Henderson

So I wanted to give a little update now that we've reached a pivotal moment in this dynasty. First off, thank you everyone for being a huge part in this and all of your participation! I hope everyone is enjoying it just as much as I'm enjoying delivering it! I will say, I immensely enjoyed writing up Bash at the Beach from the beginning of it all to the very end. This was probably my favorite show to write up so far. For the past week I've been thinking in my head how I wanted to write up the promo where Hogan turned heel and I hope I conveyed that. While I probably missed a ton of thoughts I had and wanted to write, I think I got most of it across. Also, for anyone wondering, Hogan's heel turn was a complete success and his gimmick change to Turncoat was a success. While I had many possibilities to go with the mystery man, I feel if I was going to do any incarnation of the NWO, I can't start it with any other guys. I also wanted to add in parts of real life commentary to make you guys feel the moment. I watched the video clip of that happening just prior to starting the show and it still is an amazing thing to watch every time. This is also a huge moment in my game and dynasty. Things have been fairly predictable and kept to how things actually happened, for the most part....That all changes from this point on. If I have one definitive moment in my game where I can draw a line and say without a doubt, things drastically picked up, it was Bash at the Beach 1996. We're now less than one year from catching up to where I am in the game. I'll continue to not play it until I'm probably about a month out or so from the dynasty just so I can keep the storyline's straight. Unfortunately, there won't be any prediction prizes until then, but I encourage everyone to continue and be involved! I hope everyone enjoys and keeps enjoying this, I know I am!

Kamala and The Shark vs. Randy Savage and Sting Comments: The Madness and the Stinger are too much for the Dungeoners! Chris Benoit vs. Chris Kanyon Comments: Both relative newcomers and unknowns at this point. You can go anywhere with these two. WCW World Heavyweight Title Match Hulk Hogan defends vs. Lex Luger Comments: He either wins clean or DQ finish.

Week 4, Sunday July 1996 LIVE from the Ocean Center - Pensacola, FL Attendance: 8,500 (SELLOUT!) - Bash at the Beach has a cold open, rather than beginning with a raucous crowd and pyro, a dramatic opening video plays hyping up who the possible 3rd man is for the Outsiders tonight. Complete confusion and unknowns are the highlight of the video. - Rating: 70 - Following the video, the regular opener proceeds as we get a good look at the crowded and excited arena. Fireworks explode as Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes welcome us to the show. All men are decked out in their tuxedos as they immediately begin speaking about the main event and the 3rd man. They all had their own theories to give and their suspicions. The talk continues before the screen fades out and into the first promo of the night. - The video opens up with the United States champion Brian Pillman. He talks about how he wasn't given a match in tonight's show and how WCW doesn't know what to do with a hidden gem when they have one. Pillman promises that despite not having a match, he will make his presence known and will be solidly cheering on fellow Horseman Arn Anderson in his match tonight. Pillman also threatens that you never know what ripples a butterfly effect creates until well after all the dust has settled. Rating: 100 Dean Malenko vs Diamond Dallas Page vs This feud that's been going on between Malenko and DDP has, up to this point, been a pretty cordial feud. Both men have shown respect for the other as they compete to determine (in their own world) who the #1 contender to the TV title should be. There's been several other feuds and men pushing to their own right to the TV title, but this one is the most prominent. These two men were a perfect way to open up this show. The match began with a handshake and both gave clean breaks. As the match and aggressions progressed, both men started to use more hard-hitting attacks and DDP utilized a few cheap shots. Both men were clearly taking the other to the limit. The end of the match came at 15:20 when Malenko went for a suplex. DDP reversed and looked to hit the Diamond Cutter, only to have Malenko reverse that into a rollup, scoring the surprising pin! Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 79 Strap Match: Scott Norton vs Mike Barton vs This is a feud that has largely been taking place on WCW Saturday Night, so out of the view of the majority of Nitro viewers. Scott Norton made a claim of being the toughest wrestler, not only in WCW, but also quite possibly the entire world. Norton used his many accolades in Japan to back up his claim. Mike Barton arrived in WCW and challenged Norton on that feat. This lead to an agreed strap match between the two. These two men also have claimed to want to go after the TV title, so Scott Steiner or Arn Anderson clearly will have their hands full. This match, while the crowd didn't really pay much attention, was an extremely hard-hitting match and both men used the leather strap to their advantage. Barton was nearly able to hit all 4 ring corners but Norton dragged him back and gave more of a beating. After wrapping the strap around Barton's neck, big Scott dragged him around the ring and hit all corners for the win at 10:29, though both men were definitely beaten and worn by the end of the match. Winner: Scott Norton Rating: 48 We go backstage following the match where Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by. He says that he's outside the Outsider's locker room and has been backstage all afternoon as wrestler's have been arriving. He is yet to see anyone arrive and enter the Outsider's locker room. Mean Gene does mention that he had seen the Outsiders arrive earlier and it was just the two of them. Mean Gene wants to get some answers from the Outsiders as he knocks on the door, with it eventually opening. Both Outsiders appear and both are in an excellent mood and confident as ever. Mean Gene says he wants to know where this supposed 3rd partner is of the Outsiders. Scott Hall laughs and says like he's going to tell Mean Gene who it is. Hall says that Mean Gene is going to have to wait just like everyone else....But Hall says he'll thrown Mean Gene a bone and give him a tip for his hotline; The Outsider's partner IS here right now and he WILL make his appearance, however, right now, and to start the match, both he and Kevin Nash have everything under control.... Rating: 86 Tag Team Titles: Faces of Fear vs Harlem Heat (c) vs These two teams have been battling each other over the tag titles for a long time and for awhile, they were content with just beating each other up and taking each other to the limit. Things abruptly changed just recently though when the Faces of Fear cornered Harlem Heat's manager, Sensuous Sherri backstage. After threatening the well being of their female manager, Harlem Heat have vowed to make the Faces of Fear pay for their mistake. Stevie Ray started the match very viciously attacking the Barbarian. The attack continued for a bit before the Faces of Fear were able to double team Stevie. Soon thereafter, the Faces of Fear took control of the match and wore Stevie Ray down. The crowd firmly got behind Booker T as he stood on the apron, desperate to get the tag from his brother. After overcoming attack from both Meng and the Barbarian, Stevie Ray was able to crawl to his corner after hitting a double clothesline. With a thunderous cheer from the crowd, the tag was made and Booker T entered with a fury. Booker took control by trading attacks between Meng and the Barbarian. Booker rushed the ropes and hit his forearm on both men before grabbing them and bringing them to their feet. Booker smashed both men's heads together as the Barbarian tumbled out of the ring. Booker used the opportunity to hit the Axe Kick on Meng and scored the win at 12:01! Winners: Harlem Heat Rating: 77 Grab your tissues and reach your feet, Alex Wright's bratwurst is dancing on the beach! ~ Oh - Big Bratwurst! ~ Alex Wright vs John Tenta vs Of all of the competition for the TV title tonight, this is yet another one. John Tenta, forever trying to find his way following the Dungeon of Doom, is setting out on his singles run and his path to a championship. Alex Wright is a young newcomer with tons of potential talent, who also very well could be trying to contend for a title in WCW. Wright's no small man but anyone standing next to John Tenta is going to look small. The match did not take long and Tenta was easily able to dispose of the German at 6:43 with a Tenta Splash. Winner: John Tenta Rating: 44 Steve Austin is backstage for a promo, as he's yet another Horseman without a match tonight, and as such is very unpleased. Austin says that while WCW's preoccupied with some Outsiders, he and the Horsemen are going after titles and pure dominance. Austin doesn't care what anyone else is doing in WCW, he only cares about himself and those in the Horsemen. Austin's priorities are right where they should be, and that's claiming the number one spot in the company and taking a backseat to nobody. While Lex Luger's too busy dodging him and worrying about the "well being of WCW," Luger should be worried about his own well being because after tonight, Austin see's Luger's schedule wide open. Austin says one way or another, like it or not, he's got Luger's ass dead to rites at the next pay per view - Road Wild - and that....Is the bottom line. Rating: 95 Kevin Sullivan vs Disco Inferno vs Two dancing heartthrobs in back to back matches is really what this sold out crowd came to see....Forget about any 3rd man. Actually, if the Outsiders were smart, Alex Wright or Disco Inferno would be the mystery 3rd man. There's still some hope. What there isn't any hope for, unfortunately, is the Disco Inferno having any chance in this match. He was more concerned about his dancing, which cost him the match. Sullivan got the pin at 7:38 with his completely uncomfortable looking Double Stomp. Winner: Kevin Sullivan Rating: 61 After a brief promotional break, Bash at the Beach continues on and some royal music begins playing in the arena. Shortly following is Lord Steven Regal walking out to plenty of boos from the crowd. Instead of going to the ring, Lord Regal heads to the broadcast booth where he sits down with Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes. Heenan tells Schiavone to make some room for the Lordship as he sits down, completely disgusted with Tony's portion of the broadcast booth, calling it "filthy." The Brain offers his handkerchief for Regal to wipe the seat down prior to sitting. Regal says he has a large interest in the outcome of this next match and will sit in for guest commentary. Rating: 73 Television Title: Arn Anderson vs Scott Steiner (c) vs The crowd were extremely excited for this matchup and Arn Anderson delivered a hell of a performance in this match. Scott Steiner was clearly the stronger and quicker man in the match but the Enforcer gave a great old school lesson on brute force wrestling. Whenever Scott would try to use some fast paced moves, Double A would gain the advantage and slow it down with headlocks and sleepers, draining the energy of the TV champion. Steiner went for the Steiner Screwdriver early, only for Anderson to reverse it into his own suplex. Later in the match, Anderson went for a move off the middle turnbuckle, but Steiner caught his legs, catapulting him into the opposite corner. Both men seemed very evenly matched with the other. This caused Regal to want to take a closer look at the action and he made his way to ringside as both men were down on the canvas. Arn made it to his feet first, though slowly. Seeing Steiner still down on the mat, he turned to bounce off the ropes, only he didn't see Steven Regal right outside. As Anderson went back, Regal pulled down the top rope and causing the Enforcer to violently tumble backward over the ropes and to the floor. The referee wasn't looking at the time, conveniently, and looked confused when he saw Double A down and on the cold floor. The referee began his 10 count which Anderson was never able to recover from. The referee counted to 10 at 13:29 resulting in a count-out victory by Scott Steiner. Regal headed back up the aisle looking very happy in the result. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 82 Following the match, we go backstage where the World Heavyweight Champion and final Horseman, Ric Flair, is seen tonight. Flair looks intensely focused as Mean Gene asks if he saw the events that just transpired. Flair responds that he saw, but Double A is a man who can take care of himself and any retribution Regal has coming to him will be hell on Earth. With that, Flair says that he isn't here to talk about Regal or Anderson, but Sting. Flair says that last week on Nitro, Sting told him to stand up and fight against the Outsiders if he has a problem with their actions. Flair says he's the World's Heavyweight champion, not Sting's errand boy. Flair will go after whoever he feels like going after because he's the Nature Boy and he's the World Champion, not because some pissant like Sting tells him to! Flair thinks Sting should worry more about looking over his shoulder because throughout his entire career, he's always had people turn on him. Nobody knows who the mystery partner is for the Outsiders, but if Sting's history has anything to do with it, then he'd bet money on it being one of Sting's own partners. Rating: 89 Pre-Match hype promo time. Sting, Lex Luger, and the Macho Man are backstage in their dressing room and all three men are more than ready for their battle tonight. Sting says he heard what Ric Flair just had to say and that tonight isn't about any one individual; War had been declared on WCW and it's the responsibility of everyone here that they stand up for their home. Sting also thinks the World Champion should be the first person to stand up in defense and the fact Flair didn't maybe suggests that he's not the right guy to be carrying that championship around. Luger thinks it's pretty poetic that Flair suggests one of Sting's partners might be the Outsider's mystery partner because if anyone knows anything about turning on your friend, Ric Flair wrote the book on it. Luger says he's Sting's best friend and over the last few months has gotten to know Randy Savage quite well. While they're not best friends, he's come to respect Randy Savage as wrestler and more importantly, a person. Savage is fired up and ready to go. He says the battle plans have been laid out and the guns are cocked. The arena might not be big enough to hold the battle, but here's where the war kicks off! All three men make their way out of the dressing room where they're heading to the ring! Rating: 100 Main Event: Sting, Randy Savage, & Lex Luger vs The Outsiders & ??? vs The match of the night that everyone has been anticipating is finally here. The tension can truly be cut with a knife as Sting, Savage, and Luger all wait for the Outsiders and their mystery man to come out. The Outsiders finally emerge, but they emerge with just the two of them, no other partner is anywhere to be found. Once in the ring, Sting and his partners all look frustrated and demand to know what's going on. Scott Hall assures their man is here, but they can handle it for now and demands the match start. It didn't take much more than that for things to get started. Lex Luger and Scott Hall started things off. Luger utilized his strength early on, shoulder blocking Hall down to the mat. It looked like things were going to get over quickly as Luger had Hall reeling after a few clotheslines followed by his signature forearm. This brought Kevin Nash in illegal as he bashed Luger from behind. This naturally caused things to get out of control as both Sting and Randy Savage jumped in the ring. A huge fight ensued and Nash had Luger tied up in the corner and Savage paired off with Hall. Sting rushed into the corner for a Stinger Splash, but Luger ended up taking the brunt of the move and appeared to strike his head on the uncovered portion of steel on the turnbuckle. Luger collapsed out onto the floor as Nash stumbled back into the ring. Luger was motionless as both Sting and Savage exited to check on him. The referee called for medics from the back who rushed out to tend to Luger. One stated that Luger needed treatment and they brought out the stretcher for the Total Package. As he was stretchered out, the match resumed which was now a 2 vs 2. The Macho Man was in against Scott Hall who ended up taking control before bringing in Nash. Both men worked over the Macho Man, keeping him from tagging in the Stinger. Savage was eventually able to make the big tag, which brought the crowd to life, who deflated a bit after Luger was pulled out. With the crowd roaring, Sting used his speed and attack to get the Outsiders on their heels. After knocking Hall down on his feet and getting Nash rocky with some fists and kicks, Sting rushed the ropes. Sting rebounded but was met with a huge big boot from Nash which floored the Stinger. The Outsiders kept firm control afterwards once again as they isolated Sting from his corner but that didn't stop the Macho Man from engaging the crowd, getting them loud and vocal for the Stinger. Hall had brought Sting down with a side headlock and appeared to be fading out, but the vocal crowd gave Sting enough energy to fight back. With one final blow, he got Hall to release the hold. Sting bounced off the ropes and came back with a big face crusher, causing Sting and Hall to lay on the mat. Hall began making his way to his corner to tag Nash. Sting slowly moved toward his corner. Sting made it to a knee by the time Hall made his tag. Kevin Nash rushed in and again cut off the Stinger. He picked up Sting and delivered his signature sidewalk slam and the motioned it was time to end it. The announcers were playing up the mystery man all match which Heenan stated they don't even need one now as it's two on two. This supports his claim that all along they never had a 3rd man, that it was just mind games to get under their opponents skin, which seemed to work. Nash set up Sting for the powerbomb and just as he went to lift him, Sting was able to reverse it, giving big Nash a backdrop. Sting stumbled on his feet, looking like he was going to fall but at the last minute was able to reach out and tag the Macho Man to a thunderous cheer from the crowd. Savage quickly climbed the turnbuckle and jumped off, hitting Nash with a double axe handle before rushing Hall in the corner. His attack sent Scott Hall flying off the apron and crashing into the outside barrier. Savage spun an arm high in the air out to the crowd, working purely on adrenaline as he grabbed Nash to bring him to his feet. Nash hit a huge double armed low blow on Savage, causing him to double over and crumple to the mat. Fans are suddenly seen getting to their feet and cheering loudly as some activity is going on from the entrance......... The cheers are deafening as Hogan, who hasn't been seen in months, walks out and marches toward the ring.... Tony: IT'S HULK HOGAN!!!!! Dusty: HULK HOGAN IS IN THE BUILDING!!! Tony: You're damn right he is!!! Dusty: GO GET EM HULKSTER!! Bobby: YEAH BUT WHO'S SIDE IS HE ON?!?!?! Dusty: Ge...What are you talkin' about?!?!? Bobby: Who's side is he on?!!? You can't trust anybody!!! - Hulk Hogan gets in the ring which causes Kevin Nash to bail to the outside where he meets Scott Hall. In the ring, Hogan tears off his shirt and has the crowd going crazy. Hogan paces around the ring and looks out to the floor at Hall and Nash as they glare back inside the ring at Hogan. - Tony: Hulk Ho...Hul...HUL....!!!! - In a shock to everyone watching, Hulk Hogan backs to the corner and delivers a leg drop to THE MACHO MAN! This had to be an accident! Hogan quickly gets up on his feet and backs to the ropes and drops another leg drop on Savage! Hogan gets up quickly again before taunting out to Hall and Nash, who are now getting in the ring. Hogan's all smiles and offers his hand up for Nash and Hall to hit high fives. Hall and Nash pull Savage to the center of the ring where Hogan hits another leg drop on the Macho Man. Scott Hall grabs the referee and demands he count the pin as Hogan arrogantly covers Savage. The referee counts the pin and the match officially ends at 21:23 - Winners: Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, & Hulk Hogan Rating: 79 Sting, who's already beaten, valiantly tries to come in to Savage's defense but Nash easily shoves him out to the floor. The Outsiders and Hogan celebrate in the ring as the fans begin to throw trash in at them. Mean Gene Okerlund makes his way into the ring with an exasperated look on his face. Mean Gene: Hulk Hogan!?!?! What's the meaning of this!?!? Of all the years I've known you, Hulk Hogan, you should be ashamed of yourself!!!! Hogan: What you can do, Mean Gene, is stand there, shut your mouth, and be my microphone holder! What you've just witnessed, is the beginning of the greatest takeover in the history of professional wrestling, brother! What you can call this right here is the New World Order of professional wrestling! I've seen these two, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, over the last few months come in here from another organization! An organization that nobody knows better than me! They want to make everyone suffer for their past misgivings, and take out all the pathetic pieces of trash! This, this right here, is the future of professional wrestling, brother! Look at all this trash in the ring, Hulk Hogan! This is all trash they're throwing at you to let you know what they think of you!! This trash, Mean Gene, symbolizes all of the fans! This trash symbolizes those two (pointing at Sting & Savage who are exiting), get those two pieces of trash out of my sight!!!! For months, I tried to be there for the Macho Man! What'd he do??! He shoved me off, he blamed me for all of his failures! I was there for him when no one else wanted to be! I was the friend to him that he never was to me! He spent all his time blaming me for everything! Well now, brother, I get just a little bit of payback! I get to do to him what I've always wanted to do, but I was always too hesitant to do it because of all of the fans! Well from now on, brother, the fans can stick it! Randy Savage can stick it! Sting can stick it, and Lex Luger can stick it! From now on, brother, the New World Order of professional wrestling is gonna set the standard! I made what wrestling is today, dude!!! Without Hulk Hogan, there would be no WCW, there would be no WWF, there would be no professional wrestling! So what all you fans can do, what all those wrestlers in the back can do, is bow down to Hulk Hogan and the New World Order because we run the show around here now! We've got the greatest professional wrestler to walk the earth! We've got the new blood of wrestling in Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, and pretty soon, Mean Gene, we're gonna have all the titles! It's just a matter of time before the New World Order takes over the entire landscape of professional wrestling, and tonight, Mean Gene, is just the beginning! So whatcha gonna do, when the New World Order of wrestling runs wild on you?!?!? Rating: 99 Tony: Oh my God, ladies and gentlemen. We're out of time, and Hulk Hogan, You can go to hell...... Final Show Rating: 85

I'll definitely be paying attention to this, just to see how many parallel's we have in our games. There's certain things that you just have to do, for example, having Luger return on the first Nitro. I also have a sneaky suspicion that you're going to get the TV title off the Renegade as quickly as possible. Good luck!

Bash at the Beach Preview! LIVE from the Ocean Center - Pensacola, FL Main Event Sting, Randy Savage, Lex Luger vs Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, & ??? Television Title: Arn Anderson vs Scott Steiner (c) Kevin Sullivan vs Disco Inferno Alex Wright vs John Tenta Tag Team Titles: Faces of Fear vs Harlem Heat (c) Strap Match: Scott Norton vs Mike Barton Dean Malenko vs Diamond Dallas Page Who will be the 3rd man????

