With the majority of WCW's top talent over in Japan this week, the NWO is already declaring a victory tonight as they've gotten an ad in USA Today promising that while the WCW is away, the NWO will play. The only major member of WCW's elite here tonight is Randy Savage who will face Greg Valentine tonight.
-THE TASKMASTER AND KONNAN VS BRAD ARMSTRONG AND JUVENTUD GUERRERA-
Waistlock German suplex from Konnan early on, who then rolls Juvi up for a two count. Juvi gets a headscissors that sends Konnan to the outside. Plancha from Juvi follows. Springboard somersault by Juvi as they return to the ring. Konnan however plants Juvi with a DDT. He goes to tag Sullivan, but Taskmaster tells him to keep it up. Top rope suplex by Konnan who again goes to tag Sullivan, but Sullivan refuses. Tag to Armstrong who gets in a house of fire, but Konnan gets a shot into the knee and a powerbomb. NWO picketers circle the crowd as Taskmaster tags in, hits a stomp and gets the three.
Post-match, Big Bubba Boss Man cheap shots Konnan and the Dungeon of Doom double team. But no, this isn't a turn, this is an initiation. Konnan says that he's been welcomed to the Dungeon of Doom as he full on slobbers into the camera.
Mike Tenay interviews Randy Savage backstage. He says that that if the NWO will cheap shot him every night and day until Halloween Havoc, it won't matter. The whole of WCW are in Japan, and he was, but he took himself out of there to defend Nitro. As for Elizabeth, not this lifetime or the next, but in a hundred thousand lifetimes they'll be the same goldfish in the same water. Long story short, he takes responsibility to wipe out the NWO.
-MIKE ENOS VS CHRIS JERICHO-
Jericho falls for a handshake from Enos, which gets him a slap to the face. Enos misses a dive, allowing Jericho to hit a spin kick. Enos gets a springboard shoulder and a series of shoulders. Jericho dodges a shoulder and gets in an arm drag, beginning some arm work until Enos throws him to the ropes. Jericho tries to fight, but gets hit with a belly to belly. Enos sends him to the outside and hits a running clothesline off the apron. He then proceeds to choke Jericho blatantly with the camera cables, then throws him face first into the barricade.
Enos continues the outside assault, suplexing Jericho on to the steel ring steps. He brings Jericho back into the ring and continues with the headbutts before going into a bearhug turned into a powerslam. Cover only gets a two. Enos locks in a Boston Crab, then locks in a backbreaker. Jericho slides free and turns it into a sunset flip for two. Superkicks followed by a clothesline as Jericho tries to regain control. Underhook suplex and a top rope missile dropkick. He goes for a Frankensteiner, but Enos turns it into a top buckle powerbomb. Slow cover for a two. Enos tries another powerslam, but Jericho turns it around into a roll up for three. Really good match. A great showing for Enos, and Jericho worked very well as the underdog.
-PAT TANAKA VS GLACIER-
It's time for the blue lights and the synthetic snow as Glacier makes his second Nitro appearance. Schiavone talks about how Glacier had a choice to go into law enforcement like his father, or to study martial arts. So, in other words, he chose to be Sub Zero instead of Stryker. And ain't nobody wants to be Stryker. Crowd is already turning on this as well as loud boos can be heard when Glacier hits offense. Glacier gets caught into a powerbomb by Tanaka, but no sells and hits a spin kick for the three in a quick match that was more entrance than in-ring competition.
-WCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: HARLEM HEAT VS PUBLIC ENEMY-
Immediate double team by Harlem Heat until Johnny Grunge lands a flying clothesline. Things finally calm down as Rocco Rock tags in Grunge as they double team on Booker T. Cover barely gets a one. Tag to Stevie Ray as Harlem Heat land some double clubs. After a commercial break, Booker goes for a Harlem Side Kick, but Rocco Rock dodges, causing Booker to crotch himself on the ropes. Tag to Grunge who hits some corner punches followed by a thumb poke.
Booker recovers with a clothesline and tags in Stevie Ray who lands a high leg drop. With the ref distracted, Booker throws Grunge into the table on the outside. Body slam by Stevie Ray who covers for two. Chinlock by Stevie Ray is broken by Grunge, but Stevie lands a punch. Tag to Booker who nails the Harlem Side Kick this time. He plays to the crowd and is distracted by Rocco Rock. Slow cover only gets a two as Rock makes the save.
We see the NWO Limo has arrived. Hall, Nash, Giant, Syxx, Dibiase, Fake Sting and Hogan have all made it to the building. Roll up by Grunge is quickly kicked out. Spinning neckbreaker by Grunge who then goes for the hot tag on Rocco Rock. He succeeds as Rock cleans house, only to get taken down by both of Harlem Heat. Harlem Hangover is dodged by Rock as Grunge and Stevie brawl outside. Stevie throws Rock into Booker as Nick Patrick nearly counts it. Suplex by Booker is turned into a roll up for three. After some confusion, Nick Patrick awards the WCW tag titles to Public Enemy.
