Live from Florence, SC
Your hosts are Mike Tenay & Larry Zbyszko
The show starts 5 minutes early with The Nasty Boys, High Voltage, and Ciclope & Galaxy all laid out by steel chairs. Take a wild guess who the culprits are. It's the nWo. The nWo harass Zbyszko and Schiavone for a bit before they get bored. They call out Meng & The Barbarian. They won't come out, so Hall & Nash claim they are gonna bring the fight to them. Meng & The Barbarian greet them backstage, and get into a huge brawl with Hall & Nash. Schiavone is upset at Zbyszko for not backing him and leaves the broadcasting booth.
Juventud Guerrera Vs La Parka
La Parka wins with a corkscrew move off the top. This was good stuff! It featured a lot of high-flying maneuvers from both. I have to say, I was really pulling for Juvi, though.
***1/2
Cruiserweight Championship
Dean Malenko (C) Vs The Ultimo Dragon (W/Sonny Onoo)
Ultimo Dragon wins by DQ. This was sadly, way too short. What we got was pretty damn decent, though.
**1/2
The Amazing French Canadians (Jacques Rougeau & Carl Ouellet) (W/Col. Parker) Vs The American Males (Marcus Bagwell & Scotty Riggs)
The French Canadians win. Watching Buff Bagwell come in after the hot tag is kind of exciting. Buff was pretty charismatic, it's just too bad he was so pompous in real life.
*1/2
Lex Luger Vs Hugh Morrus
Luger wins with the Torture Rack. This was here to keep Luger's momentum going for World War 3. Sorry for the lack of detail. Not sure what else to say about this match.
*1/2
Sting comes out and interrupts an interview with Lex Luger. Sting simply points a baseball bat at Lex Luger and hands it to him before leaving the ring. Luger leaves perplexed.
Hour two.
Your hosts are Eric Bischoff & Bobby Heenan
Hollywood Hogan comes out and harasses Eric Bischoff. Hogan wants Bischoff to tell the world that he's (Hogan) is better than Roddy Piper and a 100 times richer than Roddy Piper. Bischoff caves and says it. Hogan says that's all he wanted to hear and walks off.'
Thoughts: This was just to boost Hogan's inflated ego.
DDP says he's not gonna join the nWO. He's gonna let the nWo do their thing, and DDP will do his thing. The Giant, Syxx, Scott Hall & Kevin Nash show up during the interview. The Giant says they need to beat DDP up and punk him. Nash says something very beautiful is gonna happen tonight. DDP says he stands alone and that's where the self high- five comes from.
Thoughts: DDP's attitude was very badass here. He didn't backdown from the nWo, and he didn't act scared.
Jeff Jarrett Vs Bobby Eaton
Jarret wins with the Figure Four. This was a glorified squash match. Jarrett won very quickly.
3/4*
Ric Flair comes out to a huge pop to back Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett says WCW has gotta unite. Jarrett says if he's gotta chop The Giant down to size at World War 3, that's what he's gonna do. Ric Flair tells Chris Beniot, Arn Anderson and Steve McMichael that Jeff Jarrett is now the leader of the Four Horsemen while Ric is out.
Big Bubba Rogers (W/Jimmy Hart) Vs Jim Powers
Big Bubba wins with the Bossman slam. For those that don't know, Big Bubba Rogers is the Big Bossman.
*
Chris Beniot (W/Woman) Vs Eddie Guerrero
Beniot wins with a roll-up. These two delivered in a big way. It was back and forth all the way. It's just a shame the commercials had to be there. That kinda hinders it a bit.
***1/2
Eric Bischoff apologizes for Hulk Hogan's actions earlier in the show. He's gonna try to get Roddy Piper to sign with WCW and face Hulk Hogan. Roddy Piper interrupts Bischoff to a huge pop. Piper says there have been many lies going on in the WCW. Piper says he's angry because Hogan's calling him a coward. Piper calls Eric Bischoff a liar and gets in his face like crazy. the nWo comes out and holds Piper down. Eric Bischoff laughs and embraces Hollywood Hogan! Eric Bischoff is working for the nWo. Hogan calls Piper a loser fighting a losing battle. He's never been anything in the wrestling business. He says nobody knew Piper's name until he faced Hogan. Hogan says Piper is a coward for not signing a contract. the nWo lets Piper loose. Piper says he'll fight Hogan and have a contract ready at World War 3.
Thoughts: I knew what was coming, but this segment is still amazing. It was shocking to have somebody like Eric Bischoff join the nWo. It was a fantastic twist that sent the wrestling world ablaze
Nitro episodes are usually hit or miss for me. That said, they hit a home run with this episode. It features solid matches and a classic ending. WCW fans have no excuse not to see this one.