Week 4, July 1996 LIVE from the Orlando Arena - Orlando, FL Attendance: 15,543 - Nitro kicks off this week with a larger than normal amount of excitement and buzz in the air. Fireworks explode in the arena and the camera pans throughout the building, showing crazed fans excited for this week's show. Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Dusty Rhodes welcome us to tuning in as Tony tells us we are now less than one week way from the biggest WCW Pay Per View event in history! Team WCW will go head to head finally against the Outsiders. Speculation still runs rampant as to who their third partner will be, if they even have a third partner. There's a large degree of wonder here tonight if the third man will be revealed tonight on Nitro! Just as Tony's mentioning this, he presses his hand to his headset as he's being told something. Tony says there's activity going on backstage and they're getting camera's there now! - The Outsiders are backstage along with a limousine. The door is open and both Hall and Nash are bent over, talking to someone inside, though cameras can't catch who. The announcers go crazy, indicating it has to be the third man inside. Both Hall and Nash appear extremely confident and smile as they close the door. Both men share a laugh as they head in toward the arena. The announcers wonder if the third man will make an appearance tonight! Rating: 73 United States Title: Diamond Dallas Page vs Brian Pillman (c) vs Both men were given quite a long time in the ring for this opening bout, which also had the crowd into everything they were doing. DDP is looking to go into Bash at the Beach full of momentum, and with a title, as he face's Dean Malenko. The Horsemen, as it stands currently, looks to be largely absent from the show unless the Enforcer is able to win later tonight. This despite the group having 75% of the singles titles in WCW. It was a grueling match for both men who took the other to the limit. In the end, Pillman was just far better in the ring and was able to put DDP away at 20:20 with the Air Pillman. Winner: Brian Pillman Rating: 77 Dean Malenko vs Scott Armstrong vs Even though Scott Armstrong was not a huge threat to the man with 1,000 holds, it actually didn't turn out to be a bad match. As if there were any doubt though, Malenko put this away at 8:04 with the Texas Cloverleaf. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 71 The world heavyweight champion is backstage, dressed only as he can dress from head to toe. The crowd give a cheerful approval of the world champion as he's all smiles and in a good mood tonight for Nitro. The mood suddenly changes and the smile fades as someone has his attention.... The cheers turn even louder as Sting walks into the picture. Flair takes a second to size up the Stinger before Sting starts talking. Sting: So I heard what you had to say over the weekend on Saturday Night.....Sorry Ric, but I missed the part where the Horsemen and Ric Flair get dibs on who sticks up for WCW, I wasn't aware you signed up to take on Scott Hall and Kevin Nash... Ric: Ohhhh...You've got a lotta nerve, big man, to come up and approach me, the World's champion! Perhaps if you didn't like what I had to say on Saturday Night, you want to do something about it in the ring! Relax, Ric. I'm not here to fight you. We've had plenty of battles over the years to last us both a lifetime and then some!! The fact of the matter is, where have you been for the last several months?!? I've been out there confronting Hall and Nash! I've been sticking up for WCW! I've been the one making the challenges! You were free to do any of that if you wanted, but you didn't! Now, less than a week away from a match, YOU want to claim that it's yours and the Horsemen??? Ric, you've known me long enough, I don't take a step back to anyone! If you want the Outsiders, then stand up and fight!!!!! I'm not stopping you. Stinger, I've got more responsibilities in one week than you have in one year, pal! The Outsiders didn't both me any until they wanted to get involved in Horsemen business! Now there's more than just you and your friends in the picture, so you've got two choices...You can either get in line, or get run over! WWWOOOOOOOO! Rating: 91 American Males vs Big Bubba & Hugh Morrus vs The crowd get on their feet when the greatest theme in wrestling plays - American Males - The Males proved that they are still a formidable team in WCW as they continued to work well together and utilized plenty of double team moves. Bagwell put the match away at 9:38 after hitting his Yellow Jacket Suplex on Hugh Morrus. Bagwell stood out as the performer of the match. Winners: American Males Rating: 65 Ricky Steamboat vs Steve Austin vs This was an unexpected match between the two, who last met at Slamboree. This match didn't end up being a classic like several of their prior ones, but it was still good. Austin went into this match full of piss and vinegar, as he's still looking to settle the score with Lex Luger. It just infuriates Austin even more that he seems to be getting "brushed aside" by Luger in favor of the Outsiders. Austin finished this match in convincing style at 9:46 with a Stunner. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 77 - Mean Gene is backstage with this week's interview. He's standing by with the Enforcer, Arn Anderson. Anderson says that in tonight's main event, he's going to give Steven Regal a free lesson in a wrestling match, and what it takes to be a champion. Arn says the TV title is synonymous with his name for a reason, and tonight he finds out. - Rating: 91 Jacques Rougeau vs Eddie Guerrero vs This was a short but good match. Nothing too elaborate, either. Eddie took the match in 7:39 with a Frog Splash. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 75 Harlem Heat are backstage for a (pre) recorded promo. They tell the Faces of Fear that they went too far this weekend on Saturday Night, where they cornered Sensuous Sherri. They plan on making them pay at Bash at the Beach, Harlem style. Rating: 76 Arn Anderson vs Lord Steven Regal vs This anticipated match saw two men who were equally as focused. Steven Regal wants to get the TV title back on "his" terms from Scott Steiner while Arn Anderson and the Horsemen are on a quest to obtain every title in WCW. It just so happens, the Enforcer has a storied history with the TV title. The crowd got to a point that they didn't know who to cheer for and who to boo, as both men went through a back and forth tirade of cheating and dirty moves. Since they didn't know who to cheer for, the crowd cheered for every blatant cheap shot after about the 3rd exchange from both. Anderson hit a Spinebuster on Regal, thinking the match was over. Double A took too long for the pin though and Regal kicked out, followed by another cheap shot. With Regal completely confident he now had the match in the bag, he brought Anderson to his feet. Anderson was able to quickly recover and hit a DDT out of nowhere! It took a brief second for Anderson to get the pin, but he won at 13:16 and will now face Scott Steiner at Bash at the Beach for the TV title! Winner: Arn Anderson Rating: 72 - The evening is beginning to wrap up following the main event. Tony, Mike, and Dusty all begin to hype up Bash at the Beach and all of the exciting matches and reveals that are to be expected. Just as fans think the show is going to fade out, A Man Called Sting.... Begins to play in the arena, getting the crowd all on their feet once more. Dusty said that we weren't gonna head into the Bash without hearing from WCW! Sting, followed by Randy Savage and Lex Luger walk out and head straight to the ring. All three men are intensity personified as they climb in and each does their taunts to the crowd. Sting has a microphone and motions for the music to cut. It fades out shortly after and Sting says that the time for talking is over and now it's time for fighting. He says that for weeks now, everyone's heard about this "3rd man." Well Sting, Mach, and the Total Package are all tired of hearing who the Outsiders partner is, and now it's time to SHOW them who their 3rd partner is! All three men motion toward the stage and beg the Outsiders to show up. After a moment, they all get their request granted. The Outsiders walk out and slowly make their way toward the ring. Sting, Macho, and Luger all have their attention on the two as they get to the ring. What started by Hall and Nash as laid back, happy expressions has now turned full intensity as the teams shared words with each other. Just as Hall and Nash get onto the apron, a flood of officials and police hit the ring to get in between the two teams. The crowd are a mix of boo's and loud cheers as the teams fight and claw, trying to get at one another. The scene is pure chaos which begins to get cluttered even more as fans throw trash into the ring. Nitro fades out as each team is fighting desperately to get at the other with Dusty having the final words that Bash at the Beach is going to be an all-out war! Rating: 100 Final Show Rating: 80

Hello everyone, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund and welcome to the WCW Hotline Report! We are now one week away from Bash at the Beach, the most anticipated WCW Pay Per View to date! I'll have more on that later. The WWF held their "In Your House" PPV event for the month of July. Paul Wight, formerly The Giant in WCW, made his in-ring debut for the company, now known as the Big Show. He teamed with the Undertaker in a losing effort against The Ultimate Warrior and Tatanka. The 123 Kid defeated Road Warriors Hawk and Animal to retain the Intercontinental title. I have no clue why the WWF does not team the Road Warriors...... Bret Hart defeated Bam Bam Bigelow in a cage match, Shawn Michaels defeated Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog defeated Psycho Sid in the main event to retain the WWF title. Nothing much else of note occurred on the program and is reported to have been an "ok" show. Extreme Championship Wrestling, or ECW, have recently increased in size, as they've expanded out into new markets. Insiders in the business now project ECW to be a "medium" sized company. This is coming off of their "ECW Heatwave" event for the month of July. Smoky Mountain Wrestling has also increased in size, appearing to be a "medium" size company as well. Their change in status has also changed their dealings with other companies. SMW has ended their agreement with accepting developmental workers with the WWF. This in turn has caused the WWF to take a "hostile" attitude toward SMW. Upon hearing the news, Eric Bischoff reached out to SMW and the two companies have now developed a "friendly" attitude toward one another. As for contract situations around the wrestling world; In somewhat huge news, WWF star Shawn Michaels has extended his WWF contract, but not without some large degree of difficulty. It is rumored to be for 3 years at $347,900 per month. I do have it on good authority that WCW did indeed reach out to Shawn Michaels and a contract was offered and accepted. It wasn't until it was time to sign the contract that WCW reportedly backed out of the deal. Apparently, WCW had only offered the contract in order to bump up the asking price from the WWF and never actually thought Michaels would take the offer. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that whenever Vince McMahon learns that Shawn Michaels was planning on leaving the WWF, he'll be none too pleased. I've also been told that he will receive a massive 55% cut of merchandise, per his contract. In news that will disappoint many, the contract of The Bootyman has expired and will not be renewed. I'm told that as of now, he is expected to sign a deal with SMW. Needless to say, the Bootyman will NOT be the 3rd man at Bash at the Beach. Lance Storm and Dean Malenko have both extended their contracts with WCW. Paul Roma has signed a contract with WCW, though it is not an exclusive written deal. I'm told it is a "handshake" deal for about 6 months. Officials want to try Roma out in a few roles and see how he does first before a longer commitment. Several matches have been confirmed for Bash at the Beach and we thought we had a TV title defense by Scott Steiner straightened out. This past Monday Nitro, Steiner accepted a challenge that was made by Arn Anderson. Well this weekend on Saturday Night, Lord Steven Regal took exception to that challenge, stating the Enforcer can't jump ahead in line for a shot at the TV title. Regal challenged the Enforcer to a match on this week's Nitro to determine who will face Scott Steiner at Bash at the Beach. It has since been signed and made official. Also on Saturday Night this weekend, Ric Flair claimed that if anyone should be standing up to the Outsiders, it should be him and the 4 Horsemen, seeing that he is the World Heavyweight champion. Later in the night, Steve Austin confronted Lex Luger, who was preoccupied with the Outsiders. This only infuriated Austin more and eventually attacked Luger, resulting in a brawl. There was a scary moment on Saturday Night when the Face of Fear cornered Sensuous Sherri. Harlem Heat were eventually able to run the pair off. Things don't appear to be cooling down between the two teams anytime soon. A new feud also seems to be forming between Scott Norton and Mike Barton as the two had a huge fight on Saturday Night. In an interview, Dean Malenko also cheered on Diamond Dallas Page ahead of his US title opportunity this week on Nitro. I don't think it's completely in good faith though, as Malenko see's it as an opportunity to win the title at Bash at the Beach. Some were surprised to see Ricky Steamboat take on Booker T last week on Nitro. Steamboat apparently offered to take on Booker T which was quickly accepted by officials. We may see the two compete again in the future. Here is the lineup for this week's Nitro! It's the final show before Bash at the Beach!!! Arn Anderson vs Lord Steven Regal Jacques Rougeau vs Eddie Guerrero Ricky Steamboat vs Steve Austin American Males vs Big Bubba & Hugh Morrus Dean Malenko vs Scott Armstrong United States Title: Diamond Dallas Page vs Brian Pillman

Week 3, July 1996 LIVE from the Rosemont Horizon - Rosemont, IL Attendance: 15,745 - Nitro opens this week with a quick replay of Eric Bischoff getting powerbombed off the stage from last week's Nitro. The image of an unconscious Bischoff fades out and then goes into the intro video for Monday Nitro. Following the video, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes welcome everyone and Tony tells everyone that Eric Bischoff has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home. Heenan is concerned that if the Outsiders will attack the president of the company then no one is safe from an attack from the Outsiders, including those sitting at the announce table. With that, The Brain gets up and takes off his headset before walking off, much to the shock of Tony and Dusty. With less than 2 weeks to go until Bash at the Beach, tension is running high on all ends. The arena livens up as Sting and the Macho Man are shown backstage on the screen. Bobby Heenan is seen walking by them when Sting stops him and asks where he's going. The three have a conversation that can't be heard on screen but it's clear that both Sting and Savage are reassuring Heenan. Sting points back toward the arena and is nodding his head, which appears that Sting is telling Bobby that they have his back. After some reluctance, Bobby nods his head and turns, walking back toward the arena. - Sting and Savage, after sending Heenan back out to his color commentary position, are not in a happy mood. Both men are tense and not playing games this week. Sting says that the Outsiders have done their absolute best at making everyone feel uneasy and unsafe, but he, the Macho Man, and Lex Luger are going to put a stop to all of that. He says that Bash of the Beach will be a pivotal moment in WCW in that good will prevail, and evil will meet a nasty ending! Randy Savage says that the Outsiders have done their very best at trying to put the Macho Man out of business and they may have put the president of the company out, but they're never going to get rid of Sting, the Macho Man, or the Total Package. Savage says Bash at the Beach will be a living hell for the Outsiders and pain is coming their way! Rating: 100 The Amazing French Canadians vs Nasty Boys vs The Amazing French Canadians, no, not the Quebecers, take on the Nasty Boys in the opening bout. Mike Tenay tells us that Jacques Rougeau and Carl Oulette have recently signed with WCW and hope to make an impact in the tag team division. Meanwhile, we haven't seen the Nasty Boys in some time and they're hoping to rebound in their fortune. Bobby Heenan had since made his way back to the broadcast booth and said Sting and Savage assured him that they wouldn't allow the Outsiders to get their hands on him. Heenan further stated that everyone is now afraid for their lives and well-being because of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. The match itself wasn't very pretty and was a fairly hard-hitting affair. The French Canadians got the win at 8:18 after Oulette hit the Cannonball on Sags. Winners: The Amazing French Canadians Rating: 62 Dave Taylor vs Eddie Guerrero vs The first match of the night didn't impress but this match was another great performance. Taylor had a small burst of offense but it was mostly all Eddie. He got the win at 8:03 with the Frog Splash. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 80 - Backstage in the interview position, Larry Zbyszko is standing by with Television Champion Scott Steiner. Before their interview, a short clip is shown from this weekend's WCW Saturday Night where the Enforcer Arn Anderson challenged Steiner to a title match at Bash at the Beach. - Larry: Scott, as you're finding out just like I did, when you're TV champion, there's no shortage of challengers every time you turn around. This weekend on Saturday Night, as we just saw, Arn Anderson challenged you for Bash at the Beach. You've had your battles with Lord Steven Regal and now you have Arn Anderson gunning for you, and many people, when they think of the Television title, think of the Enforcer. Steiner: Larry, never in my life have I backed down from a challenge and any time I've been a champion in my career, I've never been afraid of defending it! Whether that was with my brother as tag team champions, or in my singles career. Well this time is no different and I have no problem at all with being a fighting champion. Now it's true that Arn Anderson made this title recognizable and one of the most coveted belts in all of wrestling, but this is a new era for the title and Arn Anderson had his time. Now it's my time to bring this title to the next level. But Anderson, if you want a shot at me and my title at Bash at the Beach, you're on! Rating: 83 Nitro switches into another interview as Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with Diamond Dallas Page and with him is the Diamond Doll. DDP hypes up his match at Bash at the Beach against Dean Malenko. After a few moments of hype, DDP challenges US Champion Brian Pillman to a title match next week on Nitro so he can go into Bash at the Beach as champion. Rating: 78 Ricky Steamboat vs Booker T vs Both men began this match with a handshake and continued to give clean breaks in the corners. Now is the part where you'd expect to hear about someone using a sneaky dirty move, but that wasn't the case. Both kept it clean and competitive for this match, though it was definitely lackluster for some reason or another. Booker T got the win at 9:58 after a Missile Dropkick. Winner: Booker T Rating: 65 - Mean Gene is in the ring this time after a short commercial break and ready to introduce his guests - Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the 4 Horsemen!!! There sure is a lot of gold here, Nature Boy, but I can't help to notice that there aren't 4 Horsemen here. Flair: Oh MEANNNNNNNN BY GOD Gene. It's good to be here tonight at the Rosemont Horizon and let me just say that Steve Austin is off conducting Horsemen business that needs to be done! As for the three of us, well, it's Monday night and there isn't gonna be a party anywhere without the world's champion! You got that pal?! Now am I a confused man, or do I see things just falling apart around here?!? We've got a couple of gangsters running around attacking people all the time, we've got company president's getting powerbombed, and we've got the most prestigious group in wrestling's history getting over looked! I mean, I'm the world's heavyweight champion! Next to me is the United States champion! And on the other side there is one of the most decorated athletes in wrestling history in the Enforcer! The Horsemen are on the verge of gaining every title WCW has to offer! We should be the talk and the focus heading into Bash at the Beach.....But who's getting all the sunlight around here?!? I'll tell ya, it's Sting, Randy Savage, and Lex Luger! Now as it stands, I have no opponent for Bash at the Beach, so it looks like I'm going to be a spectator in some matches, if you know what I mean...... Gene: I'm afraid I do, because your friends here do have matches...Arn Anderson, you challenged TV Champion Scott Steiner to a title match at Bash at the Beach and we heard him accept that challenge earlier tonight. Double A: Scott Steiner, you're a fine athlete and a fine champion. Only problem is, my friend, you've got a title that I made a hot commodity! Now it's no secret that the 4 Horsemen want to obtain every title in WCW, so Steiner, you're next on the list. It's not personal, Scott Steiner, it's just business. So when I beat you at Bash at the Beach for that title, I don't want to hear any excuses. Gene: Focused as always. Brian Pillman, you also heard a challenge earlier tonight for your US title. Diamond Dallas Page challenged you to a match right here next week. Pillman: Hahahaa.....Oh Gene, I just can't help but be amused at Dallas Page. Let the challenges come, I say, because Page, on your best day, you couldn't beat me at my worst! There's an old quote that says; Desperation is a stinky cologne, so Page, I wouldn't be quite so desperate to get your hands on a title. It certainly won't be my title. You want a match next week?? You're on! Gene: There you have it! The Horsemen are never short of confidence! Tony, Bobby, Dusty, back to you! Rating: 100 Lex Luger vs Earl Robert Eaton vs For two weeks straight, Eaton has been part of some stellar matches, though one can't be sure if it has more to do with his skill, or with who his opponents have been. Eaton had control for a short time in the match, but it was mostly all Luger who solidly had the crowd behind him. Luger got the submission at 10:11 with a Torture Rack. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 82 Mike Barton/Perry Saturn vs Scott Norton/Wrath vs This match definitely saw some odd pairings but Barton has good chemistry fighting Wrath and Saturn has good chemistry fighting Scott Norton. This mostly average match saw plenty of power moves by the big men, but Saturn also showed that he has impressive strength also. Wrath got the win at 7:53 after hitting the Meltdown on Barton. Winners: Scott Norton/Wrath Rating: 58 Gene is backstage for another interview, this time with Kevin Sullivan. There's nothing too much of importance here, just mainly to remind people that he's still around and the Dungeon of Doom is still a thing. Sullivan talks some about fellow Doommate's matches for Bash at the Beach and Sullivan concludes by saying he wants his own match at the Bash, and the opponent doesn't matter to him. Rating: 72 The tag team champions are backstage talking about their titles as well as Booker T's win earlier against Ricky Steamboat. They're in the middle of talking when ---- The Outsiders make their presence known this week with another blindside attack, this time on the tag champions. Both men are floored in an instant and Hall and Nash, armed with baseball bats, continue the assault. Multiple shots are given to both Booker T and Stevie Ray before a flood of officials rush in, this time with police officers flanking them. Both Hall and Nash, as always, look extremely pleased with their work as the scene fades out with Heenan screaming who will stop these two men?! Rating: 72 Randy Savage vs Arn Anderson vs The fans were thoroughly hyped up for the main event as both started off mouthing words to each other. When the bell rang, much like last week, Savage lit off like a bolt of lightning, coincidental to his ring attire. The match continued to be a back and forth event, with both men telling a fantastic story throughout, of them being evenly matched and evenly skilled. Neither man lacked in the methodology and every move they performed served a purpose. It was refreshing to see, despite all of the turmoil these two have found themselves in lately, that there was no interference. Savage got the win at 17:31 after hitting the Big Elbow. Winner: Randy Savage Rating: 82 Following the match, Sting and Lex Luger make their way down to celebrate in the ring with Savage. Sting gets a microphone and says that once again the Outsiders are cowards who have to stoop down to blindside attacks, like the recent example with Harlem Heat. Sting says he's not always liked Harlem Heat, but in the last several months, they've proven to be tough guys who deserve much better than what the Outsiders gave them. Sting, Luger, and Savage all are giving the Outsiders, and whoever their secret partner might be, an excellent opportunity to show what they really have between their legs, and come out for a fair fight. The crowd loves the idea of a full-out fight tonight on Nitro and the 3 men await a response in the ring. Several minutes goes by with no response, which causes the crowd to start to grumble. Finally, some activity begins on the stage set. Hall and Nash make their way out onto the stage, all smiles and all laughs. They don't have anyone else come out with them and they don't make it any further than the top of the stage. Hall wiggles his fingers at the men in the ring and Nash just waives them off like it isn't worth his time. Nash says "It's not in my contract til Bash at the Beach!" and Hall just shrugs his shoulders before the two men look at each other and then turn and go back through the entrance. The crowd boo's loudly as trash begins to get thrown in the ring. Sting, Savage, and Luger all have a look of annoyance and disappointment on their face as Nitro fades to a close. Rating: 100 Final Show Rating: 88

