Henderson

Week 2, June 1997 LIVE from the New Haven Coliseum - New Haven, CT Attendance: 11,000 (SELLOUT!) - Nitro kicks off this week with a huge buzz in the air. The fans in New Haven are ready to go and wild as the camera pans across the arena and the fireworks explode. We're then brought to the announce booth where Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome us to the broadcast. JR says that we all know that Ted Turner will be here, live tonight, and that Hollywood Hogan has already been seen arriving earlier tonight with the world title. All this was after Turner's mandate last week that Hogan be here. What no one knows for sure though, is when Ted Turner will come out here. What we do know, is that there's a ton of action planned for tonight as Booker T takes on Paul Levesque, Arn Anderson faces Dean Malenko, Buff Bagwell takes on Ricky Steamboat after last week's challenge, and Eddie Guerrero and Diamond Dallas Page will battle it out! JR's then told that Dusty Rhodes is standing by backstage in the parking garage, awaiting any new developments! - That's right, babayyy!!! I'm down here in the bowels of the arena, if you will, just waiting for the arrival of the head honcho himself, Mr. Ted Turner! Jim, Mike, and Bobby, I don't have any word on just when to expect Mr. Turner himself, but rest assure that I will be back here all night if I have to, just to wait on his arrival! I can't think of any moment in WCW's history that's been as big as this, daddy!!!! So I'll hang out here as long as I have to! Wait a minute!!! - Just as Dusty's finishing up, headlights can be seen coming down the tunnel and finally, a long black stretch limo comes around the corner and into view. The luxury car pulls up to a stop not far from where Dusty stands and he approaches the car just as the limo driver rushes around and opens the rear door. We see a leg exit before a figure stands up, meeting Dusty's gaze. - - Ted Turner himself has arrived and he starts to head toward the inner workings of the arena, with several staff members starting to flock to his sides. - Jim Ross, it looks like we ain't gonna have to wait long to hear what Mr. Turner has to say about Hollywood Hogan and the world title!!! We gotta take a commercial break but when we come back, I think we're gonna see some more fireworks out in that arena!!!! Rating: 82 - Nitro returns from a short break and Mean Gene is already standing in the center of the ring. Stage lights are flashing as Mean Gene introduces the owner of WCW - Ted Turner! - - Turner walks out, absent any music, and he's also by himself. There are no other staff members walking alongside him and he walks with a slight smile on his face, but otherwise makes no reaction or interacts with the fans on his way to the ring. Once in, Mean Gene welcomes Ted Turner as the two shakes hands. - Mean Gene: Mr. Turner, I presume that since you're not wasting any moment appearing here tonight, you have quite the announcement to make, so I'm going to stand here and be your microphone stand and let you address whatever it is that you came here to address! Ted Turner: Thank you Gene. Let me just say what an honor it is to be here tonight and how proud I am of all of the people that work hard to make WCW as successful as it is. Now the first thing that I'm going to request, is that Eric Bischoff and Hollywood Hogan come out here because I'm not just addressing Hollywood Hogan and the world heavyweight title, but I also have a few things to address with Mr. Bischoff. Oh, and before I forget, I'm quite aware of how the New World Order operates and that when there's one member, there's usually several more lying in wait somewhere, so Eric Bischoff and Hollywood Hogan are to come out here by themselves! - A thick tension begins to fill in the arena as Mean Gene and Turner stand in the ring, waiting for Bischoff and Hogan to come out. After a few moments and some rumbling in the crowd, the stage lights again start to flash and Bischoff and Hogan emerge, sans music. - - Hogan nor Bischoff look very pleased as they make their trek toward the ring and climb inside. The two step up to Mean Gene and Turner and Bischoff immediately adopts an almost defeated look on his face. Hogan stands stone-faced with his eyes shielded behind his dark sunglasses but it's very clear that Hogan is all serious in this moment as he clutches the world title across his shoulder. - Ted Turner: Eric, I'm going to address you, because quite frankly, you're the easier one to address in this situation..... Eric Bischoff: Mr. Turner.....If I may sir, I have a feeling -- Ted Turner: No, Eric, you may not. You've had your opportunity to change your behavior in these last several weeks and you've failed. You've had more than enough opportunity to correct the wrongs that you've done and all you've seemed to do is dig your heels in even further. You've had zero checks and balances for months and it's done nothing but reinforce your position and attitude. As owner of this company and your boss, I take full responsibility in that and I should've done something months ago the second you aligned yourself with the NWO. It's been made very clear to me that you are unable to be impartial when it comes to this war between WCW and the New World Order. It's also been made clear to me that you treat WCW talent unfairly and give NWO members preferential treatment. It's also been clearly demonstrated by you that you will allow the world heavyweight title to be held for ransom and not hold the champion accountable for refusing to defend his title, as required. Therefore, Eric, effective immediately, you are hereby suspended indefinitely as Executive Vice President of WCW operations! - The crowd, Mean Gene, and the commentary team all collectively lose their minds as Bischoff verbalizes his displeasure in the announcement. Bischoff tries to plead his case off microphone to Ted Turner but he's clearly having none of it. Hollywood Hogan equally outrages at the decision as he can feel his advantage quickly slipping away by the moment. He has no idea how much worse things are going to get. - And Eric, also effective immediately, you are going to have a replacement who is going to come out right now. This man will fill the role of WCW Commissioner until I deem otherwise. Before I bring him out here, let me just say that this is a man who the both of you are also very familiar with and he's not going to be disregarded as easily as you might have done before.....Let me introduce you to your new boss and the new Commissioner of WCW... Jesse "The Body" Ventura!!!! - The crowd again loudly voice their approval as Ventura steps out and greets the fans. The entire commentary team is again besides themselves, especially JR and Heenan, who have worked closely with Ventura in the past. Hollywood Hogan stands in the ring and has his jaw dropped and upon hearing the name, quickly removed his sunglasses and looked at the stage with his eyes wide. Ventura is grinning from ear to ear as he gets to the ring and steps inside where he walks right up to Hogan and says a few words. He then looks at Bischoff, who's grimaced face and repeatedly yelling "NO!" only gets a laugh from Ventura. He shakes Ted Turner's hand and begins his inaugural address. - Jesse Ventura: Thank you, Ted Turner for this wonderful opportunity and I promise you that I'll make the most of it and not let you down! Now as I understand it, Mr. Turner has taken care of his business at hand and is now going to leave me to conduct my own business that we have previously discussed.... - Turner takes a modest exit from the ring as Ventura continues on. - Ventura: Now since Eric Bischoff has already been dealt with by Mr. Turner, that leaves me to address you, Hollywood Hulk Hogan and the WCW World Heavyweight title! If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you would let me continue on uninterrupted, but we all know that the immortal Hulk Hogan just can't stand off to the sides and let things take place! No, you've got to interject wherever you see fit! But let me remind you, Hogan, that this isn't a discussion, this is a decision that's already been made by Ted Turner and myself, so the only thing you're able to do at the moment is listen up! As the WCW World Heavyweight champion, you're mandated to defend that title at least once every 30 days! The last time you defend that title was at Spring Stampede over a month ago! You decided to not defend the title at Slamboree and you decided to no show Monday Nitro last week. Well the days of you controlling the title scene are over, Hulk Hogan! While it's true that you have creative control on your contract, there are a few other things that you cannot control, such as when you are to defend that title! You've already stated that you won't defend your title against the Nature Boy Ric Flair or Steve Austin and while I don't agree with that, legally I can't force you to if you're invoking your creative control, but what you can't do, Hulk Hogan, is deny every opponent we might want to give you! Another thing that you can't do, is get out of this match tonight, because Hollywood Hogan, you WILL be defending that title right here, live tonight on Nitro! Before I announce who your opponent will be, let me lay out a few more stipulations for this match. Should any member of the NWO interfere in this match tonight, not only will you be stripped of the title but you'll also be suspended from WCW! In addition, if there's any kind of underhanded tactics that take place, and the NWO finds some loophole or way to get involved, you'll be stripped of the title! It's time WCW is going to play with a fair field and the NWO isn't going to weasel their way in to getting what they want anymore! Additionally, your opponent tonight will be against a man that's been more deserving of a title opportunity than anyone else I can ever think of! This man had single handedly put WCW on his shoulders and stood up to the NWO, he's withstood countless cowardly attacks, and he's tried to get WCW to collectively defend itself! So to finally announce the main event tonight, Hollywood Hogan, you will defend the world title right here tonight against none other than The TOTAL PACKAGE, LEX LUGER! Rating: 89 Diamond Dallas Page vs Eddie Guerrero vs WCW's very nearly already reached an emotional high as they come back from a commercial break to the match introductions. Eddie Guerrero and DDP both make their entrance and the match begins with the two trading blows and then into a fast-paced encounter. Eddie was once again beyond form tonight and made everything look fluid and easy. There were several near falls and also an ensuing 10 count as both men lay on the mat following a superplex. DDP was the first to slowly get to his feet and signaled for the Diamond Cutter. He braced himself on the ropes as Eddie started to slowly make his way to his feet. DDP started to wait to attack but he never got that opportunity. The referee was checking on Eddie as he was trying wobbly to get to his feet. The Macho Man rushed down to the ring and grabbed DDP's legs, sweeping them out from under him and pulling him from the ring and to the floor. He immediately went on the attack with a couple of punches before hitting DDP with his own finishing move, the Diamond Cutter, on the floor. Savage quickly escaped through the crowd so when the referee turned to see Page out cold on the floor, he was completely confused. He had no choice but to start a 10 count. DDP remained motionless on the floor as he counted him out at 13:11. Winner by Countout: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 89 The Loose Cannon is backstage for a promo. He says that though he and Flair agree that their Slamboree match was a terrible ending, that should be mistaken that they're starting to see eye to eye. Pillman says he can't wait to get his hands on the Nature Boy again at the Great American Bash and he promises two things; 1. Ric Flair will bleed and bleed profusely and 2. Brian Pillman will walk away the winner. Pillman wants to guarantee there is a winner at the Great American Bash while also guarantee there will be no count-outs, no disqualifications, and not confine their match only to the ring. He says a wrestling ring simply isn't enough to contain the two of them, as a Flair's ego takes up the entire space of a ring alone. He still doesn't want any gimmick's and wants a simple fight to the end between the two of them. A Last Man Standing match is the only way to determine the true winner. Rating: 100 Dean Malenko vs Arn Anderson vs A showcase of two no-nonsense wrestlers clash in this one. It would seem like Arn Anderson was mirrored of his younger self as the two were very evenly matched but Mike Tenay pointed out that they are only 2 years apart in age. There were plenty of technical moves mixed in with physical offense by both men as they tried their best to wear down the other. Malenko was actually able to take control late in the match and things were going well for him, but that didn't last for long... For the second week in a row now, Scott Steiner and new valet Francine step out onto the stage. It doesn't take long before Dean's attention is focused on the two as the furiously begin to make out and grope one another. Malenko becomes furious as he witnesses the distraction and doesn't notice Arn Anderson getting back to his feet behind him. Steiner and Francine stop just long enough for Malenko to remember he has an opponent, but he turns right into a signature Arn Anderson Spinebuster as the match ends at 9:52. Winner: Arn Anderson Rating: 82 Ricky Steamboat vs Buff Bagwell vs This match came about after Buff was complaining of older wrestlers taking the much needed spots from the younger wrestlers, and Buff's desire to break into a singles star, of course. In the run up to the match, he wasn't taking Steamboat as a serious threat anymore and thought him to be well past his prime. This was a lesson that the cocky young wrestler would learn as Steamboat showcased his experience over Bagwell. On the chance Bagwell would get a good move in, he failed to capitalize on it and would taunt and pose instead. This always led to Bagwell losing the momentum and Steamboat taking over. The match came to an end at 10:14 when Steamboat hit the Flying Body Press for the victory. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 66 Mean Gene is backstage with a clearly unhappy Steve Austin. Okerlund says that there's a new boss in WCW and that with Ventura leading things, it looks like WCW might have a fair playing field finally. Austin says he couldn't give two craps about Ventura being the new boss because it looks like he's just another coward with his tail tucked between his legs. It's a different person, a different voice, but the things all stay the same. The bottom line is that Hogan's afraid of losing his title to Austin and that's why he's avoiding him. It doesn't make any difference though because Austin's going to be paying real close attention to tonight's title match and whoever ends up winning is going to have a target on their back. It's going to take more than creative control to save Hogan from Austin if he wins tonight! Rating: 100 Booker T vs Paul Levesque vs This match involved some closely matched competitors but the crowd just didn't react like it was thought they would. Their prior match back in January was much more well received. It's not clear if one of them seemed off their game tonight, but things just didn't mesh. To make it simple, Booker T won at 11:18 with an Axe Kick. Winner: Booker T Rating: 67 The Headbangers vs The Blue Bloods vs Earl Robert and Squire Dave were making up the Blue Bloods in this contest. They remain on their quest to recruit Lance Storm, who's wanted nothing to do with the group, but it looks like the Blue Bloods won't take no for an answer, especially now that it's gotten the attention of Lord Steven Regal. Taylor and Eaton vastly out-wrestled their more inexperienced opponents and picked up the win at 7:30 following a Super Kick by Taylor. Winners: Blue Bloods Rating: 46 Hollywood Hogan appears backstage for a promo, flanked by Eric Bischoff, the tag team champions, and the Macho Man. Hogan says that tonight it's clear that the NWO is being screwed over by WCW because they know that it's not possible to beat the NWO without cheating. Hogan says he's defended the world title with more class and dignity and has made this title mean something again and Ted Turner and WCW are terrified that there's no worthy opponent to ever take it from him. The NWO's been banned from ringside or they're threatened with suspension. Hogan says the deck might be stacked against the NWO but Hollywood is the greatest wrestler known to man. If anyone can defy the odds one more time, it's none other than Hollywood! He looks forward to destroying the Total Package from post to post and when he raises the world title in victory, Ted Turner, Jesse Ventura, and anyone else from WCW will have no choice but to kneel before Hollywood Hogan and proclaim him to be the God that he is! Nitro fades to its last commercial break. Rating: 94 World Heavyweight Title: Lex Luger vs Hollywood Hogan (c) vs Each man made their entrance, Luger's being more poised and stoic while Hogan's was full of taunting, laughing, and over confidence. Luger stood in the ring opposite from Hogan like a solid rock, focused and zoning in as Michael Buffer was brought in for the match introductions. JR commented that the bell hasn't even rung yet and there's already the big-match feel in the arena and the thick tension in the air earlier had return, almost like a fog holding over the ring. The fans were all on their feet, waiting for the bell to ring and the two competitors to clash. It was clear everyone in the arena felt a bit more hope, seeing as the NWO have been barred from ringside and Hollywood Hogan appeared to be all on his own. For Hogan's part, it didn't seem to mind him as he continued to laugh and taunt Luger in between his stretches and warmups during the introduction. The men met in the center of the ring while the referee gave out the rules of the match. Hogan stared at Luger, cocky and still taunting while Luger stared at Hogan with intent, his jaw taut and eyes glaring. It was clear Luger had waited for this moment for a long time and he seemed to be playing the match through his head. The bell rang and the crowd gave out a loud cheer, with Bobby Heenan wondering out loud when the last time he could remember that fans cheered when the bell rang. It was clear everyone was looking forward to this match and excited with the possible outcome. Still though, it was a long way to go and Luger still with a monumental hill to climb. Despite the conditions put on the NWO, everyone still had the thought in the back of their mind that they were going to find a way to get involved, cheat the system like they had done so many times over the last several months. We knew they're in the arena, as we just saw them before the last commercial break, and others had earlier matches. Hogan jogged around the ring and stretched his arms while Luger still stood in the middle, rotating around with Hogan. The champion finally approached Luger as they stood for a moment in the middle of the ring and Hogan was seen sending some kind of verbal trash toward Luger. After a moment of that, Hogan shoved Luger, who only took a half step back. It was clear immediately that Hogan was intimidated by his inability to shove Luger back any further and did it again after Luger stepped back up to him. Luger finally had enough and gave Hogan a shove of his own, but this one cause Hogan to stumble back and fall to the opposite corner. The crowd let out a massive cheer as Luger stepped in toward the downed and bewildered Hogan and flexed his muscles. Hogan again had his jaw dropped and his eyes wide as he quickly exited the ring and walked around, rethinking his strategy, and possibly realizing what trouble he was in. Hogan climbed back in the ring after a count of 5, taking the steps back in and telling the referee to get Luger back, even though he remained standing in the center of the ring. Hogan took his time, obviously trying to control the pace of the match but the momentum was clearly on the side of the Total Package. He stepped in and approached Luger, wanting a test of strength, to which Luger happily obliged. The two locked up and the test seemed pretty even at first before Luger gained the leverage. Hogan slowly collapsed to his knees and cried out in pain, furiously shaking his head when the referee asked if he wanted to give up. Hogan was in the hold for what seemed like forever before he was able to work his way back up to his feet. A swift kick that looked suspiciously low got Luger to break the hold and this allowed Hogan to go on the offensive. He did several back rakes to Luger as he stalked him around the ring. In the corner, Hogan choked Luger and chopped him. With each hit, Hogan's confidence grew and so did his taunting. The light attacks turned into heavier ones; a belly to back suplex followed up with some rapid fire elbow drops. Hogan hit two before popping up to his feet and looking to go for a third before quickly pausing and choosing an eye rake with his boot instead. The referee admonished Hogan, but he couldn't care less. Heenan said that Hogan would prefer a disqualification in order to keep his title but Mike Tenay countered and said Ventura already said he was keeping a close eye on the match and would surely restart it in the event of a purposeful DQ. Almost sensing the commentary, Hogan took off his weightlifting belt and looked to hit Luger with the strap, which he did, testing the referee's leniency. JR said that Randy Anderson wasn't about to let Hogan get out of the match that easily, which is the only reason he didn't disqualify Hogan for that blatant hit. Seeing that he was getting a pass, Hogan whipped Luger a couple more times with the belt, each time a sickening "crack" echoed through the arena followed by Luger's agonizing yell. Red welts were beginning to be visible on Luger's back where the leather belt made contact. Referee Randy Anderson finally had enough of the foreign object and got in Hogan's face, much to the delight of the crowd, admonished him, complete with a finger in his face, and snatched the belt out of his grasp. Hogan grabbed Anderson by the shirt and threatened to punch him but Anderson was almost daring the champion to do it. It was audibly heard on camera when Anderson told him to "go ahead, you're still not getting out that easy!" While Hogan was focused on threatening the referee, Luger fought his way up to his feet and found the discarded weight belt. He picked it up and looked at it, then looked to the crowd, who started getting louder and louder, urging Luger to get some payback. Luger let out another yell as he turned toward Hogan, who still had Randy Anderson by the shirt, and cocked his arm back. Luger swung forward and hit Hogan in the back with the belt. Hogan immediately cried out and dropped his grasp on the referee. Turnabout's fair play as Luger then began whipping Hogan with his own belt as he tip toed in pain around the ring as Luger continued to whip him. Inflicting enough damage, Luger tossed the belt out of the ring, gave Hogan another flex that got the crowd fired up even more, and sent him to the ropes. On rebound, Luger hit a clothesline that dropped Hogan to the mat. He got up and Luger delivered another one, only for the sequence to repeat itself a couple more times. Hogan got up again and was met with an inverted Atomic Drop that caused Hogan to stumble back into the corner. Out for blood, Luger closed in quickly and mounted the ropes, dishing out a 10-count punch that the crowd loudly counted along with. Luger rushed forward for another clothesline but Hogan ducked. On the rebound, they both struck each other with a double clothesline and the two lay on their backs on the mat. Anderson started to administer the double 10 count as they start to lay, sweaty and out of breath, on the mat. Hogan got up first and went to a corner, where he started trying to remove a turnbuckle pad from the top rope. Luger followed shortly and approached Hogan but once he reached him, Hogan was able to kick back, hitting Luger with an obvious low blow this time, but the referee didn't see it as he was too close to both men. Hogan took the advantage and attacked Luger, hitting him with punches, kicks, and dragged his eyes across the top rope. There were a few pin attempts that weren't really serious attempts for Hogan to win the match but Luger still had to expel energy to kick out. Each blow was softening Luger up for what everyone watching knew was coming. Hogan hit a picture perfect bodyslam in the middle of the ring and then clapped his hands to the crowd, signaling it was time to end things. He mockingly cupped his hand to his ear like old times, getting loud boo's in return. Hogan bounced off the ropes and jumped for his Leg Drop, crashing hard on Luger. Hogan considered going for the pin but thought another Leg Drop was needed, but taunted out again to the crowd for some time before going for it again. He hit it again and Hogan motioned that Luger was finished as he went for the cover. Anderson got in position and counted, but to the amazement of everyone, Luger kicked out at 2!!! Luger fired up, almost in a way that he was the one "Hulking Up" in the match. The crowd was losing their minds as Luger got up and began surging, soaking up the energy of the crowd. Hogan tried to beg Luger off, with no luck. Luger backed Hogan into a corner and whipped him to the opposite side. Luger rushed in with a thundering clothesline as Hogan stumbled out of the corner. He hit a couple inverted Atomic Drops and Hogan was reeling. Luger then hit a couple more clotheslines before hopping up and signaling for the Torture Rack!! The crowd was going nuts and the commentary booth was saying the NWO has to be seething in the back, desperate to run out to save their leader. Luger grabbed Hogan and lifted him in position for the Torture Rack, wrenching on the world champions back. The arena exploded and Randy Anderson also lost his mind when Hogan flailed his arm to submit at 14:40 and we have a new world heavyweight champion as the bell sounded!!! Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Lex Luger Rating: 69 - Following the bell, the fans in the arena are going nuts, so loud that they drown out Luger's theme music playing. The referee awards the title belt to Luger who holds it high in the air as he collapses onto the mat. The image of Nitro fades out with Lex Luger celebrating with his newly won title! - Rating: 68 Final Show Rating: 80

