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Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Monday Nitro 6.03.96
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Written: 10.04.2025
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-Commentary: Hour One: Tony Schiavone and Larry Zbyszko; Hour Two: Eric Bischoff and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
-Asheville Civic Center, Asheville, NC
-Tony and Larry set the stage for what’s to come tonight and show footage from last week where Big Bubba shaved half of Shark’s head.
-Mean Gene is in the aisle and brings out Shark. Bubba is in the ring with Jimmy Hart and is throwing Shark’s hair around the ring. Shark hasn’t shaved the other half because he wants to relive the embarrassment. This is his famous promo where he lets us know he is “not a fish or an avalanche. He is a man, John Tenta.” Good for him!
John Tenta vs. Big Bubba
-Tenta rushes him and hits a powerslam. Tony brings up there was a USA Today Ad for Nitro that featured Vader and Johnny B. Badd. He notes that no longer play where the big boys play. Tenta grabs the scissors which sends Bubba to the floor and we get a count-out at 1:09.
Winner: John Tenta via pin at 1:09
-This was all angle to set up matches down the line. Weird way to start the show, but I guess it played off the previous week. DUD
High Voltage vs. The Faces of Fear
-This is the debut of High Voltage and good luck to them. Barbarian starts with Kaos and mauls him for a few moments. High Voltage go to their tandem offense with a double hip-toss and shoulder block. Ruckus (before he was Rage) sets too early on a backdrop and Barbarian powerbombs the stuffing out of him to a big pop. Meng in and he hits a dropkick. Cool! Backbreaker and Barbarian is back in and he hits a pump handle slam. Crowd pops for Barbarian’s Top Rope Belly-to-Belly and I don’t blame them because it always looked cool. Faces of Fear each head up to a different corner and hits a double head-butt. Kaos rushes in to save and gets sent to the floor. Super kick from Meng finishes Ruckus at 3:22.
Winners: The Faces of Fear via pin at 3:22
-Went as expected. The crowd were really digging The Faces of Fear around this time and it helped push them a decent run in the tag division that fall. SQUASH
-Gene is backstage with Lex Luger and Sting and they face The Steiners tonight. We see footage from last week where the two teams brawled. Lex says things got out of hand and The Steiners attacked him two on one. He is hoping cooler heads prevail and Sting notes The Steiners will argue that Lex provoked them, but it was just Luger protecting his partner from taking a suplex on the concrete. Lex: “Do friends do that to friends?” Lex has a point! The Steiners rush in and things gets heated again. Sting defends Lex and then we nearly get an All Out 2022 locker room brawl.
-Hulk Hogan video package showing him beating up Vader and The Giant.
Disco Inferno vs. Sgt. Craig Pittman (w/ Teddy Long)
-Ugly shoulder tackle that I think was supposed to be an arm-drag. Not the best start. Disco lands a right hand and decides to dance. Pittman gets a suplex and then a gut-wrench powerbomb for two. Teddy Long messes up Disco’s hair, which should be a DQ. Disco tries to fight back and hits his hand on Pittman’s head. Battering Ram and Disco gives up before The Code Red can be applied at 1:52.
Winner: Sgt. Craig Pittman via submission at 1:52
-See, Disco quit before the hold could be applied so he can still dance and fix his hair. 3D CHESS! DUD
Lord Steven Regal (w/ Jeeves) vs. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
-Before the break we saw the cool angle where Sting vs. Regal was signed for The Great American Bash and Regal cuts a promo about being over looked and then BACK HANDS THE SPIT out of Sting’s mouth. The British vs. The Good Ole USA! A tale as old as time! Well, I guess as only as a little over 250 years I guess. The crowd with a loud USA chant which Regal sells with disgust because he is awesome at the small things. Tony notes Regal is wasting time and Larry is quick to note it’s a tactic. Larry would know. Larry brings up if Hacksaw was in charge during The Revolutionary War, we may all be playing Rugby. I would have went with soccer/football, but I get what he is saying. Regal stalls in the corner, but gets dropped with a clothesline and another and another before bailing to the floor. I will note that Larry and Tony at ringside while Eric and Bobby were back at the announce position was a nice little touch. Back in the ring Regal lands a kick as Duggan set too early on a backdrop. USA chant returns as Regal throws forearms. Duggan fires back but Regal goes to the eyes. Regal goes for a standing Senton, but Duggan rolls out of the way and we get more punching. He calls Regal a SOB and hits a backdrop. Dave Taylor and Earl Eaton are out to distract the ref while Duggan hits the football tackle. Taylor takes the board from Duggan, so he tapes up his fist, but Regal rolls him up for the pin at 4:22.
