~BTB OF THE MONTH~ WCW 1995: Let's start a war! Nitro November 6th 1995 is now live

[Mach]

WCW Nitro #3 September 18th 1995
Live from Freedom Hall in Johnsons City, Tennessee

Recapping Fall Brawl

Straight off the back of a blockbuster Fall Brawl we get a video recap of the PPV. The headlines are that team Hogan won the War Games match - but the victory was not without controversy as Lex Luger inadvertently nailed Hogan with a steel chair. Also in that match Hawk and Meng busted out of the cage and brawled to the back while Taskmaster slinked out of the cage. In the other big match Vader defeated Ric Flair after The Nature Boy and The Enforcer had a strategic disagreement. Plus Brian Pillma brutally broke Alex Wright’s arm with chair while there were wins for Harlem Heat, DDP, The Radicals and Eddie Guerrero. With that the package ends and pyro goes off as Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan welcome us to Nitro!

War Games fallout

We then cut to the ring where Sting and Lex Luger are making their way down the aisle slapping hands with the fans - both men have singles matches against Arn Anderson and Meng respectively tonight. Gene Okerlund is waiting in the ring for the pair as the announcers recap the Luger accidental chair shot. With both men in the ring Gene first asks Lex about what happened during War Games. Luger says: “Well first of all Gene I have to say it is great to be here in Tennessee! Now as for what happened between myself and Hulk Hogan all I can say is that I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I hit you Hulk because from the bottom of my heart and on my life it was an accident when I hit you with a chair last night. I was aiming for that creep The Taskmaster and he got out the way. But right now what I’d like to do is thank my good friend and the WCW US Champion Sting for keeping his focus, tapping out The Zodiac and winning War Games for the team.”

Sting is about to speak to Gene when the WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan then marches down the aisle. Bischoff reminds us that Hogan vs Luger is the main event of Halloween Havoc. Hogan gets in the ring and grabs the mic: “Stinger I’m sorry to cut you off like this dude but I couldn’t wait any longer when I heard all the garbage coming out of your mouth Luger. Whether it was an accident or not jack I saw the look on your eyes and I know you were more than happy to knock me out with that steel chair because you don’t care about the team, Sting or anything other than taking what I have and that’s the WCW Championship! So now with Fall Brawl in the rear view mirror the gloves are off brother!”

Luger and Hulk look to square up to each other but Sting grabs the mic from Gene and interjects: “Listen Hulk I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again. Lex is like a brother to me and I know he wouldn’t hit you with a chair deliberately in a match when you’re on the same team. Also the Lex I know would want to beat Hulk Hogan at Halloween Havoc at 100% so I promise you between now and October 29th in Detroit everything is going to be above board and you two are gonna have one hell of a match at Halloween Havoc.” Luger nods in approval while Hogan remains unconvinced.
With that Ric Flair’s music hits and The Nature Boy makes his way onto the stag accompanied by Arn Anderson, who is dressed to compete. Flair has the mic: “Well, well about time there was some trouble in paradise, woo! As the dirtiest player in the game let me give the three of you some advice: pro wrestling is a selfish business and one of these days the person closest to you may just turn out to be a snake in the grass all along.” Sting then replies: “Well Ric I think given what happened between you and Double A at Fall Brawl I think ya might want to get your own house in order before giving lectures on friendship.” This line pisses Anderson off and he charges down to the ring and him and Sting start throwing hands! Referee Nick Patrick is on the scene and throws everybody else out of the ringside area as he rings the bell! Bischoff urges us to stick with Nitro as this US Championship bout gets underway!

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Arn Anderson

We are back live on Nitro as Anderson has Sting in a tough spot in the corner and is pounding away on him in the corner. Bischoff explains that Sting missed one of his signature splashes during the break and Double A has been on top ever since. This match came about after Arn pinned Sting in a tag match last week. Anderson tries for the DDT but Sting pushes him against the ropes and on the rebound sends Arn flying across the ring. Arn recovers in the corner and once again Sting goes for the splash but Anderson meets it with a stiff kick to the gut. With Sting doubled over Arn hooks him and deliver a vertical suplex. The Enforcer covers: one…two…NO! Sting gets the shoulder up but Arn slaps on a chin lock to slow the US Champ down. Sting however is quickly rising to his feet but Anderson counters and then locks a sleeper lock on his opponent. This doesn’t stop the Stinger however and he continues to power up and with Anderson on his back he charges into the corner and dumps Double A against the turnbuckles. Arn is slumped and in position and Sting looks for the Stinger splash again but Anderson bursts out of the corner with a lariat that turn the face painted competitor inside out. Arn then grabs Sting by the neck and delivers a DDT, spiking the US Champ’s head right into the canvas! Anderson covers: one...two…three?

NO! Sting kicks out at 2.9! Anderson cannot believe it, he was so close to his first US Championship. Double A hauls Sting up and throws him into the ropes, looking for the spine buster on the rebound but instead Sting decks him with a shoulder block! Arn staggers to his feet but Sting scoops him up for a slam! Anderson then retreats to the corner and again Sting goes for the Stinger splash but Arn ducks by heading up to the top turnbuckle. Sting follows him up there however, punches Anderson in the face a few times before delivering a huge superplex from the top rope! Sting covers: one…two…three? NO! Anderson shows some heart and kicks out. Ric Flair however has now emerged through the crowd and he jumps the guard rail at ringside. Back in the ring Sting is on the offensive with some strikes before whipping Anderson into the corner. He sizes Double A up and finally hits the Stinger Splash to a huge pop. Meanwhile Flair is causing chaos as he grabs the US Championship belt. In the ring Sting ignores Flair’s shenanigans, grabs Anderson’s legs and locks in the scorpion deathlock! He’s wrenching back on Double A now and he has him in the middle of the ring! Just as Anderson looks to be starting to crawl his way to the ropes, Flair charges the ring and whacks Sting over the head with the US belt! The fans boo as Nick Patrick has no choice but to call for the bell.

Winner in 11 minutes (including commercials) via DQ and still WCW United States Champion, Sting

Flair then starts going to town on the Stinger with stomps as Anderson frees himself from the hold not looking best pleased as Heenan points out he was starting to make his way towards the ropes. Arn starts stomping down on Sting until Lex Luger charges down the aisle and the two horsemen bail while Lex checks on his friend.

Tag Team Tournament announced

Backstage and ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund has a message from the WCW board of directors. To determine Harlem Heat’s challengers for Halloween Havoc an eight team single elimination tournament will take place! The tournament will begin next week on Nitro and take place across Nitro and Saturday Night with the finals and new #1 contenders being crowned on the October 16th Nitro. There will also be a wild card team comprised of two random singles wrestlers which will be drawn just before that match takes place. Gene runs down the tournament.

Nitro September 25th: The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal and Earl Robert Eaton) vs The American Males (Marcus Bagwell and Scotty Riggs)

Saturday Night September 30th: The Diamond Mine (DDP and Max Muscle) vs Steve and Scott Armstrong

Nitro October 2nd: The Radicals (Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko) vs The Stud Stable (Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater)

Saturday Night October 7th: The Nasty Boys vs The Wildcard Team

Nitro October 9th: Diamond Mine/Armstrong Brothers vs Radicals/Stud Stable

Saturday Night October 14th: Blue Bloods/American Males vs Nasty Boys/Wildcard

Nitro October 16th: The Final

Just before Nitro cuts to break we get a word from the tag team champions Booker T and Stevie Ray. Harlem Heat say they appreciate the fan support they got at Fall Brawl last night and will be looking forward to facing the winner of the tournament at Halloween Havoc. Bischoff says Brian Pillman will take on Johnny B Badd next on Nitro.

Johnny B Badd vs Brian Pillman

As we come back from break Johnny B Badd is making his way down the aisle. The happy-go-lucky wrestler came up short vs DDP at Fall Brawl but has a chance for redemption against Brian Pillman. As B Badd is getting into the ring a hooded figure from the crowd emerges and blindsides him! He starts beating down the startled Badd and has Doug Dillinger and the security corps make their way down the ramp the hooded man reveals himself to be Brian Pillman. ‘The Loose cannon’ is grinning ear to ear as he continues to beat Badd down until eventually security pull him off Johnny. Bischoff notes that Pillman has gone completely off the deep end and horrifically injured Alex Wright’s arm last night at Fall Brawl. Badd staggers to his feet and pushes the security away and gets into the ring. The referee rings the bell and we are underway. Pillman completely levels Johnny with a running lariat to start the bout and then goes back to just stomping the hell out of Badd. Brian then goes for his signature neck breaker but Jonny counters pushing Pillman into the ropes and then leveling him with a running knee.

Momentum is only briefly back on Johnny’s side however as after successfully hitting a few shots he heads up to the top rope and looks to dive with a crossbody but Pillman nails him impressively with a drop kick. Brian throws Johnny to the outside and just decimates his opponent with whips into the guard rail being executed and then followed up by a brutal suplex on the floor. Pillman has an evil look in his eye as he starts repeatedly ramming the head of Johnny into the ring post before hauling his opponent back into the ring. Brian goes to the apron and goes for his signature springboard clothesline but somehow B Badd ducks so Brian rolls through the move. Johnny tries for a knockout strike but Pillman catches Johnny with a boot to the gut and follows this up with his hangman’s neck breaker that sees Johnny land on the back of his head. Pillman then covers: one…two…three!