Week 1, June 1997 LIVE from the Providence Civic Center - Providence, RI Attendance: 14,225 - Anticipation is thick in the air for this edition of Monday Nitro as JR welcomes everyone to this weeks show, fresh off Slamboree just a short 24 hours ago. Scott Steiner retained his US title and also now has a new manager, after securing Francine's services, as part of the match stipulations. We have a new Television champion in Fit Finlay, who shocked everyone by picking up the win last night but none more surprised than Lord Steven Regal himself. Harlem Heat failed to recapture the tag team gold from the Outsiders and from events after the match, it looks as though they might be parting ways. The brothers are here tonight and we will hear from them a bit later. To top things off for last night, Ric Flair and Brian Pillman suffered through a knock-down, drag out fight that ended with a double pin. If one thing's for clear, neither man will be satisfied with that result. JR also mentions a "huge announcement" that is to take place tonight. Ross has no idea what it is and he's tried to talk to Mean Gene to get some insight but he's sworn to secrecy. All three men at the commentary booth tonight will be looking out for whenever that announcement is to happen! Nitro's about to kick off with the first match tonight! - Rick Martel vs Eddie Guerrero vs The former model faces one of the hottest stars in WCW at the moment. Martel is in his own streak since returning to WCW though, as he's yet to be pinned. He's had quite an impressive introduction to WCW so far and hopes that momentum carries over past this match. The match started off very quickly paced as Guerrero looked to keep the speed up. Martel, for his part, did a good job at keeping up and hitting some of his own quick moves like some arm drags, drop kicks, and suplexes. It was a solid showing but Eddie continued to just be unstoppable, putting in another amazing performance. Eddie got the win at 9:31 with the Frog Splash. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 81 Cameras cut to the backstage area for the first time tonight. The screen shows Eric Bischoff in one of the dressing rooms and his feet are propped up on a small table while he lounges back. Bischoff seems to not have a care in the world as his arms are clasped behind his head and he's flashing his trademark smile. He says that Hollywood Hogan didn't just have more important things to do last night at Slamboree, but he also is way too busy to appear in some podunk state like Rhode Island tonight. Bischoff laughs and says that Hogan probably even has a higher income than the states GDP. Bischoff says that Hogan doesn't have to show up if he doesn't want to and seeing that he's the president of WCW, no one's going to tell him otherwise. Before the screen fades out, he says he can just hear the crowd wanting their money back now that they don't get to see Hollywood Hogan. Rating: 80 Diamond Dallas Page vs Kaz Hayashi vs Kaz attempted some quick moves at the start of the bell but it didn't take long at all to notice that this was going to be a one-sided match. Hayashi got some quick kicks in but DDP quickly out-powered his opponent. It was clear that DDP was in no mood for messing around tonight and got the win at 8:02 after turning a fireman's carry into the Diamond Cutter. Winner: Diamond Dallas Page Rating: 67 Nitro returns from it's first commercial break and Brian Pillman is backstage for a promo. Pillman says that last night's match result was less than stellar and as much as he doesn't like the Nature Boy, he's sure they have at least one thing in common - That last night was unacceptable to the both of them. Pillman knows he's the better man than Flair and would also love to inflict more pain onto him as possible. He makes the challenge right now before Flair can avoid it, he wants Flair again at the Great American Bash. Flair always claims that "to be the man, you gotta beat the man??" Well at the Bash, Pillman's going to walk away, THE MAN! Rating: 100 Scotty Riggs vs Brian Knobbs vs This match was everything you would expect it to be, nothing spectacular. Scotty Riggs did, as usual, impress with his beautiful drop kicks. The match also didn't take very long, as Riggs got the victory at 6:40 with a flying forearm. Winner: Scotty Riggs Rating: 37 Tag team action is up next, but first, Steven Regal grabs a microphone after he and Earl Robert Eaton made their entrance. Regal says the Blue Bloods take on Lance Storm and Mike Barton next. For the past several weeks, Eaton and Taylor have made strides to recruit Lance Storm into the Blue Bloods (mostly on Saturday Night). Regal says tonight he's feeling generous, though he shouldn't after being cheated out of his Television title last night, so he's going to give Lance Storm a couple of options first. 1. Regal will allow Storm to come out here and officially join the Blue Bloods and forego getting beaten to a bloody pulp, or; 2. He can come out with a loser like Mike Barton, get his bloody arse kicked, and still have no choice to join the Blue Bloods. Regal says either way, Storm will be joining the Blue Bloods, he can just either do it willingly or be forced to. He says with Lance Storm joining, they will be one step closer to obtaining the greatest workers from all around the world. He also says that Fit Finlay's win last night was a total fluke and that he will get his Television title back, one way or another! Rating: 100 Lance Storm & Mike Barton vs Blue Bloods vs Not many wrestlers can showcase their talent with the poise, professionalism, and skill such as the Blue Bloods. Lance Storm definitely ranks up there, though his tag team partner tonight, Mike Barton, was clearly more brutish. Storm clearly rejected Regal's threat, as he walked to the ring and proceeded to slap the taste out of his mouth. After the initial shock, Regal was able to take control over the younger worker. Traditional tag team wrestling then began to take place. Both teams utilized some double team moves, though the Bloods had the experience and worked better together. The ending saw Regal catch Storm in the Regal Stretch and get the submission victory at 10:12. Winners: Blue Bloods Rating: 75 Steve Austin vs Dean Malenko vs This match was interesting because it involved two men who are furious about two very different things. Austin showed up to Slamboree last night, JR tells us, to get his hands on Hollywood Hogan, only for Hogan to no-show the event. There's no doubt that Austin showed up tonight hoping to get his hands on Hogan, again just for Hogan to no-show. On the flip side, Dean Malenko just lost his manager last night to Scott Steiner. During Malenko's entrance tonight, he turned, expecting Francine to make the usual entrance, though she never did. Dean almost appeared lost on his way to the ring. Once the bell sounded, Malenko had trouble focusing and kept looking out to the corner where Francine usually stood. Austin wasn't about to let up on the Man of 1,000 holds and brutalized him with a physical offense. Meanwhile, the commentary team discussed that Francine wasn't very unwilling to go with Steiner, it seemed. It also was pretty clear that she helped Steiner win that match. Is there possible ulterior motives? Dean was eventually able to get his focus back and took control of the match, slowing things down greatly with his technical moves. Just as it looked like Malenko was going to attempt the Texas Cloverleaf though...... Scott Steiner and Francine made their way out onto the entrance stage. This immediately got the attention of Dean Malenko, who fully turned toward the two. Steiner had his hands all over Francine that immediately caused Malenko's eyes to nearly bulge out of his head. The shock overcame him even more when Francine planted a huge passionate kiss on the United States champion. Malenko was enraged and was beside himself, but he was soon brought back into reality as Steve Austin spun him around, kicked him in the gut, and hit the Stunner to get the win at 12:27 in a good match. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 78 Nitro returns from a commercial break to Mean Gene Okerlund standing backstage with Harlem Heat and Sensuous Sherri. Mean Gene does the intros and jumps a bit as Sherri caresses him on his cheek in the middle of it. The brothers flank both sides of Mean Gene and he starts with Booker T, saying the two haven't exactly been on the same page as of late. Booker: Mean Gene, it's like this man, any time in wrestling and especially in tag team wrestling, things don't always go as planned! Teams go through ups and downs, and blood or not, it doesn't matter! Me and Stevie Ray are no exception to that rule! Right now, me and Stevie Ray are going through one of those tough times. Nothing seems to go right, and we can't get our gold back....But all that's gonna change soon, man! We'll hit our stride and we'll be back to being the very best tag team, not just in WCW, but in all of wrestling! Gene: Stevie Ray, I assume you have a similar opinion? Stevie Ray: Gene, we've been through harder times than this. We understand it, we know how to fight our way back! All we've done, from the streets to the ring, is fight! But we also know reality! And the reality is, Harlem Heat can't stay a team forever. Every team has a clock on it, and it could be that Harlem Heat's clock has just about run out! We're one of the most decorated teams in all of wrestling, Gene. We've held the WCW tag team titles 6 times! We've already established ourselves as one of the most dominant teams ever in WCW! There ain't much more to prove when it comes to being a team, Gene. Gene: Wait a minute! Does this mean Harlem Heat's breaking up???? Booker: Now hold on just a second there, Mean Gene! Harlem Heat ain't going nowhere, but let me just say that we've come to an agreement! My brother knows that I want some singles championships in my career! I know my brother has the same goals! We ain't gonna keep each other from those goals. We've agreed that we're gonna face the Outsiders one more time, this time at the Great American Bash! If we can't get our titles back, then we're gonna go our separate ways as a team. There ain't no hard feelings, there's no score to settle, it just means we're gonna start a new chapter in the life of Harlem Heat! Now can you dig that?!? Rating: 92 Cameras transition to another part of the backstage area next where Tony Schiavone is standing by with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Tony asks about the storied career that he's had up to this point and wants to know where the future stands. Steamboat gets into the questions but can't finish answering before he's interrupted. Bagwell scoffs and says that old relics like Steamboat continue to get time on Nitro when it should be younger guys like him that gets the spotlight. Bagwell goes on to say that Steamboat's not buff, and he's not the stuff, and that he should just go back into retirement where he belongs. Steamboat says that there's a big difference between saying words and backing it up in the ring, and so far, he's yet to see Bagwell back up those words. Things got a bit more intense now as Bagwell takes off his sunglasses and leans in, glaring The Dragon in the eyes as the two are nearly nose to nose. He challenges Steamboat to a match next week on Nitro and vows to beat him, not just in the match, but he'll send him back to retirement. Steamboat accepts and the image fades out. Rating: 66 Nitro returns from another commercial break to another promo backstage. The Nature Boy is standing with Arn Anderson, intense as always, and addresses last night's match with Brian Pillman and also what Pillman had to say earlier. Flair says that there's nothing he'd love more than to face Pillman again and kick his ass one more time. Pillman's nothing more than a punk who's made a career of riding other's coattails but he won't see another match at the Great American Bash as that...He'll just see it as an opportunity to show Pillman that he's half the man Ric Flair is! They both might agree that a double pin at Slamboree isn't the result they're looking for, but if Pillman thinks he's walking out of the Bash a winner, he's more mental than he thought. Flair finishes by saying it's true, to be the man, you gotta beat the man, but Flair's always going to be THE MAN! WOOOO! Rating: 100 Paul Levesque vs Ric Flair vs Flair made his entrance with the Enforcer while Levesque was oddly all alone. The bell rang and Flair was in complete form, clearly the performer of the night. The crowd was hot for everything the Nature Boy did, which was full of eye pokes, biting, and blatant low blows right in front of the referee. Flair didn't care though and several times dared the referee to disqualify him. Levesque did his best to cower and back off but the Nature Boy was relentless like a shark that smells blood in the water. Flair would toss Levesque out of the ring where Arn Anderson would inflict some pain while Flair distracted the referee. The crowd loved every second of it as that scene played out a few times. Levesque did get some offense in, but it wasn't enough to matter or remotely make any kind of difference. Flair synched in the Figure Four and got the submission victory at 15:58. Winner: Ric Flair Rating: 80 - Following the match, cameras go back to the announce booth where Jim Ross, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan are wrapping things up. Ross says that there's nothing left on the format and Nitro doesn't have much time left in the show, so he figures they should run down everything that's happened tonight. Heenan says that there was supposed to be some big announcement but it appears it was nothing more than a false alarm. All three basically shrug their shoulders at each other and begin to go down the nights events. They don't get far before someone emerges from the entrance stage and walks to the end of the ramp. - Mean Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, if you happened to catch this weekend's WCW Hotline Report, you would've heard that I said there was going to be a huge announcement here tonight on Nitro. Similarly, my good friend and colleague, Jim Ross, also stated as much at the beginning of the program. I'm here to deliver on that promise because live, on the air, right now, we have a very special guest calling into the show! Now let me make sure that he's properly connected so we can get started..... Mister Turner, sir, are you there???? Jim Ross: It's Ted Turner!!!!!! Ted Turner: Yes, I'm here Mr. Okerlund and thank you for having me on tonight. I know you've generously given me the floor to finish off Nitro tonight, so let me waste no time in getting down to business. First, let me say just how proud I am overall of the entire WCW roster and all the hard work they put in each and every week to make this company something special. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for professional wrestling and I obtained a dream come true when I purchased WCW back in the late 1980's. It's the hard work and dedication of all the employees that have made WCW, in my opinion, the best wrestling company in the entire world., we're certainly the most successful. In the past several weeks and months, one man in particular has been making the success of WCW quite difficult, and that man is Eric Bischoff. I chose Eric to lead WCW in its infancy because he was a relative unknown in the world of professional wrestling. He didn't have connections, he didn't have favors to fill, and he wasn't corruptible by big names in the business. Well ever since Eric aligned himself with the New World Order, that all changed. Eric was no longer able to remain impartial, he wasn't looking out for the good of WCW, and he wasn't holding his employees accountable. Eric has repeatedly put the members of the NWO in good favor while causing WCW members to suffer. That isn't how a president of a company should be, or a Vice President, rather. Let me be clear, I left Eric Bischoff to run WCW and in a way he is considered the de facto president, but I still am in charge of the company and have the ultimate final say. I typically would stay out of the scene and let Eric run things because he had better vision for the business than I did, but this is one of those times where I'm stepping over Eric and some things are going to change. That's why next week, live on Monday Nitro from New Haven, Connecticut, not only is Eric Bischoff ordered to be present, but so is the WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hollywood Hogan. I'll be there next week in person to address the both of them, and they both will be there because if not.....If Eric Bischoff isn't there, he will be fired immediately from WCW. If Hollywood Hogan chooses not to be there, not only will he be stripped of the world title but I will direct Turner lawyers to file a breach of contract against Hollywood Hogan. As world champion, Hollywood Hogan is mandated to defend the title at least every 30 days. He has not defended the title since Spring Stampede, over a month ago. What I can confirm, along with me being present next week for Monday Nitro, is that Hollywood Hogan WILL be defending the WCW Heavyweight title against an opponent that will be announced then. Thank you. Rating: 100 Final Show Rating: 86