Winner: Lord Steven Regal via pin at 4:22
-Not the best way to build Regal up for a PPV Match with Sting. Sure he won, but he was dominated most of the match and then needed three other people to help. 1/2*
-Gene is in the ring to interview Regal. He was fined for what happened with Sting and Regal says he paid double to get credit. A young Randy Orton was watching I take it. We say the backhand slap again and it was a heck of a slap. Regal was a mean and nasty Sting at The Great American Bash so he can beat him at his best.
-Video package covering Sullivan/Benoit and at this point it was about Benoit trying to convince Arn not to trust Sullivan and The Dungeon of Doom. It hadn’t gotten personal yet. They meet in Falls Count Anywhere at The Great American Bash.
Kevin Sullivan (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Prince Iaukeau
-Sullivan blitzes The Prince and beats him down in the corner. Larry notes that Sullivan is a different level of evil for Benoit. He continues the beating on the floor before finishing in the ring with a knee shot in the Tree of Woe and double stomp for the pin at 1:21.
Winner: Kevin Sullivan via pin at 1:21
-See, this is how you do a SQUASH to get someone built up for a PPV match. SQUASH
-This first hour has been brisk with all these short matches.
-Gene interviews Sullivan, who says Hulk-a-mania is not dead and he will be coming back looking for people. You don’t say! He trusts Flair and Arn because he needs people for when Hogan comes back. We flashback to SuperBrawl to show Pillman quitting against Sullivan to get another shot in at the WWF. He notes Benoit is no quitter but he has to get rid of him, so they can then focus on getting rid of Hogan.
The Rock N Roll Express vs. The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson and Ric Flair)
-Yes, this happened in 96 as they brought The RNR Express back. Flair is wearing a Kevin Greene Panther’s jersey and Arn is rocking a Mongo Bear’s jersey. Oh, Liz is crushing it was red leather. We have under a minute to the start of hour two as the timer pops up on the screen and again, that was a nice little touch. The North Carolina crowd is ready for this one as you expect. Morton and Arn lock up and Arn takes him down by the hair. That gets a Wooo from Ric as Tony counts things down like New Year’s Eve. The pyro goes off at 1:12 as Eric and Bobby are now on commentary. Flair uses the pyro stoppage as a reason to get over to his VIP table and check on things. Flair in and he struts and plays games with Morton and the crowd. Flair with a Wooo so Morton slaps him in the face and offers his own Wooo. Flair responds with chops and they start trading right hands. Morton with a backdrop out of the corner. Gibson in and he throws elbows to get out of the Horsemen corner. We see Woman and Liz drinking champagne at the VIP table. Arn lands a back elbow to drop Gibson, but misses an elbow and another. Eric wants to know if Bobby is going to manage Flair and Anderson at Great American Bash. Arn retreats to his corner and Flair gets the tag. Eric says they are all waiting with bated breath and Heenan makes me choke with this line: “Well, if you didn’t eat minnows that wouldn’t happen.” I love dad jokes! Somewhere Eminem is impressed with that word play. Oh the match! The Rock and Roll pop the crowd by each hooking a figure-four. Flair and Arn bail as they are little upset and we take a break at 6:15.
-60 seconds Peacock commercials!
