The Wrestling Bazaar: The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro (Disc One)

Disc One

Immediately noticeable before I even press play is the absence of the Nitro theme song from the main menu. In its place is some instrumental rock music that I can’t quite place. Readers?

Our host, Diamond Dallas Page, walks into a studio decorated with some old Nitro set pieces. DDP was there from the beginning of Nitro with a front row seat for the rise and the fall. WCW had great wrestling, but they lacked innovation. However, when Eric Bischoff was granted a two-hour slot against Monday Night Raw, the Monday Night Wars were underway…

—September 4, 1995—

Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Flyin’ Brian
This is the opening match from the very first edition of Monday Nitro, taped from the Mall of America in Minnesota. The setting is actually pretty cool. Liger starts off strong connecting with a rolling Liger kick and a moonsault off the top rope. Brian must be a little nervous because he has a hard time getting any fluidity out of three headscissor takeovers in the early going. Liger keeps him down for a bit with a surfboard, but Brian gains some confidence off a high crossbody from the top rope. It doesn’t slow Liger down though, as he comes right back with nearfalls off a powerbomb and a rana from the top. Brian takes back control with a tornado DDT before countering an attempted German suplex into a roll-up for the win.
Winner: Flyin’ Brian in 7:00
Rating: **1/4

WCW World Heavyweight Championship- Hulk Hogan© vs. Big Bubba
Bubba takes over early, but has to resort to heel tactics with a rake of the eyes following a quick Hogan comeback. He hits a backbreaker before taking two big boots in the corner, allowing Hogan to mount with punches. Bubba gets back on offense with a charging choke in the ropes, but allows his attention to be diverted to Jimmy Hart at ringside. This allows Hogan to regain control, hitting a big splash in the corner followed by a bodyslam. Bubba survives the surge and attacks with knee lifts. He misses a splash in the corner but manages to put Hogan on the mat with a side slam. Bad idea, as it wakes Hogan up. He starts to hulk up with a very lukewarm reception behind it. You! Punch, punch, big boot, leg drop! It’s over.
Winner: Hulk Hoagn in 7:00 to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Rating: *1/2

Post-match, The Dungeon of Doom attacks Hulk Hogan. Lex Luger (who debuted earlier in the night) runs out for the save, but almost comes to blows with Hogan. Hogan and Luger go face-to-face until Sting and Randy Savage back them up. Back from break, Gene Okerlund is in the ring for some reactions. Luger is here to take the only belt that means something in this business- the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. He is sick and tired of playing around with kids; he wants to get it on with the big boys, and that means Hogan. Hogan knows everything about Luger, but also has thousands of Hulkamaniacs behind him. He will put the championship on the line next week.

They don’t follow this up with the match, which Hogan won by disqualification.

—January 8, 1996—

Ric Flair/Arn Anderson vs. Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage
Flair wants Hogan at the start, but immediately goes down to a big shoulderblock. Wisely, Flair tries to turn it into a straight wrestling match, but Hogan keeps up hold for hold and ends up taking Flair down with a big boot. Anderson comes in for the save, but Hogan clears the ring with ease. The Horsemen regroup on the outside as the Mega Powers pose for the crowd. Back inside, Hogan and Savage continue dominating, even locking Flair and Anderson in simultaneous figure-fours. Momentum finally shifts when Flair forcefully tosses Savage over the top and into the guardrail. We go to commercial with Flair in control. Back from break, Savage is still in peril as Anderson and Flair cut the ring in half. Classic heel team moves with Flair throwing Savage into the guardrail as Anderson distracts the ref in the ring. Savage turns things around by blocking an Anderson DDT and making the hot tag to Hogan who comes in with big right hands. The rush is almost halted when Anderson drops Hogan with a nice Double-A Spinebuster, but Hogan no-sells it and ends the match with a big boot and legdrop.
Winner: Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage in 12:00 (shown)
Rating: **1/2

Post-match, The Dungeon of Doom makes another run-in. The Giant takes Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage out with chokeslams.

Back to DDP in the studio. Nitro was new and exciting, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. While WCW had a number of recognizable names, they wasted no time putting Lex Luger in the forefront, teaming him with Sting.