Hello everyone, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund to bring you this week's WCW Hotline Report! The fallout from Slamboree 1997 is very positive and everyone as a whole is very happy with how the show went down! The backstage atmosphere couldn't be any higher for WCW at the moment and everyone is excited for the success of the show. This was emphasized before the show began as Brian Knobbs entertained everyone before the show by doing funny impressions of several workers. I'm told the best impressions were of Hollywood Hogan and the Nature Boy Ric Flair. Arn Anderson continued to relax everyone backstage as he had a BBQ for everyone. A post-show speech was given by Eric Bischoff where he singled out Eddie Guerrero for his awesome performance and Brian Pillman and Ric Flair for their great performances in the main event. Earlier today, I'm told that Fit Finlay requested a meeting with Eric Bischoff where he wanted a $14,000 salary increase after winning the Television title. The full increase was not granted, though he was given a $3500 increase. I'm told Finlay was quite angry with being denied the full increase in his salary. We'll have to see how this plays out going forward. WCW and ECWA have come to terms with a developmental program where WCW can send wrestlers to the promotion to obtain additional skills and exposure. There has been several workers such as Billy Kidman, Lenny Lane, and one other newly signed wrestler that have been assigned there. I'm told this new signee could be one to look out for in the future. CMLL star Rey Mysterio Jr has sustained an injury that will keep him out of action for the next 2 1/2 months. The timing couldn't be worse for Mysterio or the promotion, as he was forced to vacate the NWA World Middleweight championship he's held since September 1996. CMLL has continued to suffer severe injuries from several of their top talent in the last year and a half. Sad news for WWF women's wrestler Candi Devine, as she recently recovered from a very severe injury she sustained while wrestling in May 1996. She made strides in returning to the ring though after conferring with her doctors it was determined that she retire from active competition. This has caused many within WCW to be concerned about Rick Steiner, as he suffered a very similar injury. Steiner is still currently recovering and the hope is that he will return to the ring. I'm told that WCW offices had reached out to Smoky Mountain Wrestling about ending the declared war that SMW had announced. Eric Bischoff was interested in exploring SMW for a developmental territory but Jim Cornette, the owner, wasn't interested in terminating the war. We still have no idea why SMW targeted WCW but they wish the war to continue, it seems. The WWF are looking to spice up their show a bit as it was announced that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels will be starting a feud over the WWF world heavyweight title. We'll see if Michaels will be able to claim his first world title. It was also announced that a feud between Owen Hart and the Big Show will also be in the main spotlight soon. There could be a change to a couple of monthly WCW events. I'm told they are toying with the idea of replacing August's PPV Road Wild and creating a permanent event in January rather than Clash of the Champions. Nothing is confirmed as of yet and the idea is still in the infancy stages. Stay tuned in future Hotline Reports for more information. Folks, I have it on very good authority that there is going to be a major announcement for tonight's Monday Nitro! I can't elaborate but it's something you don't want to miss! Here is the lineup for Nitro! Week 1, June 1997 LIVE from the Providence Civic Center - Providence, RI Paul Levesque vs Ric Flair Steve Austin vs Dean Malenko Lance Storm & Mike Barton vs Blue Bloods (Regal & Eaton) Scotty Riggs vs Brian Knobbs Diamond Dallas Page vs Kaz Hayashi Rick Martel vs Eddie Guerrero

Week 4, May 1997 LIVE from the Fleet Center - Boston, MA Attendance: 18,000 (SELLOUT!) WCW Slamboree kicks off with what's become a regular sellout crowd, this time in Boston, MA! The capacity crowd is rabid and excited for tonight's show as the announce team of Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, and Tony Schiavone welcome everyone and say tonight is going to be a huge night for WCW. Harlem Heat are in the first match of the evening and they have an opportunity to reclaim the tag team gold from the Outsiders. Heenan's worried about Harlem Heat as they haven't seemed to have been on the same page lately, which in his experience, doesn't bode well for the two. JR says that brothers occasionally go through tough times but when it boils down to it, they have each other's backs. He likes their chances tonight against two bullies like Hall and Nash. The Faces of Fear and Hostile Intent set forth to battle once and for all inside a steel cage, which the cameras show hanging high above the ring. Prior encounters between these two tough teams have not been able to contain them, so the only hope is they can square off inside the steel. Scott Steiner defends his US title against Dean Malenko, but that isn't the only thing on the line as Steiner has his chance to take Francine away from Malenko. It seemed that Francine was less than happy that Malenko put her up for grabs just to get a shot at the title. Heenan thinks this could backfire severely on the Man of 1,000 holds. To cap things off for the night, Ric Flair will finally battle against Brian Pillman. Flair blamed Pillman for the fracturing and eventual dissolve of the 4 Horsemen and has been itching to get his hands on him ever since. The time never seemed better than when Pillman was brutally kicked out of the NWO for being the "weak link" according to Hollywood Hogan and now Pillman's all alone. There's tons of action to get through and JR tells us that Mean Gene is backstage and has caught up with an arriving Steve Austin! - Austin's just getting out of his car and slinging his bag over his shoulder as Mean Gene, dapper as always in his event tuxedo, catches up as Austin begins to storm toward the inside of the building. Gene says that Austin doesn't have a match tonight, presumably because Hollywood Hogan has refused to compete tonight. Austin says that Hogan might not be wrestling inside the ring, but that won't keep him from finding that coward somewhere in the back and kicking his ass from one end of the arena to the other! - Rating: 100 Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs The Outsiders (c) vs Each team made their entrance and the match got underway as the two brutes, Stevie Ray and Kevin Nash started things off. Scott Hall spent some time taunting Sensuous Sherri outside the ring that got the attention of Booker T. The ensuing referee distraction allowed Nash to take the quick early advantage. Things then evolved, oddly, into a pretty regular tag team wrestling match. There were a few tags made by both teams before Stevie Ray was eventually worn down by the Outsiders. Some quick tags by the champions and then isolating Stevie from his corner made things look bleak for the challengers. It wasn't until the Outsiders attempted some double team work on Stevie that the tides turned. Stevie ducked a double clothesline attempt and hit one of his own as all three men collapsed to the mat. Booker stretched out for the tag as the fans began to rally behind the challengers. Booker slapped the top turnbuckle pad and stomped his feet, getting the crowd louder as he urged Stevie while he began to make the long trek across the ring. Just before he was able to get to Booker's outstretched hand, Scott Hall grabbed him by the boot and pulled him backward, bringing him to his feet. Hall hit a few punches to the wobbly Stevie Ray before going for his signature discus punch, only for Stevie to duck out of the way! Kevin Nash had also gotten to his feet behind Stevie so when he ducked, Nash took the punch from Hall right to his face. Nash dropped to the mat and Hall rushed forward to try and catch his partner before he fell, but it was too late. This allowed Stevie to fall forward and get the hot tag to his brother, who rushed into the ring full of fury while the crowd went wild. Booker unloaded his assault on Hall, then Nash, then through them both into the corner before hitting a sandwiched clothesline on the two. Hall stumbled out of the corner and right into a Harlem sidekick before then focusing on Nash. Booker was on fire and he could feel the tides shifting as he climbed up to the top rope. Booker was perched and waiting for Hall to get back to his feet so he could hit the Missile Dropkick. The crowd was nuclear as they anticipated Harlem Heat getting the titles back from the NWO. Hall slowly got to his feet and began to turn around about the same time Nash was getting to his feet and focusing in on Booker. Booker, perched, began to stand to his feet high up on the top rope, waiting for Hall to inch closer. Stevie Ray saw Nash heading for his brother and ran to the ropes and bounced off, hitting Nash with a big boot. The only problem is, Stevie rushed the same side his brother was standing on and bouncing off the ropes caused Booker to drop hard on the turnbuckle. Scott Hall managed to clothesline Stevie over the top rope right after he had dropped Nash and then set his sights on the injured Booker T. While seated on the top rope, Hall turned Booker around and hooked him in the Outsider's Edge and dropped him. The match was over at 12:51 and the Outsiders just managed to defend their belts. Winners: The Outsiders Rating: 78 - The Outsider's barely celebrated their victory before escaping the ring and heading to the backstage area. Stevie Ray slowly climbed back in the ring and helped Booker up to his feet and tried to apologize. Booker had none of it and shoved his brother off, obviously frustrated. Sherri quickly got in the ring and got between the brothers as she tried to mediate things, but it was clear that the last few weeks has gotten the brothers frustrated. Booker turned and walked off, leaving Sherri and Stevie Ray in the ring. - Rating: 76 - Alex Wright is backstage with his new manager, and girlfriend, Kimberly. Wright says that he wants to be taken seriously as a main contender within WCW. He says he's just as tall as guys like Lex Luger and Sting but being a full-blooded German makes him far superior to any of them. Kimberly agrees and says that after experiencing everything Germany has to offer, it's clear that Alex Wright is the next big thing in WCW. Wright said he started things off by taking DDP's woman, next he's going to start taking titles. - Rating: 61 Cage Match: Faces of Fear vs Hostile Intent vs As soon as the cage door was locked and the bell sounded, the two teams went right after one another. It was clear from the start that this match wasn't going to be anything other than a wild brawl and the first team to inflict as much damage as possible were going to be the victors. This isn't the type of match to showcase in-ring ability, but Meng shone in this match and Tony Schiavone even commented that for the past several months, Meng has been quite impressive in his matches. This led the announcers to discuss potential singles success by not just Meng, but also Perry Saturn. The fight raged on with little control from the referee. The cage was properly used throughout the match by both teams as it seemed men were thrown into it left and right and faces were repeatedly grated against the unforgiving steel. The shocking end came at 9:46 after Saturn climbed high atop the cage and lept off with a body splash onto the Barbarian for the pinfall win! Winners: Hostile Intent Rating: 75 Cameras cut to the backstage area following a promotional ad to see DDP walking through a hallway. It doesn't take long before DDP is brutally ambushed from the side though.... Randy Savage rushes in with the attack but it isn't just him. Paul Levesque joins in on the assault with the Macho Man as the two double team him. The two on one assault is too much by itself, but factor in that DDP was blindsided, he stood no chance at defending himself. The assault continued on but suddenly one more person rushes in and floors Levesque. The Total Package is the one to rush in for the save on DDP. He hits Levesque a couple more times as he falls to the floor before turning his attention to the Macho Man, who's still putting the boots to a fallen DDP. Luger shoves Savage who then see's Luger. With his eyes wild, Savage begins to back off as he tells Luger he's making a huge mistake. Levesque then gets to his feet and the two NWO members make their exit while Luger helps DDP up. Rating: 81 Television Title: Fit Finlay vs Lord Steven Regal (c) vs The match kicked off and Regal acted like he didn't have a care in the world, until he had to lock up with Finlay. Afterwards, Regal acted like he was smelling the worst thing in his life and told Finlay to take a shower. Regal continued to strut around the ring with his British aristocrat manner that only he can do. He also took his time to lock several different wrestling holds on Finlay to showcase his superior technical ability. Finlay was able to fire back though and showcase his own offense which was a good mix of hard hitting moves and some unorthodox technical wrestling that can only be described as classic European. The two demonstrated very well that they have a vast variety of movesets. Regal took charge for a large part of the match and looked to lock in the Regal Stretch. Finlay surprised him though after reversing a body slam attempt and Finlay got Regal up for his Tombstone Piledriver finish. Regal furiously kicked to reverse it though, and he was successful. He had Finlay in position to hit his own Tombstone but Finlay was able to slide off and quickly rolled up Regal for the shocking win at 12:47! A stunned Regal sat up quickly as the bell rang with his eyes as wide as plates and a look of pure contempt on his face while Finlay celebrated his title win! Winner and NEW Champion: Fit Finlay Rating: 84 Brian Pillman is backstage for a promo and begins it with holding up the Horsemen sign and giving a "WOOOO!" Pillman is sinister and says he looks forward to getting ahold of the Nature Boy and showing him he's not as great as he thinks he is. Pillman might be all alone, but that's the way he's always preferred it. He only goes to the beat of his own drum and isn't interested in being a team player. Pillman takes credit for the 4 Horsemen breaking up and not giving Arn Anderson or Ric Flair any other path in wrestling since. He says that the 4 Horsemen is all that Anderson and Flair have while Pillman has his entire career ahead of him, forging his own way and doing it on his own, not on the coat tails of other wrestlers like the two of them have done their entire career. Pillman says tonight is going to be a sweet night and the Horsemen will be finished for good. Rating: 86 Eddie Guerrero vs Astro Rey Jr. vs I won't begin to even try and convince you that this match was competitive. Eddie Guerrero was far too skilled for Astro to make it a competitive match, but the two did showcase quite the high flying match that kept the crowd engaged. Eddie was just too good to allow Astro to get any kind of meaningful offense in. He did manage to hit a few high spots in the match, but it was all Eddie and everyone knew it. Eddie got the win at 11:43 with the Frog Splash, providing Astro with the best match he's had in his career so far. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 82 - Mike Tenay is backstage with Buff Bagwell for an interview. Bagwell says that he's tired of seeing old guys in WCW every time he turns a corner. Bagwell thinks that these old guys like Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, and Ricky Steamboat need to get out of the way to allow the young guys of WCW, like himself, to take the ball. - Rating: 67 United States Title: Dean Malenko w/ Francine vs Scott Steiner (c) vs The co-main event is up next and the crowd was definitely into this one. Steiner spent a substantial amount of time taunting Francine who stood on the outside. This almost cost Steiner the match and his US title as Malenko quickly rolled up the champion who just barely was able to get a shoulder up in time. The two men traded offense from there and the match spilled to the outside shortly after. They each took turns beating each other around the ringside area. Each time Steiner would put Malenko on the floor, he would turn his attention to Francine. He'd repeatedly ask Francine if she was ready to "be with a real man." Once back inside the ring, Malenko was able to take control again after Francine took an opportunity to rake Steiner's eyes. The advantage didn't hold though, as Steiner caught Malenko with a great looking butterfly suplex. Following the move, Steiner dropped to the mat and began doing pushups while looking right at Francine and taunting her, saying he can "go all night." Malenko became furious with the constant taunts toward his manager and hit a low blow on the champion. He called Francine to get a steel chair and get on the apron. He walked over to her and demanded the chair but Francine refused. Malenko again demanded the chair but she wouldn't hand it over. Malenko finally demanded the chair one more time and this time, Francine shoved it toward him, just a bit too aggressively. The chair caught Malenko in the forehead as he stumbled backward, right into a waiting Scott Steiner, who lifted him up for the Steiner Screwdriver. The win, and Francine's services, were then secured at 15:20. Steiner and Francine the left and headed up the aisle while Francine was saying "Oops!" Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 86 - Eric Bischoff is seated in a dark room for the next promo. Eric's all smiles and laughs as he says that Steve Austin's probably wandered all over the backstage area for Hollywood Hogan, but he's never going to find him. He won't find Hollywood because he's not here tonight. Bischoff says that Hogan has much more important things to do than show up to Slamboree. Hollywood has movie premieres to attend, talk shows to be on, scripts to read, and elite parties to be at while Steve Austin just hopes to be booked on the card each night. Bischoff says that Austin might not like it, but Hollywood's the world champion, Bischoff is the WCW Executive Vice President, and Steve Austin is just dirt on the bottom of Hollywood's boots. Rating: 82 - Ric Flair cuts a pre-match promo backstage and says that Brian Pillman is a disgrace to the 4 Horsemen and a disgrace to professional wrestling. Wrestling is all about tradition and all Pillman does is spit in the face of tradition. Pillman would be nothing without the long line of men that came before him and that he's too enthralled in his own ego to recognize that. The Horsemen have never been about one man, it's always been about the group. Tonight, if Flair has to beat just a little ounce of respect into him, he's going to enjoy every second of it, and Pillman has no one to help him. - Rating: 82 Brian Pillman vs Ric Flair vs The bell barely rang before Flair rushed at Pillman. He tried to escape but Flair was all over him and chased him all around the ring. The performance between these two could barely have been any better and they showcased why they are two of the best not just in WCW, but in the world. The crowd was in the palm of their hand the entire match and Flair showed why he's the dirtiest player in the game. There were several low blows, eye rakes, biting, and hair pulling in between all of the classic Flair offense. On Pillman's side, he was blatant about the cheating and dirty moves and begged the referee to disqualify him, knowing it wasn't going to happen. Arn Anderson was at ringside and Pillman would take any opportunity he had to taunt toward the Enforcer. There were several times the taunts became too much and Anderson would jump on the apron but the referee's distraction only allowed Pillman to cheat more. As the match wore on, it looked to just be a stalemate and no clear victor would ever emerge. Even as they both grew tired, the blows were neck and neck. Flair eventually got busted open but he wasn't the only one, as Pillman soon after found himself bloodied. Flair attempted a Figure Four but Pillman rolled him up in a small package for a near fall. Likewise, Pillman went for the Air Pillman, only for Flair to roll it through and get his own near fall. Flair took advantage for one final time and sent Pillman into the corner, looking for a Super plex off the top rope. Flair got him up and lifted him and the two crashed extremely hard to the mat. Flair's arm was draped over Pillman but Pillman's arm was also draped over Flair. The referee saw this and began making the count, hitting the three at 26:08. The announcers and the crowd were all confused as to who the winner was. Neither man moved and neither man kicked out. The ring announcer walked over to the referee, who leaned through the ropes and told him his decision. The ring announcer looked a bit surprised and brought the microphone to his mouth to tell the crowd the decision. The referee has declared the match a double pin fall! Winner: Double Pin (Draw) Rating: 90 Final Show Rating: 92

