WCW Nitro #59: October 28th, 1996. (Rewatched 13 June 2020).

We are 24 hours removed from the last WCW PPV:  WCW Halloween Havoc 1996!  This episode took place on October 28th, 1996, and was held at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Or, as it's called now, the Talking Stick Resort Arena.  There were also some members of the Suns in attendance, of course wearing nWo gear.  Because honestly, who wasn't wearing nWo gear back then?  The show was pretty solid from top to bottom, so let's get into it and talk about Nitro!

The Show:

WCW World Television Title Match: Lord Steven Regal (c) defeated Juventud Guerrera (3:20)
- During this match, they showed Crow Sting sitting up in the rafters.  This is when the Sting storyline gets interesting.  Back to the match though, man, Regal looks very young here.  That was an easy win, though.

Singles Match: Diamond Dallas Page defeated Mike Enos (4:37)
- It doesn't get any better than DDP in the 90's.

WCW World Cruiserweight Title Match: Dean Malenko (c) defeated Jim Powers (w/ Teddy Long) (5:04)
- Dean Malenko is one of the greatest of all time.  It's been such a joy watching him again.  Jim Powers reminds me a lot of a more jacked up Chad Gable from WWE.  Spoiler alert, it looks like he's getting. Push, but this guy will never win a championship in WCW.  Psychosis came out during the match to watch.  I used to love playing as him in the WCW video games back in the day.

Singles Match: Jeff Jarrett defeated Ricky Morton (4:34)
- Jeff Jarrett and 1/2 of the Rock N' Roll Express.  It doesn't get any better.  Jeff Jarrett has a lot of passion for sure.

Tag Team Match: High Voltage (Kenny Kaos & Robbie Rage) vs. The Amazing French Canadians (Carl Ouellet & Jacques Rougeau) - No Contest (3:43)
- The Nasty Boys came out and interfered and cut a promo at the end.  Looking back on this, I don't see why they didn't have them join the nWo.  It would have made sense.  They would have fit well.

Singles Match: Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Jimmy Graffiti (3:24)
- Short and sweet.

Singles Match: Chris Benoit (w/ Woman) defeated Eddie Guerrero (8:23)
- I can't get excited about matches with Benoit in them.

Nick Patrick Segment
- There was a segment with Nick Patrick and his "lawyer" after the last match.  You don't see a ref getting this much attention as he has the past several weeks.  Chris Jericho came out and I was waiting on him to call Nick Patrick a "stupid idiot".  Then, Teddy Long came out and called Patrick a "scam artist".

Singles Match: Booker T (w/ Sister Sherri) defeated Lex Luger by Count Out
- I could watch these two legends all day.  You can't beat a main event like this!  During the match, they were talking about Piper and Bischoff said "Last time we saw Piper he was the acting president of the WW....I don't know."  I guess he's scared to say "WWF" on TV.  This match ended with a count out after Luger ran off to chase Sting when he saw him in the crowd.

Hogan/Piper Segment
- They re-ran some of the segment with Piper from Halloween Havoc again.  It was a long, awkward promo.  After that, Hogan came out to the ring to issue his response.  Hogan bragged about how awesome the nWo is.  About how awesome he is.  Then ended the show with some poses.

WCW Halloween Havoc 1996: October 27th, 1996 (Rewatched 29 May 2020)

Tonight's the night, WCW Halloween Havoc 1996! This pay-per-view took place on October 27, 1996. It occured at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada! Top to bottom, this card was stacked. Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio Jr, DDP, Eddie Guerrero, The Giant, Jeff Jarrett, Syxx, Chris Jericho, Lex Luger, Arn Anderson, The Outsiders, Harlem Heat, Hogan, Savage, and even the debut of Rowdy Roddy Piper! I mean, you can't ask for a better card than that. All of those names are some of the all time greats.

On the WWE Network, the event was about 3 hours long, and did not seem to drag at all.  The WCW vs nWo storyline continued, and now, after the event, the nWo controls the WCW World Title, and the WCW Tag Team Titles. 

So, how good was the show?  It was awesome.  I'm a big WWE fan now, but nothing came close to WCW in the 90's.  Even comparing this to modern WWE, this still is vastly better.  So, let's get into it and talk about the show!

The Show:

Dean Malenko defeated Rey Mysterio, Jr. to win the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship (18:32)
- This is what "Fight Forever" chants are made for.  These guys put on a heck of a match.

(Battle For The Ring) Diamond Dallas Page defeated Eddy Guerrero (13:44)
- This was a match for the Battlebowl Ring, which was apparently something people in WCW wanted back in the 90's, for some reason.  I never get tired of watching these two fight, though. 

The Giant defeated Jeff Jarrett by disqualification
- For some reason, The Giant has Ric Flair's United States Championship, which he didn't earn.  It was vacated after Flair's injury but I guess WCW management never took it back.  That was a fun little match though.  Giant's a big man, so nice it wasn't a squash.

