Henderson

Week 4, March 1997 LIVE from The Spectrum - Philadelphia, PA Attendance: 20,000 (SELLOUT!) - Nitro kicks off this week full of excitement and energy as Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone to the final Nitro of March as we head, JR tells us, straight to Uncensored this Sunday where that show is looking to surely live up to its name. After the pyro display and video open, the three man commentary booth hypes up tonight's show, promising that the rowdy Philadelphia crowd will see all kinds of action. It seems that each passing Pay Per View each month gets more and more important in the massive battle between WCW and the New World Order. In recent weeks, WCW has slowly started to band together and fight the group of intruders but JR thinks they have a long way to go before finally showing 100% solidarity. Things are kicking off with high stakes tonight as two of the top men from each side will to battle right now! - United States Title: Randy Savage vs Scott Steiner (c) vs The Macho Man emerges with the lovely Elizabeth before the US champion walks out. Things got heated right away as soon as Steiner entered the ring and made a gesture toward Liz that the Macho Man didn't appreciate. The bell rang and the two went at it full steam, taking turns battering each other before the fight spilled to the outside. Both men were nearly counted out before Steiner got back into the ring to break up the count before going back to the floor to continue the fight. It was clear that Savage wasn't too intent on becoming the new champion and was more focused on hurting Steiner, but clearly winning the US title and bringing it back to the NWO would have been an added bonus. Savage risked disqualification by picking up a steel chair on the floor and prepared to hit Steiner in the head with it. The referee halfway exited the ring and stood on the apron, threatening Savage. The two argued a bit which allowed Steiner to recover enough to kick Savage in the stomach, doubling him over and causing him to drop the chair. Steiner rolled Savage in the ring and climbed in afterwards, the referee taking a second to scold Steiner upon entering. This allowed Elizabeth just enough time to slip Savage some brass knucks that don't look like brass knucks, but we'll call them brass knucks anyway. Steiner leaned down and picked Savage up who went to swing with those brass knuckles. Steiner blocked it and rocked Savage with his own right hand, which caused the knucks to fly off Savages fist. Steiner saw this and walked over and bent down to pick them up before putting them on his own hand. This caused Liz to jump on the apron and desperately flag down the referee. With the referee yelling at Liz to get down, the crowd then was seen getting to their feet as something was going on at the stage. The crowd was on their feet as DDP ran to the ring and slid in. Steiner had gone over to Elizabeth and the referee while DDP went right up to Savage, who was now getting back to his feet. The crowd exploded as DDP promptly dropped Savage with a Diamond Cutter in the middle of the ring and exited just as fast as he entered. DDP hustled through the crowd as Steiner got the referee's attention and made a pin, ending the match at 12:05. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 82 Alex Wright vs John Tenta vs We saw a sort of rejuvenated and more aggressive Alex Wright in this one. The German still found enough time to dance in the ring but not nearly as much as in the past. He took a more ruthless approach toward Tenta, which isn't clear if it was due to the larger opponent or an attitude change for the young wrestler. A highlight of the match saw Wright attempt his German Suplex finisher on the large Tenta, only for him to land completely on top of Wright, nearly ending the match there. Wright was able to compose himself and regain an advantage, hitting a top rope flying body splash for the win at 9:31. Winner: Alex Wright Rating: 56 Following Nitro's first commercial break, we return to see the Macho Man pacing all over backstage with Elizabeth struggling to keep up. Savage is yelling out for DDP and is furious from his earlier interference. Savage kicks open every door and looks around every corner, hoping to find Dallas Page. Rating: 97 Dick Slater vs Disco Inferno vs The dancing madness continues in this one, though Slater was in no mood for Disco's antics. The mighty DI actually had some good offense that was pretty hard-hitting for the grizzled veteran. Disco was able to get the win at 6:40 with a Piledriver. Winner: Disco Inferno Rating: 42 The crowd is heard loudly as Mean Gene is standing backstage with Steve Austin. Austin makes quick work of this interview by saying he knows that Hogan's going to dodge him at Uncensored, so there's no point in wasting his breath by challenging him to a match this Sunday. He says regardless, he'll be at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit this Sunday and that he'll take on any sack of trash from the NWO that they want to throw at him! Rating: 100 We get a promotion package of Kimberly next, showing that she's on the cover of this months WCW Magazine! The timing couldn't have been worse.... Rating: 41 Francine and TV champion Dean Malenko are backstage next. Francine does the talking in this promo and does her best trash talking while stating Steven Regal has no chance in hell at beating Dean Malenko for the TV title at Uncensored. Rating: 58 - After a commercial break, replay video is seen of last week's Monday Nitro where Arn Anderson was the victim of a brutal attack by Kevin Nash. The sheer viciousness of Nash is on full display as the video goes through the attack, followed by the sight of Anderson being stretchered out and put into an ambulance. - We return live backstage to Kevin Nash and Brian Pillman on screen. Boo's can be heard as Kevin Nash looks intensely into the camera. He says when the NWO first arrived on scene, it was take-no-prisoners, full on anarchy. The NWO made their statements by beating people up and leaving debris behind them. Somewhere along the way, the NWO got lost, got soft, and lost their direction. Nash says he's leading the charge and bringing the aggression back to the NWO. He wants guys like Brian Pillman and Randy Savage to follow his lead and stop taking it light on WCW. Nash says this ain't little league anymore. The ruthlessness of the NWO returned last week, and Arn Anderson was just the start of it. Rating: 81 Jim Duggan vs Wrath vs Ol' Hacksaw found himself on Nitro for a match, though unfortunately it was against big man Wrath. Little by little as each month progresses, the crowd has been warming up to Wrath quite a bit, despite his heel disposition. Some of it can be contributed to his powerful offense but most of it can be contributed to his finisher - The Meltdown, which they saw tonight, ending the match at 7:23. Winner: Wrath Rating: 57 The match is over and the commentary team is just beginning to go through the events of the night as the crowd is all distracted and looking up toward the ceiling of the arena. After a moment, cameras focus on a figure that hasn't been seen for quite some time - Sting. Sting looks on from above as the announcers all question why Sting is showing up tonight after being missing in action for awhile. Heenan mentions that the last time Sting was around, he was associated with the NWO. It was all clear to everyone that Sting has officially turned his back on WCW by joining the NWO's side and failing to prevent an NWO attack on WCW. Sting might be seen alone here tonight, but he's no friend of WCW anymore. He's undoubtedly showing up here tonight to let everyone know that he's still watching. Rating: 85 Things switch gear to the chaos that is the WCW backstage. Hostile Intent is in a full-on brawl with the Faces of Fear as Jimmy Hart hops all around the backstage carnage, blaring his annoying megaphone. A series of officials rush in to the scene to try and break up the fight. The chaos continues as Nitro fades out to a commercial break. Rating: 65 Nitro returns from a break with Mean Gene Okerlund standing backstage in the interview area with Lord Steven Regal. Mean Gene announces to everyone that at Uncensored this Sunday, what was going to be a one-on-one matchup for the Television title will now be a 3-way match for the title, involving Steven Regal, champion Dean Malenko, and Fit Finlay. Mean Gene announces that apparently WCW officials couldn't decide who was the actual #1 contender and added Finlay to the match now. Regal snubs his nose at the announcement and says it's nothing short of a travesty. He says WCW is doing its best to keep the title away from him - a title he never lost, by the way. Regal says he doesn't care who else they decide to throw in the match, the Lordship is walking out of Uncensored with his title. Rating: 91 Brian Pillman vs Ric Flair vs Tensions ran high in this one as soon as Flair made his entrance. In fact, Flair began sprinting to the ring while he was halfway down the aisle, dropping his robe on the floor in the process and sliding in the ring as Pillman and Flair unloaded on one another. The Philly crowd was buzzing as the two went ahead full steam. Flair and Pillman could barely have performed any better in this match and the history between the two proved to be like pouring gasoline on a fire. Pillman backed Flair into the corner and began hitting knife-edge chops but Flair quickly turned it around after a couple and began slapping Pillman's chest with his own signature chops. Flair didn't hold back and then began hitting rapid-fire punches on Pillman as he slumped in the corner. The referee, seconds away from disqualifying Flair, finally got in between the attack to pull Flair away. While in the midst, Pillman was able to hit a low blow on Flair to gain the advantage. Pillman himself was on the verge of disqualification as he gouged at Flair's face and attacked him in the corner. Soon the fight spilled to the outside where they began trading offense and getting anything in their hands for weapons. Pillman would choke Flair with TV camera cables and Flair would send Pillman into the ring posts. Pillman grabbed a chair and went to hit Flair with it, only for Flair to get a foot to Pillman's stomach at the last second. Flair then attempted to use the chair after picking it up and the referee grabbed onto it, which caused a livid Flair to get in the referee's face. The distraction allowed Pillman to attack and put Flair back in the ring. Pillman slid the chair inside the ring and grabbed another before entering the ring as well. He set Flair up after hitting a backdrop. One chair was on the mat and he placed Flair's head on it. He grabbed the other chair and was going to bash it between Flair's head and the other chair before the referee grabbed that and did his fair share of scolding Pillman. Pillman yanked the chair back from the referee as Flair got up, grabbing his own chair. Pillman swung but Flair ducked out of the way and kicked Pillman again in the stomach. Doubled over, Flair raised the chair before sweeping it down across the back of Pillman. He went down to a knee but used the chair he was holding to prop himself up still. Flair went to swing the chair again but Pillman was able to avoid this one and jabbed Flair in his gut with his own chair. The referee, clearly unable to control either man, called for the bell and declared a double disqualification. Winner: Double DQ Rating: 94 - Monday Nitro, especially a go-home show to a PPV, will never just end there. Flair and Pillman continued to brawl and fight with each other while the referee saw the carnage and just left the ring. The two continued their attacks until the expected interruption occurred..... The reinforcements arrived and the NWO made their way out to the ring. They rushed in to gang attack Flair but the Philly crowd didn't boo for long. Quickly the boo's turned into screaming cheers from the fans as more people were running out from the backstage area. Flair's teammates for this Sunday rush out and quickly met the NWO in the ring before they could begin their outnumbered attack on the Nature Boy. The brawl was wild and uncontrolled as each man in the ring went after another before moving on to someone else. The NWO tried to double team Flair but were quickly cut off by either Luger or Steiner, then their attention would turn to someone else. No one was gaining an advantage and no attempt at a double team lasted long. The crowd's attention was again taken away by something, or someone, else. Sting was once again shown high atop the arena but this time he appeared to be looking on more intently. Sting stood silent for a few seconds but clearly focused on what was going on in the ring. The crowd roared even more as Sting then moved and began walking. The roar of the crowd grew even louder as it was clear that Sting was heading toward the ring. As Sting began working his way through the frenzied crowd and toward the ring, Jim Ross informed us that Monday Nitro is all out of time and to tune in to this Sunday's Uncensored while Bobby Heenan was heard begging for just a couple more minutes to see what Sting is going to do! - Rating: 95 Final Show Rating: 94

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund bringing you this week's WCW Hotline Report! There hasn't been much noteworthy news in the world of professional wrestling for a little while and though this week isn't very profound, there is a bit of news to disclose! The Mexican-based Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) has recently moved up in size, now being seen as a medium-sized company. Due to the size increase and their branching out to new Mexican markets, they terminated the agreement with the World Wrestling Federation to accept their developmental workers. This reportedly infuriated WWF owner Vince McMahon, who immediately adopted a hostile attitude toward the promotion. Eric Bischoff, never one to miss an opportunity, contacted UWA owner Antonio Pena and not only adopted a friendly attitude toward the company but also negotiated a talent-trade agreement! Part of the deal will also see WCW accepting any UWA employees who decide to go on an excursion. I'm told the very first talent-trade was accepted by WCW offering popular Mexican wrestler El Hijo Del Santo in exchange for Silver King for an undisclosed number of dates. Speaking of Del Santo, in rather odd and unexpected news during an interview last week, Miss Elizabeth revealed she is now dating the 33 year old Mexican wrestler. Good luck to them and what a score for Santo! Injury Report: Meng, Dave Taylor, and WCW world heavyweight champion Hollywood Hogan continue to be effected by their current knee injuries. Despite the injuries, all are continuing to work through it though the impact is noticeable in their performances. Many believe this to be the reason behind the lackluster match that headlined SuperBrawl between Hogan and Ric Flair. Alex Wright just received a clean bill of health for his knee injury that has effected his in-ring performance for the last year. Rick Steiner continues his rehab efforts for his neck injury and I'm told that continues to go well. We hope to see Steiner back in action later this year. The WWF heads toward Wrestlemania XIII and WCW heads toward Uncensored. I'd look for the WWF to have a particularly big Monday Night Raw as they have their go-home show prior to their biggest show of the year. Raw is taped from Madison Square Garden this week while Nitro is LIVE from the Philadelphia Spectrum. Week 4, March 1997 Brian Pillman vs Ric Flair Jim Duggan vs Wrath Tag Team Titles: The Amazing French Canadians vs Harlem Heat (c) Disco Inferno vs Dick Slater John Tenta vs Alex Wright United States Title: Randy Savage vs Scott Steiner (c)

Can't mess with those Samoan's heads!

Week 3, March 1997 LIVE from New Glasgow Stadium - The Maritimes, Canada Attendance: 3,470 - For the second week in a row now, Monday Nitro is coming LIVE from the New Glasgow Stadium, but that didn't deter fans from packing the arena once more! WCW continues it's mini-tour of Canada as JR welcomes all the viewers and says WCW will be back in the States next week from Philadelphia, PA. This weekend's WCW Saturday Night was again a packed show - also coming from Canada, as Diamond Dallas Page attacked the Macho Man Randy Savage and the Enforcer Arn Anderson came to Lex Luger's aid when he was cornered by Brian Pillman and Paul Levesque of the NWO, leading to a match that will take place right here tonight! Just as JR and company is finishing up the introduction, we're faded in to a pre-taped promo by the World Heavyweight champion, Hollywood Hogan! - Hollywood says that Steve Austin is a little fish in a big pond, like a little chihuahua nipping at the heels of the NWO! Well Hollywood says that Austin is little red riding hood and Hollywood Hogan is the big bad wolf. He isn't sweating Steve Austin because he's gonna huff, he's gonna puff, and he's gonna blow the world down around Austin and snap him back into reality, and that reality is sending him back to opening bingo halls where he belongs! Rating: 99 Diamond Dallas Page vs Big Bubba Rogers vs This was a surprisingly well-received opening match for Nitro this week. It was clear that DDP continues to grow popularity each and every week but don't think he had an easy time with this opponent. Bubba punished DDP with his powerful offense and had the former Diamond Mine leader reeling. Page was able to turn things around and in a spectacular move, reversed the Bubba Slam into a Diamond Cutter for the victory at 9:50. Winner: Diamond Dallas Page Rating: 75 Buff Bagwell vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs This matchup was a little more evenly matched for Chavo compared to some of his other prior matches, though he still had a tough time with Bagwell. With every move Buff was able to hit, the taunts became more and more ridiculous. Chavo gave it his all but it wasn't meant to be this week. Bagwell got the win with the Blockbuster at 7:33 and Chavo remains winless for 1997. Winner: Buff Bagwell Rating: 47 Following the match, the attention of the cameras is caught by the crowd. The Macho Man's booming voice can be heard over the speakers before the camera spots him in the midst of the crowd with Elizabeth by his side. Savage goes on to say that Diamond Dallas Page is a marked man after he dared to put his hands on him this weekend on Saturday Night. He says that not only did Page lose his wife to another man but he's also going to lose his career, because attacking the Macho Man ended up with a bounty being put on his head. Rating: 100 Saturn vs Meng vs I think both men were able to find an opponent just as crazy as the other in this one. A feud between each tag team has slowly been unraveling in recent weeks and the tension and aggression continued in this one. Both men brawled wildly around the ring and the referee attempted several times to separate the two. The fight then spilled to the outside where they continued to brawl without any concern for the rules, or the screaming referee inside. Saturn found himself on the end of a disqualification when he picked up the ring bell and blasted Meng over the head with it as they fought on the floor. This didn't result in Meng falling down though, he merely shook it off and yelled at Saturn, who just dropped the bell, dumbfounded, and walked off. Winner by Disqualification: Meng Rating: 67 The fans got on their feet for this one as Mean Gene introduced Steve Austin for an interview. Austin walked intently to the ring and joined Mean Gene as the questions got underway. We all heard from Hollywood Hogan earlier, calling Austin nothing more than a chihuahua nipping at the heels of the NWO. Austin says he's got no issue showing Hogan and the rest of the NWO idiot's that he's no chihuahua but rather a big ass Rottweiler ready to go right for the jugular of the NWO. Austin acknowledges that Hulk Hogan ran him from WCW the first time but now he's looking to return the favor. Rating: 100 Arn Anderson & Lex Luger vs Brian Pillman & Paul Levesque vs A mini-4 Horsemen reunion as Double A and the Total Package team up. Brian Pillman was by far the star of the match and he toyed as much as possible with Anderson and Luger. It was clear very early on that the Enforcer and Luger were not amused by the antics and looked to punish both NWO members as much as possible. Anderson and Luger remained firmly in control of the NWO team and worked flawlessly as a team, establishing quick tags and isolating their opponent from their corner. With things firmly in their control, Double A signaled for the end after hitting his signature Spinebuster. It was at this moment we saw some interference on behalf of the NWO. Kevin Nash hit the ring and quickly went on the attack. He bashed Double A at the base of his neck, causing him to drop to the canvas. As Anderson dropped, Nash then went straight to Luger who was standing on the apron. Luger didn't have time to react before Nash hit him with a big boot, sending him crashing to the floor. You'd think the referee would call for the bell, but none sounded. This was explained when the camera cut away from the attack, only to see Brian Pillman distracting the referee on the other side of the ring, oblivious to the carnage taking place in the ring. Nash covered Levesque over Anderson and bailed from the ring. The ref counted the pin at 12:29. Winners: Brian Pillman & Paul Levesque Rating: 88 In typical post-match fashion with the NWO, things didn't end there. Nash grabbed Luger on the floor and promptly sent him into the ring post. He then re-entered the ring where Pillman and Levesque were already starting on Double A. Nash used his brutal and powerful offense moves to his advantage to complete decimate Arn Anderson. Nash hit him with not 1, not 2, not 3, but 5 Jackknife Powerbombs, each time causing Anderson to hit the mat with more force than the one before. Anderson lay motionless in the ring as a flood of officials entered to try and stop the attack. The NWO eventually left the ring as the officials checked on the Enforcer and called for medics from the back. It wasn't long before they rushed in and stabilized Anderson and loaded him on a stretcher. They put Anderson on a cot and began wheeling him up the aisle and were met halfway by the Nature Boy Ric Flair. Flair was obviously concerned for his best friend and walked with the medics and cot all the way to the backstage area to a waiting ambulance. The cameras followed the entire way as Arn was loaded up into the ambulance with the Nature Boy standing just outside. The ambulance sped off with the lights flashing and siren wailing. Ric Flair was left standing alone while he watched the ambulance speed off. Flair turned, completely enraged, and appeared to be heading back in toward the arena as Nitro cut to a commercial break. Rating: 97 - Not to worry, Alex Wright's bratwurst will get you excited in a hurry with more Saturday Wright Fever! - Ricky Steamboat vs Alex Wright vs It was painfully clear that the Canadian crowd just wasn't as in to Saturday Wright Fever as the American counterparts are. Alex spent more time dancing in this match than doing any offensive move, though some could argue his dancing is his offense. Steamboat had just as equal of a rough night, though he did pick up the win at 7:48 with a Flying Crossbody. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 51 Following a commercial break, a completely unhinged Nature Boy is backstage. He says the NWO is nothing but a bunch of cowards who attack people when they aren't looking and he's had enough of it, but he's not the only one. He says that Scott Steiner and Lex Luger have also repeatedly felt the wrath of the NWO and it's time WCW remain united and fight back! Flair said the time for taking the high road is over - if the NWO want a fight, they're gonna get a fight! After what they just did to Double A, Flair said he's taking the gloves off and not holding back anymore. His nickname's the Dirtiest Player in the Game and damnit, it's time he starts fighting like it! Flair says at Uncensored, that's exactly what it's going to be, because he's teaming up with Steiner and Luger and he's going to claw their eyes out one by one, chop their chests until they're bleeding, and bite the noses right off their faces! They want to fight, then at Uncensored, it's going to be a no-hold barred knock down, drag out fight! Rating: 99 Austin makes his second appearance of the night, much to the delight of the crowd. He gets in the ring and grabs a microphone, cutting right to the chase. Austin says the NWO like to intimidate people but Steve Austin isn't a guy they can intimidate. Austin says he's not above calling out every single member of the NWO to come down to this ring and receive an ass beating, so that's what he's doing; He's calling every damn member of the NWO to come to this ring, look Austin in the eye, and get the beating of a lifetime. To the shock of the announce team, this garnered the attention of three of the main members, Nash, Hogan, and Savage. They all walked out and stopped short on the stage as Austin looked on with a smirk on his face. He said he didn't think the three stooges standing there on the stage had the balls to come out here, but here they are. Austin said they like doing things together so much, so how about they all three come to the ring and get their asses kicked together? Nash has a microphone and says there's nothing he'd love more than to go to that ring and beat Austin up, but he's already filled his quota for the night and unless Austin's going to throw in some more money, he's not interested. Savage, in turn, said Austin isn't on Hogan's level, let alone on the Macho Man's level to share the same ring with him. Hollywood even had to take his opportunity to spew nothings in Austin's direction, but it was noticed that the three were ever so slowly making their way to the ring. Austin noticed this as well and even held the ropes open for the three, but they stopped about halfway to the ring. Nash said he doesn't fight for free and if he wants a piece of the three of them, he still has other NWO members he has to work through first. Nitro fades to commercial as the standoff continues. Rating: 100 Eddie Guerrero vs Ric Flair vs Ric Flair was in fired-up form for this match and was, by far, the performer of the night. The crowd was lively for the main event this week and the action remained fast-paced and fluid, as they had two of WCW's best performers in the ring. Eddie had moments where he was clearly keeping up with Flair and maybe even outpacing him with offense, but it was clear Flair had to veteran prowess on his side. Both men traded dirty moves and Flair put a clinic on for Guerrero on how to do them just when the referee wasn't paying attention. Eddie ended up missing his Frog Splash that allowed Flair to lock in the Figure Four for the submission win at 20:03. Winner: Ric Flair Rating: 79 Final Show Rating: 85

Week 2, March 1997 LIVE from New Glasgow Stadium - The Maritimes, Canada Attendance: 3,307 - Nitro opens this week to another trip to Canada. The crowd might be smaller but they're definitely as excited as ever as JR, Bobby, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone to this week's broadcast. JR tells us this past weekend on WCW Saturday Night was quite busy as several wrestlers had things to say. Scott Steiner and Lex Luger are completely fed up with the NWO gang attacks and Luger once again appealed to Sting, asking for his help. Steve Austin plans on making the life of the NWO a living hell until he gets Hollywood Hogan in the ring, Kevin Nash wants to see the NWO ruthless and not holding back, vowing to send Arn Anderson to the glue factory, and Diamond Dallas Page had comments for what Randy Savage had to say about him on last week's Nitro. One thing is certain and that all of that carnage not just from last week's Nitro, but also Saturday Night, is sure to carry over to tonight's show! He also tells us we're going to the ring to start off with a highly anticipated matchup! - Television Title: Lord Steven Regal vs Dean Malenko (c) vs w/ Lord Steven Regal finally gets his long-awaited shot at reclaiming the Television title that he claims to have never lost. If you recall months back, Regal sustained an injury and a tournament was held for the vacant title. Ever since coming back from injury, Regal has wanted a title shot but has not gotten it. Until now. Regal, usually always one to show plenty of theatrics, was uncharacteristically focused as soon as the bell rang. Malenko was reeling quickly from an onslaught of offense from Regal and retreated to the floor where Francine comforted him. Once back inside, Malenko was able to regain the focus and the momentum, though it was odd in the match since both men are technically "heels." The crowd often had trouble deciding who to cheer for when both men used plenty of dirty tactics. Just when Regal looked to have things in the bag, another wrestler made their appearance at ringside..... JR mentioned on Saturday Night this weekend, Finlay also called out Regal and said he wasn't deserving of a title shot because he hasn't beaten anyone since his return, resulting in his appearance here tonight. Finlay climbed right in the ring and spun Regal around before hitting him with a Tombstone Piledriver, causing the DQ at 16:09. Winner by DQ: Steven Regal Rating: 77 We go backstage where Mean Gene Okerlund is catching the Nature Boy Ric Flair as he's arriving to the arena. He says he fell short against Hollywood Hogan and the world title but tonight he plans on getting back on track as he faces Alex Wright. Flair says that as of late, Alex Wright's claimed to be a ladies man, but tonight the Nature Boy will give him a first class lesson on what it means to style and profile! Rating: 100 Scott Norton vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs Poor Chavo. Just, no....Poor Chavo. Norton won at 7:03 with a Powerbomb. Winner: Scott Norton Rating: 52 Rating: 100 Lex Luger comes out to the bottom of the stage ramp for an interview with Tony Schiavone. The music cuts off and Tony begins his questions but it doesn't take long before the two are interrupted. Buff Bagwell wastes no time taunting Luger and that for weeks and months of beatdowns from the NWO will only continue to get worse. Bagwell goes on and says his own best friend even saw the light and joined the NWO but Luger's muscled-up brain prevents him from doing the smart thing and joining the NWO. Bagwell tells Luger the the attacks are just going to get worse until Luger finally gives in and joins the most dominate group in wrestling's history. Luger can stand the obnoxious Bagwell only so much before he hauls off and decks him. This draws a loud roar from the crowd as Luger goes on the offensive in the aisleway as a referee rushes out and to the ring. It appears we're going to have an impromptu match right here! Lex Luger vs Buff Bagwell vs The bell's rung but Luger continues the assault all up the aisle. Bagwell tries to get away but Luger closes the distance after every attack before finally getting to the ring and rolling in. Things didn't go any better for Bagwell once inside though as Luger sent him to the corner and rushed in with a clothesline. As he staggered out, Luger hit him again with several clotheslines before hitting the bionic forearm and signaling for the Torture Rack. The crowd got on their feet as Luger lifted Bagwell and locked in the hold and won the match at 8:13. Rating: 64 Alex Wright vs Ric Flair vs It's been a little while since we've been blessed with some Saturday Wright Fever. It's the battle of the bratwurst versus Space Mountain. The crowd loved it as Alex stood in the ring doing his techno dance as the Nature Boy stood and watched. Flair replied with his own dancing strut to the crowd's delight while Das Wunderkind did his best to shut the audience up. Flair jogged around the ring before leaning in and holding a hand out for a lockup. Wright went to grab it as Flair quickly pulled away and slicked back his hair before delivering a WOOOO, again infuriating Wright. Things finally got underway and Flair was in prime form tonight. He lit the young star up with his patented knife-edged chops and it didn't take long for Wright's chest to turn beet red. Flair remained securely in control throughout the match and hit a great looking Superplex before locking in the Figure Four for the submission at 9:50. Winner: Ric Flair Rating: 77 After a commercial break, a furious Steven Regal is backstage with Mean Gene for a quick interview. Regal likens Fit Finlay to a cockroach that just won't stay away and die. He wants his TV title back and wants Finlay out of the picture. Regal thinks the only solution is to have a three-way match at Uncensored for the TV title, that way, Regal says, he can beat the living daylights out of both Malenko and Finlay AND get his title back in the process. Rating: 89 The NWO music hits the speakers which brings the crowd to their feet as the NWO make their way out. As usual, all are in a good mood and taunt their way to the ring. Once inside, Bischoff drops to his knees in the center of the ring and bows down to Hollywood Hogan, who just looks surprised and flattered as he hugs Bischoff and kisses his head. The music dies down and trash is already being thrown in the ring as Hogan starts talking. Hogan dresses down Ric Flair and saying he's back jerking the curtain where he belongs. Hogan doesn't get too far into his promo before music abruptly cuts him off which results in the crowd exploding. Austin sprints out and clearly isn't in the mood for talking tonight as he rushes toward the ring. The crowd is beside themselves as Austin slides inside under the bottom rope and comes up with fists blazing. Hogan is stunned and looking in all directions, trying to find a way out of the ring. The NWO rush Austin but he has no trouble fighting each man off as he continues to try and work his way toward Hogan. Levesque and Bagwell are the first casualties but Savage and Nash have better luck at slowing Austin down. Hogan got a little confident that they would stop him from advancing but it wasn't long before Austin sent Savage flying out of the ring and then sent Nash over the top rope with a back body drop. Suddenly Austin and Hogan were the only two standing in the ring. The crowd was going wild as Hogan begged off Austin to no avail. Austin slowly stalked toward the frightened Hogan and now Hogan was backed up against the ropes with nowhere to go. Just as Austin closed in, Hogan dropped to the mat and rolled to the floor where he met back up with Eric Bischoff. The crowd booed mercilessly and began to rain more trash to the ringside area. Austin just stared at Hogan as he made his way back around the ring and to the aisle where the NWO regrouped and began to backtrack up the aisle. Rating: 100 Arn Anderson vs Meng vs The Meng Manly Meter is off the charts for this matchup. Both men put up a great performance in this one as they brought everything they had to one another. The fiercely physical matchup ended up on the floor before long where the two brawled all over and used anything they could get their hands on to their advantage. The referee continued counting both men as the fight continued on the floor. Anderson was sent into the guardrail and Meng rushed in, only for Anderson to backdrop Meng over the rail and into the crowd. Double A had just enough time to catch the count, diving back in the ring as the referee counted to 10, resulting in a countout victory at 10:12. Winner by Countout: Arn Anderson Rating: 80 Harlem Heat cut a pre-taped promo where the new champions hype themselves as the best tag team not just in WCW, but the entire wrestling world. They go on to say they'll put their titles on the line against any challengers, whether that's other teams in WCW or from outside the company. Rating: 71 We're gifted another promo, this time from the Macho Man, with Elizabeth. Savage gets extremely personal in taunting Diamond Dallas Page and the circumstances that led to his wife leaving him. Savage tells Liz that DDP clearly doesn't bring that same "bang" to the bedroom that he always claims to bring to the ring. Savage says that Page is a loser in life and a loser in wrestling and will never amount to anything. Rating: 99 United States Title: Paul Levesque vs Scott Steiner vs The NWO have an opportunity to get the US title back to their group but Levesque is up for a monumental task. Steiner attacked from the opening bell and didn't let up, clearly showing he was going to make the NWO work overtime to get the title back in their hands. Levesque was able to turn things around after some cheating though and take over for a bit, but things didn't stay that way for long. Steiner was able to hit Levesque with a Super FrankenSteiner at 13:22 for the win for his first title defense as Nitro uncharacteristically went off the air without a wild brawl. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 78 Final Show Rating: 85

