Henderson

My shoutout to Wrestling Bios and Reliving the War on Youtube. If you guys aren't familiar with it, I highly recommend!

Week 3, May 1996 LIVE from Trump Plaza - Tri State Attendance: 16,407 Nitro kicks off this week with much fan fare! Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes welcome everyone this week as Tony says we are now less than 2 weeks away from Slamboree and that it is already shaping up to be a huge event! Every WCW title will be defended and Dusty thinks by sheer statistics, that means at least one title will change hands. Heenan says that Ric Flair is challenging the Giant for the world championship, though Hulk Hogan is sure to have something to say about that. Tony confirms that Hulk Hogan is in the building tonight and he agrees with The Brain, as Hogan has made claim to that title for the last several months. Tony also says that the "hostile takeover," as it's been referred to by Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, also now referred to as the "Outsiders" appears to be rapidly heating up, as it has gotten the attention of Sting. There's a lot of action that's going to take place during 2 hours of Nitro, but first we're going to the first match of the night! Ricky Steamboat vs Dean Malenko vs The crowd was excited for this match as both were eager to showcase their skill. Malenko hung with Steamboat quite well during the match but in the end, The Dragon's experience was able to hold the edge. Steamboat got the pin fall victory at 10:11 with a flying cross body. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 71 Ladies and gentlemen, it is Monday night and things are heating up quickly! They're going to heat up even more with my next guest as he's trying to regain the United States championship at Slamboree! Join me in welcoming, a member of the 4 Horsemen, Brian Pillman! - Pillman walks out alone as he heads toward Mean Gene, who awaits inside the middle of the ring. Pillman taunts some fans along the way but for the most part, seems focused here tonight as Gene gets his questions underway. - Mr. Pillman, in just less than two weeks from now, you will have the opportunity to regain the United States championship as you take on Eddie Guerrero. The two of you have had quite the conflict as of late and it IS official, you two will compete in a ladder match! Pillman: Mean Gene, I tried to challenge to just a one on one, straight up match between myself and Eddie Guerrero. As you mentioned, the two of us have gone through quite the battle with one another, and frankly, I've had enough of it! All I wanted was a chance to prove myself, prove my skill against an incredible performer like Eddie Guerrero. What happened Gene??? He doubted my sincerity! He doubted my integrity! He doubted ME, as a person! Gene, I just wanted a straight match between us to determine the best competitor. What did I get?? A completely different kind of match! I asked for no gimmicks, and that's what Eddie Guerrero gave us all! He proved right then and there that he isn't a top competitor in WCW! He proved right there that he's not as good as me! He proved right there that he's afraid to face me in a straight match! That told me everything I needed to know about Eddie Guerrero - United States champion! That's fine, because in less than two weeks time, Mean Gene Okerlund, it isn't going to be Eddie Guerrero - US Champion any longer. It's going to be Brian Pillman - United States champion and member of the 4 Horsemen! Rating: 82 - After returning from a commercial break, we're in the backstage area where Lex Luger is seen arriving to the arena. Luger, with his bag slung over his shoulder, walks through the backstage area before he is stopped by something taking his attention. - Well, well... If it ain't big man Flexy Lexy.....You know, in the last coupla weeks, you've had a lot to say about me and my friend. You've been running around with that painted freak talking a lot of smack. You need to take a step back and realize, you don't have to join the same fight your buddy Sting is causing. It doesn't have to be your battle too, my man. Luger: If you think for one second that I'm going to leave my best friend out to dry while two bullies like you try and push your way around WCW, then you've been chewing on too many toothpicks! There aren't two bigger WCW guys than myself and the Stinger, and you'll find out you're barking up the wrong tree! Ok, ok....Suit yourself. - Nash walks into the picture and just burns a hole through Luger with his glare. - Don't say we didn't warn ya....You want to get in our business??? It's your funeral. Rating: 100 Tom Brandi & Ice Train vs Faces of Fear vs While Ice Train has some pretty solid tag team experience, this was, by no means, a competitive match. In fact, this was more liken to a modern day gladiator match, seeing two sacrificial lambs get decimated by untamed beasts. Ice Train had a dreadful performance and the Faces of Fear easily won this at 6:42 with a Tongan Death Grip. Winners: Faces of Fear Rating: 50 Oh yeah baby....It's Saturday Wright Fever here to bring you great big German Bratwurst from Das Wunderkind! - Que cheesy music followed by - Oh, big bratwurst! Alex Wright vs Steve Austin vs Alex Wright danced his way onto Nitro this week, unfortunately though, his opponent wasn't in the mood for dancing. Austin brought back his old "Dragon Slayer" tights that he had during his last feud with Ricky Steamboat and made pretty quick work of Das Wunderkind. Austin got the win at 7:49 after hitting a Stunner. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 71 Dungeon of Doom vs Lance Storm & Scott Armstrong vs While Lance Storm certainly showcased some great talent, I don't think there was a shred of possibility that the Dungeon was going to lose this match. The story of this match centered around the brutality of the Dungeon of Doom and their goal of tearing apart the Nasty Boys at Slamboree. Sullivan got the win at 6:19 after a Double Stomp to Scott Armstrong. Winners: Dungeon of Doom Rating: 57 Scott Steiner is backstage for an interview in which he tells Steven Regal to get the Television title all shined up nice for him because he's going to take it from him at Slamboree. Rating: 75 Sting vs John Tenta vs On paper, this doesn't seem like a very exciting match. In reality, and not completely all due to Sting, this match delivered on nearly all cylinders. Sting always delivers the crowd, but Tenta played the job of the mean monster perfectly. Whenever Sting would begin to mount an offense, Tenta would crash it all back down to reality with his size. Sting utilized his quickness, and Tenta would slow it back down like Sting hit a roadblock. The match was similar to how things went with the Giant, but Tenta isn't nearly as large. Sting was able to catch Tenta off the top rope with a Stinger Splash for the win at 9:51. Winner: Sting Rating: 80 Tag Team Titles: Blue Bloods (Eaton & Taylor) vs American Males (c) vs The American Males wanted to show everyone that they're no fluke of champions. Similarly, the Blue Bloods wanted to show that they are legitimate contenders. This creates an issue when only one team can emerge victorious. When it all came down to it, the American Males displayed much better team experience and team work to come away with the win and a successful title defense at 7:59. Winners: American Males Rating: 60 - Mean Gene is backstage this time for another interview segment. He welcomes fans back from a commercial break and brings in Arn Anderson A quick recap video is shown of Lex Luger's interview this past weekend on WCW Saturday Night where Luger says Slamboree will be the final chapter between Double A and the Total Package, as WCW has a looming storm headed its way. - Arn Anderson, that was Lex Luger over the weekend on Saturday Night. He seems to think WCW has bigger problems on the horizon by way of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. What do you have to say about that? What I've got to say? It's real simple, Gene. See, it ain't just as easy as saying "it's over." Anytime you're dealing with me or the 4 Horsemen. Lex Luger can say it's over all he wants, but the fact of the matter is this; Lex Luger, the Horsemen don't, and I don't, just go along with whatever you say we do....Or anyone else for that matter. When you decide to take on one Horseman, you take us all on. When you decide to get that target on your back, it's gonna stay there until each and every member of the Horsemen get to the point where they've had enough. Bottom line, Luger, it's over whenever I say it's over! So at Slamboree, maybe it will, maybe it won't.....It just depends. Rating: 81 Arn Anderson vs Brad Armstrong vs This was another example of what doesn't look too exciting on paper translates into a much better result in reality. While Arn Anderson certainly had a lot to do with it, Brad Armstrong has shown over the last several weeks that he's no slouch in the ring, either. While Armstrong has done what he can to become a contender in WCW, it seems he always runs into key matchups like this one that derails him. It was a solid match but Anderson had too much momentum going his way. The Enforcer picked up the win at 11:06 with a Spinebuster. Winner: Arn Anderson Rating: 80 - Nitro returns from its final commercial break to find Mean Gene Okerlund once again standing in the center of the ring. He introduces his final guest of the night, a man known around the world, a man who has sought after reclaiming the World Championship ever since World War 3, a man who seems to always get looked past contending for that title; HULK HOGAN! The Hulkster comes out to a wave of red and yellow screaming fans as he makes his way to the ring. He does all of his typical Hogan taunts to the crowd and when he climbs in the ring, he cups his ear to all sides of the ring. The music fades out and Hogan takes his typical spot next to Mean Gene. - Hulk Hogan, two weeks ago on this program, you took on WCW World Champion the Giant for that world title. That match ended in disqualification and you challenged him the following Saturday Night. Last week, the two of you again had a confrontation and all signs pointed to the two of you facing each other at Slamboree. You have made your intentions clear ever since World War 3 that you wanted to get the world title back. Then abruptly this past weekend on Saturday Night, the Nature Boy Ric Flair challenged the Giant to Slamboree which was accepted. That match has officially been signed to take place. Hulk Hogan, you must be furious! What do you have to do to get that title back??? Well ya know something, Mean Gene?!?!? As far as the world title goes, brother, that was my doing! Everybody knows that Hulk Hogan wants the World title back, and I was this *Motions with fingers* close to getting it back, dude! I wanted to take on the Giant and I wanted to chop him down like a big redwood tree, brother! But something just didn't feel right. I knew Ric Flair wanted to take on the Giant, and I gave him my blessing. What??? You told Ric Flair to face the Giant? Why would you do that?? It's simple, Mean Gene. Ever since my war was fought against the Macho Man, something just didn't sit well with me, brother. The Macho Man and I have been through hell and back. We've put each other through so much unnecessary pain an agony, and it seemed to be never ending. Well it did end, Mean Gene. It ended at Spring Stampede along with the Macho Man's career. I'm not proud of it, Mean Gene. I'm not out here to brag about it, I'm not here to celebrate. It's been eating away at me like a bad disease! I can sleep at night, I can barely eat anything, I can't train the way I need to train, brother! The fact of the matter is that Hulk Hogan is in no right state of mind to challenge for the world title, dude. Ever since Spring Stampede, I've tried to contact the Macho Man. I've called him, I've written him letters, I've even stopped by his house. He refuses to talk to me, Gene. So what Hulk Hogan is going to do....What Hulk Hogan NEEDS to do, brother, is take some time away to get my head straight. I need to step away and try and reconcile with the Macho Man. I can't do that if I'm here every single week or challenging for the world title. I need to do the right thing, Mean Gene, and until then, Hulk Hogan won't be able to function the way I need to function.... Rating: 100 Diamond Dallas Page vs Lex Luger vs Both men spent some time at the beginning of the match feeling each other out. The announcers made the point that Diamond Dallas Page is no doubt feeling the effects of being brutally attacked by Scott Hall and Kevin Nash two weeks in a row at Saturday Night. They have attempted to have DDP join them, only to be denied. Luger ended up targeting the weakened back of Page, which firmly put him in control of the match. DDP did his best to mount an offense, but it wasn't enough against the established star. Luger got Page up in the Torture Rack and secured the submission win at 8:29. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 72 Final Show Rating: 80

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the WCW Hotline Report! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund giving you all of the latest news and rumors in the wrestling world! There isn't much news to go through this week, but here are some highlights! The WWF held their "In Your House" event over the weekend. The British Bulldog established himself as the WWF Champion by defeating Shawn Michaels in the main event. The only other notable match on that show was Bret Hart defeating Warrior which was rated by critics as a 99/100. Terri Runnels, known to WCW fans as Alexandra York and married to former WCW wrestler Dustin Rhodes, is away on maternity leave. We wish her a healthy and happy leave. The Ultimo Dragon has signed an exclusive contract with All Japan Pro Wrestling. WCW had made attempts at signing him, however, AJPW had won out during negotiations after WCW did not want to match what All Japan had offered. In rather devastating news, young wrestler Chris Jericho, who is under exclusive contract with Mexican promotion CMLL, sustained a C7 Cervical Spinal Cord Compression and is expected to be out of action for over the next year. He suffered the injury during a match when going for his Lionsault and landing badly. This is devastating not only for Chris Jericho, but also CMLL, as he was a featured star in their promotion and just signed a new exclusive extension in November 1995. This means Jericho will barely be available for the duration of his contract. There were quite a few developments at WCW Saturday Night over the weekend. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash again attacked Diamond Dallas Page. In a promo, Lex Luger stated that Slamboree would mark the final chapter in the on-going feud between Lex Luger and Arn Anderson, stating there are bigger problems ahead for WCW than Lex Luger vs the 4 Horsemen. In other big news, the Nature Boy Ric Flair made a challenge to the Giant at Slamboree for the world title, which was accepted by the champion. For the last bit of news this week, I have received word through a confidential informant that a big name in WCW could be going on leave very soon! How will this impact WCW? Make sure to not miss out on further Hotline Reports! Here are the results from this weekend's WCW Saturday Night as well as the card for the upcoming Monday Nitro! Brian Pillman & Steve Austin def. Brad Armstrong & Mike Barton Big Bubba Rogers def. Fit Finlay Faces of Fear def. The Bootyman & Scott Armstrong Lex Luger def. Sgt. Craig Pittman Scott Steiner def. Earl Robert Eaton Wrath def. Mr. JL Perry Saturn def. Ricky Santana WCW Monday Nitro Week 3, May 1996 Diamond Dallas Page vs Lex Luger Arn Anderson vs Brad Armstrong Tag Team Titles: Blue Bloods (Taylor & Eaton) vs American Males (c) Sting vs John Tenta Dungeon of Doom (Rogers & Sullivan) vs Lance Storm & Scott Armstrong Alex Wright vs Steve Austin Ice Train & Tom Brandi vs Faces of Fear Ricky Steamboat vs Dean Malenko