—February 5, 1996—

WCW World Tag Team Championship- Sting/Lex Luger© vs. The Road Warriors
Big “LOD” chant to start. This is around the time when Sting stopped bleaching his hair, so the brown was growing in. Animal manages to fight off Sting’s early advances, but the Stinger’s athleticism is too much for the big man and he has to tag out. Hawk handles him with a little more ease, but Sting is still able to hit with the Stinger Splash and lock in the Scorpion Deathlock for a couple seconds until Animal breaks it up. Luger returns the favor by sending Animal to the floor, something that Sting doesn’t seem too pleased with. Luger has a mean streak in him, dominating Animal and turning it over to Sting who slows things down with a lengthy front facelock. It goes back to Luger who calls for the Torture Rack, but Animal fights it off with a back suplex. Match breaks down as Hawk brawls with Sting on the outside and Animal drops Luger with a snap powerslam. Jimmy Hart gets on the apron and distracts Animal, dropping a lead plate he had with him. Luger picks up the plate and rams Animal in the kidneys with it, securing the victory for his team.
Winner: Lex Luger/Sting in 8:00 to retain the WCW World Tag Team Championship
Rating: *3/4

Post-match, Sting doesn’t know whether to celebrate the tainted victory.

—April 29, 1996—

Parking Lot Brawl- The Belfast Bruiser vs. Lord Steven Regal
Match takes place outside the arena in the parking lot with four cars surrounding the two men. Bruiser is more commonly known as Finlay. Bruiser takes it to Regal early with strikes until Regal makes Bruiser kick out a car window on a missed boot. Bruiser introduces a cinder block, tire and car bumper in the span of about a minute. Regal comes back with kicks and an elbow drop atop the hood of a car. It doesn’t keep Bruiser down for long as he chokes Regal with a seat belt and drops him on top of the guardrail. Regal comes back by dumping Bruiser inside the trunk of a pickup and throwing him into another car window, shattering it. They brawl for a bit before Bruiser backdrops Regal onto the roof of a car. Regal answers back with a piledriver onto the roof for the win.
Winner: Lord Steven Regal in 6:00
Rating: **

—May 20, 1996—

Eddie Guerrero vs. Ric Flair
This was from a special 90-minute edition of Nitro. Flair is accompanied to the ring by Miss Elizabeth and Woman. Guerrero works a side headlock for a good while until Flair takes over with his signature chops. Guerrero is tenacious, turning the tables on him and staying one step ahead, dropkicking Flair out of the ring. Flair threatens to bring a chair into the ring, but the ref has none of it. Guerrero knows he has the advantage and gets a little cocky, imitating a Flair strut. We come back from break with Guerrero stuck in a side headlock, but he quickly gets right back on the offensive with a nearfall off a sunset flip. Flair sees an opening and drills Guerrero with an inverted atomic drop, setting up a run on offense for the Nature Boy until Guerrero telegraphs a knee drop and turns it into a figure-four! Guerrero gets over-confident and crushes his knee on a missed high crossbody to the outside. Flair makes him regret the decision even more with a vertical suplex on the outside. Back inside, Guerrero still won’t stay down despite the bad knee, and dropkicks Flair off the apron following a Flair corner flop. Guerrero begins to play to his strengths, hitting a tornado DDT and a headscissor takeover off the ropes. He connects with the Frogsplash, but hurts his knee on the landing! Flair smells blood in the water and locks in the figure-four, using Woman for leverage. Guerrero doesn’t tap, but his shoulders are on the mat and the ref makes the three-count.
Winner: Ric Flair in 17:00 (shown)
Rating: ***

—May 27, 1996—

Scott Hall Debuts
We join The Mauler vs. Steve Doll in progress as Scott Hall appears in the crowd. Larry Zbyszko is way too into the match to notice until Hall hops over the barricade and demands a mic. We know who he is, but we don’t know why he is here. He has a challenge for everybody in WCW- they want a war? They’re gonna get one. Famous promo, and the crowd has no idea how to react.

—June 10, 1996—

Kevin Nash Debuts
At the broadcast position, Bobby Heenan is IRATE over Randy Savage. He quickly leaves as Scott Hall walks up to Eric Bischoff. Bischoff wants to know where Hall’s big surprise is. The camera zooms out to reveal Kevin Nash standing right behind him. So this is where the big boys play huh? Look at the ADJECTIVE- PLAY. They aren’t here to play. Nash wonders where Bischoff’s three guys are. No one wants to face them. Bischoff tells Hall and Nash to be at the The Great American Bash for a fight.

