WCW Nitro Musings

[Dr. Alan Grant]

Since there’s a good chance the WCW back catalogue will disappear with the move to Netflix, I’ve temporarily abandoned my NXT early years binge to finally start watching Nitro whilst I can. I’ve seen a lot of the most well known clips before in various documentaries, but never a full episode. So I’ll surely be seeing some people for the first time (hello, Scott Norton) as well as the familiar faces from WWE. 

The first episode is a blast. 45 minutes long, it never stops to breathe and there isn’t a moment to waste. Flyin’ Brian and Jushin Thunder Liger kick things off with a high…Flyin’ start before the big boys all come out to play. The ring looks absolutely tiny, but it makes the wrestlers look even bigger by comparison, especially Sting, Hogan and Big Bubba. The canvas also has no give whatsoever, so every bump looks like hell. The mall setting is an incredible visual and makes me wonder why anyone else hasn’t done this. Unless they have. Seeing a constant stream of people going up the escalator, presumably doing their shopping and wondering what the hell is going on, never got old.

I popped huge when Savage made an appearance, but I don’t know anything about Scott Norton yet. He might be shit. 

Old man Hogan pimped his shitty Pasta restaurant. Lex Luger is wearing Jerry’s puffy shirt. Surfer Sting is the greatest man alive. Brutus Beefcake does a run in wearing face paint and for the first point in the 45 minute run time, I’m regretting this decision. The main event is set for next week (returning hero Luger Vs bald pasta cheat Hogan). Cracking first episode.

The show ends with Steve McMichael inexplicably holding a tiny dog in a devil costume. 

I’ll try and watch as many episodes as I can before Nitro goes to the great wrestling ring in the sky or I have to resort to nefarious means to watch it. 

Please share your thoughts, clips and memories of Nitro. I know it goes to hell in years to come, but I’ve surely got a lot of killer episodes before the rot sets in.

 

Edit: can someone move this to on topic please? This is why I should never make threads.

Edited December 12, 2024 by Dr. Alan Grant
Fool

[The Gaffer]

If there's a chance this extent of content is going under for a time indeterminate - at least through official channels - then I might just throw down for one final month of the Network to do one, last post-Russo September 2000 - March 2001 Nitro run. 

It's one of my oddly relaxing liminal spaces in weekly episodic wrestling, other than the Cat (sorry, Cleets) showing up with his dubbed in theme every other segment. They're just so utterly defeated and off the boil compared to the heights they were on, but a lot of the horrible Russo 2000 stuff is quickly dumped and it's also way more digestible than the three hour 1999 Nitros. 

[SaitoRyo]

One of my favourite things about having access to the WWE Network was sticking on a random episode of Nitro, especially those from 1995-98. 

It's such an easy watch and there's a great combination of big stars and a lot of great midcard talent. I love that there's a match featuring women from Japan, followed by a lucha match, followed by something like the Steiners against William Regal and Dave Taylor. Then you get, I dunno, The Giant versus Randy Savage in the main event. Wonderfully eclectic pro wrestling TV.

It wasn't all great and there's a lot of stuff you want to hit the skip button for, but most of it is a lot of fun and you can see why they were handing WWE their arses for so long. 

[TheScarlettChad]

Surfer Sting with his brown hair as I rewatch 1996 WCW was mad. He looked like your dad. He just looked so ordinary. 

[The Gaffer]

31 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Surfer Sting with his brown hair as I rewatch 1996 WCW was mad. He looked like your dad. He just looked so ordinary. 

There's something about his early but not-all-there-yet morph into the crow character that's creepy and off-putting. It's like crow Sting done by one of those Superstars of American Wrestling! tribute shows you'd see during the Attitude boom:

[gmoney]

40 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Surfer Sting with his brown hair as I rewatch 1996 WCW was mad. He looked like your dad. He just looked so ordinary. 

He looked nothing like my dad...

[Merzbow]

Avalanche on the other hand... just like mine.

[Dr. Alan Grant]

Episode 2 was fun again. Alex Wright (I know very little about him) vs Sabu in another fast paced opener. I’m wondering if this is going to be a trend for Nitro. Short, manic match to get everyone fired up, then bring on the big boys. 

V.K. Wallstreet has a match. The nerve of making Sting share the ring with this useless shite. Looks like he’s stolen one of Ted DiBiases’s castoff jackets. He’s wearing a rubbish singlet. He’s up there with Ronnie Garvin as the most boring wrestler who ever lived. Bischoff spoils Raw and namechecks HBK. Bad Eric.

Turns out my doubts about Scott Norton was unfounded. He’s actually pretty good. Him and Savage have a decent match, then the Dungeon Of Doom (there are probably fans on here, but good god they’re shit) interfere. The ending is quite novel, with a knocked out Earthquake/Shark/Avalanche/whatever falling on Norton’s legs and preventing a kick out. 

Hogan/Luger in the main event. Hogan’s hair is so distracting. He should never be seen without a bandana, it’s terrifying. Dungeon Of Doom are back again, so that’s twice I’ve had to watch Brutus Beefcake having an identity crisis. The show ends with a loud, coked up four way screaming promo. It’s great. I might have to watch Fall Brawl 1995 before the next episode, just to see if Luger can be trusted. It’ll probably be a better WarGames than the most recent one we had.

Dog alert.

[Chili]

Those three hour Nitro's are guilty pleasure watches of mine when I think about a good match to put on and just cannot be arsed seeing something obviously good. Hopefully I'll pop in with something if I make it through them again.

[wandshogun09]

Mongo doing colour commentary on both Raw and Nitro in 95 is a cool little bit of early Monday Night Wars trivia. 

[Statto]

4 hours ago, Merzbow said:

Avalanche on the other hand... just like mine.

During the 90s, my dad's nickname at work was Bam Bam due to his resemblance to the Beast from the East (sans head tattoos). 

[Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz]

Been watching some episodes of Nitro from 1996 and since I found out that the boy advertising the WCW Magazine is Garett Bischoff I cannot unsee it, just looks like his dad in certain shots.

 

currently watching the episodes from Disney MGM, I love those episodes not only for the start of the NWO but also being a big Disney geek in the 90’s love seeing the park entrance in the back shots as well as the Tower of Terror.

[Chili]

Can we just take a moment to acknowledge Nitro's absolutely banging hard theme. Given it was two years away from Raw using All Together Now/Thorn in Your Eye/Marilyn Manson and they were still in their ambulance siren sax theme era, Nitro really looked and SOUNDED so much more livelier than Raw did (taped or not taped). They must have shat it slightly seeing how good it looked (obviously down to that dastardly Ted Turner), but what a theme song. Hope it plays Vince out as he's taken into his holding cell. 

 

[Hannibal Scorch]

1 hour ago, Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz said:

 

 

currently watching the episodes from Disney MGM, I love those episodes not only for the start of the NWO but also being a big Disney geek in the 90’s love seeing the park entrance in the back shots as well as the Tower of Terror.

Matt Botvin on instagram did a range that sounds right up your street. This was from the first summer of 96 range he did

[Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz]

1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Matt Botvin on instagram did a range that sounds right up your street. This was from the first summer of 96 range he did

 

Amazing!  Hoping these are still available