May 25, 2008
Mike Abitabile

Monday Nitro
Civic Center, Asheville, North Carolina
5/19/97

Nitro is on the air with footage from last night’s Slamboree pay per view. We are shown the referee raising the hands of Ric Flair, Roddy Piper and Kevin Greene! Tony was ecstatic about the win and we can hear it in his voice. The Nitro theme song plays as we enter the arena. Mean Gene welcomes us to the show. He is at the entranceway and brings out Ric Flair! The crowd explodes. MEEEEEEEEEEAAAAN GENE! Flair says last night was the greatest thrill of his career. He erased doubt and walked the aisle again. Flair is interrupted by the nWo music and out comes Syxx. Syxx says the wrong guy was defeated last night and the illegal man was in the ring. Flair takes off his jacket. Syxx says he heard Flair call him out and say he could take Syxx. Syxx takes offense. He knows he can take Flair. He challenges Flair for tonight. Flair laughs and again reiterates he can take Syxx and he will kick his ass tonight. They start brawling by the announcers and Flair chases off Syxx! Tony officially welcomes us to the show and he is joined by Larry and Brain. We go to the ring.

TV Title Match: Champion Steven Regal vs. Prince Iaukea

Tony confirms that Regal defeated Ultimo Dragon last night to regain the TV title. As the fans chant “USA” they lock up to start. Iaukea goes behind but Regal grabs the arm and lays in some shots to Prince. Prince tries to fight back, but Regal takes him down with a European uppercut and puts Iaukea in the corner then lays in some stiff shots. Regal sends Iaukea to the opposite corner and charges in but the Prince reverses it into a sunset flip which gets two. Iaukea then gets a reverse roll for two. Tony reminds us the Prince upset Regal right here on Nitro a few months ago to win the TV title and wonders if lightning will strike twice. Regal goes right to the face of the Prince and sends him to the ropes but the Prince reverses and gets a crucifix pin for two! That’s the move he used to win the title in the first place! Regal regains control by smashing Prince to the ground them kicking him in the back then the face. Regal lands a reverse suplex then locks on the Regal Stretch to retain his title by submission! As we go to break, Tony tells us Regal is no longer a Lord, he’s just Steven Regal. Larry is confused.

We are shown more footage from last night as Mortis dropped Glacier off the ring apron across the steel steps with modified rocker dropper while Wrath and James Vandenberg looked on. Then Wrath held Glacier while Vandenberg slapped him. Finally, as Wrath was going to hit his Rock Bottom-type move, dubbed The Death Penalty, on Glacier, a fan runs in to make the save. He hits a lot of karate type kicks and clears house! Back live, Tony lets us know that the man who interfered was four time Full Contact Karate Fighting Champion Ernest Miller.

Masa “Hiro” Chono vs. Squire David Taylor

Chono comes out in his nWo attire, but no one from the nWo accompanies him. Tenay joins the broadcast team for this match. He has a big announcement. Nitro comes to the MGM Grand on June 30, and tickets go on sale this Saturday. Tenay also promises a major star will debut in WCW at that show. They lock up and break. The fans chant “USA” at both foreign wrestlers. They lock up again and Chono applies a headlock. Taylor sends him to the ropes but Chono takes him down with a shoulder block then flexes. Chono kicks Taylor and sends him to the ropes but he cartwheels out and hits a dropkick. Taylor follows up with some European uppercuts. Chono catches Taylor off the ropes and hits an inverted atomic drop. Tenay talks about how the nWo is big in Japan now that Chono has joined them. Taylor hits some more uppercuts and Chono keeps asking for more. He dumps Taylor out of the ring then attacks him when he comes back in. Larry wonders why Taylor is still a Squire if Regal is no longer a Lord. Chono goes for a suplex then reverses it into a neck breaker. Chono tries for a piledriver but Taylor reverses it with a backdrop then sends Chono to the corner. He gets a big boot to the face as he rushes in. Chono locks on an STF to force Taylor into submission and get the win.