Card Preview: Brian Pillman vs Ric Flair United States Title: Francine is on the line if Malenko loses! Dean Malenko w/ Francine vs Scott Steiner (c) Eddie Guerrero vs Astro Rey Jr. Television Title: Fit Finlay vs Lord Steven Regal (c) Cage Match: Faces of Fear vs Hostile Intent Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs The Outsiders (c)

Week 4, May 1997 LIVE from the Coleman Coliseum - Tuscaloosa, AL Attendance: 15,000 (SELLOUT!) Captain Lou Albano In Memory - The video opener for Monday Nitro plays followed by a large pyro display of fireworks. Cameras bring us around where Jim Ross, Dusty Rhodes, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone for tuning in. JR mentions that Captain Lou Albano passed away over the weekend and the announce team all take a moment to extend their condolences to the family. Ross says that we're in the home stretch for WCW Slamboree this Sunday and things, not just the weather, is heating up. Last week ended on a cliffhanger with Sting giving Steve Austin an opportunity to hit him with a baseball bat, only for Austin to pass on the chance. We're bound to see a few more matches made official tonight for Slamboree and at this point, tonight's main event is set for Lex Luger taking on Wrath! There's tons of action to get to ----- - - It doesn't take long for the NWO music to hit, cutting off JR, who utters "what the hell?!" To the shock of many, it's the WCW World Heavyweight champion Hollywood Hogan who emerges from the fog with none other than Eric Bischoff. The two casually taunt their way to the ring to apparently kick off Monday Nitro. The two appear to be on cloud 9 as they make their way to the ring and climb in. Hogan takes a jog around the ring holding up the world title as Bischoff takes a microphone from his inside jacket pocket. - Ladies and gentlemen, the heavyweight champion of the world!!!!!!! Now you fans here in this arena are in for a special treat because not only do you get to start this show with the biggest name in professional wrestling, the heavyweight champion of the world, but he's also going to share with you all some gigantic, Earth-shattering news, right here tonight on Monday Nitro! See, the Hulkster has something to say pertaining to this Sunday's Slamboree, isn't that right Hollywood?!? Well ya know somethin', brah?!?! All these fans in attendance here tonight should take a moment to bask in the glory that is Hollywood, dude!! I know for a guaranteed fact that none of these fans have ever seen such a huge celebrity like Hollywood Hogan, much less a wrestling God such as myself, so how about all of these Hollywood worshipers, these NWO-ites, just take a moment to soak up the experience, dude!!! Now down to business. I've been the world heavyweight champion for over 230 days brother! I've taken on all opponents and I've taken them all down! I ran a big, smelly, pathetic giant out of this company, I've defeated the Nature Boy Ric Flair like the joke he is, I showed Scott Steiner doesn't have what it takes to compete in the main event, and I've shut that big mouth of someone who's too big for his boots, Steve Austin! I've defeated anyone who wanted to think they could take this title from around my waist and I've proven time and time again that they all don't have what it takes to compete with Hollywood and the NWO! So the big news, brother, is that this Sunday at Slamboree, Hollywood Hogan is taking a night off, dude! I've earned a nice, long vacation and there's no other so called "challengers" to step up to the plate! I'm done with facing the same old wrestlers time after time and proving that they aren't worth the dirt on the bottom of my boots! So before Mr. Ted Turner wants to say anything about it, it's in my contract, dude, that I don't have to defend my title against anyone that I don't want to, and I'm saying right here, right now, that I'm not facing Ric Flair, Scott Steiner, or Steve Austin for this belt again!!! And if Ted Turner wants to try and change that, then I'll just slap WCW with a giant lawsuit and then I'll be the one who owns WCW, dude!!! On top of that, this man right here, Eric Bischoff, holds the key!! Bischoff is the executive president of WCW and what he says, goes, brother! I hold the title, and Mr. Bischoff holds the key!!! That's right!!!! This man right here makes more money for WCW than anyone else on the roster combined! Until some real challenger can come along for Hollywood Hogan, a true competitor that can prove they're worthy for an opportunity, this man isn't going to be forced into any match, ever again! For anyone who doesn't like that, from anyone backstage to even Ted Turner himself, I've got two words for you - BITE ME! Rating: 100 Astro Rey Jr. vs Dean Malenko w/Francine vs w/ Francine is less than enthused as she comes out with Malenko, which can only be attributed to the fact that she is on the line this Sunday as Malenko takes on Scott Steiner for the US title. Malenko has been requesting a US title match and the only way Steiner would grant it was for Malenko to put Francine up for grabs. The match itself was a pretty straight forward, fast paced and high flying matchup. Astro hit a few moves that got the crowd on their feet and excited while Malenko methodically broke down his opponent. Malenko was also able to impress the crowd with a top rope military press into a gutbuster. Malenko won the match at 7:38 with the Texas Cloverleaf and Francine stormed off at the end. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 71 - Following a commercial break, the fans again get on their feet when, this time, trumpets can be heard fading into the arena. The Nature Boy Ric Flair walks out in one of his many custom designed suits while the Enforcer Arn Anderson accompanies him in his finest denim wear. They stop at the bottom of the ramp briefly to show the sign of excellence as they both hold up 4 fingers. Fireworks go off behind the two as they continue their way to the ring. - Did I just happen to hear correctly just a little while ago when Hollywood Hogan claimed to be the biggest name in professional wrestling??? Did I also hear correctly when Hogan claimed he's never defending the worlds heavyweight title against the Nature Boy?! On top of that, did Hogan just claim that he won't wrestle any time he doesn't feel like it?!? I guess as long as Hogan's got that little puissant Bischoff by his side, he can do what he wants, but as far as the Nature Boy goes, Hogan, you're never going to dictate what I can and can't do, pal! The fact is, you're afraid! That's right! You're afraid to face the Nature Boy and you're afraid of losing that title because even you know the NWO can't protect you forever! So if you want to go on your own little strike, be my guest!!! You won't wrestle, but the Nature Boy will! I'm not focused on you right now anyway, Hogan! That's right! I'm more focused on beating the living hell out of that scrawny little wimp Brian Pillman! Pillman!!! I've got you one on one this Sunday, pal!! I'm gonna make you bleed!! I'm gonna make you sweat!! And I'm gonna make you pay the price for ever turning your back on me, Double A, and the Horsemen! This Sunday's going to be sweet revenge but I don't want to wait until this Sunday! Pillman, I want you in the ring right here, tonight, in the main event!!!! Don't worry though, it won't be a one on one match, because I'm going to team with the Enforcer!! That's right!!! Pillman, if you can, by some miracle, manage to find anyone that'll team up with you, it's gonna be me and the Enforcer against you and a partner!!! - The crowd clearly loves the challenge that was just laid out and Flair and Anderson look toward the entrance for Brian Pillman to emerge. It doesn't take long before his music hits and he steps out on to the stage, oddly, laughing. - Oh Nature Boy, Nature Boy....You're so damn predictable!!! How did I know that you were going to want to get me in the ring prior to Slamboree??? If you think coming out here and laying down a...."challenge" will intimidate me, than you're even more delusional than I ever imagined, my friend. Just to avoid coming out here and being as long-winded as you, I'll keep it simple. I accept your challenge tonight and don't you worry, I DO have a partner. The only thing you need to be concerned with, Ric Flair, is even making it to Slamboree this Sunday! Rating: 100 Alex Wright vs Rick Martel vs - Prior to the match beginning, Alex Wright gets a microphone - Achtung, Achtung, ich habe eine besondere Ankündigung, also alle dummen Amerikaner, haltet euren Mund und hört zu! Oh I forgot....All you American's are so stupid that you can't even understand the most dominant language in the entire world!!! It just goes to show how superior I am to all of you!!!! Not to mention, you Rick Martel!!! You're just as pathetic as these American's, maybe even more since you're French Canadian! The French....HAH! You're all pathetic! Now, as I was saying, I have a special announcement to make, so I want all of you American rednecks to shut up and listen to what I have to say! I have a new manager! This manager is going to take me to the heights that I belong and not only that, but I'm going to be the envy of every one of you losers in this arena! She knows how superior German's are to everyone else and she wants to be with a proven winner! So right now, I want my new manager to come out and stand in my corner while I put on a showcase of real talent and masculinity! Rating: 45 Kimberly emerges, all smiles, and joins Alex in the ring where she plants a long kiss right on the lips of Das Wunderkind. The crowd boo's loudly and Kimberly, satisfied with herself, exits the ring and the bell sounds to finally begin the match. Martel took firm control while the commentators discussed Wright's new valet and the controversy behind Kimberly now being his manager. A while back, there was quite the buzz going around that the two were caught together which led to the split between Kimberly and DDP. In addition, it seems this new pairing was thought to be quite awkward by the fans in attendance and didn't go down particularly well. Much was the same in this match as Alex Wright didn't prove his superiority and submitted to the Boston Crab at 7:43. Winner: Rick Martel Rating: 66 - Mean Gene is backstage to provide a Slamboree preview for this Sunday. He highlights the cage match pitting Hostile Intent against the Faces of Fear, a feud that has become quite physical between two tough teams. Their weeks of fights and out of control brawls will be contained inside a steel cage where anything goes and the toughest team will come out the victors! Mean Gene thinks that whatever team comes out victorious has quite the claim to become #1 contenders to the tag team titles. Rating: 73 Mean Gene then segues into his interview guests as they walk in. - Mean Gene says that Harlem Heat have a chance to recapture the tag team titles this Sunday as they take on the Outsiders but things haven't been going so well for the brothers for the past few weeks. Stevie Ray says that's all old news and the new news is that the two brothers from Harlem are going to beat down the two fruit booty's from the NWO and get their titles back. Booker agrees and says even the best teams run in to speed bumps from time to time, but Harlem Heat is back on the same page and ready to take their titles back from the Outsiders. Rating: 84 Television Title: Disco Inferno vs Lord Steven Regal (c) vs Between both Disco's dancing and Regal's antics, this turned into quite a fun match. The contrasting styles somehow blended to create some really good in-ring chemistry between the two competitors. When it came to the actual wrestling, Regal showed why he's one of the best in the entire world, taking Disco down with wrist locks and various other submissions and suplexes. Disco didn't get dominated though, as he fought back with a fury of offense and nearly picked up the win a couple times on some close pin falls. Regal was too far skilled in the end though, picking up the win at 9:40 with the Regal Stretch. Winner: Lord Steven Regal Rating: 81 - Nitro returns from a commercial break to a video of the US champion driving in a car. Steiner provides some commentary during the short drive saying he's getting everything in order for this weekend when he takes the services of Francine. The car comes to a stop and Steiner steps out. The camera pans out to see the entrance of a grand hotel as Steiner walks through the revolving door. The camera cuts to the inside where Steiner's standing at the lobby counter and signing paperwork. He looks in the camera and says he's going to have all the finest amenities for Francine and she's going to be amazed at what a real man can provide, as compared to Dean Malenko and his....Short comings. The camera cuts again, this time inside the hotel room where a bellhop is rolling in a cart full of room service. Another camera cut shows a maid turning down the bed and sprinkling rose petals on it, to another camera cut inside the bathroom where Steiner is lounging in a bubble bath and sipping champagne. Steiner says this weekend will be a new experience for Francine and a complete eye-opener. Francine's going to never want to go back to Malenko after he gives her the ride of her life! - Rating: 100 Buff Bagwell & Paul Levesque vs El Hijo Del Santo & Jim Duggan vs Quite the odd pairing of Santo and Duggan and Bagwell and Levesque spent a large amount of time making fun of the two, from their physical appearance to their age. Bagwell posed quite a bit, pointing to his body and then pointing to Duggan's or Santo's. Levesque and Bagwell though this was a real leg-slapper. Their attitudes changed pretty quick when Santo went on some offense to catch Bagwell off guard and very nearly win the match. The more aggressive style from Bagwell and Levesque then emerged. The match was not well received though and aside from Levesque, no one performed particularly well. Bagwell got the pin on Santo after the Blockbuster at 7:31. Winners: Bagwell & Levesque Rating: 61 Wrath vs Lex Luger vs In what was to be the main event, the crowd was pretty hyped for this one. Wrath has been on a great streak for awhile and Bobby Heenan thinks it's only a matter of time before we see some gold around his waist. The problem in grabbing a title in WCW is that there's fierce competition around every corner. Wrath started off with a great showing. He used his power to completely take control in the early parts of the match and Luger appeared to be in trouble. There were several very near falls and it seemed that all Wrath had to do was hit his Meltdown for a victory. Instead of going for the kill though, Wrath continued to try and weaken his opponent but this proved troublesome once the fans started rallying around the Total Package. Luger began to feed off the crowd as they got louder and louder and his offense started to become more impactful. This led to Luger hitting a few clotheslines followed by his Bionic Forearm. Luger started motioning for the Rack that got the crowd totally on their feet but Wrath rolled to the outside to slow things down. Luger went over to lean through the ropes to grab Wrath, but the big man had grabbed a chair and hit Luger with it, causing a blatant disqualification at 9:42. Winner by DQ: Lex Luger Rating: 73 DDP has a pre-taped promo next where he talks about the Macho Man. Page says that the two can only do so much talking and he's tired of hearing Savage talk. At some point, Savage is going to have to back it up in the ring because last he checked, DDP had his number at Spring Stampede. DDP doesn't care when or how, all Savage has to do is name the time and place. Rating: 79 Austin is backstage for his own promo next. He says that last week's Nitro left people wondering if Austin and Sting were on the same page with each other. Austin says he's going to quiet those questions real fast and says the only page Austin's on is his own. He says he doesn't give a damn about Sting and isn't worried about being his friend, the only thing he's concerned about is becoming world champion. Austin says the only reason he didn't hit Sting last week was because he turned his back to him. If he wanted to hit Sting, he'll hit him face to face. Sting can play all the mind games he wants with him, but when it boils down to it, there's one title and Austin doesn't care who has it, or who's in his way. You can be successful in wrestling or you can have friends, but you can't have both. Rating: 100 Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs Brian Pillman &.......... vs Flair and Anderson made their entrance first followed by Brian Pillman, who came out alone. Pillman stopped at the end of the ramp while Flair and Anderson looked on, almost laughing that it didn't seem that Pillman had a partner. Music that's familiar to the crowd then starts to play and someone is seen walking through the fog. Everyone's shocked to see Eddie Guerrero walk out as Mike Tenay reminds everyone at home that these two men had quite the bitter feud over the US title last year and now seem to be joining together. He also says that Eddie's just gotten cleared to return to the ring after suffering a fracture earlier this month. The two make their way to the ring and the match gets started. Pillman starts off against Arn Anderson and the Enforcer quickly finds his way in the driver's seat. Pillman is reeling and Double A is relentless as he goes after everything he can. The crowd goes nuts when Anderson tags Flair in and Pillman quickly rushes over to tag out to Guerrero. Flair lays in measured hits but Eddie is able to use his quickness to duck an attempted attack as he comes off the ropes. What ensues next is a pretty straight forward tag team match. Once Eddie managed to wear down Flair a bit, Pillman was then happy to get in the ring and take over the offense. The fight eventually spilled out onto the floor where things then broke down a bit. The referee was able to finally gain a bit of control and get the fight back inside the ring as Eddie and Arn Anderson were the legal men. After Arn hit his signature Spinebuster on Eddie, things broke down again after the pin attempt was broken up by Pillman. Flair and Anderson managed to clear the ring of both Eddie and Pillman and the crowd was electric as the two regrouped on the outside. After conferring with each other, they both said "forget it" and began walking up the aisle toward the back. Anderson and Flair looked on in disbelief as the referee completed the 10 count and officially awarded the match by countout. The crowd began to boo heavily and tossed trash at Eddie and Pillman as they walked up the aisle, but the two didn't care at all. The match officially came to an end at 18:02 and it seems everyone is going to have to wait until Slamboree where the Nature Boy will finally get his hands on Brian Pillman. Winners by Count Out: Ric Flair & Arn Anderson Rating: 88 Final Show Rating: 91