Winner in 4 minutes, Brian Pillman

The referee goes to raise Brian’s hand as he gets to his feet but Pillman ain’t done yet. He gets a chair from ringside and then places it around Johnny’s arm! The ref is pleading for him not to do it but Brian doesn’t care as he stomps down on the arm of B Badd! Pillman then laughs before hightailing it out of the ring while medics come to check on Johnny, who suffers the same fate as Alex Wright last night. As he’s leaving Pillman can be seen screaming into the camera about an apocalypse coming to WCW and that nobody is safe from the wrath of the loose cannon.

A giant confrontation

We then cut to a video package that we saw last night at Fall Brawl which showcased The Giant’s imminent arrival to World Championship Wrestling. However this abridged version of the package is cut off by a Vader who is standing in a darkened room. “I’ve seen a lot of big men walk into WCW and think they were the man - and guess what I’m the only one still here. I’m the biggest, baddest, toughest guy to be in this company and I’m hearing a lot of big talk from such a young kid. Now I don’t care if your eight foot three and weigh 900 pounds because nobody gets to be the biggest dog in this company while I’m around. So next week I challenge you to meet me face to face in the ring Giant because it’s still Vader time!” Vader screams impressively before we then cut backstage.

Next week’s main event set

Gene Okerlund is standing by with a pissed off looking Hulk Hogan. The WCW Champ has manager Jimmy Hart by his side as Gene asks if Hogan can trust Lex Luger. “Let me tell ya something Mean Gene I know that I can’t trust anyone gunning for my WCW title. I’ve held this title jack for over 400 days and the longer I’ve been in this company the more I realise that the only people I can trust are the hulkamaniacs brother. But next week on Nitro in South Carolina I’ve got a piece of unfinished business to settle - Taskmaster I saw that you slipped out of that cage at Fall Brawl and I still owe you a beating dude. So I spoke to WCW management and guess what next week its me and you in the ring and before you even think about running again I’ll put the world title on the line. Last night at War Games we took the Dungeon of Doom apart and on Nitro next week I’m cutting of its head!” The more aggressive than usual Hulk Hogan leaves the interview set as we cut to our final break.

As we come back we cut to the announcers who plug next week’s Nitro featuring Hogan defending his world title vs The Taskmaster, the start of the tag title #1 contenders tournament and Vader and The Giant going face to face in the ring. Bischoff then throws to our main event.

Main Event: Lex Luger vs Meng

Meng makes his way down the aisle first unaccompanied by any of his Dungeon of Doom brethren - it's unclear what the state of the faction is after War Games defeat last night. As the menacing Tongan gets into the ring the guitar chords of Lex Luger’s banger WCW theme hit and here comes the #1 contender. The fans still love Luger despite Hogan calling into question his character. The Total Package gets in the ring and this one is ready to go! The two impressive competitors first lock up and Luger seems to win the initial test of strength as after a brief struggle he pushes Meng to the ground. Luger invites Meng for another lock up but the Tongan isn’t falling for that one as he starts unleashing some hellish chops to Luger which backs the former WCW champ into the corner. Meng goes to headbutt Luger in the corner but Lex ducks out the way and Meng’s skull ricochets of the turnbuckle. Luger then tries for an early torture rack but Meng grabs the ropes and hauls himself to the outside to take a breather. Luger follows in pursuit as the two start exchanging shots on the outside as the crowd pop for this. Eventually Meng gets the advantage however as he nails one his brutal headbutts which sends Luger staggering into the guardrail where Meng then unleashes a few more stiff shots before taking his opponent back into the ring. He then tries for a Samoan drop but Luger then uses the ropes to grab onto and escape. Lex goes for his signature running fore arm but he is met with a big thrust kick from Meng that sends Luger crashing into the canvas. Meng covers: one…two…NO!

Luger kicks out but Meng then stomps on his foe a few times before hoisting him up for a brutal bear hug that looks to almost literally be squeezing the life out of Lex. The fans chant for Luger and just as he looks to be elbowing his way out of the hold Meng plants him nearly through the canvas with a spinebuster. Meng covers: one…two…three? NO! Lex kicks out! Meng is wasting no time however as hauls Luger back up and tries to lock in the Tongan death grip but Luger counters with multiple kicks to the gut! He then whips Meng into the turnbuckle before climbing to the second rope and delivering 10 punches to his foe’s face as the crowd pop for the #1 contender. As Meng staggers out of the corner Lex bounces off the ropes and nails him with the flying forearm. Luger covers: one…two…three? NO! Somehow Meng manages to get the shoulder up! Unbelievable. Luger then signals for the torture rack but he can’t get Meng up and the big Tongan delivers a powerslam to Lex instead. Meng then grabs Lex and locks in the dangerous Tongan Death Grip! Luger is fading here but here comes Sting rushing down to ringside to cheer his friend on. Sting is yelling ‘come on Lex’ as the referee drops the arm of Luger once. He drops it again but on the third time he shows signs of life as Sting is whipping up the crowd. He strikes Meng repeatedly in the head as Sting whips the crowd up! Kamala and The Shark are then heading to ringside to get to Sting but Road Warrior Hawk is here to even the odds as the quartet brawl up the ramp. Meanwhile back in the ring Meng misses a thrust kick as Luger grabs his leg, launches him into the ropes and nails him with another running forearm! He then gestures to the crowd and impressively picks Meng up for the torture rack! The Tongan is out as the ref calls for the bell!

Winner in 9 minutes, Lex Luger

Luger picks up his first singles win since returning to WCW! The referee raises the hand of Luger as Hawk and Sting dispatch Shark and Kamala to the outside. Nitro ends with Sting, Hawk and Luger celebrating in the ring as Bischoff plugs next week.

Highlights from WCW weekend programming

• Road Warrior Hawk defeats The Shark, after the match Hawk and Meng brawled and had to be separated by security
• The Taskmaster cut a promo promising to finally take the WCW Championship from Hogan and disband the Dungeon of Doom if he couldn’t
• VK Wallstreet defeated Jim Duggan
• Eddie Guerrero cut a promo telling DDP hew was cashing in his chance at the WCW TV Championship at Halloween Havoc after winning the four way at Fall Brawl. He also challenged Mr JL to a match on Nitro
• Sabu defeats Kurosawa
• The American Males defeated two local competitors impressively

Card for WCW Nitro #4 September 25th 1995
Florence Civic Centre, South Carolina

Main Event WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs The Taskmaster

Tag Title #1 Contenders First Round Match: The Blue Bloods vs The American Males

Eddie Guerrero vs Mr JL

And Vader challenges The Giant to meet him face to face in the ring


Card for WCW Halloween Havoc October 29th 1995
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs Tournament Winners

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero

 

[Stojy]

Opening with Luger and Sting together is the best choice here. Obviously a bit of controversy surrounding Luger around whether he hit Hogan with the chair on purpose or by accident. Him explaining himself and sucking up to Sting makes sense, and the direction of Hogan not buying it works, as you take a slightly different angle to real life, but it still fits the idea of Hogan not trusting Luger. I wonder if Sting vouching for Luger is going to come back and make him look silly. Also thumbs up for the Hogan/Luger match being saved for Halloween Havoc by the way, definitely a good decision. Build should be fun, all around the validity of Luger’s character. Also Flair trying to stir the pot but Sting giving him a taste of his own medicine was a nice moment to. All around, a pretty strong opening to the show.

Sting/Anderson as an opener is something nobody can really complain about. Match was booked really well for what’s going on at the moment here. Sting looks strong, Arn doesn’t lose anything by not tapping, and Flair jumping the gun and causing the DQ, whilst Arn was potentially making progress to the ropes makes it look like he just cost Arn the title. This will continue their tension nicely. No issues with Luger coming back down to help out Sting afterwards either.

Tag Team Tournament sounds like a good way to give the division some new exposure. I’m intrigued by the wildcard team, but can’t help but think this is a vehicle to get Benoit and Malenko in title contention fast, which I’m completely okay with.

Loving the new attitude of Pillman here as he gets himself another victim in Badd. Very fun stuff, turning him from being a plain babyface right from the get go in this BTB. Enjoying this progress.

Oh shit, Giant/Vader confrontation sounds awesome. I’m excited for that.

Solid enough promo from Hogan to set up a match with Sullivan for next week. No issues, looking forward to some Luger shenanigans.

Glad that Meng still had a decent showing but Luger just HAD to win his first singles match back, especially now he’s number one contender for the World Title. Sting and Hawk holding off the interference was a nice touch as well, and a fine ending to the show here.

A very strong episode of Nitro. Have caught up in here recently, and enjoying what has been happening. Keep up the great work.