Week 2, May 1996 LIVE from the New Haven Coliseum - New Haven, CT Attendance: 11,000 (SELLOUT!) -Nitro goes straight into a cold opening this week. We're backstage where the Giant is walking, confidently with the world title strapped around his waist. Hulk Hogan comes into the screen, confronting the Giant and causing him to stop to stare at the Hulkster.- Let me tell ya something, big man! I should be the one with that title strapped around my waist right now! I know it, you know it, and the whole world knows it! You proved to everyone in the entire universe that you're a coward and can't beat Hulk Hogan fair and square, dude! - The Giant steps closer to Hogan, as the two are mere inches from one another. The Giant looks down at Hogan as Hogan grits his teeth - See, that's where you're wrong - Hulkster. You had to beat me! I didn't have to beat you! And you couldn't beat me, could you? Step to the back of the line and wait your turn for next time, Hogan. You're nothing but a low down, stinky, scaredy cat! I'm standing right here and I don't see a line, brother! So how about we just settle things right here, right now?!? - Hogan pushes the Giant which starts the brawl. The two men clobber one another before a flood of officials come into view. The scene fades out and Nitro goes into it's intro video - Rating: 85 - Nitro finally gets through the intro video and the packed arena is shown, followed by the regular pyro display. Cameras switch to the announce booth where Tony Schiavone welcomes everyone and says tonight is even more exciting than usual, as tonight begins 2 hours of Monday Nitro action! Tony barely finishes that statement before music hits the speakers. He tosses his hands up and looks to his colleagues as "A Man Called Sting" begins to play. The crowd roars even louder to life as Tony tells everyone that Nitro is action packed already! - - Sting comes out with his best friend Lex Luger. The two make their way to the ring where they make their trademark taunts to the fans, who roar back in approval. The music begins to fade out and the Stinger has a microphone in hand - Ya know, for the last few weeks, there's been a couple of guys running around here, interrupting matches, interrupting announcers, and just being an overall pain in the rear end!!!! Well I can speak pretty freely not only for myself, but also for the Total Package here and say that I've hand just about enough of it! So rather than come out here and complain about it, I decided to step up to the plate because I AM WCW, and if anyone's gonna come in here and throw their weight around, they're going to have to deal with the Stinger! So Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, seeing as there's two of you, I decided to talk to my best friend about it and, well, there's two of us...... So if the two of you want a fight, want a war, then how about you come out here and see how your odds are when you're up against someone your own size?!?!? - The crowd, as well as the announcers, exclaim surprised joy and excitement. Sting and Luger pace around the ring, motioning for Hall and Nash to come out for a fight. As the time goes on, the crowd get louder and louder, which fires up the two in the ring even more. Finally, after some time, those cheers grow into 11,000 fans going absolutely wild as Scott Hall and Kevin Nash emerge from the curtain just off the side from the stage entrance. - - Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay say that it appears we're going to have a fight as Hall and Nash slowly work their way to the aisle. Hall wiggles his fingers and pretends to look scared as Nash slowly stalks his way. Sting and Luger are now fully locked onto the two invaders, practically licking their chops in anticipation for a fight. Hall and Nash get about halfway to the ring when they stop and look at one another. Hall gives a motion to forget it while Nash laughs. The two back their way back up the aisle and toward the direction they came from. The crowd, once wild, now turns to heavy boo's as Sting and Luger are left looking on from the ring. Just before Hall and Nash exit back through the side curtain, they both laugh and waive at Sting and Luger, who are still in the ring. - Rating: 95 Mike Barton vs Steve Austin vs Nitro had taken a quick commercial break and on return, holds its first match of the night. Austin was all business tonight as he entered the ring and went straight after the former Bart Gunn. It was a brawl the entire match, though Barton did an actually pretty great job at keeping up with Austin. Steve Austin caught Barton with a Stun Gun but rather than go for the pin, he picked Barton up and hit his new finish - The Stunner - for the pin at 7:24. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 75 - Lex Luger is backstage walking through a hallway. He seems to still be a bit fired up from the earlier confrontation, or lack of, when he is suddenly attacked from behind - - The Enforcer lays the boots in on a downed Luger, who never had a chance since being caught off guard. Lex is trying to get to his feet, but is sent back down to the cold concrete each time. After a few moments, officials, who are already earning their money tonight, rush into the scene to try and restore some order. Anderson is shoved off while the other half check on Luger as the segment closes out. - Rating: 84 World Title: Wrath vs The Giant (c) vs Some might have been surprised to see Wrath get a world title opportunity, but Mike Tenay explains that Wrath has been a formidable competitor on Saturday Night and Main Event programming for the last few months. WCW officials are reportedly very high on Wrath and think he has huge amounts of untapped potential. Heenan thinks tonight is now his "put up or shut up" time for Wrath to show what he's made of. People also are quick to forget about Wrath's size until he measured up to the Giant at the beginning of the match. It was never going to be an outright technical match, but both did a good job of bringing exciting brawling to the match. The Giant won the match at 9:57 with a Chokeslam. Winner: The Giant Rating: 71 We're backstage to a promo segment with Diamond Dallas Page. During his promo, he talks about Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. While he's speaking, the camera feed changes to footage from this past weekend's Saturday Night broadcast, where Hall and Nash are seen brutally beating DDP, which results in he leaving on a stretcher and ambulance. DDP says he's known Hall and Nash for years, even getting them their breaks in WCW years before and making them part of the Diamond Mine. DDP says he tried to stay out of Hall and Nash's way when they returned to WCW and let them do their own thing. Due to their past and traveling together and being friends, DDP didn't want to interfere, but then they decided to brutally beat him down on Saturday Night. DDP says they made an enemy that didn't need to be one, but you can't change the past. The only thing you can do is look to the future, and the future shows a Diamond Cutter waiting for Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Rating: 70 - Nitro is back after another commercial and cameras are once again backstage where an all-out brawl has erupted between the Dungeon of Doom and the Nasty Boys. The announcers reflect that all hell has broken loose tonight and fights are taking place all over the arena. Tension has been high between the two teams after the Nasty Boys had injured fellow Doomer - Meng in a match. Cameras leave the backstage area as the two teams continue to fight and we're back out in the arena for the next match. - Rating: 58 Scott Steiner vs Dean Malenko vs As unfortunate as the Rick Steiner injury was, Tony, Bobby, and Mike all think it could have been a hidden blessing for Scott, as he's wanted to branch out into his singles career for quite some time. Now is the perfect chance as both these men are going after the Television title. It was a competitive matchup but Scott Steiner's size proved to be too much for Malenko. Scott Steiner put him away at 13:22 with his very impressive Steiner Screwdriver for the pin. Winner: Scott Steiner Rating: 71 - Following the match and as Steiner celebrates his win, Mean Gene Okerlund steps inside the ring to meet Steiner for a post-match interview. Steiner takes a moment to raise his arms out at the fans as Mean Gene gets down to his questions. - Scott Steiner, a most impressive win here tonight on Nitro! This past weekend on Saturday Night, you challenged Television champion Lord Steven Regal in a match for that title, only for him to walk out. You won the match by count-out, but you did not win the title... Mean Gene, I want to take a second to wish my brother a fast recovery and you can bet that when he comes back, the Steiner brothers are gonna once again take over the tag team division! Until that time, I'm going to do whatever I can to get my hands on as many singles titles as possible, and that's starting with Steve Regal and the Television title! Regal, you're nothing but a coward! You knew you were beat on Saturday Night, and that's why you walked outta the match! Well Regal, things ain't finished between us, and I want another shot at that title, and I want it at Slamboree!!! You can't run and hide and avoid me forever, and I got news for ya, the result at Slamboree is gonna be me as the new Television champion! Rating: 87 - After another quick commercial break, Mean Gene is now standing at the base of the ramp entrance, welcoming everyone back to Monday Nitro. Gene says he has another guest at this time, as he announces the United States Champion Eddie Guerrero! - - Eddie walks out to a decent reaction from the crowd and Gene starts the interview. He says that on Saturday Night, Brian Pillman issued a challenge to Guerrero for Slamboree, but in an odd request, he said he just wanted a straight match between the two just to see who the better competitor is. Eddie laughs and says he might have been born, but he wasn't born yesterday and he won't be falling for any of Brian Pillman or the 4 Horseman's tricks. Eddie says that the last thing Pillman wants is a straight up match with Eddie Guerrero, because he would lose. Eddie says he has no problem facing Brian Pillman at Slamboree and even doesn't mind putting the US title on the line, but he says it won't be just a simple 1vs1 match. Eddie says the match at Slamboree will be a ladder match! - Rating: 91 Scott Norton vs Jim Duggan vs Duggan got his usual "USA" chants going which livened up the crowd, despite Scott Norton also being from the USA. Scott Norton had a convincingly dominating performance in this match, but those watching would have been shocked to see that Duggan actually had a slightly better performance than Flash Norton. In any case, Norton picked up the win with his Shoulder Breaker at 7:01. Winner: Scott Norton Rating: 60 Earl Robert Eaton vs Ricky Steamboat vs The announcers made light that this was Ricky Steamboat's first appearance on WCW programming since Uncensored, surprisingly enough. Steamboat showed great skill in the ring once again, in any case while Earl Robert was sadly, sadly, not keeping up. The match went a solid 13:59 which, thanks to Steamboat, was acceptable. The Dragon got the win with his beauty of a Flying Crossbody. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 73 - No sooner did the bell ring when Steve Austin hit the ring and wasted no time jumping Ricky Steamboat. A brawl ensued between the two wrestlers which found Steamboat gaining the upper hand, sending Austin flying over the top rope after a trademark chop to Austin. A furious Steve Austin retreated up the aisle and toward the back, giving Steamboat a mouthful the entire time. - Rating: 83 Sting & Lex Luger vs Faces of Fear vs If there were two guys to rank close to Meng on the Meng-Manly-Meter, it would be Sting and Lex Luger. While this wasn't the best rated match on the show, it was definitely the loudest from the crowd. The Faces of Fear proved to be no slouches when it came to competing with the two well-known stars of WCW. The announcers also speculated if Scott Hall and Kevin Nash would be making another appearance in this match to distract Sting or Luger. This did not turn out to be the case though and ended up being a very competitive match between two teams, both proving to be worthy title contenders. The match went an impressive 16:26 and saw the known spot in the match where Sting hit a Stinger Splash on Meng while Luger got the Barbarian up in the Torture Rack for the win. Winners: Sting & Luger Rating: 70 Final Show Rating: 79

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the WCW Hotline Report! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund and do I have a ton of information to go over! As was announced on WCW Monday Nitro this week, Nitro will be moving to a 2 hour broadcast beginning this coming week! This is a huge step and shows just how great the Monday night show has become! There is a new young prospect named Rocky Maivia that has just broken into the wrestling scene. This kid is the son of former wrestler Rocky Johnson and scouts are apparently very high on him. He is yet to be picked up by any promotion, however, but we will keep an eye on where he lands for sure. Sabu has been released by WCW. Mae Young, Bob Caudle, and Paul Orndorff have announced their retirement from wrestling. All three have had very successful careers and we wish them all the best! ECW Heavyweight champion Raven suffered a full elbow MCL rupture during a match this week. He apparently will be out of action for the next 6 months. This is a huge blow for ECW and Raven, who only won the title just last month. The title has since been declared vacant. It would appear that the WWF is in full blown panic mode, as they have recently resigned several big names to contracts. The British Bulldog, 123 Kid, and Ted DiBiase have all signed new exclusive deals. Folks, there is an additional huge name in the WWF that is up for contract negotiations. I cannot reveal the name but I can confirm that WCW has reached out to this star and made a contract offer. This would be a huge acquisition for WCW and would be a major, major blow to the World Wrestling Federation! There was a ton of action on this week's WCW Saturday Night! Hulk Hogan demanded another World Title rematch against the Giant and claimed that he should be the #1 contender after the way the match ended on Monday Nitro. There was no answer from the Giant on Saturday Night and it would be no surprise if there were a confrontation this week on Nitro. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash had a pre-recorded video where they proclaimed to be taking over WCW and said it was a huge mistake for Sting to get involved in their business. Over the last few weeks, we have seen the WCW Franchise stand up to these two intruders and tension is building heavily each week. Brian Pillman issued a challenge to Eddie Guerrero for Slamboree in which he stated he wants a straight-up match with no gimmicks involved, just to see who the better man is and who will earn the United States title. The new tag team champions American Males seem to have their work cut out for them, as a title match has already been set for Slamboree. The Faces of Fear will challenge for the titles at that Pay Per View. After several weeks of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash attempting to get Diamond Dallas Page to walk beside them, and failing, it seems they've had enough. These interactions have resulted in the WCW fans warming up to DDP and it was full-scale support this weekend as Hall and Nash brutally attacked him. He was stretchered out of the arena as a result of the gang style attack. In the main event of the night, Eddie Guerrero defended the US title against Arn Anderson. The match resulted in a disqualification as Guerrero was attacked by both Anderson and Brian Pillman. Lex Luger ran in to break up the attack, as he's had his own issues lately with the 4 Horsemen. Here are the results from Saturday Night! US Title: Eddie Guerrero (c) def. Arn Anderson by DQ John Tenta def. The Bootyman Tag Team Titles: American Males (c) def. Ricky Santana & Bunkhouse Buck Television Title: Scott Steiner def. Lord Steven Regal (c) by intentional count-out after Regal walked out of the match Perry Saturn def. Sabu Kevin Sullivan def. Jerry Sags Wrath def. Disco Inferno Here is the line-up for this week's WCW Monday Nitro! Main Event: Faces of Fear vs Sting & Lex Luger Ricky Steamboat vs Earl Robert Eaton Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Scott Norton Scott Steiner vs Dean Malenko World Title: Wrath vs The Giant (c) Mike Barton vs Steve Austin

Holy crap man! I'm not sure it's deserved, but it is much appreciated!

Week 1, May 1996 LIVE from the Breslin Center - Great Lakes Attendance: 15,000 (SELLOUT!) Monday Nitro is 24 hours removed from Spring Stampede and, Tony Schiavone tells us, the Macho Man Randy Savage's career is over! Tony welcomes us, along with Bobby Heenan and Mike Tenay and all three are shocked by the ending of Spring Stampede last night and what this means going forward. Bobby Heenan thinks Savage will struggle with being out of wrestling because that's all he's known for the last 20 years. He also thinks Hulk Hogan was out celebrating all night last night to finally kick the Macho Man out of wrestling. Mike Tenay and Tony Schiavone are sympathetic to the Hulkster, thinking it must have been an emotional thing to end the career of someone he's considered a best friend for so many years. They also let us know that new tag team champions have been crowned and the American Males are now in the top spot of the tag team division, but with that will bring significant challenges, especially when Harlem Heat returns. Tony presses against his headset as someone is speaking to him on the other end and then proceeds that he's just been told breaking news, and that right here, tonight on this program, Hulk Hogan will face The Giant for the WCW World Heavyweight title. Heenan says that Hogan must not be too torn up about beating Savage as he's wasted no time getting a title match. Tony also tells everyone that starting next week, Monday Nitro will move to a 2 hour broadcast, allowing more prime time wrestling action to be brought to you! Just as he's finishing his statement, "Pomp and Circumstance" begins to play over the arena speakers, which brings the crowd back to their feet. The Macho Man walks out, though he's not his usual energetic self. Savage is very subdued and, while he's still dressed eccentrically, he's in what you would consider "casual" clothes for the Macho Man. He walks to the ring where Mean Gene is just stepping in, obvious that this was an unscheduled interview. Savage meets Mean Gene in the center of the ring while the music fades out. Gene: Macho Man, had I known you would be kicking off Monday Nitro tonight, I would've been better prepared. Last night at Spring Stampede, you put your career on the line against a former best friend and now considered enemy, Hulk Hogan. After a long back and forth battle, where it appeared you both had nothing left, you were pinned and your career seemingly over. Macho Man, what can you tell us regarding your plans moving forward??? Gene holds the microphone to Savage's mouth and he appears to be about to say something, before shaking his head slightly and stepping back to collect himself. Savage is clearly emotional, but it's all hidden behind his dark, signature sunglasses. Macho Man, it's undoubtedly difficult to talk about this, though you wouldn't have come out here if you didn't have anything to say. Tell us what you're thinking. Mean Gene Okerlund, yes, I've got something to say.. Last night, I competed in this ring against probably the biggest name in wrestling - Hulk Hogan. Last night I put my career on the line because of my extreme hate of everything involving Hulk Hogan! See, it didn't always used to be that way! We got along and we were even friends...But then Hulk Hogan just couldn't stand when anyone else had the spotlight for more than 5 minutes over him! I let that go for years and just chalked it up to two big dudes with two big egos.....Until my last world title reign! Hulk Hogan, every time the Macho Man experienced an ounce of joy in something, you decided to interfere and take that away! You did that early in my career, you did that with my marriage, and you've done it every time I've won a world title! So last night, I put my career on the line because one way or another, I wanted to be done with you! If I won, you had to never be involved in my career again! If you won, you end my career and I'm out of wrestling! Either way, things between us were going to be finished! So yeah, maybe I did put too much emotion into it! Maybe I wasn't thinking rationally, but Mean Gene Okerlund, when has the Macho Man ever been rational?!? The fact doesn't change; Hulk Hogan, you won and the Macho Man lost! Unlike you Hogan, I'm a man of my word. Congratulations, well done...You've ended the career of the Macho Man and right off the bat, you get a title shot tonight. The world doesn't change for Hulk Hogan, you still get to live in your ivory tower! As for the Macho Man??? I don't know what the future has in store for me, but I'll tell ya right now, I ain't finished! Rating: 91 Dean Malenko & Hugh Morrus vs Lex Luger & Sting vs The first matchup features an odd pairing and an experience pairing. Of course, the experienced pairing comes out the victors in this match. The announcers wonder if we'll be seeing a more regular team of the Total Package and the Stinger and if they plan on making a run for the tag team championships. Sting got the submission victory at 8:01 with a Scorpion Deathlock on Malenko. Winners: Sting and Lex Luger Rating: 70 After a brief commercial, we return to the entrance ramp where Larry Zbyszko is standing by with Television champion Lord Steven Regal. Regal looks Zbyszko up and down with a look of disgust an arrogance while Larry does his best to ignore it. Larry: I'm here with the reigning Television champion Lord Steven Regal. Last night at Spring Stampede, Mr. Regal, you defeated Fit Finlay. This was coming off of your recent injury and you proved that you're still the top of the mill with that title defense. Regal: "Top of the mill???" Is that what you consider me? The top of the mill? Let me explain to you and all of these disgusting people out here, because apparently between the all of you, you've got about half a brain cell to share... I told Eric Bischoff to find me an opponent for the Television championship because I've beaten everyone there is to beat! I've gotten bored with trying to find a challenger, if I'm being honest. So what's he do? He goes out and finds a bloke named Fit Finlay. Now, I'm no stranger to him either because I've kicked his arse all up and down the coasts of England and Ireland, and I guess I've got to now do it in North America! There's got to be someone around here worth half a challenge!!! As Regal talks, Scott Steiner emerges from the entrance behind Regal and Zbyszko, which causes the crowd to start to stir and yell in excitement. Steiner slowly walks towards the interview and when he finally gets close enough, he just stands. Regal eventually starts to feel a presence behind him and his eyes grow big. Larry slightly turns his head to see Steiner standing there and just begins to smirk. Regal slowly turns around and when he see's Scott Steiner, he jumps, retreating a few steps as Zbyszko holds the mic for him. You want someone worth a challenge??? I'll tell ya what...I'll give you that challenge you're looking for, and to give you one further, I'll take that title off of you! Just to give you enough time to prepare, so you don't come up with some excuse of losing, how about we have a match this weekend on Saturday Night?!? Be careful what you wish for, boy, cause you just got it! Regal begins to walk off, all the while shouting at his challenger. Regal shakes his head "yes" indicating they will indeed have a match for the title on Saturday Night! Rating: 72 Ric Flair vs Brad Armstrong vs All the Horsemen accompany the Nature Boy to the ring tonight, though none of them get involved in this match. It actually ended up being a competitive match, much to the surprise of the viewers. Flair proved why he's the dirtiest player in the game though, as he used plenty of underhanded tactics against Armstrong. Flair got the submission with the Figure Four at 9:54. Winner: Ric Flair Rating: 80 Immediately after the match, the Horsemen enter the ring and promptly dispatch Brad Armstrong out of it. Steve Austin's got a microphone and a clear chip on his shoulder. Last night, I was supposed to have a match against Ricky Steamboat, and just like Randy Savage, I was supposed to run his ass out of WCW! But that didn't happen because Steamboat was too afraid to once again face Steve Austin! Well, Ricky Steamboat, just so you don't go bail on me again, and so I can provide the beating to you that you deserve, I'm challenging you to a match at Slamboree, and I can promise you, I'll beat you within an inch of your pathetic life! A few seconds later, Steamboat appears on the screen, somewhere back in the locker room area.... Steve Austin, I'm not afraid of you and I'm not hiding from you! As a matter of fact, I accept your challenge, with one other stipulation...I want our match at Slamboree to be a strap match! That'll ensure that neither one of us can run too far away...But Steve, it won't be me being beating.... You think you can beat me in a strap match?!?! You're on!!! Rating: 84 WCW takes one final commercial break and when we return, we're at the broadcast booth where Tony, Bobby, and Mike all run down tonight's events, excited about Scott Steiner challenging for the TV title and talking about the first match to be signed for Slamboree, Steve Austin vs Ricky Steamboat in a strap match! As they talk, they become interrupted though, which results in Bobby Heenan quickly leaving the area... Hall and Nash don't have a microphone, instead they just taunt with Schiavone and Tenay. Hall messes with Schiavone's head set and ruffles his hair as Nash gets in the face of Mike Tenay. The crowd suddenly roar to life once again though -- Sting rushes in to the picture and shoves Scott Hall off of Tony. Kevin Nash quickly gets up in Sting's face and it looks like it's only a matter of time before a fight breaks out. Officials and security quickly rush into the scene to keep all of the men back from each other. Scott Hall has a furious look on his face while Nash points and yells at Sting. Sting isn't back down at all himself, either, but all the officials hold the men back. With all the chaos, and no announcers, Nitro goes to an unplanned commercial. Rating: 92 World Title: Hulk Hogan vs The Giant (c) vs Back from the unscheduled commercial, Hulk Hogan and the Giant make their entrance for this match. Hogan is all smiles and taunts to the crowd. The Giant isn't fazed by the theatrics given by the veteran. The match starts in typical fashion, both men sizing the other up. The Giant wants a test of strength that Hogan starts to win, but a cheap shot by the Giant reverses course. The Giant maintains control of the match from here, once again showing his dominance just like last night against Sting. The Giant's misfortune was when he went for a running shoulder into the corner. Hogan moved out of the way and the Giant turned into a bodyslam....But Hogan wasn't able to get it all the way and the Giant crashed down on him, nearly getting the pin. Hogan was able to come back though when he ducked a big boot and on rebound, went for a shoulder tackle. Neither man went down as a result and looked at each other. Both men turned and rushed the ropes, but Hogan again ducked a running clothesline and both men rebounded. On the return, Hogan hit his Axe Bomber (running clothesline) which is used as his finish in Japan. The Giant didn't fall though, he was merely rocked. After staggering a few steps, Hogan again picked the Giant up for a slam and this time got him! With his back aching, Hogan motions for the Leg Drop. He rushes the ropes and comes off, leaping high in the air and connecting! He goes for the pin but the Giant kicks out at 2!!!! With Hogan stunned, the Giant is slowly getting to his feet. Hogan taunts the crowd some more to get them fired up and he motions that he's going to slam the Giant again! Hogan goes in but the Giant grabs him by the throat!!! He lifts Hogan high in the air and crashes him to the mat! The Giant is extremely pleased with himself and goes for the pin, but Hogan kicks out at 2 and begins to Hulk up!!! Jimmy Hart has now come down to ringside and is watching from outside as Hogan begins hitting punches on the Giant, rocking him back toward the ropes. Hogan then whips the Giant to the ropes for his Big Boot and connects! The Giant is still reeling as he then flips over the top rope and to the outside! Seeing the end in sight, Hogan is frantically taunting out to the crowd and goes to grab the Giant to bring him back into the ring. As Hogan reaches over the top rope to grab the Giant's hair, who's outside on the floor, The Giant then blasts Hogan in the head with the World Title, right in front of the referee. What wasn't seen was Jimmy Hart handing the Giant the title to hit Hogan with. The bell rings at 15:43 and the Giant and Jimmy Hart quickly make their way up the aisle to make an exit from the arena. Hogan is down on the mat with blood trickling down his forehead as Nitro fades to a close. Winner by Disqualification: Hulk Hogan Rating: 78 Final Show Rating: 83

