March 26, 2009
Mike Abitabile

Monday Nitro
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum, Birmingham, Alabama
8/18/97

The show opens with Raven cutting a promo similar to those he would cut in ECW. This would be the first we would hear from him in WCW and he basically rambles on about how he has been mistreated and how he hates his father. Quote the Raven, nevermore.

Tony welcomes us to the show inside the arena. Larry and Iron Mike are with him as the Nitro Girls dance inside the ring. Mike reminds us the Clash of the Champions is this Thursday night.

Harlem Heat vs. Vicious and Delicious
Jacqueline brings out the Heat and Vincent is with V&D. Mike claims the Heat are back on a winning streak ever since acquiring Jacqueline’s services. Buff reminds the camera that he is indeed the stuff then flexes for us. He starts with Stevie Ray. They lock up and Stevie hits a hip toss as Buff tells the ref that Stevie pulled the tights. Now Buff hits his own hip toss then flexes some more. Buff then goes for a cross body block but gets caught and slammed hard! Book tags in and goes right to work on Buff, but he goes to the eyes and tags in Norton. He comes in and takes Book down with a clothesline then hits a flying shoulder block. Norton charges Book in the corner but gets a big boot in the mush then hit with a spin wheel kick. Stevie tags back in and Buff grabs his foot as he runs to the ropes. Norton tags Buff back in and they take Stevie down with a pair of back elbows. Buff goes up and misses an elbow drop allowing Stevie the chance to make a tag. Booker T comes in with fists of fire and takes out both members of the opposing team. He gets a two count on Buff but Norton breaks it up and all four men begin to brawl. When Vincent gets involved, the referee calls for the bell and gives the match to the Heat by disqualification.

The Barbarian vs. Mortis
As James Vandenberg brings Mortis to the ring, Tony tells us that Chris Jericho regained the cruiserweight title from Alex Wright this past weekend on WCW Saturday Night. They lock up and Mortis goes to work with kicks. Barbarian tries for a charge in the corner but Mortis moves and Barbarian goes shoulder first to the ring post. Mortis follows up with a rocker dropper off the top rope, which gets two. Mortis comes flying in with a cross body block for another two. He calls for a suplex, but wastes too much time, so Barbarian hits him with the move that will become The Stroke to get a two of his own. Barbarian pounds away on Mortis in the corner then gets hit with a side kick by Mortis. He climbs to the top and comes off but Barbarian catches him and hits a huge power slam but it only gets two. Barbarian hits a big boot out of nowhere to get the win. Tony tries to say the boot was loaded, but there was no evidence of that. Wrath comes in to assault Barbarian after the bell and hits his Death Penalty but Meng comes in from behind and applies the Tongan Death Grip! Mortis is over to try and get him off Wrath but nothing is affecting him.

We go to the booth to hear Tony talk about how WCW needs to band together to fight the nWo. Not only will Lex Luger and DDP team up this Thursday at the Clash, but they will also team up here tonight as well. As they talk, the nWo music interrupts as Eric Bischoff makes his way down to the ring. He is now sporting a black beard. Eric invites all of us to his party. It takes place Thursday night at the Clash of the Champions as the nWo will throw a party commemorating their one year anniversary. The crowd chants for Larry as Easy E continues on. Eric responds to that by telling us he also has a restraining order against Larry and he can’t come within 50 feet of Bischoff, just like Giant. Finally, he tells JJ that the nWo wants their own show and are well within their rights to get it, thanks to pre-match stipulations in the past.

WCW Saturday Night is still the weekend’s number one wrestling show. This week, don’t miss the Face of Fear taking on Mortis and Wrath as well as Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko.

Mean Gene is in the aisle and brings out Ric Flair and Curt Hennig. Flair again bows to Hennig and gives us a WHOOO! Flair puts over Hennig and say he is the best thing going today and will be a Horsemen soon enough. Hennig disagrees with that final comment and again tells us he is a free agent. He takes on the Giant later tonight and Flair takes on K-Dawg, according to Mean Gene.

Stevie Richards vs. Scotty Riggs
This is Stevie’s Nitro debut, as he’s already wrestled on Saturday Night recently. Tony tells us Stevie will face Raven at the Clash. Scotty twists the arm after a lock up then breaks clean when Stevie gets to the ropes. Stevie rakes the eyes after another lock up but gets clotheslined then monkey flipped by Riggs out of the corner. Riggs drops a fist as Tony reminds us Stevie has named a bunch of moves after himself. Scotty hits a pair of perfect dropkicks, which sends Richards to the floor. Riggs comes out with him and tries to send him into the ring post but it gets reversed and Scotty goes into it himself. Back in, Stevie hits a sit-out power bomb and gets a two. Richards tries to get the fans behind him, but that doesn’t work, as both men exchange fists. Riggs goes for another dropkicks but Stevie avoids it and gets another two count. Riggs slams Stevie’s head to the mat then hits a back elbow. Scotty lands a brainbuster suplex then slaps Stevie! He follows up with a side slam and gets another two. As he continues to work on Stevie, Raven makes his way down to the ring, through the crowd. Stevie hits the Stevie Kick for the win out of nowhere but Raven comes in the ring and hits a DDT on Richards after the bell. He then bails the same way he came in - through the crowd.