 

[Mach]

WCW Nitro #4 September 25th 1995
Live from the Florence Civic Centre, South Carolina

Not straight into the intro this week as we instead have a cold open as we are straight into the backstage area where WCW US Champion Sting has been laid out! WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan is on the scene shouting for help as the medics come over to attend to Sting. Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan hurriedly welcome us to the show before #1 contender Lex Luger storms in and starts raging at Hogan. “Hogan I know this was you - we may not see eye to eye but you getting to me through Sting is too far pal!” Luger goes to lunge at Hogan as Doug Dillienger and security quickly step in as Hogan pleads his innocence: “I found him like this brother! I respect Sting too much to blindside him!” Heenan of course believes Hogan took Sting out while Bischoff of course backs his boy Hulk. As security keeps the two men apart backstage we cut to the usual Nitro opening titles.

WCW Tag Title #1 Contenders Quarter Final: The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal and Earl Robert Eaton) vs The American Males (Scotty Riggs and Marcus Bagwell)

As we come back the awesome theme of the American Males hits as the new tag team of Bagwell and Riggs makes its way down the aisle. Bischoff quickly hypes Nitro tonight including Hulk Hogan defending his WCW title against The Taskmaster and a huge confrontation between The Giant and Vader. The Blue Bloods then enter the South Carolina arena pompously as we see Harlem Heat watching on the monitor backstage - Heenan explains this is the start of an eight team tournament that will see the winning duo take on the tag champs Harlem Heat at Halloween Havoc. Regal and Bagwell are in the ring and this bout is underway! The crowd are chanting USA at the start of this one as Regal looks on in disgust. The pair lockup and Bagwell has the strength advantage and pushes Lord Steven into the ropes, forcing the referee to break the count. As the ref pulls Bagwell back Regal gets in a cheeky eye poke on his opponent before Irish whipping Marcus into the corner and starts wailing on him with some stiff chops as Scotty Riggs tries to get some USA chants going on the apron. Regal tags in Eaton and the two hit a drop toe hold and knee drop combo to the back of Bagwell’s neck before Eaton locks in a front face lock. After synching it in for some time Marcus manages to power to his feet and switch the hold round and deliver a vertical suplex to Eaton. Marcus goes to make the tag but Regal is in and knocks Riggs off the apron with a stiff elbow. Bagwell then goes after Regal with punches but this gives Eaton time to recover and nail Bagwell with a back breaker! He covers: one…two…three?

NO! Marcus kicks out but Earl Robert isn’t wasting any time here as he stomps away on Bagwell as Regal retreats back to the corner. Eaton then hits Bagwell and heads to the top rope and looks for his signature diving leg drop - but Bagwell dodges out of the way! This is the opening that Marcus needs to finally crawl to the corner and make the tag to big Scotty Riggs. The big man comes in like a house on fire with clotheslines to Eaton and Regal comes in to cut him off but he too also eats a lariat. Riggs then hauls up Eaton for a running power slam but Lord Steven is in and plants Riggs with a Regal Cutter! Regal then gets back in the corner and Eaton manages to crawl over to the corner and make the tag to his partner. Regal then quickly goes to apply the Regal Stretch to Riggs but Bagwell is in to break up the submission before it even starts. This allows Riggs to retake the advantage and he hits Lord Steven with a big belly to belly suplex! He then gestures to Marcus who heads to the top while Regal is lifted into the electric chair position. It looks like an elevated blockbuster is on the cards but Eaton is in and he knocks Marcus of the top turnbuckle! This momentary distraction allows Regal to get out of the electric chair, and hook Riggs for the Regal-plex! He covers: one…two…three!

Winners in 7 minutes, The Blue Bloods

The arrogant tag team celebrate in the ring as the American Males lick their wounds on the outside. They will face the winner of the Nasty Boys vs wildcard tag match in a couple weeks time.

We hear from DDP

We then cut to DDP’s mansion as the TV Champion is flanked by his Diamond Mine stablemates the lovely Diamond Doll and the fearsome Max Muscle. DDP says: “Listen Guerrero I know we’ve got a match signed for Halloween Havoc but that’s gonna have to be postponed pretty soon because when myself and big Max Muscle beat the Armstrong Brothers on Saturday Night we’ll be one step closer to winning the tag belts and I know not even billionaire Ted has enough cash to pay me for two matches in one night. I’ll be watching your match with Mr JL tonight very closely Eddie but I’d keep looking over your shoulder because you never know when you might get hit with a Diamond Cutter!” With that DDP chuckles and we head to break.

Eddie Guerrero vs Mr JL

As we come back from break the mysterious masked man Mr JL is making his way to the ring. Bischoff reminds us that he was very close to becoming the #1 contender to the TV Championship at Fall Brawl. Speaking of #1 contenders Eddie Guerrero is out next to a decent pop. The young upstart slaps hands with the fans before getting in the ring and this contest gets underway. The match starts like a house on fire as Eddie charges at JL and nails him with a drop kick! The masked man then staggers through the ropes but Guerrero remains on offense and dives through the ropes and nails Mr JL! As he celebrates with the fans the camera pans up and DDP and the Diamond Doll are stationed in a skybox looking down on the action. Eddie goes to haul JL back into the ring but it gets countered and Eddie is Irish whipped into the apron. JL then positions Eddie atop the apron and hits a guillotine leg drop to Guerrero on the apron before rolling him back into the ring. Guerrero is visibly winded as he staggers to his feet but he gets about a millisecond to recover as JL hurtles off the top rope and nails a cross body straight into a cover! One…two…NO!

Guerrero kicks out but JL continues to go on the offensive with big round kicks to Eddie before whipping him into the corner. JL charges at Eddie but Guerrero back drops his opponent over the ropes but JL hangs on, whacks Eddie in the back of the head and then goes for a spring board cross body but Guerrero cuts him off with a jumping knee! With JL bent over Eddie goes for a powerbomb but when up on his shoulders JL counters and takes Guerrero to the mat with a hurricanrana! The masked competitor goes for a pile driver but again its Eddie who counters with a back drop. JL goes to recover in the corner but this is a mistake as Guerrero runs to the corner and monkey flips his opponent halfway across the ring. Eddie then grabs JL and goes for the three amigos. He hits the first two suplexes but on the third one Mr JL counters with some stiff shots to the gut and then follows up by hitting a pile driver! JL covers: one…two…three?

NO! Eddie just about gets the shoulder up as the crowd are really getting into this back and forth contest. JL then heads to the top rope and goes for a senton bomb but Eddie gets his knees up and the masked man crashes and burns. Guerrero then hooks JL and this time successfully executes all three of the amigos! He covers: one…two…three? NO! Mr JL kicks out but Eddie wastes no time whipping JL into the corner and proceeding to lay into him with chops. Guerrero them tries a tornado DDT out of the corner but JL counters and hits his foe with an atomic drop and then follows up with a tornado DDT of his own! Mr JL covers: one…two…three?...NO! Again Guerrero kicks out as the fans are loving this high-paced action. JL then tries for an air raid crash but Guerrero counters into a tilt-a-whirl head scissors than transitions straight into an armbar! JL however rolls through the armbar and rolls Eddie up! One…two…NO! Guerrero kicks out and immediately grabs JL and plants him with a brainbuster! Eddie then heads to the top rope and dives with a huge frog splash. He covers: one…two…three!

Winner in 9 minutes, Eddie Guerrero

Eddie Guerrero has picked up an important victory on his way to his WCW TV Championship shot at Halloween Havoc. As he is celebrating in the ring Max Muscle makes his way through the crowd and goes for strike Eddie from behind but Gurrero sees it coming and ducks the shot! Muscle then turns around and is nailed with a hurricanrana that sends him tumbling to the floor! Muscle retreats up the ramp as DDP is on his feet in the skybox looking angry. Before we cut to break Eddie has another chance to celebrate with his fans!

A challenge from the Macho Man

Backstage Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with Randy Savage. Simply put Gene asks with War Games in the rear view what’s next for Randy Savage in WCW. Macho says: “Well let me say something real quick about all the chaos that started Nitro tonight. Lex Luger - he’s a snake in the grass but Sting and Hulk Hogan are grown men so I’m gonna let them make their own minds up about all that. Now Gene you know the macho man loves a bit of chaos, I love a step into the unknown and what I’m looking for now Gene is some competition oooh yeah. So if you think you can hang with the Macho Man Randy Savage next week on Nitro I have an open contract with my name on it and I’m itching for a fight!” Savage poses as we then throw back to the ring.

Unstoppable force vs unstoppable force

Back in the arena and the man called Vader is making his way out to the ring. Last week he called out the soon to debut Giant and said that if he was going to claim to be the next big thing he’d have to make his way through Vader first. Vader gets in the ring to a decent pop and grabs the mic. “Giant we’ve heard your claims but right now I’m done with talking, I’m done with the bragging, get down to this ring and we’ll see who the biggest and baddest dude in WCW really is!” Vader then throws the mic down and gestures down the ramp. The lighting in the arena then turns darker and on the ramp emerges the man known simply as The Giant!