Week 1, March 1997 LIVE from The Palace of Auburn Hills - Detroit, MI Attendance: 17,927 - Nitro kicks off a new month, just 24 hours removed from a historic SuperBrawl VII, Jim Ross tells us. After the usual video and firework opening, cameras bring us to the announce booth. JR, Bobby, and Mike all run through the events from SuperBrawl, highlighting the crowning of a new United States and Tag Team champions, an amazing opening, and unexpected, cage match between the Enforcer Arn Anderson and Eddie Guerrero, and topping the show off with the WCW World Heavyweight title match as Ric Flair came up just short of defeating Hollywood Hogan. As tough as the loss in the main event was for Ric Flair and WCW, there still remains hope as Scott Steiner became the new champion, defeating long-time champion Brian Pillman. That victory also resulted in what appeared to be some dissention within the NWO afterwards. We have no idea what's going to happen from here, JR says, but we do know that we're heading full steam into the next PPV - Uncensored. Music abruptly comes over the speakers, leading the crowd to get on their feet in anticipation. Steve Austin walks out with a purpose as he heads right to the ring. The announce team touch on the fact that Austin wasn't too pleased with not having a match the night prior and it seems that he's going to address that issue here tonight. One thing is clear though, in Jim Ross' mind, that business is about to pick up. - Austin: I ain't one to mess around and make people guess what I'm doing out here or what it is I expect, so let me cut right to the chase! Last night at SuperBrawl, the WCW executive committee, in all their infinite wisdom, decided that Steve Austin didn't need to have a match! Now for the past few weeks, ol' Steve Austin's been in a bit of limbo I guess, so what I'll do right now is make it real crystal clear for everyone too stupid enough to comprehend things! When I was in the 4 Horsemen, I wanted to make it about the Horsemen and only the Horsemen! I didn't give a damn about anything else that was going on in WCW because the Horsemen, in my mind, were the pinnacle! Everything went through the Horsemen! Until things didn't! The NWO walked into the picture and slowly took over everything! I was still more focused and concerned about the Horsemen and getting my career where I wanted it to go, but everywhere I went, every corner I walked around, the NWO were always shoving their fat little faces in everything that wasn't their business! So what that little group did was get in the way of Steve Austin's dreams and desires, and you went and just pissed me off! So the NWO did a great job! You got under the skin of Steve Austin! I stayed out of the fight as long as I could but then I got sick and tired of that little group running around and doing whatever they wanted. So from then on, I saw fit to help out guys like Lex Luger and Scott Steiner whenever the need arised! One thing I did make absolutely clear awhile back was that Steve Austin wasn't gonna mess around with the Television title, the US title, or the Tag team titles....Nah....I've already won every single one of those belts so I figure the one title right in my sights is the World Heavyweight title! Now if you ask me, I was fine with whatever son of a bitch walked out with that belt last night, be it the Nature Boy or Hollywood Hogan, I didn't give a damn. I might have patched things up with Flair but when it comes to something I want, I wasn't gonna let our mended relationship get in the way of me winning the world title. Well since Ric Flair didn't win the title last night, that means Hulk Hogan is still walking around with that belt and the fact of the matter is Hogan, you've got something I want! So like I said, I'm gonna make it real clear so there ain't any confusion; Hulk Hogan, you can march your little ass out here right now because Steve Austin's calling you out for a match because I want that title! Don't make me go back there and search for ya, because if I find you backstage hiding from me, we'll just go ahead and have that match right here tonight so I don't have to wait to become champion! - It didn't take long for the NWO music to hit the speakers but, as expected, it wasn't just Hollywood Hogan who emerged. The entire NWO walked out on the stage who took their individual opportunities to taunt Steve Austin, who still stood in the ring. Austin seemed unfazed as the group remained on the stage as Eric Bischoff was the first to raise a microphone. - Bischoff: Steve Austin, just who in the hell do you think you are?!?!? In what world do you live in where you think you can just call out the world's greatest wrestler and get whatever it is you're demanding?!? This man, right here, Hollywood Hogan, has more responsibilities on his plate than you could ever fathom! This man has movie deals, he has contract obligations, he has talk show appearances, and he has a never-ending request of make-a-wish obligations to fulfill!! He does all that while being the world heavyweight champion!!! He's been an honorable champion for a few months now and you think you can just strut out here, make a challenge, and expect to have Hollywood grace you with his presence inside that ring?!? I don't think so! Austin, I fired you way back when because you couldn't even lace the boots of Hollywood Hogan! You thought you were a bigger star than you were, and it looks like not much has changed! So, still being the President of WCW, what I should do is just fire you right here on the spot for holding up this show, but I've got a better idea!!! You want a shot at Hollywood Hogan??? Well it's going to take much more than just walking out here and demanding it! Steve Austin, you're nothing compared to Hollywood Hogan!!! So if you want to step into the same ring as him, you've got a lot of work you're going to have to do! So since the NWO's feeling so generous after such a successful night last night....Barring one unexpected event....We briefly discussed this before coming out... Austin, if you want a shot at Hollywood, you're going to have to earn it! You're going to have to go through and defeat every member of the NWO, Austin! To add to that, I'm not talking about any bogus countout wins, disqualification wins, or anything like that, you're going to have to cleanly defeat every member, and you're going to start with Paul Levesque, and that match will be later tonight! Rating: 100 Billy Kidman vs Kaz Hayashi vs This was a high-flying match between two very fast, very promising wrestlers but unfortunately the crowd just weren't too invested in either of them. The talent is clearly there and it was obvious that if they can get some momentum under them, they could be quite popular. Kaz Hayashi got the win at 6:34 with a nice looking reverse spin kick. Winner: Kaz Hayashi Rating: 26 Buff Bagwell vs Lenny Lane vs This wasn't a competitive matchup in the least and consisted of Bagwell completely toying with the younger wrestler. Though Lenny Lane did get a few impressive offensive moves in, Bagwell was in control nearly the entire time. He easily put him away at 6:35 with a Buff Blockbuster. Winner: Buff Bagwell Rating: 48 - Nitro returns from its first commercial break with Mean Gene Okerlund standing in the middle of the ring. Gene welcomes everyone back and begins his introduction for his next guest, a man who gave his all last night in the main event but came up just short of recapturing the WCW world heavyweight title - The Nature Boy Ric Flair! - - The Nature Boy walks out in his custom made business suit and pauses at the base of the ramp for his fireworks to go off. Flair isn't his typical excited self tonight, rather he's very subdued and appears disappointed as he heads to the ring. Flair steps inside and meets Mean Gene in the center before the two shake hands. - Mean Gene: Nature Boy, last night you took on Hollywood Hogan inside a steel cage for the world heavyweight title. It was a grueling, back and forth match and you clearly gave your all but that was just short of being able to reclaim the gold, as Hollywood Hogan successfully defended his title. After last night's loss, what does this mean for you, Nature Boy, WCW, and the not-so-distant future? Flair: Gene, there's only been a handful of times in my life and in my professional career where I didn't get the job done, where I failed to make good on my promises. Over the years, I've been accustomed to having things my way and running the show. Last night at SuperBrawl was like a slap in the face, like a shock to my body, and a reality check that maybe the Nature Boy just doesn't have what it takes anymore..... - The crowd starts to grumble in disagreement with the Nature Boy and Mean Gene starts to make a response, however, he's quickly stopped as Flair slightly raises a hand, indicating he's not finished. - Hold on a minute, Gene....I've been thinking of what I was going to say all day long. Hell, I didn't even know if I should show up here tonight after what happened at SuperBrawl! Everyone in the world saw me fail to do what I set out to do last night! I failed, and then to top it all off, the entire world saw the Nature Boy break down in the center of this ring. I didn't know if I was going to show up tonight and then last night, I flew home to Charlotte, saw my family when I walked in the door, then broke down again!!! I told my family I was done! I told them I didn't have it anymore and that if I couldn't get the job done against Hogan, then I didn't have any business being in this sport anymore! And do you know what happened?!? My wife slapped me across the face and said; "Honey!?! You're the Nature Boy!!! The man all the men want to be and the man all the women want! Now take me to bed and make a woman outta me!!!" And you know what?!?! SHE'S RIGHT! She's right! So that's what I did! I took her to bed and gave her an unlimited ride on Space Mountain! I woke up this morning a new man! I looked myself in the mirror after contemplating not showing up here tonight and reminded myself, I'M RIC FLAIR! Gene, this suit cost me $25,000 dollars, my shoes cost $15,000, this Rolex on my wrist was $35,000....I AM CUSTOM-MADE FROM HEAD TO TOE, PAL! Not show up?!? Gene, I lost last night! Plain and simple! But I'll be damned if I'm going to let Hulk Hogan and the rest of his NWO goons run the Nature Boy out of my home; where I belong! WCW! It's not going to be that easy for them! If you boys want me out of WCW, you're gonna have to bury me dead in the ground! Last night, I didn't get the job done! There's no two ways about it, but if you all think for one second that Ric Flair isn't set out to make your lives a living hell, you're sadly mistaken! I'm not done, I'm far from finished, and the NWO is going to have hell to pay! WOOOOOOOOO! Rating: 100 Scott Norton vs Ricky Steamboat vs Steamboat entered this match looking to continue his fast offense and dodge whatever Norton threw his way. This worked for about the first few minutes before Norton reversed a corner whip and hit a body-crushing splash on him in the corner. Norton impressed with his physical offense and not holding back despite taking on a legendary worker. In another shocking move, Norton picked up the win at 10:06 after hitting a Powerbomb. Winner: Scott Norton Rating: 58 - The crowd again get on their feet as the NWO hits the speakers once more inside the arena. The group strolls out and this time it looks like they're working their way to the ring for a promo. Bagwell taunts fans along the way while the Macho Man stops midway in the aisle to grab a fans DDP sign to tear it in half. The group gets in the ring and this time Hollywood Hogan takes the microphone while Eric Bischoff props the defaced world title over his shoulder. - Hogan: Ya know something, all my NWO-ites??? We planned on coming out here tonight to address a few issues and conduct NWO business, but all that got interrupted by that no-good loser Steve Austin! For some insane reason, brother, Austin thinks he's some much bigger star than he is, while in reality, he couldn't even lace my wrestling boots, brother! But I'm not out here to talk about Steve Austin and waste any more air on him, dude! The first order of business that we need to take care of has to do with what went down last night at SuperBrawl! Now, ever since last night, I've been in deep, closed door discussions with Big Sexy and Eric Bischoff, and we all agree that there's a glaring problem that the NWO needs to deal with right now, brother, and that issue is with you - Brian Pillman!!!! - The crowd is shocked as Hogan turns and points toward Pillman, who was leaning in the corner of the ring. Pillman clearly wasn't happy but the call-out caused him to look at Hogan, wide-eyed, and slowly stand up straight. Pillman is seen mouthing the words "What are you talking about?!" to Hogan as the world champ continues on. - Hogan: I'll tell ya what I'm talking about, my man. I'm talking about how you couldn't cut the mustard last night! I'm talking about how you lost the US title in your match against Scott Steiner! I'm talking about how you dropped the ball, dude! Big Sexy, Kevin Nash, got the job done against Lex Luger. I got the job done against Ric Flair. Last night, you weren't focused and that lack of focus resulted in you giving a title back to WCW. Well in case you didn't notice, Pillman, the NWO is at the top of the pecking order here in WCW! When you go and lose your title, let alone lose it to a chump like Scott Steiner, all you do is make the NWO look weak, and weakness isn't what the NWO is all about! Pillman: Hold on just a second, almighty Hollywood.....It seems to me that you're conveniently leaving out another man who couldn't get the job done last night...As a matter of fact, he did a great JOB against Diamond Dallas Page. Yeah, your buddy right there Paul couldn't get the job done either, so why are you only jumping down my back?!? I also seem to remember that the Macho Man was out at ringside with me and what did he do to help me out against Scott Steiner?!? - Before Hogan can respond, the Macho Man rushes forward and takes the microphone out of Pillman's hands. Enraged, he takes his sunglasses off and looks Pillman in the eye. - Savage: It ain't my fault you lost your title! Fact of the matter is, you just couldn't get the job done against Scott Steiner and the fault of that is squarely on your shoulders! It ain't the job of the NWO to make sure you kept your title! If you can't get the job done yourself, then all you are is a weak spot in the NWO! As for you calling out Paul and losing to Diamond Dallas Page??? DDP is nothing but a piece of trailer park trash! Don't let a fluke of a victory by that loser make you think he got the best of Levesque! Diamond Dallas Page is a loser who couldn't even keep his own wife from bailing on him! How about you stop making excuses for yourself and stop trying to get someone else to be the scapegoat for your own failures! All that does is make your appearance in the NWO even weaker! - Things look to be heading toward a conflict blowing up as Savage and Pillman are now nearly nose to nose. Kevin Nash steps in between them and has a mic of his own. - Nash: Hold on, hold on....Things are getting a little more blown up than they need to be. Pillman, it's real simple; you're a hell of a talent. If you weren't, the NWO never would've taken you. People have their bad days and Brian, last night was a bad day for you. Nobody's going anywhere so we don't need to get all worked up, ok? All we're saying is, last night was strike one. You messed up, you dropped the ball. Pick it up and move on, that's all we're saying. Don't do it again and things will be all good between us, ok? Pillman: Whatever you say, boss man. Rating: 100 El Hijo Del Santo vs Eddie Guerrero vs Eddie continued his hot streak from last night into tonight as he took on a new signing from Mexico. El Hijo Del Santo is a very well known wrestler in Mexico who looks to be expanding his star power to the United States. The two matched up well and the result was a very fast-paced match with some high flying mixed in. Eddie got the win at 10:14 after a Frog Splash. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 79 Mean Gene is once again ready for an interview, this time backstage as he stands with the new tag team champions Harlem Heat and their manager, Sensuous Sherri. Mean Gene starts off by congratulating Heat on reclaiming the gold and saying their on-going battle with the Faces of Fear has really put the attention back on the WCW tag team division. Booker says that he and Stevie live and breathe for the tag team division and their goal is to be recognized as the greatest tag team not just in WCW, but in the entire industry. Stevie Ray says they're not backing down from anyone and will defend the titles against anyone who wants a piece of Harlem Heat. As for the Faces of Fear, they've battled them so much that it looks like things between them are finished, at least for the time being. Rating: 82 Steve Austin vs Paul Levesque vs The first obstacle for Steve Austin and his path to Hollywood Hogan began with this match. Making good on his promise, Austin came out like lightning against Levesque, ambushing him before the bell even rang. Levesque was able to hit a few cheap shots here and there to temporarily gain the advantage, but it never lasted long. Austin had Levesque retreating from one side of the ring to the other, a few points in the match "stomping a mudhole" in Levesque, according to JR. Late in the match, Levesque attempted to cause a DQ by going outside the ring and grabbing a chair. He brought it back in and prepared to hit Austin with it as he was getting to his feet but the referee grabbed it away from him and scolded him. The distraction was enough to allow Austin to spin Levesque around and put a well-placed boot into his stomach before hitting the Stunner for the win at 12:13. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 78 Mean Gene continues to stay busy tonight as he's once again backstage for an interview, this time with Lord Steven Regal. Regal says it's a complete travesty that he didn't get a TV title match last night at SuperBrawl while some swamp creature like Finlay got it instead. He says it was just a pathetic attempt by WCW to prevent him from getting back what's rightfully his. Regal says he wants a shot at "his" TV title next week against Dean Malenko and he's not taking no for an answer. Rating: 100 Cameras cut backstage to something we haven't seen in awhile - a wild brawl! The Faces of Fear and Hostile Intent are beating each other like government mules (according to JR) for what reason other than, why not?? The teams are broken up by officials as it looks like this was a kickstarter for a new feud. Rating: 61 Scott Steiner & Lex Luger vs Brian Pillman & Randy Savage vs It's main event time as both Luger and Pillman entered this match looking to turn the momentum back to their side. Steiner and Luger entered together as Steiner proudly wore his newly won US title around his waist. Technically Savage and Pillman entered together but Pillman lagged well behind the Macho Man on the way to the ring. It looked like tensions were still running high between the NWO members but once the bell rang, they appeared to work well together. It was obvious that the earlier confrontation lit a fire under Pillman and he didn't want a repeat of the earlier event. They did a good job isolating Luger from his corner and then slowed the match way down. The crowd was firmly behind Luger and Steiner and urged Luger repeatedly to get to his corner to make a tag. Each time though, the NWO would cut him off or they would cheat and cause Steiner to rush in the ring, allowing more double teaming on Luger during the referee's distraction. Luger was eventually able to mount a comeback and hit a couple of inverted Atomic Drops on Pillman. He then rushed and connected with some clotheslines, which resulted in the Macho Man rushing in. Luger was able to hold Savage off as well, clotheslining him over the top rope and to the floor. An exhausted Luger dropped to the mat and with the thundering crowd, Luger began crawling toward his corner. Pillman was still down as Luger got to the center of the ring, still a long way to crawl, outstretching his hand every time he would inch closer. Steiner stood on the apron, also extending his arm out as far as it could go, calling for Luger to keep going. Lex continued to crawl, agonizingly slow toward Steiner. The crowd was electric as he got closer and closer each time, extending his arm out to still be so far away. Luger would yell out at Steiner and Scott would yell back at him to keep trying. He finally got all the way past Pillman in the center of the ring, who was now starting to stir back to life. Luger extended his hand again and Steiner did the same but Luger was still a couple of feet away from the tag. Pillman finally realized what was going on and grabbed Lex by the boot. Luger turned, seeing Pillman and trying to kick him off as Pillman began crawling up further to Luger to try and prevent the tag. Luger would trade looks from Pillman to Steiner with the crowd urging the Total Package to make the tag. One swift kick from Luger was just enough to get Pillman off him as he turned back to Steiner, the tag just within reach! All he had to do was scoot forward just a bit more, outstretching his hand. Steiner's hand remained out stretched to Luger waiting on the tag. Finally, and with a burst of excitement from the crowd, Luger made the tag to Steiner. Pillman had just gotten back to his feet as Steiner rushed in, trying to beg off the new US champion! It didn't work as he lit up Pillman with strikes as he backtracked into the corner. The Macho Man was just now getting back in the ring also and went to help Pillman. Luger was still down on the canvas, exhausted, but he was also trying to heroically work his way back to his feet. Steiner began getting double teamed but as fresh as he was, was able to start fighting off Pillman and Savage. The crowd was electric as Luger finally got his way in and grabbed the Macho Man while the two started fighting. It didn't take long after that when the troops arrived. They didn't immediately get in the ring though to help out Pillman and Savage. They instead surrounded the ringside area and it was soon obvious why. Elizabeth also came out to ringside and got on the apron, distracting the referee as he was trying to regain order from the chaos inside the ring. He soon was telling Liz to get down and the distraction allowed Nash, Bagwell, and Levesque to get in the ring. Bagwell and Levesque went after Luger while Nash went after Steiner. Nash clubbed Steiner on the back of the neck before turning him around and quickly delivering a Jackknife Powerbomb. Once the damage was done, the intruders bailed out of the ring and, seeing the dirty work done, Liz also got down from the apron. The referee turned to see Pillman making the cover on Steiner and the pin was counted at 16:08. Winners: Brian Pillman & Randy Savage Rating: 92 In expectation, Nitro didn't go off the air just yet. The rest of the NWO climbed back in the ring where they celebrated victory, like there was none of the earlier observed tension among the group. JR and company believed it to be a rouse as the beatdown again resumed. In their usual celebration after a beatdown, the NWO brought the spray cans back out and Nitro came to an end once again with Lex Luger and Scott Steiner getting "NWO" branded on their backs as they lay beaten in the middle of the ring. Rating: 100 Final Show Rating: 93

