[5][6][7] WCW executive vice-president Eric Bischoff was originally reluctant to produce another two-hour weekly television show for a variety of reasons.

First, Time Warner Entertainment (WCW's parent company) was under a hiring freeze which prevented Bischoff from bringing in additional production people to run the show.

[11] WCW Thunder originally debuted as a live weekly show, but the schedule was changed by Bischoff in August 1998 due to complaints by wrestlers over travel demands.

[14] In 1998, WCW Thunder consistently had one of the highest Nielsen ratings on cable, at one time rivaling the audience size of a Thursday night NFL broadcast on ESPN.

[20][21][22][23][24][25] The WCW Thunder at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota on April 16, 1998 drew 15,362 people and grossed $274,393 in ticket sales, which were both records highs for that market.

Bryan Alvarez and R. D. Reynolds wrote in their book, The Death of WCW, the reasoning behind the tapings was attendance at Thunder events had dropped considerably over the previous twenty-one months.

However, although Bischoff's offer had been accepted, recently appointed Turner Broadcasting executive Jamie Kellner announced shortly after his arrival that Thunder and all WCW programming was immediately canceled on TBS Superstation and TNT.

Veteran industry journalist Wade Keller said that the introduction of Thunder could be called "the beginning of the end" for the now-defunct WCW, adding that the program's debut "is probably as good of a turning point as you could pick out".