Heenan puts over huge that The Giant is over seven feet tall, over 500 pounds as he menacingly walks his way to the ring. He’s of course dressed in a black Andre style singlet and with Vader also dressed to compete a gigantic collision looks like its about to take place. The crowd are in awe as The Giant easily steps over the top rope and the height difference between the pair is immediately alarming as Vader goes nose to chest with his newest rival. Bischoff reminds us that this is not an official match as Vader winds up and hits a huge headbutt to the chest of The Giant - which he completely no sells! Giant then raises his hand and with one almighty punch knocks Vader to the ground!

The crowd boo as Giant starts to go to work on Vader with stomps to his downed opponent before he laughs maniacally! Giant then grabs Vader from the ground by the throat and first lifts him up of his feet before raising him into the air and looks for a chokeslam! The mastodon isn’t out of it yet though as he elbows The Giant in the face to get out of the hold. At this point security rush the ring but that turns out to be a huge mistake for them as Vader meets a pair with clotheslines while Giant grabs two hapless guards and double chokeslams them almost through the ring! The two giants are desperate to get at each other but eventually a small army of security guards hit the ring and split up the two behemoths. Heenan can’t wait to see these two go at it as we cut to the back.

The Horsemen reveal all

Backstage Gene Okerlund is standing by again, this time with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, who are looking pretty proud of themselves. Before Gene even gets to chip in with his first question Double A cuts him off. “Gene what we’ve done tonight is prove a point and showed these people that they shouldn’t support either Hulk Hogan or Lex Luger because they are both paranoid losers. The reason Sting was left laying at the top of the show tonight was because myself and the nature boy took him out Horseman style. So Lex, Hulk neither of you two have the stones to get it done and whoever wins at Halloween Havoc doesn’t deserve that WCW Championship!”

As Arn concludes Flair takes over: “Now mean by god Gene that brings me to the Stinger! You have what I want and that's the United States Championship. The reason we attacked you earlier tonight was to soften you up for Halloween Havoc. You see next week on Nitro there’s gonna be a 20 man battle royal to see who gets to challenge you at the PPV. And myself and the enforcer are in the bout and you can be damn sure that it’ll be Ric Flair vs Sting, one more time on October 29th! Woo!” Anderson looks slightly perturbed by Flair simply dismissing his chances as we cut to our final break of the evening.

Main Event, WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs The Taskmaster

Back from break and the Taskmaster is making his way to the ring to a lot of heat. As he makes his way down to the ringside area Bischoff plugs next week’s Nitro featuring the 20 man battle royal, Randy Savage’s open challenge and The Radicals vs The Stud Stable in a tag tournament quarter final. Eric of course loses his mind when ‘American Made’ starts blaring out as here comes WCW Champion Hulk Hogan! Taskmaster managed to worm his way out of War Games but there is no escape here as Hogan charges to the ring. He hands the belt to referee Nick Patrick who signals for the bell and here we go! Hogan charges at Taskmaster and nails him straight away with the big boot! He then bounces off the ropes, looks for the leg drop straight away but Taskmaster rolls to the outside so Hulk crashes and burns. Taskmaster then comes back in and starts stomping away at Hulk before whipping the champ into the corner. He starts chopping away at Hogan but Hulk starts shaking his head and no selling the strikes! He goes to point at Taskmaster but the the cunning competitor instead bites the end of Hogan’s finger and then kicks him in the gut. Sullivan then plants Hulk with a DDT and covers: one…two…NO!

It’s not enough to keep Hogan down as Taskmaster then continues to stomp at his foe but again Hogan is shaking off these strikes and he points at his opponent as the crowd pops. Hulk tees off with a few strikes before whipping Taskmaster into the corner. He then performs the ten punch spot to his opponent before throwing him out of the corner into the middle of the ring. As Hogan is firing up the crowd Taskmaster is staggering to his feet - Hulk goes for the big boot again but this time Taskmaster ducks and HULK NAILS NICK PATRICK square in the face! The referee collapses like a tonne of bricks and Taskmaster uses the opportunity to low blow Hulk Hogan! Taskmaster laughs and beckons to the back and here comes The Dungeon of Doom - Kamala, The Shark and The Zodiac. We then cut backstage to see that Meng and Road Warrior Hawk are brawling on the other side of the entranceway as their feud seems far from over. Meanwhile in the ring its four on one as Zodiac and Kamala are booting Hogan into the map. The Shark then bounces of the rope and almost literally flattens Hogan - its looking like dire straits for the WCW Champion now - but here comes STING!

The Icon makes his way down the aisle but he’s still limping from the attack by Flair and Anderson before the start of the show. Zodiac meets him in the rampway and Sting manages to clothesline him before he gets in the ring and is overwhelmed by Kamala and Shark with clubbing blows while Taskmaster has a sleeper hold locked in on Hogan as the Hulkster is fading fast. Kamala continues to beat down the injured Sting while The Shark goes to shake Nick Patrick awake. However before he can do so here comes LEX LUGER! Luger is here to help his buddy Sting, he wipes out Zodiac, he tears Kamala away and then flattens him with a forearm before himself and The Shark go back and forth with strikes meanwhile Hogan is hulking up and he breaks Taskmaster’s sleeper hold! Nick Patrick is slowly rousing as Luger and Sting clear The Dungeon of Doom out of the ring before beating them back down the aisle. In the ring Hogan hits a few more strikes and follows up with a big body slam that plants Taskmaster in the middle of the ring. He bounces off the ropes and nails his signature leg drop but he’s not done yet! He bounces off the ropes one more time and nails the leg drop before going for the cover as Nick Patrick slowly counts: one…two…three!

Winner in 9 minutes and still WCW Champion, Hulk Hogan

Hogan has done it; he has finally beaten The Taskmaster and vanquished The Dungeon of Doom once and for all. Sting and Lex Luger get in the ring to celebrate with the Hulkster as Luger seems to apologise to Hogan but the WCW Champion looks less than convinced. As the groggy Nick Patrick gets the belt from ringside he drops it and Luger picks it up. Lex stares a little too long at the championship before Hogan snatches it out of his hands. Once again Sting is playing peacemaker as Nitro goes off the air with Hogan celebrating and Luger looking like he can’t wait to get his hands on the championship.

Highlights from WCW weekend programming

• Sabu answers Randy Savage’s challenge for Nitro
• The Giant vs Vader is made official for Halloween Havoc providing there is no physicality between the two before the PPV
• Tag Title #1 contenders tournament quarter final: The Diamond Mine (WCW TV Champion DDP and Max Muscle) defeat The Armstrong Brothers
• Brian Pillman defeats Joey Maggs and cuts a promo after the bout declaring he will be making a big impact on Nitro
• Booker T defeats The Zodiac
• Meng defeats Stevie Ray, Road Warrior Hawk attacks Meng after the match and both men will be in the US Championship #1 contenders battle royale
• Ric Flair and Arn Anderson defeated two local competitors

Card for WCW Nitro #5 October 2nd 1995
Denver Coliseum, Colorado

Main Event: Randy Savage vs Sabu

20 man battle royale to be #1 contender for WCW US Championship: Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson vs Meng vs Road Warrior Hawk vs 16 men to be announced

Tag Team Title #1 contenders quarter final: The Radicals (Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko) vs The Stud Stable (Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater)

Plus Brian Pillman will appear


Card for WCW Halloween Havoc October 29th 1995
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Battle royale winner

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs Tournament Winners

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero

The Giant vs Vader

 

[Stojy]

Sting being attacked and Luger blaming Hogan adds some further drama to their angle. I like this take for sure.

Tag tournament is something I think I mentioned last week that I like. The right call in my eyes with Blue Bloods going over The American Males. Really looking forward to seeing who the wild card team is that faces The Nasty Boys, because I really don’t want The Nasty’s going through.

Promo from DDP was exactly what it needed to be really. Hypes his issue with Eddie, but also reminds us he’s got his eyes on the tag titles. Good stuff.

Eddie/JL would have been a solid match here which is smart booking, but Eddie needs to win heading into a future TV Title shot. Love that Eddie was smart enough to avoid the attack from Muscle as well. More solid booking here.

Savage giving his opinion on the Luger/Hogan/Sting situation makes sense, and makes it feel like a bigger deal with other people talking about it. That’s always a good thing. Open challenge for next week certainly sounds exciting.

Again, in what seems like a trend tonight, think the booking of the Vader/Giant showdown was perfect. Gave enough away for it to be exciting, but was a huge tease for an eventual bigger showdown. The two big men beating up security is always a fun angle as well. Great stuff here.

Another nice promo from The Horsemen here. Revealing themselves as attacking Sting is fine, and their logic makes sense, because they are so arrogant that they assume the Battle Royal next week is a sure thing. Making note of Arn not enjoying Flair calling himself the winner, because the stuff between the two of them continues to bubble nicely in the background.

Typical Hogan/Dungeon Of Doom main event really. Hogan was always beating Taskmaster here. DOD getting involved, only for Sting and Luger to get involved and make the safe was good. I must say it’s maybe slightly strange that Savage has kind of been removed from these issues with the DOD without any explanation. Outside of that, everything worked here well, and a simple thing like holding the title to long, causes more friction between Hogan and Luger. Good work.

