January 26, 2009
Matt Peddycord

WCW Monday Nitro
September 18, 1995
Johnson City, TN
Freedom Hall

The current WCW champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: Hulk Hogan (7/17/1994)
WCW U.S. Champion: Sting (6/18/1995)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat (9/17/1995)
WCW World Television Champion: Diamond Dallas Page (9/17/1995)

Your hosts are Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and that Emmy-award winning Steve “Mongo” McMichael.

In the back, Gene Okerlund catches up with Kevin Sullivan and The Giant as they arrive at the arena in an ambulance. Why? I have no idea. Most people just rent a limousine or something. Oh, but Giant has a point to make. He says it made him feel real good to see Hogan ride in the back of one of those. Um, you mean an ambulance? Giant proclaims that he is the only immortal and laughs hysterically, yet quietly. Gene scolds The Giant by saying that if his dad Andre the Giant were here to see him do this, he would be pretty upset. Giant doesn’t agree and believes Andre would be right by his side to destroy Hulkamania. So if the Giant is Andre’s last name, would that mean that the Giant’s full name would be The Man With No Name The Giant? It’s something to ponder.

WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat (w/Sister Sherri) vs. The American Males
After upsetting the Nasty Boys last night, the American Males received a chance to fight the Blue Bloods which is to be a #1 contenders match for the tag titles I suppose? Otherwise, why else would they need to beat the Nasties to face the Blue Bloods. Harlem Heat beats up the Earl of Eaton in the aisleway and there’s no sign of Regal, so either he’s already been taken care of or he no-showed. I have no idea. The Heat regained the tag titles from Buck and Slater the night before at Fall Brawl and were basically turned face by the crowd because the Asheville crowd apparently didn’t want to support somebody like Bunkhouse Buck. It’s a surprise to me too. Harlem Heat feels like beating up a couple of young punks though and they’ll even put the titles on the line. Uh oh. Big brawl to start which gets broken up to start the match proper. Standard babyface start with the American Males in control of Stevie Ray. Booker gets a tag and gives Bagwell a side slam followed by a powerslam. He misses a legdrop though and Riggs is tagged in. Since he’s all hot and special, he runs into a knee from Stevie Ray on the apron into a Booker T Axe Kick back when it wasn’t certain death. Booker delivers a NICE jumping hook kick, but Riggs comes back with a sunset flip. Too bad Booker tags Stevie Ray on his way down to the mat. Riggs avoids a somersault legdrop from Booker and rolls over to hot tag Bagwell. Dropkicks a plenty until Booker swats one away. Cue Colonel Parker to get him some lovin’. Just as Sherri is on the apron to nail Bagwell with her shoe, she spots Colonel Parker and falls off the apron into his arms. Meanwhile as Parker carries her off to the locker room, Bagwell lands on top of Booker to counter a pumphandle slam for 1-2-3! (4:43) It’s the first title change on Nitro! From 1993 to 1995, you knew summer was over when Bagwell won the tag straps. This makes four tag title reigns with three different partners for Bagwell. But if I was in charge of the whole operation, I don’t think I would have given the American Males the titles here. Maybe a non-title win would do them good, but not give them the belts. Too much title switching going on there. Then again, Bischoff did want this to be a show where things are constantly happening though, so I do see why he did the title change here if for that reason alone. All the same, it does put the heel heat back on Harlem Heat where it belongs. *½

Gene Okerlund interview Ric Flair. Arn, you broke the code! You brought an outsider into the forbidden land. Is he talking about Narnia? Of course he’s talking about Brian Pillman who distracted Flair and kicked him in the back of the head to cause him to stumble into the DDT. It’s not cool, bro. Flair drops our first curse word on Nitro, but don’t be alarmed. It’s only the donkey word. Oh man where’s the bleep button! But yeah, Arn and Pillman are going to get it.

Saturday Night! Watch it! 6PM eastern! TBS! US champ Sting battles Lord Steven Regal! Sgt. Craig Pittman takes on Cobra in a return match from Fall Brawl! Also, a one-on-one interview with Dusty Rhodes and an exclusive update on the Hulkster!