Sunday, Week 4, April 1997 LIVE from the Milwaukee County Stadium - Milwaukee, WI Attendance: 53,000 (SELLOUT!) WCW's Spring Stampede kicks off with a huge display of fireworks and crowd shots from the sold-out arena. We're brought to the announcer's booth where Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan welcome everyone. There is much excitement in the air tonight, Tony tells us, as the World, Tag, and Television titles are all on the line and there are huge stakes at hand tonight as the Macho Man Randy Savage's career is also on the line in a grudge match for the ages against Hulk Hogan. They all briefly run down the serious injury that Rick Steiner endured earlier in the week and how he will be out of action for quite a long time, resulting in a winner-take-all match tonight to determine new champions. Bobby thinks that with Harlem Heat and the Steiner's out of the way now, it's anyone match to win. They quickly switch gears to Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan, the big match of the night. Heenan thinks that Hogan is a glory hog who's always been jealous of the Macho Man and that Hogan would love nothing more than to put Savage out of the wrestling business. Tony and Dusty disagree with the Brain and say that's awful harsh. Tony thinks it's a matter of two former friends who have become bitter enemies. Dusty says that's true and Savage might have put too much on the line due to emotions. They all wonder how it will turn out. We're sent backstage for the first promo of the night! Gene: Ladies and gentlemen, we are here at Spring Stampede, and to kick off the evening, I'm joined by 3/4ths of the 4 Horsemen, and gentlemen, you not only seem confident, but you seem unified! Flair: Gene! We are unified and lookin' only as we can look! Tonight, without a doubt, will be a HORSEMEN night! In the last week, we've prepared, we've set our plan, and we know what we need to do! Tonight is all about getting the Horsemen back on track and Gene, there's gonna be no stopping the Horsemen! WWWOOOOOOOO!!! Austin: Mean Gene Okerlund, hold that microphone up here and do the job you're supposed to do! During the last few weeks, I called out Ricky Steamboat! I challenged him to a match here tonight at Spring Stampede and guess what happened?!? He showed his true colors and proved without a shadow of a doubt that he's too afraid to face Steve Austin! See, I beat him outta WCW once before and right here tonight I was fixin' to do the same thing again and he chickened out! I don't have a match against Ricky Steamboat tonight. As a matter of fact, I don't have a match against anyone! So I'll tell ya what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna go out here next with the Nature Boy and the Loose Cannon and I'm gonna pay real close attention to the tag team match....And then after tonight, Brian Pillman and I are gonna pay real close attention to whoever wins the tag titles, and then we're gonna go take em right off them! That ain't no threat, son, that's a promise! Hey, Steve, you're not the only one who's going to be walking that aisle with us....C'mon in here Double A! Arn: My, my my, how good it feels to be back. Lex Luger, you better watch your back, my friend, because you've now got a bullseye on yourself. Nature Boy, you're right, tonight is going to be the Horsemen's night. Rating: 86 Ric Flair & Brian Pillman vs Eddie Guerrero & Lex Luger vs The opening of this match proved that the Horsemen were looking to reverse their bad luck and came out blazing. Brian Pillman lived up to his "loose cannon" moniker as he ferociously went after Eddie Guerrero to start. The match eventually cooled down and the Horsemen took over, working very well together and cutting off Eddie from his corner. There were several instances where Eddie got close to making the tag only to have Arn Anderson or Steve Austin distract the referee. Each time, the referee missed the tag to Luger and caused the Total Package to get back to his corner. Anderson and Austin's presence at ringside proved too much for Guerrero and Luger throughout the matchup. The tide finally turned when Pillman was attempting to cut off Guerrero once more, but a miss of a wild punch allowed Eddie to hit a nice dropkick. After crawling over and Anderson and Austin were too late for another distraction, Eddie finally got the hot tag to Luger, causing the crowd to explode with cheers. Luger entered on fire, taking down Pillman, then Flair as he tried to come in. After multiple clotheslines and sending Flair over the top to the outside, Luger tapped his forearm to get ready, pumping the crowd up even more. Luger bounced off the ropes and struck Pillman square in the center of his head. He then motioned for the Torture Rack, causing the packed house to do the same. Anderson now was able to jump on the apron with a chair, distracting Luger. The referee was yelling for Anderson to get down and with Luger's attention, Austin slid in the opposite side of the ring and blasted Luger from behind. He picked up Luger and held him for Pillman to strike. As Pillman rushed in, Luger ducked out of the way, nailing Austin and sending him out of the ring! Luger quickly hoisted a stunned Brian Pillman up in the Torture Rack while the referee turned to see Pillman wildly submitting at 21:01! Winners: Eddie Guerrero & Lex Luger Rating: 86 Following the exciting opening match, Tony Schiavone is standing off on an interview platform and announces his guest, much to the delight of the packed crowd: Tony, let me tell you what! The Stinger is, without a doubt, ready for the biggest fight of my life tonight for the World Heavyweight Title! If I thought it was tough last month at Uncensored, you can multiply that by about 1,000! The Giant's no joke and he's going to be gunning after the Stinger but I can promise you this! I will walk out of here tonight the new world champion and I know that's gonna disappoint a lot of people backstage, but they can bring it! Schiavone: Sting, you've recently been coming out here to confront Scott Hall and Kevin Nash any time they show up. Now that we finally have someone standing up for WCW, do you plan to challenge them to a match?? One thing at a time, Tony. I'm not afraid of confrontation and I'm not afraid of a fight! If Scott Hall and Kevin Nash want to declare a war on WCW, then the Stinger will be happy to stand up because I AM WCW! But like I said, one thing at a time! Tonight, I'm concerned about winning the world title, and that's what I'm gonna do! Rating: 83 Television Title: Fit Finlay vs Lord Steven Regal (c) vs During Regals entrance, they replayed a video clip from WCW Saturday Night a couple of weeks ago with Regal telling Bischoff to find him an opponent for Spring Stampede. It would seem that he did, as Mike Tenay, who is now sitting in for this match on commentary, gives a background on Fit Finlay to the viewers at home. Tenay said how he was particularly excited for this matchup because these two are quite familiar with each other in England and Ireland. Regal, however, seemed completely disgusted with his opponent and wiped himself off after their first lockup. Finlay had several moments where he surprised Regal with his brutality, but Regal actually showed his own mean streak. Regal picked up the win and successfully defended his title with a Regal Stretch submission at 10:08. Winner: Lord Steven Regal Rating: 76 Tag Team Titles: Faces of Fear vs American Males vs Blue Bloods (Taylor & Eaton) vs vs This match featured three teams who have all been vying for challenging for the titles and now they all get their chance to win them after some misfortune by the top teams in WCW, Harlem Heat and the Steiner's. While there was some decent heat to the match, it did struggle a bit to maintain momentum as 3 people were in the ring at once. The Blue Bloods hoped to continue their groups championship bragging rights but anyone could see the real competition was between the Faces of Fear and American Males. Double team efforts kept the Males up with Meng and the Barbarian. After a breakdown of the match where all competitors flooded the ring, Bagwell was able to catch the Barbarian with a flying cross body off the top for the shocking win at 12:25! Winners and NEW Tag Team Champions: American Males Rating: 64 After seeing the American Males celebrate their title win, cameras fade to the backstage area where Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are inside a room watching the monitor as the American Males celebrate: Hall: Big Kev, you see that?? What a couple-a baffoons.... Nash: Tell me about it...You'd think they won the Super Bowl or somethin'. Yeah, well, they should enjoy it now. All three of those teams are lucky we weren't in the match, cause we all know who would be holding those belts right now... No doubt.... Rating: 93 World Title: Sting vs The Giant (c) vs Following a short promotional video, both competitors make their entrances for this next match. The crowd were on their feet and excited for the Stinger as the Giant's entrance caused an immediate drop in the mood which turned to fear for the Stinger's safety. This match went much like their match at Uncensored the prior month. Sting used his quickness to gain an advantage which was abruptly stopped like running into a brick wall. The Giant ended up toying with the Stinger and tossing him around like a rag doll. If there were any doubts about the Giant's domination as champion, that stopped at 15:11 when the Giant landed a huge Chokeslam for the convincing win. Winner: The Giant Rating: 89 John Tenta vs The Bootyman vs If a bit of air escaped the stadium following Sting's disappointing loss, it was even worse with the next matchup. Not so much due to Tenta, but the excitement vacuum that is the (once again) Bootyman. We're given a brief history of the Bootyman, once lost as the Zodiac and now seeing his fun-loving ways again as the Bootyman, taking on a former Dungeon of Doom teammate John Tenta. Tenta has voiced his desire to compete for the TV title during interviews on Saturday Night and got one step closer after hitting the Earthquake Splash for the pin at 6:54. Winner: John Tenta Rating: 55 - We're brought backstage for an interview next as Mean Gene interviews the Nasty Boys ahead of their matchup against the Dungeon of Doom. Gene says this is a sort of grudge match, as Big Bubba and Kevin Sullivan of the returned Dungeon of Doom seek revenge against the two from Nastyville. The score to settle is when the Nasty Boys injured Meng during a match. Sags and Knobbs say they never meant to hurt anyone but that won't keep them from being as mean as they wanna be against the Dungeon of Doom in the Dungeon match coming up next! - Rating: 57 Larry Zbyszko is backstage with the Macho Man Randy Savage to interview him ahead of his upcoming match. Savage, intense as always but also very focused, is wound up tighter than a yo-yo as the Living Legend asks Savage if he's as prepared as he can be for tonight's match, which if he loses, means his career is over. Larry Zbyszko, there's not one match I've ever been ready for in my entire life more than this one! YEAH! I might hate Hulk Hogan more than anything in the world but if there's anyone in the entire universe that knows Hulk Hogan, it's the Macho Man! Hulk Hogan, I know you better than even YOU know you! Tonight ain't gonna be about the Macho Man's career coming to an end, nuh uh! It's gonna be about the Macho Man getting payback for all the times you had to get involved in my business and refuse to let me have my moments! Hulk Hogan, I got your number, and your number's ZERO! OHHHHH YEAAHHHH! Rating: 83 Dungeon Match: Dungeon of Doom (Bubba & Sullivan) vs Nasty Boys vs This match was billed as a "Dungeon" match, but really what it was, was a street fight. In reality, it was just 7:56 of pure chaos as both teams brawled all over the ringside area and eventually into the backstage area. Big Bubba and Kevin Sullivan used absolutely anything and everything in their grasp to completely punish the Nasty Boys. After both men were beaten crazy with steel chairs, they remained sprawled out on the cold concrete. The referee checked both men who could not continue and stopped the match. Winners: Dungeon of Doom Rating: 73 Gene-O is once again backstage but this time with the Hulkster. Gene asks Hogan about his thoughts going into this match against the Macho Man. Hogan looks in deep contemplation and stares off at the ground as he begins to answer; Ya know something, Mean Gene? I never thought it would come down to this between me and the Macho Man. All I've ever done through my career....No....Not just my career, but my life....Me and the Macho Man have traveled together, brother. We've been best friends. I've been there for him not just in wrestling but in our personal lives. When his marriage was ending, it was me who invited Randy Savage into my home. We've cried together, we've bled together, we've broken bones together. Mean Gene, our careers have paralleled each other's! Gene, I don't want to end the career of the Macho Man tonight. I don't. I've tried to resolve this problem we're having peacefully, but he's not interested. Gene, it looks like one more time here tonight, we're going to bleed together again. I don't want to end the Macho Man's career, but that's exactly what I'll do. Rating: 100 Falls Count Anywhere: Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan vs A match for the ages between two of the most well known names in all of wrestling. Both Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were on top of their game in this match. Savage entered first and, much like their encounter two weeks ago on Nitro, Savage began his assault just as Hogan was stepping through the ropes. The bell rang and the fight was on. It didn't take long before the match spilled to the floor and the two fought around the ringside area. Shortly after that, the match went into the stands. Security did their best to keep the rabid fans back but the Macho Man used chairs, drinks, and trash cans to bash the Hulkster with. Hogan was bleeding heavily within 5 minutes of the fight beginning. Both men worked their way up the arena steps and into the concourse area, fighting into the concessions. The tide turned to Hogan as he began to mount his comeback, using many of the same items he fell victim to before. It was now Savage's turn to bleed, and bleed he did. The men worked their way through concessions and eventually to the restricted backstage area where they sent each other into walls, gates, and at one point, Savage even tried to Marty Jannetty Hogan by sending him through a window. Hogan blocked it though at the last second and sent Savage into a table, which tipped over throwing its contents everywhere. Eventually, the men made their way back out through the curtain and into the aisle way, heading back toward the ring. Once back through the ropes, both men were showing fatigue but the announcers reiterated that there WILL be a winner in this match, unless both men are unable to continue. Savage through some punches, though they didn't have as much snap on them as they did at the start of the match. Savage tried whipping Hogan into the corner but Hogan reversed, following closely behind with a huge corner clothesline. The Macho Man staggered out and Hogan approached from behind, only to have Savage mule kick Hogan with a low blow! The Hulkster crumpled down to the mat and Savage, seeing the opportunity, went to the top and prepared for his Flying Elbow finish. Savage leapt high into the air and crashed down....On the mat! Hogan moved out of the way, now with a burst of energy. Hogan wasted no time rushing the ropes and on the rebound, went for his Leg Drop! This time though, it was Savage who moved out of the way! The crowd was now going crazy, with not one person sitting down. In one fast motion, Savage again climbed the ropes and this time, rather than his usual preparation for the Elbow, he just jumped, connecting with the Flying Elbow Drop! Hogan began twitching as Savage went for the pin! 1... 2..... Kickout!!! Hogan kicked out!!!! Hogan now is Hulking up and nails Savage with punches, rocking him back toward the ropes. Hogan whips him to the opposite side and hits the Big Boot! Like his life depended on it, Hogan rushed the ropes and went for the Leg Drop, this time connecting with his own finisher and immediately going for the pin! 1...... 2....... 3!!!!!! The bell rings at 21:29 and Hulk Hogan, blood mixed with sweat and now tears, is streaming down his face. Randy Savage, completely spent and probably experiencing his own emotions, is down crumpled on the mat as Hogan's hand is raised. The scene holds for a few moments before the show fades out. Winner: Hulk Hogan Rating: 79 Final Show Rating: 84

Ok guys, so I really goofed up and for some unknown reason, I apparently auto-booked the final Nitro before Spring Stampede and I paid the price for it. I'm going to completely ignore that Nitro and that's why I used it being "pre-empted." This show is also the one that cost me Rick Steiner, though luckily there were no title matches. The AI also booked Hall and Nash which really threw off my plans of not using them in matches for awhile. Here's the Nitro results from Week 4, April 1996: Angle between The Giant, Randy Savage, & Ricky Steamboat Rating: 88 Sting & Hulk Hogan def. Big Bubba & Kevin Sullivan Rating: 77 Angle w/Big Bubba, Kevin Sullivan, Sting, & Hogan Rating: 72 Diamond Dallas Page, Scott Hall, & Kevin Nash def. Jim Duggan & The Steiner's (Resulted in Rick Steiner's injury) Rating: 70 Angle w/DDP, Hall, Nash, Duggan, & Steiner's Rating: 78 Eddie Guerrero def. Dean Malenko to retain US title Rating: 66 Overall Show Rating: 79 I didn't feel right about editing Steiner's injury and just decided to run with it. I cannot think back to why in the hell I would have auto-booked a final Nitro before a PPV, but oh well. Hopefully you guys are enjoying this!