Hello ladies and gentlemen, it's been awhile but I'm Mean Gene Okerlund here to bring you a WCW Hotline: Special Report! There's all kinds of activity in the world of professional wrestling and on the eve of the mid-year review, I thought I'd bring you some exclusive content and backstage access that you don't get during the usual mid-year review! Starting with the exits from World Championship Wrestling, both Steve Armstrong and Dick Slater have left WCW after their contracts have expired. WCW opted to not renew either contract and wishes the best going forward for both wrestlers. Starting with area battles between the top two companies in the world, you can see that WCW is in total domination to the WWF when it comes to star power. I'll start with what should be the #1 wrestling company in the world; World Championship Wrestling. With two shows and 56 active wrestlers, television time is a premium for the talent. Sting is by far the most popular wrestler in WCW and that's without him competing in the ring since 1996! As you can see here, Sting's final match was when he was involved in the War Games match at Fall Brawl 1996. His last proper match was in a successful tag team win with Lex Luger as his partner against the Amazing French Canadians (No, not the Quebecers) in August 1996 on WCW Saturday Night. Despite being away from in-ring action, Sting has continued to be the most popular wrestler in North America, however, he is #9 on the global stage due to his popularity lacking in Mexico and Europe. WCW's most successful event to date is Spring Stampede 1997 and top rated match is Scott Hall defeating Ric Flair on Monday Nitro in September 1996. All of these matches and events have led to WCW increasing company size and increasing attendance! The WWF remains the #1 company in the world despite being a smaller size than WCW and less popular. CMLL has continued to surprise the wrestling world by competing with the two well-known companies and holding their own. The WWF holds higher popularity in The UK, Europe, and Mexico which gives them a slight edge in the top company title. I've heard rumblings that WCW plans to venture out and hold some shows in Mexico and might also possibly try to work out a deal with CMLL to help increase their popularity. Here's a look into the WWF and their current feuds they have going on. On most of their Monday Night Raw broadcasts and PPV events, there isn't much going on to further their feuds. Folks, look forward to the mid-year review that will be coming up in June. It'll be interesting to see how WCW is competing with the WWF and what company is the most improved thus far!

And we have done it! I have now caught up to my in-game progress. It's been a long road and I hope everyone is enjoying so far. Despite the mid-year review coming up at the beginning of June for my game, I'm going to still do a bit of a "review" up to this point. This won't be focused on top rated matches or cards, but more the inner-workings of the current game world. I'll be providing an in-depth look into popularity of workers in both WCW and the WWF, I'll go over feuds in both companies and also providing screen shots of certain things, just so it's clear that these things are actually occurring in my game. I'm also pretty relived I'm up to date now as I'll be able to give more insight into the match reviews and give road agent notes and specific finishes. I've had plenty of cheating wins or flash pinfalls throughout this game but I can't remember them and I didn't note them down unless I followed it up in the next show with an angle, so now I'll at least be able to add those things. I'll also still do the mid-year review when it comes up so that'll give everyone an idea of award outlooks for 1997. I'll also be adding in the area battles as well. Despite me crushing the WWF in the area battles every month and being a bigger size, somehow they are still considered the #1 promotion and I'm #2.

Week 3, May 1997 LIVE from the Worcester Centrum - Worcester, MA Attendance: 14,800 (SELLOUT!) - This sold-out Massachusetts crowd is excited and rowdy for this week's Monday Nitro. The usual video intro is followed by a rather large firework display that hypes the crowd up even more. There's a sea of fan-made signs throughout the crowd as cameras are brought to the commentary table where JR makes the customary introductions. There's a buzz in the air as Jim Ross outlines what happened this past weekend on WCW Saturday Night. The team talk about how action has definitely increased in recent weeks on the weekend programming because there's so many things happening in WCW lately and it all can't be contained on Nitro. Ric Flair made it clear that he wants Brian Pillman at Slamboree for a good old fashioned, knock-down, drag-out fight, free of gimmicks and interference. The Nature Boy wants to get his hands on Pillman for all the damage he's done to the 4 Horsemen and now that Pillman is all by himself and out of the NWO, the timing couldn't be better. The Blue Bloods continued their efforts to recruit Lance Storm but the young upcoming star has again refused their efforts. Scott Steiner gave a peculiar interview where he said he would put up his United States title against Dean Malenko at Slamboree if he would put up his "hooch." The commentary team spent some time talking about what that could possibly be and Bobby Heenan was positive he was talking about alcohol. Finally, they spent a good amount of time talking about the ending of last week's Nitro where Lex Luger came to the aid of Booker T as he felt the wrath of the NWO. Booker provided an interview on Saturday Night claiming that there are no problems between him and his brother while Luger gave an interview saying he's happy to help out Booker T or anyone else against the NWO. As for tonight's show, the main event will feature Scott Steiner defending the US title against Scott Hall, Lex Luger and Diamond Dallas Page will be in action, the World Heavyweight champion Hollywood Hogan is here, and rumor's have been going around all day that Steve Austin has been looking for Sting! - It doesn't look like we're going to have to wait long to find out what Austin wants as his music interrupts the commentary and the fans jump to their feet, again in a total frenzy. Austin walks with his usual purpose to the ring and gets there, posing on each turnbuckle to the rabid fans as Mean Gene is seen trying to hurriedly get in the ring to meet Austin for an impromptu interview. The music dies off and Austin meets Mean Gene in the center of the ring as he says he's heard all day long that Austin's been looking for Sting and wonders what he wants with him. Austin: Mean Gene, as you and everyone else knows, Stone Cold never mixes words and I let people know exactly what I'm thinking and what I'm going to do! I ain't gonna make you read between the lines and if I've got a problem, I'll take it straight to your face! The fact of the matter is, last week I not only called out the NWO, the week before that I said I never asked or wanted Sting's help! Well last week, the NWO did what they always do, they attacked from behind. I expect the NWO to continue to be a pain in the ass but Sting's proving to be just as much a pain in the ass to me as they are! I told Sting to stay out of my business but what'd he do last week while the NWO had their run on Stone Cold? He stood way up top in the arena and watched me get beat up! Now don't for one second think that I'm pissed off that he didn't help me...Nah! The fact is, he still wants to stick his nose in my business and make his presence felt! So what I'm gonna do tonight, Mean Gene, is real simple! I'm gonna get that S.O.B. right in this ring tonight and I'm gonna get him face to face so I can look him in that painted face of his and tell him, once and for all, to stay the hell out of Stone Cold's business! And that's the bottom line... Cause Stone Cold said so! Rating: 100 Paul Levesque vs Diamond Dallas Page vs This match carried off where these two left off at SuperBrawl. It was a solid, back and forth encounter where each man got in plenty of offense and Levesque did his best to cheat around every corner. It was clear that DDP was in the driver's seat of this match, though and firmly had the crowd behind him. Everyone was caught off guard when DDP managed to reverse a Spinebuster attempt into a Diamond Cutter to win the match at 14:50. It was definitely not as good as their previous match but it was serviceable. Winner: Diamond Dallas Page Rating: 68 Mean Gene is getting his work in early tonight as he's backstage with Booker T for a quick word. Last week he had a target on his back by the NWO but the Total Package Lex Luger came to his aid, amidst some trouble that seems to be brewing between Harlem Heat as they haven't appeared to be on the same page since losing their titles to the Outsiders at Spring Stampede. Booker says that all great teams have moments when times are tough but it's those tough times that make great teams even better. When you toss in the two being brothers, there's bound to be some conflicts. Booker says he's got all the confidence that Harlem Heat will work out the kinks and he knows that Stevie Ray will always have his back not just in wrestling, but also in life. He says Harlem Heat's going to get their belts back at Slamboree but they aren't just going to stop there; Booker's wanting some singles titles to go along with it! Rating: 87 Alex Wright vs Lex Luger vs Saturday Wright Fever's got a tough task ahead of him this week as the Total Package made his way toward the ring. The harsh German actually appeared more focused for this match and didn't back down from Luger. The opening bell saw Wright rush to Luger and immediately go on offense that at first had Luger reeling. He hit several European uppercuts that rocked Luger and things were looking good until he tried chopping the chiseled chest of the Total Package. It had no effect and the crowd began to get loud as Luger mounted his offense. Once that started, there was no turning back as several clotheslines and a forearm smash later, Luger had him locked in the Torture Rack for the win at 8:08. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 78 The Macho Man cuts a pre-taped promo where he says that Diamond Dallas Page can defeat all kinds of "lesser opponents" but when it comes to facing the cream of the crop like the Macho Man, Page can't get the job done! He taunts DDP again that his wife left him for a smaller chump and he's all alone in life while the Macho Man has climbed Mount Everest, soaring with the eagles and slithering with the snakes. Page won't get the job done or be a success in life because he's a loser and will always remain a loser (all while ignoring that DDP beat him and throwing fellow NWO member in with "lesser opponents"). OH YEAH! Rating: 99 Following a commercial break, we return to what's become a familiar scene within WCW and the backstage area - a backstage brawl. This one is between Ric Flair and Brian Pillman, who's paths have apparently crossed. We join mid-fight where officials are trying to break the two up. Plenty of shots are received by both parties as the fight is eventually broken up but the two continue to jaw back and forth. Rating: 86 Rick Martel vs "Sting" vs This wasn't much of a competitive match though both men were on par with their performance. "Sting" generated a ton of heat from the crowd as he continued to play up the mannerisms of his actual counterpart. Martel proved he has a decent amount of skill in the ring as he finished things off at 8:24 with the Boston Crab. Winner: Rick Martel Rating: 64 Dean Malenko and Francine appear for a backstage promo. Malenko says there's one reason he's in wrestling and that's to be successful and win titles. There's nothing much more prestigious than the United States title and he says if he has to put up his manager Francine in order to claim it, that's exactly what he'll do. Francine was all about what Malenko was saying until he agreed to put her up in order to face Steiner. She looked disgusted as the picture faded to black. Rating: 76 Scotty Riggs vs Wrath vs It's been a little while since we've seen Scotty Riggs on Nitro. His work's cut out for him tonight with this opponent. It was a foregone conclusion for Riggs, however, as soon as Wrath stepped through the ropes. In sheer domination, Wrath easily disposed of Riggs, putting him out of his misery at 6:59 with the ever-impressive Meltdown, to the crowd's delight. Winner: Wrath Rating: 61 Hostile Intent vs Big Bubba Rogers & Scott Norton vs This is the second time these two teams have faced off and this time the result was much better. Both teams took immediately to some hard-hitting action and didn't want to back down from the other. It was probably inevitable that the larger of the two teams would gain the advantage, however. Saturn impressed the crowd with not just his strength as he hit multiple suplexes on both big men, but also his speed and aerial attack. Paul Roma ended up being the weak link in this match but it wasn't enough to keep the team down. Saturn hit an impressive Death Valley Driver on Big Bubba to get the win at 7:59. Winners: Hostile Intent Rating: 72 The NWO music hits the speakers and the crowd get on their feet, as usual. They get a bit louder as they see Eric Bischoff and then the World Champion emerge. Hogan struts toward the ring as he plays the world title like a guitar, laughing and cutting it up all along the way. Once inside, both men take their spot as Hogan begins to flex his 24 inch pythons. Bischoff goes through his usual schtick, saying he can't get enough of the crowd and loves them all, JUST as much as they love him. Trash begins to pelt the ring as Hogan takes over, saying the NWO has never been better since they cut the fat off that's been slowing them down. Hollywood has never been better, either. Hogan says he's too smart, too talented, too rich, and too big for anyone to challenge him and the "NWO" World Heavyweight title, and that includes Steve Austin. Hogan says Austin wishes he could be half as successful as Hollywood, let alone have arms half the size as Hogan's. As a matter of fact, Hogan says since he's been so successful since winning the title, he's earned himself a vacation! He proved to the entire world at Spring Stampede that Austin doesn't have what it takes to compete in the main event and Ric Flair and Scott Steiner have both failed time and time again to take the title from him. Hogan says there's not one person in WCW that can step up to the plate and beat him and as such, he has no challengers for Slamboree. Hogan says he's going to take the time off and sit on the beach in Tampa. As for any possible rematch against Austin? Hogan says he's already beat Austin and he's not facing him again. Ric Flair and Scott Steiner both got multiple chances at Hollywood and those were too much. He's tired of giving proven losers more and more opportunities to make millions of dollars off him. Hogan says he's not a charity foundation and it's time people stop using Hollywood to make themselves millionaires. Rating: 84 United States Title: Scott Hall vs Scott Steiner vs One half of the tag team champions gets an opportunity to become a dual-champion, hoping to take the US title off of NWO nemesis Scott Steiner. The match started off in much the same way as you'd expect, Steiner spent some time feeling out Hall, Hall stalled and went to the outside a few times before Steiner got fed up and chased him around ringside, before finally getting back in where Hall took advantage. It was apparent that Hall was still working off some of the ring rust that accumulated during his extended absence but he still did quite well. Steiner looked to be in trouble several times but always worked his way out of it. The last bit of buildup had the crowd firmly behind the US champion as he rocked Hall with right fists that were followed up with some big Steinerlines. The longer the match went on, the more people looked to the stage or the crowd for NWO assistance. To the shock of everyone, that never came. The commentary booth wondered if this was a new direction for the NWO, letting them prove who's worthy, but then they all decided the NWO has no integrity about them to let someone prove themselves. Hall had one more resurgence and it looked like he was on his way to adding another title as he set up for the Outsider's Edge. Steiner was able to backdrop himself out of it, though, and hit his impressive Steiner Screwdriver for the victory at 16:26. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 87 After a final commercial break, Austin's music again hits and causes just as much excitement as it did earlier. Austin powers down toward the ring and gets in. He starts talking before his music even stops and says that there's been enough waiting around tonight. He knows Sting's here and he wants him in this ring, face to face. Austin says that Sting doesn't have to worry about any kind of attack, though. If Austin wanted to attack Sting, he'll do it to his face, unlike the NWO. He tells Sting to get out to this ring because the two need to settle a few things. Screams of an excited crowd erupt shortly afterwards. The camera zooms out slightly to see a figure dropping from high above the arena. The commentary booth is at a loss of words as Sting drops from the rafters and slows as he approaches the ring mat. Sting unhooks the cable and Austin and Sting lock eyes. Both men stand motionless and neither man is seen saying a word, they just intensely stare at one another, daring each other to make the first move. The tension begins to grow with each passing second while the crowd look from one man to the other. It seems like an eternity passes before one of he men finally move. Sting's the first as he slowly steps forward toward Steve Austin. Austin continues to look on intensely as Sting closes the gap. Sting stops just before the two are nose to nose and the thought that the tension couldn't get any higher before has now become a reality. The atmosphere is thick while it seems the pot could boil over at any second, but the two men just continue to stare at one another. From Sting's coat sleeve, a black baseball bat begins to emerge. Sting holds the bat at the end, slightly tapping it against the side of his leg almost like he's pondering his next move. Sting then begins to take a slow walk around Austin while he stands in the same spot. The entire short distance around, Sting continues to stare at Austin but Austin doesn't follow Sting's path. Sting comes back around to face Austin but has given himself a bit more distance between the two. Sting extends his arm with the bat to Austin's chest. There wasn't much reaction from Austin who just continues to stand, burning holes through Sting but still not saying a word. The commentary team isn't even saying anything so we're left with just the visual and the growing roar from the crowd as the tension continues to rise. Sting then moves the bat just up from Austin's chest to just under his chin. Sting's almost daring Austin to move so he can hit him with the bat, but Austin stands defiant, not backing down. Sting cocks his head just slightly before removing the bat from under Austin's chin and then flips the bat so he grabs the barrel and presents the handle to Austin. Austin is the one this time to just slightly cock his head to the side before ever so slowly reaching his hand up to grab the offered bat. He takes it and Sting releases his grip on it and the two stand for just a few seconds, staring at each other again. Sting then extends both arms out to his side before turning his back to Austin, seemingly giving him a free shot on the Stinger. Austin just stands, continuing to stare at Sting and never even raising his arm up with the bat. After Sting stands for several seconds, arms extended and looking up and nothing happening, he looks over his shoulder at Austin. He see's that Austin is still in the same spot holding the bat and drops his arms. Sting then goes straight to exiting the ring and walking up the aisle, not ever looking back at Austin. Nitro fades to black with the camera in front of Sting so we get a final shot of Sting's face with Austin left standing in the background holding the bat. Rating: 100 Final Show Rating: 90