-Back at 7:22 with Arn and Morton in the ring. Ricky gets a series of arm-drags including the Japanese version and Arn retreats to his corner again. Flair is in and he goes right to the eyes with a thumb. Heenan takes a shot at Greene losing The Super Bowl. That was the Steelers/Cowboys. My parents had a Super Bowl Party. Morton misses a charge in the corner as Arn was there to pull Ric to safety. Arn always there to help Ric! Arn in and he starts stomping the head of Morton. Those stomps looked great. The Horsemen start cheating now and all is right with the world. Flair takes Morton to the floor and sends him into the railing and then delivers a chop. Back in the ring Arn gets a hammerlock slam and stomps the arm. He hooks an armbar and makes sure to get some extra leverage from Flair. Naturally! Flair struts on the apron every time the ref checks on him. Great! Flair in and he goes to the arm as well. Morton lands some punches to break, but Flair ties up his legs and makes a tag to Arn. They fight in the corner and Morton gets an advantage but gets PLANTED with a spinebuster for two as Gibson makes the save. Flair back in and he drops an elbow for a two count. Flair with a delayed vertical suplex for two. Back to Arn as Morton is reaching and begging the crowd for support. There’s a reason he’s good in this spot. Morton fights to his feet again and gets a sleeper, but Arn breaks with a belly-to-back suplex. Flair back in and he goes for the figure-four, but Morton gets a small package for two. Backdrop but Morton goes for a sunset flip and Flair shows a little bit of ass before the move is completed and it gets two. Flair cuts Morton off though and brings Arn back into the match. Morton gets close to his corner, but Arn decks Gibson and regains the hold. Heenan leaves the broadcast booth and heads down to the ring. He whispers something to Liz and Woman and walks back to commentary. Hot Tag is made to Gibson and he runs wild as he runs Arn and Flair into each other. Slams for both and a dropkick. He wanted a dropkick to Arn as well, but Arn was a bit too far away. Heenan is sitting in the VIP section. I miss the VIP section on Evolve. Liz distracts the ref and Morton so Woman goes to the eyes of Gibson and Arn hits a DDT for the pin at 17:15.
Winners: The Four Horsemen via pin at 17:15
-Fun match that never really hit a higher gear, but the fans were into it and The Horsemen cheated to win. ***
-Gene is at the VIP section with The Horsemen, Liz, Woman, and Bobby Heenan. Arn cuts a promo about being too big and flexes his bicep. Don’t see that from Arn often. Ric says the jerseys were a gift from Debra and he makes another reference to Debbie Does Dallas. I’m sure the TNT suits were thrilled. Heenan up next as he claims he gave Woman a place where she can get her diamonds cleaned. Heenan: “I do like money.” I love Heenan. He turns them down as he promised he will never manage again. He then comes back and opens a briefcase that has his 1988 All Madden Coach of the Year award. It’s legit too as John Madden was a big wrestling fan (he knew who Van Hammer was when he was at Cowboys game) and he named Heenan as the coach of his 1988 team. Heenan says he won’t manage, but he will coach The Horsemen in Baltimore. Flair sings a jig as this tremendously entertaining segment comes to an end. This was glorious!
-Another Hulk Hogan video and yes, he is still beating up Vader.
-Glacier is eventually coming. I mean, he’s a Glacier. It takes time.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship: The Giant (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Ice Train
-Bischoff mentions The Hog Wild PPV in August and promises Hogan will be part of the show. Not sure what Train did to deserves a Title shot, but doesn’t matter. Chokeslam finishes at 29 seconds.
Winner and Still WCW World Heavyweight Champion: The Giant via pin at 0:29
-What it needed to be. Giant just needed to keep wrecking shop against other big dudes.
-Norton comes out to stand up for his partner and gets a chokeslam for his trouble. Then gives him another for not minding his own business.
-The Giant is pissed and wants to know why WCW is running video packages about Hogan. He rightly points out that Hogan isn’t the World Champion, he is. He mentions he has beaten Flair, and Sting. He calls Luger a friend, but will take him out at The Great American Bash.
Hugh Morrus vs. Scott Norton
-This is the next schedule match and Eric doesn’t think the match should happen, but Heenan notes there is a ref and Norton is in the ring. Morrus drops a leg and covers with one finger, but pulls away. He laughs at Norton and drops a trifecta of elbows. Another elbow! Morrus heads up top, but Norton gets up and is supposed to catch Morrus, but can’t. He drops a few forearms and gets the win at 1:49.