Mean Gene is in the aisle with Sonny Onoo. Onoo turned on the Ultimo Dragon last night, which caused Dragon to lose the TV title. Onoo says Chono has a debt to pay with him for turning on him a few weeks ago. Next week on Nitro, Sonny Onoo will have Chono’s worst nightmare here to face him. Onoo won’t tell us who it is. We go to break.

We are back with a statement by the Head of the WCW Executive Committee, James J. Dillon. According to JJ, Nick Patrick made his case to the committee about reinstatement. Based on his past behavior and track record (before joining the nWo), Patrick is reinstated as of this morning, but he will be on probation.

Scotty Riggs vs. Mr. Wallstreet

Wallstreet has a shirt on that has the WCW logo on it, but is crossed out. As you may remember, he was removed from the nWo by JJ Dillon because his contract with them was invalid, but he still hates WCW and wants everyone to know. He tells us he is nWo 4 life. They lock up and trade reversals. Wallstreet argues with Nick Patrick allowing Riggs to get the upper hand and hit a nice dropkick. He slams Wallstreet’s head into the turnbuckle then goes for a monkey flip in the opposite corner but Wallsteet holds on to the ropes and Riggs falls hard. Wallstreet hits a side suplex then locks on a chin hold. Riggs gets a small package for two. Wallstreet sends him to the ropes and takes him down with a back elbow. Wallstreet hits an elbow drop and gets two. He again applies the chin lock. Riggs fights up but Wallstreet tosses him out of the ring. Wallstreet and Nick Patrick get into a shouting match in the ring. Wallstreet goes for something in his pocket, right in front of Patrick, so Nick tries to take it away. While this is happening, Riggs climbs the top rope and hits a sunset flip on Wallstreet but Wallstreet grabs the top rope to stop from going over. Nick Patrick kicks his hand and Wallstreet goes over allowing Riggs to get the win! Wallstreet is not happy. The WCW production truck screws up the replay and shows it in reverse, so we see Riggs go backwards from the ground up to the top rope. Brain is speechless then deadpans “I’ve never seen a man do that before.”

Mean Gene is in the aisle with NASCAR driver Mark Martin who is joined by Ric Flair. His Valvoline Ford is parked on the set. Gene tells us Mark and Valvoline are firm supports of WCW Motorsports. Mark says Valvoline is going to give the car in front of them away to one lucky fan. Head over to a Valvoline supplier to enter, or call 1-800-Team-Val. Mark is a big WCW fan and he wants one of the WCW fans to win. He says he is going to win the Coca-Cola 600 this weekend in Charlotte for the WCW fans. That didn’t happen, but he came pretty close. He finished third. For those wondering, Jeff Gordon got the victory. Flair says he is proud to be here with Mark Martin and he hopes Mark sticks around to see him run Syxx into the wall. I wish I had the chance to win a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. car, but I digress.

We now go On the Road with 1-800-Collect and Lee Marshall. He is in Nashville, where Nitro will be next week. Nashville is the home of the Country Music Hall of Fame, but Lee is an Elvis fan and sings his version of “The Heartbreak Hotel” – “The Weasel Hotel.” Bobby: “The wrong guy is in the ground.”

We now see footage from last night concerning Randy Savage and Diamond Dallas Page. Savage was in the ring and called DDP a coward. Page made his way through the crowd and has a crutch with him. It’s the same crutch the nWo used on him last week, as it is all bent up. When Savage realizes Page is there, he takes off. Bischoff comes out to get Savage out of there. The troops come out to hold him back. DDP mocks Savage and says the reason Savage left the ring is because he has to go to Hogan’s house to wash his car and kiss his ass! Savage freaks out and heads to the ring. Savage comes in and DDP wears him out with the crutch! Vincent is in and gets some of the same! Bischoff gets hit with the crutch, too! Finally, Scott Norton comes in and takes DDP down from behind. Now that Page is down, Savage comes in and goes after Page. They all gang up on him until the Giant makes his way out and saved DDP. The nWo bails!