Week 2, July 1996 Attendance: 15,779 - Nitro kicks off full of excitement this week as WCW inches ever closer to what could be the biggest PPV of all time for WCW - Bash at the Beach! The war between the Outsiders and WCW, Tony tells us after welcoming everyone, has been growing increasingly violent since Scott Hall declared war on WCW and things are going to come to a head at the end of this month! A promotional package of the several assaults done by the Outsiders is played, highlighting how their attacks have gotten more and more brutal as the weeks go by. The video culminates to last week's Nitro where the Outsiders attacked not just Sting and Lex Luger once again, but some new targets in the way of Arn Anderson and the World Champion Ric Flair. Tony Schiavone tells everyone that this past weekend on Saturday Night, Eric Bischoff announced that he will confront both Scott Hall and Kevin Nash right here tonight on Nitro. All three announcers speculate what Bischoff will have to say, but all think Bischoff is crazy. That's to come later and right now to kick things off, we go to the ring! - Ricky Steamboat vs Hugh Morrus vs This was actually a pretty good way to kick off Nitro. The crowd were loud and into the matchup and Morrus did a good enough job of keeping up with the Dragon, even getting in his own offense. It wasn't enough to beat the veteran though and Steamboat got the pin at 7:02 after connecting with his flying cross body. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 70 - The WCW World Heavyweight Champion is backstage, which looks more like a pre-recorded promo. Flair uses this time to talk about Lex Luger, how he's been a pain in the ass for the 4 Horsemen going all the way back to Halloween Havoc 1995 and now his problems with the Outsiders are bleeding through to the Horsemen. Flair says Luger has a $5 million dollar body with a $5 brain and will get put in his place once and for all by Steve Austin. - Rating: 100 Perry Saturn vs Eddie Guerrero vs Another good match presented by WCW between two quick, high-fliers. Saturn wouldn't immediately be thought of as a flier, but he displayed in this match that he can hit quite a few nice aerial moves, hitting missile dropkicks, top rope splashes, and also hit a nice elbow off the top. Both men used their quickness and remained evenly matched. Eddie eventually put the match away at 12:03 with his Frog Splash, but Saturn definitely gave a solid performance. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 76 Mean Gene's guest this week is Dean Malenko. Gene asks Malenko about his recent feud with Diamond Dallas Page. Malenko says that it isn't so much of a feud, as they both have mutual respect for one another. Malenko says that it's a battle of who wants to be the best and who wants to be #1 contender to the TV title. Make no mistake, Malenko says, at Bash at the Beach, he will walk out the #1 contender and not DDP. Rating: 78 Television Title: Earl Robert Eaton vs Scott Steiner (c) vs Another match on Nitro is another solid match presented. Not only is this a title defense, but Mike Tenay tells everyone that this match ties into Steiner's on-going feud with Lord Steven Regal, who lost on purpose in their match at the Great American Bash. While Eaton's no slouch in the ring, Scott Steiner clearly let out some of his aggression he has with Regal out on his stablemate. After Steiner held control for a good while, he ended the match at 11:46 with the Steiner Screwdriver. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 78 Following the match, Mean Gene continues his work for the night and enters the ring. Scott Steiner is celebrating his victory while Earl Robert makes his exit, feeling the effects from his match. The TV champion meets Mean Gene in the middle of the ring. Mean Gene: Scott Steiner, I must say, after an unexpected turn to a singles career after your brother's horrific injury, you've been doing quite well for yourself. Here lately, you have gotten involved with the Blue Bloods, mainly Lord Steven Regal. He claims that he can beat you for that title whenever he chooses and that he simply didn't choose to win at the Great American Bash. Steiner: Mean Gene, I don't give a crap what that idiot blue blood has to say! The cold hard facts is this; Steve Regal isn't nowhere as good as me and the fact that I am the television champion proves it! So here's what I'm gonna do Gene, I'm gonna keep defending this TV title and I'm gonna keep beating Regal, and at the Bash at the Beach, I'm gonna prove one more time why I'm better than him! Short, sweet, and just the way it needs to be! Rating: 95 Randy Savage vs Wrath vs The string of good matches on Nitro continues this week and the fans were extremely excited for the in-ring return of the Macho Man. Knowing no fear, Savage took straight to the monster Wrath, who, to his credit, didn't back down from the popular veteran. Savage started early with his rapid fire offense but one giant powerhouse of a move was able to stop Savage in his tracks. Wrath took over for a bit afterwards, wrenching Savage with several power moves but the Macho Man was able to come back, putting the match away at 10:01 with his Big Elbow. Winner: Randy Savage Rating: 80 We're back from a commercial break to the backstage area. The tag team champions Harlem Heat are in the middle of a wild brawl with the Faces of Fear. These two teams will meet once again at Bash at the Beach, if they make it that far. The scene fades out as officials rush in to try and separate the two. Rating: 67 Backstage promo time again as Sting, Lex Luger, and the Macho Man are backstage in Savage's locker room. Sting and Luger congratulate Savage on his successful return to the ring and take a moment to discuss the Outsiders. All three agree that they don't care who the Outsider's partner is, or if they even have one. No partner they could ever get will take the momentum that they have away from them. The Outsiders can beat them down as many times as they want with whatever weapon they want; They've proven that they will get back up and fight. At Bash at the Beach, it'll be a war all right - A war WCW will win! Rating: 95 United States Title: Marcus Bagwell vs Brian Pillman (c) vs Another good match and Marcus Bagwell had a pristine opportunity to showcase his own talent and ability to contend for singles titles. Pillman started off trying to toy with Bagwell but quickly learned that was a mistake. After sending him into the ropes, Bagwell ducked a clothesline attempt. When Pillman turned back around, Bagwell caught him with a beautiful dropkick. Bagwell was able to hold an advantage for a little while but some good old-fashioned cheap shots got Pillman back in control. The Loose Cannon remained there until he hit his Air Pillman at 13:27. Winner: Brian Pillman Rating: 75 Nitro returns from a short break to Eric Bischoff already standing on the stage set for Nitro. The anticipation is in the air and is so thick it could be cut with a knife. Bischoff looks out to the crowd before proceeding. Bischoff: Ever since we started this run of Monday Nitro back in September 1995, I wanted to make sure that we provided all of you fans, and those fans watching at home, the best professional wrestling action and excitement across the globe! I wanted to provide the best wrestlers, the best environment, and the best money value to attend all of our shows! Well the fact is, ever since this past March, WCW has been at war. You've seen brutal attacks, weapons, gang-style ambushes....Not the best professional wrestling action. While there certainly is the best wrestlers working right here in WCW, all of those other things I previously mentioned overshadow everything all the great talent here have been accomplishing. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were never welcomed in WCW by me. I didn't sanction their appearances and I'm not paying them. I'm not paying them, but apparently Ted Turner himself has provided them with employment and because of that, that makes me their boss. So what I'm requesting........No....What I'm demanding, right now, is for Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to come out here right now because I've got a few things to set straight. - The tension builds even more as Bischoff lowers the mic and waits. After a few moments, nothing happens. Fans begin to stir and Bischoff is visibly uneasy. The announcers can't believe that Bischoff is mustering up the courage, but he does. Finally after what seems like an eternity for Bischoff, fog begins to roll on the stage and the first signs of movement appears at the entrance. - - Scott Hall appears first as he "glides" out onto the stage followed by the towering Kevin Nash. They don't have far to go, as Bischoff is standing on the stage just off the side from the entrance. Both men taunt Bischoff and Hall ruffles Bischoff's hair. Hall and Nash are living it up and all smiles as they taunt him. - Gentlemen.....And I will call you gentlemen, there's been a lot of speculation since your arrival in WCW and some people claim you were sent here by the WWF and are still employed by the WWF....Are you both, in-fact, still employed by the WWF? Hall: No Nash: No Ok, now that's out of the way....I'm going to cut to the chase....I don't like the way you two have been operating around here. You've attacked high value talent, you've used weapons, you've ambushed several people, and you've put some of that high value talent in the hospital. Now since you are actually employees of WCW, my first thought was to simply suspend the both of you, but I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do that because there's three guys who have put their heart and soul into WCW and they want to defend WCW against the two of you at the Bash at the Beach. So wha.. Now hold on just a second, Ken doll...You've said your peace and I've heard just about all I care to hear. First things first, you aren't gonna tell the two of us anything and you're sure as hell not gonna come down on us with any sort of punishment! Another thing you got wrong, is your three little darlings aren't just taking on the two of us....We also got a 3rd man. What's the real sad part is Sting and Luger had to beg the Macho Man to help them....Where's everyone else been? Huh?? Where's the Nature Boy been? Where's the Huckster been? We already ran one guy outta here so fast he's still trying to come up with another name! I've heard an awful lot of talk from you, Scott Hall, but what I haven't heard much is from your friend here...- Turns to Nash - Hey, man, you don't turn your back to me you little.... - And with what seemed like leopard speed, Scott Hall delivered a punch to the stomach of Eric Bischoff. He doubled over in pain and was quickly grabbed by Nash, who spun him around and positioned him for a Powerbomb. The crowd is now making a commotion as Nash pauses to look out to the fans before lifting the WCW President in the air. Nash then drops Bischoff with a powerbomb off the stage where he crashes through a table on onto the floor. Bischoff is out cold as officials and medics rush in. Hall and Nash are quite pleased with themselves and taunt Bischoff as well as the fans before walking off. Nitro has no choice but to fade to a commercial as the camera focuses on an unconscious Eric Bischoff. - Rating: 91 Tag Team Titles: Arn Anderson/Steve Austin vs Harlem Heat (c) vs Nitro returned from a commercial with a different feeling in the air after the prior segment. The announcers were extremely grim and not as upbeat as they had been all night. They couldn't believe the villainous actions of the Outsiders and worry what will happen at Bash at the Beach. Harlem Heat and half of the 4 Horsemen get their match under way but the majority of talk surrounded by Bischoff being powerbombed off the stage. The Horsemen worked well as a team and the earlier brawl with the Faces of Fear might have softened up the tag team champions. It looked like we were about to crown new champions as Double A hit his Spinebuster. Anderson went for the cover and as the referee was counting, Sensuous Sherri got into the ring and raked the back of the Enforcer, resulting in a DQ at 14:40. Winners by DQ: Arn Anderson/Steve Austin Rating: 73 Final Show Rating: 82

Welcome everyone to the WCW Hotline Report! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund, here to give you all the latest news in the wrestling world! There isn't a whole lot of information to go through this week as we're gearing up for Bash at the Beach! It's July 1996 and Summer has definitely heated up! Paul Wight, formerly known as the Giant, has officially now left WCW and is at the World Wrestling Federation. Speculation continues to run rampant as to who the 3rd man will be to team with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash at Bash at the Beach as they take on the trio of Sting, Macho Man Randy Savage and the Total Package, Lex Luger. Many think this is nothing more than a psychological game for the Outsiders and there is no 3rd man planned. Others think it will be an individual who is completely off the radar. The only way to know for sure is to tune in to the Pay Per View! The Outsiders continue to make their impact known after a brutal attack during the main event on last week's Nitro where Sting and Lex Luger took on Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. Many were surprised to see Flair and Anderson on the receiving end of an attack after the 4 Horsemen have been fairly separated from the Outsiders. This goes to show that there is no one in WCW safe from the target of the Outsiders. Due to the repeated and brutal attacks by Hall and Nash, WCW President Eric Bischoff made a statement on Saturday Night this weekend that he will be confronting the Outsiders on Nitro this week. Bischoff has put out an inter-office memo stating that Scott Hall and Kevin Nash WILL be on Nitro and that he will be addressing them face to face. I have no knowledge of what Bischoff will be saying. Also on Saturday Night this week, Steve Austin and Arn Anderson made a challenge to Harlem Heat for the tag team titles this week on Nitro. The 4 Horsemen have made it no secret that they want to hold every title in WCW at the same time. The Macho Man Randy Savage will also be returning to the ring this week on Nitro! As you recall a few months back, Savage lost a career match and vowed to not return to the ring. After the vicious attacks by the Outsiders and at Sting's request, the Macho Man has indeed returned and there has been speculation that Savage is legally unable to return. There's no concern, however, as the WCW front office has worked out all of the legal paperwork necessary to reinstate Randy Savage as an in-ring competitor. Here is this week's Nitro line-up! Tag Team Titles: Arn Anderson/Steve Austin vs Harlem Heat (c) United States Title: Marcus Bagwell vs Brian Pillman (c) Randy Savage vs Wrath Television Title: Earl Robert Eaton vs Scott Steiner (c) Perry Saturn vs Eddie Guerrero Ricky Steamboat vs Hugh Morrus

Week 1, July 1996 LIVE from the Pyramid - Memphis, TN Attendance: 15,729 - Monday Nitro officially kicks off the month of July and the atmosphere inside the arena is just as hot as the summer weather! Fresh off the heels of the Great American Bash, the fans are extremely excited for not just tonight's event, but, as Tony Schiavone tells the fans at home, we are now on the road to the Bash at the Beach where the Outsiders will make their in-ring debut! Bobby Heenan points out that this will be the first match for the Outsiders in WCW and have been a part of the company now for a few months. He's got to expect them to be a bit rusty in the ring. Dusty Rhodes thinks that IF the Outsiders have a 3rd partner, they have to have the brunt of the work going into the tag team match. The Outsiders have been very good at getting in people's heads, so he fully expects this to be another ploy, just to have Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage constantly looking over their shoulder. Music begins to hit the arena which signals the first match of the night! - Dean Malenko vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs This was a terrific opener which had the crowd excited and responding well to it. The newcomer to WCW, Chavo Guerrero, utilized his speed and aerial attacks to try and subdue the Man of 1,000 holds, but Malenko was quite a bit more aggressive. Malenko picked up the submission win at 9:51 with the Texas Cloverleaf. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 76 - Mean Gene Okerlund is backstage with Diamond Dallas Page and his valet, the Diamond Doll. There isn't much significance of this interview, other than Mean Gene asking DDP about losing last night to Dean Malenko and wondering if that loss affects his going after the TV title. DDP says he will make up for that loss and things between him and Dean Malenko are far from over. - Rating: 77 The Bootyman vs Scott Norton vs This was a complete and brutal mauling by Scott Norton on the Bootyman. The dancing man had no hope of defeating Norton and his offense had zero effect on him. Norton easily defeated the Bootyman at 7:05 after a shoulder breaker. After the pin, Norton motioned a title around his waist and said into the camera that he's coming after the TV title. Winner: Scott Norton Rating: 48 - Back at the announce booth after a short commercial break, Tony and the crew go over the events from last night's Great American Bash, highlighting the Nature Boy retaining the world title, Harlem Heat regaining the tag titles, Steven Regal purposefully getting himself disqualified, and last, and most lengthy, discussing the contract signing between the Outsiders and Sting, Luger, and Savage. Tony doesn't know what to think of the supposed 3rd man for the Outsiders but is worried that it could be anyone, including one of the men they're facing in that very match. - Rating: 72 Harlem Heat are backstage with Mean Gene this time, showing off their newly regained gold. Booker says that they might have won the tag team titles back, but they aren't done or satisfied. Booker says he's putting every single champion in WCW on notice and Harlem Heat wants all the gold. Stevie says that not only will Harlem Heat be considered the greatest tag team of all time, but they'll be the greatest singles competitors also when they hold every belt WCW has. Rating: 77 Brad Armstrong vs Booker T vs Booker T had his chance to shine as a singles competitor and it was against no slouch, as Brad Armstrong has proven over the weeks that he is also a major contender to some gold in WCW. The match went much longer than people anticipated it would and also had the crowd into it during the last few minutes of the match; most thankful to Booker T. Booker got the win at 14:43 after hitting his impressive Harlem Hangover for the pin. Winner: Booker T Rating: 73 Steve Austin vs Fit Finlay vs Finlay had proven what kind of tough guy he is and didn't back down from Austin at all, but Austin completely shone in this match. As tough as Finlay is, Austin proved that he's just as, if not more tough. The brawling in this match had the crowd hyped and Austin put the match away at 10:30 after hitting the Stunner. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 81 - Backstage we go once again where the Macho Man Randy Savage is ready to cut a promo, much to everyone's delight! - Round and round we go, where're we gonna stop, NOBODY KNOWS!!! But I got one thing to know for sure, and that's the Macho Man is back and at the Bash at the Beach, the Outsiders are gonna go down! One man, 2 men, 3 men, 4 men, 5 men, IT DON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THE MACHO MAN! YEAH! Outsiders, the two of you can't even show up to a fair fight! I don't think you've even got a 3rd man, but even if you do, the result's gonna be the same! I hope the two of ya are getting ready for the fight of your lives, cause at Bash at the Beach, I don't care how much begging, how much crying, how much bleeding you do, because I'm never gonna stop dishing out the punishment! Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, at Bash at the Beach, bring your best, cause when it's all over, I don't wanna hear any excuses on why your best wasn't enough to beat the Macho Man! OH YEAH! Rating: 100 After a commercial break, we return to the arena where Tony Schiavone is standing at the bottom of the stage ramp. Tony's going to conduct a quick interview before Nitro's next matchup and he brings out Lord Steven Regal. Regal approaches Schiavone dripping with confidence that only a blueblood can. Tony asks about last night's title shot he had against Scott Steiner and why in the world Regal would purposefully disqualify himself, especially when he's trying to win back the TV title. Regal smugly answers that he has the ability to defeat Scott Steiner whenever he wants and last night he simply just didn't want to win at that time. Regal says his abilities are far beyond someone's like Scott Steiner and while Steiner may hold the title, Regal is the true champion. Rating: 73 The Giant vs Ricky Steamboat vs Despite the size difference between the two, Steamboat never backed down or cowed away from the Giant in this match. Instead, he took the fight right to him, hitting him with his well-known chops and even hit a couple of his signature arm drags, to the shock of both the crowd and the Giant. Tony did elusively say during the match that never in our sport have we seen someone like the Giant, and we likely won't see another for a long time. After the Giant held a brief time of offense, Steamboat got him reeling long enough to climb the top rope and hit his Flying Crossbody. Steamboat got the pin at 10:05. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 74 - Mean Gene has certainly been a busy man for this edition of Monday Nitro. He's now backstage with the United States champion Brian Pillman. Mean Gene asks him about last night's match against Eddie Guerrero, a match he left victorious. Pillman laughs and says as if that were ever in question. Not only is he the US champion, but he's also a member of the most elite group in wrestling's history - The 4 Horsemen. In case anyone forgot, the Horsemen are all riding on a high and there's not anyone, or anything that can stop them. As for Eddie Guerrero and Pillman's future plans; He's moving on from Eddie and wants a real challenge. - Rating: 97 Lex Luger & Sting vs Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs The Southern crowd was the most hyped for this match, which also helped that the crowd had been built up all night extremely well. Luger and Anderson started the match off which saw Luger flex and taunt toward Anderson. After a couple of shoulder blocks by Luger, Anderson gained the advantage after a sneaky eye poke. Anderson and Flair controlled the pace of the match from there, expertly wearing down the Total Package and isolating him from his corner to tag in the Stinger. Each time Luger got close to making the tag, the Horsemen found a way to pull him back. After another try, Anderson distracted the referee when he was actually able to make the tag, but the referee called Sting back because he didn't see the tag. This only encouraged the crowd to get even louder and cheer even more for the Stinger to get the inevitable hot tag. With Sting beside himself to get the tag, egging the crowd on for support, Luger finds himself in a double team attempt by the Horsemen. The whip him into the ropes but Luger ducks an attack. When he rebounds, Luger hits a double clothesline, knocking the Horsemen to the mat. The crowd is electric as Sting motions for them to get louder while calling for Luger to make the tag. Luger slowly makes his way toward his corner, which causes the crowd to get louder with every further inch he makes it. Luger makes a last ditch effort, getting to his feet just enough to launch his body toward the outstretched hand of Sting just as Flair is getting to Luger to stop him. The tag is made and the crowd explodes as Sting enters with fire in his veins. Flair begs off Sting but it's to no avail. Sting pushes Flair back into the corner and whips him to the opposite end before rushing in to hit a Stinger Splash. Flair stumbles out of the corner and does his Flair flop in the center of the ring as Sting turns his attention to Double A, who also tries to beg him off. Just as Sting gets his hands on Anderson....... Heenan: WE'VE GOT COMPANY! Scott Hall and Kevin Nash make their way out into the arena. The crowd notices them as the Outsiders make their way toward the ring, but rather than their usual slow-paced march to the ring, they're moving quickly with purpose. They get to ringside and shove the ring announcer off his chair. Hall grabs the empty steel chair as Hall and Nash then get into the ring. Hall bashes Sting with the chair just as Nash floors Arn Anderson. The referee has no choice but to call for the bell at 14:32 with this one being an official no-contest. Winners: No Contest Rating: 75 Nitro doesn't go off the air here, though. The referee, calling for the bell, was the last act he did before being violently powerbombed by Kevin Nash and then shoved out to the floor by way of Nash's foot. Nash gets ahold of Ric Flair and gives him a powerbomb also as Scott Hall is trading the assault with his chair between Sting and Lex Luger. Hall drops the chair before telling Nash he wants him to powerbomb Sting. Nash obliges and hits Sting with a powerbomb and then Hall hits his Outsider's Edge on Arn Anderson. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, and Sting are all down on the mat while the Outsiders stand tall as Nitro fades to black. Rating: 99 Final Show Rating: 83