Mean Gene is back in the aisle and brings out Eddie Guerrero, Jeff Jarrett and Queen Debra. Gene says Jarrett will defend the US title against Mongo at the Clash and Eddie will get a shot at Dean Malenko’s cruiserweight title belt. All of a sudden, Alex Wright comes out and says he wants to be part of the team. Debra tells him that he can be on the team if he wins the TV title from Ultimo Dragon at the Clash. They head to the ring, but we head to commercial because they fought Chris Benoit and Steve McMichael and lost.

The following announcement has been paid for by the New World Order. Hall, Nash, Savage, Syxx, K-Dawg, Buff, Norton and Vincent sing Happy Birthday to themselves. The party continues at the Clash. The preceding announcement has been paid for by the New World Order.

Hour number two is on the air! Brain joins Tony and Mike in the booth. We see footage from last week when JJ Dillon offered up Syxx to Sting and got rejected.

The Outsiders make their way to the ring in wrestling gear. Hall does his normal shtick and tells us people are only there and watching at home to see the nWo. Nash says they are in nWo country then says they are going to beat up Luger and Page later tonight.

Ric Flair vs. Syxx
I thought Gene said Flair would be wrestling K-Dawg tonight. Oh well. Syxx comes out by himself, but I’d be more surprised if it stayed that way throughout the whole match. This is a rematch from Road Wild, where Flair got the win with his feet on the ropes. Syxx backdrops Flair then takes him down with a shoulder block. Flair fights back with a hip toss and vintage chops! Flair applies a chin lock and Syxx reverses it into a head scissor. Flair pounds away on Syxx with closed fists then chops him down again. This gets two. Syxx hits an enziguri on Flair then hits the bronco buster in the corner. Syxx then hits a quick leg drop, but Flair keeps trying to fight back with chops. Flair gets sent into the turnbuckle but flips over the top and goes to the floor. Syxx seems happy to get a count out win here, but Flair is back in. Syxx goes for a second bronco buster but Flair moves and Syxx crotches himself over the bottom rope! Flair and Syxx then run into each other and both men go down. Back up and Flair backdrops Syxx then drops a knee across his face. He follows up with a stiff chop then works on the knee. Flair goes for the figure four but Vincent, Buff and Norton all come in and cause a DQ. Curt Hennig comes out though and the nWo bails.

Mean Gene is with JJ Dillon and Nick Patrick in the aisle. JJ says the executive committee has cleared Nick Patrick of any wrongdoings at Road Wild. Patrick is relieved, but again, like last week, mentions that Randy Anderson should be investigated for costing Lex Luger the title at the pay per view. This brings Pee Wee out to defend himself. JJ begs them not to start any infighting because WCW has enough problems. JJ ends the interview.

TV Title Match: Champion Ultimo Dragon vs. La Parka
The winner of this match will face Alex Wright in a TV title match at the Clash. Sonny Onoo is with La Parka. They trade reversals until Dragon takes Parka over with a monkey flip and then a back drop. Dragon then hits his quick kicks and a dropkick which sends Parka to the outside. Dragon goes up top and hits a huge plancha to the floor on La Parka! Sonny Onoo distracts Dragon then hits him with some kicks while La Parka distracts the referee. Parka then sends Dragon into the steel steps and brings him back in. He drops Dragon with a power bomb and gets a long two count. La Parka then ties the Dragon to the tree of woe and hits a running spin kick. Parka follows up with a splash in the corner but Dragon moves and hits a tilt-a-whirl back breaker then sets Parka up for a spinning top rope hurricanrana then hits it and goes for the Dragon Sleeper. However, Sonny Onoo is on the apron to distract him. Onoo goes to kick Dragon behind the referee’s back but he accidentally kicks La Parka allowing Dragon to apply the Dragon Sleeper and get the win. After the match, Dragon kicks Onoo to the floor. Dragon will put the TV title on the line against Alex Wright at the Clash.

Curt Hennig vs. The Giant
Hennig opens the match by slapping Giant. That probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do. He responds by throwing Curt to the side. Hennig tries to chop the big man, but can’t Irish whip him. Giant tosses Hennig around like a rag doll and Curt begs off. Giant is in total control and hits a huge suplex. He calls for the choke slam but Eric Bischoff makes his way down the aisle. Bisch has the restraining order in his hand and claims he wants Giant sent to jail since they are within 50 feet of each other. He calls for Doug Dillinger, but Dillinger tells him the restraining order doesn’t work that way. It only applies if Giant approaches Bischoff, not if Easy E comes up to him. This brings Giant out and over to Bischoff now, but as he back peddles, Larry appears and blocks Bischoff’s exit. Hennig has won the match by count out, but the important action is taking place in the aisle. Bischoff tries to leave through the fans, but Giant grabs him but is finally restrained as we go to break.