7.5/10
Your hosts are Mike Tenay & Larry Zbyszko
The show starts 5 minutes early with The Nasty Boys, High Voltage, and Ciclope & Galaxy all laid out by steel chairs. Take a wild guess who the culprits are. It's the nWo. The nWo harass Zbyszko and Schiavone for a bit before they get bored. They call out Meng & The Barbarian. They won't come out, so Hall & Nash claim they are gonna bring the fight to them. Meng & The Barbarian greet them backstage, and get into a huge brawl with Hall & Nash. Schiavone is upset at Zbyszko for not backing him and leaves the broadcasting booth.
Juventud Guerrera Vs La Parka
La Parka wins with a corkscrew move off the top. This was good stuff! It featured a lot of high-flying maneuvers from both. I have to say, I was really pulling for Juvi, though.
***1/2
Cruiserweight Championship
Dean Malenko (C) Vs The Ultimo Dragon (W/Sonny Onoo)
Ultimo Dragon wins by DQ. This was sadly, way too short. What we got was pretty damn decent, though.
**1/2
The Amazing French Canadians (Jacques Rougeau & Carl Ouellet) (W/Col. Parker) Vs The American Males (Marcus Bagwell & Scotty Riggs)
The French Canadians win. Watching Buff Bagwell come in after the hot tag is kind of exciting. Buff was pretty charismatic, it's just too bad he was so pompous in real life.
*1/2
Lex Luger Vs Hugh Morrus
Luger wins with the Torture Rack. This was here to keep Luger's momentum going for World War 3. Sorry for the lack of detail. Not sure what else to say about this match.
*1/2
Sting comes out and interrupts an interview with Lex Luger. Sting simply points a baseball bat at Lex Luger and hands it to him before leaving the ring. Luger leaves perplexed.
Hour two.
Your hosts are Eric Bischoff & Bobby Heenan
Hollywood Hogan comes out and harasses Eric Bischoff. Hogan wants Bischoff to tell the world that he's (Hogan) is better than Roddy Piper and a 100 times richer than Roddy Piper. Bischoff caves and says it. Hogan says that's all he wanted to hear and walks off.'
Thoughts: This was just to boost Hogan's inflated ego.
DDP says he's not gonna join the nWO. He's gonna let the nWo do their thing, and DDP will do his thing. The Giant, Syxx, Scott Hall & Kevin Nash show up during the interview. The Giant says they need to beat DDP up and punk him. Nash says something very beautiful is gonna happen tonight. DDP says he stands alone and that's where the self high- five comes from.
Thoughts: DDP's attitude was very badass here. He didn't backdown from the nWo, and he didn't act scared.
Jeff Jarrett Vs Bobby Eaton
Jarret wins with the Figure Four. This was a glorified squash match. Jarrett won very quickly.
3/4*
Ric Flair comes out to a huge pop to back Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett says WCW has gotta unite. Jarrett says if he's gotta chop The Giant down to size at World War 3, that's what he's gonna do. Ric Flair tells Chris Beniot, Arn Anderson and Steve McMichael that Jeff Jarrett is now the leader of the Four Horsemen while Ric is out.
Big Bubba Rogers (W/Jimmy Hart) Vs Jim Powers
Big Bubba wins with the Bossman slam. For those that don't know, Big Bubba Rogers is the Big Bossman.
*
Chris Beniot (W/Woman) Vs Eddie Guerrero
Beniot wins with a roll-up. These two delivered in a big way. It was back and forth all the way. It's just a shame the commercials had to be there. That kinda hinders it a bit.
***1/2
Eric Bischoff apologizes for Hulk Hogan's actions earlier in the show. He's gonna try to get Roddy Piper to sign with WCW and face Hulk Hogan. Roddy Piper interrupts Bischoff to a huge pop. Piper says there have been many lies going on in the WCW. Piper says he's angry because Hogan's calling him a coward. Piper calls Eric Bischoff a liar and gets in his face like crazy. the nWo comes out and holds Piper down. Eric Bischoff laughs and embraces Hollywood Hogan! Eric Bischoff is working for the nWo. Hogan calls Piper a loser fighting a losing battle. He's never been anything in the wrestling business. He says nobody knew Piper's name until he faced Hogan. Hogan says Piper is a coward for not signing a contract. the nWo lets Piper loose. Piper says he'll fight Hogan and have a contract ready at World War 3.
Thoughts: I knew what was coming, but this segment is still amazing. It was shocking to have somebody like Eric Bischoff join the nWo. It was a fantastic twist that sent the wrestling world ablaze
Nitro episodes are usually hit or miss for me. That said, they hit a home run with this episode. It features solid matches and a classic ending. WCW fans have no excuse not to see this one.
7.5/10