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the WCW Hotline Report where I bring you all of the latest news, rumors, and action in the wrestling world! We are now in the month of July and things are definitely heating up! I can start off by now revealing which WCW superstar is leaving the company and will soon be seen on WWF television! Former world heavyweight champion The Giant has signed an exclusive contract with the World Wrestling Federation and is set to leave WCW at the end of this week. The Giant will have his final match this Monday on Nitro where he will face Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat. The WWF had signed the Giant last month to the exclusive contract and he has just been finishing up his scheduled dates with WCW. The contract battle began while the Giant was still WCW World Champion and the WWF made a very lucrative offer that I'm told the WCW offices had no intention of matching. While it is considered a huge grab by the WWF, WCW doesn't seem too concerned with the loss. While the Giant, whose real name is Paul Wight, by the way, is definitely seen as a major face in WCW, Eric Bischoff and the rest of the front office feel they have plenty of talent currently on the roster to more than make up for his loss, especially with the signings of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. I've received word that Paul Wight will go by "The Big Show" in the WWF and will presumably do nothing with his career there other than participate in random matches that have very little significance. I've also been told that his WWF contract is over $300,000 per month for 3 years which also includes Creative Control, 55% merchandise cut, and a 10% bonus per event. We wish Mr. Wight all the best and success in his new adventure. On WCW's end, Alex Wright has resigned a new deal with WCW, so he will continue to be present on your screens on WCW programming, though his deal is nowhere near as lucrative! WCW is also in the process of working on re-signing contracts of Dean Malenko, Jimmy Hart, and Lance Storm. Meng's contract, I'm told, is set to expire at the end of this month and WCW will also be preparing to extend his contract as well. We're fresh off the heels of the Great American Bash and talk is surrounding the 3rd member to join Scott Hall and Kevin Nash at the Bash at the Beach as they take on the team of Sting, Lex Luger, and the Macho Man Randy Savage. There is much speculation that they actually don't even have a 3rd partner, or that it could be one of their scheduled opponents. It seems this is just a grasp by the Outsiders to create distrust between the three men. Here's the lineup for the first Nitro of July 1996! Week 1, July 1996 LIVE From the Pyramid - Memphis, TN Lex Luger & Sting vs Ric Flair & Arn Anderson The Giant vs Ricky Steamboat Steve Austin vs Fit Finlay Brad Armstrong vs Booker T The Bootyman vs Scott Norton Dean Malenko vs Chavo Guerrero Jr

Sunday, Week 4, June 1996 LIVE from Washington, D.C. Attendance: 56,000 (SELLOUT!) - The Great American Bash kicks off with much fan fare as the camera opens on a huge, custom designed set full of American Flags and red, white, and blue decor. A massive amounts of fireworks go off, all in the colors of the USA as the camera switches to pan the huge sold out crowd, all waiving flags and screaming excitement for this highly anticipated Pay Per View. Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Dusty Rhodes welcome everyone to this huge event, with all three decked out in tuxedos. Tony tells fans that despite all of the action to come in the ring, there's no bigger event scheduled tonight than the contract signing between the Outsiders, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, and Sting, Lex Luger, and the Macho Man Randy Savage. Tony also tells fans that he has received word from the WCW front office that the Outsiders WILL have a 3rd partner, so instead of a 2 vs 2 match, the contract signing will be for a 3 vs 3 match at the Bash at the Beach! They each take time speculating who the third person will be to come out here with the Outsiders. Dusty Rhodes can't imagine anyone who would want to be associated with two bullies like Hall and Nash. Mike Tenay says they clearly don't have any friends in WCW so he wouldn't be surprised to see someone completely unaffiliated with WCW. All 3 announcers then transition into the amazing ending of this past week's Monday Nitro where the Macho Man finally came to the aid of Lex Luger and Sting, cementing the fact that he will help them. Savage was torn coming off of losing a career match and tried his best to stick to the stipulation, but, as Dusty Rhodes put it, there is no stipulation on what's right and wrong! After discussion of all the matches for tonight, Tony tells us that, shockingly, we're kicking the night off with the WCW World Heavyweight title match, as the Giant's music begins to play.... - WCW World Heavyweight Title: The Giant vs Ric Flair (c) vs The Giant enters this match looking purely focused while the Nature Boy enters looking extremely confident and all smiles. After holding the world title high in the air for everyone to see, the Nature Boy struts around the ring, taunting all the fat men and gyrating his hips at the ladies. Flair started with rapid fire chops to the chest of the Giant, which had no effect. Flair rushed the ropes and on the rebound, met his downfall. The Giant was solidly in control of the match and even hit his chokeslam very early on in the match, to the shock of the announcers and crowd. The Giant covered Flair and the referee started the count, but for some unexplained reason, the Giant lifted Flair off the mat by his hair, stopping the count. The Giant said he wasn't done punishing the Nature Boy just yet, but that was his mistake. He set Flair in the corner and then went to rush in, but Flair moved out of the way. The Giant crashed hard chest-first into the corner and Flair started working on the Giant's leg, which resembled more of a tree trunk than anything. As Flair worked the leg and knee, he also dropped down to hit a combination of low blows, after sneakily getting the referee to look at something out in the crowd. After the Giant dropped to his knees, Flair took out a pair of brass knuckles from his tights and bashed the Giant in the head. The referee turned to see Flair pinning the Giant. The pin was counted and the bell sounded at 12:52 as the Nature Boy successfully defended his title! Winner: Ric Flair Rating: 78 - Larry Zbyszko is backstage with Sensuous Sherri and Harlem Heat. Harlem Heat are focused and more than ready to take on the Faces of Fear. Booker T says the titles will come back where they rightfully belong, around the waist of Harlem Heat. Stevie says when it's all said and done, Harlem Heat will be 4-time WCW tag team champions and at the top of the food chain one more time. - Rating: 61 Steve Armstrong & Hugh Morrus vs Perry Saturn & Ricky Steamboat vs The crowd wasn't too especially hyped for this match and what they got was Ricky Steamboat vastly out-performing all the other competitors. That wasn't the clear focus on this match though, as you could tell the intention was to highlight Perry Saturn. Saturn worked well, but he was nowhere near the performance that Steamboat gave. The match ended by pin at 9:49 after Saturn hit a Death Valley Driver on Steve Armstrong. Winners: Saturn & Steamboat Rating: 67 - Just as the cameras go to the broadcast booth and they begin to further hype the night, the Horsemen music begins to play and they look in confusion. Tony says they were supposed to have a short break to prepare for the next match, but Steve Austin now walks out and is heading to the ring, so Tony says there must be a change of plans. Austin climbs in the ring and looks out at the sea of people. He has an annoyed look on his face as he begins to speak. - For anybody that might be the least bit curious, I was supposed to wrestle Lex Luger last month, but he decided to be a chicken and pay some idiot to hurt me! Well, Lex Luger, you're gonna have to kill me before you can ever get rid of me, so I'm not gonna make life that easy for you! The fact of the matter is, you've been on the wrong side of the 4 Horsemen and once you realized your mistake, you tried to back your way out of it! Well Horsemen business isn't finished until we say it is, and Lex Luger, I ain't finished with you just yet! So what I'm demanding....That's right, you heard me, I'm demanding you walk your muscled-up ass out here right now, because I'm challenging you to a match! I'm all healthy and healed up, and Luger, tonight I'm gonna make you suffer! Rating: 88 Steve Austin vs Lex Luger vs Luger's music plays and a few moments later, he walks out to a thunderous ovation from the crowd. Luger though, wasn't prepared to wrestle tonight as he's wearing jeans and a tank top. Tony says we're going to apparently have an impromptu match right here tonight as Luger gets in the ring. He walks up to Austin who has a few words for Luger before shoving him. Luger doesn't take too kindly to this as he removes his tank top and flexes Austin's way while yelling out, which fires up the crowd again. The bell rings and the two get down to it. Luger hits a few clotheslines and Austin counters an Irish whip into a Thesz Press. Austin holds control for a few more minutes before Luger begins his comeback. After a couple clotheslines and a big powerslam, Luger motions that it's time for the forearm just as a visitor makes their way toward the ring..... Double A gets to ringside just as Luger's running to the rope and pulls it down, causing Luger to spill out to the floor over the top rope. The referee see's this and immediately calls for the DQ at 10:08. The bell sounds but that doesn't stop the Enforcer from laying in the boots. Anderson grabs Luger and tosses him inside the ring where Austin is waiting. He grabs Luger as Anderson is climbing in the ring. They toss him to the opposite side and try to hit a double clothesline, but Luger ducks. On rebound, Luger hits both with a double clothesline of his own, causing them to roll out of the ring to the floor, and the crowd to erupt once more. Austin and Anderson regroup outside but think twice about trying another assault. Luger just stands, aggravated in the ring and the referee raises his arm for the victory. Winner by DQ: Lex Luger Rating: 81 Arn Anderson vs Brad Armstrong vs Double A already had plenty of heat going from the crowd as this next match got underway. This turned out to be one of the best matches of the night, actually, as Brad Armstrong showcased his always-solid abilities. It wasn't the night for the Armstrong's, though, as Arn Anderson used his superior ring psychology to break down BA and score the pin at 9:45 after hitting his DDT. Winner: Arn Anderson Rating: 85 Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs Faces of Fear (c) vs One of the premiere matches for the night and the crowd was ready for it. The match was billed as a Street Fight, and that's exactly what was given. Both teams held nothing back and hit each other with stiff shots as all four men battled at once. The referee was hopeless to ever gain any kind of control, so he did his best to observe all 4 and try and count a pin if, on the rare chance, one was attempted. The crowd were firmly behind Harlem Heat and Booker T did an exceptional job at playing up to them in return. Booker T and Meng were the performers of the match and it all ended at 12:27 when Booker T was able to connect with his Axe Kick on the Barbarian and secure Harlem Heat as the new champions! Winners and NEW Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat Rating: 73 Not to worry, Mean Gene will get plenty of work tonight. He's currently backstage with former Television Champion Steven Regal who says he will beat the rude and deplorable Scott Steiner tonight to reclaim his coveted title. Regal says the only thing he's concerned about is being able to get the "awful stench" out of the leather on the title when he takes it from Steiner. Rating: 86 Diamond Dallas Page vs Dean Malenko vs In this sort of grudge match, Dean Malenko had requested a match for awhile against DDP, thinking this would gain him some reputation in his TV title hopes. While he has been focused for the past few weeks on the title, Malenko seemed to be quite distracted by the Diamond Doll who was on the outside. DDP noticed this, which caused his aggression to come out during the match. This could have been a negative for Page, as he was a big too eager to get the big hits on Malenko. As DDP went for his pancake, Malenko reversed it, backdropping DDP. Malenko was then able to lock in the Texas Cloverleaf for the submission win at 13:38. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 75 Television Title: Lord Steven Regal vs Scott Steiner (c) vs Another match of the night that the crowd were heavily hyped for. For every snobbish taunt Regal gave, Steiner returned it with either a clubbing blow or a middle finger, which elicited and even more shocked reaction from Regal. As the match went on, Regal gave one heck of a performance, but Steiner had a lot of hard-hitting moves that caused quite a few timeouts on the floor by Regal. After a period of time where Steiner was firmly in control, he signaled it was time for the Steiner Screwdriver. Steiner brought Regal to his feet and got ready to hook him for the lift. Regal had other plans though and gave one swift soccer kick to Steiner groin. Predictably, Steiner dropped to the mat in pain while the amazed referee called for the bell. Regal, looking all too pleased with himself, simply left the ring and headed to the back. Winner by DQ: Scott Steiner Rating: 79 We're brought backstage where Lex Luger, Randy Savage, and Sting are in a locker room. The arena goes electric when all three are shown. It seems just about as electric inside the locker room as Luger, Savage, and Sting look like they're ready for a fight. Savage is pacing, Luger is flexing his muscles, and Sting is staring daggers into the camera. Sting: Tonight, FINALLY, we will stand in the same ring with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, face to face, eye to eye! There won't be any surprises, there won't be any sneak attacks! Just the three of us standing across from the two of them.....Or maybe three??? Luger: Two or three, it doesn't matter because after tonight, when the contract's signed, there won't be any hiding! There won't be anything other than a match to get ready for at the Bash at the Beach! And you know what, Macho and Stinger?!? We might not even get to Bash at the Beach, we might just have the fight right here tonight! Macho: OOOH YEAH! Kevin Nash and Scott Hall!!!! The two of you made quite possibly the biggest mistake of your pathetic lives! You challenged the Macho Man one too many times!!! I tried my best to stay out of the business here of the Total Package and the Stinger, but friends got each other's backs, YEAH! I'm standing side by side of my friends and I notice that the ledger says 3 versus 3, but Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, you both are zero's and you have no friends! I don't care how many are in the match, the fact is the Macho Man, the Stinger, and the Total Package are finally going to get our hands on you! At the Bash at the Beach next month, one thing's for sure, it's gonna be a night that's remembered as the biggest night in the history of professional wrestling OOHHH YEAAHHHHH! Rating: 100 Chavo Guerrero Jr vs Scott Norton vs A rather oddly placed match for the night but most consider it an opportunity to cool the crowd down from all the excitement. There really wasn't much hope for the newcomer Chavo Guerrero Jr, who is the nephew of Eddie Guerrero. Scott Norton dominated this match easily and won at 7:27 with a Shoulder Breaker. Winner: Scott Norton Rating: 42 Eddie is backstage with Mean Gene for a pre-match interview. Eddie says that he hopes to have much better luck than his nephew just did and that he's never been more ready for a match in his life. Eddie says it's a tough mountain to climb, but the prize at the top is worth all the pain and agony. Eddie says the only thing to do now is to go out there and win, because the time for talking is over. Rating: 86 Falls Count Anywhere United States Title: Eddie Guerrero vs Brian Pillman (c) vs The top match of the night didn't disappoint. While Arn Anderson actually had the top performance of the night, Eddie Guerrero wasn't far behind. Eddie clearly understood what was at stake in this match and left it all out there. Brian Pillman did his best at stalling things, but being a falls count anywhere match, there was only so much he could do before Eddie got ahold of him. Both competitors fought all over the arena and even ended up backstage for a bit, much to the annoyance of the fans in attendance. Anything that could be grabbed was used as a weapon and the fight slowly made its way back out to the arena and toward the ring. Once back inside the ropes, Eddie continued to surge with momentum, hitting a great looking brainbuster on Pillman. With the crowd roaring and sensing the end, Eddie signaled it was time for the Frog Splash. Guerrero quickly climbed the ropes and leapt off, but Pillman moved out of the way! After slowly getting to his feet, Pillman made his own way up to the top rope. He remained perched on top, waiting for Eddie to get up. Once he did, Pillman took off, connecting with his Air Pillman from the top and crashing hard to the mat. The referee counted the pin at 21:18, and Brian Pillman successfully defended his title in a hard-fought match. Winner: Brian Pillman Rating: 89 - After a brief promotional break, the Great American Bash returns and the crowd knows what's next. "A Man Called Sting" begins to blare from the speakers which brings everyone to their feet. Sting, the Macho Man, and Lex Luger all walk out together to loud cheers from the crowd. All three look intense and focused as they head to the ring. Mean Gene is already inside the ring, which has been given a makeover with a rug and podium in the middle of the ring. The trio enter the ring and all give their taunts to the crowd. Sting yells, the Macho Man climbs the second turnbuckle, and Lex Luger raises his arms and flexes. The music fades out and Mean Gene gets underway. - Mean Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, I couldn't tell you the last time we had such an anticipated event! We've been building to this night for quite awhile, well, ever since war was seemingly declared on WCW. Here we are, and I can say that the only thing bigger, is what these men are here signing for; a match at the Bash at the Beach next month in Pensacola, Florida! It would appear these three are more than ready, and the Macho Man made it clear to everyone this past Monday Night that he is back in the thick of things! Right now, allow me to introduce their opponents, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and quite possibly their teammate??? - There's no music, just crowd noise as the cameras focus on the stage. Nothing happens which causes Mean Gene to give a side glance. This also causes Sting, Luger and Savage to get a bit agitated in the ring. The camera returns to the stage where lights flash and a low fog rolls from the stage. Finally, after a few more moments, Scott Hall first slowly appears, followed by Kevin Nash. Hall and Nash stroll to the ring without a care in the world and slowly climb inside where they meet their opponents face to face, with Mean Gene in the middle. - Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, need I remind everyone that this is simply a contract signing for a match at the Bash at the Beach and I have no desire to get in the middle of any altercation. I do have to ask you both, though, as you've apparently agreed to a 3 on 3 match for that event, but I don't see another partner out here with you... Nash: Gene-o, that's very noble of you to worry about me and Scott, but eh....Don't you worry about any partner for us. Hall: If there's one thing you need to worry about, Mean Gene, is standing there with that microphone and making sure the contract signing goes nice and easy..I sure would hate for that rented tux of yours to get any blood stains on it. Hey! I'll have my lawyer on you so fast, you better not even think about putting your hands on me!! Settle down, Gene.....Scotty and I aren't out here to hurt you. As a matter of fact, we're not out here to hurt anyone, because if we were, all of you would already be down on this mat and unconscious. You won't find two more upstanding members of society like Scott and myself. I'll have you know, back in my hometown of Detroit, Michigan, they made last week Kevin Nash week because I'm such a sweet guy! Well I highly doubt that's the case....Anyway, gentlemen, we aren't here to talk about citizenship awards, and as you can see across from you, your opponents are getting restless. We're here to sign a contract for next month's match, who wants to go first?! Sting: Now hold on just a minute, Gene.....If Hall and Nash think they can come out here and step in the ring face to face with the three of us, crack off a few jokes, sign the contract, and leave, they've got another thing coming. For weeks now, the two of you have been going around, doing sneak attacks, hitting people with weapons, and being a couple of thugs. Then you want a 3 on 3 match and don't even come out here with a third person. I've had enough of your little games, so how about we cut to the chase? Between now and Bash at the Beach, there won't be any more sneak attacks. There won't be any advantage, because look right here. You've got me, the Total Package, and the Macho Man all watching each other's backs. It's about time the odds have evened up around here... Nash: No, you hold on a minute.....STINGERRRRR.....The way I see things, you have one man standing there who should be ineligible to compete in a wrestling match, seeing as how he forfeited his rights as a professional wrestler when he lost a career match! You think just some begging and pleading will reverse all that?? The Macho Man prides himself on being a standup guy, right? He's a man of his word?? Well if he competes in this match, everyone will know Randy Savage is a fraud who doesn't keep his word!!! So if the Macho Man can't even keep his word about that, and he appears all too eager to team up with you, how do you know he ain't our 3rd partner?!?!? - Nash clearly struck a chord as this causes Sting and Luger to give a suspicious look toward Savage. Savage's eyes go wide and he snaps his head to the side before stepping up to the microphone. - Macho Man: I know what you're trying to do! It's the oldest trick in the book! Trying to cause distrust within our group! Well let me be the one to break it down for you, Kevin Nash! I don't like you, and I don't like your girl standing there next to you! Sting has put more faith in me than anyone has and he's my friend! The sad reality for you is you don't have a 3rd partner because nobody likes you and there isn't one person in WCW who would side with you! At Bash at the Beach, it's going to be a long and painful night for you, and the three of us are going to enjoy every bit of it! - With that, Savage quickly picks up a pen and signs his name on the contract before spitting in the direction of Hall and Nash. Hall just wiggles his fingers at Savage and pretends to be scared. - Hall: Macho Man, we wouldn't want you as our partner anyway. I mean, who wants a loser who had to retire and is now collecting his social security every month? Gene: Gentlemen, I am told that Eric Bischoff has reverted the Macho Man's contract back to being an active wrestler..... Hall: Nobody asked you, Scheme Gene. As for you, Flexy Lexy....All the amount of weight lifting isn't going to get you ready for Bash at the Beach, because me and Big Kev here have more talent in our little finger than you have in your entire body! And you, Sting!? Talk about a waste of talent! You've carried WCW on your back for how long now and it took you this long to get a couple of partners to take us on??? Sting, do yourself and your career a favor and get on the Outsider's Express... Sting: I see...This is your schtick now. I get it! Lex, Macho, this is what Hall and Nash will try to do. They'll try to get us to go against each other, and then they'll try and recruit one of us. They don't have a 3rd partner and now they're going into damage control. Scott Hall, Kevin Nash. I wouldn't side with the two of you if my life depended on it! I AM WCW, through and through! Bash at the Beach, just the two of you or a 3rd partner, it makes no difference to me.....The two of you will regret ever stepping foot in WCW when we're done with you... - Sting signs the contract promptly followed by Luger. The trio just stare at Hall and Nash, who taunt back and make fun of them. It all just appears to be a laughing matter until the laughing abruptly stops after Sting swings a swift hand across Scott Hall's face. Hall looks furious and steps toward Sting, only for Luger and Savage on his flank to step up. Tension builds high as Nash holds an arm across Hall, keeping him back. After a brief word, Hall backs down a bit as both Outsiders sign the contract. Mean Gene announces with pleasure that the match is now official as an angry Scott Hall backs toward the ropes with Kevin Nash. The Outsiders exit the ring, talking trash to Luger, Savage, and Sting the entire way as the Great American Bash, surprisingly, fades out without an all-out wild brawl. - Rating: 100 Overall Show Rating: 92

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund here with the WCW Hotline Report! What a Nitro we had this past Monday Night as we head into the Great American Bash! The Macho Man Randy Savage came to the aid of Sting and Lex Luger in what can only be described as a historic moment! What does this mean for his status in WCW? It is expected to be addressed at the Great American Bash. I'm also told that a contract signing will take place at the Great American Bash that will announce the first match in WCW for the Outsiders, which will be at the Bash at the Beach! Undoubtedly this will include Sting and Lex Luger in some fashion. The WWF had their King of the Ring PPV. The WWF Champion - British Bulldog defeated Bret Hart and the Warrior to retain the title. Owen Hart defeated Ahmed Johnson to win the King of the Ring, and the 123 Kid defeated King Kong Bundy and Sgt. Slaughter to retain the Intercontinental title. There was not much else noteworthy from that event. There is not much other news going around in the wrestling world at this time! I'm still not at liberty to reveal what big WCW star will be leaving the company. Here is the full card for the Great American Bash! Outsiders Contract Signing for Bash at the Beach vs Sting & Lex Luger United States Title - Ladder Match: Eddie Guerrero vs Brian Pillman (c) Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs Scott Norton Television Title: Lord Steven Regal vs Scott Steiner (c) Diamond Dallas Page vs Dean Malenko Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs Faces of Fear (c) Arn Anderson vs Brad Armstrong Steve Armstrong & Hugh Morrus vs Perry Saturn & Ricky Steamboat World Heavyweight Title: The Giant vs Ric Flair (c)