Week 2, May 1997 LIVE from The Pit - Albuquerque, NM Attendance: 18,000 (SELLOUT!) - Nitro kicks this week off with all of the usual fanfare. The pyro display is on point, followed by a panned shot of the jam-packed arena. Jim Ross says we're live this week from Albuquerque and WCW shows are red hot as we approach the summer. Fans have been selling out arena after arena as of late and the action here in WCW couldn't get any better! As the cameras go to the announce booth where the introductions are made, JR tells everyone that the action has even spilled over to WCW Saturday Night, as this past weekend's show had a lot of stuff happen. Brian Pillman spoke about being kicked out of the NWO saying he's alone and that's how he likes things, going as far as saying Ric Flair will get the loose cannon. Dean Malenko also challenged Scott Steiner for the United States title. Steiner interrupted and said he'd be more than happy to take Francine but doesn't think much of Malenko. The Blue Bloods made a pitch to Lance Storm to join their group that was turned down, and Alex Wright must have case of amnesia because he wants to challenge again for the TV title. - Things are sure to heat up much more quickly tonight as cameras cut to the backstage area as Steve Austin arrives. He heads into the arena pulling his bag behind him while he stares into the camera and says he's not afraid of anyone and if the NWO wants a fight on their hands, he's easy to find. Rating: 100 Earl Robert Eaton vs Rick Martel vs Rick Martel was a surprising arrival here tonight on Nitro as Jim Ross says he just signed a WCW contract earlier this week. The fans started out pretty unsure how to take Martel since he hasn't been seen in the US for quite some time. He easily was able to fall into the babyface roll against Earl Robert. The announcers also touched on their attempted recruitment of Lance Storm this past weekend on Saturday Night. This was a technical, if not exciting matchup that you'd expect from two veterans. They did a good job of getting the crowd ready for more to come without over-doing things. Martel picked up the Submission win at 9:53 with the Boston Crab. Heenan remarked that he can see Martel easily challenging for the TV or US titles. Winner: Rick Martel Rating: 65 Wrath vs Diamond Dallas Page vs Wrath entered the match to another solid reaction from the fans. JR commented that despite being aggressive and brutal in his matches, the crowd has seemed to really take to the big man. He was also able to hold his own against DDP, who enters this match riding a wave of momentum. The crowd had no problem eating up anything DDP did but it was a tough task as Wrath began hitting him with his powerful offense. DDP soon found himself at the mercy of Wrath, who took control of the match and began hitting one power move after the other. With the crowd fully behind him, DDP slowly began turning the tides after breaking out of a bearhug. Just as the favor began shifting toward DDP, Randy Savage interrupted things. DDP was oblivious to Savage's presence as he continued mounting his comeback. DDP hit a flapjack and signaled for the Diamond Cutter just as the Macho Man entered the ring. As DDP got up to his feet, Savage clubbed him from behind. Seeing the attack, the referee had no choice but to call for the bell at 9:43. Despite the bell ringing, Savage continued the attack on DDP as JR told everyone that Nitro had to take a commercial break! Winner by DQ: Diamond Dallas Page Rating: 80 Nitro returns from commercial to find Mean Gene Okerlund backstage with the Television champion Lord Steven Regal. Mean Gene starts things off saying that Alex Wright again requested a TV title opportunity against Regal at Slamboree. Regal did his usual scoff at the remark and asked why he would give Alex Wright a shot at his title when he just beat him at Spring Stampede? Regal said that Wright needs to go back to Germany and learn how to wrestle if he ever wants a title shot against him ever again. Instead, Regal said he's going to defend his title at Slamboree against a skilled worker, one that's much more worthy of a title opportunity than Alex Wright. He's going to give some new life into the TV title by defending it against fresh opponents, ones who might not otherwise be given opportunities. Yes, Regal thinks his time will be much better spent at Slamboree as he takes on.... Fit Finlay! Rating: 97 Fit Finlay vs Scott Norton vs Finlay must have been watching the prior interview because he entered this match with a newfound energy. This was a surprisingly hard hitting and physical match as Finlay was showing he wasn't afraid of Norton's no-nonsense, tough offense. In fact, Finlay might have taken Norton off guard as he proved he can give as good as he gets. This resulted in a match that was pretty well-received by the New Mexico fans. Finlay shocked everyone by getting the win at 9:21 but got the win with a Powerslam, as Norton was way to big to be able to get him up for the Tombstone. Winner: Fit Finlay Rating: 75 El Hijo Del Santo vs Hugh Morrus vs Unfortunately for those in the arena, and probably those watching at home, this matchup was not quite the kind that fans were too eager to see. It's been pretty apparent that WCW administrators have been trying to get Santo some positive exposure in the North American market but he just isn't catching on with the crowd. It probably doesn't help that his opponents like Hugh Morrus don't generally have much going on for them, either. It wasn't anything too spectacular, though it was much better than the last performance they had together. Morrus picked up the win at 8:27 with his No Laughing Matter moonsault. Winner: Hugh Morrus Rating: 58 The crowd suddenly comes much more to life as Steve Austin's music hits the speakers and he comes walking out and heading straight to the ring. Austin takes the time to pose on each corner rope before getting a microphone and getting down to business. Austin says that he's not going to stand out here and do a 15 minute promo and he's never been long-winded, so he'll just cut to the chase. Austin says he's got Hogan's number and it's only a matter of time before the world title is his but he knows Hogan's going to try to dodge him as much as possible. Austin says he'll take on the NWO each and every week all by himself until he gets his hands on Hogan one more time. He calls out the entire group to face him and again says he's not scared of anyone. Austin stands, awaiting a response from the NWO but one never comes. He waits a moment before again calling out the NWO and says he knows they all arrived earlier because he saw their limo in the back. Again, there's no response from the NWO and Austin says they must have finally wizened up a bit or they're all just huddled in their locker room with their tails tucked between their legs. He again gives a few moments of pause to look toward the stage, but now there's some movement from the crowd... What's become known as the NWO henchmen, Paul Levesque and Buff Bagwell are seen coming through the crowd and jumping the barrier. The two slide in the ring behind Austin who's still looking to the stage. They approach Austin as the crowd begins to rumble and spin him around, though Austin must have been expecting this as he immediately begins throwing kicks and punches. The distraction was just enough to allow the rest of the NWO to come out from the backstage area and get to the ring. Hogan, as usual, hung back just enough to allow Hall, Nash, and Savage to get in the ring first and commence the beat-down. The world champion entered the ring, supremely confident as Austin began to succumb to the numbers advantage. Bagwell and Levesque held up Austin which allowed Hall to hit a few well placed punches followed by Nash with a big boot. Austin fell to the mat as they then put him in position to allow Hogan to hit a series of leg drops. The camera cuts away from the attack to Sting standing high atop the arena in the rafters. He looks down at the on-going attack as the announce booth ponders why Sting isn't helping Austin out this time. It took Bobby Heenan to remind both Dusty and JR that last week Austin said he didn't want any help from Sting after he came to his defense at Spring Stampede. It looks as though Sting is just fine with Austin's demand as he continues to watch the attack. By now the NWO have gotten out their spray cans and begin to brand Austin with "NWO" on his back. They're putting the final touches on their graffiti as Nitro fades to another commercial break. Rating: 100 Billy Kidman vs Brian Pillman vs Nitro resumes with a match following commercial and Brian Pillman came out determined to not allow last week's events to derail his momentum. He went straight after Kidman as soon as the bell rang and what followed was a fast paced encounter with several high flying moves. Pillman was on top of his game tonight as he took time to taunt out to the crowd after firmly having the match in control. He never gave Kidman an opportunity to mount any kind of meaningful offense and put the match away at 7:26 with an Air Pillman. Winner: Brian Pillman Rating: 70 - Mean Gene is backstage all by himself as he takes a moment to say he thinks there's more to the story between Steve Austin and Sting and that he's going to do some more digging. He also says the NWO takes advantage of every opportunity they can to play the numbers game. Either way, he's going to get to the bottom of it and report his findings to his Hotline Report. Rating: 95 Next up, we're given a short replay of events this weekend on Saturday Night where Dean Malenko requested a US title shot against Scott Steiner. Steiner interrupts and says he'll take Francine but Dean's a loser. It appears his challenge was brushed off. Back live on Nitro, we see Francine walking backstage and she eventually comes to a stop when confronted by Scott Steiner. Steiner continues to close the gap while Francine backsteps. She continues to retreat until she's stopped by the wall behind her. Steiner gets in close and says he doesn't have to beat Malenko up for her to have an excuse to be with a real man. He says she's tried to make Dean a winner but she needs to face the facts, Malenko will always be a loser that can't get the job done. Steiner says he's the complete opposite. He's a winner that gets the job done......Every time. Francine eventually ducks under Steiner's arm to walk off. Rating: 85 Faces of Fear vs Mike Barton & Brad Armstrong vs The latest victims to be fed to the Faces of Fear are Barton and Armstrong, unless, of course, they could shock the world and pull an upset over one of the most feared tag teams of all time. No? Ok....The Barbarian had a very good performance while Meng surpassed all others at an impressive 81/100 rating. As tough as Barton and Armstrong are, they were never a match for the two beasts. Meng got the win at 8:15 with the Tongan Death Grip on Armstrong. Winners: Faces of Fear Rating: 68 Booker T vs Randy Savage vs Tonight's main event was refreshing to see it involve Booker T, who's fresh off an impressive performance this past Saturday Night where he challenged for the TV title. The result of that match was a time limit draw, so Booker's sure to have a rematch on the horizon. His high-profile matches continued tonight as he takes on one of the most popular names in all of wrestling. It was clear from the bell that Savage wasn't going to make it an easy night of work for Booker T. While the two traded offense, the commentators also mentioned how Harlem Heat had difficulty against the Outsiders at Spring Stampede, with the end result of them losing their titles. A rematch has been confirmed for Slamboree, but it's clear the brothers from Harlem have to work better as a team if they want to reclaim their gold. In this match though, a tag team title shot seemed to be the furthest from Booker's mind as he looked to possibly further his singles career. He gave the Macho Man a tough time and made it clear from his own standpoint that he wasn't going to make things easy for Savage. Later in the match, Booker was on fire. He had Savage reeling and put him down with a sidewalk slam before breakdancing back to his feet. He stood, poised and ready to strike, looking to hit a sidekick after Savage got to his feet. As he stood waiting though, there was an interruption. Scott Hall made his way down to ringside and got on the apron, distracting Booker away from his opponent. Booker rushed over and hit Hall off the apron, but the distraction was enough. Savage got to his feet and just as Booker turned back, Savage clocked him with a foreign object he pulled out of his tights. Booker crashed to the mat and Savage ascended to the top rope where he hit his Flying Elbow at 15:08 for the win. Winner: Randy Savage Rating: 81 The bell's rung and the match is over but Kevin Nash has now gotten to ringside. He checks on Hall, who's picking himself up off the floor and they both get in the ring. Hall, Nash, and Savage look to strike as Booker's still laid out on the mat but the crowd erupts in cheers and screams as someone's come from the back. Luger rushes out and sprints down the aisle with a chair in his hand. As Luger slides in the ring, the NWO members see the weapon he's carrying and it gives them reason enough to bail from the ring. Just as Luger gets to his feet, they all hit the floor and regroup in the aisle. Luger dares them to enter the ring as he stands with the chair, cocked and ready to swing, before bending down and checking on Booker, who's now sitting up. Nitro fades to a close as Luger continues to dare the NWO members to get in the ring as they retreat up toward the stage. Rating: 84 Final Show Rating: 86

'The Heartbreak Kid' Shawn Michaels vs. A WCW Legend Comments/Guesses On Who The WCW Legend Is: Based on the way your diary's going? Ron Simmons WCW World Heavyweight Title Number One Contender's Tournament, Semifinals 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair vs. 'Iron' Mike Rotunda Comments: Non-Title Match The Giant vs. Chris Kanyon Comments: Christian Cage and 'Living On The Edge' Sexton Hardcastle vs. Steiner Brothers Comments: WCW World Heavyweight Title Number One Contender's Tournament, Semifinals 'Flyin' Brian Pillman vs. 'The Macho Man' Randy Savage Comments: Comments About The Diary In General: Just getting caught up on your reset. It's good you made your own title because mine definitely isn't any better than yours. I've slacked off quite a bit as well and think my dynasty has been pretty lackluster lately. I totally agree with you about comments and readers getting engaged. It's tough to stay motivated when you're replying to your own posts and it doesn't seem like there's interest from the board. Holy crap do you have a diverse roster this time around. WCW is stuck between moving into the modern era and staying in the classic JCP era. I could see these two "divisions" eventually clashing with one another. Could be an interesting alternative. You've also got some odd pairings that leave a ton of possibilities. Piper and Michaels, Warrior, Valentine in the Horsemen, then teams like Harlem Heat and the Road Warriors potentially battling other teams like the Varsity Club and Rock n Roll express. You've definitely made this your own and are doing your own thing while still having things similar to how it went in real life.

