Monday Nitro #1: September 4th 1995

Monday Nitro #1 : 4/9/95



Yes it's the very first episode of Nitro. I was planning on doing a series where I reviewed a Nitro and Raw from the same night and compared them, but WWE haven't posted any 1995 Raws that coincide with Nitro so I'm just gonna do Nitro on its own until Raw is finally updated. We'll just assume that Nitro was better since 1995 Raw was pretty awful. Anyway let's begin.


For some reason this is listed as Nitro episode 79 on the Network.



Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and (nevermind that shit, here comes) Mongo are here to introduce us to Nitro and to do commentary for the evening.



Jushin Liger vs Brian Pillman
Now this is how you kick off a show in style! Great choices here with two of WCW's best athletes going at it to show us what Nitro is all about. I wish this had been a bit longer as it did feel quite short, but it was filled with a ton of high-flying action and there was never a dull moment to be had. A good match showing off the cruiserweight side of WCW as Brian rolls up Liger for the victory and receives a nice pop from the crowd. ***



We get an interview with Hulk Hogan and he says PastaMania way too many times in front of a pasta restauraunt. Good God Hogan was so stale at this point.



Sting vs Ric Flair
Have these two guys ever had a bad match together? If they have then I haven't seen it. Just before the match starts, Lex Luger makes his huge surprise return to WCW in a moment that really showed that there was a war about to begin between WCW and WWF. This was a ton of fun as it was basically just a condensed version of some of their classics but they have some of the best chemistry in the business and they were able to make it work. The match ends in DQ as Flair won't let go of the ropes. ***1/4


After the match, Arn Anderson attacks Flair. Apparently it's Anderson vs Sting at Fall Brawl for the US Title. By the way I will be reviewing the PPVs as I go along with the Nitro episodes and the same goes for Raw if they finally update their episodes.


Scott Norton starts ranting and raving at the commentators and Randy Savage comes out to challenge him. I guess that's a feud set up.


We get a vignette for Sabu. I had no idea he was even in WCW so I'm guessing it didn't last very long.


IRS is debuting as Mr WallStreet and takes a shot at the WWF's New Generation.



Hulk Hogan vs Big Bubba
The WCW World Title is on the line. Even Hogan's music was awful at this point. It doesn't look great for WCW when two former WWF stars are main eventing over two WCW stars, then again that is what WCW did: used WWF stars so they didn't have to build their own. This was just a standard Hogan match where he is beaten up, Hulks up and then wins. It was pretty obvious that the crowd was starting to lose interest in Hogan. Still it was a pretty fun match while it lasted. *3/4



After the match, the Dungeon of Doom comes out to attack Hogan, but Lex Luger comes out to help him and they almost get in a fist fight. Time for an ad break.


The commercial for Fall Brawl airs and the main event just looks dreadful. I'm not looking forward to reviewing it.


The break is over and Luger wants to fight Hogan for the World Title. Hogan accepts and the Title match is set for the next episode of Nitro! Wow what a way to end! No wonder the ratings went up for WCW.

And that's it for the first episode of Nitro.


A great episode and the perfect way to start for WCW. They showed off their talent in some good matches, set up future storylines and new wrestlers, and also gave everyone watching a reason to tune in to the next episode. The Monday Night War has begun!