Week 4, February 1997 LIVE from the Georgia Dome - Atlanta, GA Attendance: 70,000 (SELLOUT!) - SuperBrawl VII opens to a panned arena shot of a frenzied hometown crowd after a brief intro video hyping the event. As the camera pans around the packed arena, Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, and Tony Schiavone welcome everyone. - JR: Welcome everyone to SuperBrawl 7! I'm joined by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Tony Schiavone and guys, I've got to say what huge event this has shaped up to be! We're expecting nothing short of a monumental night as WCW returns home in Atlanta for this blockbuster event! Tony: No doubt about it, Jim! It's great to be with both you and the Brain here as I've been looking forward to this event for over a month now! Fans, there are huge marquee matchups taking place right here tonight and, Bobby, it couldn't be any more fitting to have the name "SuperBrawl" for this event! Heenan: "Brawl" it's sure to be, Tony and JR! Everywhere you look, guys are fighting, women fighting, people are at each others throats and at the heart of it all, WCW and the NWO are on a collision course that leaves everything in its path of destruction! If you ask me, I'm not sure that there will be any winners at the end of it once all the dust settles! JR: Bobby, I couldn't have put it any better. WCW and the NWO are indeed at each others throats and after weeks, after months of sheer NWO dominance of WCW, they've finally shown some strength and solidarity and stood up to the group of thugs! WCW has a perfect opportunity to take back the main titles from the NWO, in the world heavyweight title and the United States title! Tony: If there's one man that I have the faith in to reclaim the world heavyweight title, it's the man Hollywood Hogan defeated for that very belt - the Nature Boy Ric Flair! He's won it on several occasions and he's always been the man to step up when so much was at stake and Brain, JR, tonight the stakes couldn't be any higher! JR: That couldn't be more true, Tony! Ric Flair knows what's on the line in this match! It's inside a steel cage that we see hanging high above the ring and that means there's going to be a winner and I just hope to God almighty himself that it's the Nature Boy. On the flip side, Scott Steiner has been on a fantastic tear of late and has never been one to back down from the NWO! Tonight he is in prime position to take the US title away from long-reigning champion Brian Pillman! Heenan: Well Pillman's held that title since May of last year and if you ask me, it doesn't look like he's going to be losing it any time soon! If you go back and look at his history, he either hasn't defended the title very often or when he does, he gets plenty of assistance from his NWO buddies! I don't think much of that is going to change here tonight! Scott Steiner terrifies the NWO! They don't want any part of him after the threat he gave to Hollywood Hogan and the world title! They sure as heck don't want him getting the US title off of the current longest reigning champion in WCW! JR: That's a great point, Bobby! Steiner's been one tough guy all throughout this battle with the NWO! He's always stood up to them whether or not he was by himself or had people by his side! I think he's been a pivotal member of the WCW roster and is a big reason why the momentum has seemed to shift and we've seen some unity from WCW fighting against the NWO! We've even seen Steve Austin coming out to assist WCW and he's made claim several times to want to stay out of it! Tony: If you ask me, if you're a part of the WCW roster, there is no staying out of it! The NWO has impacted every single facet of this company and staying neutral is just the same as siding with them. After seeing Sting take the side of the NWO, we need solidarity in the WCW locker room now more than ever! JR: There's no doubt Sting's alliance with the NWO being no less than a punch to the gut of the morale of the WCW locker room. I also see that impacting no one more than the Total Package Lex Luger as he's Sting's best friend. I've known Sting for a number of years and I still can't believe it and every time I think of Sting turning his back on WCW, it makes me sick to my stomach! Heenan: We just need to stop talking about Sting! Forget him! We've got our own roster built to take on the NWO! We've got Flair, Steiner, Austin, Luger, Steamboat! All of those guys are finally working together and they're doing it all without Sting's help! It's true though. For the last couple of months, Luger's also been lost! He's been fighting against the NWO for so long that I'm starting to see little cracks in the Total Package! You can only fight against something for so long before it begins to wear you down, and I see Lex Luger being worn down! I'm not the only one to notice it either because Kevin Nash has been trying his hardest to get Luger to join the NWO for awhile now! I'm afraid that they're getting very, very close! Tony: I think we can all see just a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel in the war against the NWO, Brain, so I just hope Lex Luger can hold out just a little longer! Tonight he faces Kevin Nash in what will be a deciding match, I believe, in just how well Luger will be able to fend off the NWO's advances. JR: Guys, we could sit here all night long and talk about these things, that's for damned sure, but we've got Mean Gene Okerlund backstage and he's standing by with the Enforcer, Arn Anderson, who's going to kick things off against Eddie Guerrero in a fantastic feud they've got going on! So Mean Gene, we're going to you, my friend! Mean Gene: JR, Tony, Bobby, thank you all, my friends, and I couldn't agree more! The stakes are at an all-time high tonight for SuperBrawl and Arn Anderson, tonight you get what you have been looking for for a very long time!! You will go one-on-one against Eddie Guerrero who has tried extremely hard for the last few weeks to get out of a match with you! Anderson: Well see, Mean Gene, I knew from the very get-go that those attempts were ill-fated! Eddie Guerrero knows what it means to step in the ring with the Enforcer and he wanted no part of another match! See, Eddie, you had a little glimpse, a little taste of what that was back at Clash of the Champions! You were running around here for months before that thinking you were some kind of a God! You wanted a challenge? Well a challenge you got. It was a challenge you weren't prepared for, Eddie Guerrero! Well finally, here we are! There's no more talking, just doing! I said I wanted to beat some respect back into you, Eddie, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do tonight! As a matter of fact, earlier today, I went back to the board of directors! See, I was at the arena early when I saw them putting that cage together and began to raise it high above the ring and I got to thinking to myself, "What a wonderful opportunity!" So I went to the board of directors office just a couple of blocks away and I got a new stipulation added to our match tonight! Since that cage is already there, I thought what better idea than to go ahead and make more use out of it?!?! Eddie, tonight, our match is gonna be a cage match! And what better way than to beat some old school respect into you than to have an old school cage match?! No escape, no disqualification, no rules!! There's only pin or submission and Eddie, I don't lose and I don't submit when I'm at the top of my game and Eddie, I'm at the top of my game right here tonight! Rating: 94 Cage Match: Eddie Guerrero vs Arn Anderson vs Both men entered the ring with nothing less than 100% focus as the cage lowered. Eddie put up a brief argument with the referee as the cage lowered but it quickly went away as the bell rang. It didn't take long before both men attempted to gain the upper hand as several holds and counters were locked in and reversed by both men. Eddie was the first to try and use the cage to his advantage as he tried to ram the Enforcers head into it. Arn blocked it and Eddie instead found his head meeting the steel as Bobby Heenan said Arn Anderson is like a totally different wrestler once he gets inside a steel cage. His career has been built on the brutality that takes place inside a steel cage at War Games and he's now essentially foaming at the mouth at the opportunity. Eddie bounces from one side of the cage to the other as the Enforcer repeatedly strikes Eddie into it without mercy. Ross tells fans watching that this match will differ from the main event, as you cannot win this match by escape, not that Anderson would want to anyway. Anderson spent the next several minutes brutalizing Eddie into the unforgiving steel. Eddie didn't gain an advantage until Arn set him up on the top rope and then joined him for an attempted SuperPlex. Eddie managed to block it which caused Anderson to crash to the mat. The announce booth thought Eddie would attempt his Frog Splash but instead he waited for him to get to his feet and hit a flying head scissors. It was then Eddie's turn to take control and use the cage to his own advantage. He didn't get to enjoy his offense as long as the Enforcer did though. Arn quickly turned things around and Eddie found himself on the apron between the ropes and the cage. Anderson raked Eddie's forehead back and forth across the steel which caused him to open up. Blood poured over Eddies face as he entered back into the ring and Anderson looked to continue the punishment. That stopped short when Eddie delivered a low blow with both arms for extra leverage. A Powerbomb got Eddie a 2 count as he staggered around the ring, now covered in blood. He sent Anderson into the ropes, attempting a clothesline. Anderson ducked hit Eddie with a few punches before sending him into the corner. Guerrero got a burst of energy as he sprinted out of the corner only for Anderson to catch him with his signature SpineBuster. Anderson went for the cover but Eddie kicked out at 2. Anderson dragged him back to his feet and looked to send his head into the cage again, but this time Eddie blocked it. Anderson ended up having his head crash into the steel instead, the announcers wondering if Anderson would come away bleeding like his opponent. He didn't, but the damage was still done as Anderson staggered backward. Eddie caught him with his own signature back body drop before motioning to finish things off. Eddie quickly climbed up the ropes and paused just briefly before jumping off, looking to hit his Frog Splash. Arn was able to move himself out of the way which caused Eddie to crash hard to the mat. Anderson got to his feet and looked to lay in some more offense before motioning for his own finish, the DDT. Arn locked in the first part but Eddie quickly fought out of it and went to kick Anderson. Arn caught his foot and taunted him but Eddie quickly hit an enziguri. Both men were down but Eddie found some strength to get to his feet shortly after. He again climbed to the ropes and looked out at the crowd. The announcers all wondered why Eddie wasn't going for the Frog Splash again before Eddie slowly looked up and behind him to the top of the cage. The crowd slowly started to get louder and louder as everyone realized what Eddie was thinking. Anderson was still down on the mat when Eddie began his climb to the top of the cage. When he reached the top, Eddie slowly stood unsteadily before leaping off with a Frog Splash. Time seemed to stand still as Eddie took forever, flying through the air. There was a huge crash as Eddie connected with the Frog Splash and the crowd were beside themselves. In the carnage, Eddie bounced off of Anderson and he slowly made his way toward the downed Enforcer, able to only sling an arm across the veteran. It was good enough as the referee began the count and ended it at 17:54 in a spectacular match! Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 94 - There was a brief promotional break for WCW to allow the crowd to come down off their high from the first match, returning to a backstage promo by Steve Austin. He didn't seem too pleased, explaining that he wanted Randy Savage in a match here tonight only to have Savage dodge him. Austin referenced the ending of Nitro last week and says while he's not going to go around claiming to be best friends with anyone in WCW, he's not about to let some group of rejects like the NWO interfere with his goal of being world champion. Austin says he's not afraid of a fight and will still kick the teeth down the throat of anyone in WCW that gets in his way. There's one thing that annoys him worse than a bully and that's an unfair fight. He says the NWO have gone too long attacking people from behind and outnumbering their victims. Since he's off tonight, he might just find himself involved in some NWO matches if he feels like it. We'll see how the NWO like having to look over their shoulder at every opportunity now. - Rating: 100 - Mike Tenay is backstage with Lord Steven Regal. Tenay talks about Dean Malenko defending the TV title against Fit Finlay tonight and not against Regal, who's claimed to still be champion because he's never been defeated. Regal says he isn't too sure how he isn't in the title match tonight and some bloke from Ireland is. Regal says Finlay's doing what the Irish always have done and that's ride the coattails of England. Regal will be paying close attention to this match tonight because he will be looking to get the TV title back after tonight and anyone else is going to have to get in line behind him. - Rating: 75 Television Title: Fit Finlay vs Dean Malenko (c) vs w/ While this match was certainly good and full of technical wrestling, it wasn't nearly as well-received as the opening match. There was significant time given to this match though so both men used the opportunity to build the match up quite well. Francine made her presence known at every opportunity as well so Finlay not only had to be concerned with Malenko but also interference from the outside. Steven Regal also made his way out onto the stage entrance that caught the attention of Malenko. This nearly cost him the match as Finlay turned and lifted him for his Tombstone piledriver finish. In a nice move, Malenko fought the move and reversed it into his own Tombstone! Rather than go for the cover, Malenko got up and grabbed Finlay's legs. He looked out to Regal on the entrance and taunted him before locking Finlay in the Texas Cloverleaf, causing Finlay to tap at 16:28. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 80 Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs Face of Fear (c) vs Two tough teams went into this match knowing each other inside and out after the many battles they've had. Ross praised both teams as being two of the best, not just in WCW, but in wrestling as a whole and ranking them in the top 5 along with the Road Warriors and Steiner brothers. They've created excitement within tag team wrestling unlike their competition who just has a mess of their division. The hard hitting action began from the opening bell as all 4 men brawled while the referee struggled to maintain order. Jimmy Hart jumped on the apron to try a distraction, only to get booted off by Stevie Ray. This allowed the Faces of Fear to gain the early advantage and isolated Stevie from his corner. The Faces of Fear were in control and Stevie Ray in trouble as they went for a double team move, only for Stevie to dodge it and hit a double clothesline on return. With the fans feverishly cheering on Stevie as he crawled toward his corner, he was just able to make the hot tag to Booker as Meng was trying to prevent it. Booker came in like a ball of fire as he rocked both Meng and the Barbarian. He finally crashed their two heads together as the Barbarian fell to the floor outside. With Meng rocked, Booker hit his Axe Kick and then ascended to the top rope, perched and waiting for Meng to get to his feet. When he did, Booker jumped off and hit his Missile Dropkick to score the win at 9:40 and reclaim the tag belts! Winners and NEW champions: Harlem Heat Rating: 79 - Following the bell, Meng rolled to the outside to regroup with Jimmy Hart and the Barbarian. Inside the ring, Booker helped Stevie Ray to his feet as the referee presented the brothers with their newly won titles. Both brothers went to opposite corners and held the titles up high as the crowd cheered on the duo with JR and company praising their hard fought road to getting the belts back but also doubting their war with the Faces of Fear to be over. - Rating: 69 Paul Roma vs Wrath vs After another brief promotional video, the crowd is seemingly given a breather to regroup themselves as the next match begins. While Roma was doing a nice job of resurrecting his career in a tag team with Saturn, his singles career wasn't panning out to do the same. Wrath completely dominated every aspect of this match and quickly hit the Meltdown on Roma for the win at 6:55. Winner: Wrath Rating: 70 United States Title: Scott Steiner vs Brian Pillman (c) vs We've reached yet another pivotal match tonight as Brian Pillman looks to defend his title against Scott Steiner, who's been a thorn in the side of the NWO for quite awhile now. Steiner may have come up short against Hollywood Hogan and the world title a couple of times but he definitely gave them reason for a scare. Steiner made his way out first and seemed laser-focused into his task. Pillman came out second and when Randy Savage accompanied him, everyone knew the task just became extra difficult for Steiner. Pillman did his best to begin the match in control and at his pace but he was quickly overwhelmed by Steiner. Scott pummeled him back toward the corner where he continued to beat on him. The referee counted and reached 5 as Steiner continued the attack. He tried to intervene but Steiner shoved the referee backward as Heenan urged on commentary to let the beating take place! The referee again counted to 5 and tried to step in to stop the attack, only to be shoved off again. Steiner was now in threatening territory of a disqualification as the referee again began the count but Steiner was obviously in no mind to stop. The ref again reached 5 and this time more forcefully stepped in and backed Steiner off, who got a finger in the face and a fierce scolding by the referee. This gave Pillman precious seconds to try and catch his wind as Savage encouraged him on from the outside. Steiner continued his offense, hitting a series of suplexes and powerful clotheslines. After delivering one Steinerline, Scott dropped down for the pin and the referee began counting. Steiner abruptly got off the cover and began doing pushups in the ring, saying "I ain't done yet!" to the delight of the crowd. Steiner picked Pillman up and set him in the corner, lifting him up to the top rope. Everyone began to stand on their feet as Steiner also climbed to the top, looking like he was going to go for a FrankenSteiner from the top. Pillman managed to fight him off as the two teetered dangerously on the top rope. Steiner crashed down to the mat and Pillman remained perched up top, waiting on Steiner to get back to his feet. He did and Pillman quickly leapt off, hitting Steiner with a picture perfect Air Pillman! The referee was in perfect position and began the count but Steiner kicked out at 2!! The crowd was going nuts as Pillman, wide eyed and astonished, looked to the referee thinking he had a sure win. Savage paced furiously on the floor outside while Pillman tried to recoop inside. He grabbed Steiner by the hair and lifted him to his feet, whipping him into the ropes. Pillman jumped but Steiner caught him with his brother Ricks flipping powerslam, sending homage to the injured Steiner. He didn't go for the pin though and saw the opportunity to inflict a few more punishing moves. Steiner sent Pillman again into the corner but this time he stumbled out. Steiner caught him and flipped him over head with a great looking overhead belly to belly. This time, Steiner climbed to the second rope, waiting on Pillman to get to his feet. It looked like Scott was going to send more homage to his brother Rick by hitting a bulldog for the finish. As Steiner stood waiting, Pillman crawled to the referee and grabbed at his legs. The distraction was just enough to allow Savage to quickly leap to the apron and shove Steiner down to the mat. With Steiner stunned, Savage quickly climbed to the top rope and jumped off with a Flying Elbow before quickly sliding out of the ring. The oblivious referee checked on Pillman who assured him he was ok before dropping down of the cover. The referee counted again but once again Steiner kicked out at 2!! Pillman was stunned again but not as much as the first time. He quickly regrouped and looked to lock in a standard vertical suplex. Pillman went to lift Steiner but the attempt was blocked. He tried again and again Steiner blocked it. Steiner was the one next to lift Pillman up for his own suplex, but it wasn't a standard suplex. The crowd sensed the change as Steiner lifted Pillman and held him up for a moment before crashing down with an unexpected Steiner Screwdriver!! The crowd came unglued as Steiner immediately covered Pillman. Savage tried furiously to get into the ring before the final three count, but he failed as the hand fell for the third time at 13:31! Winner and NEW US Champion: Scott Steiner Rating: 90 - The bell rang but Scott Steiner couldn't even enjoy his victory. Randy Savage was now finally in the ring and immediately began an attack on Steiner, who didn't even get up from the mat yet. The attack continued, allowing Pillman to slowly recover and eventually join in. The two on one attack began to unfold as they took their frustration out on the new champion but it didn't take long before the crowd again came to life. Lex Luger came sprinting out from backstage and slid in the ring. Savage tried to cut him off but the brawl immediately started. Luger dropped Savage with an inverted atomic drop before turning his attack on the already spent Pillman. He hit a couple of rapid fire clotheslines before sending Pillman over the top rope with another clothesline. Steiner also was able to help out Luger as the two set Savage up to hit a double clothesline on him, also sending him out to the floor. Luger quickly checked on Steiner before calling for the US title. Luger put the belt over Steiner's shoulder, who was finally able to celebrate his championship win! - Rating: 100 WCW held another quick promotional break and when live action returned, Luger was standing in the middle of the ring with Mean Gene Okerlund. Gene couldn't get over the new US Champion and wondered if this also meant that good fortune was to come later in the main event. Gene stated that Luger got his warm-up in, as his match against Kevin Nash is coming up next. Luger said he's never been more ready in his life for a match and this match couldn't have bigger stakes. The Total Package said that Scott Steiner winning the US title and returning it to WCW is only the beginning. He says the NWO is back pedaling and on the defensive while WCW is slowly, finally, coming together and being able to work as a team. Luger says that while his match against Kevin Nash may not be for a title belt, the significance is just the same. Luger promises to continue a win for WCW and even goes a step further by saying he vows to get Sting back where he belongs and on the side of WCW! Rating: 100 Lex Luger vs Kevin Nash vs The crowd was definitely loud for the introduction of this match but it didn't have the fast paced action as the others. Nash entered this match with a clear chip on his shoulder and was extremely aggressive as soon as he began to lay in his offense. The fight also spilled out onto the floor where Nash took charge, sending Luger into the guard railing and also shoved him into the ring post. The fight returned to the ring where Luger eventually was able to mount an offense of his own and the crowed strongly urged him on. Luger looked to bounce off the ropes and hit Nash with a running clothesline but Nash was able to get a boot up, connecting with a massive Big Boot that stopped Luger in his tracks, dropping him on the mat. At this point, Nash began to settle in and hit his signature offense in preparation of setting him up for his finish. After hitting his Sidewalk Slam, Nash signaled it was time for the Jackknife. He put Luger in position but Luger managed to block it! He flipped Nash over his back as the two were down. Nash, having more strength, got up first but Luger met him with a kick to the gut. Luger began mounting his own offense and hit numerous running clotheslines and then tapped his forearm to signal the Bionic Forearm! The crowd was again on their feet and cheering the Total Package on as he waited for Nash to get back up. He eventually did and Luger wasted no time rushing toward the big man. Luger jumped and connected with the forearm, but he didn't connect with it on Nash! At the last second, Nash pulled the referee in front of him, causing the referee to take the hit. Luger wasted precious seconds checking on the downed ref, allowing Nash to club him over the back. With Luger down, Nash quickly rolled out of the ring and grabbed a steel chair from outside. He got back in the ring as Luger was getting to his feet. Nash raised the chair high over his head to swing it at Luger but Luger was able to kick Nash in the midsection. The chair dropped to the ground as Luger again fired up a comeback. One clothesline, two clotheslines, three clotheslines later, Luger again was ready to go for the forearm. As Nash was picking himself up off the mat, he also grabbed the steel chair that had fallen a few moments earlier. As Luger rushed this time for the forearm, Nash swung, connecting the chair right to Luger's head. Nash tossed the chair over the top rope and down to the floor before picking Luger back up to his feet and putting him in position for the powerbomb. He lifted Luger high in the air and dropped him before going over to the referee to slap him in the face a few times to wake him up. Nash put a foot on Luger for the disrespectful cover while the referee counted an agonizingly slow count, ending the match at 11:23. Winner: Kevin Nash Rating: 84 Diamond Dallas Page vs Paul Levesque vs The grudge matches between WCW and the NWO continue with this one. The crowd clearly weren't as invested in this match as they had the earlier ones but were still firmly behind DDP. Levesque spent a large amount of time taunting DDP but things didn't go so well for him after the bell rang and Page went after him like a man possessed. Once things settled down a bit, both men traded a fair amount of offense. In the end, DDP appeared to have a bit more aggressiveness in the match which allowed him a better advantage. DDP ended up hitting the Diamond Cutter at 10:04 for a clear-cut win. Winner: DDP Rating: 78 - Following the match, cameras are backstage inside the NWO's locker room, seemingly unbeknownst to them. There seems to be some pretty high tension within the group, centered around Brian Pillman's loss of the United States championship. Hollywood Hogan is in the middle of the group, telling them all to regroup and refocus. Hogan doesn't hold back in saying Pillman dropped the ball by losing his title and that the NWO needs to get back on track. Hogan says that everyone in the group needs to pull their weight and get the job done. He also says that the entire group needs to pay close attention to his match tonight with Flair because if Hogan motions for backup, the troops need to come running. He says the most important thing of the night is that the NWO keeps the world title within the faction. Pillman is obviously displeased with being called out and Savage reassures him that he'll be able to get the title back in the group at a later time. Heads nod all around as it looks like everyone in the group is back on the same page and prepared as we head into the main event. - Rating: 100 - Cameras again transition to another area of backstage as Ric Flair is standing with Mean Gene. After a brief introduction from Okerlund, Flair looks intensely into the camera, almost like he's never been more focused at any other time in his professional career. - Flair: Hogan!!! Tonight, it's you and me, pal! Two men walk in; One man walks out! On top of that.......On top of all that, one man will walk out as the worlds heavyweight champion! I've had big moments throughout my career, I've had big matches, my name's been on nearly every marquee in every city in this entire country! I know how to get ready for a big match! All those big moments, my entire career, culminate to this very night! They all have prepared me for this match! When that cage lowers and it's just you and me inside that ring, Hogan, you have nowhere to go!!! You can use any dirty trick in the book you want, but you know something Hogan?!?! I, INVENTED, THE BOOK! I wrote it! I'm, without a doubt, the dirtiest player in the game, pal, and tonight is the night that WCW gets some payback on the NWO! We've had battles before, Hogan, but those are all going to pale in comparison to tonight!!! I'm gonna get my hands around that fake-tanned neck of yours and I'm not letting go! I'm gonna make you bleed!!! I'm gonna make you sweat!!! And most of all Hogan, tonight, inside that ring, I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY THE PRICE!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOO! Rating: 100 World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair vs Hollywood Hogan (c) vs There's no more hype, there's no more lead-up, there's no more discussion. The match has finally arrived and Flair made his way out first. Normally Flair makes his way to the ring full of pomp and circumstance; Not this night. Flair appeared focused and paced quickly to the ring, foregoing his usual taunts and elegant displays. Soon after, the NWO music played and Hogan played the world title as a guitar on his way out. Hogan didn't appear to be sweating what awaited him inside the ring at all as he cockily made his way to the ring. Once inside, Hogan jogged around the ring, holding the world title up high as he passed Flair. The music faded out and the two men stood in the ring as the steel cage slowly lowered for the second time tonight. JR told everyone that the tension could be cut with a knife inside the arena as both men waited for the start of the match. Once the cage was secured in place, both men walked to the center of the ring where they stood, staring at one another as the referee gave the match rules. Hogan was seen mouthing taunting words to Flair, who just stood and stared intensely at Hogan. The referee concluded and both men stepped backward as the bell rang. They locked up and Flair quickly went for a reverse wrist lock. Hogan edged his way out of it and countered into a wrist lock of his own before shocking fans and taking Flair down to the mat with a leg sweep. Hogan remained on Flair and, now both of them were on the mat, moved up to lock in a grounded arm bar. The commentators couldn't believe that Hogan was outwrestling the Nature Boy Ric Flair. Hogan again shocked everyone by releasing the arm bar and then spun around on Flair's back, now locking in a front face lock. The referee checked in with Flair who of course wasn't going to submit to this but the damage to Flair's ego was already done. He'd been out-maneuvered by Hogan early on with offense that no one had ever expected. Flair fought his way to his knees, still locked in the face lock before getting up to his feet. Hogan transitioned into a side headlock and Flair backed Hogan into the ropes where he whipped him forward and out of the headlock. Flair again was shown up as Hogan hit a solid shoulder block on the return, sending Flair end over end into the opposite corner. Flair sat for a moment stunned, looking at Hogan as Hogan taunted and flexed his muscles at him. Normally, Flair would retreat to the floor and regroup his offense but not in this match. The solid steel preventing any escape, at least for the moment. Jim Ross reminded everyone that this cage match doesn't have the same rules as the one earlier that started the show. In this match, either man could indeed win by exiting the cage, or climbing up and over the top to the floor. Flair got to his feet and approached Hogan again as the two once more locked up. This time, Hogan pushed Flair back into the corner where it appeared there was going to be a clean break. That wasn't the case as Hogan laid a punch to the Nature Boy. Like something in him snapped, Flair became enraged, grabbing Hogan and spinning him around into the corner before Hogan could even react. Flair responded with thunderous knife-edged chops to Hogan's chest. He hit three in a row before sizing Hogan up and hitting some punches as the crowd came back to life. Flair continued the assault and climbed to the second rope, blocking Hogan in where he then began a series of punches. The crowd counted along but Flair stopped at 7 to lean down and bite Hogan's forehead. He got down as Hogan stumbled out of the corner. Flair grabbed him behind his head and lead him into the opposite cage wall, head first. Hogan crashed into it and stumbled back but Flair grabbed him again and lead him to the other side, doing the same. Hogan again stumbled backward and fell to the mat this time as Flair taunted out to the crowd. Hogan's forehead was already bleeding, if not from the biting, from the two hard shots to the steel cage. Flair had the momentum now on his side and looked to possibly try to end things early. As the match can also end in pin or submission, Flair grabbed a leg of the world champion and looked to lock in the Figure 4. Flair spun but Hogan was able to kick him forward. Flair was sent face first into the cage wall and also collapsed to the mat. Hogan worked his way up and again looked to take control. The two brawled to the ropes where Hogan got the better of Flair, causing him to stumble out onto the apron. As seen earlier, Hogan then began to grate Flair's head into the steel, his turn to come away bleeding now. The fight got back into the center of the ring where Hogan hit a couple of punches but Flair was able to return with his own attack of more knife-edged chops. Flair's white hair was slowly starting to turn crimson as blood fell from Hogan's face, the two already looking to have suffered through a long battle. Things looked to be a stalemate as the two fought back and forth. They eventually separated to their own corners before walking back to the center of the ring to face each other again. Hogan this time motioned for a test of strength, which Flair agreed to after some hesitation. As soon as they locked both hands, Hogan took control, wrenching down on Flair's hands as he screamed in agony. Flair went down to both knees in the center of the ring while Hogan yelled out taunts at him. The Nature Boy found some way to get back up to his feet and delivered a swift kick to Hogan's groin. The low blow caused the crowd to yell with approval to the challenger. Hogan released the hold as he was in pain as Flair quickly hit a thumb to the eye. With Hogan temporarily blinded, Flair saw his opportunity to stalk behind the champion. Flair delivered a nasty chop block to the back of Hogan's knee, causing him to limp around the ring. Flair did this two more times before Hogan finally dropped to the mat. With the crowd firmly behind him, Flair began to take control and hit his signature knee drops to Hogan's already bloody head. After grabbing Hogan and bringing him to his feet, Flair went for a vertical suplex which he impressively hit. He again brought Hogan to his feet and looked like he was going to go for a belly to back suplex but he hooked Hogan's leg and instead delivered a shin-breaker. Hogan collapsed to the mat and Flair saw it as the time to strike, grabbing Hogan and this time locking in the Figure 4! The crowd was unglued as Hogan yelled in pain. The referee leaned in to ask Hogan if he was going to submit. Hogan had nowhere to go, in the center of the ring. No NWO ran out to help and he couldn't reach for the ropes to break the hold. All Hogan could do was either fight back or submit to the agonizing pain. Hogan thrashed around and begged Flair to release the hold. Hogan yelled out several times that Flair was going to break his leg, insanely looking for some compassion. This had the opposite affect and only caused Flair to wrench it in even further. Hogan had no choice but to fight back and began to do so. Ever so slowly, Hogan began to turn Flair over to try and reverse the pressure. He managed to get Flair flipped, who was now caught in the pain of his own hold. Flair released it, but it was clear that Hogan was affected from being in the hold as long as he was. Both got to their feet and Hogan limped around the ring. Flair followed Hogan into the corner where he continued the attack and once more began biting Hogan's forehead. He stumbled out and Flair rushed him, but Hogan was able to side step and grab Flair's hair and guided him into the steel cage once again with a crushing blow. Flair stumbled back and ended up with a "Flair Flop" in the center of the ring. Hogan saw his opportunity this time as he bounced off the rope as best he could with a bad leg, clearly limping but going for the Leg Drop. Hogan jumped in the air and came down but Flair moved out of the way!!! Flair began a furious offense with chops and punches before dropping to the mat and hitting a vicious low blow. Hogan crumpled to the mat as Flair got up, hitting a few boots to Hogan's head for good measure. He looked to the cage and then at Hogan. Flair saw the opportunity and began climbing the cage. He got about three steps up on the cage before Hogan got to his feet and went in pursuit. Both men were now perched on the cage, about halfway up. All eyes in the arena looked on in anticipation as they began fighting on the cage. Flair would hit a few blows and climb a couple of steps. Hogan would recover and catch up to Flair before then doing the same. Before long, both men had reached the top of the cage where the fight continued. Flair had rocked Hogan with some blows and went to finish him off. He grabbed his head and tried to ram it into the steel but Hogan blocked it. He reversed and grabbed Flair by his red-colored hair and shoved his head into the steel. Flair came away obviously dazed but still trying to put up a fight. Hogan again smashed Flair's head into the steel and then one more time. It was too much for Flair to handle as he lost his grip on the cage and fell away. Flair took the long fall back onto the mat, leaving Hogan all alone on the cage. Hogan took the opportunity to climb over the top of the cage and began to make his way down toward the floor to declare him the winner. Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone yelled and screamed on commentary for this not to happen. Hogan took one slow step after another and begged someone from WCW to come out and stop Hogan. Bobby Heenan, never one to like Hogan, questioned their call for help, wondering if they would feel the same if Flair was the one nearing victory. Everyone in the arena seemed to hold their breath though, hoping for the same result. Hogan got to the level of the apron before he jumped off, landing and falling to the floor. The bell rang, officially ending the match at 23:16. The audience was shocked as Hogan lay on the floor, the announcer giving him the world title as the NWO music played and he was announced the winner. The final shot of the night backed away, showing Ric Flair in the ring and still on the mat. Flair was finally coming around and realized what had happened. The credits began to show on the screen while a close-up of Ric Flair, tears beginning to fall from his eyes as SuperBrawl came to a close. Winner and STILL champion: Hollywood Hogan Rating: 82 Final Show Rating: 88

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund giving you this week's WCW Hotline - Special SuperBrawl Report! While this report will be centered around WCW's upcoming PPV - SuperBrawl - I'll also bring you the most recent news within the pro wrestling world! ECW has reportedly moved up to "Medium" size. The boost follows their monthly event, which this month was Market Street Mayhem. The event saw a number of matches that were all well-received and featured a main event where Taz successfully defended the ECW World Heavyweight title against Too Cold Scorpio. The WWF have signed Dustin Rhodes to a contract extension. It looks like we'll be seeing more of the bizarre Goldust in the future. Now on to WCW news! In hopes of rejuvenating the lower card division, WCW have signed Kaz Hayashi and El Hijo Del Santo to handshake deals. The Japanese high flyer Hayashi should be a great addition of talent! I've received word that Santo's signing mostly has to do with WCW's attempts to appeal more to the Mexican market, as WCW is hoping to expand their popularity South of the border. Despite being one of the most popular wrestlers in Mexico, Santo has not been employed since he left CMLL in November 1995. There continues to be fallout from the Kimberly/Alex Wright affair, mostly for Diamond Dallas Page. Page has been openly complaining of feeling "isolated" backstage which has been detrimental to his morale. As a result, I've heard a few rumors that Eric Bischoff has been trying to get involved in creating new friendships for DDP backstage. Despite this trouble recently backstage, the backstage environment remains extremely positive. Morale is very high from several factors, continually winning the monthly area battles with the WWF, record high ratings, backstage rules, and several close friendships have resulted in an all-time high backstage rating. Folks, the time has finally arrived, we're headed straight for SuperBrawl VII coming from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the home of WCW! It's been some time since our last major PPV, Starrcade 1996. We held Clash of the Champions XXXII in January but as in years past, that was a minor event in between shows. SuperBrawl has indeed shaped up to be a must-see event and I have the official card lineup for you exclusively on this Hotline Report! Strap yourselves in, this is going to be a major show where the Nature Boy Ric Flair will have a colossal task in trying to regain the World Heavyweight title from Hollywood Hulk Hogan and the New World Order! Week 4, February 1997 LIVE from the Georgia Dome - Atlanta, GA World Heavyweight Title: Cage Match: Ric Flair vs Hollywood Hogan (c) Diamond Dallas Page vs Paul Levesque Lex Luger vs Kevin Nash United States Title: Scott Steiner vs Brian Pillman (c) Paul Roma vs Wrath Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs Faces of Fear (c) Television Title: Fit Finlay vs Dean Malenko (c) Eddie Guerrero vs Arn Anderson

