Monday, Week 1 January, 199811,215 fans at a sold out Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New YorkAnnouncers: Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Bobby HeenanNitro opens with the announce team giving us a rundown of last night's historic Starrcade, ending with a recap of Sting's victory over "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. We move to the ring where Gene Okerlund is looking to have the first interview with the new WCW World Heavyweight champion. The Man Known as Sting's music hits and for the first time in over a year the Stinger comes down the entrance ramp, the championship hanging over his shoulder.
"Here he is ladies and gentlemen, the NEW WCW World Heavyweight champion, Sting!" The crowd goes wild as Sting enters the ring and moves past Gene to raise his title to the crowd. "Sting, it's been a long road but you made your in-ring return last night and defeated one of the best in the business, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. How does it feel to strike the potential final blow to the New World Order?" Sting stares at Okerlund before pointing his bat at him. A confused Okerlund offers the microphone and Sting looks at it, considering finally addressing the WCW faithful.
"Hold it right there, brother," the nWo's music hits as Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall interrupt the segment coming out to the entrance ramp but not making any effort to head to the ring. "Mean Gene, you know I love you but the "final blow?" Come on, dude! You and everyone here knows that I had that match won until the referee got in my way."
"Hey yo," Scott Hall chimes in, "you already know that the nWo is for, for, for life! We're not going anywhere. WCW brought their best last night and just barely won, boys we haven't even started yet."
"You know a lot of people are saying the nWo is done," Nash adds, "we've been going strong for so long you think a bump in the road is going to stop us? You think Tyson lays down after round one?"
"That's right, brother. We're heading into round two and Sting, I'm coming for what's rightfully mine." Hogan points at the belt, "Enjoy it while you can, jack, because Thursday night on the debut of WCW Thunder, I'm taking back the nWo's property."
"And hey, if Hollywood doesn't get it done you can guarantee I'll be next in line" Hall adds, referencing his World War 3 victory and future title shot. Hogan does a double take at this.
"Why wait for tomorrow, I say let's start now." Nash leads the pack as the trio start to make their way to the ring. Okerlund quickly leaves as Sting points his bat and keeps an eye on all three.
The trio stop in their tracks when they notice the two men who have entered the ring behind Sting. Lex Luger and The Giant are here! The nWo back up to the ramp and a confused Sting turns around and recoils, pointing his bat at the duo. Luger puts his hands up while The Giant simply folds his arms. Sting takes his title and leaves the ring. It looks like the Stinger has some help, even if he doesn't want it.
(94)WCW World Tag Team Titles: The Steiner Brothers w/ Ted DiBiase vs Vicious & Delicious w/ VincentLooking to continue their momentum after a big victory last night, the Steiners take it to Norton and Bagwell early on here. Rick finds himself in trouble once Bagwell gets in with Buff almost scoring a win for the nWo. Once again though, the strength of Scott Steiner was too much to overcome. One Frankensteiner to Buff later and the champions retained at 10:17. Vincent protested loudly and ate a suplex afterward for his trouble.
(74)The new WCW United States champion, Diamond Dallas Page, make his way out to the ring. "New York! Last night was one of the best nights of my life, not just because of this beauty right here, but because I got to watch the New World Order get beat down. Now, I'm no dummy, I know they're not gonna give up like that and sooner or later they'll come knocking on my door. That's why I'm bringing out the challenge now. Send you best because I'll knock 'em down! BANG!"
(89)We head to the back as we see the nWo trio of "Hollywood" Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. "A blip in the road, that's all this is." Nash starts, "we're the most dominant force in professional wrestling and we will not go down like that."
"Hey yo, Sting you want to be all mysterious and spooky. Little scary man, well it looks like you still got a problem with friends. We don't." Hall throws a toothpick at the camera.
"That's right, jack, and enjoy it while it lasts. Thursday night, WCW Thunder, I take back what is mine. Scott won't even have to use his title shot because I'll be holding the belt once again." Hall glares at Hogan for a moment before Nash breaks the silence.
"We're not going anywhere because the nWo is for, for, for, for life!"
(85)Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Juventud Guerrera We get some fast paced cruiserweight action as the two luchadores battle it out looking to get momentum and perhaps a future shot at the championship. This is a fast paced affair that sees each man trading momentum and showcasing a ton of high flying moves for the crowd. Mysterio eventually puts it away with a Springboard Hurricanrana in 9:31 and motions for the belt as he celebrates.
(76)Mean Gene is backstage with Ric Flair who has a few words for his match tonight against Curt Hennig. "Curt, I took you in and gave you a place among the best in the Horsemen and you decided to repay me with a knife to the back! Well, it takes more than that to put down the Nature Boy and you're gonna find that out first hand tonight. Wooo!"
(77)We go back to the ring where Sonny Onoo is with his newest client, Alex Wright. "Normally, I handle the affairs of Japanese talent as they make their way into this company but I've been given a rare opportunity with my newest client." Wright poses as Onoo laughs, "The Wunderkind has been lost for some time and I will help take him to the top. That is why I am challenging anyone to come down here tonight and try their luck." Onoo and Wright wait for a few moments until...
Goldberg is here! The fans cheer as the undefeated phenomenon makes his way down, Onoo clearly unhappy with this development.