Week 4, June 1996 Attendance: 15,473 - WCW Monday Nitro opens this week to the usual festivities; Fireworks, music, and various crowd shots as viewers are joined by Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes this week. Tony tells us that a lot of action happened last week as we are now less than one week away from the Great American Bash, and tensions are running high! Last week on this program, Sting and the Total Package Lex Luger wanted to hear from the Macho Man Randy Savage, and hear from him they did. It was clear that the Macho Man wanted to help Sting and Lex Luger, but stated he couldn't due to being forced to retire from wrestling. Bobby Heenan is more cynical, saying the Macho Man wants no part of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash after seeing the damage they've done so far. Dusty Rhodes disagrees and says that the Macho Man, as always, is an honorable and stand-up human being and that it has to be completely tearing him apart that he is unable to help when asked. As they discuss the events, music starts to play from the speakers which gets the crowd to their feet. - A Man Called Sting........ - Sting and Lex Luger come out to start Nitro, to the delight of the crowd. Sting, as Dusty points out, is wearing the WCW colors of gold and purple. Lex Luger is more casual in blue jeans and a WCW shirt. Tony Schiavone tells everyone that Mean Gene is headed to the ring right now to meet the two WCW leaders. As Sting and Luger enter, Mean Gene isn't far behind them as both men look to mean business tonight. - Gentlemen, what a way to kick off Monday Nitro this week, I was barely able to get my jacket on before you came out here unexpectedly...Sting and the Total Package, Lex Luger, I'm sure the two of you have a lot to say after what happened here last week with the Macho Man Randy Savage, the first we have seen him in quite awhile! Sting: Mean Gene, I wouldn't give up your day job and become a fortune teller! After weeks of blindside attacks, being outnumbered, and having to constantly look over our shoulders wherever we went, I made a plea! I made a plea to the only man I knew would be possible! I made a plea for the Macho Man to come back to WCW and help out me and the Total Package! Now, there's two of us, and there's two of them, but ya see, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash don't ever attack us when we're together... No, they wait to attack until our backs are turned. They wait to attack until we're alone! What you have with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are two cowards who know they can't get the job done to our face! They can't do it when the odds are evened up! So in my quest and plea to the Macho Man, I was looking to even up the odds and to make sure we had another guy around that could watch our back! That of course would mean that we watch the Macho Man's back too! So last week, everyone saw the Macho Man come back to WCW but instead of joining forces, he told us "No." - Groans and some boos formulate from the crowd but Sting holds up a hand for them to not get too far. - I know there's a lot of people unhappy with that, but I can't fault the Macho Man for doing what he did. He's a man of his word, he doesn't backtrack on that, and he's as loyal as anything I've ever seen! The Macho Man made a promise awhile back and he's intent to uphold that promise! But there's one thing I have to ask you, Randy Savage....When was the last time you ever were fine with playing by the rules?!?! You've always been a man to walk your own path! You never went with the crowd and simply joined in! You didn't care what anyone else thought, you stood up for what you believed in and what you thought was right! So, Macho Man, I've gotta ask now, what do YOU think is the right thing to do here!? Is it to sit on the sidelines and hold on to some silly match stipulation?!?! I need you, the Total Package needs you, WCW needs you....The FANS, need you! Macho Man, I'm not giving up on you so easily because I know you wouldn't give up on me in the same situation! That's why, right here, right now, I'm wanting you to come out here one more time and tell me, and tell the Total Package to our face that you're not going to help us! - The crowd start to cheer loudly as Mean Gene nods his head and turns toward Lex Luger. - Gene: I've got a few questions for you too, Lex Luger. You've joined forces with your best friend to take on Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, but you've also been battling with the 4 Horsemen for the last several months. Don't you think you might have bitten off more than you can chew for the moment?? Luger: Gene, you've known me for a lot of years, and you know I'm no stranger to taking on big challenges. The fact is, when I started having problems with the Horsemen; Actually, I didn't have a problem with the Horsemen, the Horsemen had a problem with me! But anyway, when all that started, nobody envisioned the kind of problems WCW would run in to by having two guys run wild all over WCW! Now, I said it this past weekend on Saturday Night, and I'll say it again right here on Monday Nitro; Steve Austin and the Horsemen, I'm not sure what problem you have with me anymore but WCW is bigger than the both of us and quite frankly, I need to put all my focus and energy by backing up my best friend right here and taking the fight to those two bullies Scott Hall and Kevin Nash! Now, the Horsemen have two options; They can continue to come after me and make defending WCW even harder, or they can put all the differences aside for the sake of WCW, and join our battle! The sad reality is, I haven't seen anyone else who's supposedly the face of WCW other than Sting stand up to those two, and I'm talking about you - Nature Boy Ric Flair, and you - Hulk Hogan! - The crowd gasps at the mention of Hulk Hogan, who's seemingly been forgotten about since he was last seen on TV. There's been no mention of him since then and Luger's comment seemed to smack people back into remembrance. - Sting: Gene, I meant it. I want the Macho Man to come out here, right now, and tell me and Lex Luger again that he can't help us.... Gene: Wha...? What if he isn't even here ton--- -Just then, the Macho Man's music begins to play in the arena, which causes the crowd to jump to their feet again. After a few moments.... Savage walks out to a great ovation as Tony exclaims that "HE is here!" The Macho Man walks to the ring and enters where he walks right up to Sting, Luger, and Mean Gene, who are all centered in the ring. The music fades out and Savage quickly takes off his sunglasses to look Sting in the eye. - Savage: Stinger, let me tell you one thing right away...There isn't too many people in this world who can call out the Macho Man and not leave this ring with more than a bruised ego! Buuuuuuuut, it just so happens that the two of us have become pretty good friends in the relatively short time I've been in WCW! I have a lot of respect for you, Sting. As for you, Luger.....Well, maybe not quite so much respect, but I'm getting there! Sting, there's nothing more I'd love in this world than to come back and help you against Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. You as well as anybody knows that I hate standing on the sidelines, but, a deal's a deal, and the Macho Man ain't gonna break no deal! If I was able to win my match, then the Macho Man Randy Savage would have zero issue with standing by your side and standing by Lex Luger's side to take on the Outsiders! Sting, it pains me to have to say it, but I'll say it again; I can't help you. - The Macho Man shakes his head in disappointment and turns and exits the ring. Savage heads back up toward the stage, not looking back as he leaves Sting and Luger in the ring. - Rating: 100 Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman vs Ricky Steamboat & Eddie Guerrero vs The seemingly random new friendship between Eddie Guerrero and Ricky Steamboat paired well as they took on rivals Arn Anderson and US Champion Brian Pillman. Guerrero and Pillman played up to their upcoming ladder match for the US belt at the Great American Bash as Anderson and Steamboat stuck to the old school storytelling they're known for. The match turned into pure chaos though and the referee was unable to reestablish control after all 4 men began brawling all over the ringside area. He had no choice but to call for the No Contest at 12:20. Winners: No Contest Rating: 81 - After a short break, Larry Zbyszko is backstage with Steve Austin. Larry asks Austin about how he's seemed to take over in the never-ending feud with Lex Luger and the Horsemen, his injury, and if he heard what Luger had to say about him and the Horsemen just a little while ago. - Austin: Well you're just full of some smart questions tonight, aren't you Larry Zbyszko?!? Let me start off by saying first and foremost, Lex Luger, or anybody else for that matter, doesn't get to decide when the Horsemen are finished with someone or something! The Horsemen and only the Horsemen will decide when we're finished with Luger! As far as my injury is concerned, well it's really none of your damn business, but seeing as I'm standing right here and I'm not afraid of Luger, I'll go ahead and say that I'm medically cleared and Lex Luger is gonna have to deal with me coming after him sooner rather than later! What Luger's too stupid to realize is that the Horsemen won't ever stand side by side with him or Sting! Why in the hell do to Horsemen care if they're having problems with anybody else?!? Luger, the only thing the Horsemen care about are the Horsemen. I couldn't give a good damn whether you're getting beat up each week because you're too much of a loser to stand up for yourself! That doesn't have anything to do with me or the 4 Horsemen! If you ask me, he just wants us to help him out because that's the only way the Outsiders would leave him and Sting alone! Well I promise you, it won't be that easy and you're not gonna get me or the rest of the Horsemen to do your bidding for you! Lex Luger's fixing to have to fight Steve Austin one-on-one, and I don't care what other problems he has going on. Good interview, Larry! Rating: 77 Television Title: Big Bubba Rogers vs Scott Steiner (c) vs This was a fairly simple match with an outcome not so surprising. Bubba had been on a decent wave of momentum heading into this match but he was never really at good odds to come away with the title. Scott Steiner finished this at 7:43 with an impressive Frankensteiner. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 64 - Nitro returns from a commercial break and Lex Luger is in the backstage area. In what seems to be typical form, Luger is rushed from off camera by two familiar faces... Kevin Nash has a steel chair in hand and Scott Hall has a baseball bat as his weapon of choice. Both hit Luger from behind, who quickly drops to the ground. Nash continues to use his chair as Hall rains down an attack to Luger's ribs with his bat. Luger is able to put up no defense as the Outsiders get a few more shots in before they stop, satisfied with their work and begin to walk off. - Hall: Where's your friends now, Luger?? Rating: 76 - Next up, a hype video is played of the Diamond Doll, who is featured this month on the WCW Magazine! - Rating: 47 Jim Duggan vs Wrath vs Try as Duggan might, this wasn't anywhere close to a competitive match. It was impressive when Wrath managed to lift Duggan into the Meltdown though. He scored the pin at 6:45 in pure domination. Winner: Wrath Rating: 64 - Jimmy Hart is backstage for a promo with his tag team champions - The Faces of Fear. The Mouth of the South hypes up the Great American Bash where his champions will defend their titles against Harlem Heat. - Rating: 73 Marcus Bagwell vs Dean Malenko vs This match allowed Bagwell to shine, the only problem was that this is really a must win match for Malenko heading into the Great American Bash. Bagwell was impressive, hitting incredible looking dropkicks and nearly picking up the win after hitting a flying cross body. It wasn't enough though, as Malenko recognized this match's importance. Dean was able to get the submission win with the Texas Cloverleaf at 10:02. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 72 After the bell, the crowd get to their feet as DDP comes walking out and toward the ring. DDP gets in the ring and immediately walks right up to Malenko, who barely had an opportunity to celebrate his win. DDP and Malenko are seen sharing words and by DDP's expression, they clearly aren't words of encouragement. Soon after, both men begin attacking each other and punches fly wildly. The two men entangle and spill out through the ropes and to the outside where they continue to fight. A flood of referees and officials rush in and pull the men apart as Nitro goes to another commercial. Rating: 61 Mean Gene is certainly keeping busy tonight as now he's backstage with the WCW World Heavyweight champion Ric Flair. Mean Gene asks the Nature Boy about his upcoming title defense against the Giant at the Great American Bash. Gene says Flair shocked the world and defeated the Giant and he once more needs to win. Flair says he didn't shock anyone who pays attention to the wrestling world because if there's a name synonymous with the worlds championship, it's Ric Flair. Flair is ultra-confident heading into the match and that if things get out of hand, he's got his insurance to back him up! Rating: 100 Harlem Heat vs Dave Taylor & Robert Eaton vs This was a pretty solid matchup that wasn't a complete runaway for Harlem Heat. They came away victorious, as apparent #1 contenders needed to, but they had to work to earn their victory. The Blue Bloods hung in there, but Stevie Ray got the pin at 10:15 with a Heat Seeker. Winners: Harlem Heat Rating: 70 Sting vs Lord Steven Regal vs This match was the biggest shock of the night and had the crowd rabid for everything these two offered. Sting had the crowd electric with his energy and Regal was a perfect counter with his dastardly behavior, sneaking in cheap shots at every opportunity to derail the Stinger from his offense. The battle went back and forth several times, though Sting would usually gain the advantage. When Sting finally had Regal reeling, he whipped him into the corner and rushed, hitting a Stinger Splash. Sting didn't give him any time, sending him to the opposite corner again. Sting rushed once more, but Regal ducked out of the way of the second Stinger Splash. Regal stumbled out of the corner, as did Sting. When Sting turned, Regal blasted him with a punch that dropped Sting to the mat. The referee was confused by such a forceful punch being given until he saw the object around Regal's fist! Regal somehow snuck a pair of brass knuckles and clobbered Sting right in front of the referee! Seeing this, the referee called for the bell at 16:41, awarding Sting the victory by disqualification. Winner by DQ: Sting Rating: 95 - After the bell sounded, Sting started to slowly work his way back to his feet while Regal made a poor attempt at hiding the illegal object and professing his innocence to the referee. Once Sting shook loose the cobwebs, he grabbed Regal and sent him over the top rope to the floor. Sting celebrated his victory, but it didn't last long before he was attacked once more. The Outsiders entered the arena through the crowd and got into the ring behind Sting. Still with their weapons in hand, they attack Sting from behind. With Sting already beat up from the foreign object Regal used, it didn't take long for Sting to drop and had no chance at putting up a defense or fight on his own. Hall and Nash continue their assault, laughing the entire time and making fun of Sting. The crowd comes to life as Lex Luger rushes out from the stage, but from his earlier attack, he's also beat up and showing the results of his own attack with taped up ribs. Luger runs to the ring, but it's noticeably slower than usual due to his deteriorated condition. Luger slides in the ring and grabs the closest enemy to him, which happens to be Kevin Nash. Luger gets a few shots, causing Nash to stop his attack on Sting. This doesn't last very long though, as Scott Hall is easily able to turn his attention away from Sting and use his bat once again on Luger. Hall targets the already weakened ribcage of the Total Package as Hall and Nash trade off assaults between Luger and Sting. The Outsiders are more than pleased with themselves and act like it's all too easy as Sting and Luger never could put up an offense of their own. The crowd then roars to life and in between attacks, Hall and Nash realize there's something else going on. The Macho Man Randy Savage slowly walks out onto the stage and Hall and Nash notice him, which stops their assault on Sting and Luger. The Outsiders look toward the stage and watch Savage, not sure what he's going to do. Savage continues to slowly walk down the ramp and is in the aisle, though he's clearly torn about what to do. Savage stops halfway down the aisle, putting his hands on his hips and slowly shaking his head. He half turns away before turning back. Bobby Heenan says that Savage is struggling with what to do while Schiavone pleads and yells for Savage to do the right thing. Hall and Nash, seeing the inner struggle that Savage is having, laugh as Hall taps Nash on the shoulder and says something to him, most likely that Savage won't help. They turn their attention back to Sting and Luger as the Outsiders continue to use their weapons. At this point, Savage totally turns now and starts to head back toward the stage. The crowd isn't booing, you can mostly hear the crowd begging for the Macho Man to help. Savage stops at the base of the ramp and looks down, shaking his head..... Heenan: He knows what he NEEDS to do, Tony, but he CAN'T! The Macho Man is tearing himself apart from the inside!!! Savage turns halfway again, this time toward the ring, seeing the assault the Outsiders are delivering. The assault isn't constant. It's almost as if the Outsiders are now toying with Sting and Luger. Scott Hall will stop the attack on Sting long enough to allow him to start to get to his knees before clubbing him back down. Sting has crawled toward the ropes and uses those to try and get to his feet, but each time he gets half up, he gets knocked back down. In the course of this, Sting notices the Macho Man standing in the aisle. Savage turns back and begins to walk back up the ramp now, as the crowd start to boo. Sting see's Savage and weakly yells out to him.... Sting: Machoooo............ Savage again stops halfway up the ramp this time. He turns back and this time starts to head toward the ring, changing the boos to enormous cheers from the fans. Hall and Nash, while continuing their assault periodically look out of the corner of their eyes to Savage, seeing him heading to the ring. The Outsiders stop and now have full attention on Savage. Savage again gets about 3/4 of the way to the ring before stopping. Hall challenges Savage to get in the ring while Nash laughs and shrugs him off. Hall yells out at Savage to bring it but Savage just shakes his head, unsure of what to do... Heenan: DO IT!!!! FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, DO WHAT YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO DO!! Savage and Hall have a slight stare-down, but again, Savage just slowly turns back and starts to walk toward the stage. Hall, seeing this, laughs some more before turning his attention back to Sting. Savage doesn't quite get to the bottom of the ramp before he stops again. After a moment of standing there, hands on his hips and back toward the ring, Savage just cocks his head to the side in contemplation. A quick moment later, Savage turns, fully toward the ring and grabs something off from the side of the aisle... Tony: HE'S GOT A STEEL CHAIR!!! Savage grabs a steel chair and then begins a quick walk toward the ring before turning it into a full on sprint. The crowd is absolutely deafening as Savage gets to the ring and slides in. Hall and Nash are clueless as they've turned their full attention to Sting and Luger.... Heenan: Hit em!!!! Use that chair! DO IT! Dusty: That's right DADDEHH!! Bring em hell!! Nash, sensing the crowd reaction, stops his attack on Luger. When he turns, he's met with a chair shot from the Macho Man, which results in the crowd getting even louder. Nash takes a couple more shots before getting sent over the top rope with the chair. Hall hears the commotion behind him and turns, seeing the Macho Man with a weapon of his own. Hall drops the bat in shock and begs off Savage to not hit him. Savage rushes in with the chair but Hall dives out of the ropes and to the outside. Hall and Nash regroup on the floor and begin to work their way to the back. Nitro fades out as Savage holds his chair and motions out to the crowd before helping Sting and Luger, who are beaten badly, back to their feet. Rating: 100 Overall Show Rating: 95

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the WCW Hotline Report! Folks, there's not much for information this week. Last week, I eluded to major news involving a WCW superstar. I was not at liberty to reveal that information then, however, I am now able to announce that a major WCW star will be leaving the company. I've received confirmation that a major WCW star has signed a lucrative exclusive contract with the World Wrestling Federation and that this superstar will be starting there at the beginning of July. I am able to announce this at this time, however, I am still not at liberty to say which WCW superstar this is. They will apparently be finishing their already booked dates before that information will be revealed. Here is the card for this Monday's Nitro. We are one week away from the Great American Bash! Week 4, June 1996 Monday Nitro Lord Steven Regal vs Sting Blue Bloods (Taylor & Eaton) vs Harlem Heat Dean Malenko vs Marcus Bagwell Jim Duggan vs Wrath TV Title: Big Bubba Rogers vs Scott Steiner (c) Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman vs Eddie Guerrero & Ricky Steamboat