A surprisingly solid match from Public Enemy as they can work well when it isn't just 78% garbage hardcore wrestling. But it also feels like maybe Nick Patrick set Public Enemy up for a quick defeat at Halloween Havoc against Hall and Nash.
-GREG THE HAMMER VALENTINE VS "MACHO MAN" RANDY SAVAGE-
It's hour #2 for Nitro as Bischoff, Heenan and Tenay take over the table. Bischoff saying that there have been rumblings of another member of the NWO tonight. Valentine pulls Savage off the buckle, which pisses Savage enough to land some corner strikes. Valentine continues assault by taking Savage down with some elbows and a shot to the lower extremities. He throws Savage to the outside, but Savage comes right back in, just to get thrown out to the other side. Valentine throws Savage head-first into the guardrail. We learn via Bischoff that Super Calo dislocated his elbow before Nitro started. Somehow I'm not surprised at that.
Savage throws Valentine to the rail, then nails Valentine with a chair. He follows that with a chair shot off the top rope, ending the match in a DQ. He then takes out Randy Anderson as the NWO finally run into the ring and assault Savage. Outsiders Edge on Savage as Elizabeth watches from the entrance, then runs away. Jackknife Powerbomb from Nash as garbage pelts the ring. Giant grabs a mic and congratulates his fellow teammates, then introduces Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Hogan nails Savage again, then drops the leg a couple more times. Nash literally snaps a Slim Jim over Savage as Hogan grabs the mic. He's used to being in Hollywood, but the bright lights bouncing off Savage's bald head is too much to bear. So he's going to deal with that as he spraypaints the bald spot. The NWO then rush the announce position as Tenay and Heenan make their exit. Bischoff is grabbed by the others as they welcome the next member of the NWO... Vincent. And who's Vincent?
Why, it's our old pal Virgil! And yes, Vincent is a shot at Vince McMahon, like the name Virgil was a shot at Dusty Rhodes. So the stock of big NWO reveals is already falling hard. Nash and the gang talk about Nascar and their plans to takeover.
And sure enough, they have an NWO race car. And their driver is Kyle Petty, who they promise will be here next week.
-JIM POWERS VS VK WALLSTREET-
So, we now have two shots at Vince McMahon on this show, what with Vincent coming in. Just realized that. Before Wallstreet and Powers can go, Hall and Nash immediately go after Powers and take him out. Wallstreet just walks off as the NWO bring Powers into the ring. Referee Randy Anderson walks off as Nick Patrick slides right in. So the fix is further in. Giant takes Wallstreet's place in the match and throws Powers around, while playing to the crowd. He goes for a Chokeslam, but Powers slips (likely because the ring mat is soaked with beer and soda from the debris). Giant grabs him again, chokeslam and the quick three. Backstage we see Hogan tagging the walls with NWO insignia.
He hugs the Nasty Boys and says that they've always been friends, but it's NWO night and he wants to talk business. He gives them his room key and says they'll talk business. Knobbs and Saggs agree to do so and take the WCW title with them.
-SYXX PAC VS RON STUDD-
So, for the second time in this hour, the NWO changes plans. Hogan tells Studd that they want to take care of Duggan instead as they beat down on Studd. So, up next instead is Syxx VS Hacksaw instead. Duggan swings his 2X4 at Syxx and Patrick. Patrick distracts Hacksaw as Syxx hits a cheap shot. Hacksaw fights him off with some punches and rams into the buckle. Big hiptoss followed by clubs to the back. Big body slam from Duggan who goes to the three point stance.
Big clothesline from Duggan who covers, but Giant lands an ugly chokeslam (though it was more to protect Duggan from a rough landing) while Nick Patrick is "distracted". He throws Duggan back in as Syxx gets the three count win.
-BO LADUE VS NWO STING-
Some facebusters by "Sting" early on. Ladue tries to fight back, but gets hit with a boot and a massive guillotine off the top rope. Stinger splash and Scorpion Death Lock for a quick win as the crowd chants "We want Sting".
-HIGH VOLTAGE VS THE AMAZING FRENCH CANADIANS-
So, for the third time on this hour, the card has become subject to change as Jacques and Pierre begin to chant O' Canada to boos. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash show up as Giant makes sure to make the dig of "Often imitated, never duplicated", since of course Raw tried to pull off the fake Razor Ramon on this same night. The Quebecers walk off as we get to our main event, which is now Hall and Nash against High Voltage.