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the WCW Hotline Report! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund and we have a ton of huge news to go through this week! Monday Nitro this week has been pre-empted by TNT due to the NBA playoffs. WCW president Eric Bischoff was reportedly furious with the decision to pre-empt the show as this is the final week heading into Spring Stampede. I'm told that Bischoff did everything possible to try and get Nitro some air time, but it was to no avail. Marc Mero, formerly in WCW as Johnny B. Badd, and his wife Rena Mero, have announced their divorce. Apparently the relationship became strained after Mr. Mero's WCW contract was not renewed and he was unable to sign a deal elsewhere. It was just reported, however, that he has signed an open contract with World Wrestling Council, which is based out of Puerto Rico and are looking to become a major contender. They also feature Jeff Jarrett, Ron Simmons, and Jake Roberts on their roster. WCW injury woes continue as two injuries, one major one, have been suffered this week at house shows. Dave Taylor was diagnosed with knee tendonitis. Initial reports indicate that he will still be able to compete in the ring, albeit at a limited capacity, and it is expected to affect his performance for the next year. In perhaps the biggest news of the week, Rick Steiner was the other to suffer an injury this week. This injury is extremely severe and the match the Steiner's were participating in had to be stopped. Rick Steiner was tended to by paramedics and stretchered out of the ring. Steiner was diagnosed with a Sacral Spinal Cord Rupture and is expected to be completely out of action for over the next year. This injury continues to pile onto WCW's injury problem. Harlem Heat and now the Steiner Brother's, WCW's two main tag teams, are out of commission. I'm told that WCW has officially vacated the titles and this throws into question the plans for Spring Stampede. WCW were apparently already planning a #1 contender's 3-way tag team and that will now be made for the tag team titles. The match will be the American Males vs Faces of Fear vs Blue Bloods (Dave Taylor & Robert Eaton). I've also received word that the Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan match on Nitro completely fell apart and a rematch will take place at Spring Stampede. Additionally, the Macho Man's career WILL be on the line. I've also been told that this match will be a falls count anywhere, no disqualification and there WILL be a winner! Here is the official card for Spring Stampede! Falls Count Anywhere: Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan Street Fight: Nasty Boys vs Dungeon of Doom (Big Bubba & Kevin Sullivan) The Bootyman vs John Tenta World Title: Sting vs The Giant (c) Tag Team Titles: Faces of Fear vs American Males vs Blue Bloods (Dave Taylor & Robert Eaton) Television Title: Fit Finlay vs Lord Steven Regal (c) Eddie Guerrero & Lex Luger vs Brian Pillman & Ric Flair

Week 3, April 1996 LIVE from the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium - Ontario, Canada Attendance: 6,000 (SELLOUT!) Nitro kicks off this week and there is a heavy excitement in the air. We're welcomed to this week's show by Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes as they recap the challenge that Randy Savage issued to Hulk Hogan for tonight. They go to a replay from this weekend's WCW Saturday Night where Hulk Hogan wanted a face-to-face meeting with the Macho Man. Hogan wanted Savage's assurance that he would hold up his claim that he'd retire if Hogan wins. The video then goes to the ending of the show where Hogan was waiting for Savage to appear, though he never did. Despite the Macho Man's no-show at Saturday Night, Schiavone says that the match has been made official, the paperwork has been signed, and right here, tonight, we will see the Macho Man Randy Savage against Hulk Hogan, a match for the career of the Macho Man. Tony says that tonight is definitely a night you don't want to miss Monday Nitro. As difficult as it was for the announcers to switch direction from the big story, they also discuss other events from Saturday Night. Brian Pillman and Ric Flair confronted Eddie Guerrero and challenged him to a match at Spring Stampede, telling him to find a partner if he could. They also play a short clip of an interview with Diamond Dallas Page where he was asked again about his relationship with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, only to ignore it and walk off. Finally, The Taskmaster also made a new plea to The Giant to rejoin forces to take on the upper echelon of WCW once again. Not only is the weather starting to heat up, but also the activity of WCW! WCW Nitro continues to heat up even more as "A Man Called Sting" begins to play over the arena speakers, which causes a loud roar from the sold-out arena. Any Nitro that kicks off with the Stinger is always a good Nitro and he walks out and motions to the crowd as fireworks explode behind him. Sting's all energy as he heads to the ring, clearly with something to say. Mean Gene Okerlund rushes inside the ring as Sting climbs the middle rope to continue to taunt and call out to the crowd. Gene: Sting, I'll admit you caught me off guard as we kick things off on Monday Nitro!! Tonight is shaping up to be quite the night, and it's clear to see that you've got something to say! Sting: Oh Mean Gene!!!! It's Monday, It's Monday Nitro, and the Stinger's feeling GOOD! Now just a few weeks ago at Uncensored, I took the WCW World Champion to the limit! I tested him like no one has tested him before! Now Mean Gene, if you'll remember, I came up juuuuuust a little bit short at regaining the world title, but Gene! I was SO CLOSE! So close, I could taste it! And you know, Mean Gene, I told myself that I might've come up just a bit short at Uncensored, but I've got the Giants number, and I'm not done just yet! So! What I'm gonna do right now, Mean Gene, is I'm going to make a challenge! I'm making a challenge to the Giant to put that world title on the line against the Stinger ONE MORE TIME! And I want him to put that title on the line at Spring Stampede!!!! Oh my!!! We'll have to see later on tonight just what the Giant's answer wil--- No, No, Gene.....I want the Giant to come out here RIGHT NOW, and let me know what his answer is! After all, we're just under two weeks away from Spring Stampede, and the Stinger needs time to come up with a battle plan! It doesn't take long for the lights to dim and music to play as the huge silhouette of the Giant walks out to the stage. With the world title strapped around his waist, the Giant has a microphone in hand and stops at the top of the ramp. The music fades out and the Giant has a smile on his face. Ya know, Stinger, there's something that I just have to like about you. The fact that you'll come out here, directly call out the world's largest athlete and show no fear, no intimidation, and have a smile on your face while doing it, just show's what kind of man you are... A mistaken man.....A man who has no clue about just what kind of hell you're wanting to put yourself through. There are three things I can promise you to be fact, Sting. 1.) I'll put my title on the line against you at Spring Stampede. 2.) I WILL leave Spring Stampede still the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. 3.) You WON'T be smiling after our match. Rating: 89 John Tenta vs Scotty Riggs vs Both men gave a solid effort in this match to get the crowd into it, but it just didn't come across well. The announcers paid no attention to this match and spent the time hyping the main event instead. Most expected Tenta to come away victorious, but a quick roll-up shocked everyone when Scotty Riggs got the pinfall at 7:44. Winner: Scotty Riggs Rating: 51 Following a quick commercial break, cameras return to the backstage area where a red and yellow Dodge Viper is pulling up. The crowd is heard cheering as Hulk Hogan gets out of the driver's seat and begins heading into the arena. Hogan appears to be all business tonight. Rating: 74 We stay backstage with a promo by the Dungeon of Doom members Big Bubba and Kevin Sullivan. They talk about how the Nasty Boys are reckless and need to be punished. They challenge them to a Dungeon Match at Spring Stampede where, Sullivan says, their souls will belong to him! Rating: 56 Tag Team Titles: Steve Austin & Brian Pillman vs The Steiner Brothers (c) vs With some new-found motivation for the Horsemen, what better way to prove themselves than to re-form an old team and reclaim tag team titles? The former Hollywood Blondes vastly out-performed the Steiner's, which was seen as a shock to many. No one was quite sure, but the Steiner brothers must have been having an off night, especially Rick. You'd think this would lead to new champions, however, the Horsemen members tried to use dirty tactics too many times, which resulted in a Steiner win at 7:39. Winners: Steiner Brother's Rating: 68 Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are backstage for a promo next. They say that they've been paying close attention to the landscape around WCW and there isn't one area of concentration out of their field of view. They also plan on crashing the party at Spring Stampede and, who knows, they might have some other friends come along. Rating: 87 After another break, the Horsemen's theme plays once more in the area and this time the Nature Boy Ric Flair walks out, dressed as only the Nature Boy can dress, joined by Brian Pillman. As the two head to the ring, the Saturday Night clip is again shown where Flair and Pillman challenged Eddie Guerrero to a tag match at Spring Stampede. They climb in the ring and surprisingly, Pillman has the mic. Steve Austin and myself have been given a challenge by the Enforcer and the Nature Boy. As a matter of fact, there's nothing that would make the two of us happier than to make both Arn Anderson and Ric Flair proud! Eddie Guerrero was challenged by me and the Nature Boy to Spring Stampede! Now I know he doesn't have too many friends back there willing to team with him, but we decided to give him a few days to find one! Ric, we may just end up in a handicap match because he can't find anyone! Flair: Eddie Guerrero, it's put up, or shut up time, pal! If you were able to pull some kind of miracle and find a partner for Spring Stampede, it's time to come out here and tell us! One thing's for certain though, and that's that no matter who it may be, it won't be enough to get a win over the Nature Boy and the 4 Horsemen! A few seconds go by and Guerrero's music hits, which is promptly made fun of by Pillman. Eddie comes out and stops on the stage to address the Horsemen in the ring. Flair holds open the ropes for Eddie, who refuses the invitation. Eddie: No, no, no....I'm not going to fall for that old trick, Nature Boy. The two of you seem to be pretty badly mistaken. I have found a partner for Spring Stampede and let me assure you, he's no pushover. In fact, it's someone the two of you are very familiar with. I'm not going to drag this out for dramatic effect, so I'll just bring him out now... Lex Luger walks out to a huge ovation from the crowd. Eddie and Luger high five each other and Lex then just turns and stares at Flair and Pillman in the ring, who are now collectively losing their minds. Flair is kicking the ropes and screaming out while Pillman has a look of shock and buries his head in his hands. Nitro fades to it's final commercial break as the Horsemen freak out in the ring and the crowd goes wild. Rating: 94 Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan vs The moment everyone has been waiting for. The tension built in the arena for this match could be cut with a knife. Randy Savage makes his entrance first and doesn't play to the crowd at all, instead he paces around the ring like a caged animal. Hulk Hogan comes out to his usual mannerisms, playing to the crowd and taunting his way down the aisle. As Hogan begins to pass through the ropes, Savage attacks, causing Michael Buffer to skip his usual long-winded introductions as he makes a mad dash to exit the ring. The fight is on from here as Savage never lets up and even chokes Hogan with his own shirt. The referee doesn't even bother with a 5 count, letting the brawl go on where it eventually spills to the outside. Savage continues the assault in a rage, choking Hogan with TV cables and sending him into the ring posts. Savage loses the momentum when he goes to hit Hogan's head into the steel barrier. Hogan instead blocks it and rams Savages head into it. They trade some offense all around the ringside area before they begin making their way up the aisle and toward the stage. The referee tries to intervene and get them back into the ring but they ignore him. After Hogan whipped Savage into the barrier, the referee again tried to direct him to the ring. Hogan instead, uncharacteristically, pushed the referee off before going back to Savage. This small distraction allowed Savage to get an eye poke on Hogan before sending him into the cold steel. The referee this time tried to plea with the Macho Man to get things back to the ring. This is answered by the Macho Man grabbing the referee and launching him in the other direction. His attention once again turned to Hogan, the two men wildly brawl and go off the side stage area. Cameras frantically try their best to get that way before the two men disappear behind the large curtain. After a few moments, the referee is able to collect himself to officially waive off the match at 10:21. The crowd, excited and loud just moments before, now are confused and disappointed in the result. The announcers seem confused also as Nitro fades off the air. No Contest Rating: 79 Final Show Rating: 84

Week 2, April, 1996 LIVE from the Rose Garden - Portland, OR Attendance: 12,440 - This week's Monday Nitro kicks off with all kinds of fan fare. After the typical firework/crowd shot intro, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone to this week's Nitro. Schiavone says he's once again filling in for Eric Bischoff, who is trying to deal with the intrusion of yet another wrestler and mentions that Bischoff is trying to find a solution. A quick recap is played from last week's Nitro where, this time, the WWF championship belt is blacked out. The announcers speculate just what Kevin Nash and Scott Hall have in store for WCW and Tenay doesn't like the aura that's being presented by the two. Schiavone says that Nitro is kicking off this week with an in-ring interview and Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by - Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the great state of Oregon tonight for Monday Nitro, and it's already shaping up to be quite an evening! We're going to get things started here tonight with a man who had a big target put on his back last week by the 4 Horsemen. Join me as I welcome - The Total Package Lex Luger! Lex Luger, last week, the 4 Horsemen had a lot to say about you. Not only did you face Arn Anderson at Uncensored in what's shaping up to be a heated rivalry, but they also blamed you for the Enforcer picking up an injury during that match. You then went on to face Ric Flair in the main event, which didn't turn out to your liking, I'm sure. See, Mean Gene, if there's one thing I can count on, it's the 4 Horsemen not being able to have a clean match. Where there's 1 Horsemen, you might as well figure the other 3 are going to be close by for some kind of sneak attack. That's exactly what happened last week in the main event. Now I'm not sure what problem the Horsemen have with me, other than the fact that any time I've been in the ring with them, things haven't turned out to their favor. I've never been one to back down from a challenge or fight, so if any of the Horsemen want a fight with the Total Package, that's just fine with me, but Gene, I didn't have anything to do with Arn Anderson's injury and maybe it's got more to do with the fact that the Enforcer just isn't as tough as he used to be....... Quite strong words there, Mr. Luger. Going forward, what goals do you have in mind for WCW? Going forward, Gene, I'm going to go through any obstacle that's in my way. I'm not going to back down from a challenge from anyone, whether that's from the 4 Horsemen or anyone else. If Arn Anderson wants to face the Total Package again when he heals up, I've got no problem beating him in the middle of this ring to show him that Lex Luger is no pushover! Rating: 79 Tag Team Titles: John Tenta & Wrath vs Steiner Brother's vs There was a short mention over the weekend on WCW Main Event that random pairings of teams might crop up from time to time in order to give the Steiner's some challengers to the tag belts, as well as WCW toying with finding out who might work well as a team. This week, the attempt was John Tenta, formerly Shark of the Dungeon of Doom, and Wrath. It was found that Wrath and Tenta actually had good chemistry when teaming and worked well together. It could possibly be a sign that we might see these two team up in the future, though we also might not. Despite the rather large stature of both men, the Steiner's moved them around like they were middleweights. The match ended at 6:08 after Rick Steiner got the pin on Wrath. Winners: Steiner Brother's Rating: 62 Cobra vs Sabu vs This match was a completely odd thing to have on Monday Nitro. It gave the crowd in attendance a chance to go to the bathroom and the viewers at home to switch over to WWF Raw and catch a backstage segment with Road Warrior Hawk, which wasn't much more exciting. Cobra picked up the surprising win, not that anyone cared, at 6:07 with a Cobra Clutch. Winner: Cobra Rating: 35 - Nitro takes a break and when it returns, we're taken to the broadcast booth where the announcers are providing everyone with the mid-show updates and news. Schiavone begins to hype up the upcoming Spring Stampede PPV, always a favorite among the WCW faithful and Bobby Heenan brings up the motivating interview last week with the 4 Horsemen. The Brain thinks it is just the shot of momentum the Horsemen need to get back to dominating WCW. Mike Tenay is excited about all the potential matchups regarding the TV title, as several wrestlers have made it a mission to compete for the title, which he thinks will rejuvenate the roster. While they're all discussing their preferred topics and preparing for the next segment, they are once again interrupted..... Heenan promptly scurries off and Mike Tenay doesn't stick around for too long, leaving Tony Schiavone all alone at the broadcast position. These two.....outsiders creep up, taunting Schiavone the entire time before getting up on the platform. Scott Hall toys with Schiavone while Kevin Nash has a microphone. Why'd all your buddies run off??? There's nothing to be afraid of, fellas. While you all were out here talking about all the big news in WCW, there was one little thing you left out....You didn't have one word to say about the two of us. My main man has been coming out here for a couple of weeks now, letting everyone know that things have changed around here. I haven't seen one person out here who can hold a candle to the two of us! Hey, little man....You might be filling in for the Ken doll, but you're just as much of a little punk like he is. I came out here on day one and said where are the Ric Flair's, where's the Macho Man, where's all these people who supposedly are WCW through and through??? They've all remained silent! They've all ---- - The crowd stirs with excitement which causes Hall to stop. A low rumble turns into loud cheers as both Hall and Nash suffer a bit of their own medicine and themselves are interrupted.... - Ya know, it takes some real tough guys to come out here for a couple of weeks and pick on guys half their size....You want to come out here and pick on announcers? If either one of you boys want a fight, you don't have to look too far, because I'm standing right here! You don't have to call out guys like Ric Flair or the Macho Man..Oh, and by the way, I never did hear you mention the Stinger's name in all that! Hey, look scary man...You can come out here dressed like it's Halloween if you want, but we're looking for real challengers! We don't want no punk that only stayed in WCW because he couldn't hack it anywhere else! - Hall and Nash start to laugh after that joke but their laughs quickly turn to anger and serious looks, as Sting out of nowhere hits Hall with a loud slap across his face, which echoes through the arena. The audience gives a collective gasp afterwards followed by silence as they're all on edge to see if an all-out fight will erupt now. Instead, Sting gets his own serious look on his face as he steps closer to Scott Hall with Nash just off the side, not backing down and not showing that he's intimidated at all. - You want to see who can hack it and who can't? You want a fight? Either one of you? Name the time and place and I'll be there. Oh, and next time you might want to think about picking on someone your own size. Rating: 95 - Nitro takes another commercial break following that confrontation. When Nitro returns, we're taken to the backstage area where a fight has broken out between the Faces of Fear and the American Males. All the announcers are back in their spots now and mention that these two teams are vying to be #1 contenders to the tag team titles. While the American Males may not have the best winning record, their spirit can't be denied and their toughness also, as they've never shied away from the Faces of Fear, two of the most dominating wrestlers in WCW. The fight is pulled apart but they're still yelling at each other. Tony also mentions that it's nice to finally have someone in WCW stand up to Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. - Rating: 57 Lance Storm vs Brian Pillman vs Lance Storm has shown great promise in the ring as of late and normally this match would be a pretty technical and high flying affair. Brian Pillman was much more methodical and aggressive in this match though, which was attributed to the Nature Boy's speech last week. Pillman got the win at 7:42 with an Air Pillman. Winner: Brian Pillman Rating: 72 Randy Savage vs Steve Austin vs Both Horsemen were men on a mission here tonight and looking to get back on track with a pair of wins. While no disrespect to Lance Storm, Steve Austin's path was much more difficult. The Macho Man was also a man on a mission and clearly was in the mood to take no prisoners. Savage attacked relentlessly, which cause Austin to more or less flop around the ring like a fish out of water, never able to get a hold of momentum in this match. Savage was on fire and had the performance of the night and Austin did a good job keeping up with him. Savage scored the win at 13:42 with his Flying Elbow, but prior to leaping off the top rope, he cupped his hand to his ear. Winner: Randy Savage Rating: 80 Savage: Hulk Hogan, you son of a bitch!!! You thought things would be over between us at Uncensored??!?! Things will NEVER be over between us until I say so! YEAHHH! The fact remains, Hulk Hogan, that WCW isn't big enough for the both of us! It's either me or you, and I can promise you Hogan, that it's gonna be ME! Who's it gonna be?!?! It's gonna be the Macho Man! So here's the deal, Hogan! Right here next week on Monday Nitro, it's going to be Hulk Hogan.....Against the Macho Man! It ain't gonna be just a one on one singles match. Hogan, I hate you so much and can't stand you that I'll be willing to put my career on the line! That's right! The Macho Man's career on the line next week against Hulk Hogan! No disqualification! You beat me, Hogan, I'm done! I'm gone from WCW! My career is over!! BUUUUUTTTTT..... If I beat you, you're gone from my life, finished, over! You stay out of my business and I never want to be involved with you ever again! You will never share the ring with the Macho Man again, you'll be banned from any of my matches! It ain't a wish, Hulk Hogan, it's a fact! And that fact is, next week, the Macho Man is going to beat you to a bloody pulp and leave you lying in the middle of this ring! OOOOHHHH YEAAAHHHH!! Rating: 92 Final Show Rating: 83