Week 4, February 1997 LIVE from the Maritimes - Canada Attendance: 2,900 - Nitro opens up this week with the usual fan fare; pyro and a raging crowd which is noticeably smaller than usual but doesn't lack enthusiasm. JR, Bobby, and Dusty Rhodes welcome everyone to Nitro and, JR tells us, Nitro is coming from Canada tonight which explains the smaller crowd. WCW is clearly trying to branch out to appeal to a larger audience outside the US. We've got a huge night ahead of us, as this is the final show heading into SuperBrawl. Dusty says it's been a long stretch between Starrcade 1996 and SuperBrawl and while we had Clash of the Champions, that wasn't a huge monthly event and the wrestlers are antsy to get in the ring and have a big show. JR reminds fans to not bother switching channels because while the WWF gives the same event each week, tonight's show is worse than usual. It's a bunch of tag team matches that aren't even exciting. He says while the WWF has a ton of big named stars on their roster, they barely use any of them whereas with WCW and Nitro, you're going to see the big names each and every week! The announce booth is interrupted as cameras go backstage to catch an arrival. - - Double A is getting his luggage out of a trunk and making his way in to the arena. As the Enforcer heads inside, the crowd is heard giving him a warm reception. The announcers begin to talk about Anderson's attempts to get Eddie Guerrero in the ring for SuperBrawl, which Eddie has done his best to avoid it. Everyone's interrupted though when Double A is jumped by two men rushing in from off screen. - - Anderson catches the men rushing in from the corner of his eye and has just enough time to react, though he still gets jumped. Blows are flying from Hogan and Savage as they do their best to quickly overwhelm the Enforcer. Arn's doing his best to fight the two off but it's clear he's definitely outmatched and double teamed. Just as quickly as the attack started though, another man rushes in from off camera. - - The crowd is heard losing their minds as Flair rushes in and immediately goes after Hogan, leaving Anderson to overcome the attack from the Macho Man. Flair furiously punches and claws at Hogan's face as he tries to regroup with Savage and retreat. A flood of officials rush in to break up the group as Flair fights with everything he has to get through the group of men holding him back. Hogan and Savage rush off as Anderson grabs hold of the Nature Boy to pull him away. Nitro fades away to the first break as JR tells everyone tonight's already shaping up to be a huge night and to not change that channel! - Rating: 87 United States Title: Ricky Steamboat vs Brian Pillman (c) vs Pillman has a tough task to defend his title against a skilled veteran as he heads into SuperBrawl with another tough defense against Scott Steiner. The long, grueling, opening match had all of the highlights you would expect from these two from everything from technical wrestling to flying action, to power moves. Pillman had a really great performance while Steamboat seemed to struggle finding his stride for this one. Pillman ended the match at 18:40 with the Air Pillman. Winner: Brian Pillman Rating: 77 - Back at the announce booth, the trio try to regroup with a break in action to hype up the rest of the night as well as some matches for SuperBrawl. They don't get very far before music begins to fade into the arena, bringing the crowd to their feet. Two men begin to walk out briskly and get about halfway down the aisle when Mean Gene rushes from off stage and to the ring for what seems to be an impromptu interview. - Flair: HOGAN!!!! YOU COWARD! YOU'RE A COWARD!!!! You wanna have me arrested?!?!? Here I am, big man!!! Have the cops come out, handcuff me!! I don't care!!! There's nothing that's going to keep me from getting to SuperBrawl this Sunday and kicking your ass!!! That's right! Have me arrested!!! Do you know who I am, pal?!? I'm the Nature Boy Ric Flair! I have shoes that cost more than your paycheck! Have me arrested!!! I'll make bail and I'll be right there this Sunday to take that world title! You and Savage wanna try and get the jump on the Enforcer?!? You're nothing but a sad opportunist! You take something and try and squeeze every ounce out of it! When you're done with it, you throw it away! You thought you and Savage would jump the Enforcer to get at me! Well guess what Hogan, you're nothing but a sad excuse for a man and I'm going to love every second of making you bleed, sweat, and pay the price this Sunday, pal!!!! In the mean time....In the meantime, how about tonight..... In this ring...Since Savage wants a fight so bad, I want Savage in the middle of this ring!! I'm gonna have the Enforcer outside at ringside!!! And Hogan, I want you to pay real close attention because the beating I give Savage in this ring tonight is gonna pale in comparison to what I do with you at SuperBrawl! I'll make him bleed!!! I'll make him beg for mercy!!! And I'm just simply put, gonna kick his ass until he cries for you to come out and help!!!! But one thing's a fact, Hogan! You're not coming out here because that would mean you'd face me face to face!!! Tonight, Savage, your ass is mine and this Sunday, Hogan, your getting the beating of your life!!!! Rating: 100 Paul Levesque vs Perry Saturn vs A little-known fact about these two competitors is that they trained together. This did not translate into mutual respect from the two, however, as Levesque was quick to paintbrush Saturn who responded in kind with an exploder suplex. It was a back and forth match that saw both men get plenty of offense in. Levesque hit the Apex at 7:43 for the win. Winner: Paul Levesque Rating: 69 Lord Steven Regal vs Steve Austin vs Regal tried many of the antics he used in their match last month but again it didn't have any impact on the no-nonsense Austin. Austin simply, again, flipped Regal off (much to the delight of the crowd) which caused Regal's face to contort with disgust. The brawl started from there soon after. Both men were on top of their game in this match with Austin being exceptional. Austin ended up hitting the Stunner at 9:46 for the win in a good match. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 78 Mean Gene is backstage with Eddie Guerrero, this time for a proper interview. Eddie is in appearance without any slings, without a neck brace, and without any crutches, to the surprise of Mean Gene. He asks him about it and Eddie says miracles work every single day and Eddie is 100% healthy and injury free. After intense rehabilitation, he's good as new and will be facing Arn Anderson this Sunday at SuperBrawl. Mean Gene asks Eddie if he saw the earlier attempted attack by Hollywood Hogan and the Macho Man against his opponent this Sunday. Eddie says he saw it and that he doesn't need the NWO doing his work for him. Eddie says he's going to take on Anderson and he's going to beat him all by himself so there's no question about what kind of athlete Eddie Guerrero is. Rating: 96 Harlem Heat vs Scott Norton & Wrath vs The odd tag team pairings look to continue in Canada as Norton and Wrath team together. This was another big, powerhouse duo taking on Harlem Heat but they once again proved they can also bring the toughness to their opponents and hit plenty of power moves on their own on the big men. Dusty says this is a great test for Harlem Heat ahead of their attempt to regain the tag team titles at SuperBrawl against the Faces of Fear. Stevie Ray got the pin at 9:36 after hitting Norton with the Heat Seeker. Winners: Harlem Heat Rating: 77 Nitro returns from a commercial break to a taped Lex Luger promo. Luger says after months of ambushes and sneak attacks, after having his two friends in the Macho Man and Sting turn their backs on him, it would be easy to throw in the towel and join the NWO after the push by Nash to get him to join. Luger says though that what doesn't kill a man only makes him stronger. The Total Package has been out to set right the wrong that the NWO has brought on WCW and he's not about to give up. He says that Nash has been working so hard lately to get him to join the NWO and he has to wonder what the secret motive is behind it. He says he would get immensely more pleasure out of beating Kevin Nash at SuperBrawl than he would ever get by joining the NWO. This Sunday for Kevin Nash is going to be full of pain delivered by the hands of the Total Package. Rating: 87 Mean Gene is backstage once again, this time with Diamond Dallas Page. Gene says the last couple of weeks have been a challenge for Page and Paul Levesque had some choice words for him last week. DDP says Levesque is full of nothing but hot air and that it's no surprise that low-life scum like him runs his mouth. Page says that Levesque needs his mouth shut for him and he'll be more than happy to do that at SuperBrawl. As for Page's personal life, he says it's no one's business. Rating: 85 Ric Flair vs Randy Savage vs Flair made his way out first for this one simply because it was thought if Savage came out first, Flair would rush him and the match would never make it to the ring. It seemed to be true because as soon as Savage stepped through the ropes, Flair rushed and began a flurry of attacks to Savage. Flair was simply incredible in this match and given a rating of 100/100. He overwhelmed Savage from the beginning and didn't let up on his offense, even when the referee threatened to disqualify him. The match went extremely long and even took a few commercial breaks in between. Each time when returning from a break, Flair was solidly in control of the match, which went all over the arena. The fight was in the ring, on the floor, in the crowd, and even went backstage at one point. Flair used everything as a weapon that he could get his hands on. Savage similarly used some things as weapons but it was mostly in an ill-fated attempt to hold off Flair, rather than any offensive move. Once back in the ring, Flair had the crowd raging and was totally in control. He got Savage locked in the Figure Four right in the middle of the ring. Savage was clearly in agony but didn't want to give it up. This is where things broke down. The NWO rush out with Pillman and Levesque getting into the ring first. They immediately go on the attack which causes the DQ at 23:23. Winner: Ric Flair Rating: 82 - With Flair on the mat and the Figure Four locked in, he had no ability to defend himself from attack. Pillman and Levesque kick and hammer blows quickly as Bagwell entered the ring, followed by Nash and Hogan. Anderson, seeing the NWO run out, tried to get in the ring and cut them off but the numbers were too great. Despite being outnumbered, Flair and Anderson did their best to fight back but it was clear that they were going to quickly be overrun. - - To the complete shock of everyone watching, Steve Austin was the next man to sprint out from backstage. He slid in the ring and the crowd, already loud and excited from the fight taking place, seemed to go up several more octaves as Austin got to his feet and went right after the NWO. JR, Heenan, and Dusty were all beside themselves as Austin took turns rushing from one NWO member to the next with an attack. The unexpected help also allowed Flair and Anderson to recover and start mounting their own defense as a wild brawl was unfolding inside the ring. Neither side was gaining a clear advantage and blows continued to rain down when things took another unexpected turn. - - Sting, yes, the real one, walked out from the backstage area. JR confirmed that the mannerisms meant that this was no doubt the real Sting and not the imposter we've been seeing, mostly on Saturday Night's broadcasts. The crowd almost became silent in anticipation as to what was going to happen as Sting approached the ring and didn't hesitate before climbing the steps and entering the ring. It was like a sea parting as the fighting slowly began to stop. The group formerly known as the Horsemen with Anderson, Flair, and Austin on one side of the ring and the NWO on the other. Sting stepped right to the middle as the fighting came to a stop and all eyes were on Sting. Sting stood in the middle of the ring while the NWO was behind him. He stared daggers into Flair, Anderson, and Austin as the Nitro credits appeared on the screen and then began to fade to black. With the closing seconds, JR rhetorically asked what this meant and what was going to happen this Sunday at SuperBrawl!? - Rating: 99 Final Show Rating: 87

Week 3, February 1997 LIVE From Freedom Hall - Louisville, KY Attendance: 17,828 - A huge pyro display follows the normal Monday Nitro opening video sequence as Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone to this week's WCW Monday Nitro. All the announcers are in chipper spirits this week and JR tells us it's mostly due to how Nitro came to an end last week, with WCW finally seeming to stand together to run off the NWO. Tenay says it was a sight that the WCW faithful aren't used to seeing and the momentum appears to have drastically turned around all in just one week. The Brain tells us that we can't get too comfortable because he has no doubt Hollywood Hogan and the NWO have something up their sleeve, never ones to sit at a disadvantage. JR agrees and also reminds everyone that Sting is now a member of the NWO and things have still remained quiet with him. He does have a source that informed him that they did see Sting sulking around the arena earlier today, so it's anyone's guess as to what will go on with him tonight. Music begins to play in the arena just as they're finishing the recap, signifying the first match of the night! - "Riddle me this, riddle me that, I hear Alex Wright's Bratwurst is as big as a bat!" Diamond Dallas Page vs Alex Wright vs DDP entered the ring looking in a particularly foul mood tonight which only appeared to get worse as Alex Wright made his way out to the stage and began dancing. While Wright stepped through the ropes, JR eluded to an altercation last week at Nitro involving the two but didn't delve further into it. The match started off with Page delivering a very stiff slap across the face to a shocked Alex Wright. From there, the match seemed to mostly go as normal with DDP handling most of the offense. Page put things away at 8:51 with a Diamond Cutter. Winner: DDP Rating: 64 - Interests pique a little bit as cameras move to the backstage garage area where a long limo is pulling up and comes to a stop. The doors open to reveal the NWO, which appears to be out in full force tonight, exiting. Celebrations and smiles are all around the NWO, seemingly unfazed by the events ending last week's show. Hollywood Hogan steps out and has a piece of paper in his hands as he steps up to Bischoff and puts an arm around him. The group slowly make their way inside the arena as Hogan and Bischoff have the attention of the camera. Hogan says that after last weeks events, he has a restraining order against Ric Flair and that the paper in his hand says if Flair gets within 100 feet of Hogan, he'll be arrested and the SuperBrawl match will be voided. The NWO all laugh and appear ultra confident of their plan heading into SuperBrawl as Nitro fades to its first commercial break. - Rating: 100 Steve Austin vs John Tenta vs This was a no nonsense match featuring two men with different styles but their attitudes seemed to mesh quite well. Austin egged on Tenta to bring everything he had at him which he was able to block and unleash a furry of offense to Tenta instead. With the big man reeling, Austin clotheslined him over the ropes to the outside where Tenta tried to regroup. Once back in the ring, he used his size to take advantage and take over the match. He had Austin nearly pinned a couple times before Austin slowly started to make his comeback. Tenta managed to stop the comeback with a thundering headbutt, dropping Austin to the canvas. Seeing the opportunity, Tenta went for his Earthquake Splash but Austin rolled out of the way. Once both got to their feet, Tenta turned, meeting a swift kick in the gut followed by the Stunner at 9:31. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 79 - The NWO music hits the arena and the crowd get on their feet to see who's coming out this time as Kevin Nash and the United States Champion Brian Pillman emerge from the fog. While the two are making their way to the ring, cameras manage to catch another individual... Sting is perched high atop the arena looking down as Nash and Pillman get into the ring. The announce booth wonders why Sting isn't walking out with them and Heenan says Sting's still a lost soul, whether he joined the NWO or not. He says Sting's so unpredictable no one knows what he'll do at any given moment. Nash looks out to the crowd and notices all the heads in the audience looking up which causes him to also look, spotting Sting in the catwalks. Nash points up at Sting and nods his head as the music fades out. - Rating: 69 Nash: I'd like to take this opportunity to call out up there to my boy Sting! Stinger, you made the right choice by joining the NWO! Now I know and the rest of the NWO know that you need some time! We know you've been all lone these last several months and you need to reintegrate yourself with society, and that's all well and fine by us! You came out here a couple of weeks ago and got the tshirt, you're sporting the colors, Stinger, we know you stand with the New World Order! Like I said, you made the right choice! Macho Man made the right choice! It's only a matter of time before Lex Luger wakes up and smells the coffee and makes the right choice of his own! Luger, I'll give credit where credit's due! You've held fast and you've stood up as well as only one man can for WCW! Don't let last week's little fluke trick you into thinking you've got guys that will watch your back the way the NWO could! Luger, I've been nice for as long as I can but I'll be honest, my patience is starting to wear thin! If I've gotta beat it out of you at SuperBrawl, then that's exactly what I'll do because Lex, you can only get run over so many times by a big diesel truck before you give in! Ya see what I did there???? Pillman: Oh Kevin!!!! You're hilarious, my friend!!! Indeed, at SuperBrawl, there will be a lot of eyes being opened to the sheer dominance that the NWO has over WCW! Lex Luger will find out, and Scotty Steiner, you also will find out! I, on the other hand, won't be as nice to you as Kevin Nash has been to the Total Package! See Scotty, the NWO actually see's potential in Lex Luger! He's been out here for months battling us, withstanding nearly everything being thrown at him! It's never shaken his resolve! Unlike you, you've failed a couple of times going after Hollywood Hogan and the world heavyweight title but now you have the audacity to come after me and the US title??? What in God's name do you think gives you the right to come after me?! I've held this title since May of last year! I'm the best US champion this company has ever seen! I'm sure as hell not you swoop in here and act like you're the savior of WCW because, Scott Steiner, you are not! That's all ok though. Try your best as you might Scotty, but at SuperBrawl, your best just won't be good enough!!!! Rating: 99 Perry Saturn vs Lord Steven Regal vs Saturn has really come into his own in the last few months showing himself to not just be a formidable singles wrestler, but also a tag team wrestler. Regal continued to highlight himself as one of the best workers in WCW at the moment and the recipe by bringing these two together worked magically. The match was a combination of technical wrestling and powerful suplexes by both men. The crowd also was totally into anything both of these men did. Things looked to be over as Saturn locked Regal in the Rings of Saturn and the crowd was on their feet, anticipating Regal tapping out, who's hand was up and prepared to give the signal. He fought his way to the ropes eventually, causing the hold to be broken. From there, Regal was able to regain the momentum and ended up getting Saturn locked in Regal's submission hold, the Regal Stretch. Saturn also battled, attempting to get to the ropes. He wasn't able to though and gave up at 9:57 in a great match! Winner: Steven Regal Rating: 90 Tag Team Titles: Fit Finlay & Mike Barton vs Faces of Fear (c) vs The odd team parings continue as the Faces of Fear look to successfully defend their tag team belts. Despite the odd paring, there was no doubt that the ring contained some insanely tough men. It looked a bit as though Finlay and Barton could withstand the punishment and power the the champions dished out and also managed to return it quite effectively. The crowd also got into the match as they witnessed punishing blows by both teams who just taunted each other and kept on beating each other up. It was a headbutt from Finlay to Meng that was their undoing. The Samoan shook it off and promptly locked Finlay in the Tongan Death Grip for the win at 9:13. Winners: Faces of Fear Rating: 80 - Following the match Jimmy Hart got in the ring with his clients and, with them flanking each side, he ripped into Harlem Heat as being wanna-be champions and said at SuperBrawl, the Faces of Fear will show everyone why they're the most dominant team in WCW and he hopes the boys from Harlem have been preparing and training hard because he wants them at their absolute best when the Faces of Fear completely obliterate them, so there's no excuse as to what team really runs WCW! - Rating: 72 - Levesque is backstage and ready to cut a promo as WCW returns from a commercial break. He looks as smug and confident as ever as he gets started. - Levesque: Ya know, you can take a person out of the trailer park, but you just can't take the trailer park outta the person! Diamond Dallas Page, it looks to me like you've had quite a few problems lately! All this time you've been worried about me and what you should've been doing is paying more attention to what goes on in your double-wide! See Page, I'm a man of opportunity and what I see ahead of me at SuperBrawl is one fine opportunity to not only beat your ass like the redneck you are, but to send you packing back to the trailer park you came from but this time......Ohhhh this time, Page, you'll be there all. Alone! And how fitting is that???? You'll be all alone because no one likes you and you're a loser. Your problems have just begun, Page! You can count on that! Rating: 62 The Amazing French Canadians vs Lex Luger & Ricky Steamboat vs Luger and Steamboat continued to work well as a team as the announcers wondered if Kevin Nash's attempts to get him in the NWO were having any effect on him. Similarly, they also wondered how Sting's entrance into the NWO was effecting him as well. The translation to the ring was seeing a bit more of an aggressive Lex Luger that what we're used to seeing. He nearly got his team disqualified as he continued to beat on Carl Oulette in the corner, even prompting Ricky Steamboat to enter to get Luger to back off. It looked as though there was a brief argument between Steamboat and Luger but things quickly settled down and Luger tagged out. The match ended at 9:58 when Luger was eventually tagged back in and got Rougeau in the Torture Rack for the submission win. Winners: Lex Luger & Ricky Steamboat Rating: 69 - Nitro returns from a commercial break and Mean Gene Okerlund is standing at the base of the ramp. He introduces his guest Eddie Guerrero, who hobbles out from the side of the entrance on crutches. Mean Gene asks Eddie for an explanation and he says that while he was at home over the weekend rehabbing his injured shoulders and neck, he fell and injured his knee. Eddie says that everything he's been doing lately to try and get back in the ring is just derailing him further and keeping him from his passion in life. Eddie nearly comes to tears as he's describing injury after injury he's suffered, all in the name of trying to give Arn Anderson the match at SuperBrawl he so dearly wishes to have. Mean Gene isn't buying the performance of Eddie Guerrero though and soon enough, Arn Anderson emerges from the entrance, cutting Eddie off mid sentence. Arn casually approaches Eddie and Mean Gene who also has a piece of paper of his own in his hands. Arn says what everyone else is thinking, that Eddie's full of it and never has been injured. Arn says just for a little insurance, because he knew Eddie would try to pull something, he went to the WCW board of directors and got this little paper he has in his hands. To the astonishment and fury of Eddie, Arn says this paper is directly from the Board and states if Eddie Guerrero does not wrestle Arn Anderson at SuperBrawl in just under two weeks time, not only will he be indefinitely suspended, but he will be suspended without pay! A furious Eddie proceeds to throw a fit and even begins to jump up and down, stomping his feet before he stops and freezes, realizing he's jumping on his "bad knee" before quickly hobbling/running off screen. - Rating: 98 - Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff are backstage for a promo of their own, not an endorsed announcement by the New World Order. Hogan goes on to say that at SuperBrawl, he'll do exactly what he's always done in his career, and that's rip Ric Flair limb from limb at SuperBrawl. Hogan says that Flair's never beat him and things are going to stay that way at SuperBrawl because Hollywood Hogan is a wrestling God and he'll just prove one more time that he's the bigger name in wrestling. - Rating: 90 Randy Savage vs Scott Steiner vs This ended up being, to much surprise, a pretty straight forward match. There was plenty of taunting from both sides going around but for the most part, it was a straight match. Steiner utilized his powerful offense wherever he could to wear down the Macho Man. Savage also utilized his manager, Elizabeth, to get in plenty of cheap shots whenever he had the referee's back turned. Though most of the match was clean, the ending was not. Just as Steiner looked to finish things off with a Steiner Screwdriver, Brian Pillman came rushing to ringside and jumped on the apron, distracting Steiner and the referee. Elizabeth took the opportunity to slide a foreign object in to Savage, who made his way to his feet. He turned Steiner around and decked him with some brass knuckles and then promptly tossed them out of the ring, making a cover. The referee turned after Pillman jumped down to the floor and counted the pin at 15:24. Winner: Randy Savage Rating: 84 Final Show Rating: 89

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund, bringing you this edition of the WCW Hotline Report! It's bee a little bit since the last Hotline update, but I have some huge news for you regarding some backstage events in WCW! LOVE TRIANGLE BACKSTAGE! Tensions ran high this past Monday night on Nitro when Diamond Dallas Page apparently walked in on his wife Kimberly and Alex Wright engaged in certain affairs..... All three were backstage this past week on Nitro, though none were used. I was told that several wrestlers backstage had to hold DDP back from Alex Wright, who furiously tried to exit the room unscathed. Page has filed for divorce earlier this week and it has already been announced that Kimberly and Alex Wright are now a couple. This naturally has developed quite the hatred DDP has toward Alex Wright. How or will this effect the involved parties going forward remains to be seen, however, I had been told that Wright was in the slow process of introducing a new "harsh German" gimmick in recent weeks that has been getting rave reviews from management. DDP is currently working a program with Paul Levesque of the NWO and I'm told there are no plans to incorporate Wright into this feud. This couldn't come at a worse time for DDP as he's already struggling with a poor reaction to a gimmick change, looking to be more of a "working man's man." The change has not gone particularly well and DDP is still trying to find his footing on it. MORE BACKSTAGE TROUBLE? Speaking of Paul Levesque, there appears to be more trouble brewing backstage. Levesque was a guest on a radio show this week and revealed that he and The Total Package Lex Luger have recently had some trouble behind the scenes. When pressed, Levesque wouldn't elaborate to anything specific, but it was clear he had a rather blatant hatred toward Luger. I reached out to both for a comment but they wouldn't provide one. Both of these incidents come at an odd time as the WCW backstage environment is said to be at an all-time high with overall good attitudes, though Meng did complain about being left off of this past Monday's show. Back at Clash of the Champions, Arn Anderson, Eddie Guerrero, and Ric Flair were all pointed out by Eric Bischoff after the show for their fantastic performances and all were said to be very happy about the mention. Main Event Ends Run WCW announced this week that the end of January saw the ending of long-running weekend show Main Event. The show in recent years was used to showcase lesser-used talent and did not promote current events. WCW thought it was appropriate to not re-sign the show to a new deal and rather leave the time slot open for other future ventures. In unrelated WCW news, Tammy Sytch, better known to fans as Sunny in the WWF, appeared on a daytime talk show last week and revealed that her friendship with Bret Hart has come to an end. Sytch didn't point to one event to signal the ending of the friendship other than saying they have slowly parted ways in recent months. Puerto Rico based promotion World Wrestling Council has apparently moved up to a "Medium" size this week. They point their success to boasting some big star power by the likes of Jeff Jarrett, Ricky Morton, and Ron Simmons. They've also signed Marc Mero previously and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, though Roberts sustained a severe spinal cord injury in January that will keep him out of action for over a year. In addition to those workers, they also have Jesse "The Body" Ventura and "Superstar" Billy Graham at the announce booth. I've also been told they are in the works of finalizing a deal with Curt Hennig, who is also currently working for the USWA. Raven, who was working for both ECW and ECWA had signed an exclusive contract with ECW at the end of January. As a result of the exclusive contract, he has now left ECWA after fulfilling all of his dates. I've also received word that Rey Mysterio Jr. has signed an exclusive 2 year contract extension with CMLL. He currently holds the NWA World Middleweight championship and has been a main star for that promotion. I'm told WCW did reach out to Mysterio and offer a deal, however, the bidding war for CMLL went past what WCW felt comfortable spending for him. WCW has had a long break between Clash of the Champions and SuperBrawl giving them plenty of time to build toward some huge matches, as SuperBrawl is typically one of WCW's main PPV's of the year. Nitro will no doubt see more development as we near closer! Here's the card for this week's Nitro, coming from Louisville, KY! Week 3, February 1997 Randy Savage vs Scott Steiner The Amazing French Canadians vs Lex Luger & Ricky Steamboat Tag Team Titles: Fit Finlay & Mike Barton vs Faces of Fear (c) Perry Saturn vs Lord Steven Regal Steve Austin vs John Tenta Diamond Dallas Page vs Alex Wright