Week 3, June 1996 LIVE from Freedom Hall - Louisville, KY Attendance: 15,269 - After fireworks go off for the opener of this week's Nitro, "A Man Called Sting" blares over the speakers which results in the crowd rejuvenating their cheers. Sting walks out, focused and minus his usual taunts and happy aura and heads straight to the ring. He raises the microphone and starts speaking before the music even stops playing. - This past weekend on Saturday Night, I made it perfectly clear that I need help from WCW in regards to taking care of our little....Infestation we've found ourselves in with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash! Now I know the Total Package is with me every step of the way, but in case nobody noticed, he's been rocked around more times than I can count by those two Outsiders! If they could act like men for a change and decide to go for a fight face to face, I have no doubt that Lex Luger and I would have no problem shipping those two bullies back to where they came from! So on Saturday Night, I made a plea! I made a plea to the Macho Man Randy Savage! Macho Man, I know you had your own set of issues awhile back, but you've had more than enough time to sit at home and find out that retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be! There's not one other person I'd want by my side to help out me and Lex Luger than you, Macho Man! So I'm gonna go to the back, and I'm gonna be waiting for the Macho Man to show up tonight, because we need the Macho Man back! I need the Macho Man back! WCW NEEDS the Macho Man back! Rating: 100 - Cameras go to the broadcast booth now where Tony, Mike, and Bobby hype up tonight's show. They remain split on whether the Macho Man will show up tonight with Bobby saying it's certain that he will, because the Macho Man never turns down anything when he's called out. Tony informs us that we're going backstage for an interview, this time with Brian Pillman. - Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to WCW Monday Nitro! With me is the reigning United States champion - Brian Pillman. Brian, you and Eddie Guerrero have developed quite the rivalry over the last few months, with the both of you going back and forth over that title you hold over your shoulder. The two of you are heading into the Great American Bash for yet another battle, which, I've just been told, will be a falls count anywhere match! Well, Gene, it's quite simple. So simple, in fact, that a layman such as yourself should at least be able to comprehend....I've spent far too long and wasted far too much time on someone such as Eddie Guerrero. See, a man with such potential like myself should waste my talent on dealing with a guy like Eddie Guerrero. I'm a 5 star athlete. I'm a former professional football player. I'm the WCW United States champion. I'm a member of the most prestigious group in the history of professional wrestling - The 4 Horsemen! What is Eddie Guerrero??? A second generation wrestler out of Mexico? Eddie, I can promise you two things at the Great American Bash.....First, I'm going to defeat you and remain US Champion. And second; this will be the final battle between the two of us. Rating: 96 Lance Storm vs Arn Anderson vs There were two things made very clear in this match. One, Arn Anderson was on top of his game this match, being brutal with his offense and giving one of his best performances to date. Two, Lance Storm showed all of the makings of a future star and did not go down quite so easily. While Anderson was calculated with his offense, Storm dished out his own high-impact and flying offense to catch the Enforcer off guard a few times. Double A hit his signature Spinebuster followed by his DDT for the finish at 10:26 for an impressive opening match. Winner: Arn Anderson Rating: 80 - DDP is shown in what appears to be a pre-taped promo. - This past weekend on Saturday Night, Dean Malenko wanted to jump me from behind??? I guess he's getting some pointers from Hall and Nash, because he's too afraid to take the fight right to my face, like a man! Deanie boy, I never had a problem with you before, but you sure seem to have one with me. You wanted to challenge me to a match at the Great American Bash??? Fine, I ain't got a problem with it. What I do have a problem with is cowards like yourself and Hall and Nash! You're gonna find out at the Bash that you will FEEL THE BANG!!! Rating: 86 Dean Malenko vs Fit Finlay vs DDP's promo was finishing during Malenko's entrance. The announcers spent some time talking about this abrupt feud out of nowhere and Mike Tenay thinks it stems over the Television title, a belt that Malenko and DDP have both claimed to want. Heenan seems to think Malenko's opponent should also be thrown in consideration because he's a tough as nails Irish lad. This was another very solid match on display for the Kentucky crowd. Malenko ended up scoring the submission win at 10:05 after locking in his Texas Cloverleaf. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 75 - After a break, Larry Zbyszko is backstage with Lord Steven Regal. Larry says that Regal is challenging Scott Steiner at the Great American Bash in an attempt to regain the Television title. Larry also says that Steiner has had some very vocal words for the Blue Blood. Regal sneers and couldn't care less, saying that he'll wipe the floor with him and that Steiner's wrestling ability pales in comparison to his own. Regal will take back the TV title at the Great American Bash, and shut up the "ignorant American" in the process. - Rating: 68 There's no shortage of promo time tonight as cameras switch to another backstage area where Mean Gene is standing with the Tag Team Champions - The Faces of Fear, with their manager Jimmy Hart. The Mouth of the South speaks for the champions, saying they aren't the least bit intimidated by a Harlem Street Fight at the Great American Bash and that when they easily beat Harlem Heat, they're going to move on to more worthy challengers. Seeing that the Faces of Fear are the two toughest men in all of WCW, finding that competition will be hard pressed. Rating: 74 Big Bubba Rogers vs Perry Saturn vs Perry Saturn matched up well with Big Bubba and, like Lance Storm, showed he could be a major player in the future for WCW. Bubba went into this match with something to prove though as he heads into the Great American Bash. Bubba hit the Bubba Slam at 7:29 for the win. Winner: Big Bubba Rogers Rating: 70 TV Title: Cobra vs Scott Steiner (c) vs Of all the potential challengers to the TV title, this was a bit of an odd choice to award a title opportunity but hey, at least WCW is spreading the wealth around. Cobra, unfortunately, had zero success against Scott Steiner, who ended the match with his jaw-dropping Steiner Screwdriver at 8:26. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 65 - Following a commercial break, Nitro returns to Mean Gene standing in the ring. The frenzied crowd doesn't mind that there is yet another promo/interview tonight, as the Southern crowd is squarely WCW territory. The excitement grows even more as Mean Gene announces his guest, as the trumpets slowly fade their way in. - The WCW World Heavyweight champion, Nature Boy Ric Flair. I see with you, as always, is your enforcer, Arn Anderson. Mean.......WHOO!, Gene! As the Worlds Heavyweight champion, you have people running after you left and right! And for that reason, wherever the Nature Boy goes, he needs a big dog like Double A to go with him, ready to take a giant bite out of anyone who needs it! There's been a lot of contemplation and a lot of rumor making its way around as far as who my challenger for the world title is gonna be at the Great American Bash! Will it be Lex Luger??? Will it be Diamond Dallas Page?? Will it be...Heh...Ricky Steamboat?? Not in your life, pal. Will it be Sting??? No. I won't be all of those, Mean Gene, and let me tell you why. First of all, not one of those names deserves a shot at the worlds heavyweight championship. For another reason, the Nature Boy Ric Flair has never avoided a challenge a day in my life, pal. I beat the Giant for this title back at Slamboree and there's been a lot of people saying I didn't deserve it! Well let me put all those critics to bed, right now Mean Gene. At the Great American Bash, it's already been signed, it's already official, the Nature Boy will defend this title against the Giant! And let me tell you another thing, the end result, stays the same! Ric Flair, remains heavyweight champion, and everyone knows who the rightful champion is, and it's the NAAAAAAAAAATURE BOYYYY! WHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Rating: 92 John Tenta & Hugh Morrus vs Harlem Heat vs Harlem Heat picked up a crucial win over the former tag champions the American Males over the weekend on Saturday Night. They looked to continue their momentum as they get closer to the Great American Bash as they took on big men John Tenta and Hugh Morrus. They did just that, as they had little trouble in dealing with the behemoths. Stevie Ray got the win on Morrus after hitting the Heat Seeker at 8:01. Winners: Harlem Heat Rating: 69 Lex Luger vs The Giant vs As the night wound to a close, the announce team began to wonder if the Macho Man would actually show up here tonight on Nitro. Like clockwork, as the Giant was making his entrance, WCW went to a split screen showing the backstage area where a limo was pulling up. As the car came to a stop, the door opened and an individual emerged, which resulted in loud cheers throughout the arena... The Macho Man has arrived! The crowd goes wild as Savage walks into the backstage area. The full screen now appears out in the arena where Lex Luger makes his entrance. The match gets underway and Tony tells everyone at home that Randy Savage is heading toward the arena and to stay tuned to Nitro. The match started off at a fast pace as the Giant rushed Luger. From here, the Giant spent a large portion of the match in control, beating Luger down and rarely giving him an opportunity to breathe. The Giant made one too many attempts at rushing Luger in the corner though, as Luger dove out of the way of the Giant, who was rushing in like a locomotive. This rocked the Giant, but with Luger still hurting, he wasn't able to capitalize as well as he should. Still, Luger rocked the Giant some more with running clotheslines before the Giant stopped Luger in his tracks as a result of gripping his huge hand around Luger's throat. At that moment, the Macho Man's music hit the arena, causing everyone to jump to their feet in cheers. The Giant, still gripping Luger's throat, became distracted as he looked to the stage entrance. The music played, but Savage didn't emerge. This caused the Giant to let go of his grip on Luger and turn his full attention to the stage as he awaited the arrival of the Macho Man. On screen, you could see fans now changing their attention to the stage to somewhere off camera in the crowd. Cameras switched view after a few moments to catch the Macho Man walking through the crowd and toward the ring. The Giant was still unware of Savage coming through the crowd as he leapt the guardrail, now standing beside the ring and looking upward at the Giant. Savage walked around to the side of the stage where the Giant was looking. The two made eye contact and started saying things to each other, which wasn't audible on camera. Savage held out his arms and shook his head at the Giant, as if to say he wasn't getting involved. Luger was now starting to get to his feet, though rather slowly, and using the ropes to help him as he was at the opposite end of the ring from the Giant. Luger, now fully on his feet, started hitting his forearm to signal his forearm smash. Savage recognized this and began pointing for the Giant to turn around. As he began to turn, Luger started rushing forward and just as the Giant fully turned, Luger hit him between the eyes with his forearm, causing the Giant to spill over the top rope and hit hard on the ground. Savage merely took a few steps back to avoid contact, and just looked down at the Giant. The referee warned Savage to not get involved, who just stood again with his arms out like he was planning to avoid any interference. The referee began his count and the Giant couldn't get back in the ring in time. The bell sounded at 13:27, awarding Lex Luger the victory by countout. Winner: The Giant Rating: 69 - After the bell, the Giant shakily gets to his feet and works his way back up the aisle, disappearing backstage. The Macho Man gets in the ring where a spent Lex Luger begins to talk to him. After a few moments, Sting comes out once again to cheers from the crowd. Sting gets in the ring and again has a microphone where he begins to address the Macho Man. - I knew that if I could just get your attention, Macho Man, that you wouldn't let me down and you would show up here tonight! That's the kind of man you are! You don't let your friends down! You're there when they need you! Well, Macho Man, you just got multiple cries that your friends need you. WCW needs you! These fans....NEED you, Randy Savage!!!! You may have noticed that for the past several weeks, I've been standing up to the two intruders we call the Outsiders! Lex Luger has stood up to the Outsiders! And for that, Lex most of all, has paid the price! He's been beat up every time he walks by a corner! He gets jumped with baseball bats, metal bars, chairs, you name it! Macho Man, we need your help, and we need you back in WCW where you belong! - The crowd cheers loudly as Sting holds the microphone out for the Macho Man. Savage, reluctantly, takes the microphone. Before speaking, Savage says some things to Sting, which can't be heard to the crowd or those at home. Savage continues to slowly shake his head while talking, and looking on with sadness. - Stinger.....There's not very many people in this crazy business we call professional wrestling who can say they have genuine friends..... No matter what trials and tribulations the Macho Man has gone through, one thing has remained for certain! You've always been there for me and stood by my side. Lex Luger, I can't say I know you very well, but as of right now, you stand ok with the Macho Man! So Stinger, I'm gonna lay it out for you, and I'm gonna cut to the chase because I owe you at least that! You've wanted the Macho Man to come out here and address you and the battle you and Lex Luger are fighting! Well, you called me out, and now the Macho Man is standing here, in the flesh! You're a stand-up guy, Sting! You're a man of your word! Well on that, the two of us are like identical twins because the Macho Man is also a man of my word! Stinger, there's nothing more I'd love in this world than to help you and Lex Luger out! You've humbled me more than you could ever know! Sting, I gave my word when I lost at Spring Stampede that I wouldn't step in this ring again to compete. You have no idea how much it hurts me that you're out here begging for my help, but I can't give it. If I could go back in time and change it, I would, Sting, but I can't. A friend is asking for help, holding his hand stretched out, and I can't help him. Sting, know that this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, and that there's no malice in any of it........ But I can't help you. - To the stunned amazement of the crowd, and of Lex Luger and Sting, the Macho Man drops the microphone and exits the ring. Macho holds his head down and shakes it as he walks back up the aisle. The cameras focus on Sting and Luger, who remain standing in the ring dejected. Nitro fades out as the entire arena remains stunned. - Rating: 100 Overall Show Rating: 82

Crap guys, I messed that one up, sorry. Harlem Heat vs Tenta/Morrus is NOT a title match and they are NOT the champions. Faces of Fear are still the tag team champions.

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund here with this week's WCW Hotline Report! This past Monday on Raw, the 123 Kid defeated Owen Hart for the Intercontinental title. This past Monday Nitro generated WCW's largest rating thus far for the Monday night show, scoring an impressive 4.54 compared to Raw's 1.99! WCW has signed the following to exclusive contract's: Chavo Guerrero Jr. Jacques Rougeau Carl Oulette Chavo is the nephew of Eddie Guerrero, who's said to be extremely happy at the signing of his nephew. Rougeau and Oulette are expected to be a team in WCW called the Amazing French Canadians, no, not the Quebecers. Folks, I have major news involving a current WCW star, however, I am not at liberty to reveal the information regarding them at this time. Make sure to keep checking back in to the WCW Hotline Report's in the future. It is huge news and you don't want to miss out it being reported here first! Legendary wrestler Lou Thesz has announced his plans to retire from the wrestling business in the next month. We wish him all the best in his retirement! Well earned! Bruno Sammartino and Killer Kowalski have also retired from the wrestling business. This is a sad week where legendary names retired. Farewell, my friends. The Ultimo Dragon has signed an exclusive contract with All Japan Pro Wrestling, which was crucial for them in their battle for the #1 company in Japan against New Japan. Dragon will be leaving Mexican promotion CMLL as soon as his obligations are filled. There is some big news coming from this weekend's WCW Saturday Night. Sting came out on two different occasions and begged WCW for help against Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Sting said that he and Lex Luger can't do it alone. In his plea for help, he also specifically stated he wants the Macho Man to come back to help them. Sting said he will be expecting the Macho Man to appear this coming week on Monday Nitro for an answer! As you all know, the Macho Man lost a career match against Hulk Hogan over two months ago. We haven't seen or heard from the Macho Man since. Will he show up? Harlem Heat have also challenged the tag team champions Faces of Fear to a Harlem Street Fight at the Great American Bash. Here are the results from this weekend's Saturday Night: Brian Pillman def. Brad Armstrong to retain the US title Harlem Heat def. American Males Faces of Fear def. Jim Duggan & The Bootyman to retain the Tag Team Titles Hugh Morrus def. Disco Inferno Arn Anderson def. Alex Porteau Scott Steiner def. Wrath to retain the TV title Here is the lineup for this week's Monday Nitro! Week 3, June 1996 Lex Luger vs The Giant John Tenta & Hugh Morrus vs Harlem Heat TV Title: Cobra vs Scott Steiner (c) Big Bubba Rogers vs Perry Saturn Dean Malenko vs Fit Finlay Lance Storm vs Arn Anderson Will the Macho Man show up to answer Sting's call for help? That's all this week!

Week 2, June 1996 Myriad Convention Center - Mid South Attendance: 14,905 - Nitro opens up this week once again in the backstage area. The Outsiders are in the process of viciously beating Lex Luger, who is already down and on the ground. Kevin Nash has a metal bar of some kind and Scott Hall has a baseball bat. The two wail away on Luger who's doing his best to cover up, but failing. Sting rushes into the scene and has his own weapon with him - a steel chair. Sting swings it and connects with Kevin Nash before reloading and striking Scott Hall, who doesn't have enough time to turn his attention to the Stinger. Nash runs off and Sting gets one more shot in on Hall with the chair before he runs off also. Sting throws the chair down, in obvious frustration after the two run off screen and yells out "I've had it!" Medical personnel run into the scene as the picture fades out and Nitro goes into it's opening video. - Rating: 96 Dean Malenko vs Ricky Steamboat vs During the entrances of the opening match, Tony, Bobby, and Mike Tenay discuss the opening events around the Outsiders and Sting and Lex Luger. Bobby says it's admirable for Sting to be the voice of WCW and defend itself from intruders, but the sneak attacks by Hall and Nash have proven to be too much. You can't fight a war fairly, he says. Dean Malenko began this match with a bit more dialed up aggression. Steamboat was visibly off a bit in the ring tonight and Malenko used this to his advantage. The match ended at 16:05 after Malenko locked in the Texas Cloverleaf for the submission victory. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 66 - Mean Gene is backstage and says that Summer indeed is heating up, and so is WCW as we head toward the Great American Bash. Gene says that one match was signed for that event over this weekend. On Main Event, Scott Steiner said he would put the title on the line against Lord Steven Regal to prove he can beat him again, and to shut him up about Steiner cheating. Gene brings in his guest at this time, the reigning United States Champion - Brian Pillman! - Gene: Brian Pillman, tonight you go one on one with Eddie Guerrero, but it is apparently a non-title match. Why are you facing him here tonight and why is it not for the title you have over your shoulder??? Pillman: Oh, Mean Gene...It's so unfortunate that I have to stand here and try to explain the littlest of details to you just like all of the other common folk out in that arena and those watching at home...But I guess that's what I'm going to have to do. Eddie Guerrero, YOU are no champion, my friend. Last week, you may have gotten a fluke win over the World Heavyweight Champion, but it had nothing to do with your wrestling skill or ability. For THAT reason, you haven't earned a title match tonight....No.... What you're going to have to do, Eddie, is prove to me that you're worth another title opportunity! I don't want to waste my time in giving you a title match when you're completely undeserving of one! So Eddie, you're going to work for another title opportunity! Tonight, if....And that's a big IF, you can beat me, THEN I will grant you a title rematch at the Great American Bash. I wouldn't go mark it in your book as a done deal just yet, Eddie....Because if you haven't noticed, I've got a few other friends with me....HAHAHA! Rating: 96 - Backstage, Jimmy Hart and Sensuous Sherri are arguing about which team is better. Obviously, Jimmy Hart says the Faces of Fear are superior because they are the tag team champions. Sherri says that Harlem Heat is the superior team and that's why the Faces of Fear couldn't win the titles when they were around. She says it's only a matter of time before Harlem Heat reclaim what's rightfully theirs. - Rating: 67 Diamond Dallas Page vs Earl Robert Eaton vs The Diamond Doll accompanied DDP to the ring for this match, to the delight of the male fans in attendance. The match itself ended up being a fairly competitive match, with Eaton showing highlights of his former self. It wasn't enough in the end though, as DDP hit a crisscross Diamond Cutter for the win at 11:44. Winner: Diamond Dallas Page Rating: 72 Fit Finlay vs Kevin Sullivan vs Both men are accustomed to hard hitting action, and that's exactly what they brought to this match. Nothing fancy in the way of a wrestling match, just stiff brutality. Kevin Sullivan won this at 8:14 with his double stomp. Winner: Kevin Sullivan Rating: 68 - Mean Gene is backstage after another commercial break, this time with the rest of the Horsemen. The World Heavyweight Champion is all smiles and happy tonight as Arn Anderson appears focused as always. - Gene: Nature Boy, last week you challenged Eddie Guerrero to a match and fresh off of your world title victory, you did not have the ending that you expected, I'm sure... Oh MEEAAANN GEEEEENEEEE! Last week is in the books! The past is the pasts, my friend! And tonight, WWOOOOOOO! We are LIIIIIVE and on fire! I'm the World's Heavyweight champion, and there's nothing some little pissant like Eddie Guerrero can do to change that! I'm World's Champion, and with Double A - the Enforcer, Steve Austin, and United States champion Brian Pillman by my side, brother, the Horsemen run the show! That, I can promise you, Mean Gene. It's only a matter of time before the Enforcer and Steve Austin get some gold of their own, my man! Rating: 96 - Steve Austin steps into the picture but has a neck brace around his neck. Austin looks none too pleased as Gene starts asking him about it. - Steve Austin, there have been reports going around that you picked up an injury late last week at a house show. Clearly, those reports are substantiated. What happened??? What happened is, you can SHUT UP! I ain't gotta explain nothing to you, ya little jerk, but I guess since you're standing here, and I'm standing here, I might as well address it! What happened was, Lex Luger was too afraid to take on Steve Austin himself, so he saw fit to pay some loser from Philadelphia to injure me in a match! Now you can't possibly have any proof that Lex Lu-- Didn't I already tell you to shut up? This is your last warning before I decide to knock that mustache off your lip with my fist! I know for a fact Luger paid someone off because he can't take care of business on his own! Well think again, Lex Luger, because it's going to take more than just a little injury to keep me all over you like white on rice, son! I will be back sooner than later, and when I am, you're going to have to deal with Steve Austin and the 4 Horsemen one more time whether you like it or not! Rating: 99 Big Bubba Rogers vs Sting vs Sting had no interest tonight in any games or giving Bubba any hope of some offense. Sting stepped into the ring with a fury, taking it straight to Rogers and hitting all of his signature moves and moving with lightning quick speed. Several chops and kicks doubled Rogers over, just for Sting to bounce off the ropes for a bulldog. After hitting a high leaping elbow, Sting brought Bubba to his feet where he hit a dropkick, sending him chest first into the corner. Sting rushed to the opposite corner and then rushed in to Rogers, hitting his Stinger Splash. Sting whipped him to the opposite corner where Sting then hit another Stinger Splash, causing Rogers to stagger out and drop to the mat. Sting then locked in his Scorpion Deathlock and it was over in dominating fashion at 7:50. Winner: Sting Rating: 77 - Following the match, Sting doesn't even celebrate and instead wants a microphone. One is given to him and he paces around the ring. - Week after week, we play the same games. Week after week, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash do their little sneak attacks and me, Lex Luger, or Diamond Dallas Page rush in for the save. Week after week, I challenge Hall and Nash to face me like men! Face to face! But they're too big of cowards to do it! Ya know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over, and over again and expecting different results.....Well I'm tired of doing the same thing over again and I'm tired of always reacting! Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.....I'm not asking any more...I'm TELLING you, get out here right now so I can tear the both of you apart, because I'm sick and tired of the little games you both are playing! - Quite a bit of time goes by and there's no response. The camera focuses on the stage area where fog rolls, but no one emerges. Finally, after a few minutes, Hall and Nash finally emerge from the curtain, still without entrance music. They act like they're going to walk to the ring but stop short on the ramp and Scott Hall and Kevin Nash laugh in amusement. - Hall: Oh, would you look at that, big Kev??? The Stinger's frustrated! Nash: What's the matter, Sting??? We took out Luger, and now you have no other friends around?? Yeah, that's right! We took out Luger, Diamond Dallas Page has already turned you down....You're all on your own, Sting. You're on your own and you're calling out the two of us??? You can barely take us on when we jump you from behind. What makes you think you can take the two of us on at the same time and be successful?? That's right....STINGER! We're just too big, too talented, too sexy, and just too sweet for you to do anything to us....I almost feel bad for you. Yeah, me too....But I'll tell you what, Sting. If you can pick up the pieces of Lex Luger and put him back together again by the Great American Bash, the two of us will show up and we'll sign a contract for a match.....But uh....After the beating we gave Luger earlier, you're gonna have a lot of work to do between now and then. Rating: 100 Eddie Guerrero vs Brian Pillman vs Brian Pillman began this match finding ways to avoid Eddie Guerrero, who was intent on winning this match and getting a title opportunity at the Great American Bash. Every time Eddie got close to getting his hands on Pillman, he would bail out to the floor and kill time. Arn Anderson and Ric Flair were at ringside, who also provided ample distraction and interference to help out Pillman. The deck definitely seemed stacked for Eddie Guerrero to overcome the odds, but he slowly worked his way through, first taking care of Pillman and one by one taking out Arn Anderson and then Ric Flair. Just when Eddie thought he had it, he went up to the top rope for his Frog Splash. Arn Anderson distracted the referee while Flair pushed Eddie off and caused him to hit hard on the mat. Pillman went for the cover but Eddie managed to kick out. Later on, Anderson had ahold of Eddie so Pillman could hit him. This was done right in front of the referee, who was warning Anderson but Anderson ignored it. Pillman rushed in to hit Eddie, but he ducked out of the way causing Pillman to hit Anderson instead. The Enforcer fell to the floor and Pillman was in shock long enough for Eddie to get a quick roll-up. Pillman was frantic to kick out and managed to do so at 2 1/2 and immediately got to his feet and started kicking and stomping Eddie. Guerrero was spent from trying to fight 3 people the entire match and Pillman now felt he had control of the match. Pillman hoisted Eddie onto the top rope and went up for a superplex. On the way down, Eddie was able to twist and land hard on Pillman. The referee counted the pin fall and at 20:19, it was all over. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 94 Overall show rating: 95