I'm glad everyone's enjoying Hall and Nash showing up early. When I started this game, I didn't give contracts much of a look in the editor prior to starting, so when Hall and Nash were at the end of their WWF deal, I didn't waste any time with negotiations and trying to sign them up. Shockingly, I didn't have much back and forth or battle with the WWF in negotiations. I had much more of a battle with other people. Another thing that was shocking was that Nash held the title all the way up to his exit. They never had him drop the title or stripped him, and they had plenty of time, which the AI usually will do. That gave me the idea to have him show up with the title because it's something Bischoff obviously would have done, and I was never going to go the Madusa route with the women's title. It was also an opportunity to get a bit of pay back for when the WWF had the big gold belt on their programming. Needless to say, and I know I sound like a broken record probably, but WCW has been pretty vanilla up until now. Things will really start to heat up and go quickly from here on, I think. While there were the unlikely things such as Steve Austin and Ricky Steamboat's return, I'd like to think that the story with them is fitting in nicely to my alternate history. I will hopefully continue to present things to be considered realistic and allow people to think "yeah, I could see this being plausible." Unlike signing up every big name to think of and bloating the roster.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the WCW Hotline Report! I'm Mean Gene Okerlund, and do I have a lot of information to catch you up on! The secret news going around the last few weeks has indeed been the exit of Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) and Diesel (Kevin Nash) from the World Wrestling Federation. There had been confusion going around because Diesel had remained WWF champion up until his exit. As you all know, Kevin Nash appeared on WCW Monday Nitro this week and indeed did have the WWF championship with him. We have heard that Vince McMahon was reportedly furious that his world title belt ended up on another program and the very next day, WCW was hit with a cease and desist. Needless to say, the WWF title will not be making any other appearances on WCW programming. As for the WWF, they held Wrestlemania 12 the same night as Uncensored. WWF fans who tuned in were probably puzzled when a match featuring the British Bulldog vs Bam Bam Bigelow was for the WWF title, as no explanation was given. The British Bulldog won that match and subsequently became the new champion. The WWF must have made a duplicate of the title, as it was presented to Bulldog following the match. Fans were probably even more puzzled when the main event, featuring Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels, was not for that title. The match was given rave reviews and is considered to be the match of the year already. Owen Hart had also defeated the 123 Kid for the Intercontinental title. On the WCW side of things, as was announced on Monday Nitro this week, Arn Anderson did indeed suffer an injury in his match at Uncensored against Lex Luger. The Enforcer reportedly received a dislocated hip. He is expected to miss the next month of in-ring action. The injury is not believed to be due to any errant action by Lex Luger. Television Champion Lord Steven Regal also apparently suffered an injury at Uncensored, I'm told a Type II Supracondylar Fracture. Regal will be kept out of in-ring action but he is expected to return by Spring Stampede. As such, WCW does not seem to have any plans to strip Regal of the title. The former Zodiac is now known once again as the Bootyman. Here's the lineup for this week's Monday Nitro! Week 2, April 1996 Steve Austin vs Randy Savage Brian Pillman vs Lance Storm Sabu vs Cobra Tag Team Titles: John Tenta & Wrath vs Steiner Brother's

Week 1, April 1996 LIVE from the Lawrence Joel Coliseum - Winston-Salem, NC Attendance: 14,600 (SELLOUT!) The opener for this week's WCW Monday Nitro is huge, complete with a gigantic pyro display as well as shots from all around the sold out arena here in Winston-Salem this week! It clearly is WCW country as the fans are rabid for action this week and excited to see what Nitro has in store! Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome us into viewers homes and Bischoff says there is tons of fallout as WCW is just 24 hours removed from Uncensored! Bischoff explains that the score seems to be far from settled between the Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. Hogan offered his hand following the end of the cage match last night between the two, only for Savage to spit on Hogan and leave. He also says the Giant successfully defended his WCW World Heavyweight Championship in impressive form against Sting, however, things don't look to be over between them either, as the Stinger says he's got another challenge left in him as he continues his quest at regaining the championship. The tag team division has heated up tremendously as multiple teams vied for the #1 contendership against the Steiner Brothers. We've also crowned a new United States champion in Eddie Guerrero, as he shocked everyone by beating Brian Pillman last night. Lord Steven Regal was successful in his title defense and Arn Anderson came away the victor against Lex Luger, though it appears the Enforcer had picked up an injury during that match. He explains we should hear more about that later on as music begins to play to kick off Nitro. Those in the crowd who had sat, rise to their feet again as "American Made" plays through the speakers. Red and yellow lights flash at the stage and none other than Hulk Hogan comes out and heads to the ring, where Mean Gene has quickly gotten in. Mean Gene: Last night at Uncensored, Hulk Hogan, you defeated the Macho Man Randy Savage inside a steel cage. We all can see the leftover damage from that match, by way of the bandages on your forehead. You went into the match hoping that things would be settled between the two of you, however, that doesn't seem to be the case the way the Macho Man left you at the end of the show.... Well ya know somethin', Mean Gene!?!?!? After there was a 9.0 on the Richter scale last night, it took all the scientists to come together and realize there wasn't an earthquake, brother, but that it was the battle between Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man. And the fact remains, Mean Gene, that I had hoped, either way that the battle would end between me and the Macho Man! I hoped that reason would overcome emotion and that things would be back to normal, brother. I hoped that we would continue on with being friends and watching each other's back. I was probably the most shocked out of anyone, brother, when that didn't end up being the case! Instead of a shake of the hand that I offered, the Macho Man saw fit to hit Hulk Hogan with the ultimate disgrace; He spit on me, dude! The Macho Man spit on me and walked off! Mean Gene, you've known me for years, brother, and never in my life had I been disgraced like that. It would've been better if the Macho Man just hit me in the face with the biggest right hand he could muster up. Despite all that, brother, I didn't lose sight of the big picture. Despite the biggest insult of my life by being spit on by someone I consider a best friend, I tried to understand where the Macho Man was coming from. I've tried calling the Macho Man all day long and he's ignored my calls. I tried meeting him at the airport, but he never showed. I got here early to the arena to catch the Macho Man when he arrived, but I've not seen him, dude! I've done everything I possibly can as a friend to get things back on track with the Macho Man, but brother, friendship can't be a one-way street. At some point in time, the Macho Man's got to decide for himself what's more important in life?! Is it hangin' with friends and doing the right thing, or is it secluding yourself and cutting yourself off from the world?! That's up to the Macho Man, Mean Gene. I can only apologize so many times for the way his world title reign ended up, but ya know what Mean Gene?? That wasn't all my fault either, dude. The Macho Man might want to take a look in the mirror and own up for his own misgivings rather than blame them all on Hulk Hogan, brother! Rating: 99 Earl Robert Eaton vs Brad Armstrong vs During the course of this match, Mike Tenay explained that these two are attempting to establish themselves as top contenders to the Television title. WCW's mid-card division has been on a role lately and things have been heating up, including and surprisingly, these two competitors. What this match lacked in crowd heat made up for pretty decent in-ring action. Earl Eaton got the win at 7:44 with his Alabama Slam. Winner: Earl Robert Eaton Rating: 69 Following the match and after a quick commercial, Nitro returns and the arena once again comes alive as horses are heard galloping through the arena, followed by one of the slickest guitar riffs ever heard as the 4 Horsemen's theme blares through the arena speakers. All four members make their way out to the stage with three very key observations; Arn Anderson comes out on crutches and Brian Pillman and Steve Austin look extremely unhappy. Ric Flair has the same old Nature Boy attitude, though, who is all smiles and strutting, soaking up the reaction from the North Carolina crowd. Flair: If there were ever a time to say, unequivocally, that we were in Horsemen country, I would, without a doubt, be RIGHT NOWWWWW!! WHOOOOOOOOOOO!! Seeing as we're in Horsemen country, it's no better time to announce that right here, right now, the Horsemen are starting on a new chapter! Ya see, last night didn't exactly go the way as planned for the Horsemen! We had Ricky Steamboat, that little pissant, somehow steal a win from Steve Austin....We then had Brian Pillman lose the United States championship to that illegal immigrant known as Eddie Guerrero....And then, then......The Enforcer was easily able to dispatch the Total Package Lex Luger, but if it couldn't get any worse, as you can tell, Double A left that match injured!!! Now, I'm sure each man will touch on what happened in his own way, but as far as the Nature Boy is concerned, as the leader of the Horsemen, we need to take a collective step back and realize that something has to change! Double A and I have spoken to one another and came to the conclusion that you, Brian Pillman, and you, Steve Austin, need to step it up! You see, Double A didn't drop the ball last night. He won his match and due to that clutz Lex Luger who can't hack it in the ring with the likes of the Enforcer, ended up injuring him! Pillman, for weeks, you've been coasting along the tails of the Horsemen, feeling success because the Horsemen have provided it! Hell, you were the United States Champion! You had everything going for you, and you let someone like Eddie Guerrero beat you?!? Wake up son and realize you're a Horsemen! You're in the most prestigious group in the history of wrestling, pal.....You need a kick in the ass, and the Nature Boy and Enforcer will give you one! As for you, Steve Austin.....While Ricky Steamboat's no slouch in the ring, you've got to find your mean streak! You are, without a doubt, a ruthless son of a bitch and should take no prisoners! You wanted to end Steamboat last night?!? Then by God, you should've ended him! I don't care if you got disqualified in the process, you're a HORSEMAN! It's time we get back to Horsemen business, and boys, we've got a lot of work to do! Now, I'm not coming down on the two of you or threatening you're not going to he Horsemen. I'm saying this all because both me and Double A know your potential, and it's time you two achieve that! It all starts right here, right now, tonight! Anderson: Ya know, Ric, I couldn't have said that better myself. In fact, Brian, Steve, we're not coming down on you, we're just gonna give you a little bit more encouragement. The Horsemen have been soft for too long and we need to find our mean streak again. Now then, as for Lex Luger.....I might be an old dog, but you're gonna have to kill me to keep me out of this ring. Luger's going to find out that you don't cross a Horsemen, and you sure as hell don't put one on the shelf. It's far from over between us, Luger, and when this old dog is back, I'll take back over my territory! Pillman: Nature Boy, I appreciate the wake-up call you've given me and Steve....It's true that I might have gotten a little to bit lax on my motivation and didn't give the proper amount of attention to Eddie Guerrero. I've more than been awakened to my error, one that will be rectified very, very soon. Eddie, don't get too comfortable with that title around your waist, my friend, because it will be mine again. Austin: Steamboat might have gotten one up on me last night, but I promise you, that's the last time he's ever going to get the advantage on Steve Austin again! Nature Boy, it ain't gonna be a problem for Steve Austin to find his mean streak. In fact, I've just been waiting for someone to give me the kick in my ass that's needed. The last thing Ricky Steamboat and the rest of WCW is gonna want is Steve Austin's ruthless streak to come out.....And there's no better time to let it show than right now against the Disco Inferno! Disco Inferno vs Steve Austin vs Austin wasn't exaggerating when he said he'd let his ruthless streak out. Austin beat Disco, without mercy, from one corner of the ring to another, nearly getting himself disqualified in the process. Austin had a nearly crazed look in his eye during the entire destruction of the Inferno. Probably to the relief of Disco, Austin ended this match at 8:30 after hitting a Stunner. Winner: Steve Austin Rating: 71 Cameras return to the announce booth position as Bischoff and crew begin to run down the nights events thus far, and try to predict what might happen later on tonight. Bischoff informs everyone that during the last match, Ric Flair had requested a match in the main event tonight against Lex Luger, to try and get some payback for the injury the Horsemen claim he caused Anderson last night. Bischoff says that Arn was indeed injured during the match last night, but it isn't thought that Luger caused the injury. Just as they begin to move on to the next segment, they are once again interrupted...... The intruder, who Eric Bischoff finally calls Scott Hall, is seen just off from the announce booth area. Lights come on to reveal him and Bischoff begins to stand up. Hall approaches and taunts Bischoff as Bobby Heenan and Mike Tenay quickly leave the area. Hey there little Ken doll...You got something to say? Bischoff: I do, as a matter of fact! You've come out here the last couple of weeks uninvited. You're not welcome out here and you have no purpose to be here. You aren't an employee of WCW and until then... You know, you got a big mouth on you for such a little guy! What you're gonna do right now is shut that little trap of yours before I smack it off of ya! I told you last week that I got a BIG surprise for you tonight! That's right! You said you have a surprise and yet here you are, and there's nothing else with you..... - As Bischoff is speaking, the cameras are zoomed in very close on Hall and Bischoff. Hall proceeds to taunt Bischoff and laughs in his face. Bischoff continues to press on this surprise and the crowd in the arena can be heard starting to rumble. Hall laughs and points, seemingly to Bischoff. Bischoff simply says he's "right here" but Hall continues to point. The cameras zoom out to see who, or what, Hall is pointing to - A towering figure stands behind Bischoff, completely unaware. A title belt is slung over his shoulder and there's no context given because the remaining announcers have run off. Bischoff still fails to turn around and finally the man grabs Bischoff and gives him a push before letting go. Bischoff turns and with a huge look of shock on his face, see's the man. - Rating: 99 Kevin Nash....??!?! - Now no secret to their names, Nash grabs the microphone out of Bischoff's hand and with a look of pure anger on his face, grabs the title belt off his shoulder and looks at it, before tossing it away - Nash: What's the matter??? Cat got your tongue???? Ya know, week after week, I hear you on TV talking about how WCW is the premiere wrestling organization, how WCW has the better athletes, WCW has the better show, how WCW is where the big boys play......So this is where the big boys play, eh??? Look at the verb - Play. We ain't here to play! How is it, the man you've been talking crap about for weeks, the WWF champion, can be right here on Monday Nitro looking you square in the eye and calling you out on your crap?!? I'll tell ya how - Because us two, we do what we want to do, WHEN we want to do it, and there ain't a damn thing you or anybody else can do about it! You better take a look around and realize that the measuring stick just changed, and you're lookin' at the two who are in charge! Rating: 99 Lex Luger vs Ric Flair vs Following the latest interruption, WCW was forced to go to a commercial break. When Nitro returned, it was time for the main event and both men made their entrance. Eric Bischoff was notably absent from the announce desk, instead replaced by Tony Schiavone. Bobby Heenan and Mike Tenay had made their return and Schiavone explained how Bischoff had to leave in order to try and get a handle on this interruption from two individuals that are not employed by WCW. The match began with Flair taunting Lex Luger, which the NC crowd ate up. Flair took his time and worked at controlling the pace, which also included him using dirty tactics at any available moment. It wasn't a quick match and both used the time to tell a story in the ring. Flair's story was that of revenge for his friend and stable-mate. Luger's was to claim he had nothing to do with Anderson's injury and using his strength to out-power the Nature Boy. Arn Anderson, of course, had accompanied Flair to the ring and though he didn't get involved in the match, he did distract Luger quite a bit. The ending of the match came at 15:34 when Double A strategically placed one of his crutches on the apron and then hobbled around the other side of the ring to distract the referee. With the distraction in place, Flair grabbed the abandoned crutch and blasted Luger with it, who was also distracted by Anderson. Luger crumbled to the mat and Flair made the pin. The referee conveniently turned around to see the cover and counted the pin. Winner: Ric Flair Rating: 80 Final Show Rating: 87