(66)Goldberg vs Alex Wright w/ Sonny OnooWhile it was a short match with only minimum offense from him, Alex Wright actually displayed some fantastic chemistry with Goldberg here. The undefeated Goldberg kept on a roll fighting off an early attack from Wright and taking him down with a Jackhammer and improving his record to 16-0 at 4:50.
(71)For the first time ever on Monday Nitro, Bret Hart is in the ring. The Hitman is here to set the record straight. "Ever since it was announced that I would be coming to WCW people have been speculating what this would lead to. Certain people suggested I join the nWo, here's the thing though. I don't like bullies and I don't like people who abuse their power, I've been screwed over by both and I'm not going to come in here and watch it happen again."
Bischoff makes his way out with a black eye, Konnan by his side, as they walk into the ring. "As much as I hate to interrupt your requested mic time, I have to set the record straight. Bret, you're trying to tell the people that you oppose the New World Order but you negotiated your contract exclusively with me. You can claim you're above it, Bret but at the end of the day you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the nWo!"
"Let me make this clear, for everyone in the nWo and for everyone in the audience tonight. I am not your friend, I didn't come here to join a war but I have no problem fighting anybody you want to send. I'm the excellence of execution and I have no problem giving you another black eye." Bret makes a move toward Bischoff but Konnan gets in the way.
"Hang on there, gringo. I'm seeing a lot of talk but how about some action, orale! You and me, Thursday night on the debut of Thunder." Bret considers it before nodding. Konnan goes for a sucker punch but the Hitman ducks and Bischoff and Konnan quickly retreat, trash talking on their way back up the ramp.
(96)
We head backstage for another nWo ad, this time Randy Savage stands with Miss Elizabeth as he flexes and poses. "OH YEAH, the nWo is as strong as ever and there is no one who can stop us. WCW had one lucky day but it won't happen again. Whether it's Sting, Luger, Flair or that trash Ray Traylor, we can't be stopped. Traylor, tonight I show you why the nWo will always prevail and why the Macho Man is the best in the game."
(88)
Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth vs Ray TraylorSavage took control early on but his early dominance led to Traylor hitting a big Spinebuster and making a comeback against the Macho Man. Ray looked to finish the match with his side slam dubbed the Traylor Trash but Miss Elizabeth distracted the ref. This led to Vincent making his way down to the ring and attacking Traylor from behind. Savage recovered in time for the ref to notice him going up top and hitting the elbow in 11:07.
(80)WCW World Television Title: Disco Inferno (c) vs "Lord" Steven RegalRegal goes on the attack early and shows off his technical prowess by keeping Inferno down on the mat and keeping his more energetic style from being unleashed. A few minutes into the match Raven and his Flock are shown entering through the crowd and watching the match. Undeterred, Regal continues to pummel Disco until being surprised with a Swinging Neckbreaker. From there Inferno doesn't let up, even taking time to taunt Saturn who he beat for the title! Having seen enough, Saturn and Kidman hit the ring and beat on Inferno, ending the match with a DQ win for the champion in 8:10.
(64)Post-match Saturn and Kidman continued beating down Inferno before Regal pulled Saturn off of the champion, incensed that he just lost his opportunity. The two men stared each other down but before they could lay a finger on each other Chris Benoit raced into the ring and immediately took down Saturn. Kidman attempted to save his ally but Benoit sent him flying with a suplex.
Having seen enough, the rest of the Flock entered the ring, prompting Regal to make his exit. The numbers game became too much as Hammer, Lodi, and Riggs put the boots to Benoit. Raven entered the ring and mocked the downed Benoit before noticing someone else heading towards the ring, steel chair in hand.
It's Dean Malenko! Chris Benoit's friend and occasional tag team partner. Malenko sends the Flock packing after a chairshot to Hammer and another to Kidman for good measure. Malenko helps Chris to his feet. It looks like Raven may have gotten more than he bargained for!
(57)Ric Flair vs Curt Hennig w/ Rick RudeThis feud stems all the way back from Hennig's betrayal at Fall Brawl and Flair is looking for his final revenge here. Before the match even officially starts Rude gets involved at ringside, grabbing Flair's robe and trying it on. The distraction proves successful as Hennig batters Flair for the early going of this match. Again proving himself the dirtiest player in the game, Flair begs off before poking Hennig in the eyes, using the underhanded tactic to deliver a series of chops to Curt's chest and begin working over the knee. Rude attempts to get involved again only for Flair to send a dazed Hennig directly into his manager. Flair seals the deal with a Figure Four and wins the match at 13:48.
(78)
Post-match, Hennig and Rude attack Flair before he even has a chance to celebrate. As Flair begins to fight them off, Randy Savage makes his way out and joins in the beating. As the fans start to rain boos, and trash, down on the attackers, Lex Luger and The Giant appear and start clearing house. Henning eats a chokeslam as Savage gets put into the torture rack. Before too long, Nash and Hall head down and the numbers game once again favors the nWo.
Sting rappels down from the rafters and begins taking it to Nash and Hall, striking them with his bat as the Giant and Luger throw them over the top rope. Sting gives a nod to the duo before being blindsided by none other than "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. Hogan beats down on the champion as the other nWo members regroup and take out Luger, Giant and Flair. Nitro ends with Hogan posing with the title over Sting's battered body!
(89)
Overall Grade: 85