Winner: Scott Norton via pin at 1:49
-The man couldn’t even job after taking two chokeslams from the 7 foot, Monster, World Champion. Just awful! DUD
-We see Mongo and Kevin Greene training and planning for their tag match at The Great American Bash.
-WCW Magazine commercial! It’s the June issue and has coverage of the March PPV. Tough times before the internet destroyed the magazine and newspaper business.
-More training videos of Mongo and Greene, narrated by Lee Marshall. Well, he has the voice for VO work. He’s obviously GRRREAT! They are chewing on a Slim Jim and come up with the idea to have Randy Savage as their manager.
-Bischoff immediately needles Heenan about Savage being a manager. Heenan gets flustered as he throws out every reason Savage can’t be there or accept.
WCW World Tag Team Titles: Sting (c) and Lex Luger (c) vs. The Steiner Brothers
-Randy Savage calls in to the show as we go split screen to the announce table. I would say no need to go split screen since we can’t see Savage, but we all want to see Heenan’s reaction. Savage looks at his suspension and notes it doesn’t say anything about not being able to coach. Heenan wants to puke and he starts throwing Flair under the bus as he says it has nothing to do with him. He asks Savage to stay out of it and Savage tells him it is the weakest thing he has ever heard. Heenan drops the phone and puts his head in his hands. We go to a break as the first two minutes of the match were basically ignored. Small sacrifice.
-60 seconds Peacock commercials!
-Back at 3:09 with Rick Steiner controlling Luger by the arm. Luger back with a knee, but gets dropped with a Steiner-line for two. Rick sets Luger up top and hits a middle rope over head suplex and then comes off the ropes again with a bulldog for two as Sting makes the save. Sting in and he hits a Stinger Splash and hooks the Scorpion, but Scott is in and hits a clothesline to break. I approve of the hate and cheating here. Scott with a belly-to-belly suplex and then he sets Sting up top. He brings him down with a Frankensteiner. Cool! Heenan wants Savage’s home phone number as he tries to beg and bargain. Luger back in and he hits a powerslam. I approve of them just hitting each other with power moves. Luger goes for a suplex on the floor, but Rick kicks Lex in the gut to save his brother. See, it paid off last week. All four men start brawling in the ring. Rick and Sting end up on the floor and Sting tries a piledriver out there, but Rick backdrops out. Here’s the Giant and he hits a chokeslam on Rick. He heads to the ring and as he enters he pulls down the ropes which causes Scott to fly over the top and take out a cameraman. The ref calls for the bell at 7:33.
No Contest at 7:33
-I was enjoying that until the non ending. These two teams had chemistry as it was four friends beating each other up and throwing each other around the ring. What made this fun was both sides were angry at the other and led to some bending of the rules and doing whatever they could to try to win. **1/2
-Sting, Luger, and Scott all team up and knock The Giant out of the ring, but he lands on his feet. Big pop from the crowd. Giant throws chairs in the ring.
-We go to the announce desk and Heenan offers his Madden Award to Savage if he stays away. He promises two of them with his own name on it. Hey, here’s the yet to be named Scott Hall. Heenan bails as Hall calls Bischoff “Ken Doll.” He tells Eric he started it and he is bringing a war. “You started it and we are going to finish it.” Here’s Sting and I was losing my mind watching this 19 years ago. Hall gives Sting spooky fingers! Sting tells him he is in WCW and wants to know why he wants 3 of the best when it’s just the two of them. He challenges him to a match right now and Hall accepts, but nobody tells him what to do or when to do it. He fires the toothpick at Sting and Sting SLAPS the accent out of his mouth. He was learning from Regal. Hall promises a big surprise for next week. Yes, I knew instantly it was Diesel, but I wasn’t reading things so I just assumed it was legit WWF vs. WCW and I had visions of it being Razor/Diesel/Shawn against three WCW guys. I realized not long after this what was really up.
-Thanks for reading!
