the man named Thunder.
From the moment that Johnny Thunder stepped foot into NECW, the veteran grappler had a chip on his shoulder. Some might even say that he has a complex about being slighted. It’s no secret that Thunder is not the tallest competitor on the NECW roster. Clearly, this is a fact that he is aware of and, at least previously, was quite bitter about. Any time that the word short was mentioned around him (even when not in reference to his height), he went on the defensive. I’m not going to lie, I’ve had some fun working the word into questions that I asked him, knowing it would draw a reaction.
Another sensitive subject for him was his age. Johnny is absolutely one of the more experienced wrestlers in NECW. In any athletic venue, age plays a factor, and wrestling is no different. Every wrestler has a shelf life and as you get older, there are always more and more young competitors, with a great deal less wear and tear on their bodies, entering into the picture. When you have to compete with guys like Sean Burke and Jeremy Prophet who are young, hungry, and in peak physical condition, you can understand why this could be a concern for older combatants. Thunder was well aware of the age difference between him and some of his competition in NECW.
The first time that I interviewed Johnny Thunder on NECW SONIC BOOM, he called me out for “calling him old”. The truth of the matter was that when analyzing his upcoming match, I simply referenced his status as a veteran of the game. Johnny, however, took it as a slight. While I was mostly making the point of how his experience would benefit him in the ring, he only heard me question how well he’d be able to hang physically with his younger opponent.
As the months wore on, Johnny Thunder started piling up victory after victory. However, each and every one of them came as the result of some dubious tactics. He was becoming known as a master of leverage because each and every one of his pinfalls involved either hooking his opponent’s tights or grabbing the ring rope for assistance. Some people viewed it as an opportunistic veteran outsmarting his opponents and doing whatever necessary to win. Many others, however, saw it as a crutch. There was a large segment of the NECW fan base that felt that Johnny Thunder couldn’t win without cheating.
In the beginning, Thunder didn’t care what the fans thought. He was winning matches and positioning himself as one of the top contenders for the NECW Heavyweight Championship. That was all the mattered to him. Johnny has said on many occasions that he collects belts. Everywhere he has been, he has been a champion, and he claimed NECW would be no different. Finally, he would have his chance when NECW would be crowning a new NECW Heavyweight Champion after “The Infamous” Bobby Fish was forced to vacate the title due to injury.
Thunder was entered into a one night 4-man tournament to determine a new champion on September 14th, 2012 at FALL IN FOR GLORY. However, his rule-breaking reputation did him in on that night. In his semi-final match against Sean Burke, Thunder was able to score a pin, albeit with his feet on the ropes. Tank the Tank, who has said he would be watching Thunder closely to ensure that he would play it straight. Tank informed the referee of Thunder’s indiscretion and the match was restarted. Thunder, enraged and distracted with Tank, was rolled up from behind by Burke and eliminated from the tournament.
Burke would go on to win the NECW Heavyweight Championship on that night. Thunder, among others, claimed that they were the rightful holders of the championship, and took his aim at the new champion. He once again came away from a championship match without the belt at NECW’s FULL TILT on November 2, 2012, despite defeating Sean Burke via countout. Coming so close, yet ultimately not succeeding in his goal, was starting to get to Thunder. He even began claiming that NECW officials were conspiring to keep the NECW Heavyweight Championship away from him. This, combined with people feeling he couldn’t get the job done within the rules, were weighing on him.
On February 1st, Thunder received another chance to become the NECW Heavyweight Champion at SNOWBRAWL. With Sean Burke having suffered a serious ankle injury and unable to defend the title, a match was made between Thunder and Antonio “The Promise” Thomas to crown a new champion. During the match, on several occasions, Johnny had the chance to violate the rule book, but he was conflicted. Ultimately, he decided that he needed to prove to everyone that he could win legitimately. That chip on his shoulder was still there, but now it was spurring him compete on the level. In the end, Thomas was the better man on that night and walked away as the NECW Heavyweight Champion. But, while Thunder wasn’t victorious in the match, he was in the eyes of everyone in Randolph that night. He proved to everyone that he could hang with the best in NECW without relying on shortcuts.
Since then, the fans of NECW have really taken to Johnny Thunder. Last Saturday in Abington at BOUTS FOR THE SCOUTS, I witnessed something that I never thought I would at an NECW event. During Thunder’s match with Mike McCarthy, Thunder was in trouble. McCarthy was in control of the match and it looked bad for Thunder. That was until the crowd rallied behind Johnny. I couldn’t believe my ears, but there was an entire building of NECW fans chanting “Johnny Thunder”. Feeding off the crowd, Thunder made a comeback and scored the victory.
This is the beginning a new chapter in the career of Johnny Thunder. It’s almost as if he has become a completely different person. He is quickly earning the respect of the fans of NECW, as well as those in the locker room. It’s clear that he is focused, maybe more than we’ve ever seen him here in NECW. It may not be very long before this collector can add another belt to his resume.