WCW Presents: Uncensored Georgia Dome - Atlanta, GA Attendance: 61,218 WCW is ready to get Uncensored here tonight, live from the Georgia Dome in WCW's backyard, Atlanta, GA! Critics think WCW has their work cut out for them tonight as they're going up against the WWF's Wrestlemania, headlined by Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels, which isn't too far away in Miami, FL. Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes welcome everyone for tuning in to WCW's broadcast and Bischoff says WCW is the place to be and the place where all the action's at, unlike that other company. They're all very excited for tonight's events and run down the card. Bobby Heenan speculates that a cage isn't even enough to contain Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Dusty Rhodes predicts we'll see a new world champion tonight in Sting, and Bischoff says the road to find new #1 contenders to the tag team titles starts right here tonight and the Steiner's will be keeping close tabs. We're then sent to a short, pre-recorded promo by the Steiner's, who say much of the same thing, that they'll be paying attention tonight to all of the involved teams and taking notes. In the end though, they remain confident that whoever it is, will come out on the losing end. The Steiner's wrap it up by saying that when Booker T gets cleared for competition though, Harlem Heat will be the first to get a title opportunity and say that the Nasty Boys better not even show their faces around them. Television Title: Dean Malenko vs Lord Steven Regal (c) vs We get down to our first match of the night which is also for the TV title. Dean Malenko, while he's had several high-profile, solid performances, has struggled to gain any steam in WCW while the Lordship has proclaimed himself to be the best TV Champion in WCW history. Malenko is clear to be on the high list of the WCW board of directors from the opportunities he's been given, but just nothing has seemed to stick. It was more of the same in this match. Malenko gave a very solid effort in the ring which paired nicely with Regal's style. Though both men gave great effort in the ring, the end result just fell bland. Regal picked up the submission victory at 14:31 with a Regal Stretch to retain his title. Winner: Steven Regal Rating: 59 Faces of Fear vs American Males vs The first match in this mini tag team tournament features two teams who both look to hold WCW gold. The Faces of Fear have easily established themselves as top tier challengers while the American Males have done their best to prove they're on the same level. They're given a great opportunity here to prove just that, because if any team can defeat two behemoths such as these, who could question their worthiness? Despite giving it their all, the American Males just couldn't keep Meng and the Barbarian down. Meng scored the win at 7:42 after getting the submission on Scotty Riggs. Winners: Faces of Fear Rating: 66 The Horsemen are all backstage and appear to be in a lively mood tonight. Pillman stands, smiling wickedly into the camera with the US title over his shoulder, Austin looks intense, The Enforcer looks, as always, like he means business, and Flair, the only Horseman tonight without a match, is dressed to the 9's in a custom made suit and begins the promo. Tonight, is, without a doubt, the Horsemen's night! We've got the Enforcer taking on the Total Package Lex Luger....Luger, on his best day, couldn't lace the boots of Arn Anderson! This man has more wrestling ability in his pinky finger than Luger holds in his entire body! Luger, you might look like a Greek God pal, but tonight, make no mistake, will belong to the Horsemen! WWWOOOOOOOO!!! Double A: Lex Luger, ya see, it's real simple....Tonight, I get you in the middle of that ring, and you're mine! The ring is my domain, Luger, and you'll find that out. See, you've been putting yourself in the middle of Horsemen affairs for long enough. You've butted in our business since back to Halloween Havoc. You wanted to mess with Brian Pillman, then you wanted to mess with Steve Austin, then you moved on to the Nature Boy. See Luger, you've bitten off more than you can chew, because tonight you get in the ring with the Enforcer, and you'll soon realize just what *this* (Holds up 4 fingers) is all about! Pillman: Hahaha....Eddie Guerrero....Eddie Guerrero.....Oh my gosh, could it be?!?! Guerrero, who failed to do much of anything with the Television title, now thinks he's in the league with me to win this title???? I am the greatest United States champion in history - No offense, Mr. Austin - and Eddie Guerrero thinks he can take it from me?? Eddie, not only do you have to try and beat me, but you also have to deal with my insurance policies that I have right here.......Best of luck, to you, my friend. Austin: Ricky the Dragon Steamboat thinks he can just walk back in here to WCW after a couple of years off and act like he owns the joint?? Well I've got another thing comin' to ya, Steamboat! I beat you outta WCW once before, and right here tonight, I can promise you that I'll dump you out of WCW once again like the worthless little carcass you are! Rating: 87 Ricky Steamboat vs Steve Austin vs These two men demonstrated how they're extremely familiar with the other and both nearly had an identical performance in the ring. Austin's mannerisms paired perfect with the clean-cut good guy image that Steamboat is so great at portraying. The match went just over 16 minutes in length where Austin attempted to use every dirty tactic imaginable. He went to the well one too many times, however, and his last attempt at using an illegal object resulted in Steamboat hitting his top rope cross body for the win at 16:09. Austin was beside himself after the shocking pin. Winner: Ricky Steamboat Rating: 81 The Macho Man is backstage and looks ready to go here tonight. With fists taped up to his elbows and a look of fire in his eye, Savage begins his promo Tonight's the night, YEAH! Hulk Hogan, I get my hands on you tonight and I'm gonna make up for all the times you screwed me over in my career and in my life, UH HUH! Make no mistake about it, Hulk Hogan, I'm gonna make you beg for your life tonight inside the cage!! Tonight isn't about world titles, money, or fame...It's about the Macho Man getting ahold of you and making sure you never EVER get involved in my business again!!! I am the man with the plan and this is the match the whole world, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn or anywhere else is waiting for!! OOOHHH YEAHHH! Rating: 86 Nasty Boys vs Dungeon of Doom (Big Bubba & Taskmaster) vs Billed as a grudge match and given a "Texas Tornado" stipulation, this meant that it pretty much is a no-disqualification, no tag team rules match. The Dungeon of Doom was thought to have been faded into oblivion, but some bad luck with the Nasty Boys resulted in their resurrection. The Dungeon of Doom wanted to get some payback for the Nasty's injuring one of their brethren, and that's exactly what they did. The fans saw some viciousness out of Big Bubba and Kevin Sullivan that they haven't seen in a very long time. The Nasty Boys were drug around the ringside area and every available item was used as a weapon to torture them. During this match, you'd never guess that the Nasty Boys were technically the babyfaces and the ruthless nature that Uncensored is billed as went along nicely with this match. Big Bubba scored the pin at 9:44 with the Bubba Slam. Winners: Dungeon of Doom Rating: 69 United States Title: Eddie Guerrero vs Brian Pillman (c) vs Eddie Guerrero went into this match with a purpose but Brian Pillman did his best to slow things down and control the pace. Pillman spent a large amount of time stalling and toying with Guerrero, who did his best attempts to ignore it. Pillman tried one too many times though before Guerrero finally had enough and charged Pillman, exciting the crowd. It was an all-out brawl from this point on during the match. It wasn't an extremely long match, but the crowd was hot during the entire thing. Pillman was able to turn things around and gain an advantage following a sneaky eye poke, demonstrating that he's learned a thing or two from Ric Flair. Speaking of Flair, he also made his way down to the ring and attempted to help Pillman. After Flair distracted Eddie, allowing Pillman to hit a big clubbing arm to the back of the head, Pillman then held Guerrero so Flair could hit him with a punch. The referee was spitting warnings to the two Horsemen that he would disqualify Pillman, but the announce team wondered if that was the goal. Flair reared back and threw a huge right, but Eddie ducked out of the way and Flair blasted Pillman instead.....To make things worse, Flair had also put on a pair of brass knuckles beforehand. Eddie dispatched Flair out of the ring and signaled for the Frog Splash! The crowd was going livid as Eddie ascended to the top rope, looking out briefly at the raging crowd before jumping off and connecting with his finishing move. With the crowd counting along, the 3 count hit the mat at 12:54 as a new United States champion was crowned in what ended up being the best match of the night! Winner and NEW US Champion: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 91 To give a lull in the action, Larry Zbyszko is backstage with Hulk Hogan who wants to ask the Hulkster a few questions before the big match tonight, mainly, he wants to know, why things got so bad between him and the Macho Man. Well ya know something, brother?!?! I'm not sure where things went so wrong between myself and the Macho Man, dude! I've tried my best to be there for him, to be his best friend, to give him support when he wouldn't have gotten it otherwise! I've had his back more times than I can count, and I've stood by my word! Sometimes, Larry Zbyszko, the only way to work things out is in the ring, brother. It seems like now is that time between me and the Macho Man! Words can only do so much and we're now beyond that point! My only hope is that when things are all said and done, when the smoke finally clears, that the war between us is over, dude! Rating: 87 Arn Anderson vs Lex Luger vs The Enforcer headed into this match to take care of business and Lex Luger was more than accepting. An early advantage by Luger resulted in Anderson rolling outside the ring and requesting a timeout. He didn't get one though, rather he received more punishment, including a great looking powerslam from Luger. As Luger looked to finish up the match, he went for his old finisher, the Piledriver. Anderson reversed it and then hit Luger with his signature Spinebuster. There must have been some confusion though, because both men crashed awkwardly to the ring. It took some time for both men to get back up but then Anderson hit his DDT out of nowhere, scoring the pin at 11:24. Winner: Arn Anderson Rating: 75 After a short promotional break, highlighting WCW's next PPV, Spring Stampede, we return backstage with Tony Schiavone who is standing by with Diamond Dallas Page. Tony starts to get to his questions, however, he can't even finish his first one before they're interrupted........ Hey man...... Long time, no see, my friend. You know, there's some history between us that we need to bring to attention. See, me? I've been working on a few things and I could use some outside opinions. What do you say, big man??? Announcers have yet to give a name to this intruder and just gasp at the interruption. Diamond Dallas Page gives a displeased look before Schiavone puts the microphone back to his mouth. DDP nearly says something before shrugging his shoulders and slightly shaking his head and walks off, leaving both the intruder and Schiavone looking off. Rating: 82 John Tenta vs Wrath vs With still a lot more action to come at Uncensored, this was not one the fans were hyped to see. The most impressive part of the match was the ending, where Wrath demonstrated his crazy strength, getting Tenta up for the Meltdown at 8:22. Winner: Wrath Rating: 55 World Title: Sting vs The Giant (c) vs Another match the crowd were heavily excited for. All felt like this was Sting's match to win as the Stinger has vocalized plenty that he wants back in the world title picture. Factor that in with the lack of experience for the Giant, and all felt this match belonged to Sting. The Stinger used his quickness as Randy Savage had hoped to in his encounter with the largest athlete in the world. He left the Giant reeling, but much like the Savage match, it all changed with a flip of a switch. A Stinger Splash attempt turned into a bear hug that the Giant left locked in for a good amount of time, causing the Stinger to slowly fade. Just before being counted out, Sting briefly came back to life, using a flurry of punches and attacks to escape, but he was quickly halted as he rushed in, only for the Giant to grasp his large hand around Sting's throat. Hoisting him high in the air and dropping down a Chokeslam later, the Giant impressively defended his title at 15:44. Winner: The Giant Rating: 90 You didn't think there would be an event without Mean Gene, did you? After the Giant celebrates his victory, Mean Gene Okerlund sneaks his way into the ring as Sting is beginning to recover. After getting back to his feet, Gene gets a couple questions to the Stinger. Winded, Sting says that the Giant is no joke to take on and this was, by far, the toughest challenge of his career. He says that he's not finished though and wants to take the Giant to the limit one more time, as he's got plenty of gas in the tank. Rating: 87 Cage Match: Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan vs In reality, the show would've been much better served to be headlined by the World Title match and the US title match, but the story and feud surrounding this match resulted in it being the main event. Both men put forth excellent efforts in the ring and had the crowd eating up everything. Hogan and Savage used the cage effectively and often, resulting in both men bleeding heavily by the end of the match. There clearly was nothing left on the table with this match by either man. The ending of the match came when Savage had Hogan down on the canvas, both by exhaustion and pain. Savage made the long climb to the top of the cage, but he made no attempt to climb down. He stood and waited for Hogan to get to his feet, which he eventually did. The Macho Man jumped from the top of the cage and seemed to take an eternity to come down. He looked to hit Hogan with a double axe handle, but Hogan dodged out of the way. Savage crashed hard to the mat and Hogan took advantage, bouncing off the opposite ropes and hitting the Leg Drop. The pin was counted at 21:27 and both men lay spent on the mat. Winner: Hulk Hogan Rating: 78 Afterwards, Hogan slowly made it to his feet where he raised his arms in victory. With his music still playing, he looks at the Macho Man, who's beginning to stir on the mat. After a brief moment of consideration, Hogan walks over and grabs the Macho Man's arm, rising him to his feet. As soon as Savage is up, though, he shoves Hogan off as the two begin a staredown. After a few words are said, Hogan extends his hand to Savage. Savage looks at it, says a few inaudible things and then spits at Hogan. The Hulkster reacts like he was slapped in the face as Savage storms by Hogan and exits the ring. The camera remains on Hogan as he can't believe what just happened in the ring. Rating: 87 Final Show Rating: 79

There's going to be plenty of weird stuff going on, trust me. Hopefully it's weird as in good, rather than a bad weird, but stuff definitely gets more weird than this.

Thank you guys so much for all the predictions! @TheBigBad1013, I can only hope my dynasty ends up as good as your old one was. Whenever I think of how one should be done, I always go back to yours. Another off-hand note I meant to add on the Hotline report, I hope no one minds that I took a lot of Scott Hall's real promo and added it to his debut here. There are just some things too great in history to leave out and his real promo is unbeatable. It wasn't all verbatim, but a large amount was. I won't be doing that very often, either.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the WCW Hotline Report!!! There's been a few signings and releases in the world of wrestling; WCW has signed David "Fit" Finlay to a written contract. It is expected this signing is to attempt to bolster the mid-card and TV title divisions. The Disco Inferno has re-signed with WCW recently. The WWF has signed Road Warrior Animal to an exclusive deal. Road Warrior Hawk is already employed there and it is expected they will reform their team and compete in the tag team division. VK Wallstreet and Paul Orndorff are now gone from WCW. Their contracts had simply expired and they were not released. WCW did not have any interest in keeping either around, though there is some rumblings that Orndorff may find a job as a trainer at WCW's new developmental facility known as the WCW PowerPlant. You may (or may not) have noticed that Johnny B. Badd has not been on television. Badd has actually not been with WCW since the beginning of March when his contract expired and WCW had no interest in signing a new deal. Bob Backlund has left the WWF after his contract expired. Scott Hall's unannounced appearance last week on Nitro was a shock to the entire wrestling world. He apparently was extremely frustrated with his lack of use in the WWF. As of now, I have not been told what the plans will be with him, or what they will refer to him as on TV. WCW Uncensored is this weekend and promises to be a major show! Here is the card! Cage Match: Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan World Heavyweight Title: Sting vs The Giant (c) Wrath vs John Tenta Arn Anderson vs Lex Luger United States Title: Eddie Guerrero vs Brian Pillman Texas Tornado Match: Nasty Boys vs Dungeon of Doom (Big Bubba/Taskmaster) Ricky Steamboat vs Steve Austin American Males vs Faces of Fear Television Title: Dean Malenko vs Lord Steven Regal (c)

Week 4, March 1996 Orlando Arena - Orlando, FL Attendance: 16,441 Even before the typical Monday Nitro intro, the broadcast begins just outside the main gate to the arena where Sting and the WCW Heavyweight Champion Giant are in the middle of a wild brawl. Officials flood into the scene as they attempt to separate the two, though it takes a significant amount of time. The two eventually are separated and Sting still has a few lingering words for the Giant. Rating: 82 The arguments continue here on Nitro, this time the US Champion Brian Pillman and Eddie Guerrero are backstage. Rather than a physical fight, the two are lashing out back and forth at each other verbally. Eddie accuses Pillman of being too afraid to put his title on the line like a real champion. Pillman makes mention of Eddie running for the border and that he has the United States title, not the Mexican National title. Pillman taunts him some more before going off screen. Rating: 85 Dean Malenko vs Lex Luger vs Nitro was finally able to get to its official opening and Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay welcome everyone to a crazy and hectic night. Bischoff apologized for last weeks interruption and stated that WCW lawyers are in the works at keeping intruders out of the arena in the future. This match didn't burn the house down, but it wasn't a lackluster effort, either. Dean Malenko held his own pretty well against the Total Package. The ending was about as predictable as possible though and Luger got the win at 7:47 following a Torture Rack. Winner: Lex Luger Rating: 72 Following the match, cameras return to the broadcast position to finish the intro for Nitro this week. Bischoff mentions some big events this past weekend on WCW Saturday Night where the Dungeon of Doom made an unexpected resurgence to call out the Nasty Boys for their reckless behavior; after putting Booker T on the shelf, the Nasty Boys injured Meng during a match. Big Bubba Rogers and the Taskmaster issued a warning. Steamboat vs Austin was also made official for this weekend's Uncensored. DDP also walked off an interview when asked about his connections to last week's intruder. There are also big things to happen here tonig------- Bischoff trails off as last week's intruder makes yet another appearance tonight on Nitro. Bischoff stands up to face him but is slowly seated back down. He produces a microphone and after a few taunts, gets to his point of interrupting again. You got something to say, little man??? I didn't think so.... I said last week that if you want a war, you're getting one! When will that be?? Where will that be?? You're gonna have to wait and find out. See, I do what I want.....WHEN I want, and there's nothing you can do about it, or your two other little jockeys. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen one wrestler yet who could do anything about it either....Ric Flair? The Macho Man? Hah...Please. It isn't just me, don't you worry little Ken doll. You know why??? Because next week, I got a BIG surprise for you! Rating: 100 Scott Norton vs Mr. JL vs Nitro had taken a commercial break following the last segment and returns to Mr. JL already in the ring. Scott Norton follows and Nitro presents its next match. It wasn't really much of a match and was more of a 7 minute show of pure wrecking domination by Scott "Flash" Norton. He won at 7:05 with a Shoulder Breaker. Winner: Scott Nortron Rating: 44 Mean Gene has his weekly segment up next where he brings out Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man Randy Savage. Gene states that these two men will meet less than a week from now, this Sunday LIVE on Pay Per View at Uncensored. The once-friendship has now turned into a bitter feud that hopes to be put to a close this Sunday as they will meet in a steel cage. Hulk Hogan does his best at playing peacemaker, stating he's always tried to be there for the Macho Man and have his back. Just like brothers, they argue every once and a while, but that's no reason to throw years of friendship down the drain. The Macho Man see's things much differently. He says he's never been friends with Hogan and never liked him. He said Hogan's done nothing but ride on his coattails and any time Savage gets a bit of the spotlight, Hogan's always been sure to swoop in and take over. He says Hogan's always been jealous of the Macho Man and this Sunday, he's going to ruin Hulk Hogan just like Hogan ruined his life. Savage storms off leaving Hogan and Gene. Hulk Hogan appears to be devastated and says he hopes this Sunday that they can both enter the ring, get their aggression out, and leave it once and for all. Rating: 100 Ricky Steamboat & The Steiner Brothers vs 4 Horsemen (Anderson, Flair, Austin) vs This 6-man match was a great segway to talk about this Sunday's matchups. Ricky Steamboat and Steve Austin have apparently rekindled their feud from a couple of years ago and Austin hopes to finally rid WCW of the Dragon. The Steiner Brother's did have challengers for this Sunday at Uncensored by way of Harlem Heat, however, an errant injury put Booker T out of commission. The announcers speculate that Ric Flair and Arn Anderson could step up as potential tag team challengers but for the fact that Arn Anderson takes on Lex Luger. This was a typical babyface vs heels matchup that mostly centered around the Ricky Steamboat/Steve Austin story. Arn got the pin fall victory in 16:57 after a distraction by Flair allowed Austin to hit Steamboat with a chair. Winners: 4 Horsemen Rating: 83 Final Show Rating: 87