Back to the studio with DDP. You could just feel the momentum shift from up North straight down South in Atlanta. No one knew if Hall and Nash were with the WCW, or if they were coming to take it over. The plan worked perfectly, and the new king of the Monday Night Wars was Nitro. However, WCW wasn’t only interested in bringing in new talent; they had stars of their own such as Harlem Heat…

—June 24, 1996—

WCW World Tag Team Championship- Sting/Lex Luger© vs. Harlem Heat vs. The Steiner Brothers
Two men in the ring at a time, and Luger and Sting don’t have to be pinned to lose the straps. Scott has his way with Booker early, hitting a nice double underhook powerbomb. Heenan points out Luger and Sting’s warpaint- “we are at war.” The Steiners continue to dominate Booker and Stevie until Scott makes the tag to Sting for some reason. They can’t win the belts if they aren’t in the ring! Sting gets on a roll, but Stevie takes over after blocking a mid-rope splash. Back from break, Sting has Booker in a chinlock but Stevie gets the tag and takes over with a lazy ass nerve hold. Booker brings the crowd back into it with a nice spinning back kick and a high crossbody off the top rope. Luger makes the hot tag and takes on Harlem Heat on his own. Powerslam on Stevie! Torture Rack time…but Hall and Nash make their way through the crowd with baseball bats. Police officers storm the ring and prevent The Outsiders from getting inside. In the chaos, Booker manages to sneak a pin on Luger for the win.
Winner: Harlem Heat in 9:00 (shown) to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship
Rating: *1/2

Post-match, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash stand their ground as we get close-up shots of the police officers getting ready to pull out their guns.

—July 8, 1996—

The New World Order Is Taking Over
Big Bubba vs. Lex Luger is joined in progress as Scott Hall and Kevin Nash make their way to the ring. They clobber Luger; Hulk Hogan- decked out in all black- joins them in the ring to big boos. He slaps Luger around and feeds Bubba to Hall and Nash. The fearless Gene Okerlund wants answers. Hogan wishes he would have done this two years ago because the New World Order is taking over professional wrestling. He is bigger than the sport of professional wrestling, and these fans have the gall to boo him? These fans can stick it, brother. We get the classic shot of a family at ringside in matching Winnie the Pooh t-shirts; they remind me of the Mormon family from South Park. Fans start to liter the ring with plastic bottles. The Outsiders are the renegades; the guys that will set the trend of the 90s. They are just the foundation- will there be more? Hogan is going right to the top of the ladder, and will take the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from The Giant. The locker room empties and surrounds the ring to close the show.

Back to the studio with DDP. Hollywood Hogan was a transformation no one saw coming, and the WCW faithful started to become nWo 4-Life. This new group was running roughshod over the WCW, but also provided the jolt that awoke a sleeping giant…

—July 29, 1996—

Call An Ambulance!
Sting/Lex Luger/Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair/Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael is joined in progress as Jimmy Hart scrambles to get the attention of the cameraman. The Outsiders are in the back! The match continues momentarily until Hart manages to get Sting, Luger and Savage to go help. In the back, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are destroying everyone, even torpedoing Rey Mysterio into the side of a trailer. They get into a limo and drive away, but it doesn’t stop Savage from jumping onto the roof and trying to grab them through the sunroof. Meanwhile, a bunch of WCW guys look after the victims of the attack. Woman is seen desperately crying over an injured Arn Anderson. A fire truck and two ambulances pull up as talk circulates that there was a fourth attacker on the scene. Such great footage.