Week 2, February 1997 LIVE from the Birmingham-Jefferson Arena - Birmingham, AL Attendance: 17,000 (SELLOUT!) - Nitro opens with the usual festivities this week, lots of pyro and crowd shots of the packed arena before going to the announce booth where Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan and Mike Tenay welcome everyone. Ross says last week Sting did the unthinkable and is with the NWO. They all take turns discussing the fact that Sting has made it obvious he isn't siding with WCW and has chosen Hollywood Hogan and the NWO. This was further clarified last week when everyone was witness to a brutal attack on Ricky Steamboat by the NWO and Sting stood by watching. Ross says that they're not going to let one man rain on the fact that WCW seems to be finally coming together, with or without Sting. Tonight is a huge event for WCW because Hollywood Hogan and Ric Flair will sign a contract to meet at SuperBrawl in a cage match for the world heavyweight title. Unlike the WWF, they're not going to make everyone wait until the end of the night because the contract signing will be after the first match! - Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs Lord Steven Regal vs It's no secret that Chavo has had quite the difficult time picking up a win in WCW. Regal is no easy opponent but Chavo was able to match up much better with his style of wrestling versus, say, a guy like Wrath or John Tenta. Despite the more competitive nature of the match, Regal was simply on fire again tonight, being rated by many as a 92/100 performance. The crowd was excited for the opening match and saw Regal get the win at 8:29 with the Regal Stretch. Winner: Lord Steven Regal Rating: 80 Mean Gene is excited for tonight as he tells the crowd that Ric Flair will have a chance to win the WCW world heavyweight title at SuperBrawl because a contract signing will be taking place right now between the two competitors. Mean Gene first introduces the challenger, the Nature Boy Ric Flair, who comes out by himself. The announcers all agree that this isn't such a great idea for the Nature Boy, as Hogan is virtually guaranteed to not come out alone and could easily be setting up Flair for a trap. Nevertheless, Flair is also smiling from ear to ear as he makes his way out and walks, or struts, rather, to the ring. Once inside, he meets Mean Gene in the center and shakes his hand before giving a loud WOOOOOOO! A brief interview with Flair takes place where Flair says he's wanted to get his hands on Hogan ever since losing the world title to him at Road Wild and then he's wanted to get payback for what the NWO did at War Games. Flair says Fall Brawl and War Games was the catalyst for everything we've seen since with Sting and now that he's with the NWO, he's done worrying about Sting. As far as Flair's concerned, Sting is a coward just like the rest of the NWO and if he wants to buddy up with Hogan, then it's his funeral. Flair's not only going to win the world title back at SuperBrawl, but he's going to cut the head straight off of the NWO! Mean Gene then introduces the world champion - Hollywood Hogan. Hogan naturally and surprising to no one doesn't come out alone. The United States champion Brian Pillman, Eric Bischoff, and Kevin Nash all accompany the NWO figurehead to the ring who all taunt Flair along the way. As they step inside, Bischoff puts up his fists and taunts Flair while Mean Gene says this is not supposed to be a physical encounter. Mean Gene invites the two competitors to sit at the table that's been set up in the ring for the contract signing. Flair sits across from Hogan who's completely nonchalant about the encounter. Nash stands next to the seated Hogan with his arms folded, glaring a hole through the Nature Boy and doing his best to intimidate him. Bischoff holds onto the world title as the NWO music fades out and Mean Gene gets down to the introductions. He says the two men are here to sign a match contract for SuperBrawl that will pit them both inside a steel cage for the world heavyweight title. He has Flair sign the contract first since he's the challenger. As Flair signs, Brian Pillman obnoxiously taunts the Nature Boy, but he gives him no attention and signs his name without a moments hesitation. Next up is the world champion, Hollywood Hogan. Mean Gene says Hogan's held the title since defeating Flair at Road Wild last year and this match will guarantee a winner, as it's inside a steel cage. Hogan says he's beating everyone who's lined up to try and take his title and at SuperBrawl, the same results gonna happen that happened at Road Wild; he's going to beat Flair like an old dirty rug and just when Flair's begging for mercy, he's going to beat him a little more! Hogan says not to worry about the NWO because Flair's washed up and never could compete with Hollywood, so he doesn't need help beating him. Hogan says while he made wrestling what it is today and was the cause for its popularity, Flair struggled to sell out bingo halls in the South. Flair's always been a big fish in a little pond and that's why he was never successful in New York. Despite all the trash talk, Flair looks on with a fire behind his eyes and an intense, focused look on his face. Hogan pauses to look at Flair before signing the contract, which at the conclusion resulted in Pillman jumping and screaming forward in Flair's face. It proved to be too much, as Flair sprung up and pie faced Pillman with a right hand, shoving him back. Flair braced himself for the attack as Nash flipped the table over and Pillman rushed toward Flair, only to be held back by Hogan. Mean Gene had already rushed out of the ring at this point but Hogan remained calm and cool, slowly patting Pillman on his chest and telling him he's got it. Nash just stood looking menacingly as Flair was on his feet, braced for a fight. Hogan turned toward Flair and inched closer as the two were nearly nose to nose, leaning over the flipped table. The camera zoomed in as words were being exchanged and Ross tells us that we have to take a commercial break. Rating: 93 Wrath vs Mike Barton vs Wrath had a good performance in this one that wasn't even remotely competitive. He put Barton away easily at 6:33 with the Meltdown. Winner: Wrath Rating: 70 Tony Schiavone is backstage with Scott Steiner for an interview and wanted to get his thoughts on the events surrounding Sting last week. He says he knows that Scott's tried to get Sting back on the side of WCW but it looks like all those attempts have failed. Steiner says that last week Sting proved where his loyalty lies and that it doesn't lie with WCW anymore. He says that's fine with him because he'll be the one to pick up the WCW banner and run with it. Steiner says WCW's success at ridding itself of the NWO shouldn't rely on one man anyway. Steiner says his only regret is not hitting Sting with his baseball bat when he was given the choice and says if he's ever given the opportunity again, Sting's going to end up in the hospital. Rating: 86 Television Title: Ricky Steamboat vs Dean Malenko (c) vs w/ Ordinarily, this would be a good matchup, however, it was clear the Steamboat was still feeling the effects of the attack from the NWO last week. Although he was beat up, the two still put on a good performance but something just didn't click with it. Steamboat did everything he could to derail the offense by Malenko but he also had to contend with is manager, Francine. During one comeback, the Dragon found himself going on a roll, hitting several of his signature arm drags followed by a karate chop. Steamboat went to bounce off the ropes only to have Francine hold the top rope down, causing him to spill over and outside to the floor. He was barely able to avoid being counted out and dragged himself back into the ring but this only allowed Malenko easy access to lock in the Texas Cloverleaf at 15:45 and get the submission victory. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 64 Following another commercial break, Mean Gene this time is backstage and standing by with Eddie Guerrero. Guerrero is dressed in street clothes but now wearing a neck brace. Mean Gene asks him to explain himself this week and tells Gene that he injured his neck while working out earlier in the week. Eddie pulls out a piece of paper and says it's a "doctor's note" forbidding him from competing in the ring at SuperBrawl. Eddie says it actually specifies that he is not to wrestle against Arn Anderson. Eddie says there's nothing he loves more in this world than wrestling and he was looking forward to facing a legend like the Enforcer, but sadly due to his latest injury, he's going to have to sit out. Rating: 90 United States Title: Fit Finlay vs Brian Pillman (c) vs This is actually the first time since before World War 3 that Pillman defended the US title. This didn't keep Pillman from having the performance of the night though, being rated a 97/100. Pillman mocked Finlay at every opportunity and used his quickness to avoid the Irishman as much as possible. Finlay was still able to catch him a few times and deliver his stiff offensive moves, but it wasn't enough. Pillman got the win at 12:29 with the Air Pillman. Winner: Brian Pillman Rating: 90 Hostile Intent vs Earl Robert Eaton & Steve Keirn vs I'm really at a loss to even try and explain why the Blue Blood Eaton is teaming with Keirn. It's possible that the Bloods were trying to recruit Keirn, but there's no backstory available. This was an odd but decent match which saw Roman get the pin fall victory at 10:02. Winners: Hostile Intent Rating: 64 Buff Bagwell & Paul Levesque vs Ric Flair & Lex Luger vs From the opening bell, Flair and Luger punished Buff Bagwell and Levesque from one corner to the other. By the time order had finally been restored in the match, meaning the illegal men finally went to their corner, the match was already half through. Flair and Bagwell were the legal men and Flair attacked him with a fury before Luger was tagged in. Luger Dominated him until he tossed him into his corner to tag in Levesque. He was also still hurting from the beginning brawl and Luger continued the punishment. It became clear quickly that Luger and Flair were going to dominate this one and Luger quickly got Levesque up in the Torture Rack where he wasted no time giving up at 12:51. Winners: Ric Flair & Lex Luger Rating: 73 In typical Nitro fashion though, things didn't end there. As the bell sounded, Pillman, Nash, Savage, and Hogan all hit the ring and the brawl ensued. Flair and Luger were outnumbered and jumped from behind but they still fought back with a fury. It didn't take long though before the crowd exploded into cheers as two more men slid into the ring to join the fight; Scott Steiner and Arn Anderson hit the ring though still outnumbered, it was clear that WCW had the momentum on their side. Bagwell and Levesque were already weakened and it allowed WCW to fight like their life depended on it. With the crowd roaring and Jim Ross on commentary exclaiming that finally, WCW was coming together, they all fed off of the moment. It was clear that Luger, Flair, Steiner, and Anderson weren't backing down and took the fight straight to the NWO. One by one, WCW removed a member of the NWO from the ring. Bagwell and Levesque were dispatched first. Flair hit a vicious low blow on Savage and shoved him out to the floor. Steiner hit Pillman with a beautiful FrankenSteiner and caused him to roll out onto the floor. Luger clotheslined Nash over the top rope and finally, Hollywood Hogan was left all alone. Hogan did his best to beg off the four men who were now starting to encircle him. Just as Luger and Flair rushed forward, Hogan dove out to the floor. WCW stood tall for the first time against the NWO who were trying to regroup on the floor as the credits rolled and Nitro faded out. Rating: 99 Final Show Rating: 82

Week 1, February 1997 LIVE from Joe Louis Arena - Detroit, MI Attendance: 17,657 Following the video open and various camera shots throughout the arena, the familiar pyro display goes off as the fans anxiously await this week's Monday Nitro, tonight emanating from the Motor City in Detroit! Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone as they discuss the events from last week's Nitro, where the NWO claimed Sting to now be a part of their group. There obviously hasn't been any verbal statement from Sting regarding this but his actions in recent weeks could suggest he is part of the renegade group, as he's done little to help WCW in their invasion. They also touch on the odd behavior from Sting last week where he gave Scott Steiner an opportunity to hit him with his very own baseball bat while his back was turned. Steiner declined to attack and Heenan said that showed Sting that Scott Steiner doesn't have what it takes to be as ruthless as you need to be against a gang. Music begins to play in the arena as Nitro gets underway with the first match tonight! Lance Storm vs Lord Steven Regal vs Regal has been a man on a mission since returning from injury and leaving no one to guess he wants his TV title back. Mike Tenay describes Lance Storm as a young wrestler with an incredible future, one that surely has gold in it, however, on this night it isn't meant to be. Regal demolished Storm and was extremely brutal and aggressive in this match, ending it at 6:45 with the Regal Stretch. Winner: Lord Steven Regal Rating: 70 - Mean Gene Okerlund is backstage with a visibly distraught Total Package Lex Luger. Gene starts the interview by saying everyone heard Hollywood Hogan and the NWO last week claim that Sting is standing on the sidelines in helping WCW because he's joined the New World Order. After weeks and months of Luger begging for the return of the Franchise, Mean Gene wants to know what's going through Luger's mind. - Luger: Mean Gene, as you know, WCW as well as I, have gone through a lot in these last few months! I made the mistake of not trusting my best friend and I've paid the price many times over for that. I haven't even spoken to my best friend since last September, and we all know that wasn't the best conversation, either. When I heard Hollywood Hogan utter those words last week, that Sting was with the NWO, it hit me like a freight train, Gene. However, we all know that the NWO relies on mind games and overwhelming their victims! I made the mistake before of not trusting the Stinger, of doubting him, and Mean Gene, I'll be damned if I'm going to make that same mistake again! I can't believe it, I won't believe it, and I DON'T believe it! If there's one guy in this company that lives, breathes, and bleeds WCW, it's the Stinger! Mean Gene, I'll never believe that Sting would join the NWO until I hear those words straight from his mouth himself and he puts that NWO t-shirt on!! The NWO plays on mind games and I'm not falling for it again! Kevin Nash, things aren't finished between the two of us either and I can tell you one thing, you've got a fight coming your way! Rating: 90 Brad Armstrong vs Wrath vs This match was mostly over before it even started. Wrath dominated Armstrong from bell to bell and there was no question in the winner on this one. Wrath got the pin fall victory at 7:43 with the Meltdown. Winner: Wrath Rating: 70 - The night's abruptly interrupted when the NWO's music blares through the speakers and Kevin Nash leads the group out. The announcers ponder what the occasion is that brings nearly every member of the NWO out tonight before the answer is revealed with near speechless shock from Jim Ross. - Ross: Oh my God..... Ross: This isn't the fake Sting, ladies and gentlemen, this is the real one. Sting is walking out with the New World Order... - The unmistaken gait of the real Sting is witness by all those watching and the crowd looks on, stunned, as the real Sting walks out with the rest of the NWO. There are high fives all around the group, though Sting remains unemotional and doesn't interact with them. Sting makes his way up the aisle with the group when he gets to Hollywood Hogan, who drapes an arm around Sting and taunts into the camera as they continue toward the ring. Once inside, there's more celebration and taunting and the crowd just stares in the ring, too shocked to react to what they're witnessing. - Hogan: Ooooh! Mr. Bischoff, this is just too much to handle!!!! It's just, too sweet, if you will!!! We said it last week and WCW wanted to stay in denial!! They can't admit that the ship is sinking so rather than jump off, all those losers are just gonna stay on the ship til it sinks all the way down to the bottom of the ocean, brother! United States Champion Brian Pillman, would you be so kind as to do the honors, brother?!?! - Pillman has an NWO shirt and holds it out to Sting but Sting doesn't take it. In fact, Sting doesn't even look at it and maintains the same blank look in his eyes. Pillman becomes uneasy and looks at the other NWO members who also start to get uncomfortable. Bischoff looks at Hogan whos smile is slowly fading before he suddenly perks up. Hogan takes the shirt from Pillman and drapes it across Sting's shoulder and pats him. - Hogan: Ok, ok!!! The Stinger's just a little bashful because of the last few months!!! Sting just doesn't know how to react anymore! Look at him! It's a perfect fit, brother! I mean, the Stinger's been wearing the NWO colors for months now, dude!! Who's really all that surprised that he chose the NWO??? Things couldn't be any better for the NWO! The NWO championship belt is right where it belongs, around the waist of Hollywood!!! Ric Flair's proven what a joke he is and an unworthy challenger!!! The Stinger's now joined the NWO!! Life couldn't be better, dudes!!! Nash: Let me just say, Stinger, the black and white for sure looks good on you, my man! It's good that you've finally seen the light and come over to the dark side, unlike his former loser best friend Lex Luger! Luger, I'm glad things aren't over between us because now you're gonna have to deal with the NWO full force! As a matter of fact, I might just have your old best friend here stand in my corner!! Savage: Ooooohhh yeah!!!!! Life couldn't be better for the NWO or for the Macho Man, yeah!! Tonight and tonight only, the Macho Man opens the door to the old vault and takes on Ricky the Dragon Steamboat in the main event!!! Just like back in the day, the Macho Man's gonna take care of business against the Dragon and I'm gonna be a Dragon Slayer, YEAH! As a matter of fact, I'm gonna dedicate my win tonight to the newest member of the NWO - The Stinger! Levesque: Diamond Dallas Page, you've had a problem with me from the get-go! Well tonight when I take on Dean Malenko, I'm gonna make an example outta him and for what I have in store for you! Page, there's one place you belong and it isn't in the middle of this ring! I'm gonna send you back to the trailer park where you belong and maybe you can take that tramp along with you!!! If you haven't noticed, here in the NWO, we have REAL women! Not some fake bimbo tramp like you have running around with you everywhere! One thing you'll learn about me Page, is I don't make threats, I make promises, and I promise to make your life a living hell! Pillman: I've heard an awful lot of hot air coming from the mouth of Scott Steiner lately! He says I've only been US Champion for so long because I hide from my opponents?? I've been US Champion so long because I am the best United States champion in the history of WCW! In case you forgot, Scotty, I beat you back at Fall Brawl and you've had plenty of opportunities since then to beat me for this belt, and you couldn't do it! At SuperBrawl, you want another shot??? Be my guest but let me give you a little spoiler for that match; it's gonna end up just like all other times you failed to win this title!!! The NWO's at the top of our game and it's gonna take a lot more that crying and whining to change that, Scotty!!! Rating: 100 Hugh Morrus vs Scotty Riggs vs The crowd was still reeling off of the prior segment during this match. Riggs had some nice moves in this one but it wasn't enough to get him the victory. Morrus got the win at 7:45 after the No Laughing Matter. Winner: Hugh Morrus Rating: 55 Buff Bagwell vs Steve Austin vs There's quite a difference when Bagwell is pulling his antics in a match against, say, the Disco Inferno. It's quite an entirely different thing when he tries it against an opponent like Steve Austin. Bagwell began with his dancing pose only to be met with a middle finger, much to the crowd's delight. After Bagwell turned to say something to the camera, he was then met with a flurry of punches. Austin was again completely on fire tonight and the crowd was totally into everything he did, which was pummel Bagwell from one end of the ring to the other. The match ended at 7:33 with the Stunner. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 76 Television Title: Paul Levesque vs Dean Malenko vs w/ Levesque was set out to gain yet another title for the NWO in this one so he appeared a bit more focused, that is, aside from his numerous taunts and gestures toward Francine. Despite both competitors being disliked by the crowd, it was overall well received by them and had good competitive action. It looked as though Levesque was sure to become the new champion after hitting a face crusher and signaling for his finisher - the Apex. As he picked him up, Diamond Dallas Page slid into the ring and blasted Levesque with a Diamond Cutter, sending the crowd into a frenzy. The referee promptly called for the DQ at 9:41. Winner by DQ: Paul Levesque Rating: 76 Eddie is backstage making a sandwich and, amazingly enough, he has no sling on either arm this week. He seems pretty excited as he's putting his sandwich together and making tough choices as to what condiment he's going to add when his excitement is interrupted.... Eddie looks up to see the Enforcer and realizes his mistake as he briefly glances at both his arms. Double A gives him a smirk and a pat on the shoulder before saying he's glad it looks like he's all healed up. Anderson says this means their match can proceed and it looks like tonight would be the perfect time for it. Eddie obviously thinks of some reason to give before saying he's still injured. Eddie says he's out of his sling but the doctor's don't want to rush him back into anything, so tonight is out of the question. Arn leans in a bit closer and says at SuperBrawl, there won't be any excuse and he won't be able to avoid him any longer. Rating: 94 Hostile Intent vs Big Bubba Rogers & John Tenta vs Tenta and Rogers are back to teaming this week as they look to beat Paul Roma and Perry Saturn. Despite the size difference, it was a pretty competitive matchup but the big men used their size to their advantage. Saturn showed off some great strength and even suplexed Tenta during the match, getting the crowd on their feet. The surprise came at 10:02 when Saturn got the pin fall win after a Death Valley Driver on Rogers. Winners: Hostile Intent Rating: 62 Harlem Heat are backstage with Mean Gene for an interview. There's nothing ground breaking about this interview, Heat just are extremely confident in getting the tag titles back at SuperBrawl against their long-time nemesis, the Faces of Fear. Rating: 77 Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat vs While this didn't even come close to their classic they had years prior, it was still a great matchup and Savage easily had the performance of the night, some rating him a 96/100. Steamboat was no slouch either and showed that he can still perform quite well. The match was a back and forth affair until Brian Pillman made his way to ringside. This essentially made the match a 3-1 handicap as Steamboat not only had to deal with Savage, but he also had to deal with distractions and interference from Pillman and Elizabeth. Steamboat ended up making a comeback but it was cut short by interference from Pillman while Liz distracted the referee. This allowed Savage to climb the ropes and hit the Flying Elbow as the referee made the pin at 15:52 while the rest of the NWO made their way to the ring once again. Winner: Randy Savage Rating: 76 Ordinarily, this would be a scene witnessed so many times prior, except this time Sting once again accompanied the NWO to ringside. They all climbed in the ring and congratulated Savage on his victory before the beat-down of Ricky Steamboat continued. Levesque and Bagwell held the half-conscious Steamboat by the arms as Pillman and even Hogan took opportunities to punch him. They all encouraged Sting to attack him as well but Sting just stood in the corner and appeared to be uninterested. Seeing their efforts to involve him weren't working, they continued on with their attack. Meanwhile at the announce booth, they all were sickened by Sting's actions and hoping someone from WCW would come out from the back to help Steamboat, but no help ever emerged. Nash Powerbombed Ricky Steamboat before the spray cans made their appearance and Nitro went off the air as "NWO" was being spray painted on Steamboat's back while Sting was off to the side watching. Rating: 91 Final Show Rating: 82

All of the incredible praise I've received for this dynasty is really overwhelming and I never expected it! I hope I can continue entertaining everyone as the story progresses. I'm really looking forward to playing again, that's for sure!

Week 4, January 1997 LIVE from the United Center - Chicago, IL Attendance: 19,080 - We're welcomed to Monday Nitro this week with a great shot of the crowd packed into the new United Center in Chicago. Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone and begin to run through the events of the last week. Ross tells us that the WWF is fresh off their Royal Rumble where, once again, the Undertaker won for the second year in a row. Ross tells us this is one reason he left the WWF, because they end up doing the same things over again because they have no idea what their path into the future is! He also tells us the man who used to work here as the Giant lost to the WWF champion Psycho Sid in the main event. Ross says the action on Nitro is much hotter than the WWF's recorded show and as we head toward SuperBrawl, the rails might just come off. They're suddenly interrupted as Scott Steiner emerges from the entrance and is walking with a purpose toward the ring, absent his usual music. - Steiner: I want everybody to take a good look right now, because what you're lookin' at is the next United States Champion! I'm gonna be the next US champion after I beat the living hell out of Brian Pillman at SuperBrawl! Pillman! The only reason you've been champion for so long is because you've been hidin' behind the NWO the entire time! The NWO's done their best to beat me down every single week, but guess what?! The next week, I'm right back here taking on whatever you bunch of cowards wanna bring! I've been standing up for WCW and getting my ass kicked almost every single week! I've been doing this all by myself! I teamed up with the Nature Boy Ric Flair at Clash of the Champions thinking things were finally turning around into my favor and WCW's favor, only to get jumped once again by the NWO! I'm sick and tired of being the only one to stick my neck out for WCW! Where the hell's Luger?! He's supposedly been fighting the NWO every single week, but I ain't seen him around! I saved his ass a few weeks ago and he couldn't even bother to help out at Clash!? Where's Austin at?!? He wants to think he's this big badass??? All I see is him hiding and steering clear of the NWO at every opportunity! Where's other guys at like Booker T?! He's too worried about the tag team titles? Well guess what Booker and Stevie, I dominated the tag team division long enough! You think you're WCW but I haven't seen the two of you stick up for WCW other than when it fit going after the titles! Last but not least, where the hell's Sting??? He's supposed to be the franchise of WCW?? All he's been doing is sitting around arena after arena feeling sorry for himself! Sting, I've known you a long time and what you're doing is just proving to be as big a coward as the NWO! While you've been up at the top of arena's watching me get beat up, I've been the guy to be in this ring week after week going after the NWO! I've been the one going after Hollywood Hogan and trying to bring the WCW World title back to WCW where it belongs! I've been the guy out there every week, NOT YOU! I'm sick of all the crap from all the guys back there who only look after themselves! Rating: 99 - Things don't end there, however, as the crowd begin to stir just off from the hard camera. The announcers discuss amongst themselves until another camera can get into view what's getting them all excited, which has now caught the attention of Scott Steiner in the ring. - - Sting is making his way through the crowd at a quick pace and, Ross tells us, is walking in the direction of the ring. The closer Sting gets to the ring, the louder the crowd gets. He pauses at the guardrail to look at Steiner, who's still standing in the ring and now watching Sting. As Sting climbs over the rail, the crowd is now completely worked into a frenzy. Sting stops at the stairs and looks up at Steiner once more in the ring. He slowly begins climbing the steps as the announce booth says we're about to see Sting finally step into the ring, but it isn't against the NWO. Sting gets on the apron and steps through the ropes and, one step at a time, walks up to Steiner in the center of the ring, not taking his eyes off him once. The two stand in the center of the ring and the crowd is buzzing. Steiner is saying something to Sting but Sting stands silent and motionless before Steiner suddenly shoves Sting! Sting was pushed back a couple of steps but defiantly walks right back up to Steiner, face to face. Steiner didn't like this so he shoved him again! Sting again took a couple steps backward before walking right back to Steiner. He's seemingly had enough this time, getting right in Sting's face and yelling at him. The camera zoomed in close to their heads as they're nearly pressed nose to nose. Suddenly the end of a baseball bat is visible, coming up just under Steiner chin. The camera zooms out to see Sting standing there, holding the bat up against the underside of Steiner's chin. This naturally causes Steiner to stop at once and he begins to back up. Sting extends the bat and his arm as Steiner holds his arms out to the side, still saying stuff to Sting. Sting suddenly uses both hands to shove Steiner backward a few steps but Steiner, in an act of defiance on his own, immediately walks back toward Sting and again is stopped by the end of the bat into his chest. Sting quickly shoves him back again and Steiner comes forward. Sting cocks the bat up like he'll hit Steiner with it if he continues, which stops Scotty in his tracks. Sting suddenly turns the bat around, presenting the handle of it to Steiner, offering it to him. The announcers are puzzled by Sting's actions as Steiner slowly and unsurely takes the bat. Sting then extends his arms as he turns around, putting his back toward Steiner. - Heenan: He's giving him a free shot! Ross: What in God's name is this?! Tenay: It must be some kind of a test! - Steiner stands with the bat, unsure what to do. The crowd roars with excitement as Steiner still contemplates his decision. Sting peeks over his shoulder and see's Steiner still standing there and then turns around. Sting gives one last look to Steiner before exiting the ring and leaving back up through the crowd, leaving everyone wondering what Sting's plan is. - Rating: 100 Steve Austin vs Big Bubba Rogers vs Speaking of Austin, he's in this match against Big Bubba. Austin was completely on fire and had the crowd eating up everything he did. The match wasn't even close to being competitive as Austin was all over Bubba since the bell rang. He quickly put this one away at 7:03 with the Stunner. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 70 - Tony Schiavone is backstage and introduces Arn Anderson for his interview. Anderson says that his battles with Eddie Guerrero have rejuvenated him and feels like giving Eddie another lesson tonight. He says tonight's lesson will be teaching respect to Guerrero and if he can't learn it peacefully, then he'll have no problems teaching it physically. - - Eddie is heard off camera yelling "wait, wait!" as he comes into camera view, his right arm in a sling. Anderson and Schiavone both lean and glance at the arm, which Eddie notices. He looks at his slinged arm before quickly telling the Enforcer that there's no way he can be in a match tonight because he's still injured from Clash of the Champions. In his left hand is a piece of paper which Eddie says is a note from his doctor saying he could be out months due to his severe injury. Tony tries to grab the paper and asks to look at it before Eddie jerks away and says medical information is highly confidential and that Tony might try and steal his identity. Eddie tells Arn that he "promises" his first match back will be against Arn but right now he just hopes to be able to return to the ring. - Rating: 84 Scott Norton & John Tenta vs Harlem Heat vs Scott Steiner must have looked at the format for the show prior to going out to open Nitro as Harlem Heat's in action next! Tenta has a new partner this time in Scott Norton, again creating a very formidable, tough team to challenge Heat. Just as in the prior match, despite the huge size of their opponents, Harlem Heat did a good job matching the powerful moves. Booker had a standout performance in this match, which wasn't particularly long. Booker got the win at 7:33 after hitting the Axe Kick on Tenta. Winners: Harlem Heat Rating: 74 Following a commercial break, Mean Gene is in the center of the ring and reveals his next guest for an interview - The Nature Boy Ric Flair. Flair emerges to a loud reaction from the fans and makes his way to join Mean Gene inside the ring. Gene asks him about the earlier comments made by Scott Steiner, who was his partner at Clash of the Champions which saw them both laying in the ring getting spray painted at the end of the night. Flair says that what Steiner said is right. He's been feeling the wrath of the NWO nearly every single week and he keeps coming out and taking them on, virtually on his own. Flair says he should do a better job of stepping up and joining forces with him and also puts all of WCW on notice. Flair says that it's time to put up or shut up and that Sting's been walking around for months sitting on the sidelines. He says it's time Sting finally stand with WCW and put an end to his holdout. He knows Sting was upset by what happened but he'll get nowhere if all he does is live in the past. Flair says there's probably no one that knows Sting better than him and if the Nature Boy can't even see it from Sting's perspective, then maybe it's time for Sting to stop sulking and stand up like a man. He says when things get tough, the best athlete's don't just take their ball and go home, they fight because fighting proves who's the best! Rating: 90 Earl Robert Eaton vs Fit Finlay vs Eaton and Finlay entered this match as two men vying for contendership for the TV title. While Finlay has had more luck than Eaton, the former Beautiful Bobby proved to be no slouch either. He was able to hit some of his old classic moves to get Finlay off his game. To the surprise of many, Eaton was able to pick up the win at 8:09 with his Alabama Jam. Winner: Earl Robert Eaton Rating: 71 Lord Steven Regal vs Diamond Dallas Page vs w/ Lord Regal looks to keep the momentum going for the Blue Bloods but his task is a bit more challenging in the likes of DDP. This match saw a lot of brawling mixed in with technical holds from Regal, who was really on his game tonight, to the point of actually exposing DDP as being the inferior worker. There was little effect of attempted distractions on the part of the Diamond Doll, though Regal did snub his nose in her direction a few times. The crowd responded well to both competitors in this match and DDP was able to hit a Diamond Cutter out of a failed clothesline attempt by Regal, picking up the win at 12:23. Winner: Diamond Dallas Page Rating: 79 Rating: 100 Saturn vs Wrath vs Saturn has had a good stretch of performances for awhile but is really put to the test in this one against Wrath. Despite being heavily outsized, Saturn didn't back down or show any hesitancy on his part. Wrath remained as physically dominating as possible but Saturn was able to catch him off guard several times and hit some high-impact moves of his own, to the delight of the crowd. Despite a good showing, Wrath had a bit more in the end, putting Saturn away at 8:26 with the Meltdown. Winner: Wrath Rating: 72 Paul Levesque & Buff Bagwell vs The Armstrongs vs Although this match featured plenty of taunting and posing by Bagwell and Levesque, there was no chance at all for the Armstrongs to come away victorious. Levesque ended up getting the pin at 8:14 after hitting the Apex. Winners: Levesque & Bagwell Rating: 53 - As Jim Ross and Co. recap the nights events, the NWO music plays and Kevin Nash, unexpectedly, walks out by himself and heads to the ring. Ross comments that the has no idea what Nash has planned as he steps into the ring and takes a microphone out of his back pocket. - Nash: I've been sitting in the back all night, watching the show and struggling to stay away! I saw Arn Anderson out here earlier trying to get a fight against Eddie Guerrero. Seeing that he failed to get the fight he was looking for and seeing how I've got nothing else to do tonight, I'll take on Arn Anderson and send him to the glue factory where he belongs! So Arn Anderson, c'mon out here and get that fight you've been looking for! Rating: 97 Kevin Nash vs Arn Anderson vs The crowd were solidly behind this impromptu matchup and it didn't take long before the Enforcer's music played and he walked out. A referee ran from the back and rang the bell as the two men went at it. Nash ended up going on defense early as Anderson took control and slowed the match down to his pace. Nash eventually took over when Anderson's attention was on the referee, clubbing blows to the back of his neck and shoulder blades. Anderson was able to regain control soon after but made a mistake in going for his patented Spine Buster. Nash was able to block it and shove his knee into Anderson's midsection. The setup was perfect for Nash to hit his Jackknife at 12:23 for the win. Winner: Kevin Nash Rating: 82 Final Show Rating: 87