Week 3, March 1996 LIVE from The Spectrum - Philadelphia, PA Attendance: 16,837 Monday Nitro kicks off this week on fire, literally, as fire explodes from the ring posts. The fans in Philadelphia this week are rabid as Tony Schiavone sits at the broadcast booth this week, along with Bobby Heenan and Dusty Rhodes. A short clip is played from earlier in the day where Brian Pillman viciously attacked Eddie Guerrero as he was arriving to the arena. Schiavone tells everyone that a tag team match between Brian Pillman and Ric Flair versus Eddie Guerrero and a partner of his choosing was supposed to take place, however, Eddie has not been cleared to compete tonight. As the announcers discuss the change in plans, the crowd is given another reason to go crazy, as for the second week in a row, Nitro kicks off with the Stinger as "A Man Called Sting" begins blaring from the speakers. Well, well, well......Here we are tonight on Monday Nitro!!! I saw earlier that Brian Pillman is up to his same old tricks and sneak attacked Eddie Guerrero....Pillman, you may consider yourself to be a lucky guy because now you don't have a match scheduled for tonight and you thought that the Stinger's all tied up currently with the Giant, but you're even luckier!!! You know why??? Because even though I might be occupied by the Giant, the Stinger doesn't have anything going on tonight! So because the Stinger's evening is free...And because Brian Pillman's evening is now free....And because it's Monday Nitro and the Stinger's never gotten a rematch for that US title, how about the two of us have a good old fashioned one-on-one match tonight?!?!? Brian Pillman, I'm calling you out, RIGHT NOW! A few moments go by and everyone begins to hear the sound of running horses. The music of the 4 Horsemen begin to play and Pillman casually walks out onto the stage where he stops, the US title strapped securely around his waist. He has a microphone and has Sting's undivided attention. Stinger, I know you're a confused and troubled man, and you have a hard time understanding things, but I'll do my best to break it down for you in relatively simple terms....I'm not sure why you made it a point to come out here tonight and call me out in front of all these people....See Stinger, I thought things were finished between the two of us when I beat you for this coveted title, but I guess I was wrong. What I'm also not sure about is why you think you're deserving of a title shot when you can't even handle yourself against the Giant. What meaningful match have you even won on your own recently, Sting? The fact of the matter is, I'm the United States champion and the power is in my hands, not yours. I'll grant you a match tonight, Stinger....BUT! It isn't going to be for the US title. That's something you're going to have to earn.... Rating: 85 Disco Inferno vs Arn Anderson vs With the crowd firmly fired up, Arn Anderson continued it going. While the crowd were certainly entertained by Disco Inferno, Arn Anderson was in quite the mood. He broke down Disco with cold calculation, hitting his signature Spinebuster followed by a DDT for the win at 7:22. Winner: Arn Anderson Rating: 72 Brad Armstrong vs Dave Taylor vs The crowd wasn't particularly excited for this match but the announce crew did their best to not only hype up the talents of Dave Taylor and the Blue Bloods, but also of the streak and performance that Brad Armstrong has been on lately. Armstrong has been trying his best to challenge for the TV title and finds himself in the rest of the Blue Bloods crosshairs. This sounds much more exciting than it is in reality though, but something very peculiar begins to happen during this match, causing the attention to turn away from those in the ring and to something in the audience. A small rumble begins to get louder and louder as someone is walking through the audience and subsequently jumps over the railing.... Tony Schiavone: Hol....Hold on fans.. Something is.....Something is taking place... Who.... That's........ Wait a minute, we need security out here... The crowd is suddenly full of people pointing in the ring and growing excited as this person has now caused both competitors in the ring to come to an abrupt stop. He demands a microphone from ringside and climbs the steps to the ring, getting in, which then causes both men to exit, clearly resulting in a no contest. Winner: No contest Rating: 61 Hey.... You people.....You know who I am. But you don't.....Know why......I'm here.... I look around, and I see all the same people who just can't accept their time is over...I see the Macho Man....I see the Nature Boy....I see a bunch of characters and worst of all, that Ken-doll lookalike....That weather man wanna be who's sure to show his face at some point...Well when he does, I've got a challenge for him, for the Macho Man, and anyone else in.....DUBYA SEE DUBYA. You wanna go to war??? You want a war???? You're gonna get one. Rating: 100 Following that unexpected interruption, WCW took a commercial break. When Nitro returned, things continue to heat up as Eric Bischoff is in the ring with a microphone. He says he's going to completely ignore what occurred prior to the break and security personnel are now in the process of arresting and removing any and all unauthorized subjects from the ringside/backstage area. Bischoff says there are more important matters at hand and right now he's bringing out Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man Randy Savage. Both men come out separately, Savage first and then Hogan. The Macho Man is ready to go to blows straight away with Hogan, but Bischoff holds an arm out to separate the two. Bischoff says now is not the time for fighting as they're here to officially sign a contract to meet at Uncensored for a match. Bischoff says that the animosity is to high to contain the two merely to a ring, however, and that the rules and specifications for Uncensored are just that, unsanctioned and ruthless. As such, the two men will meet in a cage match were the victory can only be scored by pinfall, submission, or the other competitor is unable to continue. Both men play it up quite well just before they sign their name on the contract and while the two don't come to blows, the Macho Man wastes no time getting in Hogan's face after he signs his name. Tensions are clearly running at an all-time high as officials flood the ring to keep the two separated. Rating: 100 Sting vs Brian Pillman vs This was an extremely exciting match and the fact it was non-title didn't deter the Stinger from giving it his all. Brian Pillman also nearly put in an equal performance and the crowd was loving every bit from these two. It's no surprise that with it being non-title, Sting picked up the victory following a top rope Stinger Splash (flying cross body) for the win at 15:55. Winner: Sting Rating: 81 While Sting is perched on the second rope celebrating his victory, the World Heavyweight Champion Giant rushes into the ring. Sting is clueless as to the entry as the Giant walks up behind him. With Sting's back to him, the Giant grabs Sting by the throat, who's already on the second rope. Sting never had a chance as he crashes hard to the mat following a Chokeslam. The Giant roars and holds up the world title high in the air as he stands over Sting's body. The announcers proclaim that this is now two weeks in a row where the Giant has left Sting beaten and there's no answer for this Giant. Nitro fades to a close as everyone wonders what will happen next week! Rating: 84 Final Show Rating: 87

Exclusive WCW Hotline report!! Suspicious came true from this past week's Monday Nitro in the match between Harlem Heat and the Nasty Boys. During the match, Booker T suffered a Smith's Fracture of his right wrist following an errant move by Jerry Sags. In a follow-up appointment, the break was confirmed and Booker T is expected to be out of action for more than two months. This is a huge blow to Harlem Heat, who was set to face the Steiner Brother's at Uncensored for the titles. The Nasty Boys continued to have a particularly bad week as the Steiner's addressed the Nasty Boys this weekend at Saturday Night, stating they have no love for Harlem Heat but it was wrong of the Nasty Boys to injure Booker T and subsequently put him out of action. Later the same night, the Faces of Fear took on the Nasty Boys in a particularly tough match. Problems continued when Meng picked up an injury in that match after a botched move by Brian Knobbs. It's reported that Meng sustained a torn Meniscus and while that won't keep him out of action, that will impact his performance in the ring. Doctors estimate it will effect Meng for over the next year. The Nasty Boys have gotten a ton of animosity backstage as a result of their careless behavior in the ring lately. Some have also speculated that this is intentional from the Nasty Boys, as they have increasingly seen their profiles on Monday Nitro diminish, favoring Harlem Heat and the Faces of Fear instead. At this time, it is not clear on how WCW plans on approaching the tag team division heading into Uncensored. The rumor going around is that an unofficial type of tournament may take place at Uncensored involving several teams to determine a number one contender to the Steiner Brothers. Also on Saturday Night this weekend: Steve Austin plans to run Ricky Steamboat out of WCW after he beats him at Uncensored, officially declaring a match between the two. Brian Pillman and Ric Flair confronted Eddie Guerrero and told him to find a partner for this week's Nitro. Arn Anderson put a target on Lex Luger and stated he's coming for him. The Macho Man said he's going to be uncontrollable at Uncensored and wants Hulk Hogan in a match. In other news; WCW has officially signed an exclusive contract with Mike Barton, better known as Bart Gunn of the Smoking Gunn's tag team in the WWF. I'm told that WCW briefly attempted to also sign his partner Billy Gunn, however, the WWF locked him to a contract and WCW did not want to outbid. I've heard that the plans for Barton are to establish himself as a solid mid-card worker to build up the division and create more challengers for the Television title.

Week 2, March 1996 LIVE from the Pit (Mid South) Attendance: 17,069 Nitro opens with fireworks and their usual crowd display and while Eric Bischoff and crew start to hype up the night, things start off quickly as "The Man Called Sting" blares immediately from the speakers. This causes the huge crowd in the Pit tonight to cheer even louder as Sting comes out on the stage to kick-start Nitro this week. Bischoff speculates that with Randy Savage seemingly occupied with Hulk Hogan, the Stinger may be next up for a title opportunity against new champion the Giant. Sting climbs in the ring and says that he's finished playing games and messing around and that it's time he has the world title back around his waist. Sting says he's never been about championships or accolades in his career but it's been awhile since WCW's had a champion actually LOOK like a champion. Sting says Randy Savage tried his best but kept getting side tracked, Hulk Hogan spent too much time fighting in a dungeon, and the Giant had to have a lot of help to win the title. Sting says he doesn't need anyone's help to win a title and will prove that by beating the Giant cleanly for the belt, anytime, any place. Rating: 92 Harlem Heat vs Nasty Boys vs With the crowd extremely fired up after starting the show with Sting, this next matchup hoped to have some hard-hitting action between two physical teams. What transpired wasn't exactly that. Booker T stood out, far and away, the best performer of the match. Many expected Harlem Heat to run away with this match, but that didn't happen, though there could have been a change of plans. During a period of fighting between Booker and Jerry Sags, there was an awkward spot where Sags was attempting to slam Booker. Booker didn't appear ready for this and tried to brace his fall, landing awkwardly on his arm. Shortly after this took place, Sags rolled Booker up for a surprising win at 7:19. Winners: Nasty Boys Eddie Guerrero vs Big Bubba Rogers vs Last week, Eddie was able to get a surprise victory over Ricky Steamboat, this week, there was no reason to believe he wouldn't score a win over Bubba. Eddie was easily able to defeat him at 6:48 following a Frog Splash. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Steven Regal is backstage for a promo where he discusses Brad Armstrong. He says that while Armstrong is off on Saturday Night and Main Event, on the "little shows," he says, Regal is on prime time Monday Nitro and monthly Pay Per Views. Armstrong has raised a huge fuss about a resurgence in his career and fighting through the competition on those shows, but Regal says he would've had to actually had a career first in order to have any kind of resurgence. Rating: 77 Following a commercial break, Mean Gene Okerlund is in the ring for his weekly interview. Gene says there's a ton of questions that need answers to and he's going to go directly to the source for those answers because his guest is none other than Hulk Hogan! Hulk comes out to less-than enthusiastic cheers with even some boo's mixed in, but Hogan gives off the impression that it was nothing but cheers and admiration. Hogan taunts and cups his ear to the crowd and walks to the ring with all smiles. Hogan steps in the ring and assumes his position as Mean Gene gets started. Gene: There's been an awful lot of animosity, Hulk Hogan, between you and the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Randy Savage for weeks, if not month's now...As a matter of fact, it seems like the two of you haven't been on the same page with each other since World War 3 and Randy Savage, just last week, expressed his utmost dislike for you and vowed revenge on, as he claims, ruining his world title reign. Hulk: Well ya know somethin' Mean Gene?!?!? It's not so much that me and the Macho Man haven't been on the same page, brother, it's that the Macho Man has a problem with Hulk Hogan! I've done everything I possibly could to be there for the Macho Man, be a good friend, and watch his back, jack! Any time there was some interference going down in the Macho Man's matches, I stepped in and tried to help him from getting beat down, brother! If you look back, all I was trying to do was help out the Macho Man! I didn't want to hurt his reign as champion, I didn't want him to lose the belt by questionable means, my intentions, Mean Gene, were strictly to help! It's not my fault that the Macho Man couldn't handle business on his own, so if the Macho Man wants to be upset with how his career, how his title reign, and even how his life has gone, then he should be upset with nobody but himself, brother! Now, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage explicitly stated several times he didn't want your help and wanted you to stay out of his business! You also vowed at SuperBrawl to not get involved in his title match, yet you ended up coming out anyway - Mean Gene, I vowed to not get involved in the title match and that's exactly what happened! I didn't get involved in the match! I saw Jimmy Hart getting involved and trying to help the Giant cheat to win the title, and I ran that little weasel off! I didn't get involved in the match, I didn't get involved with the Macho Man, and I didn't get involved with the Giant! Now, I get that the Macho Man is upset about losing the title, but ya know what Mean Gene, I'm just as upset about how I lost the title! No one pinned me for it, so the way I see it, brother, is I'm still the uncrowned champion! I'm not out here blaming the WCW board of directors, I'm not blaming the Macho Man, I'm not blaming the Giant or Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom. I realize it's up to me to get the title back, just like the Macho Man needs to come to the realization that it's up to himself to get it back, dude! So if the Macho Man has a problem with Hulk Hogan, then as a man, he's gonna have to come to me, brother, and sort it out! Rating: 86 Horsemen (Anderson, Flair, Austin) vs Ricky Steamboat, Lex Luger, & Sting vs The crowd were excited for this sort of return match from Halloween Havoc 1995, just trading Austin for Brian Pillman. The Horsemen were looking for a different outcome this time around but Sting, Luger, and Steamboat were on fire, hitting the Horsemen with everything they had and had them all reeling. This eventually slowed down and the match was drawn out like a story. The match finished at 16:39 after Steamboat caught Flair with his high cross body off the top rope for the pin. Winners: Steamboat, Luger, Sting Rating: 80 After the match finishes, the Horsemen are the first to depart while Steamboat, Luger, and Sting celebrate their victory in the ring. Bischoff reminds everyone to tune in next week when Nitro is live in Philadelphia and that it's going to be a huge show. Steamboat, Luger, and Sting are making their way up the aisle and Steamboat and Luger disappear behind the stage. Sting is the last one before he's attacked out of nowhere..... The Giant runs off from the side of the screen, off the stage area to blindside the Stinger. Sting drops and never had a chance at defending himself. The Giant goes on the attack, kicking and stomping on the Stinger. Giant drags Sting to his feet by grabbing him around the throat and proceeds to drag him up the ramp to the stage. With his hand firmly grasped around the Stinger's throat, the Giant is now looking for the perfect spot to plant Sting with a chokeslam. After finding a worthy spot, he lifts Sting high in the air and drops him on the WCW lettered platform. The Giant roars afterwards and looks down at Sting, who lays motionless on the steel before he exits to the backstage area. The camera focuses on Sting who lays on the stage as Nitro fades to a close. Rating: 99 Final Show Rating: 86