Hall and Kenny Kaos start things off. Hall works the shoulders until Kaos counters. Slap by Hall who beats him down in the corners. Hall locks an STF and paintbrushes the back of Kaos' head. Tag to Nash who keeps on Kaos with some knees in the corner. Sidewalk slam from Nash as we go to break. When we return, it's Hall with an abdominal stretch on Kaos. Tag to Robbie Rage, but Nash keeps right on him. Snake eyes in the corner from Nash and a cheap clothesline from Hall as Patrick is, of course, distracted.
Tag to Hall who hits a spinning slap to Rage, and follows with a fallaway slam. At this point, they're toying with Kaos and Rage while Hogan and Dibiase crow about how nobody's here to help them. Nash back in who chokes Rage with his boot and lands more shots in the corner. Shortarm clothesline by Nash who then twists the head of Rage. Big boot to Rage and a tag to Hall. Hall follows with a top rope superplex. Tag to Nash as they bring Kaos in. Jackknife powerbomb and a nonchalant cover from both Outsiders for the three in a loooooong obliteration.
Hogan and the other NWO promise to tear apart the rest of WCW. We get a recap of the beating on Savage. Hogan then wraps up Nitro by shilling his next movie, 3 Ninjas: High Noon on Mega Mountain, and invites the NWO to the set. Vincent throws Bishcoff around as this Nitro comes to a close.
Nitro was a helluva show this time around. The first hour was a good batch of decent ring work and overall weirdness with the highlights being a great showing from Mike Enos and the shock tag title win for the Public Enemy. But the real highlight was that second hour which was wall to wall NWO. They full on destroyed what was left of the WCW roster this week, making this end of the product look super weak without their more elite talent on hand. So, while this means the likes of Jim Powers and High Voltage eat crap, it did mean that this show still felt strong despite the majority of its star power. And yes, while Virgil isn't exactly a "set the world on fire" pick for the New World Order after the last few months, and is an indication of just how low the bar is for NWO applicants, his involvement as the silent tough somehow still works.
It's also kind of a good thing I waited a while to cover this Nitro, as in our current timeline last week on Raw (November 26, 2018) was a terrible episode where the focus was a heel stable of Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre took over Raw, and the result was boring without any interesting substance. Where with this Nitro from 1996 it truly felt like a deadly shift of power from a group that's nigh on unstoppable. Maybe that has to do with the WWE's current fixation on heel authority figures being tired at this point, or the fact that the star power for Nitro was far superior. Either way, it proves that even if WWE did win in the end, Nitro was far better (at least at this point) in building heel stables. Nitro gets an A- this week.
WHO WON THE WAR WEEK #50: NITRO
And here it is. The fiftieth week where Nitro and Raw have competed head to head. And despite some good weeks for Raw, it's been Nitro that's been dominating overall. And this week is no exception. Raw was a serviceable show, despite not feeling super hot after Mind Games. Plus, the flatness of the Jim Ross heel turn and reveal of "Razor Ramon" couldn't compare to what was a really good hour of heel work from the NWO on Nitro's second hour. The NWO dominance is going to wear thin soon, but for this night, it was genius stuff. Win #30 for Nitro as they have dominated throughout September of 1996.
RAW:
September 25th, 1995
October 2nd, 1995
October 23rd, 1995
November 13th, 1995
November 20th, 1995
December 4th, 1995
December 11th, 1995
January 1st, 1996
January 22nd, 1996
February 19th, 1996
February 26th, 1996
March 11th, 1996
April 1st, 1996
April 15th, 1996
May 27th, 1996
June 23rd, 1996
July 15th, 1996
July 22nd, 1996
August 5th, 1996
August 19th, 1996
April 1st, 1996
April 15th, 1996
May 27th, 1996
June 23rd, 1996
July 15th, 1996
July 22nd, 1996
August 5th, 1996
August 19th, 1996
NITRO:
September 11th, 1995
September 18th-21st, 1995
October 9th, 1995
October 16th, 1995
October 30th, 1995
November 6th, 1995
November 27th, 1995
December 18th, 1995
January 8th, 1996
January 15th, 1996
January 29th, 1996
February 5th, 1996
March 18th, 1996
March 25th, 1996
April 22nd, 1996
April 29th, 1996
May 6th, 1996
May 13th, 1996
May 20th, 1996
June 3rd, 1996
June 10th, 1996
June 17th, 1996
July 1st, 1996
July 8th, 1996
July 29th, 1996
August 12th, 1996
September 2nd-September 6th, 1996
September 9th, 1996
September 16th, 1996
September 23rd, 1996
July 29th, 1996
August 12th, 1996
September 2nd-September 6th, 1996
September 9th, 1996
September 16th, 1996
September 23rd, 1996
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