Week 3, January 1997 LIVE from the River Center - Baton Rouge, LA Attendance: 14,384 This week's Nitro broadcast opens up to a very down and depressed trio. Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome viewers to tuning in. Ross tells everyone that WCW has been through a hellacious 24 hours, as Clash of the Champions did not go in the favor of WCW. Still photos are shown from the night before as they commentate, mentioning Lex Luger was the only WCW member to win his match against the NWO. Another night ended, Bobby Heenan tells us, with WCW flat on the mat and getting spray painted. Tenay also throws in that this includes, again, Sting watching the events taking place and doing nothing about it. They all wonder what it's going to take for WCW to finally turn the momentum but, Jim Ross says, it clearly isn't going to involve Sting helping and WCW's going to have to find a way forward without him. Television Title: Brad Armstrong vs Dean Malenko (c) vs Brad Armstrong spent much of 1996 trying to establish himself as a main competitor for the TV title while never actually succeeding at getting a shot at the belt. He was able to do so in this match, however, he had to contend with not only one of the best mat technicians in the industry but also while keeping a watchful eye on the "Extreme Queen" on the floor. After several instances where Armstrong was able to match the technical prowess of the champion, Malenko finally bailed to the outside to confer with his manager. After a brief consultation, he returned to the ring and immediately took control after hitting a poke to the eye. Things progressed from there with plenty of interference behind the referee's back by Francine, culminating in the Texas Cloverleaf for the win at 15:08. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 70 As the commentators briefly discuss the last match and continue on from events last night, cameras turn away from the broadcast booth and go to panoramic shots of the crowd before settling on one individual sitting alone in the upper levels of the crowd - Sting. Ross: Oh what in God's name is this?!? Heenan: It's Sting!!! Ross: What the hell's he doing here tonight?! Tenay: This is becoming the norm with him, it seems. Always hanging out somewhere in the arena, making his presence known but staying so far away from the action, where he can do something! Ross: Folks, this is becoming beyond ridiculous! Sting's here, ladies and gentlemen, once again! Sting's here. He's here, and he's not doing a damn thing except for sitting somewhere in the arena watching. Well how about this, Sting, DO something! Don't just sit there and watch! We get it, you're pissed off about WCW turning their back on you! You're pissed off people doubted you. Get over yourself! WCW is under attack each and every week. Your old friends are getting attacked every single week and you just sit there! You might as well just get the hell out of this arena if you aren't gonna do anything! Heenan: Ross, remind me to not sit next to you anymore. If this man hears what you just said, he might just do something...This isn't the same colorful guy we all used to know. Something's snapped in him and he's angry. Ross: He's angry??? HE is angry, Bobby Heenan?!? Good! I want him to be angry! I want him to get up off his rear end and do something to help the company he once stood for! I haven't been here in awhile, but I got to know Sting quite well for a number of years when I worked here before. You're right, he ain't the same guy I used to know because that man stood up for what was right! That man wasn't afraid of standing up to bullies. Not this man I'm watching. This man just sits there and lets things happen! Damnit Sting! You need to stand up and be a man! Folks, we've got to take a break.... Rating: 68 Scott Norton vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs Sigh..... What cannot be understood, is why does Chavo keep going against complete monsters in the hopes of turning his misfortunes around? Scott Norton is not the man you wrestle when trying to end your losing streak. It didn't take long for Norton to hit a brutal Powerbomb and end the match at 6:41, continuing poor Chavo's losing streak since August 1996. Winner: Scott Norton Rating: 49 Ross: Oh God, here we go! The NWO's music hits and Kevin Nash and the Macho Man are the first to walk out, followed by Eric Bischoff, as usual flashing his million dollar smile. Paul Levesque, Buff Bagwell, and the long-time United States Champion Brian Pillman soon follow. They all casually make their way to the ring, seeming to not have a worry in the world. They step in and Nash is the first one to signal for the music to cut. Nash: Ya know, last night at Clash of the Champions, I finally faced my arch nemesis Lex Luger...Well Luger, I gotta hand it to ya, the NWO has been busting your chops for the last several months and you've persevered! You took everything the NWO gave you and you kept on coming! There comes a time in a mans life where he has to realize just when it's time to throw in the towel! You can only fight the good fight so much and for so long before it finally drags you down and gets the best of you. You've been fighting alone, all by yourself and getting no help. What do you have to show for it? A victory over Kevin Nash??? It ain't about victories. It ain't about titles, and it ain't about being cheered by the fans. I used to care about all that, Luger! I cared about all that before I woke up one day and realized all those things don't matter! What matters in this business is money! What matters in this business is having people who will watch your back! Take a look around, Luger! You've got nothing! So what I want right now, is for you, Lex Luger, to come on down that aisle and step into this ring with Kevin Nash and the NWO, because I've got something to say to your face! Ross: He can't fall for this! It's for sure a trap! A minute, maybe two minutes go by. The NWO eagerly look toward the stage and after some time, the crowd begins to stir. Everyone's left wondering if Lex Luger will actually come out here after being called out by Kevin Nash. The speculation finally ends after Luger's music plays over the speakers and he walks out. Foregoing his usual crowd pose, Luger walks straight to the ring, obviously suspicious of the intentions but nevertheless, he walks up the steps and right into the ring where he meets Nash in the center. With the rest of the NWO just off to his side and behind, Nash says some words to Luger off mic as the music fades out. Nash: Luger, like I said, last night, you got the better of me. I'm not ashamed to say it. What I've gotta ask you though, is what's next?? You're just gonna resume where you left off, fighting the NWO all alone, and getting nowhere. Nowhere except probably back in the hospital! Or........You can finally, for once in your life, do something different! You can do something for yourself! You can join a true group of friends who will have your back! The Macho Man finally realized it was smarter to join the NWO than to continue fighting on the losing side, and you can too! At the end of the day, you can make money or you can make friends, but you can't have both! You can join us and the attacks stop! You can join us, no questions asked, and we'll welcome you in like family! - Luger doesn't say anything immediately and puts his hands on his hips. Nash smirks at Luger before passing the mic to the Macho Man. - Savage: Luger, I know what you're thinking, thinkin', thinkin'!!!! I was right where you are now a few short months ago! I stood up and fought the good fight right next to ya!!! But the little known fact is that the Macho Man can actually make a level-headed thought from time to time!!! It might've been that last beating I took at the hands of the NWO to make me see the light, but I saw it! Luger, it's time you put down the battle plans for WCW! WCW is losing the war and lemme tell ya, Luger, history is written by the winners, not the losers! Join the NWO and finally join the winning side, OH YEAH! Bischoff: Lex, I just have to say...We've all been there! I know what's going through your mind! You have the opportunity of a lifetime given to you at this very moment! Take that opportunity!!!! - Luger, visibly contemplating his options, looks to be a defeated man as he stands there in front of the majority of the NWO. Jim Ross is heard on commentary begging for Luger to stay with WCW and not give in. Luger finally gives a slight nod of his head before asking for the microphone from Bischoff, who hands it over with a huge grin as he looks at Nash. - Luger: Ya know, I can't help but stand here and while listening to all of this sudden praise coming from the NWO and wonder, what's the catch? For months, you all have jumped me from behind, shown no mercy, and beaten me down. You've made me question my ability to stand up for what I believe in and you, Randy Savage, a man who once stood beside me and fought alongside me, turned your back on me! But now all the sudden, you want me to join the NWO. I've always been taught that if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck...So just like tonight, if something just doesn't seem to add up, that's because it doesn't! So let me be crystal clear, man to man, face to face, to each and every one of you.... I wouldn't join the NWO if it was the very last option I had in life! I wouldn't join the NWO yesterday, today, or TOMORROW! I wouldn't join the NWO if you convinced every other guy in that locker room to join and you beat me to within an inch of my life every single week or broke every bone in my body!!! - The crowd gradually gets louder and louder with every Luger comment, to the point where the audio is drowned out from their cheering. - I am WCW! I bleed WCW! And if it's the very last thing I ever do, I'm going to continue fighting for WCW until I run through every single member of the NWO and then have all of you, one by one, BEGGING to be accepted back into W.C.W! - With the crowd roaring and the NWO in utter shock and disbelief, Luger tosses the microphone down and in one defiant act, turns his back to the NWO and exits the ring, heading to the back. Jim Ross and company collectively lose their minds as Luger confidently walks up the aisle and disappears behind the curtain as Nitro goes to a commercial break. - Rating: 85 The Amazing French Canadians vs Hostile Intent vs Paul Roma and Perry Saturn are back teaming, this time against the French Canadians. While it was a solid tag team matchup, there was nothing spectacular or noteworthy. What maybe was a surprising event, Hostile Intent picked up the win at 9:17 after Saturn hit a top rope splash on Rougeau. Winners: Hostile Intent Rating: 55 Alex Wright vs Scotty Riggs vs Fresh off his new harsh German attitude, Alex Wright looked to keep the bad fortunes for the former American Male going. The crowd didn't particularly get excited for this match despite solid ring work and Riggs hitting his perfect drop kick a few times. Alex Wright got the pin at 9:48 with his superior German Suplex. Winner: Alex Wright Rating: 53 Tony Schiavone is backstage with a furious Scott Steiner. Steiner cuts the introduction short as he says he's had enough with the NWO and their attacks, he's tired of being spray painted to end the shows, and he's had it with Brian Pillman running around like he's a superior champion. He says Pillman might have held that US title for a long time but that's because he dodges challenges and he dodges having to defend the belt. Steiner says that's all going to change because he wants him at SuperBrawl and he won't just beat him like a b--ch he is, he'll take his title too!. Rating: 82 Harlem Heat vs Big Bubba Rogers & John Tenta vs No matter the opponents size that Harlem Heat face, they always are able to match the power on display. Booker T and Stevie Ray showed their versatile ability and that they can go toe to toe with the largest of challengers. Heat continued to work fluidly as a team and Stevie Ray got the crowd on their feet with a big powerslam on Tenta. The match ended at 9:35 when Booker wow'd the crowd by hitting the Harlem Hangover on Bubba. Winners: Harlem Heat Rating: 73 Lance Storm vs Buff Bagwell vs This wasn't much of a competitive match and mostly displayed Bagwell's new found antics. Using as much opportunity as he could, Bagwell would pose and taunt after hitting nearly every move. Buff finished things off at 7:59 with the Blockbuster. Winner: Buff Bagwell Rating: 63 Mean Gene is backstage with Arn Anderson for the interview of the night. Gene immediately begins talking about the ongoing feud with Eddie Guerrero and how the Enforcer defeated Eddie last night. Anderson is quick to say that the lesson is far from over for Eddie and the pain and punishment will continue, this time at SuperBrawl. The interview is suddenly interrupted though as another subject rushes in from off camera.. Eddie comes into the picture, his left arm in a sling, and claims that he sustained a very serious injury last night during their match. Eddie says he for sure won't be healed up in time for a match at SuperBrawl, if he's even able to come back at all to wrestling. Eddie shows a great deal of remorse, saying there's nothing he would like more than to face a wonderful competitor like Arn Anderson again, but injuries happen in the wrestling world. A skeptical Arn and Mean Gene look on but Anderson goes along, saying he'll be Eddie's biggest supporter during his injury and make sure he comes back 100%. Arn walks off, but not before giving Eddie's left arm a pat on his way off. Eddie watches the Enforcer walk away before looking at Mean Gene. Mean Gene smirks and slightly nods towards his shoulder. Eddie quickly remembers and grabs his arm in severe pain before rushing off again. Rating: 96 Cameras backstage happen to catch, mid brawl, Diamond Dallas Page and the Macho Man furiously beating on one another. While it isn't known for sure just what started this brawl, it doesn't take one very long to figure out why. The fight continues as officials rush in to separate the two, a typical theme for Monday Nitro. Rating: 78 Mean Gene is again standing by backstage, this time with Harlem Heat. They appear in no mood for festivities and Booker T says that they've proven, without any doubt, that they are the #1 contenders to the tag team titles. They want their shot at SuperBrawl to regain the belts and Stevie says they won't rest until they get their titles back. Rating: 92 Paul Levesque vs Ric Flair vs The main event of the night pits the newest NWO member against the Nature Boy. He might have quickly realized his mistake as Flair lit his chest up with chops at the start of the match. Flair dragged Levesque all around the ring, out to the floor, and the ringside area just totally manhandling him, much to the crowd's delight. Flair was on such a roll that he even managed to climb up to the top rope and hit his double axe handle, though it only generated a two count. Levesque didn't totally get dominated and was able to mount a small amount of offense, but Flair was firmly in control for this match. There were plenty of eye pokes and low blows, but Flair eventually started working over his knee and locked in the Figure 4, right in the middle of the ring. Levesque couldn't take the pain any longer and tapped out at 12:43, ending the match and giving Nitro, for once, a clean ending as Flair celebrated in the ring. Winner: Ric Flair Rating: 84 Final Show Rating: 85

Sunday Week 2, January 1997 LIVE from Seattle, WA (Generic Arena) Attendance: 68,000 Ross: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to WCW's Clash of the Champions 32! I'm Jim Ross and boy oh boy am I excited to once again call the action for Clash of the Champions! It's been quite a while since I've been involved in this broadcast but Clash of the Champions is known for delivering incredible action in the ring and I'm really looking forward to once again being a part of it! I'm joined by Bobby "the Brain" Heenan and "Iron" Mike Tenay and fellas, we've got a ton of stuff to go over tonight! This past week on Monday Nitro, just when we thought WCW was finally standing up to the New World Order, we were kicked in the gut again when the NWO once again viciously attacked Scott Steiner to end the show, a scene we've been having far too often on Nitro! Tenay: For weeks, even months, WCW has been the target of attack after attack by the NWO with seemingly no recourse. Finally just two weeks ago, it looked like WCW was coming together to stand up to the NWO when Lex Luger, Ricky Steamboat, and Scott Steiner all joined forces to fight back after another attempted ambush. WCW was in high spirits last week to start the show, but Jim, Bobby, the end of the night saw WCW walk away with their heads down once more. Heenan: Ya know, there's only so many times a guy can be beaten down and kicked before he finally gives in. The NWO have been at the throats of every WCW member for the last few months and they've done a great job of beating WCW down to the point they'll just roll over and submit. That's what the NWO's doing. They're beating WCW down into submission. We're on the verge of falling apart and if someone soon doesn't do something about it, we're all gonna be out of a job and looking for work! Ross, you better not unpack your stuff just yet because you might be looking for a new job already! Ross: I'm not sure about that, Bobby, but I do agree that the NWO is mercilessly trying to beat WCW like a scalded dog! This past Monday on Nitro, the show began with Dusty Rhodes pleading for Sting to come back and help WCW. Then on Saturday Night, Lex Luger once again begged Sting for forgiveness and apologized for not believing him. My question is, everyone's told Sting they're sorry, they've expressed remorse over that entire thing, so what in God's name is it gonna take for the Stinger to come back to WCW and help us fight this battle?!?! Heenan: Sting's a lost soul. WCW ripped his heart right out of his chest and he's mad about it! Can you blame him?!? For years and years, this man's done the right thing! He's stood by his friends even when his friends turn their back on him! He's fought the good fight, and look where that got him! His friends would turn on him but he always stayed loyal, always gave them the benefit of the doubt! Sting's never crossed anyone, yet one time he's suspected of it, what's WCW do?! What's his "friends" do?!?! They bail on him! They don't trust him! They don't want to listen to anything he has to say! If you ask me, I don't blame him one bit for standing off to the sides! He's letting WCW climb out of the hole they dug themselves! He's proving that WCW can't stand on two feet without the support of Sting, something all these Humanoids took for granted over the years! Tenay: To your point, Bobby, it's become crystal clear that Sting is WCW's very foundation and we've begun to see the very foundation of WCW crumble to pieces with Sting standing off to the side. The question is, how much longer can WCW afford to stand on it's own before it all falls, and how far is Sting willing to let it go before he steps in to hold it up??? Ross: Guys, I've known the Stinger a very long time. He's always done the right thing. He's always stood there by his friends side. I've never, never seen him respond this way before. It has me worried. It has me shaken. I'm terrified to see what the future holds not only for Sting, but for the very existence of WCW if they can't band together against the NWO. To make even more of a mockery toward WCW, this past Saturday Night, Hollywood Hogan and Brian Pillman joked at the challenge laid tonight by Scott Steiner and Ric Flair. They turned down their title challenges and said, instead, that Hogan and Pillman will team up against the duo of Scott Steiner and Ric Flair. Heenan: They're calling the shots and until someone's able to stand up against them, nothing's going to change! Tenay: It's unfortunate that we won't be seeing the world heavyweight or US titles on the line tonight but it does create a very interesting main event tonight! Ross: Well that's about enough talking from us, we're gonna get to the ring now for our first exciting match of the night! Strap Match: Arn Anderson vs Eddie Guerrero vs The two couldn't have been more different as they stepped into the ring. Anderson remained stoic and appeared intent to inflict severe amounts of pain to Eddie. Anderson stepped to the center of the ring and welcomed the referee attaching the unforgiving leather strap to his wrist. Eddie, on the other hand, was timid, reluctant, and stalled several times to yell out at the crowd who taunted and made fun of him being scared. Once the straps were secured to the competitors wrists, the bell rang and Anderson opened up. The Enforcer used the strap to his advantage, using it in all manner of ways. Anderson would use it to assist in clotheslines, whipping Eddie to the ropes or corners, careful not to make them consecutive corners also. Finally after slamming Eddie to the mat, he used it to whip the back of Guerrero with a sickening smack. Eddie pleaded for Anderson to stop but it just encouraged more punishment. Eddie tried to retreat to the floor but Anderson used the strap to pull Eddie back in the ring and continue the attack. Guerrero was able to mount some offense of his own after tripping Anderson with the strap and the quickly tried to touch all four corners but Double A stopped him after the second corner. The crowd was firmly invested in this match as the battle continued. Anderson maintained most of the control but Guerrero would and bursts of offense in between, each time trying feverishly to get to all four corners. In one attempt, it looked like Eddie might make it as Anderson was trying to recover on the mat. Eddie was lightning fast in getting to 3 corners but was stopped just short at the 4th. Eddie managed to knock Anderson down again but for the first time, rather than going for the corners, Eddie climbed to the top rope instead, possibly looking for the Frog Splash. Anderson was able to avoid it though as he pulled Eddie from the top rope with the strap, causing him to hit hard to the mat. Double A again punished Eddie by slapping him with the leather, the result obvious as red lash marks showed on Eddie's back. The announcers pointed out that Anderson was yet to try and go for the corners despite the match now being past the 10 minute mark. It was clear that Anderson wanted to do nothing more than inflict pain on Guerrero, which he was succeeding quite well at. Eddie went to whip Anderson into the ropes but he reversed it and hit a thundering Spinebuster. Now Anderson finally went for the corner turnbuckles. He got to the second one before Eddie stopped his momentum with a low blow. Eddie then wrapped the strap around Anderson's neck and began to drag him to the corners. Anderson locked onto the ropes at the second corner and stopped Eddie's progress. Eddie gave Anderson a few whips with the leather, asking Anderson how he liked it now that he was on the receiving end of them. Eddie picked Anderson to his feet and looked like he might try a suplex but Anderson blocked it and hit his DDT. Anderson again started going for the corners and made the 3rd one before Eddie came to enough to try and hold him up. Anderson didn't let this stop his progress though and dragged Eddie, who was doing his best to stick on the mat and pull back, the rest of the way and slapped the final corner at 17:03. Winner: Arn Anderson Rating: 92 Sensuous Sherri is seen backstage, putting the finishing touches on her lipstick. Booker T and Stevie Ray are off to the sides as she finishes and asks them both if they're ready for their match. Rating: 74 The Amazing French Canadians vs Harlem Heat vs The bell rang and Stevie Ray immediately began pummeling Rougeau. It was clear that Harlem Heat were unhappy about not getting a title opportunity tonight and Heat's frustrations were clearly being taken out on the French Canadians. Booker and Stevie traded off quick tags and using the tag exchange to hit double teamed moves. Both members of Harlem Heat used punishing offense and power moves to make their opponents regret signing the match. The French Canadians tried to turn the tide with cheap shots and eye pokes but it only seemed to enrage Harlem Heat even more. Booker T hit the Axe Kick on Oulette at 10:09 to score the win. Winners: Harlem Heat Rating: 71 Big Dusty is backstage with Alex Wright for an interview. Dusty asks what the young wrestler has in store for 1997. In what appears to be a bit of a change in attitude, Alex Wright admonishes Dusty in an assault of German language before changing into English. Wright says that for the last several months he's been dealing with a nagging injury, preventing him from showing his true potential. Wright says once he's fully healed, he's unleashing the German force throughout WCW. He's going to make people tremble at his German superiority, he's going to make all the women weak, and he's going to show no mercy to anyone who wants to step in his path. Rating: 68 Paul Levesque vs Diamond Dallas Page vs What's turned into a highly personal feud, the match began with Levesque slapping DDP. DDP returned with a slap of his own which was more vicious than the one received. Levesque retreated to the corner and DDP moved in. The fight was on from there as it spilled out to the floor while the two were locked up. They continued to fight around the ringside area, eventually leading to the referee going to the floor to separate both men and admonish them to either get back in the ring or be counted out. Through gritted teeth, the two got back in the ring where they abruptly went at it again. Levesque gained the upper hand after a cheap shot and sent him to the ropes. On the return, DDP avoided a clothesline attempt and as Levesque turned, DDP tried the Diamond Cutter but Levesque quickly dodged it and went out to the floor. After killing plenty of time, DDP got annoyed and went to grab him from inside the ring. The problem is, DDP didn't see Levesque pull out a pair of brass knucks that don't look like brass knucks, but we'll call them brass knucks anyway. He hit DDP with them which laid him out cold in the ring with the referee looking on in total confusion. Levesque climbed back in the ring and made the cover for the win at 11:54. Winner: Paul Levesque Rating: 75 Ricky Steamboat vs Wrath vs It wasn't very apparent who had the more difficult task in this matchup. Steamboat is a skilled veteran but not nearly as good as he once was. Wrath is big and powerful and has had quite the momentum going in his favor for awhile. Wrath looked to establish himself as a top competitor while Steamboat didn't want his role to diminish. Steamboat again showed that he can still go in the ring, evident by his solid performance. He was able to hold off the big man for awhile but the power moves eventually caught up with the Dragon. After Wrath hit a huge bicycle kick to floor Steamboat, Wrath hit the Meltdown at 10:28 for the surprising win. Winner: Wrath Rating: 71 Mean Gene Okerlund is standing backstage with Steve Austin, who is heard getting a good ovation by the crowd out in the arena. Austin doesn't look very pleased as Mean Gene starts the interview, noting that after running off the NWO a month ago and then his change in attitude after his match with Ric Flair at Starrcade, he's been absent from helping WCW in the battle against the NWO. He also notes that he's without a match tonight. Austin: Well how about I provide a scoop for that little hotline you've got, Mean Gene?!?! Just because I had mutual respect for the Nature Boy after we beat each other to hell and back at Starrcade doesn't mean you're gonna see me dancing and prancing around and holding hands with people! It doesn't matter to me who I end up in the ring with, whether it's Arn Anderson or Brian Pillman, I'm gonna go out and do what I'm set to do, and that's kick people's ass that stand in my way of my goal! What's that goal, you might ask??? Well you ain't gotta call the 1-900 hotline for this one, Mean Gene, cause I'll give it to ya for free! My goal is one thing, and one thing only, and that's the world heavyweight title! I don't give a rats ass about the Television title. I don't give a rats ass about the United States title. I don't give a rats ass about the tag team titles! Hell, I already held those belts plenty of times! I only give a damn about winning the world title! And let me tell ya something else, Mean Gene! I don't care who else is standing in line, patiently waiting for their shot at the title, Steve Austin isn't gonna stand in line and wait my turn! And that's the bottom line! Rating: 99 Scotty Riggs vs Buff Bagwell vs The breakup of the American Males, much to the dismay of the wrestling world, seems to be coming to a close tonight. Bagwell spent an inordinate amount of time taunting and posing which would cause you to think it would hurt him. It actually didn't and Bagwell had a relatively easy time putting away his former teammate. Buff scored the win at 7:32 with the Buff Blockbuster. Winner: Buff Bagwell Rating: 63 Tag Team Titles: Blue Bloods (Taylor & Regal) vs Faces of Fear vs Steven Regal, fresh off his return from injury, decided to sidetrack his mission to win back the TV title and go after the tag team titles. The fact he's challenging the Faces of Fear could be considered a death wish. Regal and Taylor did their best to keep up with the physical onslaught of the champions but it was too much in the end. The Barbarian got the pin at 10:11 after hitting the Kick of Fear on Dave Taylor. Winners: Faces of Fear Rating: 77 Lex Luger vs Kevin Nash vs Luger has valiantly stood up to the NWO from the beginning and has endured several attacks and beat downs in the process. Despite the many setbacks, he's continued to push forward in the battle between WCW and the NWO. Nash simply toyed with Luger during the beginning parts of the bout, taunting him whenever possible and then starting with brutal offense, backing him in the corner before laying in repeated knees to the stomach. Luger was able to rally back with the fans support, hitting a crucial powerslam to turn the momentum. Luger began to fire up with clotheslines and after each one, the crowd became louder. Luger finally tapped his forearm and was ready to hit the Bionic strike, and he did. The crowd all got to their feet in unison and roared wildly as Luger motioned for the Rack. If it was possible, they became even louder when Luger lifted the big man and synched in the hold. Nash wildly waived his arm, giving up, and the submission win via the Torture Rack was official at 13:02. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 82 Bravely, Mean Gene is backstage with Ric Flair and Scott Steiner. The sheer lunacy that's brought forth in this interview is off the charts. Flair is in rare form tonight, WOO-ing and smiling all over the place as Mean Gene tries to do the introduction. Steiner attempts to stand stoically and soak in, not just what Mean Gene is saying, but also the overflowing hype from the Nature Boy. Flair cuts off Gene and says that he and Steiner are well prepared, at the top of their game, and look forward to kicking the hell out of Hogan and Pillman before partying all night on the town. Steiner, a bit calmer, says his focus right now is on Pillman and Hogan and everything else comes second. One thing they both want more than anything is to get their hands on the NWO and get some payback. Rating: 99 Ric Flair & Scott Steiner vs Hollywood Hogan & Brian Pillman vs Hogan and Pillman found a way to avoid defending their titles tonight but neither Flair nor Steiner seemed to mind. The battle began as soon as the NWO made their entrance first. For Steiner and Flair's entrance, the two rushed the aisle and slid into the ring and began the brawl as the ring announcement was still being made and the music playing. The introduction and music abruptly stopped as the bell rang to begin the match mid-brawl. Flair and Hogan paired off while Steiner and Pillman found their way to the floor to continue their fight. Hogan tried to retreat but Flair kept the pressure on, closing the distance and not only raking the eyes of Hogan, but also hitting a blatant low blow right in front of the referee, and to the delight of the crowd. Things eventually slowed down a bit and the partners found their way to their corners. Flair was first to tag out as Steiner came in to a loud cheer from the crowd and continued the attack on Hogan. Steiner hit many power moves on the champion, including a great looking belly to belly suplex followed by a couple of rest holds. A poke to Steiner's eye allowed Hogan enough time to tag out to Pillman, who came in and worked on Steiner for a couple of minutes. Steiner eventually turned the tide and tagged in Flair, who was not only extremely eager to get in the ring against Pillman but the crowd also began a loud "We Want Flair" chant. Feeding off the crowd, Flair came in and immediately attacked Pillman. Flair grabbed Pillman in a headlock, rapidly hitting fists to his face while the crowd roared. Flair continued his assault, not caring for the rules at all as he hit several illegal attacks on Pillman in plain view of the referee. Each time Pillman would try to get to his corner to tag in Hogan but Flair would cut him off. It also didn't appear that Hogan was very eager to get in the ring with Flair either though. Steiner was tagged back in and shoved Pillman to his corner, basically making the tag to Hogan himself. A reluctant Hogan slowly stepped into the ring as Steiner stood in the middle of the ring and flipped Hogan off, causing the loud crowd to roar once again. Steiner immediately took control and backed Hogan into a corner, mounting the ropes and began raining fists down as the crowd counted along. Pillman tried to come in and save Hogan but Flair also entered the ring, causing a break down of the match. Steiner called for the FrankenSteiner as Flair was working on Pillman in the opposite corner. Pillman was able to hit a swift kick to Flair's crotch to allow himself some breathing room. Steiner sent Hogan into the ropes to prepare for his move but Hogan latched onto the top rope, stopping his momentum. About the same time, Pillman grabbed hold of him and the two bailed out to the floor. Flair recovered and stood next to Steiner in the ring as they watched their opponents regroup and seemingly retreat toward the back. The referee began the count as trash began to rain in the ring and also get tossed in the direction of Pillman and Hogan, who were now back stepping up the aisle as they watched their opponents in the ring. The referee counted to ten, officially marking a count-out victory at 19:25. Winners by Count Out: Ric Flair & Scott Steiner Rating: 82 With Hogan and Pillman in the aisle, Steiner and Flair were still watching them and didn't notice what was stirring behind them. Levesque, Bagwell, Nash and Savage all came out of the crowd behind them and got in the ring. Flair and Steiner never knew what hit them as the attack began. Hogan and Pillman began laughing and making their way back to the ring as the attack continued inside the ring. More trash and drinks found their way being tossed in the ring as Nash began a game of batting them out of the air. Savage hit some Flying Elbows to Flair and Steiner and Nash even took a moment from batting practice to hit a Powerbomb on Flair. Hogan also got into the action with a couple of Leg Drops a piece. As the attack continued, fans again began to get distracted as one head after another began to look up. Soon after, several fans began pointing in the same direction, followed by most of the crowd. Cameras finally were able to capture what everyone was looking and pointing at. Sting once again stood high atop the arena and was looking down at the carnage in the ring. Sting looked on without any emotion or desire to do much of anything as the NWO continued their attack, oblivious of the observer high above the arena. In an all-too familiar scene for WCW shows lately, the credits began rolling as the spray cans came out and Ric Flair and Scott Steiner were once again branded "NWO" on their backs. Rating: 93 Final Show Rating: 85