Syxx defeated Chris Jericho (9:49)
- I gotta admit, this was pretty fun.  Watching young X-Pac and Y2J fighting in WCW.

Lex Luger defeated Arn Anderson (12:22)
- This has been a heck of a card.  I was really excited for this one - two of the all time greats.  The match ended with Arn in the Torture Rack and being carried out on a stretcher.

Steve McMichael and Chris Benoit (w/ Woman and Debra McMichael) defeated The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) (9:23)
- I can't root for Chris Benoit, so naturally I was all in for the Faces of Fear and was hoping they would win.

The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) (w/ Sister Sherri and Col. Robert Parker) to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship (13:07)
- Two of the best tag teams of all time, it doesn't get any better than this.  And now the nWo is, to use an Undisputed Era phrase, draped in gold. 

Hollywood Hogan defeated Randy Savage to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (18:37)
- It's not like we didn't know the outcome of this going into it.  The nWo was the hottest thing going.  No way would they take the strap off Hogan this soon.  Hogan was looking silly as heck with those hair plugs though.  The announcers even made a joke about it.

Roddy Piper Debut
- After the match, Rowdy Roddy Piper made his debut.  It was pretty awesome, but the promo went on forever and felt awkward at the end.  Heck, WCW even cut it off and ended the show.  But I'm very interested to see this feud develop!

WCW Nitro #58: October 21st, 1996. (Rewatched 26 May 2020).

Today, we're rewatching WCW Nitro #58, from October 21st, 1996! This episode happened at the Civic Center in Mankato, Minnesota. This is the go-home show before Halloween Havoc 1996, set to occur on October 27th, 1996.  This episode was packed with great talent - DDP, Lex Luger, Macho Man, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, and more.  It was also full of great tag team action, something WCW absolutely excelled at.  So, let's get into the show and talk about Nitro #58!

The Show:

Chris Jericho defeated Bobby Eaton (7:05)
- Cool to see Bobby Eaton in action.  If you don't know, he's one half of The Midnight Express.  A fun little match though, I love watching Chris Jericho's character development.

Dean Malenko defeated Jimmy Graffiti (6:38)
- Jimmy Graffiti may not sound familiar, but he was part of The Heavenly Bodies tag team, which was active in WWF for quite a while, also in WCW as part of Raven's Nest.  But wow, Dean Malenko is one of the all time greats.

Diamond Dallas Page defeated Sgt Craig Pittman (w/ Teddy Long) (2:54)
Man, 90's DDP had some personality on him.

Jeff Jarrett defeated Ron Studd (1:28)
- Man this show is so money.  Jarrett, DDP, Malenko, Chris Jericho - just top to bottom, you can't beat who's on this show.  But then again, I'm ready for Slap Nutz Jarrett.  The match started by Ric Flair coming down to the ring and having a strut-off with Ric Flair.  It was awesome.

Lex Luger defeated Road Block (3:47)
- Road Block had to be the dumbest gimmick in WCW at the time.  It was a guy, who came to the ring....wait for it....with a road block.  Lex made quick work of him.

Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray) (w/ Col. Robert Parker & Sister Sherri) defeated The American Males (Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Scotty Riggs) (9:33)
- I'm ready for nWo Buff Bagwell.  That's when I think he did his best work.

The Faces of Fear (Meng & The Barbarian) (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeated The 
Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers) (5:18)
- Two great tag team matches, back to back.  That's one thing WCW nailed back in the 90's, was the tag team division.

Mr. JL vs. nWo Sting ended in a no contest (1:40)
- Now, Mr. JL is going by JL.  JL is basically El Generico before El Generico.  This match ended with the Crow sting showing up.  Black trench coat, white face paint, it's about to get awesome.

Chris Benoit v Macho Man (Match didn't start)
- Mach came out in his street clothes, wearing all black.  This match never started, Macho did a promo and that was that.

WCW Nitro #57: October 14th, 1996. (Rewatched 22 May 2020).

Today, we're going to be talking about WCW Nitro #57!  This episode of Nitro was in my backyard, at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.  Yes, during the show, they even said that Jerry Lawler helped promote it and "put butts in seats".   The Mid-South Coliseum was closed in 2006, but I've heard there have been plans to restore and re-open it.  Back to Nitro, this was a fun show.  Lots more WCW/nWo tension, and more building of the Macho Man, ohhhh yeaahhhhh!  So, let's get into the show!

Singles Match: Dean Malenko defeated Brad Armstrong (5:22)
- I love me some Dean Malenko.  One of the all time greats.

Singles Match: Jim Duggan defeated M. Wallstreet (4:34)
- I really dig Hacksaw Jim Duggan.  It's been so much fun watching him wrestle again.  He was always one of my favorites growing up.