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Mean Gene Okerlund back with the WCW Hotline Report! It's been a huge week for WCW coming off of Slamboree and every WCW changed hands at that event! There isn't much news to begin the month of June other than the disappointing report that Lex Luger showed up to Monday Nitro in no condition to perform. I've been told that Lex Luger was fined and sent home for the night. As you all saw at Slamboree and the following night on Nitro, Booker T has now returned from his injury and is cleared to wrestle. Many were shocked to see Eddie Guerrero beat the Nature Boy Ric Flair on Nitro, especially after just winning the world title the night before. Apparently Ric Flair had met with Eric Bischoff prior to Nitro and offered to lose to Guerrero. Ric Flair covered this up on this weekend's WCW Saturday Night broadcast where in an interview proclaimed that despite the loss, he and the Horsemen are still riding high! In other news from Saturday Night, Sting continues his confrontations with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Steven Regal accused Scott Steiner of cheating to win the TV title at Slamboree, and Steve Austin now appears to be taking a turn at going after Lex Luger. He said in an interview that there are no bigger concerns in WCW than the Horsemen, and saying anything else is a display of disrespect. Austin said he has no problem beating some respect into Luger. As for results; Saturday Night Steve Austin def. Scotty Riggs Harlem Heat def. Mr. JL & Cobra Mike Barton drew w/Scott Norton via double count-out - These two seem to have begun a "tough man" feud Perry Saturn def. The Bootyman Dean Malenko def. Brad Armstrong Earl Robert Eaton def. Disco Inferno Below is the lineup for next week's Nitro! Week 2, June 1996 Eddie Guerrero vs Brian Pillman Big Bubba Rogers vs Sting Fit Finlay vs Kevin Sullivan Diamond Dallas Page vs Earl Robert Eaton Dean Malenko vs Ricky Steamboat I have just been informed of some breaking news; Apparently at a house show late this week, Steve Austin picked up an injury. He received an intervertebral sprain. Austin is expected to miss time from the ring, though it is not expected to be a significant amount, and should be back by the Great American Bash. I'm also told that there will be an added stipulation to the Guerrero/Pillman match on Nitro, though it will be revealed during the show!

Week 1, June 1996 Nassau Coliseum - (Tri State) Attendance: 15,777 - Nitro has a cold open this week, skipping the firework festivities and intro by the commentary team. Instead, the show opens to a limousine pulling into the backstage area and coming to a stop. After a few moments, the driver exits and swiftly walks to the back door to open it. The camera gets closer to the limo as the occupants begin to emerge - - The Nature Boy is the first to emerge, all smiles and gives a quick "WWWOOO!" and puts the World Championship over his shoulder. Next to emerge laughing is the new United States Champion Brian Pillman as his title is strapped around his waist. The two new champions are followed by The Enforcer and Steve Austin, who are also sporting million dollar smiles. All 4 men high five and begin their trek through the backstage area, obviously heading somewhere with a purpose. It doesn't take long to figure out where they're going, though, as the sound of galloping horses begin to fill the arena followed by a guitar riff, signaling the theme music of the 4 Horsemen. Lights flash on the stage as the Horsemen enter the arena, with Flair first to hold up the 4 fingers. All members take their turns holding up the symbol of excellence as they head toward the ring to kick off Nitro. Once all are in, Ric Flair is handed a microphone from the ring announcer and the music fades out. - Myself and Double A made a challenge a few weeks ago to Brian Pillman and Steve Austin that the 4 Horsemen were to be the biggest force in WCW once again! They weren't the only ones within the Horsemen who needed to step up their game! The Enforcer and I also needed to get a kick in the ass! Well what you all witnessed last night at Slamboree was the Horsemen getting back to the top of our game! It started off with Arn Anderson showing Lex Luger that business isn't finished with the Horsemen until we say so! Luger didn't want any part of the Horsemen so much that he isn't even here tonight! Then after that, Steve Austin showed what kind of stone cold killer he is by finishing off Ricky Steamboat! He didn't need anyone's help, he didn't need any interference! He took care of that washed up has been that goes by the Dragon!!! The Horsemen's night wasn't over there! Brian Pillman took on that punk....That's right, that PUNK! Eddie Guerrero in a ladder match and showed who the top premiere athlete is in WCW! Not only that, but he took back what was rightfully his and became the United States Champion once again! That was how we capped off the night, but if you think I'm going to get through an interview without talking about the Nature Boy, you're sadly mistaken!! You're all now looking at the 14-time World's Heavyweight Champion! I told everyone that I was going to take the title from the Giant and that's exactly what I did! Everyone thought he was unstoppable and I proved that the dirtiest player in the game still has a few more tricks up my sleeve! I am, along with the rest of the Horseman, are on top of my game and we're not going anywhere anytime soon! You can forget about anyone else claiming to be running WCW because the Horsemen already claimed that spot, and we have the title's to prove it! All we have to do now is go after the TV and tag team titles! This....This right here is what real champions look like! This is dominance! This is excellence! Finally, finally, we no longer have some guy who looks like Lurch walking around here as the World's Heavyweight Champion! If you picked up the dictionary and looked up "World Champion" you'd see a picture of the Nature Boy next to it! I am the epitome of what a World Champion should be! Custom made, from head to toe! Rolex watches, custom made shoes! I am a limousine riding, jet flying, kiss stealin, wheelin' dealin, SON OF A GUN!!! AND THIS WORLD TITLE IS GONNA BE MINE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! WCW, take notice right now! The Horsemen are here to stay!!! Rating: 100 - Following the opening promo, a replay of the ending of the TV title match between Scott Steiner and Lord Steven Regal is shown, where Steiner wins the title. - Rating: 68 - Nitro took a commercial break and returns to the announce booth. Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes all welcome everyone as Tony says that Nitro has already gotten off to a crazy start, beginning with the 4 Horsemen, who have established themselves once again as the top group in WCW and appear to be firing on all cylinders, with all four men sweeping their matches last night at Slamboree. They've taken 2 of the 4 titles within WCW and look to capture them all. Tony says the night has already shaped up to be a wild one and we go to our first match of the night. - Ricky Steamboat vs Lord Steven Regal vs Heenan said that with both men coming off tough losses last night, they're wanting to turn their fortune around with this match. The problem is, only one man can win and someone will be on a losing streak. Steven Regal came out and was in a rather foul mood after losing his TV title just 24 hours ago. Steamboat wasn't in too much of a bad mood but he was clearly trying to remain focused on this match, though you could tell by his expressions that he was upset with how the previous night had gone. Regal continued to try and use underhanded tactics to his advantage, but the veteran Dragon was able to hold off most of them. Regals losing woes continued as Steamboat was able to connect with his Flying Cross Body for the 3 count at 16:12. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 70 - Once again backstage, Eddie Guerrero is standing with Mean Gene Okerlund, who almost looks to be in as much a foul mood as Regal. Mean Gene gets down to his questions. - Eddie Guerrero, you found me backstage and requested an interview. Last night, you lost the United States title in a ladder match to Brian Pillman of the 4 Horsemen, though he had some help in the process. I'm sure your requested interview has something to do with that... You know, if you were a betting man, Mean Gene, you'd make a lot of money. You're absolutely right that it has to do with last night and the 4 Horsemen. Brian Pillman wouldn't be the US champion right now if he didn't have the help of Ric Flair in that match. I'm not going to waste a lot of time with what I want, Gene. Ric Flair, if you want to get involved in my matches so bad, well then tonight, I challenge you to a match! The Horsemen are on the top of their game???? Good! Because it's going to make it all that much better when I beat you! Rating: 99 Hugh Morrus vs Diamond Dallas Page vs There wasn't much spectacular about this match and was pretty straightforward. Morrus had a brief moment when he got some offense in, but it was mostly DDP all match. The finish saw DDP hit his finish, which is growing every week in popularity, at 8:16. This time, DDP perched Morrus on the second rope and hit the Diamond Cutter from there for the pin. Following the bell, Tony Schiavone met DDP in the center of the ring for a post-match interview. Winner: Diamond Dallas Page Rating: 65 DDP, you've been a pretty busy man in the last several weeks. First, you got the attention of newcomers Scott Hall and Kevin Nash and after denying their advances, you wound up being a victim of several brutal attacks at their hands. That's now seemingly turned into an alliance between you, Sting, and the Total Package Lex Luger after all of you have traded saving each other from attacks. What can you tell us about where your alliance stands?? Well first off, Tony, I'm in an alliance with nobody, ok? Scott Hall and Kevin Nash wouldn't take no for an answer and just couldn't accept that I like to be left alone. That ended up causing me a ton of pain, but I can deal with it, ok? Now, I don't have any kind of problem with Sting or Lex Luger, but I never asked for their help or for them to get involved with my business. I'm the kinda guy that likes to take care of my own problems. I'm thankful that Sting and Luger decided to help me out, and last night I had no problem helping out Sting when those cowards attacked him! As far as I'm concerned, I think that makes us even and we can move on to where we were all headed before. There's no alliance between me, Sting, and Luger, but there's also no hate for them on my end, either. I don't want to get caught up in the stuff going on between all those guys. I want to mind my own business, and do my own thing. I'm looking to get involved in some kind of title picture, Tony. Scotty Steiner just won the TV title, and he's gonna be looking at some new challengers. I think it's about time that DDP gets that TV title back around my waist! - Unexpectedly, Dean Malenko's music hits and he walks out onto the stage with a microphone. He has the full attention of DDP and Tony Schiavone, who remain in the ring. After his music fades out, he explains the interruption. - Ya know, Diamond Dallas Page, I'm not sure what makes you think you can just swoop in and claim a challenge to Scott Steiner and the TV title. I've been out here week in, week out, working hard to establish my place in WCW and I get no recognition or respect! I'm looking to change that and if I have to start with you to make an example, I will! So here's what I propose; I challenge you to a match at the Great American Bash. If you can beat me, then go after the TV title all you want....But if I beat you, then I'm the one that goes after the TV title! You want a match??? You're on!!! But Dean, it ain't gonna be you winning. At the Great American Bash, you're gonna feel the BANG!!!! Rating: 68 - Nitro again goes to the backstage area where the Faces of Fear are engaged in a wild brawl with Harlem Heat. Jimmy Hart is running around all crazy, trying to direct his team into an advantage, but it's no use. All four men swing their arms and fists, striking anything they possibly can as a few loose items near them also get tossed. Officials rush in to separate the groups as Nitro fades to a commercial. - Rating: 59 Harlem Heat vs Arn Anderson & Steve Austin vs After break, Harlem Heat takes on Arn Anderson and Steve Austin. This is Harlem Heat's first match back in action since the injury of Booker T and they look to start off on the right foot. The Horsemen look to continue their momentum after last night was their night. Anderson and Austin were relentless in their attacks on Harlem Heat and actually held control for a large portion of the match. Dusty Rhodes attributed this to the fight they just had with the Faces of Fear, which he's sure softened them up. Bobby Heenan also thought being out of action for the last two months contributed. Either way, this wasn't good news for Harlem Heat, who were trying to make claim to the #1 contendership to the tag team titles. Steve Austin got the pin fall win over Booker T at 16:06, but what also helped was the fact that he had his feet on the ropes. Winners: Arn Anderson & Steve Austin Rating: 67 - Back from another quick commercial break and Ric Flair is backstage with Mean Gene. Gene asks what Flair's response is to the challenge tonight by Eddie Guerrero. Flair laughs and begins his response. - I said it earlier, and I'll say it again, Gene. Eddie Guerrero is nothing but a little punk who wants to gain some fame and notoriety by taking on the World's Champion. Well guess what?! The Nature Boy isn't afraid of some little pissant like Guerrero! If he wants to be taught a lesson by the Nature Boy, then I'll be happy to give him one, but Gene, he's not high enough in the pecking order to receive a title shot! As a matter of fact, I'm going to use this match as a display for world class wrestling ability and to let Guerrero know just how far down the food chain he really is! Rating: 92 TV Title: John Tenta vs Scott Steiner (c) vs Fresh off of capturing the TV title, Steiner is already given a massive challenge in the form of John Tenta. The announcers let everyone know that Tenta has done a good job of securing some wins as of late, and thus was rewarded with a shot at the TV title. Scott Steiner was determined to prove he's worthy of holding the title though, which made for a pretty decent match. Due to Tenta's size, Steiner was unable to use most of his usual power moves, though he did wow the crowd when he hit a huge exploder suplex on the big man, which generated a two count. Steiner was able to get the win at 7:31 though after a Frankensteiner. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 74 - The crowd get on their feet as "A Man Called Sting" blares from the speakers and out walks the Stinger. He heads to the ring with a purpose and microphone in hand. Once in the ring, Sting motions for the music to cut off, which it does. - Most of the time, I would say that I'm a patient man, but sometimes the Stinger loses that patience.....Well tonight just happens to be one of those nights that the Stinger's all out of patience! Why's that!?!? Because I'm sick and tired of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash sneaking up behind people and attacking them! Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, last night at Slamboree, the two of you once again decided to attack me. Well thanks to Diamond Dallas Page, he ran you two cowards off! Oh, and by the way, I heard what you had to say earlier, DDP, and no worries, Ok? I know what it's like when you have your mind focused on one thing, only to be taken away and dragged toward something else. I had my focus on recapturing the world title, but Hall and Nash just couldn't help themselves! DDP, you go after the TV title, the US title, whatever title you want to; There's no hard feelings from the Stinger. While I can't speak for the Total Package, I'd say you don't have to worry about him being too upset, either. So Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, I might be out here all by myself, but I'm calling you both out, right here, right now, because I'll tell ya what, if you want to have a fight face to face with the Stinger, things are gonna turn out a whole lot different! - It takes a few moments, but eventually, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall slowly make their way out onto the stage. They work their way to the aisle and stop about halfway to the ring, mocking Sting who stands, unamused, in the ring. - Nash: Gee, Sting....There's nothing I'd love more than to take you on right here tonight in that ring, but the funny thing is, I don't have my gear!! Scott, do you have your gear??? Hall: Nope, they said it's on backorder or something.... Oh man!!! Whelp, Sting.....Sorry about it. I guess we're gonna have to do that little match thing some other time.... - Hall and Nash laugh as they turn and walk back up the ramp and disappear backstage. The crowd boo heavily as Sting's just left standing in the ring. - Rating: 100 Eddie Guerrero vs Ric Flair vs Despite this match not being a title match, the crowd were very vocal. Ric Flair spent the opening of the match toying with Guerrero, avoiding a lockup only to do his classic Nature Boy strut. Once the two locked up, Eddie caught the world champion off guard, hitting a nice hip toss on the Nature Boy. This caused Flair to be livid as he sat on the mat, glaring at Eddie and burning holes through him. Flair burst up from the mat and tried to hit an assault on Eddie with chops and punches, only to get shoved off and floored again with a dropkick. Flair was livid again, bailing out to the floor where he pulled at the ring apron and yelled out. Arn Anderson, who accompanied Flair to ringside, tried to console the Nature Boy and attempted to call a timeout, to no avail. Once back in the ring, Flair was able to slow things down to his pace after hitting a violent finger poke into Guerrero's eye. From there, the match was methodical, with Flair going for the knee of Guerrero and distracting the referee so Arn Anderson could hit a few cheap shots. Eddie was able to swing momentum back to his favor where he hit several impressive moves and showed the Nature Boy that he can keep up with him. After hitting a suplex, back drop, and a stiff clothesline, Eddie signaled for the Frog Splash. Anderson tried to interfere, but Eddie kicked him off and leapt off the top for his finishing move. The distraction proved just enough though, as Flair was able to roll out of the way. Flair got to his feet and let out a "WWOOOO!" before grabbing Eddie's leg. Flair twisted around for the Figure Four, but when he went for the other leg, Eddie caught him off guard with a quick roll-up. To the shock of everyone, at 23:58, and to an insane crowd, Eddie Guerrero defeated the world champion! Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 75 Final Show Rating: 74