Week 1, May 1997 LIVE from the Birmingham-Jefferson Arena - Birmingham, AL Attendance: 17,000 (SELLOUT!) - The crowd is exited and rowdy as WCW is fresh off of last night's Spring Stampede where, Jim Ross tells us, Steve Austin was a cat's hair length away from dethroning Hollywood Hogan of the WCW world heavyweight title, if not for the NWO. A recap of Spring Stampede is done at the announce booth while still photo's are shown on screen for the viewing fans. The Outsiders managed to reclaim the WCW tag team titles but they failed on their objective to reclaim the United States title from Scott Steiner, as he defeated Brian Pillman. They didn't quite get through the entire recap before being interrupted by the NWO's music blaring through the arena speakers. - - The entire NWO, minus Bischoff and the bogus Sting, come out in full force, led by the world champion. The group marches to the ring where Hogan wastes no time getting a microphone and demanding the music be cut off. - Hogan: Last night, I proved to the world that Steve Austin is nothing but a pathetic fraud who can't cut the mustard! I said I was going to beat him from one end of the ring to the other, and I did! I did it all by myself, and if Steve Austin has one ounce of self respect for himself, he won't show his face around here, and he damned sure won't go after me or my world title again, dude! Now it's time to get down to some NWO business! Last night, I got the job done and defended my world title! The Outsiders reclaimed what's rightfully theirs, the tag team titles, from those two thieves known as Harlem Heat! They proved to the world that those two jabroni's were nothing but placeholders for those belts until big Scott Hall was ready to come back! They proved that the Outsiders are going to remain lightyears ahead of any other tag team in WCW! So on paper, the NWO had a pretty good night! But the NWO doesn't pay attention to what's on paper, the NWO pays attention to results! Two outta three just doesn't cut it, dude, and there's one guy who DIDN'T get the job done last night, and that man is you, BRIAN PILLMAN! Now before you start standing here and giving excuses, I'm gonna lay it out right here. Pillman, simply put, you dropped the ball, brother. Now, strike one, that's something the NWO can overlook. Strike two, you got people taking notice, and I can sure as hell promise you that strike three is gonna produce some action, dude! If you want to have a spot in the NWO, then you need to produce results! Scott Steiner has had your number time and time again and last night, you couldn't bring the US title back where it belongs, in the NWO! So Pillman! Tonight is your last chance, my man!! It's the last time you're going to be able to drop the ball in the NWO! We're gonna give you one final chance to prove your worth your spot in the NWO. Tonight, you're going to be in a wrestling match, and if you win that match, you'll prove to all of us that you still belong! So Pillman, we're giving you plenty of time to get ready, so I suggest you get to the back and prepare, because tonight in the main event, you're gonna face these two, the foundation of the NWO, and the new tag team champions, The Outsiders in a handicap match! Rating: 100 The Headbangers vs Hostile Intent vs The Headbangers were able to match up with someone just as unorthodox as them; Perry Saturn. Hostile Intent actually didn't have much problem working over the Headbangers in this one and they worked very fluidly as a team together. It's been clear in the last few weeks that they've really been coming together as a team and making people start to take notice. Roma got the pin fall victory in 8:12 after hitting a Flying Body Splash. Winners: Hostile Intent Rating: 62 Eddie Guerrero vs Lance Storm vs This match had all of the speed and high-flying that you would expect from these two. Eddie was, as always, completely on top of his game and had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Storm tried to stay squeaky clean in this match but every time he turned around, Eddie was doing something sinister. Eddie would take advantage of the referee glancing away for a second to either gouge the eyes of Lance Storm or hit a low blow. Despite being much less popular than his opponent, Lance Storm got in a surprisingly large amount of offense. Just when it looked like Eddie was firmly in control, Storm would fight his way back, garnering a large amount of support from the crowd by match's end. Eddie hit the Frog Splash for the victory at 15:26. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 89 - Mean Gene could very well have himself a busy night tonight. Nitro returns from a commercial break to see the world's most beloved interviewer standing in the center of the ring, welcoming everyone back to Monday Nitro. Mean Gene says his guest tonight is a man who needs no introduction. His guest had a perfect opportunity to take the world heavyweight title back to WCW as he faced off against champion Hollywood Hogan. In no surprise to anyone, the NWO came to his rescue and his endeavor came up just a bit short. His guest is none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin! - Austin: Mean Gene, I'm gonna make tonight's work real easy for you, in fact, just stand there, hold your little microphone, and let Stone Cold talk and don't think about interrupting me because I've got a hell of a lot to say tonight! Everybody knows that you're the greatest interviewer in the world and normally I'd let you ask me some questions, but tonight ain't one of those nights! The fact of the matter is, everybody in the entire world saw me beat the ever living hell out of Hollywood Hogan last night at Spring Stampede! Another fact is that if it weren't for that group of crybabies he goes everywhere with, not only would I have won that match, but you'd also be staring at the world title in my hands right now! And last but not least, Mean Gene, if Hollywood Hogan and the NWO think things are finished between them and Stone Cold Steve Austin, they're either delusional or stupid and last I checked, ain't not one of em' claiming to be seeing things! Hollywood Hogan, you're just about THEE dumbest son of a bitch if you think you can get rid of Stone Cold that easy! You better strike out a long section in your little black book, son, cause Stone Cold's coming after you and your little world title and you won't have one bit of time to make any more of your straight to VHS movies! Now Mean Gene, I have a feeling that I know what else you'd ask me about; You'd say "Last night, Stone Cold, Sting came out to help you while the NWO attacked you while out-numbered..." Well Mean Gene, what I'd have to say about that is, I never asked for Sting's help or anyone else's help! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself and I never wanted any help from Sting! All he's done the last several months is brood around and throw a tantrum like a baby! Maybe what Sting should've been doing this entire time was wiping away those tears and putting up a fight if he was so hurt by everything! Maybe, just maybe, Gene, if he'd done that, then Stone Cold wouldn't have had to come to the defense of WCW and I could've just focused on doing what I want to do, winning titles! So Sting, the next time you get a wild hair up your ass and think to come and help Stone Cold, you can sit back, crack open a cold beer, and remember that I don't want your help!! And Gene, that's the bottom line! Rating: 100 Alex Wright vs Lynx vs All is Wright in the world as Das Wunderkind and Saturday Wright Fever continue! His opponent is known on the Mexican circuit as Violencia and he looks to expand his horizons to the US. He's an extremely talented worker but was definitely out-sized by Wright. It was a good match and kept the fans engaged mostly due to Alex Wright and his taunting and dancing. Wright won easily at 7:55 with a German Suplex. Winner: Alex Wright Rating: 56 Harlem Heat are backstage for what's presumed to be a pre-recorded promo. It's clear the two brothers are not happy about losing their tag team titles the night before to the Outsiders. Booker says that he and Stevie have always had to fight for everything they have and were never given anything. They've had much tougher fights and facing the Outsiders is nothing like fighting for survival on the streets of Harlem. Booker says that it's only a matter of time before the best tag team in wrestling gets their titles back and after that, they may not even stop there. Booker says that Hollywood Hogan himself better look out, because after they take back their tag titles, they want the gold, sucka. Hulk Hogan, they coming for you, SUCKA! Stevie Ray says that a couple of fruit-booty queens like the Outsiders better enjoy their tainted victory while they can, because the brothers from Harlem are tough, mean, and unforgiving! Rating: 82 Hugh Morrus vs Diamond Dallas Page vs DDP is coming fresh off his huge win last night against the Macho Man and the momentum couldn't have been any more clear. DDP was on fire tonight and the crowd were firmly behind him. This caused a massive uphill climb for Hugh Morrus as DDP repeatedly fed off of the crowd's support. He tried his best but it was clear tonight was DDP's night, still riding on a huge wave of momentum. DDP won at 9:55 to a Diamond Cutter that the crowd went wild over. Winner: DDP Rating: 79 - Following a commercial break, Nitro returns to another backstage promo. The United States champion Scott Steiner stands ready for his cue, the US belt slung over his shoulder as he gives a slight smirk. Steiner says that Brian Pillman once again couldn't get the job done last night and it looks like he now has to pay the consequences for it. Steiner's going to enjoy propping his feet up and sitting back with some popcorn to watch the beatdown on him. He also says that he hopes last night woke Pillman up to the fact that things are now over between the two of them and Steiner's looking forward while Pillman will have to do nothing but constantly look behind him. Rating: 70 Dean Malenko vs Lex Luger vs The announce booth mentioned how Lex Luger appears newly rejuvenated in this match as last night's match against the NWO's Paul Levesque looked to finally put an end to that chapter with the NWO. They also wondered if Lex Luger would be the next in the long line to go after Hollywood Hogan and the world title. First though, he'd have to get through Dean Malenko. Though Malenko is much smaller than Luger, it was a pretty even matchup. Luger used his strength while Malenko used his technical prowess and speed. It was a good showing from Dean, but Luger was too much. The end of the match came at 9:46 after Malenko submitted to the Torture Rack. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 80 - As things were getting cleaned up in the ring, Mean Gene stood at the base of the ramp to bring out his next guest for an interview, one who might have been paying attention to this last match. The Television Champion Lord Steven Regal is introduced and he walks out to meet Mean Gene. Regal disgustingly looks toward the ring as Malenko is picking himself up off the mat. Mean Gene says that Regal's fresh off his title defense last night against Alex Wright and says that there are several competitors going after him and his title, namely Dean Malenko. Regal scoffs at the question, saying he's already beaten Fit Finlay, Alex Wright, and that man Dean Malenko. He's so bored of having no competition, he's half tempted to go back to England and defend his title where real wrestlers are. Regal thinks there might be someone in his home country that could put up half of a challenge. Regal says he's got nothing left to prove to those three "blokes" and that his next defense will be against some other challenger because he's getting bored. - Rating: 92 - Nitro returned from its final commercial break and Mean Gene is once again backstage but not in the formal interview area. He's apparently found Ric Flair backstage for an impromptu interview. Flair has a million dollar smile flashed across his face and Mean Gene wonders why he's so happy. Flair says he's having an amazing night, watching Brian Pillman's world come crashing down around him. Pillman has caused tons of heartache for Flair and the Horsemen and now the tables are turned, seeing Brian Pillman all alone and helpless. Flair says he's going to love watching Pillman get destroyed so much that he might even record it. Flair walks off as it looks like we might be seeing the beginnings of a new feud and Flair possibly finally getting revenge on Pillman for fracturing the Horsemen. - Rating: 100 The Outsiders vs Brian Pillman vs The Outsiders made their way out first with their newly won titles. They were all fun and games the entire way to the ring. Next out was Brian Pillman, who was anything but fun and games, with the stakes so high in this match. JR reminds everyone that this is a must win for Pillman, per the NWO, or else he's seemingly out of the group. Bobby's just waiting on some kind of typical NWO swerve. It doesn't appear so, at least at the start of the match, as the bell rings and Scott Hall starts things off. Pillman was very timid and didn't want to get caught up in Hall's ploys to lure him in. He also worked hard to stay out of the Outsider's corner as each time they tried to pull him in, he used his quickness to escape. It was a tough battle for Pillman because not only was it a handicap match, he didn't even have the fans on his side despite the odds clearly stacked against him. The longer the match went on, the more dreadful it looked for Pillman. Taking on one of these men is a task itself but taking on the both of them and being the tag team champions made it colossal. After some back and forth, Hall floored Pillman with a clothesline before tagging in the big man. Nash took his time to approach his downed opponent and they were confident that Pillman was finished after putting him through a beating. Nash leaned down to grab him but Pillman shocked him and everyone in the crowd as he rolled him up in a small package to get the near fall. This seemed to wake Nash up like a slap in the face as his demeanor quickly changed to one of aggression. Nash clubbed Pillman and threw him back into the corner where he punished him with a series of knee strikes and back elbows. Pillman stumbled out of the corner and dropped to the mat but Nash wasn't finished. He hit a huge sidewalk slam before lowering the straps on his singlet. Nash signaled the end as he put Pillman in position and then hit a Jackknife. He looked at Scott Hall who didn't think that was enough and called for one more. Nash obliged and hit another devastating Jackknife on Pillman before making the cover by way of putting a boot on Pillman. The match was over at 12:03. Winners: The Outsiders Rating: 80 - Everyone wonders what's to happen next as the rest of the NWO make their way out from the back. They join the rest of them in the ring and look at Brian Pillman, who's still laid out on the mat. Hogan and company look at Pillman who's now beginning to stir back to life as he directs Levesque and Bagwell to lift him up. They do and Hogan leans in, saying something to Pillman and pats him on the shoulder. It looks like the fences have been mended, JR says as the NWO begin to all tell Pillman that he "passed" the test. Hogan high fives a couple other members of the NWO before abruptly turning back toward Pillman and hits him with a huge slap across his face. Not a second later, Randy Savage jumps Pillman as the beat down commenced. The NWO jump him like a pack of wolves as Hogan grabs a microphone, telling Pillman he's nothing without the NWO and that the NWO now trimmed the first layer of fat that's been slowing them down. He says Pillman couldn't get the job done so now he's out on the streets, all alone like the loser he is. Nitro fades off the air as the attack on Pillman continues. - Rating: 90 Final Show Rating: 86