—August 12, 1996—

The Outsiders vs. Sting/Lex Luger
Hall and Nash enter the ring through the crowd, and Luger makes his entrance without Sting. Luger takes it to both guys singlehandedly with huge intensity, and Sting joins in soon after. They clean house and The Outsiders have to regroup at ringside. Sting is tired of waiting so he pounces on Nash with a plancha. Back inside, Nash overpowers Sting and Luger momentarily, but Sting is too psyched to be held down for long. He connects with a Stinger Splash on Nash, but misses on Hall when referee Nick Patrick pulls him out of harms way! The Horsemen storm the ring and scare The Outsiders into the crowd.
Winner: No Contest in 4:00
Rating: *

—August 26, 1996—

Heeere’s The nWo!
We join Sting/Lex Luger vs. Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael in progress. Sting is handling the bulk of the work as Eric Bischoff points out that Luger is acting a little lethargic. Hollywood Hogan comes down with a can of spray paint and lures McMichael into a sneak attack by The Outsiders. They take out Sting and Benoit and tag them with the spray paint. Ric Flair and Arn Anderson make the save but are dominated as well. The nWo take in all the boos, and the ring is once again covered in debris. They move over to the announce booth and take it over. Luger was unharmed in all of this.

—September 9, 1996—

”Sting” Attacks Luger
We join Lex Luger vs. Rick Steiner in progress. Luger is about to lift Steiner up for a Torture Rack, but Nick Patrick runs down and motions Luger to the back. Outside, Ted DiBiase is speaking to someone in a limo who sounds a lot like Sting. Luger questions DiBiase until “Sting” emerges from the limo and attacks Luger with help from the nWo, which now includes The Giant.

Back to the studio with DDP. In professional wrestling, the ability to communicate with the audience is just as important as getting the 1-2-3. Sting was perhaps WCW’s most enigmatic character, and he did it without talking. However, no one was sure which side he was on…

—September 16, 1996—

Sting Walks Out
Sting heads to the ring and grabs a mic- he has some explaining to do. Last Monday night, he was on an airplane flying from L.A. to Atlanta. When he switches on Nitro, he sees everyone doubting the Stinger, so he went into seclusion. At Fall Brawl, he had to let Lex Luger know he wasn’t the attacker. Luger didn’t believe him. Sting has been mediator and babysitter for Luger, giving him the benefit of the doubt 100 times. He has given his blood, sweat and tears for WCW. Everyone who doubted him can stick it; from now on, he considers himself a free agent. He poses for the crowd one last time and walks away.

—November 18, 1996—

Roddy Piper Confronts Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff stands in the middle of the ring with a mic. He and WCW will do all they can to get Roddy Piper to sign for a match with Hollywood Hogan. Cue the bagpipes! Piper is here. He has never heard so many lies in his entire life, other than when he was saying them. Bischoff is a liar. Before long, the nWo runs into the ring and restrains Piper…and Hogan hugs Bischoff! Bischoff is nWo! Hogan says Piper has never been anything in the wrestling business- now, he won’t even sign a contract to fight him. Hogan readies his weightlifting belt, but police officers get involved and the nWo bails. If Hogan wants a fight, he will get a fight.

—December 30, 1996—

Rey Mysterio vs. Dean Malenko
Mysterio plays the Malenko game at the start, working a leglock and some mat stuff. From there, Malenko takes over, grounding Mysterio before hitting with some high impact moves like a nice fireman’s carry gutbuster across his knee. Mysterio tries to use his speed to come back, but Malenko neutralizes it with hard chops in the corner. Malenko tries for a superplex, but Mysterio turns in midair and splashes him on the way down. Mysterio looks to follow up with a handspring attack but Malenko catches him and comes down with a hard powerbomb. Mysterio starts to find his groove off a seated senton from the top rope to the outside, but Malenko manages to turn an attempted springboard rana into a Boston crab! Nice. They trade quick nearfalls and Mysterio begins another comeback with rana off the top rope, but the bell rings signaling a 10-minute time limit draw. I clocked it at 9:20.
Winner: 10-Minute Time Limit Draw
Rating: ***

Post-match, Rey Mysterio wants five more minutes, but we don’t get them.

The 411: None of the matches are particularly special, but we do get some pretty good ones in Flair vs. Guerrero and the disc-closing Mysterio vs. Malenko. However, where this disc shines is in the non-match segments highlighting the rise of the nWo. Every piece of footage, from the debut of The Outsiders and Hollywood Hogan’s first promo Nitro, to the doubt surrounding Sting’s allegiance and Eric Bischoff’s turn is awesome to have on one disc. My personal favorite was the scene with WCW guys in a panicked state assisting their prone allies after an attack by the Outsiders. It felt so real, and was just plain awesome. DDP does a fine job as host, setting up certain clips and offering his first-hand insight.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]