Mean Gene is in the ring with JJ Dillon. He says he doesn’t have a contract with him tonight. He can’t figure out what Sting wants, so JJ is letting Sting know that he has until the Clash of the Champions this Thursday night to tell him what he wants. If not, both sides will have to go their separate ways. JJ might be the only person on the planet who doesn’t know who Sting wants to fight. I mean, Stevie Wonder could see who Sting wants. This ultimatum brings Sting out through the crowd and he makes his way into the ring. He grabs JJ by the tie and drags him to the corner of the ring. Sting points to a sign in the crowd that says “Hey JJ, Sting Wants Hogan!” In addition, the crowd is chanting “Hogan! Hogan! Hogan!” Amazingly, JJ STILL CAN’T FIGURE IT OUT. There is about 20 signs in the crowd that say “Sting vs. Hogan” and still nothing goes off in JJ’s head. Tony proclaims, “Just listen, for goodness sake!” When Tony Schiavone is the voice of reason, you’ve got a problem. Sting leaves the ring and picks up a sign that says “HULK VS. STING” then goes back in the ring and holds it right in front of JJ’s face. JJ says he thinks he’s got it and he will get Sting a contract to fight Hector Garza. No, not really, but at this point, that wouldn’t have surprised me. We go to break with the crowd screaming, “HOGAN! HOGAN! HOGAN!”

The following announcement has been paid for by the New World Order. Hall, Nash and Savage invite JJ Dillon to the birthday party this Thursday night at the Clash of the Champions. The proceeding announcement has been paid for by the New World Order.

Tag Title Match: Champions The Outsiders vs. Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger
As usual, Kimberly brings out Page and Luger then goes into the back. Before the match starts, Tony tries to cover for JJ’s stupidity by saying he just wants to hear Sting say he wants Hogan. I guess that makes sense, but still, he has just ended up looking like a tool. Lex and Hall start out. Hall throws his toothpick at Lex, so Luger slaps him. They lock up and it’s a stalemate. Hall pushes Lex into the corner but Luger pushes Hall back into the opposite corner. Lex breaks clean after a while, then Hall shoves him and Lex shoves him back. Hall gets Luger into his corner and they double team him, but Luger fights back and takes them both down! Nash tags in and mocks the Diamond Cutter sign. He says he wants Page, so Lex tags him in after giving all four sides of the arena the Cutter sign. Nash charges in with a big knee then pounds away on Page’s head. He continues to beat on him until Page fights back with huge fists and a swinging neck breaker! He makes the cover and gets a long two count. Nash is up though and clotheslines Page down. He picks him back up and goes for the snake eyes in the corner but Page slides down the back and hits a Russian leg sweep and gets another two count. Nash reverses an Irish whip and takes Page down with a big boot and tags in Hall. He kicks away on Page then hits his fall-away slam on him which gets a two count. Nash tags back in and punches Lex off the apron so Page can’t tag him. Now Hall is back in illegally while Randy Anderson talks with Luger. Hall applies an abdominal stretch and gets added leverage from Kevin Nash on the apron. Page finally reverses out of it and turns it into a back breaker! Hall is able to tag in Nash though since they were in the Outsiders corner and he continues to beat on DDP. He drives elbows into Page’s head in the corner then chokes him with his boot. Hall runs over behind Pee Wee’s back and clotheslines Page. He then comes in illegally again. Hall then mockingly makes a legal tag, right in front of Anderson’s face, to Nash. He finally hits the snake eyes on Page and Hall again takes Page down behind the referee’s back and tags in. Hall hits a wind up punch and gets two then applies a sleeper as the fans are desperately trying to get Page back into this. Page is fading fast though. DDP’s arm drops twice, but not three times and Page is fighting out of it. He side suplex’s Hall and tries with every ounce of energy in his body to tag in Lex Luger. Hall is able to tag Nash though, who makes sure Page still can’t make the tag. This crowd is building and wants to come unglued when Luger comes in. DDP reverses a side slam into a head scissor takeover on Nash. He finally crawls over and tags Luger in, and right on cue, the roof comes off the place! Hall comes in and Luger takes both men out as Savage, Syxx, Buff and Norton rush the ring causing the DQ finish. WCW is outnumbered until Flair and Giant come out to try and help. It’s a huge brawl and….. we’re out of time!

Next week we’ll see the fallout from the Clash of the Champions and the start of the Fall Brawl buildup.