My opinion, and you can this for a grain of salt if you like, is that stuff like the BTB tourney isn’t your strong suit because it’s one segment or one standalone thing. As a collective when working on an actual BTB, your booking shines through on projects when you have time to build and slowly move things where you want. Every Nitro is hitting the mark, building things nicely. You’re doing a great job in here.

 

[Mach]

WCW Nitro #5 October 2nd 1995
Live from the Denver Coliseum, Colorado

After the intro package plays Eric Bischoff and Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan welcome us to WCW Nitro! It's episode number five of the hottest show in pro-wrestling and Bischoff enthusiastically runs down the card for tonight’s event. Randy Savage takes on Sabu in the main event of the evening while The Radicals face take on The Stud Stable in the first round of the tag tournament. But right now we’re kicking off with a 20 man battle royale to see who takes on Sting for the WCW Unites States Championship at Halloween Havoc.

US Championship #1 Contenders Battle Royal featuring: Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Meng, Road Warrior Hawk, Big Bubba Rogers, Dave Sullivan, Disco Inferno, Jim Duggan, Joey Maggs, Kamala, Kurosawa, Marcus Bagwell, Mr JL, Scott Armstrong, Scotty Riggs, Sgt Craig Pittman, Steve Amrstrong, The Shark, The Zodiac, and V.K. Wall Street

Inside the ring all 20 men are in there already and here we go! Flair and Anderson immediately scarper to the outside under the bottom rope to talk strategy as Bischoff reminds us elimination is over the top rope only. In the ring there’s a lot of brawling going on as Meng and Hawk go straight for each other as the crowd pop at this rivalry. Joey Maggs tries to sneakily get involved but Meng is having none of it and he tosses Joey to the outside before continuing to go back and forth with Hawk. The teams in the match are also working together as the Armstrong Brothers and American Males look to bounce back from their defeats in the tag tournament last week. The American Males hit some tandem offense on Dave Sullivan but then Ric Flair comes in, throws Dave over the top rope to claim the glory for himself! Bagwell and Riggs go for Flair but in comes Double A to even the odds. Elsewhere in the corner Jim Duggan and Big Bubba Rogers are renewing acquaintances by absolutely leathering each other. The Amrstrong brothers try and double team The Shark but the big man just shrugs off this offense and throws Scott over the rope before Kamala storms in and tosses Steve over the top rope as well. In the middle of the ring Arn Anderson plants Sgt Crag Pittman with a double spinebuster and throws him over the top rope while Mr JL performs an impressive hurricanrana to The Zodiac that sees him be eliminated.

Eliminated after four minutes (in order): Joey Maggs, Dave Sullivan, Scott Armstrong, Steve Armstrong, Sgt Craig Pittman and The Zodiac (14 men remaining)

Back in the ring Marcus Bagwell has been going back and forth with Ric Flair for some time and just as it looks like Scotty Riggs is going to come in and help his partner Arn Anderson is in and he hooks Riggs for the DDT before planting him and throwing him to the outside. Bagwell is now in a two on one situation but as good old Jim Duggan looks like he’s going to help Bagwell out Big Bubba Rogers sneaks up from behind Duggan and clocks him in the back of the head before tossing him to the outside. Duggan is furious and he grabs his two by four from the outside as the referees have to restrain him from getting back in the ring. This distracts Rogers however and it allows Mr JL to drop kick his opponent in the back and be eliminated. The furious Rogers goes after Duggan as the referees have to pull the two veterans apart. Meanwhile Marcus Bagwell has managed is stranded on the apron and while he’s survived the two on one onslaught so far finally Ric Flair gives him a chop on the apron so hard that he has no choice but to drop to the floor and is eliminated. Disco Inferno has been pretty quiet in this match thus far and as Meng has Hawk down in the corner tries to strike up some kind of alliance with the Tongan but Meng lets him know how he feels about that by chopping him in the throat and sending him to the outside. Japanese competitor Kuroasawa manages to impressively haul Kamal over the top rope and eliminate him but his victory is short lived because The Shark steams in and eliminates him. We then cut to commercial as Mr JL dives off the top rope and nails Anderson and Flair with a double cross body in the centre of the squared circle.

Eliminated after nine minutes (in order): Joey Maggs, Dave Sullivan, Scott Armstrong, Steve Armstrong, Sgt Craig Pittman, The Zodiac, Soctty Riggs, Jim Duggan, Big Bubba Rogers, Marcus Bagwell, Disco Inferno, Kamala and Kurosawa (seven men remaining)

Back from the break and we see a brief highlight from the moments during the commercial where Arn Anderson and Ric Flair worked together once again this time throwing VK Wallstreet over the top rope and thinning the field even further. Flair and Anderson are taking a breather in the corner as Shark and Meng are using their Dungeon of Doom alliance to good use as they are double teaming Hawk. Shark holds the road warrior as Meng goes for a thrust kick but Hawk ducks and Meng nails his stablemate! Shark is not happy about this of course and he goes after Meng and the two men start exchanging chops as the crowd pops for this Dungeon of Doom implosion. As the two men inch closer to the ropes Hawk uses the opportunity to hit a double clothesline which rocks both men but Mr JL gets in on the act and the two hit tandem clotheslines again which sends both Meng and Shark to the outside meaning we are down to our final four! But that four is quickly halved because Anderson and Flair blindside their popular opponents and dump them both out!

Eliminated after 15 minutes (including commercials) Joey Maggs, Dave Sullivan, Scott Armstrong, Steve Armstrong, Sgt Craig Pittman, The Zodiac, Soctty Riggs, Jim Duggan, Big Bubba Rogers, Marcus Bagwell, Disco Inferno, Kamala, Kurosawa, VK Wallstreet, Shark, Meng, Hawk and Mr JL (two men remaining)


We are now down to just Ric Flair and Arn Anderson! The two turn to each other in the ring and Flair seems to be gesturing for Double A to eliminate himself to hand Flair the win! Anderson grabs the top rope and thinks about it but then turns around to Flair and shakes his head - Arn won’t throw the match. Flair is fuming as the pair circle each other in the ring and lock up. Anderson uses his strength advantage to push Flair against the ropes and he’s trying to haul him to the outside but Ric thinks fast and kicks Arn in the knee and reverses the the momentum of the match as he now has Anderson against the ropes. He tries to haul Double A over the ropes but he just doesn’t have the strength. Flair then bounces off the ropes and charges at Anderson but Arn reverses the momentum and back drops Flair over the ropes - but the nature boys hangs on by a thread. Flair is on the apron and he drags Arn over the ropes and now The Enforcer is barely holding on. With the pair both on the apron they charge at each other with a double clothesline - and the momentum takes both men down to the floor!

Result at 18 minutes, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson draw the match

Who landed first Heenan screams as it appears that both men landed simultaneously! Anderson and Flair both raise their arms in victory on the outside but Dave Penzer has yet to make an official announcement. The referees at ringside also appear to not really know who won the match as Anderson and Flair return to the ring and don’t look happy with the outcome or each other. Luckily here comes ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund to clarify things. Gene gets into the ring with Arn and Flair and says: “Ok fans quite the controversial ending to that 20 man battle royal but WCW management have determined that the man to challenge Sting for the WCW US Championship at Halloween Havoc will be… Arn Anderson!” Arn raises his hands up as Flair looks like a broken man. Gene continues however: “And Ric Flair in a three way match!” Flair jumps for joy and hugs a reluctant Arn as Gene explains that both men landed on the floor at exactly the same time. We then cut to the back as Flair and Arn raise each other’s hands.

Tony Schiavone talks with STING!!!

Making his Nitro debut Tony Schiavone is backstage with the man called Sting. Tony asks firstly about the prospect of a three way match at Halloween Havoc. “Tony you know and all the little stingers out there know that I never back down from a challenge. I’ve beaten Ric Flair before, I’ve beaten Arn Anderson before and I’ll have no problem beating them both at the same time. I think we’ve seen tonight that Anderson and Flair can’t trust each other and come Halloween Havoc they better stop worrying about their own relationship and start being concerned with the beating I’m gonna give them!” Speaking of relationships Schiavone asks about Sting and the Luger vs Hogan match at Halloween Havoc and the events of last week with Luger accusing Hogan of attacking the US Champ. “Well Tony Lex has been like a brother to me and I have always respected Hulk Hogan and I think the fans just like me want to see a good, clean match between them at Halloween Havoc. So next week I’m inviting them both to the ring to set the record straight.”

“Next week! You got something else to worry about next week sucka!” One half of the WCW Tag Team Champions Booker T steps into frame. “You see while this tag tournament is going on I went to WCW management and I said I wanted to test myself against the best singles competitors WCW has to offer - and your name was top of the list dawg. So I got news for ya next week it’s champion vs champion it’s Booker T vs Sting so whether its Hogan, Luger, Anderson, Flair or whoever else - I’m gonna be the one whose making you feel the heat!” Booker looks focused as Sting says he’s happy to take on all comers and he’ll see him on Nitro next week. With that we then cut to commercial.