Week 2, January 1997 LIVE from the Corel Centre - Toronto, Ontario Attendance: 18,038 Jim Ross: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to WCW Monday Nitro! I'm Jim Ross and with me is the American Dream Dusty Rhodes! We seem to be missing our other good friend, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan so that means we're just going to have the two cowboy's out here with you tonight! We are live for the first time in Canada, and what a crowd we've got here tonight Dusty! Folks, we're fresh off last week's Monday Nitro where WCW finally fought back against the NWO! In the last several months, WCW has thoroughly been beaten down and seemed to be on our last legs. Lex Luger, Scotty Steiner, and Ric Flair have all felt the wrath repeatedly by the NWO and felt another blow with the Macho Man Randy Savage joining the NWO, but last week, finally, FINALLY, Dusty Rhodes, WCW fought back, which, I'll add, is just in time for Clash of the Champions coming up this Sunday! Dusty: Jimmy boy, lemme break it down like this for ya....Last Monday night, WCW finally fought back. We finally saw some life breathed into the WCW locker room. Lex Luger, Ricky Steamboat, and Scotty Steiner all came together to fight against the NWO as the program came to an end last week. Despite all this, the NWO continues to gain strength each and every week! They get new members outta the woodwork and WCW gets blindsided all over again! During all this, we've had one man still standing off in the shadows. We've had one man we need back now more than ever to battle the NWO! If you haven't figured out who it is, I'm talkin' about the Stinger, baby! We need Sting back! We don't need him sitting off to the sides and watching WCW crumble from the sides! We need him back to help hold up that crumbling wall! I know Sting's had a rough time. I know he feels betrayed by WCW. But there's still a bunch of us out there who never doubted the Stinger, and we need him! Rating: 80 - Dusty's stopped as Bobby Heenan walks in the picture, stepping up to the commentary booth and grabbing the headset, sitting in the open chair. Ross and Dusty just look, dumbfounded, at Heenan as he casually sits down and looks at the two. - Heenan: What??? I'm here! Ross: Where the hell were you?!? The show's already started! Heenan: I had business to attend to. I'm here to tell you both that I'm here for a long time! Bobby Heenan is going to be at this announce booth each and every week with the two of you and I'm not going anywhere! Dusty: Oh brother... Ross: Bobby, you're gonna sit here until the first sign of trouble comes along! Heenan: Well I'm here now! Let's get the show on! First match of the night, Steve Austin versus Big Bubba! Man, let me tell you about that Steve Austin! He shocked everyone at Starrcade! Ross: Ok Bobby... Rating: 87 Steve Austin vs Big Bubba Rogers vs Austin walked out, not just with a great reaction from the Canadian crowd, but with a bit of a different look also. Sporting a goatee and a mean attitude, Austin trekked to the ring. Bubba made his entrance and the two locked up. Austin was on fire tonight and took the fight to Bubba. It was quick work and Austin put him away at 7:49 with a Stunner. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 80 Lenny Lane vs Randy Savage vs Lenny Lane didn't stand a chance in this one. Savage was all over the young wrestler as soon as he stepped in the ring. Elizabeth accompanied Savage to the ring and even got a few cheap shots in on Lane while Savage distracted the referee. Savage won easily with the Flying Elbow at 7:04. Winner: Randy Savage Rating: 67 Tony Schiavone is in the ring and calls out his interview guest; Lex Luger. Luger comes out to a great ovation from the Canadian crowd and steps into the ring. Tony says last week was a great night for WCW as we finally saw WCW come together for the goal of fighting against the NWO, something we hadn't seen up until that point... Luger: Tony, last week was a pivotal moment for WCW! Not only was it big for WCW, but it was big for me as well! Last week, the NWO finally saw that WCW has had enough and we're sick and tired of the sneak attacks, the gang attacks, and the outnumbered attacks! Last week, myself, Ricky Steamboat, and Scott Steiner all came together to give the NWO a taste of their own medicine! Let me just take a moment to give a special word of thanks to Steamboat. We teamed up last week and had a hell of a match and took it straight to the NWO! When the NWO realized they weren't going to walk all over the two of us, they did what they always do, they resorted to their gang attacks. Well guess what?!? Scott Steiner ran down to even up the odds a bit and they realized they bit off more than they could chew! From this point forward, WCW won't lay down and the NWO can expect more of what they got last week! Tony, I'm going to finish off Kevin Nash and if Hogan's looking for some better challenge that he doesn't think he'll get from the Nature Boy, then I'll be more than willing to step up and provide Hogan with that challenge he so desperately wants! Rating: 80 Alex Wright vs Perry Saturn vs This was an abysmal match that the Canadian crowd did not care at all about. Despite being given a decent amount of match time, the crowd never got into it. Saturn won with a Death Valley Driver at 10:22. Winner: Perry Saturn Rating: 33 Wrath vs Fit Finlay vs They looked to reengage the crowd with this next match, which they did but marginally. Wrath won with the Meltdown at 7:43. It got over a bit more with the crowd mostly because it was a shorter match and Wrath manhandled Finlay. Winner: Wrath Rating: 54 Cameras are backstage for a taped promo with Paul Levesque. Levesque says that he's come to WCW and joined the NWO to make an impact, something he wasn't allowed to do with his former employer. Levesque says while he was wasting away up North and not used, he realized where he needed to go to advance his career. Now that he's with the NWO and kicking ass, he's coming after the TV title. Diamond Dallas Page wants to stand in his way, but Levesque is going to use him as a stepping stone to achieve a title. Rating: 65 Mean Gene is at the base of the ramp for an interview and welcomes Lord Steven Regal. Mean Gene presses Regal and says that last week on this show, he said he was going to challenge the Faces of Fear for the titles here tonight! Regal snubs his nose at Gene and says after thinking about it, he'd rather win the tag team titles at a more prestigious show like Clash of the Champions instead of Monday Nitro, let alone at a dump of a city like Toronto that's a red-headed step child of the United Kingdom. Harlem Heat interrupted the interview and didn't like that Regal was thrusting himself right into a tag team title match when they're the number one contenders. Booker says that if the Blue Bloods are able to beat them in the match tonight, then they can claim the #1 contendership. Rating: 84 Blue Bloods vs Harlem Heat vs Both teams went right after one another as soon as the bell rang. Once some order was restored and the illegal men got to their respective corner, things slowed down as Taylor and Regal were able to slow the match to their pace. This greatly impacted the hard-hitting style of Harlem Heat and Stevie Ray was isolated from his corner. Booker T was able to get the hot tag and clean house but some blatant cheating by Regal was able to turn things around. Regal shocked everyone when he got the pin on Booker at 12:27. Regal was the star of the match. Winners: Blue Bloods Rating: 74 Mean Gene is backstage, this time with the Enforcer Arn Anderson. Last week, Anderson had words for Eddie Guerrero, saying he's going to stoop down to his level. Arn says he's going to make good on his promise because at Clash of the Champions, he's going to take Eddie on again. The difference this time is that Eddie won't be able to cheat but Arn is sure to bring the pain to Eddie. He says at Clash, it's going to be a Strap match between the two. Arn looks forward to slapping the skin off of Eddie and make him beg for mercy. Rating: 94 Buff Bagwell vs Scott Steiner vs Bagwell began this match with smiles and poses but quickly realized the danger he was in and the smiling vanished. Steiner beat Bagwell from one end of the ring to the other and had Bagwell quickly begging for a timeout. It didn't happen, obviously and Steiner continued his assault. As Steiner looked to finish things and motioned for the Steiner Screwdriver, the crowd got to their feet as there was activity at the stage. Pillman, Levesque, and Nash ran to the ring, followed a bit more slowly by Macho and Hogan. Pillman and Levesque got in the ring first and immediately attacked Steiner and was shortly followed by Nash, Macho, and Hogan. The referee called for the bell at 11:39 for the DQ. Winner by DQ: Scott Steiner Rating: 75 The victory was merely a footnote as the NWO continued a brutal attack, once again, on Scott Steiner. Steiner never had a chance as he was jumped from behind. He was held up as Hogan and Savage took turns pummeling Steiner before Savage hit a couple Flying Elbow drops followed by some Hogan Leg Drops. Once they felt satisfied with the attack, the spray cans again came out. Steiner was flipped over and they proceeded to tag NWO on his back, a vision that's been seen numerous times to this point. Jim Ross, completely lost himself at the announce booth as he exclaimed for someone to come out and help Steiner. No one could comprehend why no help ever came out after the way the show ended last week. Similarly, they couldn't understand why, after Luger just said earlier that this very thing wouldn't happen again, was now happening once again. Ross: Where the hell is everyone?!? Where's Luger?! He just said earlier this wouldn't happen! He said WCW was united! He said they finally have stood up to the NWO! But he's not here! There's no Luger! There's no Steamboat! There's no Flair! Arn Anderson, Sting, Austin!! There's no WCW to be seen anywhere!! Dear God in heaven, someone needs to get out here!!!! Rating: 80 Final Show Rating: 82

Hello everyone, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund bringing you this week's WCW Hotline Report! The new year has gotten off to a fast start! The wrestling world was shocked that the Macho Man Randy Savage turned his back on WCW only to join the New World Order. There were many that thought his explanation this past Monday on Nitro for joining the NWO was rather lacking. Could there be more behind the Macho Man joining the group? Only time will tell. This past week, WCW extended their TV deal with TBS to continue broadcasting Saturday Night. They also signed a new broadcasting deal with ITV - a television broadcaster out of the UK. This deal will provide WCW programming with a "very big" area of coverage, which will only help to expose WCW to more viewers internationally. Bobby "the Brain" Heenan and Jody Hamilton also extended their contracts with WCW. I'm happy that the Brain will continue being a large part of WCW. Hamilton, not known to many, is a crucial part of the backstage scene in WCW. Both have reportedly signed 3 year deals. January will not see a typical Pay Per View by WCW, instead we will have Clash of the Champions 32! This event will happen the second week of the month. With the short turn around, we should see several matches announced during this week's Monday Nitro! With the big update last week, there isn't much other news in the wrestling world this week! Here is the card for this week's Nitro, which will be held in Canada for the first time! Week 2, January 1997 LIVE from Corel Centre - Ontario Buff Bagwell vs Scott Steiner Blue Bloods (Regal & Dave Taylor) vs Harlem Heat Wrath vs Fit Finlay Alex Wright vs Perry Saturn Lenny Lane vs Randy Savage Steve Austin vs Big Bubba Rogers

Week 1, January 1997 LIVE from The Pit - Albuquerque, NM Attendance: 18,000 (SELLOUT!) Ross: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to WCW Monday Nitro! It's a brand new year and we're fresh off of Starrcade and, Bobby and Mike, what a night it was! Tenay: That's right Jim Ross. Last night's Starrcade was an unprecedented event that saw a ton of action! Not only did several scores get settled last night but new ones emerged! Heenan: You know, for as many answers and problems that were solved last night, there were 20 more to take it's place and cause more questions! The question that's been on my mind for the past 24 hours is what in the heck is the deal with the Macho Man Randy Savage?!?! Ross: For sure, Bobby! Folks, we're gonna show you some still pictures from last night's Starrcade and the main event where Hollywood Hogan defended the world title against Scott Steiner. Fellas, what an effort Scott Steiner gave last night and just when it looked like Randy Savage was there to help, he pulled the wool over everyone's eyes and turned his back on Scott Steiner! He turned his back on him like a damn snake in the grass and cost him winning the world title! Heenan: You can't trust Randy Savage and I've known the Macho Man for a very, very long time! Everyone knows he's unhinged and off his rocker. The man's as unpredictable as a hurricane and just as violent too! Ross: Well I sure as hell hope Randy Savage explains himself because after what he did last night, there's no excuse! He's a no good, low down, untrustworthy SON OF A B---- Heenan: OOooh, oh!!! Hold on now Jim Ross!!! You don't want Savage coming out here and getting in your face do you?!? Ross: It's just unbelievable to me that Savage would do what he did! He's no doubt going to be here tonight and I hope he tells us all why he did that! It's - - Ross is cut off as the NWO's music begins playing and they all make their way out onto the stage. Savage is the last to emerge who's also got Elizabeth locked around his arm. The group is all smiles as they make their way to the ring amidst a chorus of boos from the crowd. - - It seems their numbers grow by the week, Jim Ross comments, as the group enters the ring. While the celebrations continue in a grotesque fashion, some fans are already throwing trash in the ring. Kevin Nash produces an "NWO" t-shirt and gives it to Savage as the music fades out and Eric Bischoff begins things on the microphone. - Bischoff: Let's give it up for the most valuable player from Starrcade last night - The Macho Man Randy Savage!!!!! On behalf of the entire NWO group, we can now make the Macho Man's membership into the NWO official!!!! I've heard the buzzing, I've seen all the questions posted, I've seen the news stories, and I've gotta say, everyone wants to know why, just, WHY, did the Macho Man turn his back and join the New World Order!?!? Well unlike some other wrestling companies, you fans don't have to wait to hear the answers and the reasons, because right here, right now, the Macho Man is going to address each and every one of your concerns!!! Ladies and gentlemen, the newest member of the NWO - THE MACHO MAN!!!! Savage: I like it, I like it, YEAH!!!!!!! Just a short 24 hours ago, everyone loved the Macho Man Randy Savage! And ever since I did what I did last night, everyone has been asking me one question - WHY?! I'll tell ya why!!! Because as much as I don't like Hulk Hogan and despite all the grief he's caused me, one thing couldn't be denied....And that's whenever the Macho Man and Hulk Hogan join forces, there's not a single person on Earth that can stop the two of us!!! Despite all the hatred and animosity between me and Hulk Hogan, he always had my back whenever I asked for it!!!! I spent so much of my time last year going against Hulk Hogan and the NWO and what'd I have to show for it?!?! I'd get beat up week after week, I'd been put out of action and stretchered out of arena after arena when I supposedly had guys like Sting and the Total Package Lex Luger watching my back! Well all I was for guys like Sting and Lex Luger was a fall guy! I was just there to get the heat off of them! I'd get beat up and they were nowhere to be found! So why in the hell would I waste my time teaming up with them when Luger couldn't be counted on?!?!? Without Luger, that left Sting! What'd Sting do when things got rough and didn't go his way??? He disappeared!!!! Now he came back but all he does now is stand at a distance and watch everyone! All you people can waste your time looking up at the sky, but he's so much of a coward after what happened last night, he isn't even here tonight!!!! So after finding myself so often on the receiving end of a beatdown, I had to sit and ask myself, what was the point?!?! There comes a time in life when you have to look at the real priorities and the real opportunities, and there were no opportunities to stay on the side of WCW and rely on cowards like Luger and Sting! Sometimes in life, if ya can't beat em', join em', and that's what I did!!! There also comes time in your life when you have to look at yourself in the mirror and stop denying fate! Some things are destined to go together! Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man, and the Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth! I couldn't care any less if you people have a problem with it, because you people don't give me nothing! The NWO is here for good and I'd love to see someone try and change it! OH YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Rating: 100 Television Title: Perry Saturn vs Dean Malenko (c) vs Both men were coming off of victories from the prior night, although Saturn's victory was a tag team win during the pre-show. In any case, he wanted to put on as good a showing as his last TV title opportunity last month. The match just barely was not as good as the prior encounter, but it was still a good one. Saturn used his typical offense, full of suplexes mixed in with a hard-hitting offense, while Malenko utilized technical wrestling and submission holds. Added in between was the typical interference that Francine has provided Malenko in his title matches. Malenko won this one at 11:04 with the Texas Cloverleaf. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 70 John Tenta vs Brad Armstrong vs Both these men are coming off a pretty solid 1996, where they both saw some success and competed for the TV title. They were hoping to start off 1997 much the same way. There wasn't much to this one and Tenta got the win with the Earthquake Splash at 7:46. Winner: John Tenta Rating: 59 We come back from the first commercial break of the night to Mean Gene Okerlund standing in the middle of the ring. He hypes up a few matches from the previous night and focuses on the match that his next guest was involved in - a bloody, long winded affair that saw an unexpected end to many. Please welcome his guest at this time, the 14-time Worlds heavyweight champion, the Nature Boy Ric Flair! Gene: Nature Boy, it amazes me that after such an intense and grueling matchup just 24 hours ago, that you're out here, not just in one piece aside from that bandage on your head, but smiling ear to ear and in such a great mood!!! Flair: Well Mean Gene, to get to the level of the Nature Boy Ric Flair, not only do you have to be styling and profiling at every minute of every day, but you've gotta be able to go the 60 minute distance and still have enough energy to party on the town the rest of the night, and then be able to party the rest of the night with all the girls!!!! As far as last night is concerned, brother, everybody saw Steve Austin and I go the distance! Everybody saw us beat the living hell outta one another, and somewhere in the middle of all that bloodshed, of all the pummeling and taking each other to the limit, Steve Austin and I discovered our newfound respect for one another! Now, you probably won't be seeing the two of us teaming up and getting drinks together at the bar, but Steve Austin proved without a doubt that he is a complete badass, he's the real deal, and brother, he proved that he's the MAN! You know why?!?! Because how many times have I said "to be the man, you gotta beat the man" and Gene, last night, I'm not ashamed to say, Steve Austin beat THE MAN! Austin!!! You proved last night why Double A and I brought you into the Horsemen in the first place! You're legit, nobody can deny that, and you're gonna go as far in this sport as you choose!!!! So as far as I'm concerned pal, things between us is water under the bridge! This brings me now to that over-inflated egomaniac Hollywood Hogan! Hogan!!! I started something with you last year that ain't over by a long shot, pal!!! You not only cost me my world championship, but you also cost me the 4 Horsemen! I didn't finish things with you and I got pulled to the side by that no-good puissant Brian Pillman and then got tangled up with Austin! Scott Steiner, by God, proved himself to be a pain in your ass and, try as he might, just couldn't overcome the numbers of the NWO! Hogan!!! You're nothing but a leech on this sport and as soon as you're done sucking and draining the blood out of one organization, you go on to another to do the same! You've taken this sport, you've taken WCW and you've smashed it under your boots and twisted your heel into the ground! You've spat on tradition, you've lowered the standards - not raised them! You've lowered them!!! You're an embarrassment to yourself and to professional wrestling!!! I'm on a mission to restore all the damage you've done to WCW and rebuild everything you've worked so hard to destroy! I'm not afraid of you or that little group of thugs you've got running beside you! I'm not going to hide, and you aren't gonna see me cowering from you or your little band of rejects!! Hogan, your ass, and the world title, is mine! Rating: 100 Earl Robert Eaton vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs Can Chavo change his 1996 fortunes and start 1997 off with a winning record? No.....Eaton won this one at 7:03 with a Flying Body press. Winner: Earl Robert Eaton Rating: 57 - After returning from a commercial break, we're backstage in a locker room where Steve Austin is ready to address the crowd. Much like Flair, Austin's also sporting a large bandage on his forehead - Last night, the Nature Boy Ric Flair and I beat the living hell out of one another for 60 straight minutes! Not only did I do what I said I was gonna do, but I also had to be man enough to shake his hand after it was all said and done with! Some might say that made me less of a cold hearted son of a bitch and made me have a soft side! Well I've got news for those people - Steve Austin ain't soft, and Steve Austin hasn't lost an edge! Ric Flair took a beating and continued to get up and give one back! To me, that showed that he's just as much a tough son of a bitch as me! What I'm not concerned with though, is the past, because it's all over! What I am concerned with, is the future! There's one thing I can guarantee everyone watching right now, and that's the future for Steve Austin has gold in it, and that's gonna be sooner rather than later! Rating: 100 Booker T vs Paul Levesque vs Booker T entered this match with a great opportunity to showcase his singles ability, the only problem is he had to contend with the NWO. It was a very solid back and forth match between the two but in the end, Booker couldn't keep up with all the underhanded tactics that Levesque brought. The pin fall was counted at 11:24 after hitting the Apex. Winner: Paul Levesque Rating: 80 Mean Gene is standing by with Arn Anderson backstage and asks him about his match last night with Eddie Guerrero. Double A says that if Eddie didn't rely on cheating to win matches, he'd have a very terrible win-loss ratio. Arn cryptically tells Eddie to enjoy those questionable victories while he can because he hasn't yet realized he's facing the Enforcer, a man who built his career breaking down opponents and stooping to whatever depths he has to in order to win. Anderson says he invented the very tactics that Guerrero now relies on to win matches. Arn finishes up by saying you can't cheat a cheater. Rating: 90 Lord Steven Regal vs Steve Austin vs The Lordship had no easy task tonight after coming up short last night in reclaiming the TV title. Austin was completely on fire tonight had firmly had the crowd behind up, the announcers observed on commentary. Regal was able to slow things down briefly after a poke to the eye but it didn't take long for Austin to fire back up and regain control. Austin won at 12:01 with a Stunner. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 75 After the match, Mean Gene catches Regal at the base of the ramp for a quick word. Regal says that he isn't going to let some floozy cost him the Television championship again and he will reclaim the title. Regal says this would start immediately but next week he's going after the tag team titles. Rating: 99 Ricky Steamboat & Lex Luger vs Kevin Nash & Randy Savage vs The main event was announced during the Levesque/Booker match and JR said that Steamboat personally requested to team with Luger to take on the NWO. The entrances were made and it immediately was a tense atmosphere after the NWO entered the ring. Steamboat tried to start things off with Savage but the Macho Man avoided him like the plague. Savage would enter the ring just to exit again prior to locking up. He did this several times before Luger finally got tired and chased Savage around the ringside area. Savage slid back in and quickly tagged in Nash, who slowly entered the ring with a twinkle in his eye at the opportunity to get Steamboat. Nash immediately took control and had Steamboat reeling. With the NWO firmly in control, Savage was happy to tag in now and cause some damage. Several near falls and several in and out tags, sometimes not even tagging at all, and the NWO had Steamboat in trouble. Luger was anxious to get in as the minutes went by, trying desperately to reach out to the Dragon so he could make the tag. After mustering up some offense, the crowd eagerly cheering him on, Steamboat was able to get a flurry of offense in and make the hot tag to Luger who came in blazing. The crowd was going crazy as Luger cleaned house and had Savage and Nash furiously trying to regain momentum. After hitting the bionic forearm on Nash, Luger signaled it was time for the Torture Rack. Just as Luger was getting ready to lift Nash, Brian Pillman slid in the ring and blasted Luger from behind with the US title. The referee didn't see this, of course, because Savage had him distracted. Luger dropped to the mat and Pillman slid out of the ring just as fast as he entered. Steamboat was down on the mat, still feeling the effects of being isolated and unable to tag during the majority of the mat. Nash was able to get to his feet and lift Luger, hitting the Jacknife and score the win at 16:26. Winners: Kevin Nash & Randy Savage Rating: 97 In typical fashion, once the bell rang, the rest of the NWO made their way to ringside and climbed in. Pillman had already re-entered and started the attack once more as the others made their way in to join. A short attack began but didn't last long though as the crowd came to their feet in unified cheers... Scott Steiner sprinted to the ring and slid in, hopping to his feet as a brief staredown with the NWO ensued. The crowd erupted once more as Steiner went right after the NWO. Steiner threw punch after punch, changing to a different person as he unloaded on the group. This allowed Luger and Steamboat some time to get back on their feet and join in on the fight. The crowd came unglued as WCW finally begin to fight back against the NWO and the Nitro credits appeared on the screen as an all-out brawl happened in the ring. Ross: Folks, we're out of time!!!! WCW is finally fighting back against the NWO!!! But we've got to go!!! Rating: 92 Final Show Rating: 96

WCW Hotline Special Report: 1996 Year In Review Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund here to give you this WCW Hotline Special Report! In this edition, we'll have a year in review for the wrestling world in 1996, so sit back, strap in, and prepare yourself for a massive update! (In a side note, I've noticed some of my pictures on my end have not been loading properly and I have to refresh my browser. I hope you guys aren't having issues with them.) 1996: WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Shawn Michaels is the 1996 wrestler of the year. The WWF employee has had a spectacular year, despite his only title reign being the Intercontinental champion, which he lost in February. Michael's averaged a 91 match rating, his highest being several 100 rated matches, with his lowest rating a 76. He boasted a 25-16 win/loss record for the year. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR: The WWF tag team of the 123 Kid and Ahmed Johnson, named "The Unholy" are the oddball 1996 Tag Team of the year. Despite a record of 1-7 for the year, wrestling critics thought they were the top team of 1996. Thanks to a series of tag team matches involving Bret Hart, usually teaming with the Undertaker, The Unholy boasted a top rated match of 99, averaging an 86 rating, with a lowest of 75. I would argue that WCW had the much better tag teams, but that's my opinion. This team went inactive in November. YOUNG WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: The 123 Kid celebrates his second consecutive award for the young wrestler of the year. The 24 year old talent had a 24-20 overall record for 1996, averaging an 81 match rating, peaking at 99, and having a lowest record of 65. He also celebrated capturing the Intercontinental title on two occasions during the year. VETERAN WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: WCW finally gets on the books with Ric Flair receiving the veteran wrestler of the year award! The 48 year old has, despite his age, went through a kind of career resurgence during the year. His popularity has continued to increase as he's become one of WCW's top stars once again, with no signs of it slowing down. Despite a 13-11-3 record for the year, the Nature Boy enjoyed quite the success, winning the WCW World Heavyweight title for the 14th time in May and holding it until August. He had an overall match rating of 83. a top of 100, and lowest rating of 74. FEMALE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Akira Hokuto wins the female wrestler of the year for the second consecutive year. She has split her time between CMLL and AJW but mostly competed in CMLL. Her record was an amazing 110-60 with a 71 average match rating, highest of 85, and low of 55. She is the current WWWA World champion with All Japan Women's Wrestling. INDEPENDENT WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: The Sandman wins this years Independent wrestler award, boasting an impressive 30-7 record, all but one match with ECW. Averaging a match rating of 72, highest of 82, and low of 26, the Sandman hopes to continue his momentum for 1997. He lost the ECW World title in April after holding it for a year but then reclaimed the title in August, losing it in November. The 3-time ECW champion is a top star in their company. COMPANY OF THE YEAR: In a raw deal, if you ask me, the World Wrestling Federation was voted as the top company of the year for second year in a row. Many had thought WCW had it in the bag this year after a tremendous year, however, it wasn't meant to be. They are rated to be a "Big" size and maintained 85-86 popularity level during the year. MOST IMPROVED COMPANY OF THE YEAR: Again thought to be in the bag for WCW, readers were surprised to see this years award go to Smoky Mountain Wrestling for the most-improved company. The medium sized company enjoyed constant popularity of 58-59 in their home South East region for the year and impressed with decent gains in the Mid South region. MATCH OF THE YEAR: vs The WWF wins another award, this one being the match of the year. The tag team match, held on an edition of Monday Night Raw, scored an overall rating of 100. CARD OF THE YEAR: The WWF wins another award, this one being the card of the year for Survivor Series with an average rating of 95. The show was headlined by Psycho Sid defending the WWF World Heavyweight title against Bret Hart, which scored a 99. The show scored a 5.91 buy rate with 57,000 in attendance. Halloween Havoc followed very close in second place with a 94 rating. This is the second year in a row the WWF has scored this award. MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Dutch Mantel is this years manager of the year. He has split his time between the WWF and AWF, though his time there ended in September when the company went bankrupt and closed. ANNOUNCER OF THE YEAR: Jim Ross retains his title of announcer of the year! JR spent most of the 1996 year employed by the WWF after joining WCW in what can only be described as a steal. WCW looks forward to having the top rated announcer for two years in a row now calling all of the action for 1997. COLOR COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR: The USWA booker and color commentator, Jerry Lawler, wins this years color guy of the year award. The USWA has enjoyed renewed success, thanks in large part to "the King", more that I will touch on later. REFEREE OF THE YEAR: WCW referee Charles Robinson enjoys his second year in a row of winning the award for best referee of the year. Congratulations, Charles, on being recognized as the best in the business! POWER 500 RANKINGS: 1. Shawn Michaels 2. Bret Hart 3. Owen Hart 4. The Undertaker 5. The Ultimate Warrior The top 5 were presented for 1996. Kevin Nash was the only WCW performer listed in the top 10, which he was listed at 8. TOP COMPANIES: The WWF ranks in at #1, enjoying the top spot the entire year. Psycho Sid Vicious has enjoyed his reign as the top champion in the WWF, holding the title since September when he defeated the British Bulldog. Goldust is the current Intercontinental champion, having won the title in October after defeating the 123 Kid. Billy Gunn and Jeff Jarrett, also known as Freedom Force, are the current WWF tag team champions. They just reclaimed the titles for the second time a couple of weeks ago from the New Rockers. The WWF's top stars: 1. The Undertaker 2. Bret Hart 3. Shawn Michaels (Figurehead) 4. The Big Show 5. The Ultimate Warrior #2: WCW has enjoyed tremendous success during 1996 and an increase in popularity. They increased to "Big" size in January and have steadily been creeping toward becoming "Large." With their ever-growing popularity in Canada, it's only a matter of time before WCW increases in size again. WCW's Top 5 Stars: 1. Hollywood Hogan (Figurehead) 2. Sting 3. Ric Flair 4. Brian Pillman 5. Kevin Nash #3: CMLL comes in at the third ranking company in the world. They are currently "medium" in size but are on the verge of becoming a "big" company, thanks in large part to Rey Mysterio Jr. CMLL had high hopes after locking Rey Mysterio as well as Chris Jericho into exclusive contracts, however, things became difficult after Jericho fractured his C7 early in the year, an injury putting him totally out of action for over 1 year. Still though, CMLL has persevered into becoming one of the top wrestling companies in the world. CMLL have way too many title belts to list, though Rey Mysterio is the current NWA Middleweight champion. CMLL's Top 5 Stars: 1. Rey Mysterio Jr 2. Negro Casas 3. Atlantis 4. Rayo De Jalisco Jr. 5. Super Astro #4: New Japan Pro Wrestling ranks in at #4. The Big ranked company gives a distant challenge to the WWF and WCW, though they haven't tapped into the North American audience yet to establish a real threat. The only visibility they or any of their roster has had has been through the talent trade agreement by WCW and NJPW. If they're wanting to increase their position, they're going to have to expand into other markets. While they also remain the most popular Japanese promotion, they do not currently air any TV shows. NJPW's Top 5 Stars: 1. Keiji Mutoh 2. Misawa 3. Shinya Hashimoto 4. Riki Choshu 5. Jushin Thunder Liger #5: All Japan Pro Wrestling rounds out the top 5 promotions in the world. The distant second place in Japan, they are still well-respected and the 4th most wealthy company. AJPW's Top 5 Stars: 1. Giant Baba 2. Masahiro Chono 3. Toshiaki Kawada 4. Stan Hansen 5. Kenta Kobashi Honorable Mentions: #6 The USWA has seen tremendous growth during 1996. Their top 5 stars: 1. Jerry Lawler 2. Steve Williams (USWA world champion) 3. Jeff Jarrett 4. Vader 5. Ricky Morton USWA looks ahead to 1997 with the hopes of continuing their momentum with an impressive roster that they've managed. #14 The beloved ECW ranks in at #14. Fans are always rooting for the underdog promotion but 1996 was a rough year for them. They thought they found their grove with Raven as world champion until an injury took him out of action for long-term. Since then, they've had an up and down battle, bouncing from Small size to Medium. They're currently medium but on the verge of once again dropping to small. ECW's Top 5 Stars: 1. Terry Funk 2. 2 Cold Scorpio 3. The Sandman 4. Tommy Dreamer 5. Raven Their hope that with Raven now back in the swing of things, they will be able to regain the momentum they had in the beginning of 1996. I hope you all enjoyed the year in review for 1996 and look ahead to 1997! Once we finish the first quarter of 1997, be on the lookout for another special edition of the WCW Hotline Report to update you on all of the current most popular workers in the world!