Johnny B. Badd vs. Paul Orndorff
Orndorff’s debuting his latest “look at myself in the mirror” character. His music sounds like a Morrissey song without any bass guitar. This is actually a time when I would enjoy hearing Johnny B. Badd’s theme music. Orndorff destroys Badd down into the corner and then gets into it with ref Nick Patrick. Badd comes back with a hiptoss and a slam, but flies face-first into Orndorff’s boots as we take a commercial break. When we return, Orndorff misses a flying splash and Badd hits the TOOTIE FROOTIE PUNCH! Umm, Orndorff doesn’t sell it and takes TWO MORE to fall out to the floor. Badd wants to do the somersault plancha, but Orndorff stumbles around ringside instead. He finds his mirror and looks at himself for moral support. Badd “kicks” Orndorff from inside the ring and misses by a mile on camera, but Orndorff sells it anyway. Badd nails Orndorff with a pescado and tosses Orndorff back into the ring for a flying double-ax handle. That gets two. Both guys backdrop each other’s attempts at the piledriver. Badd tries to sunset flip Orndorff when he takes a backdrop over him, but Orndorff hooks the legs and pulls forward for 1-2-3. (3:45 shown) Huh? I get that Orndorff has a new gimmick, but why put him over at Badd’s expense who after last night is apparently the #1 contender to the US title? You know, the number TWO title in the company? Don’t understand the logic there when Badd was very hot at the time. *

On the set of Baywatch, we see that Ric Flair saved Randy Savage from an attack by Kevin Sullivan. The man was just trying to work out and show off to the Baywatch chicks and Sullivan had to go and drop the barbell on him. What they want you to take away from this clip was that Ric Flair HELPED Randy Savage, which turns him babyface. That leads into our next segment.

Gene Okerlund interviews Randy Savage. His response to Flair’s help: “Thanks, but no thanks.” He’s also going to kill Kevin Sullivan for what he did. DIG IT! As for Hulk Hogan, he knows he’ll be alright, but he thinks Hulk is a bad judge of character for letting Luger on his team. Savage got hit by Luger during Wargames and now he clearly doesn’t trust the guy whatsoever. He’s already predicting that Luger, Sting and Jimmy Hart will join the Dungeon of Doom. Luger comes down to confront Savage. Luger thinks Savage has a personal agenda as well. He wants to be the WCW world champion too – just like him. Savage admits that he does and then he brings up the so-called cheapshot at Wargames. Savage wants to beat up Luger right here and now, but nothing really happens.

Replay of the Main Event where The Giant runs over Hulk’s motorcycle and laughs it up big time. Then later on in the evening Giant snaps Hogan’s neck!

Ric Flair vs. Brian Pillman
In case you didn’t know, Pillman caused Ric Flair to lose his match with Arn Anderson the night before at Fall Brawl and now some revenge is in order. They exchange chops to start. Flair takes Pillman to the floor and nails him with a flying double ax handle. On the apron, Pillman neck snaps Flair and chops him back into the corner. Flair Flip ensues. Flair ducks a clothesline from Pillman and delivers a clothesline on the apron of his own. He comes off the top on Pillman, but flies into a dropkick! VINTAGE PILLMAN~! Cover with his feet on the ropes gets two. Pillman takes Flair over to the ringpost for a good arm slinging. He brings Flair out to the floor and does the same on the guardrail. Flair chops back and drops Pillman chest-first on the railing and then heads back in the ring. Pillman tries to come back in with a sunset flip, but Flair puts on the brakes and punches Pillman - and then he punches him some more. Pillman suckers Flair into the corner, but then he runs into a boot. He still manages to slam Flair off the top. Flying Splash by Pillman misses, which hurts his knee. FIGURE FOUR is countered into an inside cradle for two. Double-KO! Flair appears to go for the shinbreaker, but changes his mind and gives Pillman a back suplex. FIGURE-FOUR! That gets the submission. (5:25) Wonder where Arn was at? Pillman should have won this and cheated somehow either by interference from Arn Anderson or some other means. It’s like they’re canceling out their own booking by having Pillman lose so quickly and cleanly I might add. Flair gets on the stick and repeats what he said earlier regarding Arn Anderson. Yes, the donkey word was used. **½

Next week: Alex Wright meets the Disco Inferno, Kurasawa will be in action, Randy Savage takes on Kevin Sullivan, and Lex Luger battles Meng!

And we out!