Week 1, March 1996 LIVE from the Breslin Center - Great Lakes Attendance: 12,821 Monday Nitro kicks off this week with its usual display of fireworks and crowd shots before going to the announce desk for the introductions. Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes welcome everyone, as usual and Bischoff says there's a whole lot of events going on in WCW and we're just 24 hours removed from SuperBrawl 6 and we have a brand new world heavyweight champion - The Giant! Bobby Heenan says that he doesn't think there's one person in WCW who can beat the Giant for the title and that it was definitely a controversial win. Hulk Hogan pledged earlier in the night that he wouldn't get involved in the main event, but that's exactly what he did because he can't stand anyone other than himself having the title. Heenan says that the Macho Man's loss of the title is because of Hogan. Bischoff says that he's sure the Macho Man is going to have something to say about it tonight and it's anyone's guess when he'll show up, but one thing is for sure, he won't be a happy man. Bischoff also mentions that tonight the tag team titles will be on the line as the Steiner's defend the belts against Harlem Heat. This was a match that was supposed to be on SuperBrawl, but due to time constraints, it will be featured here tonight on Nitro but first we're going to the first match of the night! Faces of Fear vs American Males vs There aren't many things better in life than the American Males theme song but two of them are Meng and the Barbarian. Meng was the shining star of this match and while Bagwell and Riggs attempted some really great team work, the Barbarian and Meng straight up shut it down. The Faces of Fear made quick work of this one, with Meng getting the Tongan Death Grip on Riggs at 6:52 for the submission victory. Winners: Faces of Fear Rating: 41 Steve Austin is backstage for a promo next. During this promo he focuses on Ricky Steamboat. Austin says that now that things between Steamboat and Flair seem to be over, Austin might just pick up where he left off with Steamboat, and that's running him out of WCW for good. Austin says that a Dragon is nothing but a fictional character but a rattlesnake is a very real animal that you always have to look out for, something that blends in with its surroundings and just when you feel safe, it sneaks out of nowhere to strike. Rating: 78 WCW Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs Steiner Brothers (c) vs Two well-known teams who are very familiar with each other go head to head in this physical matchup. Despite Harlem Heat continuing to use some underhanded tactics, it's clear that respect had formed between these two teams. Harlem Heat was at the top of the division and desperately wanted competition, which they felt they didn't have. The Steiner's returned to WCW and provided that competition that Harlem Heat were begging for. The match ended at 10:04 after the Steiner's hit the Steiner bulldog and scored the pin. Winners: Steiner Brothers Rating: 74 Brian Pillman is solo backstage and cuts a promo on Eddie Guerrero. Pillman makes fun of Eddie for losing to Steven Regal and says he should be so embarrassed that he should go back to Mexico and wrestle with a mask. He goes on to say that Guerrero should be ashamed to even show his face anywhere in the USA and Guerrero can only dream of being a champion like himself. Rating: 84 Following a commercial break, Mean Gene is standing in the center of the ring, prepared for his weekly interview segment. Mean Gene introduces his guest, a man who became the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion just 24 hours ago - The Giant! The Giant walks out with the world title strapped around his waist. The Giant is such a massive person, the world title looks tiny around his waist. He climbs in the ring and walks to Mean Gene who begins his questions, saying there is a ton of controversy surrounding his title win. The Giant doesn't see it as a controversy as he beat the Macho Man in the center of the ring 1,2,3. Mean Gene reminds the Giant that Hulk Hogan promised not to get involved in the match, but plainly did, which cost the Macho Man the title. The Giant doesn't care what Hulk Hogan says or does because he's beating him before, and he'll beat him again. As for the Macho Man, he thinks Hogan is his problem more than anything else. The Giant isn't concerned about Hulk Hogan, the Macho Man, or anyone else who might feel the need to come after him just because he's champion. The Giant says he's just that - a Giant, and there isn't one man who can defeat him. With that said, lights flash on the stage and "A Man Called Sting" begins to play over the speakers. This brings the crowd to their feet with loud cheers as the Stinger walks out. Sting walks to the ring and walks right up to the Giant and Mean Gene. The Stinger has a few words off the microphone to the Giant, who responds back with his own words. Mean Gene holds up his free hand and tells both men that he doesn't want to get in the middle of any potential altercation. Sting says that it's too bad that the Giant fears no man because when a man feels no fear, he knows no boundaries. Sting says the simple fact is that the Giant has something that the Stinger wants. The Giant holds something that's evaded the Stinger for far too long and that Sting's had to play second fiddle to certain other superstars in the back and give them the spotlight. Sting says he's a very giving person, but his generosity is about up. Sting tells the Giant that if he is compiling a list of challengers, he better make sure the Stinger's name is at the top of the list, because the Stinger's coming for the world title. Rating: 88 Ricky Steamboat vs Eddie Guerrero vs As both men headed to the ring, Eric Bischoff told everyone watching at home that Eddie Guerrero specifically asked the WCW Board of Directors for this match and also went straight to Ricky Steamboat to ask for a match. It was promptly accepted by both as the men shook hands before the bell rang. Dusty Rhodes commented that it's nice for a change to have two wrestlers show respect to each other and have interest in a competitive matchup. Bischoff says that Guerrero was wanting to showcase his skill and prove his worth of being a top WCW athlete while Steamboat is looking for a much needed win following last night's loss to Ric Flair. Heenan also speculates that Steamboat still has to be exhausted from his match with Flair the night before and that just 24 hours later, his body has to be feeling the effects. This all may have been true and this match went for 17:05, which had to cause further exhaustion for Steamboat. Eddie Guerrero picked up the shocking win after hitting a Frog Splash. After the bell, Guerrero helped Steamboat to his feet where they embraced again. Winner: Eddie Guerrero Rating: 61 Nitro returns from a commercial break to the announce desk. Eric Bischoff begins wrapping the evening up and telling fans to tune into this weekend's WCW Saturday Night, where more wrestling stars will be seen, including Diamond Dallas Page, Scott Steiner, and Booker T. While he's speaking, a rumbling and then cheers begin to emerge from the crowd. The cameras pan to the stage and aisle for those at home to see why..... The Macho Man is walking out with a purpose, by himself and to no music. Savage even has his own microphone in his hand as he steps into the ring. Eric Bischoff says that he guesses Nitro isn't over just yet and everyone is wondering what the Macho Man has to say about last night's events. Heenan says it's obvious we're not going to have to wait any longer as the Macho Man gets started. Let's get one thing straight right now - Last night was nothin' but a bunch of CRAP! Hulk Hogan, you are nothin' but a low-life, scum sucking SON OF A BITCH! Hulk Hogan, words can't even describe the level that I hate you! I HATE YOU, HULK HOGAN!!! Last night, you made sure to promise to everyone that you weren't gonna get involved in my match! Well Hogan, last night you just proved to everyone in the entire world that you're nothin' but a LIAR!!! You've done nothing but involve yourself and stick your nose in my business during my entire title reign! You just couldn't help but be jealous that someone else had the top spot over you! You've ALWAYS been jealous of me, Hogan! Hogan, the only advice I could possibly give you right now is to not even show your face at any point in the near future whenever I'm around, because if you do, you're nothin' but a dead man, Hogan! You've ruined my title reign, you've ruined my career, and you've ruined my LIFE, Hogan!!! I can promise you this....I WILL get revenge on you if it's the last breath I take and you can forget about EVER getting close to that World Title again! If you think you can just swoop in now and go after the Giant and the World Title, you're even dumber than I thought you were! I'm gonna end you, Hogan, and I don't care if it's next week on Nitro or if it's gonna be at Uncensored! One way or another, your ass is mine, and you're gonna wish you never stuck your nose where it didn't belong! Rating: 100 Final Show Rating: 75

Week 4, Sunday, February 1996 LIVE from the Milwaukee Stadium - Milwaukee, WI Attendance: 53,000 (SELLOUT!) There is a packed, raucous crowd here tonight in Milwaukee who are excited to see what WCW has in store for the evening! Being WCW's first official PPV since Starrcade 1995, it has given WCW plenty of time to build towards the first of a few main PPV events of the year for WCW. The announce booth is a bit different tonight, as Tony Schiavone since in place along with Bobby Heenan and Dusty Rhodes. Tony welcomes everyone and says this is a huge night for WCW with some major matches on the card. They all speculate if the main event will finally end without the outside involvement of Hulk Hogan and if so, will the Macho Man be able to successfully defend his world title against the largest athlete in the world today? All look forward to finding out, but first we're going to go to the ring for the first match, and first title match of the evening! Television Title: Eddie Guerrero vs Lord Steven Regal (c) vs Eddie Guerrero and Steven Regal have established themselves as two of the most prominent wrestlers within the "division" of the TV title. Eddie was a solid champion before being defeated by Regal back at Starrcade and since that time, Regal has proven his ability to hold and defend the title. Eddie wanted to regain the title and prove that Regal's win, by cheating, was a fluke. Both men did exceptionally well in the ring but once again, the end result turned up a little flat. It was a solid opener to get the crowd ready for the night, however. The match ended at 12:02 after Regal locked Eddie in the Regal Stretch. Guerrero fought as long as he could and after a few attempts to reach the ropes failed, he had no choice but to submit. Winner: Steven Regal Rating: 63 Hulk Hogan vs Arn Anderson vs The Enforcer has been trying for weeks to get Hogan inside the ring for a one-on-one matchup and accusing him of being a coward. Once he finally got him in the ring though, Double A seemed to do everything he could to avoid locking up with Hogan. Anderson tried multiple stall tactics before the Hulkster finally had enough and chased him around the ringside area. Anderson slid back in the ring and caught Hogan as he tried to get inside. The attack was on from here and Hogan tried repeatedly to shove off the attack from the Enforcer. Hogan once again put in an incredible performance and played to the crowd brilliantly. By the time he was making his comeback, the crowd was ready for it. With Anderson reeling, Hogan bounced off the ropes, looking to hit his often-unused in the US Axe Bomber, only for Anderson to catch Hogan with his signature Spinebuster! Hogan spent some time twitching following the move and Anderson signaled that was it as he went for the pin. The referee counted 1, 2......But Hogan kicked out with authority and began Hulking up!!! Anderson tried some punches, though they had no effect. After blocking the last one, Hogan fired off rounds of his own fists, pushing Anderson back to the ropes. Hogan whipped Anderson across the ring and on the return, hit Double A with a huge Big Boot! Hogan motioned for the end, cupping his ear to the raging crowd. He ran to the ropes, bounced off, and leapt high in the air, hitting his Leg Drop on Anderson! Hogan goes for the pin and the referee gets down to count. The referee gets to two but Hogan abruptly gets up from the pin and to his feet. This confuses everyone but we all soon see why as the camera pans to see Steve Austin on the outside, having words with Hogan. Hogan now has his full attention on Austin, who remains outside the ring but now climbs on the apron to continue his confrontation with Hogan. What the referee is missing is Anderson retrieving what appear to be brass knuckles from his tights. Anderson begins to roll on the mat as Hogan, now starting to turn his attention back to Double A, turns away from Austin. Hogan leans down to bring Anderson back to his feet. As Hogan is bringing Anderson up, Austin now has the referee distracted and Anderson blasts Hogan with the knuckles. They fall from his fist as Hogan drops to the mat. Anderson makes the pin and Austin motions for the referee to turn back to the ring for the pin. The referee drops and begins the count, but this time it's the referee who stops counting at 2! Anderson has a look of confusion on his face as the referee starts to scold him, pointing to the brass knuckles on the mat and questioning him. Anderson does his best, worst act of being innocent and then the referee calls for the bell, disqualifying Anderson at 12:30! With Anderson and Austin enraged, Anderson drops the referee with a DDT before they walk off. Winner by DQ: Hulk Hogan Rating: 77 Back at the interview position, Mean Gene is standing by with Ric Flair, who is clearly in the zone tonight. Gene does the introduction and questions if Flair is prepared for tonight's 60 minute match against Ricky Steamboat. Mean Gene Okerlund, let me tell you pal, there is no one else on this earth who is more prepared for a 60 minute match than the Nature Boy Ric Flair! I eat, sleep, and breathe professional wrestling! I've traveled up and down every road there is in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, you name it!!!! I've wrestled 350 days a year for the last 20 years!!! I can have a better wrestling match in my sleep than most people wish they could have once in their career, so don't you stand there and have the audacity to ask Ric Flair if he's ready for a match, pal! You get that?!?!? Now to ask me that is an insult of itself, but to ask if I'm ready for a match against Ricky the Dragon Steamboat tips the scales, pal! Steamboat retired before because of a hurt back...A hurt back??? Are you kidding me?!?! Steamboat, try having a full wrestling career and never stopping with a broken back!!!!! That was me, pal! I broke my back in an airplane back when everyone was saying the Nature Boy was wrestling's next big star!!! My career hadn't even taken off yet! Then I got hurt in a plane crash and the questioned if the Nature Boy would ever walk again, much less wrestle! I've wrestled for the last 20 years with that injury and Steamboat wants to cry about a little injury???? THAT, pal, is why I'll forever be better than you and why after tonight, I'm gonna be the one still standing after 60 minutes and you're going to be wishing you never came back in the first place!!!!! WHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Rating: 81 After a short promotional break, we return to a Sting promo where he discusses the 60 minute match between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat. Sting says he's known both guys for a long time and is very familiar with both for very different reasons. Sting's familiar with Flair as an adversary and he's familiar with Steamboat as a friend and teammate. Sting says he knows what both are capable of in the ring and neither man seems to have an "off" switch. Sting doesn't know what's in store for the match or who will come out winning but says that both men will have one heck of a performance and will leave all the fans feeling like they got their money's worth, not leaving anything out on the table. Rating: 87 60 Minute Match: Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair vs This match, in large part, was viewed as the unofficial main event. Ever since Steamboat's surprise return at Halloween Havoc, Ric Flair has been like a man possessed with proving he's more capable in the ring. After a prior challenges left no declared winner, Steamboat gave one final challenge to a 60 minute match. Ric Flair gave the performance of the night and while Steamboat gave a solid performance, he was noticeably down a few steps from his prior matches, though the time length probably had something to do with that. Both men did extremely well playing up the story throughout the match and giving a master class lesson on how professional wrestling should be done. The crowd was in the palm of their hand during the entire 60 minute match. Steamboat was the first to pick up a pin fall win after catching Flair by surprise with one of his beautiful arm drags. Flair was able to even up the score after shocking everyone and hitting a double axe handle off the top rope, a move he's only managed to connect with one time, which won him a world title. The two stayed even at one pinfall a piece for the remainder of the match. At the end, with both men drenched in sweat and clearly on their last leg, Flair managed to lock Steamboat in the Figure Four after rolling through a top rope flying cross body from Steamboat. Steamboat stayed locked in the hold for several minutes as the time counted down. With 10 seconds remaining, and after Flair had used the ropes for extra leverage several times, Steamboat refused to give up. The countdown reached 5 and Steamboat was still holding out. The clock reached two seconds and Steamboat was unable to take the pain any longer and submitted! Flair simply collapsed back on the mat and raised his arms as the referee disconnected the hold. Steamboat rolled to his side in obvious pain and Flair managed to get to a knee while the referee raised his arm for the official victory. Winner: Ric Flair Rating: 84 Hulk Hogan is backstage for a promo next. He says that there's been a lot of bad blood lately between he and the Macho Man but tonight he wants to wipe the slate clean. He knows how important the world title is to Savage and he wants to give him the opportunity to defend his title tonight against the Giant without any other distractions. Hogan says facing the Giant itself is enough of a worry and, as God as his witness, he's going to not get involved in tonight's match. He finishes by saying the Macho Man is his friend, and he intends to keep it that way. Tomorrow night on Nitro, he's going to work at rebuilding that friendship, but tonight, he's going to leave Savage to focus on his match. Rating: 82 Paul Orndorff vs Disco Inferno vs Kind of an odd spot to put this matchup, but I suppose WCW figured they needed something in between the 60 minute match and the main event to cool the crowd back down. This definitely did the trick because despite Orndorff and Disco recently being featured, they did nothing to excite the crowd. Orndorff got the win at 7:44 after hitting his Piledriver, thus effectively calming the crowd. Winner: Paul Orndorff Rating: 53 World Heavyweight Title: The Giant vs Randy Savage (c) vs The match starts off with Savage approaching the Giant in the middle of the ring. After a few words between both men, Savage abruptly slaps the Giant across his face, though Savage has to fully extend his arm to even reach the Giant. This sets off a storm of fury few have ever seen from the Giant as he goes in for the kill. The Giant remains in control for a good portion of the match before Savage is able to hit a few strikes to the legs. Heenan likens it to chopping a tree down as Savage repeatedly attacks the legs of the Giant. After back and forth action and both competitors doing a great job of telling a story in the ring, Savage attempts to bodyslam the Giant, which doesn't go well. Savage nearly got a pin counted against him as the Giant crashed on top of him, but Savage was able to kick out and roll off to the floor. As Savage collected himself on the outside, Jimmy Hart was getting the attention of the referee to allow the Giant to do some extra damage. This backfired though, because as the Giant reached over the top rope to grab the Macho Man, Savage cracked the Giant in the head with a chair. The Giant fell straight back and crashed hard to the mat while Hart frantically tried to get the referee to turn to see Savage's use of the chair. It didn't work though and Savage then quickly climbed up to the top rope for the Elbow Drop. Jimmy Hart now climbed inside the ring to try and stop Savage from jumping off. Savage pointed at Jimmy Hart and was yelling for him to get out of the ring while the referee attempted to do the same. Hart eventually retreated out to the apron while the Macho Man remained perched on the top rope, still distracted by Jimmy Hart. The crowd now began to come to life as someone was approaching the ring....... Hulk Hogan walks out and pauses briefly on the stage before reconsidering and approaching the ring. Heenan says Hogan just can't help but stay out of the spotlight for too long. Hogan gets to ringside and doesn't get in, though it didn't take Savage long to notice Hogan. Hogan pulls Jimmy Hart off the apron and then begins chasing him around the outside of the ring and up the aisle. Savage watches them from the top rope as they run off behind him. The Giant has now made it to his feet and is standing in the middle of the ring. Savage turns his attention back toward the Giant and see's him standing. Savage leaps from the top rope, but the Giant catches him like nothing out of the air. The Giant hoists Savage high in the air before sending him down to the mat with a Choke Slam. He goes for the pin and the referee counts the three, ending the match at 15:57 and winning the WCW World Title! Winner and NEW Champion: The Giant Rating: 82 The bell rings and Hulk Hogan, who's now halfway up the aisle, turns to see the Giant hoisting the world title in the air. Hogan looks in disbelief as he is shocked to see the Giant has won the championship. He makes his way into the ring where he crashes the Giant's celebration. He walks up to the Giant and the two are on the verge of coming to blows as the credits for SuperBrawl 6 begin to roll and the show fades out. Rating: 98 Final Show Rating: 83