Week 4, December 1996 LIVE from the Louisiana Superdome - New Orleans, LA Attendance: 70,000 (SELLOUT!) After a huge 1996, not just for WCW but for the entire world, we've finally made it! Cameras open up to a panoramic shot of the jam-packed arena. The fans are extra rowdy tonight in New Orleans as fireworks explode and we're welcomed by Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, and Bobby Heenan. Fans who strictly watch Nitro haven't seen Tony in awhile and he mentions how nice it is to get to do announcing duties with Jim Ross again. JR lets Tony do the initial run-down of the matches on tonight's card as they briefly talk about each one, with the 60-minute Iron Man match and the world title match getting the most discussion. The stakes are ultra-high, Ross tells everyone for both of those matches. They also discuss how the United States champion Brian Pillman doesn't have a match tonight, though he's sure to be around with several other NWO members in high profile matches tonight. It doesn't take long for music to start playing over the speakers as we begin our first match of the night! Television Title: Lord Steven Regal vs Dean Malenko (c) vs w/ We're treated to quite an interesting matchup in this one. Regal was enjoying his 4th run with the TV title when an injury took him out of action. Expecting to be out of action for over 6 months, Regal was fortunate enough to have a successful surgery which cut that to half the time. During that time, Dean Malenko went to great lengths to finally capture the title and has enjoyed being called the champion for the last month. All three announcers agreed that while neither man is particularly loved by the crowd, Regal might gain some sympathy not only for trying to win back a title he never lost, but also more than likely having to contend with Francine's presence at ringside. The manager for Malenko might not have been predicted, but she's ended up being extremely valuable to the Ice Man. The two men began the match clearly looking to make this a technical masterclass. That didn't seem to translate very well to the sold out arena as the fans appeared to be wanting a more physical matchup. Though there were several pre-show matches, the crowd didn't come off as being warmed up properly. At the end of the match, Regal looked to have things secured. Malenko was down on the mat and it appeared that Regal would be going to lock in the Regal Stretch. Francine also noticed this and became frantic. She quickly jumped on the apron to distract Regal, as well as the referee. Regal's attention naturally turned toward Francine, who began pointing her finger in Regals face and screaming. This text can do no justice for the facial expressions given by Regal, only to say they were immaculate. After listening intently, Regal, without warning, grabbed Francine by her head with both his hands and planted a massive kiss. Not only did Francine come away looking absolutely disgusted, but so did Regal. The referee stood frozen with his arms halfway in the air as he looked on stunned. For this moment and catastrophically for Regal, everyone forgot about Malenko, who crawled to his knees behind Regal and hit a low blow before rolling him up. The referee snapped out of his shock and counted the pin at 16:54. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 68 Fit Finlay vs Scott Norton vs These two men have had an on-going feud dating back to September of this year. While most of this feud has gone unseen on Saturday Night, they have had some PPV matches. Norton is still intent to prove that he's the toughest man in WCW and Finlay has aimed to challenge that. The two men are looking to have their feud culminate here tonight. Unlike the previous technical-based match, this saw no technical action. There were plenty of stiff shots given by both men but no matter how many they were, both men kept going at the other. Norton was just barely able to get one additional hard hitting move in his offense and put Finlay away at 10:16 with a Powerbomb. Winner: Scott Norton Rating: 63 Mean Gene is backstage in the garage area, ready to provide the first update of the evening. As he's going through events later to come, a car comes racing in from the arena entrance and screeches to a halt. Mean Gene rushes to get over to the car just as the driver is exiting.. The Macho Man quickly walks around the car and begins heading toward the inside of the arena. Mean Gene is struggling to keep up with him but he clearly appears focused on something and in a hurry. Mean Gene: Macho Man!!! Can I get a quick word?!? Savage doesn't stop, doesn't turn toward Mean Gene, and instead swipes his arm like he doesn't have time for Mean Gene and continues walking inside the arena at a brisk pace. Gene stops trying to keep up with Savage and looks disappointingly into the camera. Mean Gene: It appears that the Macho Man Randy Savage isn't interested in an interview....Guys, back to you! Rating: 71 Eddie Guerrero vs Arn Anderson vs There wasn't much more than a couple weeks of buildup to this match. The Enforcer came to the aid of Chavo Guerrero Jr, after being on the receiving end of a beating by his uncle Eddie. He challenged him to try picking on someone his own size which lead to this match. Both men put on stellar performances and took their time with this one. While Eddie maintained his speed and used fast paced moves to keep Anderson reeling, he also slowed the match down plenty just like his opponent. Anderson didn't use as much quickness but also appeared to break down his opponent methodically. Double A had Eddie right where he wanted him. He planted him with his signature Spine Buster and looked to end things with a DDT. They were too close to the ropes though and Eddie held on to the ropes while Anderson dropped back, taking the brunt of the impact. In a swift move, Eddie folded Anderson up for a pin and for extra leverage, propped his feet on the ropes. The referee didn't see the blatant cheating and counted the pin at 16:53. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 77 Mean Gene was able to secure a pre-match interview with Paul Levesque. He compared DDP to a third-rate actor who always thinks they're a bigger star than they really are. In reality, his movies go straight to VHS tape. Levesque said Page can stay a top star in his own head and even prance around that "pretty little wife" of his, but he'll never amount to anything. He said he'll prove that to everyone in their match tonight and afterwards? He might even take that two-bit tramp of his... Rating: 72 It's been a little while since we've seen the Living Legend. He's managed to get Harlem Heat for an interview head of their match tonight. Sensuous Sherri keeps distracting Larry by adjusting his tie as he tries to ask Harlem Heat about their upcoming match. Booker says that Harlem Heat's more focused than ever and the only thing they're concerned about is getting their tag team titles back tonight. Stevie Ray says they've had so many matches against the Faces of Fear, they know each other better than a book. It's all gonna come down to who the toughest team is and Stevie says there's no tougher team than the one from the Harlem Streets. Can you dig that?!? Rating: 68 Diamond Dallas Page vs Paul Levesque vs Levesque was accompanied to the ring with "Sting" and was ultra cocky as he stepped in to meet DDP. Words were exchanged at the beginning of the match and the smirk on Levesque's face quickly vanished as DDP slapped him hard. It was a slugfest from this point forward in the match. DDP had things firmly in control but "Sting" ended up passing some brass knucks that don't look like brass knucks, but we'll call them brass knucks anyway....He hid them until DDP approached him from behind and then Levesque decked him. After that, he picked DDP up and hit the "Apex," which is the new name for the Pedigree at 12:13. Winner: Paul Levesque Rating: 70 Cameras go backstage where the video footage becomes black and white, choppy, and Eric Bischoff pretends to be a serious interviewer with Kevin Nash. In reality, it becomes just a sarcastic interview where both make fun of Lex Luger and clearly don't take him as a threat. Nash says he'll finish the match off after showcasing his technical prowess and tenacity. Rating: 76 Kevin Nash vs Lex Luger vs In recent weeks, Lex Luger had become much more aggressive in the ring after having enough of the NWO's brutal and constant attacks. That aggression continued as soon as Kevin Nash stepped through the ropes as Luger went right after the co-founder of the New World Order. Luger didn't just have to contend with Nash in this match though, as the US champion accompanied Kevin Nash to the ring. Luger was unstoppable at the beginning of the match which caused Pillman to quickly jump on the apron, though he was promptly put down with a clothesline by Luger. The crowd were on fire for this match and not one seat was filled during this intense but relatively short match. Nash was able to avoid another Luger attack and took the offensive and dumped Luger out of the ring to give himself a much-needed second. Pillman took advantage of Nash distracting the referee to hit Luger a few times and one final time with the US title belt. He tossed Luger back in the ring and Nash went to work, hitting some corner strikes and then a side slam. Nash then sent Luger into the ropes where he attempted a big boot but Luger ducked and on return hit Nash with the Forearm. The crowd came alive but Pillman again jumped on the apron, getting the attention of the referee and Luger. Nash was able to come too and grabbed the US title that was strategically placed near him before Pillman jumped on the apron. Nash got to his feet as Luger turned his attention back to Nash and knocked the Total Package in the head before discarding the title. Nash laid over Luger and the referee turned, counting the pin at 9:37 for another NWO victory. Winner: Kevin Nash Rating: 87 Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs Faces of Fear (c) vs Both teams meet each other for the 5th match between them in 1996. Though each meeting was a physical encounter, Harlem Heat boasted the better record, winning 3 out of 4 contests. In the case of the Faces of Fear, it doesn't matter what happened before because they hold the tag team titles and their last encounter resulted in their win. Harlem Heat clearly wanted nothing more than to take the titles back tonight as Stevie Ray and Meng started things off. Having faced each other so many times, both teams demonstrated how well they knew one another, as several moves were avoided and telegraphed ahead of time. Booker T and Meng stood out as the top performers for each respective team. The match eventually broke down as all four men brawled and the referee lost control. In the midst of the chaos, Meng locked the Tongan Death Grip on Booker T and got the pinfall at 11:29. Winners: Faces of Fear Rating: 79 We get a much-needed break in the action as Mean Gene is once again backstage and catches Steve Austin coming out of his dressing room as he is heading to the ring. Austin stops as Mean Gene asks if he's ready for his Iron Man match and how he's prepared against someone who made their career on them. Austin says he doesn't give a damn what Ric Flair's done before, the only thing that matters is what he's going to do tonight. The only thing Flair's going to do tonight is bleed like a stuck pig and get beat in the middle of the ring after 60 minutes. Rating: 76 Iron Man Match (60 Minutes): Steve Austin vs Ric Flair vs The only word to describe the atmosphere for this match is "electric" as the buildup to this match has been months in the making. Fans were also pleased when Arn Anderson lead Ric Flair out and accompanied him to the ring. Jim Ross said that no one knows what lies in store for either man following this match and that neither man really cares, because all that's on their mind at this very moment is the other man standing across from them. The two go nose to nose as the bell rings and the crowd cheer. The two start off with back and forth punches as Heenan says this match is guaranteed to go 60 minutes unless the other man collapses, so they need to pace themselves. Clearly neither one cared about the time limit as they did to get their hands on the other. With each blow, it was clear that months of frustration and hatred between the two released. This wasn't so much as only between Ric Flair and Steve Austin, but also Arn Anderson and the 4 Horsemen. Anderson avoided getting involved in the match and remained outside, supporting his best friend. Austin ended up outside the ring after a series of chops caused him to bail for a second wind and came face to face with the Enforcer. There was no contact between the two, just an intense stare from both men. Once Austin reentered the ring, he took firm control of the match. As 20 minutes approached and the announcer confirmed, Austin continued to work over and wear down the Nature Boy. Flair was down on the mat and Austin went to the second rope to hit a diving elbow. It connected and Flair sat up in the ring, blood trickling down his forehead as Austin's elbow cut Flair open. Austin sent him into the ropes where he hit the Thesz press on return and started raining more punches down on Flair. 25 Minutes were announced as now Flair's hair was completely red and blood continued to paint his entire face. Austin again sent Flair into the ropes and in a nod to his "Stunning" days, hit a Stun Gun on the Nature Boy. He went for the pin but Flair unexpectedly rolled Austin up and scored the first pin of the night! Flair - 1 Austin - 0 Austin was furious after being caught off guard and immediately went back into his assault. Flair still proved to be the "dirtiest player in the game" though and poked Austin in the eyes. As Austin staggered around the ring and tried to regain his vision, Flair dropped down and hit a blatant low blow. Austin collapsed and Flair then went to work. He hit his patented jumping knees to Austin's head which also cut Austin open. Flair wasn't so subtle with his attacks either as he dropped to the mat and began furiously punching Austin's head, causing the cut to get worse. Suddenly both competitors were covered in blood and both seemed to catch a second wind because of it. Both men got to their feet and again began slugging it out, much to the crowd's delight. Austin punched and Flair chopped and neither man seemed to gain an advantage as 40 minutes were announced to pass. Flair bounced off the ropes and tried to hit a punch on Austin but he blocked it before hitting his own blatant low blow. Flair collapsed and Austin quickly went for the pin and tied things up! Flair - 1 Austin - 1 With barely 10 minutes to go, things reset and both men got back to their feet. A beaten, bloody, and sweaty mess, the two competitors looked at each other with weary but still intense eyes. Austin wiped the blood from his head and flicked it at Flair. Flair motioned for Austin to bring the fight once more. Things were a bit slower this time, but both were still throwing everything they had behind their strikes. Austin backed Flair into the corner and hit a few kicks before lifting him up to the top rope. To the surprise of the crowd, Austin climbed up as well and then hit a thundering super plex. Both lay on the mat as the referee checked both men. There was no 10 count to start, just everyone checking how much time was left for the match. 5 minutes. The two lay there for what seemed an eternity but they finally began to stir about the same time. Flair and Austin got to their feet roughly at the same moment and were spent. Austin tried to motion to bring it on and Flair, hunched over, loosely held up his fists. 2 minutes were announced as blows were exchanged once more. Flair fought back and had Austin reeling. Flair sent Austin to the opposite ropes but Austin ducked a clothesline attempt. Flair turned and met a kick to the gut, doubling him over before Austin hit the Stunner. Both men again lay on the mat as time is now under 30 seconds. Austin finally managed to drape an arm across the Nature Boy and the referee counted the pin with 5 seconds remaining. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 95 The bell sounds and both men lay bloodied and exhausted on the mat. Austin is the first to roll and slowly get to his feet while Arn Anderson enters the ring and begins helping Flair to his. Austin's propped himself up in the corner and stares at The Enforcer and the Nature Boy as blood drips down, not only his face, but also Flair's. The Nature Boy is bent over, his peroxide white hair now a red crimson, as Double A holds on to him. Austin's in the corner with his eyes a stark white against the red mask on his face. Austin slowly works his way to the middle of the ring where Anderson and Flair are. Flair begins to straighten up to prepare for a continued fight as Austin reaches them. The three men stand in the ring, staring at each other and not moving an inch. Arn Anderson is the first to say something to Austin and after a moment, Austin is seen slightly nodding his head and saying something in return. It remains a tense scene while words are exchanged a bit more until, finally at one point, Anderson extends his hand to Austin. Austin looks at it before getting a smirk on his face and says something in reply. Anderson nods his head and points to his extended hand before pushing it further toward Austin with more emphasis. Austin takes one step closer to the two, closing the distance between them even more and then slowly extends his own hand before clasping Andersons. The crowd roars in cheers as Austin's music finally plays, during which Flair extends his own hand. Austin shakes Flair's hand a bit more quickly as Anderson and Flair then raise Austin's arms in the air. Rating: 100 Scotty Riggs vs Buff Bagwell vs Riggs and Bagwell definitely had their work cut out for them trying to follow the previous match. It might have been a better idea to throw an interview or something in between but it wasn't meant to be. Scotty Riggs looked to get some revenge on his former tag team partner for turning his back on him last month to join the NWO. In fairness to Bagwell, Riggs was given the opportunity to also join the group but declined. The match didn't go on for long, which was probably a good idea, as the crowd didn't seem to give much interest. Bagwell toyed and posed around the ring at every opportunity, eventually hitting a new finishing move called the Buff Blockbuster, an impressive second rope flip into a neck breaker, at 8:06. Winner: Buff Bagwell Rating: 48 Cameras go off to another part of the arena where Iron Mike Tenay is standing by with that promo/interview segment that probably should've happened before the last match. The crowd is rowdy behind Tenay as he hypes up the next and final match, the WCW world heavyweight title match between champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan and challenger Scott Steiner. Tenay describes the match as a "pivotal defining moment in the on-going war between WCW and the New World Order." He says that a win by Hollywood Hogan would establish the NWO as here to stay while a win for Steiner would declare WCW fighting back from the depths of despair and provide a light at the end of the tunnel. There's much at stake in this match tonight for both competitors and likens it to a situation where "neither man can afford to lose, but someone has to!" Rating: 70 We're then brought to another backstage segment where the US Champion Brian Pillman, World Champion Hollywood Hogan, and Elizabeth are standing. Pillman laughs as Hogan says he's ready to break Scott Steiner in half like the toothpick he is. Pillman says that Scotty's tried his very best to beat Hogan back at Halloween Havoc and we all saw that his best wasn't good enough. Hogan says the NWO is in charge and in control as they have the top titles in the company and there isn't anything some "curtain jerker" like Scott Steiner can do about it. Tonight is all about the NWO and Hogan says tonight the NWO go undefeated, so Steiner needs to prepare to lose and lose badly! Rating: 81 World Heavyweight Title: Scott Steiner vs Hollywood Hogan (c) vs Fewer things could have been done to build this match up any more. The time has finally come and both men made their respective entrances. Hogan strutted out "playing" the world title like a guitar as Brian Pillman walked out behind him, accompanying him to the ring. Hogan appeared ultra-confident upon entering the ring, jogging around the ring, holding up the graffitied world belt before turning and posing to Steiner. When that didn't get a reaction, Hogan took off his bandana and threw it in his face. Steiner at first gave no reaction but then the fire lit and Steiner rushed forward and began hitting Hogan. The crowd burst into cheers as the announcer tried desperately to rush out of the ring. The bell rang while Steiner continued raining down punches to Hogan, causing him to retreat to the corner. Steiner continued the assault as the referee rushed in and tried to separate the two. Bobby Heenan screamed that the referee shouldn't help out Hogan and should just let Steiner continue the attack. Steiner didn't care about the ref though and eventually shoved the referee back, causing him to tumble backward to the mat. The announcers were glad the referee didn't call for the disqualification right there but the distraction was enough for Hogan to poke Steiner in the eye when he turned his attention back to the world champion. Things began to slow down from there, as Hogan took control and slowed the match down to his pace. Several clubbing blows and scratching to his back caused Steiner to walk around the ring with Hogan stalking closely behind. Hogan's attack eventually caused Steiner to tumble outside the ring between the ropes and Hogan again followed outside. Hogan used electric cables, guardrails, and ring posts to his advantage as the fight went around the ringside area. Nick Patrick, the referee for the match, continued to warn both men to get back in the ring, though he hadn't bothered to begin a 10-count. Jim Ross said that Patrick has to be very careful about the match as both men couldn't care less about match rules and it's more about inflicting damage on the other. With Steiner weakened, Hogan took the time to jaw back and forth with Patrick before rolling back in the ring. Hogan distracted him to give Pillman time on the outside to attack Steiner, likening this match to be more like a handicap match. Steiner's down on the floor when Hogan gets back outside and shoves Dave Penzer off his chair, grabbing the steel chair and folding it up. Steiner gets back to his feet and Hogan swings the chair, right in front of the referee, and hits Steiner in the head. Jim Ross says that Hogan's doing his best to get disqualified, as he would keep the title, but to Nick Patrick's credit, he doesn't call for the bell, recognizing the easy-out that Hogan's attempting. Patrick climbs to the outside and gets right in Hogan's face, yelling at him and telling him he isn't getting DQ'd. This match appears to have essentially turned into a No-DQ match. Patrick takes the chair from Hogan before putting a finger right in the world champion's face and scolding him. Seeing that plan not working, Hogan grabs Steiner to his feet and rolls him back into the ring. Hogan works on a slow-paced but physical offense for awhile, clearly showing that Steiner's been beaten down and weakened. He goes for a few pin attempts that don't work before sending him into the corner. Hogan tries to rush in for a clothesline but Steiner quickly moved out of the way, opening a window to allow Steiner a chance to turn the momentum around. He had Hogan backpedaling and begging him off, but Steiner continued to close in and hit a few clotheslines of his own. The crowd was coming to life and Steiner continued to build momentum off of them. Pillman was outside the ring and recognized the trouble Hogan was finding himself in and grabbed that same steel chair and got on the apron. Nick Patrick quickly saw him and continued to warn him to get down. Pillman eventually did but then slid the chair into the ring toward Hogan. Hogan bent down to pick up the chair but Steiner was ready for it and stepped on the chair as Hogan attempted to lift it up. Hollywood, seeing Steiner's boot on the chair, panicked. His eyes became wide and his mouth open in shock before slowly looking up at Steiner. The crowd were all on their feet as Hogan let go of the chair and held up his hands, begging Steiner off again. Steiner picked the chair up and held it, ready to strike Hogan as the world champion continued to back off. Patrick was warning Steiner to drop the chair but it was clear he'd had enough from trying to fight off Hogan and Pillman and have dirty shots on him during the entire match. After one final warning, Steiner brought the chair back and swung it forward, hitting Hogan on the top of his head and dropping him to the mat. Steiner dropped the chair as Nick Patrick berated Steiner and was in his face, but clearly couldn't DQ him for the shot, after refusing to DQ Hogan for doing the same earlier. It was clear that Steiner wasn't going to capitalize and go for a pin attempt, though it was just as clear that Patrick wouldn't have counted any attempted pin anyway. As Patrick continued to scold Steiner, activity began to stir at the stage entrance... Kevin Nash, Paul Levesque, and "Sting" all made there way toward the ring. Once all of them got to the apron, Brian Pillman joined them as they all started to climb their way up and on the verge of entering the ring. Steiner obviously saw them and was preparing for the outnumbered assault that's he's been all-too-accustomed to lately. Nick Patrick, for his part, also tried to warn the NWO off but it was never going to be any use. The crowd then suddenly came to life again as more activity stirred at the entrance... The Macho Man made his way out and he had a steel chair of his own in his hand. Savage quickly made his way down the aisle and to the ring, unbeknownst to the NWO, who's back was to him. Heads then began to look upward and fans began furiously pointing in that direction before the camera went to a split screen.. Sting was standing again high atop the arena as he looked down on the events in the ring. Savage climbed in the ring and had the steel chair ready as the crowd was deafening. Savage appeared ready to rush forward in attack before Kevin Nash turned and saw the Macho Man. He got the attention of the rest of the NWO, as Hogan was now also on his feet. The group was sandwiched in between, Savage on one side with a chair and Scott Steiner on the other. Suddenly Savage rushed forward, steel chair held high above his head and ready to connect, which it did! Ross: What in God's name?!?!? Heenan: You've gotta be kidding me!!!!!! The arena nearly went silent. Savage rushed forward and as he did, the NWO stepped aside. Steiner never saw it coming as Savage swung the chair and with a loud crack, hit Steiner in the head. He dropped to the mat as the NWO looked down at him. Hogan began laughing hysterically and doubling over before hugging the Macho Man. Nick Patrick was just as stunned as the crowd, standing there in disbelief. The NWO dragged Steiner to the center of the ring, allowing Hogan to hit a leg drop and then draped over Steiner. The NWO threatened Patrick to make the count, which he did, officially ending the match at 15:29. Winner: Hollywood Hogan Rating: 91 Following the bell, the NWO all celebrated the win and also celebrated their new member - The Macho Man. Hugs and wolfpac signs were hit all around. Hogan hit a couple more Leg Drops on Steiner before the NWO members motioned for Savage to go to the top rope. Savage obliged them and stood on the top rope, extending his arms high in the air before leaping off and hitting his picture perfect Flying Elbow. As the assault continued, the split screen appeared again with Sting, still watching from atop the arena, seeing the destruction below. Spray paint cans were dispersed as Scott Steiner found himself once more painted with "NWO" on his back, this time done by the newest member. Ross: Randy Savage did the unthinkable!!! He joined the NWO! Why in God's name, after everything they've put him through, would he join the NWO?!?!? Heenan: You've got me, Jim. Look at him! He fits right in with the rest of the cowards!! Ross: After everything!! Everything they've done! He goes and joins the New World Order!! Tony: Fans, I.....I'm speechless. That doesn't happen very often, but what the Macho Man's done here tonight, I just can't find the words... Ross: Maybe I can help you there, Tony. I wasn't here for all the dastardly things the NWO did to Randy Savage, so maybe I'm not connected to him as much as you all are....But Randy Savage, you are one selfish son of a bitch! Everything the NWO put you through, everything they've put WCW through in the last several months...Everything you fought for has now all gone to waste! To quote Tony Schiavone from that fateful night at Bash at the Beach 1996, You can go to hell! Rating: 89 Final Show Rating: 91

Definitely not expected or deserved, but thank you to whoever nominated me!

WCW Hotline Starrcade 1996 Special Report: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund and welcome to this WCW Hotline Special Report! We have reached the end of 1996 and WCW has been on a roll the entire year! We have experienced many Earth-shattering events in 1996, such as the arrival of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to WCW... To the formation of the NWO and Hulk Hogan's shocking turn at the Bash at the Beach 1996... We also experienced the collapse of the 4 Horsemen at the hands of the New World Order, as Brian Pillman turned his back on the Horsemen group to join the NWO, which resulted in the rest of the group fracturing and fighting. Steve Austin and Ric Flair began a blood feud which looks to culminate at Starrcade this Sunday. We also saw the transformation of Sting, once so animated and colorful who is now silent and gray.... We've seen new friendships form and old friendships die, new stars emerge while old careers become resurrected... The entire 1996 year will culminate this Sunday at Starrcade, only on Pay Per View! The only news this week is that the contract of Mr. JL has expired and WCW opted not to renew the deal. We wish him luck in his future. There was no other significant news to take place this final week of 1996. Following Starrcade, there will be a total review of 1996 for another WCW Hotline Special Report where I will list all of the news and notes of the year, year end awards, and major company reviews! I will also highlight for you the most popular wrestlers in the world as well as the major stars for each major company! That's all following Starrcade, so don't miss out on contacting the WCW Hotline Report following the show! Week 4, December 1996 LIVE from the Louisiana Superdome - New Orleans, LA World Heavyweight Title: Scott Steiner vs Hollywood Hogan (c) Scotty Riggs vs Buff Bagwell Iron Man Match (60 Minutes): Steve Austin vs Ric Flair Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs Faces of Fear (c) Kevin Nash vs Lex Luger Diamond Dallas Page vs Paul Levesque Eddie Guerrero vs Arn Anderson Fit Finlay vs Scott Norton Television Title: Lord Steven Regal vs Dean Malenko (c)

Thank you and I always appreciate the feedback! I agree about Steiner's push coming way too late in real life. I was able to turn a complete disaster around (Rick's injury after a dumb auto-book) and hopefully was able to turn it into a positive. I had planned a long tag team run for the Steiner's. There's been a few bumps in the road along the way but Steiner was always one of my favorites!