WCW Tag Title #1 Contenders Tournament Quarter Final: The Stud Stable (Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck) vs The Radicals (Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko)

As we come back from break Slater and Buck are already in the ring alongside their manager Col Robert Parker. Their opponents, The Radicals are out next as Bischoff notes the winners of this bout will take on DDP and Max Muscle next week in the semi finals. The no-nonsense duo are in the ring and this bout is underway! Benoit and Slater are starting off this contest and Dick arrogantly pushes his foe in the face which quickly backfires on him as Benoit unleashes a deadly round of chops to his chest which causes Slater to bail and tag in Buck. Bunkhouse hits Chris with a few steady strikes but Benoit catches his foe and tries to lock in the crossface but he too scampers outside. Benoit then tags in Malenko before diving to the outside and taking both his opponents out! Malenko then grabs Buck and drags him into the ring and hooks him for a powerbomb, but Bunkhouse counters with a backdrop. Buck bounces off the ropes with a lariat but Malenko ducks and hits a drop kick on the rebound. On the outside Benoit and Slater are fighting but the Canadian gets the advantage when he hits a drop toe hold into the guardrail which Slater’s face bounces off. Dean then hits a bridging northern lights suplex to Buck and covers: one…two…NO! Bunkhouse kicks out. Benoit is now back on the apron and Malenko tags his partner in and the pair hit a double back breaker to their opponent. Benoit then locks in the crossface to Buck while Malenko ties his legs up in a Texas cloverleaf. Buck is done here and he has no choice but to submit!

Winners in four minutes, The Radicals

A dominant win for The Radicals as they face DDP and Max Muscle next week on Nitro for a spot in the finals. This coming weekend on WCW Saturday Night The Nasty Boys will take on a wildcard team of two randomly paired wrestlers with the winners advancing to take on The Blue Bloods in the semi finals on the following edition of WCW Saturday Night.

Vader lays down another huge challenge

Backstage and Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with Vader. Gene goes over last week’s pull apart with The Giant and the no physicality clause that is now in place heading into their match at Halloween Havoc. Gene asks Vader how he’s preparing going into the event. Vader replies: “I may not be able to get my hands on that Giant but Gene I am still itching to kick a huge man’s ass on Nitro next week. So here’s my proposal: to any man in the WCW locker room over 300 pounds if you think you’ve got what it takes to throw down with the mastodon then next week I wanna see you in the middle of the ring and show again why I’m the true dominant force in WCW!” Vader then poses as we cut to our next package.

Eddie Guerrero questions DDP’s desire

Next we see highlights of Eddie Guerrero’s wins so far in WCW including the four way at Fall Brawl and against Mr JL last week on Nitro. Guerrero then cuts a scathing promo on DDP: “Dallas you’ve been TV Champ for a while esse but you never defend your title man! You are so busy focusing on the tag tournament and you are doing everything you can to have your muscle do all the work for you. But I’m here grinding every week homes and I promise you at Halloween Havoc, when you’re all alone in the ring with me, a member of the Guerrero family, then you can kiss your title goodbye.”

With that we cut to the announcers who first run down the card for next week which sees Sting vs Booker T in a champion vs champion match, Vader’s open challenge against a giant and the semi finals of the tag contenders tournament with The Radicals against The Diamond Mine. Also Sting will bring Lex Luger and WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan face to face ahead of their clash at Halloween Havoc. Bischoff then informs us Nitro has an overrun tonight and we are about to head into our last commercial break before Randy Savage takes on Sabu in our main event!

Randy Savage vs Sabu

As we come back to Nitro Sabu is making his way into the ring. The risk-taking competitor poses before the music of Macho Man Randy Savage hits and the former World Champ emerges at the top of the iconic Nitro ramp. As he approaches the ring Sabu charges over the ropes with a dive and wipes Savage out! Sabu is wasting to time here as he climbs the guardrail and dives off with a back elbow to a staggering Randy Savage! Sabu then goes under the ring and grabs a table but while he does that Savage recovers and he goes for Sabu and rams him into the barricade! Referee Mark Curtis is trying to get this match in the ring and started as Save climbs up to the top turnbuckle and dive to the outside himself. Sabu is too fast however and he jumps back on the apron and kicks Savage leaving him stranded on the top turnbuckle. Sabu then gets onto the turnbuckle and looks like he’s trying to go for some kind of DDT to the outside but Savage counters with some clubbing strikes to the head before hooking him and delivering a superplex to the middle of the ring! Both men are down in the centre of the mat and when they both eventually stagger to their feet the referee rings the bell and this match is finally underway!

Sabu charges at Savage with a drop kick that sends Macho Man back into the corner where Sabu starts kicking away at his opponent forcing him to slump to the mat. He then goes for a running cannonball but Savage rolls out of the way and with Sabu in the corner unleashes a flurry of punches as the fans count along with him. Macho then whips Sabu hard into the opposite corner as he staggers back out of it, nails Sabu first with an atomic drop and follows up with a scoop slam. Randy again goes back to the top rope but Sabu is quick to recover and he bashes into the ropes to throw Savage off his balance. Macho is once again exposed on the top turnbuckle which gives Sabu time to get to the top rope too and deliver a super frankensteiner to Savage! The fans and commentators alike lose their minds as Sabu covers his foe: one…two…NO! Randy manages to get the shoulder up. Sabu then goes for a springboard leg drop but it looks like he slips as he jumps (bit of realism there) and Savage rolls out of the way so his mysterious opponent crashes and burns. Randy then heads to the top rope himself as Sabu manages to get back to his feet. Macho dives off with an axe handle but Sabu rolls out of the way and Savage comes down and completely nails the official!

Macho Man briefly checks on the official as Sabu goes outside and gets himself a steel chair! He gets into the ring, throws the chair at Randy who catches it only to be nailed by a spin kick! The referee is still down as Sabu then tries for a DDT on the chair but Savage counters and hits Sabu with a scoop slam right down onto the steel chair! Savage then heads to the top rope and signals for the diving elbow drop. He dives off the top rope but Sabu then uses the chair to shield himself and Randy lands arm first into the chair! Sabu then whacks Savage with the chair a few more times before rolling Macho Man to the outside. He then positions the table he set up at the start of the match and places Savage on it. Sabu gets back in the ring unfolds the chair and goes for a running dive to the outside using the chair as a springboard - but Savage rolls away at the last second and Sabu crashes through the table! The fans lose their mind as Macho Man pulls Savage from the wreckage and places him back inside the ring. Savage goes to the top rope and performs the diving elbow drop as referee Mark Curtis finally recovers. Macho Man covers Sabu: one…two…three!

Winner in eight minutes (excluding pre-match brawl) Randy Savage

Savage has his hand raised by the weary referee and barely has any time to celebrate before BRIAN PILLMAN jumps the barrier and charges into the ring and nails Savage from behind! He starts stomping away at the weakened Mahco Man before picking up the steel chair in the ring and relentlessly whacking Savage in the back. Security charges the ring but Pillman with a weapon is his hands is a man possessed and he nails a couple of Doug Dillinger’s boys with sick chair shots. He then speedily but the chair around Savage’s arm and just like Alex Wright, just like Johnny B Badd he stomps down on the arm as Savage screams in pain. A veritable army of security charge down the aisle to finally pull Pillman off as he screams about being a loose cannon and apocalypses coming to WCW. The medics are now out with a stretcher for Savage as Bischoff and Heenan sign off Nitro on a somber note.

Highlights from WCW weekend programming

• WCW Tag Team Title Tournament Quarter Final: The Nasty Boys vs The Wildcard team of Sabu and Mr JL went to a no contest after all four men were counted out when brawling up the ramp. This means The Blue Bloods get a bye straight to the final
• The Shark defeated Paul Orndoff - after the match he accepted Vader’s challenge for Nitro
• Booker T defeated VK Wallstreet
• Meng vs Road Warrior Hawk was made official for Halloween Havoc
• Eddie Guerrero defeated Scott Armstrong. After the match he was attacked by DDP and Max Muscle
• WCW Management fined Brian Pillman $50,000 for his actions in recent weeks but he will have a chance to explain himself on Nitro
• The Blue Bloods defeated two local competitors and promised to become the tag team champions after the bout

Card for WCW Nitro #6 October 9th 1995
From Rosemont Horizon, Illinois

Champion vs Champion Main Event: WCW US Champion Sting vs WCW Tag Team Champion Booker T

Tag Team Title #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Final: The Diamond Mine (DDP and Max Muscle) vs The Radicals (Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko)

Vader vs The Shark

Plus Sting gets Lex Luger and Hulk Hogan in the ring face to face

And Brian Pillman explains his attack on Randy Savage


Card for WCW Halloween Havoc October 29th 1995
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs The Blue Bloods, The Radicals or The Diamond Mine

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero

The Giant vs Vader

Road Warrior Hawk vs Meng

 

[Stojy]

Opening the show with the Battle Royal to crown a new US Title challenger sounds like fun. Some nice spots throughout, including some Meng dominance, and the Dungeon of Doom implosion, but the real story here was obviously Flair and Anderson working together until they were the final two. Love the audacity of Flair expecting Anderson to eliminate himself. A great sign of the tension and this eventual feud, as this version of Arn is no longer happy playing second fiddle to Flair. Ending with both men going out and the match being a Three Way goes well with continuing this current feud, and gives you a banger of a match for Halloween Havoc. Can’t complain, well booked stuff here.