Week 4, April 1997 LIVE from the Orange Bowl - Miami, FL Attendance: 74,608 We're introduced to this event by a great looking shot high above the open-roofed stadium in Miami. Once the overhead shot is through, we're brought to the announce booth where Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, and Tony Schiavone welcome everyone. Excitement is in the air as there are a lot of key matchups tonight, JR tells us. The stakes couldn't be any higher than for the main event where Steve Austin will attempt to dethrone reigning world champion Hollywood Hogan. Schiavone tells everyone that tonight marks the in-ring return of Scott Hall, who we haven't seen compete since last October. There's all kinds of exciting matchups tonight and WCW isn't going to waste any time in starting them because we go to the ring right now! Television Title: Alex Wright vs Lord Steven Regal (c) vs This was a last minute challenge laid out by Das Wunderkind in his attempt to be crowned not only Television champion, but the best wrestler to come out of Europe. Regal, on the other hand, was happy to have a challenger to his title not named Fit Finlay or Dean Malenko. The match began with plenty of stall tactics from both wrestlers but the European style took over soon after. What resulted was a series of quick reversals and lots of mat-based wrestling before both men got to their feet and exchanged several European uppercuts. It quickly changed to each man trying to one-up on who had the most impactful uppercuts, which Regal eventually won. The crowd were receptive to the match, thanks in large part to the charisma from both competitors, but they didn't really know who to support. Regal ended up coming out as the lesser of two evils though as Alex Wright worked extra-hard to get negative feedback from them. Alex Wright was eventually in a great position to hit his top rope finish - The Missile Dropkick, but Regal was able to avoid it, causing Wright to crash hard to the mat. Regal saw the opening and quickly locked in the Regal Stretch for the submission win at 11:12. Winner: Lord Steven Regal Rating: 78 Lex Luger vs Paul Levesque vs The action doesn't break as we go straight to the next match. Luger was in no mood for games, which was plainly obvious by the look on his face. As soon as Levesque got in the ring, Luger attacked and didn't let up. The crowd became electric as the Total Package continued his assault and got even louder when the referee attempted to pull him off, only to get shoved back. It wasn't long before Levesque was begging Luger to back off, which only seemed to fuel his desire to beat him even more. The crowd loved every bit of it as in between beatings and physical offense, Levesque looked for help to arrive from the back; help that never came. After a series of clotheslines and a flying forearm, Luger motioned out to the crowd that it was time for the Torture Rack. He lifted him up and locked in the move, securing the submission win at 9:58. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 77 United States Title: Brian Pillman vs Scott Steiner (c) vs After a brief reset and promotional add for where Nitro will be visiting in the next few weeks, WCW rolls right on with Spring Stampede with the next match. This one was much more competitive and the crowd even louder. It probably should have been the co-main event but the crowd was still heavily invested. Scott Steiner had the crowd firmly behind him and Pillman did his best to avoid Steiner's powerful offense and control the pace of the match. Pillman utilized his speed and high-flying offense to stay out of Steiner's grasp throughout much of the match but he got caught a few times. One of those attempts, Pillman jumped off the top rope, which looked like he was attempting an Air Pillman, but Steiner caught him and pressed him high over his head. Steiner even pressed him several times before tossing him to the mat. To the delight of the crowd, Steiner continued the attack even though Pillman begged and pleaded for a timeout. In much the same turn of events from the last match, when Pillman realized he was in huge trouble, he looked to the stage entrance for help to arrive, though it never did. A few overhead belly to belly suplexes followed by a Steiner Screwdriver resulted in a solid title defense by Scott Steiner. The match ended by pinfall at 14:44. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 98 Tag Team Titles: The Outsiders vs Harlem Heat (c) vs At the risk of crowd burnout, Spring Stampede continues on with the 3rd consecutive match and another highly anticipated bout. The questions about Scott Hall being rusty were put to bed early as he started things off against Stevie Ray. Hall and Nash worked flawlessly together and isolated Ray from his corner, leaving Booker nothing to do but watch on. After wearing him down for some time, Hall and Nash then began toying with him. Hall would slap Stevie's head several times and the pair also switched in and out several times behind the referee's back when Booker was trying to get the referee to pay attention to the cheating that was going on. From the looks of things, the NWO's poor night was going to change in this match. That is, until Booker got the hot tag in. Booker had the Outsiders reeling quickly, exploding in the ring and hitting them back and forth. The crowd was going crazy as Booker cleaned house and toppled to the outside as he fought Scott Hall. Things were hectic as Stevie Ray then began fighting with Kevin Nash inside the ring. The referee was trying to restore order and get Hall and Booker back in the ring when his focus changed to Nash and Stevie Ray. Hall was able to slow Booker down by throwing him into the ring post and he re-entered the ring to help out Nash. The two double teamed Stevie Ray and Nash was about to help Hall with the Outsider's Edge on Stevie when Booker got back in the ring. A brief fight in the ring resulted in Booker again getting toppled to the outside and Nash hit the Jackknife on Stevie Ray. Scott Hall made the cover but the referee didn't realize that Booker, not Stevie Ray, was the legal man. He made the pinfall count at 11:17 and awarded the titles to the Outsiders! Winners and NEW Champions: The Outsiders Rating: 72 We get our first proper break in the action with a backstage promo by the Faces of Fear. Jimmy Hart says that the Faces of Fear are, without a doubt, the toughest team in WCW and will prove it tonight against Hostile Intent. He then says that they're getting their tag team titles back, whatever the cost, sooner rather than later. Rating: 68 Randy Savage vs Diamond Dallas Page vs Grudge match time and things have gotten extremely personal between these two in the last several weeks. The match began as Savage proved to have the veteran advantage, easily taking control and bringing the match to his pace. Savage used hard hitting moves and also blatant illegal moves to quickly wear down DDP. Savage didn't care what the rules were in the match and nearly dared the referee to disqualify him. When he sufficiently beat DDP inside the ring, he tossed him outside and began working on him then. He threw DDP into the steps, ring post, choked him with TV cables, and used the barricade all to his advantage. He tossed him back in the ring and DDP wearily got to his feet and began swinging wildly in the hopes of hitting Savage but he easily dodged the attempts. He knocked DDP to the mat and then began taunting him for several minutes before finally leaning in to pick DDP up. In a twist of surprise, DDP nearly got the win with a quick inside roll-up but Savage was able to kick out at the last second. Furious, the Macho Man began a heavy attack again that left DDP reeling once again. This beating didn't last as long though because DDP was able to slowly fight his way back that only got the crowd more and more behind him. Just as the Macho Man was the one now reeling, DDP bounced off the ropes to hit a clothesline, only for Savage to duck under it. When DDP turned around, he was met with a signature Macho Man punch to the face and then Savage kicked him for a low blow. With the opening, Savage climbed to the top rope to hit his Flying Elbow. He leapt off and crashed down hard on DDP and the referee was right there for the pin, but Savage didn't make the pin! To dish out more punishment, Savage slowly made his way back to the corner and again climbed the ropes for another Flying Elbow. As he got to the top and taunted the crowd, DDP began to stir and get out of position. Savage hopped down and made his way back to DDP and brought him to his feet. Savage lifted DDP for a body slam but Page slipped behind him. Savage turned around just as the crowd were all getting to their feet and DDP hit the Diamond Cutter! The crowd exploded as the two dropped to the mat and DDP slowly moved to make the pin. The referee counted and the match was over at 10:12! Winner: Diamond Dallas Page Rating: 82 Wrath vs El Hijo Del Santo vs There was no buildup to this match and Santo really didn't have an opportunity for any offense. Wrath gave a pretty solid performance and the crowd were hyped to see the Meltdown, which they did, which also ended the match at 6:57. Winner: Wrath Rating: 70 Faces of Fear vs Hostile Intent vs A longer promotional break was in between the last match and this one. The self-proclaimed toughest team in WCW takes on the newest team in WCW who also looked to be set out to claim the "toughest" prize. Meng was seemingly on fire tonight and put in one hell of a performance. Bobby Heenan gave the opinion that Paul Roma is holding the very talented Saturn back from greener pastures. He also said if he was able to go back to managing, Saturn was a guy he would take under his wing and go right to the top! As in their similar encounter at last month's event, it was extremely difficult for the referee to try and maintain any sense of order in this match. The match broke down several times and there were plenty of times when two men would be fighting on the floor and another two inside the ring. After one instance of all 4 men fighting on the floor, Saturn threw a chair in the ring. Unbeknownst to him, Meng also threw a chair in the ring. The two climbed in and grabbed their respective chairs, only to notice the other ready to attack. The referee warned both men but it was clear they weren't paying attention to the referee. Both men rushed forward and swung their chairs and both men connected. Saturn and Meng dropped to the mat and the referee disqualified both teams at 9:42. Winner: Double Disqualification Rating: 69 Eddie Guerrero vs Fit Finlay vs Finlay came out in this one with a new look, hoping the bleach blonde haircut and shaved mustache will result in better fortunes. The haircut might work but the mustache should've definitely remained. The match was a complete success, mostly attributed to the incredible performance by Eddie Guerrero. He had the crowd eating up everything he was doing and while Finlay had some good moments of his own, it was clear that Eddie overmatched him. Eddie got the pin at 10:03 with the Frogsplash. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 87 We weren't going to have a show without Mean Gene and his tuxedo! Gene's backstage with Steve Austin to hype up the main event, which is next. Austin was laser focused as Mean Gene did the intro. Austin said he's been playing the NWO games long enough and tonight it's time they start playing the Austin game, and that's where he beats anyone's ass who steps through the ropes. He doesn't expect a fair fight against Hollywood Hogan and actually encourages the entire NWO to come to the ring because he'll stomp a mudhole in whatever sorry piece of trash that decides to get in his way. Rating: 100 World Title: Steve Austin vs Hollywood Hogan (c) vs The stadium was completely electric for this epic event. Austin made his entry first and stared intently as Hollywood Hogan made his grand entrance. The introductions were made by Michael Buffer and Austin got an extremely loud reaction from the crowd. Austin was zoned in though and didn't even appear to hear the wild cheers from the crowd. Following the introduction for the World Champion, though, things took a turn. All the attention in the stadium, aside from Hollywood Hogan, turned to the stage entrance when the NWO music began playing. Austin looked as the entire group came strutting out and heading to ringside. Hogan stood in the ring, smiling and appearing extremely confident while his friends made their way to the ring. Bobby Heenan on commentary said that Austin just dared the entire NWO to come to the ring, and that's exactly what they're doing. Jim Ross said he wasn't surprised the NWO made an appearance, just that it was at the beginning since the group like to make their presence felt at the end of the match instead. He also reminded Bobby that invitation or not, the NWO was probably going to get involved anyway. The group got to the ring and surrounded it as the bell rang to start the match. Austin remained weary, looking as they all surrounded the ring but this cost him. Hogan rushed at the sound of the bell and attacked Austin who was distracted by the group on the outside. He took Austin around the ring as he attacked him with clubbing blows and scratching at his back. Hogan sent Austin into the ropes but Austin was too quick on the rebound for the champion and hit him with a Thesz Press, igniting the crowd into cheers as Austin rained down fists on Hogan. Buff Bagwell and Paul Levesque quickly jumped on the apron to get Austin's attention and get him off of Hogan, which worked. Like a man possessed, Austin went after Bagwell and Levesque but stopped short at the ropes as they dropped back to the floor. He knew going outside to follow them would've been a grave mistake as Tony Schiavone commented that this is the kind of stuff Austin will have to contend with all match long, urging the referee to remove the NWO from ringside. It didn't happen though and the distraction was long enough for Hogan to recover and regain control after a poke in Austin's eye. Hogan worked Austin in the corner and then sent him to the opposite side before rushing right behind him with a clothesline. He hit two more and then began working on Austin's leg. Hogan, happy with his work, casually dumped Austin through the middle rope and out to the floor. Hogan grabbed the referee by the shirt to distract him while the NWO went to work on Austin on the floor. The crowd began throwing trash as screams were heard, begging someone from WCW to come out to help Austin. Help didn't arrive though and the NWO, after their gang attack, tossed Austin back inside the ring for Hogan to continue to work over. Hogan went for a pin that only generated a 2 count but he went back to work on Austin. He dropped a couple of elbows on him before covering him again, but this time arrogantly laying his back across Austin as he kicked out at 1. Hogan continued to work over Austin for the next several minutes and never actually trying to win the match, though he would make pin attempts. After a belly to back suplex, Hogan said Austin was finished and taunted out to his NWO buddies that it was time for the Leg Drop. Hogan ran to the ropes and bounced off, jumping high in the air and crashing to the mat, but Austin moved out of the way! Hogan writhed in pain while Austin did his best to get up, though he was extremely slow due to the beating he's taken so far. The crowd got louder and louder, willing Austin to get to his feet, which he and Hogan did nearly at the same time. Hogan went for a punch but Austin blocked it, hitting his own, much to the crowd's delight. Hogan tried again and again his punch was blocked, allowing Austin to hit his own again. Hogan was now rocking and Austin was pushing the gas pedal ever more each time. The momentum shift was being felt all through the arena and the NWO took notice on the outside, doing their best to quiet the crowd. Austin began hitting consecutive punches, bringing Hogan back to the ropes. Austin whipped Hogan to the opposite side and on return, went for a wild clothesline but Hogan ducked under. Austin turned around and Hogan went to kick him in the stomach but Austin caught Hogan's foot. He flipped Hogan off and dropped his foot to the mat before kicking Hogan in the stomach and then hitting a Stunner!! The crowd was going insane as Hogan dropped but panic mode then set in for the NWO on the outside. Almost in unison, they all jumped on the apron before Austin could even make the cover. The referee rushed toward the ropes to prevent Pillman and Levesque from entering on his side, but there were three other sides with men jumping up. It was impossible to stop them all from getting in and Buff Bagwell, Kevin Nash, and Randy Savage found their way inside. Austin promptly met Bagwell with a Stunner but he wasn't so lucky against Nash and Savage. Savage clubbed him from behind and Nash wasted no time then hitting Austin with a Jackknife. The referee was sufficiently distracted and Savage and Nash made a quick escape. Hogan then hit a complimentary Leg Drop before pinning Austin at 15:53. Winner: Hollywood Hogan Rating: 97 The bell rang but the NWO, as usual, continued their assault. They were now all in the ring and Austin was being pummeled. The beating went on for a couple minutes before screams were heard from the crowd and someone finally came to the rescue. Sting comes out from the side of the stage entrance, quickly making his way toward the ring. The NWO is too busy beating on Austin to see and isn't noticed until he gets to ringside and begins climbing the steps. Sting quickly gets in the ring and is met by Levesque but Sting quickly strikes with a chop, doubling him over. Bagwell is next to rush at Sting but he's ready for him too, kicking him in the gut. Sting clubs down on the back of Bagwell for good measure before taking a baseball bat out from inside his coat. The rest of the NWO now see's Sting but isn't about to charge him due to his weapon. Sting decided to hit Levesque with the bat, for good measure, which sent him out of the ring. Savage was about to charge at Sting but Nash was quick to pull him back while Hall and Hogan continued their attacks on Austin. A quick moment later and Sting rushed the rest of the NWO in the ring. He met Savage first with a strike with his bat before moving on to hit Nash in his leg. Hall and Hogan then turned their focus to Sting but Hall was met with a shot from the bat. Hogan, naturally, didn't want any of it and bailed from the ring and the rest of the NWO followed suit. With the NWO retreating up the aisle, Sting checked on Austin who was beaten and down on the mat. Spring Stampede rolled the credits with Sting standing in the ring, once more running off the NWO. Rating: 100 Final Show Grade: 98

Thanks for the nod, @Old School Fan! I'm not sure I deserve to be on the list, seeing my production has greatly decreased in recent weeks. I hope everyone still gets enjoyment out of the shows though!

WCW Hotline: SPECIAL REPORT Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund bringing you this week's WCW Hotline! This week's edition is a Special Report in preparation for Spring Stampede from the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida! This past week's Monday Nitro scored the highest rating yet with a 4.99 on TNT! The WWF with their Monday Night Raw program didn't stand a chance with a 3.81. Lex Luger just extended his contract with WCW this week, so he will be seen on WCW programming for the foreseeable future! The World Wrestling Federation held their In Your House PPV this week, headlined with Bret Hart successfully defending the world championship against Psycho Sid. No titles changed hands at this event. We wish Big Van Vader well as he was recently injured. He reportedly suffered an unknown type of fracture and will be out of action for the next 6 months. Now on to the Spring Stampede Preview!!!! World Title: Steve Austin vs Hollywood Hogan (c) Eddie Guerrero vs Fit Finlay Faces of Fear vs Hostile Intent Wrath vs El Hijo Del Santo Randy Savage vs Diamond Dallas Page Tag Team Titles: The Outsiders vs Harlem Heat (c) United States Title: Brian Pillman vs Scott Steiner (c) Lex Luger vs Paul Levesque Television Title: Alex Wright vs Lord Steven Regal (c)