Week 4, May 1996 LIVE from the Carrier Dome - Tri State Attendance: 50,000 (SELLOUT!) - Everyone is pumped up tonight for WCW's main show of May - SLAMBOREE! After an intro video is played in glorious, cheesy 1990's quality, we're welcomed to the arena and the broadcast by Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan. All run down the events which lead up to tonight's show and all of the matches here tonight. Tony says we're not going to waste any time here as we're going to the ring for the Television title match! - Television Title: Scott Steiner vs Lord Steven Regal (c) vs Steiner was extremely excited for this match and couldn't wait to get his hands on Regal. Regal for the past few weeks has been making disparaging remarks toward Steiner, saying he's unworthy of a title match and is "below the barrel" for Regal to have to work with him. Steiner wanted to prove him otherwise but every time Regal started to get in the ring, Steiner would rush him causing Regal to bail once more. This game of cat and mouse continued for a little while before Steiner finally got his hands on him, much to the delight of the crowd. The bell rang and Steiner dominated early with power moves and suplexes. The men were given nearly 20 minutes to tell their story, and did it quite well. Scott Steiner, the announcers said, has not held a singles title since November of 1992 where he lost the WCW TV title and desperately wanted to get a new singles run started off right. Regal used every dirty trick known to man in his efforts to retain his title. In the end, Scott Steiner fulfilled his desire and at 18:45, he scored the pin fall victory after hitting a very impressive Steiner Screwdriver. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 79 Arn Anderson vs Lex Luger vs This match is, without question, a grudge match, maybe more so on the end of Arn Anderson at this point than Lex Luger. What started between Lex Luger and Ric Flair has worked its way through the Horsemen and ended up at the Enforcer. Arn Anderson desperately wants to teach Luger a lesson in not to mess with the group, and now Luger's attention seems to be elsewhere, much to the annoyance of the Enforcer. Luger starts off saying something inaudible to Anderson, who wants none of it. He promptly punches Luger and the match is on from there. They trade blows and advantage for some time before Luger catches Arn with a great looking Powerslam, nearly getting the pin fall victory. The momentum swings a short time later as Double A catches a Luger rebound off the ropes into his signature Spinebuster. He goes for the pin but Luger kicked out at the last second. The longer the match goes, the more apparent that this match will not feature any interference, which Heenan speculates is because all the Horsemen have very important matches tonight. Luger gains a second wind and begins hitting a series of clotheslines before hitting the Forearm. Luger signals it's time for the Torture Rack, bringing the crowd to their feet. As Luger approaches, Arn Anderson manages to hit his DDT out of nowhere! Anderson covers Luger and gets the pin at 14:36! Winner: Arn Anderson Rating: 79 - After a quick promotional break, cameras return to the backstage area where Tony Schiavone has gone for a quick interview. He brings in Scott "Flash" Norton who says he was paying very close attention to the TV title match. Norton says now that there's a new champion, he's going to need some new challengers. Scott Norton says that he wants a shot at the belt and will go through anyone he needs to get it. - Rating: 56 Street Fight: Nasty Boys vs Dungeon of Doom vs If Anderson vs Luger was a grudge match, this match was an all-out fight. The Dungeon of Doom, still on a mission to inflict as much pain as possible to the Nasty Boys for injuring fellow mate Meng, did just that through this all-out brawl. There was little organization to this match and absolutely no tagging involved. It was just all four men fighting at the same time while the referee tried to gain some type of control. There was a moment of just enough control to count a 3 after Big Bubba hit Jerry Sags with a trash can at 9:46. Winners: Dungeon of Doom Rating: 72 Hello, ladies and gentlemen! What a night it is shaping up to be already with a new Television champion and several matches down! At this time, allow me to introduce my guests....A couple of men we haven't seen for some time and two men who are more than ready to get back into the Tag title picture; Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back.... HARLEM HEAT! - Booker T and Stevie Ray step into the picture, along with Sensuous Sherri. The two actually get a pretty good reaction from the sold out crowd, as they haven't been seen in over two months. The duo get into position and Mean Gene gets down to the questions. - Booker T, Stevie Ray, and the lovely Sensuous Sherri, welcome back to WCW! Booker T, it's been a couple of months since your injury. Do you have any lasting effects and do you look to get some bit of retribution for your injury? See, Gene, it's like this! I'm back and I'm better than ever! Stevie Ray and Sensuous Sherri have been patiently waiting for me to get back to business, so first I gotta thank them for their patience.....But see, Gene, the time for patience is now over! You wanna know if Booker T and Stevie Ray want payback for my injury??? Harlem Heat are about one thing, and one thing only, Gene, and that's getting the world tag team titles back where they belong, and that's around our waist! So right now, we're gonna be keeping a close eye on the title match tonight, Gene. Faces of Fear or American Males, it don't matter because whoever wins tonight, is gonna have to deal with Harlem Heat! We're back, Gene, and we're ready, now can you dig that?!? Rating: 70 The Bootyman vs Wrath vs There really wasn't much to this match as there was no buildup between the two. It mostly ended up being a massacre, more or less, as Wrath completely dominated the Bootyman. Wrath hit a Meltdown to the cheers from the crowd and scored the win at 7:20. Winner: Wrath Rating: 50 Strap Match: Steve Austin vs Ricky Steamboat vs The grudge matches continue and while Austin has been claiming he's going to run Steamboat out of WCW, this match is not for Steamboat's career. Austin tried his best to avoid getting the leather strap secured around his wrist, but when the referee threatened to count him out, and at 9.5, he finally relented. Steamboat was second to get the strap tied on and as soon as the referee secured it, Austin attacked. After a quick flurry of blows, Austin made a rush to the corners, trying to end the match as fast as possible. So much for punishing Steamboat....The strategy didn't work though and as soon as Austin got to the 3rd corner, Steamboat pulled the strap, causing Austin to do a half flip backward. The Dragon was more straightforward when it came to the strap match, mostly playing fair and only using the leather strip to whip Austin every once and awhile. Austin was the complete opposite, using the leather to choke, drag, and whip Steamboat at every opportunity. Austin even tossed Steamboat over the top rope and choked him that way with the strap at one point. It was a competitive match that saw both men struggle with the stipulations at times. Steamboat could barely make it to the 3rd corner before being stopped in his tracks. Austin, at one point, had the strap between his legs, just to have Steamboat pull it to prevent him from getting to a corner. Austin ended up doing a front flip to the mat this time. As the battle went on, Austin caught Steamboat with a version of a short-arm clothesline, only using the strap instead of his arm. Ricky dropped to the mat, and Austin quickly wrapped the strap around his neck a few times. Austin dragged Steamboat to each corner, forcefully slapping the top turnbuckle. Austin was able to get to all 4 corners and slapped the final one at 16:56 for the decisive win. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 82 Tag Team Titles: Faces of Fear vs American Males (c) vs While the American Males have previously defended their titles, tonight was the true test of their championship reign. They were also aware of this, which saw both Marcus Bagwell and Scotty Riggs enter this match with more focus and determination visible on their faces. The champions, as always, displayed solid teamwork and busted out several double-team moves on the Barbarian, who started this match. In typical fashion for Faces of Fear matches though, the Males offense went to an abrupt stop when they tried one too many double dropkicks. The Barbarian simply absorbed to punishment, only to mow down Bagwell and Riggs when they got to their feet. The writing was on the wall at that point in the match, though the Males did put up some defense and give it their all along the way. Jimmy Hart also made it a point to distract either American Male whenever he could. The Faces of Fear won the match to become new champions at 11:40 after Riggs took a Kick of Fear. What was probably the most surprising was that Meng had the performance of the match. Winners: Faces of Fear Rating: 72 - Back from another promotional add, Sting is in the backstage area. His appearance on the screen generates a loud cheer from the crowd. The screams quickly turn to loud boos though as Sting is swiftly attacked from behind... Hall and Nash make Sting their next attack victim as they lay in the boots. Scott Hall is also armed with a baseball bat, and takes a few well-aimed shots at the downed Stinger. The Outsiders attention turns to something off camera, though, which causes their assault to stop. Hall gets in a couple more quick shots before both Hall and Nash run off. The reason for their distraction rushes into the picture shortly afterwards.... Diamond Dallas Page rushes into the picture and after making sure the Outsiders had run off, he bends down to check on the Stinger. After checking, DDP stands back up and yells out at Hall and Nash. The announcers reflect that this past week on Nitro, DDP saved Lex Luger from an attack and Sting and Luger had discussed whether they could trust DDP. Heenan says that they now seem to have their answer and all 3 now wonder if an alliance is on the horizon. The scene fades out as DDP goes back to checking on the Stinger. - Rating: 87 World Title: Ric Flair vs The Giant (c) vs Some were shocked that the world title match wasn't the main event of the night. Others countered that by saying the feud over the US title was better established, with this match only just getting signed 2 weeks ago. Both men had extremely solid performances in the ring, but the lack of a feud between the two seemed to have hurt the match. Ric Flair was determined to reclaim a title that was made for him, though he had a huge roadblock in the way. The Nature Boy started much the way his failed attack began on Nitro this week. Flair used a slurry of punches and chops but quickly found out that they were not having the desired effect. The Giant allowed Flair to continue the assault for a bit before finally having enough and planting a huge headbutt on the Nature Boy. This resulted in Flair hitting the mat hard and rolling end over end to the corner. He promptly exited the ring to try and regroup and come up with a new game plan. Unaccustomed to Flair, he was alone at ringside tonight. Not even Arn Anderson was there for guidance. Flair got back in the ring and went for a new strategy, going after the legs and knees of the Giant. This seemed to have some effect and a Flair chop block sent the Giant to his knees. Flair smelled blood after this happened and continued chops until those quickly had no effect again. The Giant worked his way up to his feet and then took control of the match. Several high impact moves later and Flair was yelling out for mercy. The Giant sent Flair into the ropes and hit him with a big boot on rebound. This resulted in Flair doing his classic Flair Flop, dropping face down to the mat. The Giant is now smiling in a sinister way, all but having the match sealed. He leans down to pick up Flair but on the way up, Flair hits a low blow on the Giant! The referee completely missed seeing it, as he wasn't in position to catch it. The Giant doubles over and Flair slowly gets to his feet. He punches and kicks at the Giant, who is also trying to get up now. Flair bounces off the ropes and hits a chop block again. The Giant drops to one knee briefly but gets back up. Flair bounces off again with another chop block, again dropping the Giant to a knee. Flair, smelling blood, goes back for a 3rd time, but this time the Giant is back up and meets him with a gripping hand around his throat! The Giant hoists Flair up for the Chokeslam but in the process, Flair's feet connect with the referee. The result is both Flair and the referee hitting the mat. The Giant goes for the cover but there's no referee to count! The Giant tries to shake the referee to come to, but he's too groggy. The Giant gets back up and this time drops the strap on his singlet. He motions his hand high in the air for another chokeslam. He leans down to pick up the Nature Boy, but in the process, Flair decks the Giant. To the confusion of everyone, the Giant crashes hard down to the mat. Ric Flair, still not very mobile, hides something in his tights after the punch! Flair slaps the face of the referee a couple times to get him to come to and he covers the Giant. The referee counts extremely slow before his hand hits the mat on the 3rd time at 13:38, and we have a new World Champion! Winner: Ric Flair Rating: 80 - After the bell sounds, Ric Flair slowly gets to his feet and raises his arms. The referee is also slow to get up and he is given the world title by the time keeper. The referee presents the world title to Ric Flair, who holds the title high in the air and celebrates his victory. - Rating: 70 - Mean Gene is backstage once again and ready for another interview segment in order to get things set up for the final match of the night. He brings in Brian Pillman who says that he plans on completing the string of Horsemen wins tonight and taking the US title. Pillman says the Horsemen claimed a few weeks back that they would be the unstoppable, dominant group in WCW once again, and tonight they complete that. - Rating: 88 United States Title: Ladder Match Brian Pillman vs Eddie Guerrero (c) vs The best match was definitely saved for last as these two gave it their all for a show-stealing performance. The ladder was a perfect compliment for these two and the match featured all kinds of high flying moves mixed in with brutal attacks with the ladder. It was a complete back and forth encounter and just when it appeared one man had the advantage, the other would dash in, seemingly from nowhere, to swing the momentum. One highlight of the match saw Pillman toss Eddie out of the ring. After spending some time setting the ladder in position, Pillman began the climb. Upon getting to the top of the ladder and with the title just within reach, it appeared that Brian Pillman was all set to claim victory. Out of nowhere, Eddie had leapt in the air from springboarding off the top rope and landing perfect on the ladder to meet the Loose Cannon. A series of punches were exchanged which resulted in Pillman dropping hard to the mat. Eddie saw this as his chance to grab his title but the ladder positioning on his side wasn't quite as accessible. Eddie stretched and tried to grab the title, managing to get his fingertips on it but just resulted in the title swinging away from him. This took enough time to allow Pillman to get to his feet and push the ladder over, causing Eddie to get crotched on the top rope. Pillman knocked Guerrero out onto the floor, allowing him to grab the ladder and set it up again. The crowd all got to their feet as another subject was walking down the aisle toward the ring..... The new world champion, minus his title belt, swiftly walked toward the ring and around the opposite side where Eddie Guerrero was. Guerrero was getting to his feet as fast as he could, seeing Brian Pillman ascending the ladder. Eddie made it halfway up onto the apron before Flair attacked him. After a low blow, Flair sent Guerrero into the corner post, knocking him out cold on the ground. This was about the time Brian Pillman got to the top of the ladder and unhooked the title, causing the bell to sound at 23:55. Pillman climbed down, clutching the title to his chest as Flair climbed in the ring to celebrate with the new champion. Slamboree's credits rolled as Ric Flair held up the arm of the new US champion as Pillman held the title up in his other arm. Winner: Brian Pillman Rating: 87 Final Show Rating: 86

Slamboree 1996 Card: United States Title Ladder Match: Brian Pillman vs Eddie Guerrero (c) World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair vs The Giant (c) Tag Team Titles: Faces of Fear vs American Males (c) Strap Match: Steve Austin vs Ricky Steamboat Wrath vs The Bootyman Street Fight: Dungeon of Doom vs Nasty Boys Lex Luger vs Arn Anderson TV Title: Scott Steiner vs Lord Steven Regal (c)

Week 4, May 1996 LIVE from the CoreStates Spectrum - Tri State Attendance: 13,338 - Monday Nitro opens this week with their full on display of fireworks followed by the arena shots of the rowdy crowd. Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone as they recap Nitro from last week, highlighted by Hulk Hogan. Tony reminds everyone that Hulk Hogan stated he is taking time away from WCW to get his head on right after ending the career of the Macho Man Randy Savage, even saying he's going to try and reconcile with the Macho Man. He also reminds fans that Hulk Hogan claimed to give Ric Flair his blessing to go after The Giant and the World Heavyweight Championship. Bobby Heenan, always the Hogan cynic, says that Hulk Hogan is so anti-charity makes his donations in IOU's. He says Hogan doesn't have a sincere bone in his body and thinks he's setting up the Nature Boy. Tony tells us that Nitro is kicking things off right away this week with in-ring action! - Dean Malenko vs Perry Saturn vs The crowd were really into this opening match which featured two guys who really complimented each other's abilities. Mike Tenay said that while Saturn isn't well-known throughout the country, he is quite known in the Tri-State area as he's wrestled here for a few years. The hometown crowd was firmly behind Saturn, much to Malenko's displeasure. This caused the Man of 1,000's holds to get uncharacteristically aggressive in the ring. It worked to his benefit, apparently, as he caught Saturn in the Texas Cloverleaf and got the submission win at 12:11. Winner: Dean Malenko Rating: 74 - After a quick recap from this weekend's WCW Saturday Night where DDP had rather unpleasant things to say about Kevin Nash and where Ric Flair and the Horsemen proclaimed to be unworried about Sting or the Outsiders and are instead focused on Slamboree, we go backstage where Lex Luger is arriving to the arena. Luger heads inside the backstage area with his bag slung over his shoulder. Luger is suddenly attacked from the side by Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Both Luger and his bag drop to the ground as the Outsiders, now labeled by commentary, start the attack. Tenay reminds fans that they have repeatedly been attacking Diamond Dallas Page the last couple of weeks on Saturday Night and after several confrontations with Sting and now Luger, it looks like their assaults will be appearing on Nitro as well. As the Outsiders continue their beat down, it is suddenly interrupted as another person runs in.... Diamond Dallas Page, to the announcers shock, runs in and chases Hall and Nash off. The Outsiders retreat off camera while DDP remains standing by the fallen Luger and yells at them. He leans down to check on Luger as Nitro goes to commercial break. - Rating: 83 Hugh Morrus vs Mike Barton vs Following the commercial, Nitro's back in the ring for the next segment. This match didn't have nearly the reaction that the opening match had, though it did feature some solid brawling. Most would assume that Hugh Morrus would easily run away with this match, but in an impressive moment, Morrus went for a superplex only to get pushed off the top. Morrus crashed down and Barton then hit a Flying Headbutt at 9:52 for the pin fall victory. Mike Tenay added that Barton is one of several making a run for the Television title. We'll see if his momentum can continue. Winner: Mike Barton Rating: 59 Billy Kidman vs Scott Norton vs Nitro is very match-oriented to start this week, Tony Schiavone tells fans, unlike the WWF who has very boring promo's and interviews. He tells fans not to bother switching the channel because Raw's main event tonight between 123 Kid and Jeff Jarrett ends in disqualification. Mike Tenay tells fans that Scott Norton is another person gunning for the TV title, who's point is emphasized a moment later when he hits Kidman with a thunderous PowerBomb, getting the win at 7:08. Winner: Scott Norton Rating: 42 - The World's Favorite Announcer is backstage and ready to start an interview. Mean Gene hypes up Nitro thus far and says his next guests look to Slamboree to take on the Nasty Boys, in what's now confirmed to be a Street Fight. Last month at Spring Stampede, they had a Dungeon Match, and this month a Street Fight (Not much different other than name) as he welcomes in Big Bubba Rogers and Kevin Sullivan. The Dungeon duo hype up what they're going to do to the Nasty Boys. Predictably, they're going to rip them limb from limb and regret that they ever injured one of their brethren, Meng. They predict that the Nasty Boys will cease to exist at Slamboree - Rating: 64 John Tenta vs Mr. JL vs John Tenta is another wrestler that Mike Tenay claimed to be making a run at the Television title. There seem to be several competitors within WCW going after that title and Heenan thinks it's good for the overall undercard of WCW. "Not everyone can be world heavyweight champion" the Brain says. The match went longer than expected, but it was more due to Tenta toying with Mr. JL rather than it being a competitive match. Tenta got the win at 8:06 with an Earthquake Splash. Winner: John Tenta Rating: 49 - Backstage promo time with the Faces of Fear (feat. Jimmy Hart). Jimmy Hart does the talking here while Meng and the Barbarian stand behind him looking menacingly. Hart says that the tag team titles are coming home to the Faces of Fear and that the American Males need to be ready to look fear straight in the eyes because this Sunday will be a slaughter! - Rating: 70 Wrath vs Ricky Steamboat vs This was another match that the crowd was firmly in to which mostly had to do with Ricky Steamboat. Bobby Heenan did suggest that Wrath could have a bright future, however, as he went toe to toe with the Dragon and wasn't intimidated by the veteran. Mike Tenay also suggests that Wrath could become a big player in the battle for the Television title. Wrath had an impressive showing, but in the end he couldn't defeat the Dragon, who's heading into Slamboree with a ton of momentum! Steamboat hit the cross body at 9:07 for the win. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 78 - The bell sounds and while Steamboat is getting his arm raised, Steve Austin slides in the ring and attacks. If the crowd was loud before, they're really loud now as an all-out brawl starts in the ring. Forearms and clubbing blows result from both Steamboat and Austin as they tangle up with each other. They make their way to all four corners, scratching, clawing, punching each other with neither man slowing down. Officials hit the ring to a chorus of boos from the fans who want to see these two go at it. Nitro fades to a commercial as officials try desperately to separate the two. - Rating: 88 - Nitro returns from a commercial to the backstage locker room of Sting (or Luger). Luger is sitting down and icing the back of his neck while the Stinger is pacing around. It's clear that Sting is ready to get his hands on the Outsiders and the two discuss the attack earlier in the night. Sting says that he's had it and that Diamond Dallas Page happened to be in the right place at the right time. Lex Luger says it was nice that he intervened but he does have a long history with Hall and Nash. Sting thinks that they should have DDP join them in their defense of WCW. Lex Luger remains more on the fence, not knowing if DDP can be trusted. He suggests that DDP has shown some really bad tendencies not so long ago. Sting says that Lex Luger's no saint either and sometimes it takes a beating to know what's really important. The two continue to discuss whether or not DDP can be counted on as the scene fades out. - Rating: 100 Blue Bloods (Earl Robert Eaton & Lord Steven Regal) vs Scott Steiner & Brad Armstrong vs While the team of Steiner and Armstrong may have been an odd pairing, their solid work inside the ring was not. Steven Regal spent the majority of the match avoiding Scott Steiner. During the match, a split screen of an interview from Saturday Night with Regal was played. He called Steiner the "bottom of the barrel" and didn't think he should spend his time having to defend the title against the likes of him. Steiner did finally get his hands on Regal at the end of the match, though Regal pulled some brass knuckles from his tights and knocked Steiner out. The Blue Bloods got the pin fall win at 11:44. Winners: Blue Bloods Rating: 72 - Up next, we hear a promo from the 4 Horsemen, who are backstage. The Enforcer looks as intense as ever, Ric Flair is all smiles and flashing the Horsemen sign, Brian Pillman laughs like a maniac, and Steve Austin stares intently into the camera with his eyes. Some might even refer to Austin as looking stone cold into the camera. The Enforcer starts off the promo. - You know, for the past several weeks, the Horsemen and myself have had quite the issue with Lex Luger. Luger, it's true that we might have been through hell and back, and just when you know you're in my sights, you say that things are over between you and the Horsemen. Well you just might want to reconsider your plans post Slamboree, Luger, because like I said a couple weeks before, you don't just "say it's over" with the Horsemen and then clean your hands of it. There aren't bigger and more important issues going on in WCW that are larger than the 3 other men standing beside me! You think a couple of guys like Scott Hall and Kevin Nash come into WCW, say a few mean words, throw a few loose insults out causes a commotion??? Son, the 4 Horsemen have been around the block more times than Hall and Nash could even dream about. We've caused more damage, more carnage, than they can even fathom. As a matter of fact, an entire match called War Games was created just because of the Horsemen. Slamboree, Luger, won't be the end of our interaction, I can promise you that. If and when the time comes that we need to pay attention to Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, then it'll be the Horsemen that take care of that side problem. Austin: Well see, that's just the thing Double A.....The Horsemen don't back down from anybody, and I sure as hell aren't afraid of Scott Hall or Kevin Nash. I ain't afraid, but I also don't really have a problem with the two of em, either. So until the day comes when they want to take issue with the Horsemen, I see no reason to get all twisted up about them beating up Sting or Lex Luger! My focus is on, and only on taking out Ricky Steamboat at Slamboree! After I'm through with him, my attention's going to be on getting ahold of some kind of gold here in WCW! I don't care what Scott Hall and Kevin Nash do because the only thing that matters in WCW is the Horsemen! Pillman: I couldn't agree more, Steve! The Horsemen are the pinnacle of WCW and people can forget about anything else! Scott Hall and Kevin Nash aren't the Horsemen's problem. Eddie Guerrero and the United States title IS my problem! One thing is for certain though, and that's after Slamboree, the Horsemen are going to be about 50 pounds heavier after I win the US title and Ric Flair wins the world championship!!!! Flair: Just when I didn't think things could look any better for the Horsemen, Slamboree is shaping up to be nothing other than the Horsemen's night! Double A is going to deal with Flexy Lexy. Brian Pillman's going to be the new United States champion!! Steve Austin's going to get rid of Steamboat, and Ric Flair's going to be the new worlds heavyweight champion!! Hulk Hogan had the gall to say on Nitro that he gave me the blessing to challenge for the title?!?!? Gave ME the BLESSING!?!? Let me tell everyone something right now, Ric Flair doesn't need the blessing of anyone to go after anything, especially the world heavyweight title! Hogan just thinks by saying that, he's gonna be first in line to go after the Nature Boy and the world title! I don't need your blessing, Hogan, and I don't need your acknowledgment! After I win the world title, you want to take on the Nature Boy??? Be my guest, but the fact of the matter remains, this Sunday, you're gonna be looking at a new heavyweight champion of the world! WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Rating: 100 World Title: Jim Duggan vs The Giant (c) vs Try as he might, Hacksaw Jim Duggan did his best to bring a challenge to the Giant, it just looked near impossible. The match resembled more of Duggan fighting a brick wall, because anything he tried stopped him in his tracks. Duggan tried running off the ropes for a shoulder block - Denied. Duggan tried running off the ropes for a clothesline - Denied. Duggan tried slamming the Giant - Denied...A clubbing blow to Duggan's back ended that venture. With Duggan on the mat, the Giant simply stepped on and over Duggan. Like a cat with a mouse, the Giant put Duggan in the corner where he subjected him to more punishment before finally putting him out of his misery at 8:09 with a Chokeslam. Winner: The Giant Rating: 74 - The Giant barely celebrates his win and lazily holds up an arm in celebration. Screams come from the crowd as Ric Flair rushes into the ring and quickly lays in an assault full of chops and punches, none which even phase the Giant. After several strikes, Flair's assault slows up and the Nature Boy gets a wide eyed look on his face, realizing his attack is having zero effect on the Giant. Flair eventually stops and stares up at the Giant, who gets his own wide-eyed look of intensity on his face before grabbing the Nature Boy by the throat with his massive vice of a hand. The Giant hoists Flair high into the air, holds him for a few seconds, and then drops him down to the mat. Flair it's out and the Giant just looks down at the Nature Boy. The Giant then looks up and roars out to the crowd as Nitro fades to a close with a question of how Ric Flair can possibly compete with the Giant this Sunday! - Rating: 71 Overall Show Rating: 82