Sting’s interview here was good. Covered multiple topics, including his next title defence but also the issues with Hogan and Luger. The in ring confrontation next week should be quite the interesting one. Booker and Sting next week is a little random, but I can buy the motivation and it makes for one hell of a match.

I actually don’t mind Slater and Buck as a team, but you one thousand percent made the right call in having Benoit and Malenko go over here. Happy for them to look so dominant here as well.

Vader’s challenge is the perfect way to build towards his match with The Giant. Have Vader beat up another big guy to send a message and show what he’s capable of is just smart stuff.

Eddie Guerrero’s promo on DDP was completely fine as well. WCW roster was so awesome at this time that it feels like every program has an epic name in it. So good.

Main event probably did what it needed to. Savage gets the win, they have a competitive match and a fun brawl to start things off. It means Sabu gets a rub as well, looking competitive here. All well done, but the big story here is the aftermath with Pillman making a HUGE impact, by potentially taking out Savage here. Awesome ending to the show.

The ‘loose cannon’ gimmick had so much potential, so really curious to see how you go with it. You’ve made a good start at the least. The 50k fine announced on Saturday Night makes sense, but Pillman potentially getting a chance to speak on Nitro next week is where the money will be at.

Another strong edition of Nitro. Going strength to strength in here.

 

[Mach]

WCW Nitro #6 October 9th 1995
Live from the Rosemont Horizon, Illinois

Nitro is on the air from a packed out Rosemont Horizon near Chicago, Illinois. We’re cutting straight to the chase this week because Sting and Lex Luger are in the ring.

Sting brings Hogan and Lex Luger together

The US Champion is in the ring with Lex Luger as the fans chant his name. The Stinger says: “Now I think all the stingers out there, however big or small they are, can agree with me that at Halloween Havoc we wanna see a fair fight in the world title match between Hulk Hogan and Lex Luger. Now there’s been misunderstandings, accidental attacks and accusations flying around the last few weeks so what I want to do right now is invite Hulk Hogan out here right now and settle this beef so both you Lex and you Hulkster can focus on the WCW World Championship at Halloween Havoc.”

Luger doesn’t look on board with his partner's approach but regardless here comes Hulk Hogan. The WCW champ is dressed in jeans with a Hulkamania yellow t-shirt as he makes his way down the aisle. Hogan gets in the ring and grabs the mic: “Listen Stinger I appreciate you trying to do the right brother but Luger is pulling the wool over your eyes dude! I can handle an accidental shot but what you accused me of a couple weeks ago, of attacking Sting from behind, that ticked me off brother. I’ve worked for over a decade to be a role model to all the Hulkamaniacs around the world - so before we go any further I’d like an apology, Luger.”

Luger looks hesitant but Sting gestures for him to speak and Lex reluctantly says: “You know what Hogan I am sorry that I accused you a couple weeks ago when the attack was down to those two lowlifes Flair and Anderson. But what I won’t apologise for is how badly I’m gonna beat you down at Halloween Havoc and become the new WCW Champion! You may think you’re the best Hulk but you’ve never beaten me.”

Now things are getting spicy as Hogan and Luger go nose to nose as Hogan responds. “Brother I’ve ruled the roost since the day I arrived here in WCW - Flair, Vader, the whole Dungeon of Doom - they haven’t been able to lay a glove on me brother. And every fan in this arena knows that you were pegged to be the next Hulk Hogan - but guess what dude there is only Hulk Hogan. So what ya gonna do at Halloween Havoc when I run wild on you!”

Luger is really squaring up to Hogan now and Sting has to get in the middle of the pair before the music of Arn Anderson hits! The co-#1 contender to the US Championship has a mic in hand: “Well isn’t this exactly what I predicted - both Hogan and Luger can’t co-exist with their inflated fragile egos and naive Sting trying to keep the peace - what an embarrassment! Luckily for you Stinger the peace isn’t the only thing you won’t be able to keep because the US Championship won’t be yours either after Halloween Havoc. Now I’ve got some interesting news for next week’s Nitro main event that WCW management just told me. You see there’s going to be a six man tag which will pit myself, Ric Flair, and a third man who will be revealed very soon against the team of Sting, Lex Luger and Hulk Hogan! I look forward to laying a beating on all of you next week!”

What a bombshell dropped by The Enforcer. Anderson leaves the stage as Sting is still having to stand between Luger and Hogan. Heenan speculates if Flair, who is not here tonight, signed this off after Anderson defied him last week and just who the third man is. Eric Bischoff also hypes tonight’s champion vs champion main event of Sting vs Booker T plus an update on Randy Savage and an explanation from Brian Pillman.

New match added to Halloween Havoc

Before we go to break however we get a recap of The Nasty Boys vs the wildcard team of Sabu and Mr JL from Saturday Night. The chaotic brawl descended into a double count out and it means both teams were knocked out of the tournament and The Blue Bloods advanced automatically to the finals. However with the beef far from settled between the two duos WCW management have decided to hold a rematch at Halloween Havoc - but it will be contested this time under falls count anywhere rules. We then cut to break as Bischoff hypes our upcoming tournament semi-final.

Tag Title #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Final: The Diamond Mine (DDP and Max Muscle) vs The Radicals (Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko)

As we come back from break the WCW TV Champion DDP and his heavy Max Muscle are making their way down the aisle alongside The Diamond Doll. DDP is jaw jacking with the crowd as ever before the music of The Radicals hit. Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko make their way down the aisle looking focused as ever, being 2-0 in WCW since their debut. DDP gestures to Muscle to go to the apron so its Benoit and Page to start this bout. Page starts mouthing off to Benoit and the Canadian replies with a brutal chop to the chest that sends DDP hurtling back to his corner where he quickly tags in Muscle. Max charges at Benoit but the Canadian ducks the clothesline attempt and bounces off the ropes to deliver one of his own but he gets levelled with a big boot instead. Muscle then hauls Benoit up and tries for a running powerslam but Chris drops behind and attempts a German suplex but he can’t haul the big man up and eats an elbow in the face instead. Muscle grabs the stunned Benoit and tries for a power bomb but Chris counters with a backdrop. Benoit then tags in Malenko and the pair hit a backbreaker and diving knee from the second rope combo! Malenko covers: one…two…NO!

Muscle kicks out! Malenko then tries to lock in the Texas cloverleaf on the big man but Page comes in from behind and whallops him in the back of the head before scarpering to the apron. This gives Muscle time to recover and he nails Dean with a scoop slam and an elbow drop before whipping him into the corner and tagging in DDP. The TV champ tees off on Malenko before he nails him with a gutbuster. The duo then hit a double suplex to Dean while the referee and Benoit are getting into it on the other side of the ring. Page goes for the Diamond Clash slam but Dean wriggles out and catches Page with a Northern Lights suplex into a bridge! He covers: one…two…NO! DDP gets the shoulder up. Malenko goes to make the tag to Benoit but Muscle beats him to hit and yanks Chris off the apron before whipping him into the guardrail. This gives Page enough time to recover and catch Malenko from behind with a belly to back suplex. DDP covers: one…two…NO! Dean kicks out. Dallas then tries for the Diamond Cutter but Malenk pushes him away and as DDP turns around he is met with a kick to the gut and a huge power bomb from Malenko! Benoit has managed to finally haul himself back onto the apron and Dean manages to crawl his way into the corner and makes the tag!

Benoit comes in like a house on fire with strikes and chops to DDP and the TV Champ does not fancy it so he tags in his larger partner and goes to the outside. Benoit chops repeatedly at Muscle who doesn’t flinch and the big man responds with a headbutt followed by a belly to belly suplex. Muscle then tries for a running powerslam but again Benoit drops behind his foe and grabs a waist lock. Eventually he manages to haul the big man up and hit a huge bridging German suplex! One…two…three? NO! DDP is in to break it up and save the bout! Malenko is in hot pursuit of Page however and the two start brawling on the floor as Benoit looks to be lining up Muscle for the crossface as Diamond Doll sees how desperate the situation is. She goes to retrieve the TV championship belt and give it to Muscle but out of nowhere a hooded man hops the barricade and snatches the belt out of her hands - its EDDIE GUERRERO! Page sees Eddie with the belt and goes after him and the pair begin brawling in the crowd! Meanwhile back in the ring Benoit is aided by Malenko and the duo first hit a double back suplex before they both lock on the respective submissions of the Texas cloverleaf and the crossface on Muscle, who has no choice but to submit!

Winners in 10 minutes, The Radicals

The Radicals are through to the finals next week on Nitro! The referee holds Benoit and Malenko’s hands up as their opponents for next week, The Blue bloods emerge at the top of the stage. Regal and Eaton stare down the radicals as it will be a Fall Brawl rematch to determine who faces Harlem Heat at Halloween Havoc. Guerrero and Page have been separated as we head to break.