Singles Match: Hugh Morrus defeated Jim Powers (w/ Teddy Long) (6:34)
- WCW really likes Jim Powers, he's been on TV a lot lately.  During this match, Tony actually thanked Jerry Lawler for promoting the show and packing the event.

Singles Match: Lex Luger defeated Greg Valentine (6:35)
- Nothing beats watching these two legends fight.

Macho Man Promo
- Mach was interviewed by Bischoff, and Bischoff aired a promo of Miss Elizabeth, in which she apologizes for siding with Hulk Hogan.

Singles Match: Eddie Guerrero defeated The Cheetah Kid (2:41)
- No clue who the Cheetah Kid is.  I can't find anything about him online.  Some websites say Rocco Rock of Public Enemy used to go by The Cheetah Kid, but that definitely isn't Rocco Rock.

Singles Match: Jeff Jarrett defeated Big Bubba Rogers (w/ Jimmy Hart) (6:43)
- Pretty cool seeing these two former WWF guys in a match against each other.  I forget how much WCW took in former WWF talent back in the 90's.

Non Title Tag Team Match: Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray) (w/ Col. Robert Parker & Sister Sherri) vs. The Faces Of Fear (Meng & The Barbarian) - No Contest (7:17)
- I had no idea the titles changed, but apparently Public Enemy lost the titles to Harlem Heat on WCW Saturday Night on 10/1/1996.  I haven't been watching Saturday Night in my rewatch.  And, of course the show ended with WCW vs nWo again, as usual!
 

WCW Nitro #56: October 7th, 1996. (Rewatched 22 May 2020).

Today, we're going to be talking about WCW Nitro #56!  This episode of Nitro happened on October 7th, 1996.  It occured at the Savannah Civic Center in Savannah, Georgia.  This was a pretty fun little episode.  There was lots of WCW/nWo tension, and of course - the debut of Jeff Jarrett, who recently left the WWF.  Macho Man has also been getting a lot of air time, which I love, because he's one of my all time favorite wrestlers.  Top to bottom, a great Nitro.  So, without further ado, let's dive into the action!

The Show:

WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat (w/ Col. Rob Parker & Sister Sherri) defeated Public Enemy in a non-title match
- That was a fun match - classic tag team wrestling, something WCW excelled in.

Diamond Dallas Page defeated Jim Powers
- They played a promo during this match in which DDP called Eddie Guerrero "burrito boy".  I don't think that would fly nowadays.

Macho Man Promo
- Macho Man did a promo talking about how awful the nWo NASCAR performed in its recent race.

The Faces of Fear defeated High Voltage
- Short and sweet match. 

Glacier defeated Mike Wenner
- I'm guessing Mike Wenner was just a jobber, because I can't find anything on him. 

Jeff Jarrett defeated Hugh Morrus
- Prior to this, Jeff Jarrett was in WWF (1992-1996).  This looks like it's his debut, because I haven't seen him yet.  He's looking good in the ring! 

Arn Anderson (w /Woman) defeated The Renegade at 7:07
- That was a fun little match.  Arn Anderson, as always, put on a clinic.

Lex Luger defeated Dave Taylor at 2:36
- The match started out with Dave Taylor coming to the ring with Jeeves, until he knocked him out for some reason and called him a "stupid person".

Rick Steiner (w/ Scott Steiner defeated Chris Benoit (w/ Steve McMichael & Debra McMichael) at 10:30
- I'll always cheer against Chris Benoit.  They don't make them like the Seiners anymore!

A scheduled WCW United States Championship match between Ric Flair & Randy Savage never took place after the nWo attack Flair backstage and then Savage in the ring
- The show ended in a nice big melee between WCW and the nWo.  Not only that, the show ended with the nWo Hollywood Hogan Monster Truck coming out.  That was rad.

WCW Nitro #55: September 30th, 1996. (Rewatched 16 May 2020).

We're back again with another episode of WCW Nitro in Snubie's WCW Rewatch! Today, we're checking out WCW Nitro #55. This episode took place at the CSU Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio. This episode is off of last week's "nWo Monday Nitro", and we're seeing WCW stars come back from Japan for business as usual Nitro.  The nWo wasn't present on screen much in this episode, they seemed to generally be hanging out in a hotel, doing "business" stuff.  So, let's get into the show!

The Show:

Intro
- Bischoff talks about last week, when the nWo took over.  He talks about the pride of WCW, and the history of WCW, and how the nWo doesn't respect their tradition.

WCW World Tag Team Title Match: The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge & Rocco Rock) (c) defeated El Technico & Juventud Guerrera (2:06)
- Interesting note, El Technico was actually just Billy Kidman in a mask.

Singles Match: Alex Wright defeated Dean Malenko (5:17)
- Alex Wright isn't dancing yet.  But, I'm still excited for this match.  And Wright got a quick win in!