The Steiner Brothers vs. Jeff Jarrett and Steve “Mongo” McMichael

Queen Debra is with the Horsemen. Mongo has his briefcase. Scott and Jarrett start out. They lock up and Scott takes Jeff over with an arm drag. They lock up again and Jeff hip tosses Scott then walks on him! He follows up with a suplex but Scott no-sells it and benches Jarrett! Tony tells us Reggie White lost the match to Mongo last night but showed great effort and determination. Jarrett goes to the eyes and goes to hip toss Scott again but Scott reverses it and puts Jeff on the top rope. He hits a fall away slam from the top rope and gets a two count as Mongo makes the save! Jarrett tags Mongo and Scott tags Rick. Mongo shoves Rick and they trade punches. Mongo hits a chop lock. Mongo sends Rick to the ropes then takes him down with a shove. The crowd chants “Reggie!” Rick suplexes Mongo over then hits a top rope bulldog. He goes for the cover but Jarrett makes the save. Scott and Jarrett fight with Scott hitting 10 punches in the corner on Jeff. Jarrett dumps him over the top rope though. Debra is on the apron and the referee tries to stop her, and while this is happening, Jarrett tries to level Rick Steiner with the briefcase. All of a sudden, Kevin Greene comes out to stop this. He takes the briefcase and nails Mongo with it! This allows Rick to make the cover and get the win! Tony says Kevin Greene remembers the Great American Bash from last year when Mongo turned on him. But I guess he doesn’t remember that his partner from last night was instrumental in that, too. Mongo miraculously is fine and tells the camera to follow him because he is going to get Kevin Greene in the back. We go to break and Tony reminds us Nitro returns to its normal time and will be two hours next week.

Back from break and we are shown footage from what happened during the break. Mongo rushed into Kevin Greene’s locker room and shoved him. Security broke it up.

Ric Flair vs. Cruiserweight Champion Syxx

Ric Flair makes his in-ring return to Nitro after making his regular in-ring return last night. Syxx jumps Flair as the bell rings and hits some kicks in the corner. He throws Flair to the corner and goes for what looked to be a Bronco Buster but Flair moved and Syxx took a tumble. Flair hits some chops and the crowd explodes. Flair struts! WOOOO! Flair sends Syxx to the ropes but it is reversed and Syxx hits a stiff kick to the chest. All of a sudden, Hall and Nash come in and attack Flair, causing the DQ. Tony says the Horsemen were involved in the fight just minutes ago and were escorted from the building, and he knows Piper is not here. So Flair is by himself. Hall hits the Outsiders Edge on Ric. Nash then hits the Jack Knife power bomb. The referees are out but the Wolfpac attack them. Randy Anderson is in to try and pull Ric Flair out of the ring but Nash punches him. Nash has a microphone. He says they are going to put Flair and Piper out of the business. Hall mocks Flair and tells the Smithsonian that one half of the dinosaur exhibit is on its way. We go to break.

We return with Eric Bischoff on his way to the ring. He’s got a microphone with his nWo mic cube again. He says he loves each and every one of the people. He says you don’t want to make Hall, Nash and Syxx made. “Trust me, I know.” He says last week he wanted to say something to Sting. He keeps looking up as he talks. He says they tried everything and they can’t find him. He calls Sting a gutless coward. He tells Sting he will never get in the ring with Hollywood Hogan because he isn’t worth a drop of Hogan’s sweat. He should worship the ground Hogan spits on. The crowd chants for Sting. He wishes Sting was here tonight because he would slap the paint off his face. At this point, Sting pops up through the ring while a soda cup comes flying in and nails Bischoff in the head. Sting grabs Bischoff from behind and Easy E looks scared to death. Sting drops him with the Scorpion Death Drop! We fade to black!

Next week, Nitro returns to two hours and its normal time slot. And will Hogan respond to Sting’s actions?