Singles Match: Eddie Guerrero defeated Jim Powers (w/ Teddy Long) (6:27)
- Jim Powers back again this week, looks like WCW likes this dude.

Nasty Boys Promo
- Next up, a promo back stage with the Nasty Boys coming to visit Hogan.

Singles Match: Hugh Morrus defeated Brad Armstrong (4:15)
- A fun little match, nothing to right home about.

Singles Match: Arn Anderson (w/ Woman) defeated Chris Jericho (5:35)
- Yeah, 90's Chris Jericho!  I am loving how hard WCW is pushing him.  They were smart to do so.

Singles Match: Lex Luger defeated M. Wallstreet (7:23)
- Another short and sweet match.

Tag Team Match: The Faces Of Fear (Meng & The Barbarian) (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeated The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) (8:25)
- I love watching these teams brawl.  WCW had some solid tag teams back in the day.

Singles Match: Chris Benoit (w/ Debra & Steve McMichael) defeated Rick Steiner (4:25)
- I can't stand Chris Benoit.  Everyone already knows why.

nWo Promo
- The show ends with an nWo promo with Miss Elizabeth at the hotel of the nWo.  She seemed uncomfortable but Hogan was trying to talk her into joining.  A package showed up.  Macho Man is shown running through the hall.  He starts yelling at Miss Elizabeth about "what her deal is", then the show ends.

WCW Nitro/nWo Nitro #54: September 23rd, 1996. (Rewatched 16 May 2020).

With most of WCW in Japan, the nWo took over Monday Nitro, so today we're going to be talking about nWo Monday Nitro #54. This episode took place September 23rd, 1996, at the Benjamin-Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama.

This was an exciting episode of Nitro.  The nWo basically ran all over the show and did whatever they wanted to do.  We saw the in-ring debut of Syxx, and the nWo debut of Vincent.  The Giant was the ring announcer for most of the night, and the nWo was present on commentary for much of the evening, as well!

I know I've said it before, but they don't make shows like this anymore.  Modern day WWE can't come near how awesome WCW was in the 90's.  I've only rewatched a few months since the debut of the nWo, but every episode has been just fantastic.  So, let's get into the show!

The Show

Kevin Sullivan & Konnan defeated Juventud Guerrera & Brad Armstrong
- Kevin Sullivan and Bubba turned on Konnan.  Then, apparently it was revealed to be a beat down initiation.  Mike Tenay says "that's how Konnan grew up in the barrio, this is a gang initiation".

Chris Jericho defeated Mike Enos
- Can't get enough of Chris Jericho.  In the 90's, you could tell he was going to be huge.

Glacier defeated Pat Tanaka
- It's still weird hearing Pat Tanaka come out to Goldberg's music.  WCW is pushing glacier something fierce.

Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge & Rocco Rock) defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray) (w/ Col. Robert Parker & Sister Sherri) (c) to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship
- Public Enemy was an awesome ECW tag team.  It's cool seeing them again in WCW.

Greg Valentine defeated Randy Savage via disqualification
- The Giant, Hall, Nash, Syxx, and DiBiase all came out and ganged up on the Macho Man.  Miss Elizabeth looked on, scared, and then ran backstage.

Announce Table Promo
- During this bit, Vincent debuted as Ted DiBiase's "head of security".  Many of you know him, of course, as Virgil.  Also, an nWo Nascar came out, #49.  This was a car Kyle Petty drove a few times in the Busch Series.

Jim Powers (with Teddy Long) v M Wallstreet (Match never started/not official)
- The Giant took on the role of ring announcer.  Remember, M Wallstreet is Mike Rotunda, father of Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas.  The nWo went down to the ring and beat up Jim Powers.  The ref tried to walk out.  I don't think this match ever even started.

Jim Powers v The Giant (Match never started/not official)
- For some reason, The Giant started a match with himself and Jim Powers.  I don't think the bell ever rang for this one, either.  Backstage, Hogan ran into the Nasty Boys and said he wanted to talk "some business" with them, and sent them to his suite.

Syxx defeated Jim Duggan
- Ron Studd came out, apparently supposed to be in the match.  Hogan talked to him, then Hogan and Nash attacked him.  Then, the Giant called out Syxx.

nWo Sting defeated Bo LeDeau
- Interesting side note, nWo Sting began wrestling in Japan in 97, and became more popular there than the actual Sting.  Bo LeDeau is apparently no one major, it doesn't appear as though he was much more than a jobber who fizzled out over the years.

Scott Hall & Kevin Nash defeated High Voltage
- The Outsiders called this "The First Ever nWo Invitational Tag Team Match".  High Voltage came out first, followed by The Amazing French Canadians.  Then the Outsiders came out.  Of course, the Outsiders won, and the show ended with the nWo gloating.