Vader vs The Shark

As we come back The Shark is finishing making his way to the ring for this super heavyweight clash with Vader. The mastodon is out next to a decent pop as he poses for his pyro at the top of the ramp. Vader of course is scheduled to face The Giant at Halloween Havoc but the pair cannot be physical before the PPV per WCW management or the match is called off. Vader gets in the ring and here we go. These two behemoths stare each other down before both running into the ropes and charging at each other but they meet in the middle of the ring and neither man budges. Shark then pushes Vader and the masked competitor pushes back but still neither man moves. Vader then invites The Shark for a test of strength and the two lock up with Vader managing to get the advantage and push Shark into the ropes, forcing a break. Vader then charges at The Shark but he is met with a back elbow followed by a series of strikes from the Dungeon of Doom member. This backs Vader into the corner and Shark charges at him but Vader gets a boot up to deflect Shark away. Vader then screams and just tackles Shark to the ground and starts unloading lefts and rights on his opponent in a brutal manner. Vader then drags Shark up to his feet and tries a scoop slam but he can’t quite haul him up so Shark uses this opening to hit a number of shots to the gut of Vader, before finally knocking him down to the canvas. Shark then goes for a running big splash but Vader rolls out of the way. The fans urge Vader on as he manages to haul Shark up and finally slam him down to the canvas! Vader then heads to the second rope and with Shark in position he nails a huge Vader bomb! He covers: one…two…three!

Winner in four minutes, Vader

A dominant win for Vader there who has his hand raised by the referee before swiftly exiting the ring with his business taken care of. Just as he’s making his way up the stage The Giant emerges from the back and looms large at the top of the ramp. There’s no physicality allowed between these two but that doesn’t seem to bother The Giant as he charges past Vader and makes his way into the ring. He grabs the prone Shark off the canvas and scoop slams him with ease as Bischoff reminds us it took Vader two attempts. He then signals for the choke slam and grabs Shark by the throat before planting him nearly through the ring as an angry Vader on the outside has to restrain himself. The Giant stares back at Vader before hopping the guardrail and exiting the arena.

Sitting down with the loose cannon

We then cut to Mean Gene Okerlund but not in the usual backstage set up but in a darkened room. Gene is looking uncharacteristically nervous as he sits across from the deranged Brian Pillman. First Gene brings us up to speed on Randy Savage’s condition that he has fractured multiple bones in his arm and we can’t be sure when he will wrestle again. Gene then turns to Pillman and asks him why.

Brian responds: “Why? Because Randy Savage deserved it that’s why! I’ve been wrestling in this company night in, night out for years and do you know how much respect I’ve received - zero! And I’m talking real respect here, not some sympathy cheers from the so-called fans in the building. But the likes of Randy Savage, and plenty of other big names in WCW have been wined and dined by the management here in WCW - and they haven’t had to put the work in like I have. I barely see my family Gene, I don’t have a life outside pro wrestling while I watch guys like Savage and Hogan have time to make movies and it makes me sick! So for once I thought that Randy Savage should get to know what it feels like to be in constant pain!”

Okerlund nods nervously and asks about the attacks on Johnny B Badd and Alex Wright, who haven’t been seen since. “Well that really hurt me to have to do that to poor Johnny and Alex Gene, it really did,” Pillman is laughing as he says that, “But that was just me warming up frankly and sending a message that nobody in WCW is safe!” Gene asks his final question - what did Pillman mean by an apocalypse coming to WCW. Brian responds: “Well it’ll all come together pretty soon Gene but I will say this - if you think you’re a big deal here in WCW, if you’ve been getting comfortable at the top of this company - I’d be looking over your shoulder because things are about to change!” Pillman then gets right in Gene’s face and it looks like he’s going to attack the veteran broadcaster before he laughs and walks away from the interview. Gene looks visibly shaken as we cut to our final commercial break.

Main Event, Champion vs Champion: Sting vs Booker T

As we come back one half of the WCW Tag Team Champions Booker T is making his way down the aisle he has Stevie Ray and Sister Sherri alongside him but he sends them to the back as he wants to prove he can beat Sting by himself. Next up its the WCW US Champion Sting who comes out to a fantastic reaction as the fans are always enthusiastic when the franchise of WCW is in town. Sting slaps hands with the crowd before getting into the ring and this bout is ready to get underway. The duo circle each other and lock up with Sting getting the advantage and driving Booker into the corner forcing a rope break. Sting then woos to the crowd as Booker resets in this non-title bout. Booker then charges at Sting with a clothesline but the US champ ducks, bounces off the ropes and goes for a shoulder block but Booker nails him with a knee. Booker then goes for an early axe kick to the doubled over Sting but the Stinger ducks down and Booker bounces back off the ropes straight into an arm drag! Booker gets to his feet quickly only to be hit with another arm drag and followed up with a scoop slam! Sting really has the measure of Booker T here as the frustrated tag champ retreats to the outside. Sting then gives chase and goes to whip Booker into the guardrail but Booker counters and whips Sting into the apron. Booker then grabs Sting and hits him with a sidewalk slam right on the outside! Booker then hauls Sting back into the ring and covers: one…two…NO!

Sting kicks out! While the fans have been warming to Harlem Heat these past few weeks nothing trumps the popularity of the Stinger whose name echoes around the arena. Booker T has been going to work on Sting punching him in the corner before hitting a hip toss that sends the US Champ back into the centre of the ring. Booker then heads up to the top rope as Sting heads to the top rope and he dives across the ring, nailing the US Champ with a missile drop kick! Booker covers: one…two…NO! Sting again kicks out. Booker then lines up Sting in the corner and goes for a running boot but Sting counters and moves out of the way as Booker gets his foot tangled in the top rope. Sting uses this opportunity to hit a back suplex out of the corner, planting Booker in the middle of the ring. Sting then tries for the Scorpion Deathlock but Booker pushes him away into the corner and this time hits the running boot and follows up as Sting staggers out of the corner by nailing him with a Harlem side kick. Sting falls to the mat as Booker T covers: one…two…three?

NO! Sting again shows huge fortitude and gets the shoulder up. Booker cannot believe he didn’t clinch the victory there as he repeatedly knees Sting in the gut and looks for the axe kick. This time Sting counters by back dropping Booker and now the US Champ beats his chest as the crowd roars. He hits Booker T with a few stiff shots before whipping him into the corner and then lining him up for a Stinger splash which he hits! As Booker staggers into the middle of the ring Sting heads to the top rope and nails a diving crossbody which transitions straight into a cover: one…two…three? NO! Booker T manages to get a shoulder up! Sting wastes no time and locks in his Scorpion Deathlock and Booker is in trouble here - but the tag champ isn’t giving up without a fight! He somehow manages to crawl to the ropes and break the hold! Sting doesn’t let up tough as quickly after he breaks the hold he drags Booker back into the middle of the ring to try and lock it up again - but this time Booker counters with a small package! One…two…three? NO! Sting kicks out. Both men spring to their feet but Booker draws first blood nailing his foe with another Harlem sidekick. Booker doesn’t cover however but instead heads to the top rope. He goes for the Harlem Hangover but Sting rolls out of the way! The US Champ then grabs the legs of the prone tag champ and locks in the Scorpion Deathlock. Second time's the charm for the Stinger as Booker has no choice but to submit!

Winner in 11 minutes, Sting

Sting does it! The referee raises the US Champ’s hand as a dazed Booker T gets to his feet. He goes over to Sting and offers him a fist bump which Sting returns as the crowd pops. The pop soon turns to heat however as ARN ANDERSON attacks armed with a tyre iron - but he is not alone BRIAN PILLMAN is with him! The duo attack the men in the ring but quickly the locker room pours out with Hogan, Luger and Stevie Ray leading the charge. Pillman and Anderson bail but not before Pillman yells ‘see you boys next week!’ As Nitro goes off the air Heenan ponders where Ric Flair is and what his thoughts are on this new alliance Arn Anderson has formed. How will either trio co-exist next week?

Highlights from WCW Weekend Programming:

• Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman defeated The American Males. They refused to explain their alliance to Mike Tenay when questioned
• Meng defeated Jim Duggan
• Hawk defeated VK Wallstreet
• Sabu and Mr JL defeated Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater, The Nasty Boys attacked after the match
• The Blue Bloods defeated The Armstrong Brothers
• Diamond Dallas Page cut a scathing promo on Eddie Guerrero, promised to defend his TV Championship on Nitro against a handpicked opponent
• Eddie Guerrero defeated Kurosawa

Card for WCW Nitro #7 October 16th 1996
Live from Albany Civic Centre, Georgia

Main Event: Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger and Sting vs Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman

Tag Team #1 Contenders Tournament Final: The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal and Earl Robert Eaton) vs The Radicals (Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko)

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs DDP’s handpicked opponent


Card for WCW Halloween Havoc October 29th 1995
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs The Blue Bloods or The Radicals

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero

The Giant vs Vader

Road Warrior Hawk vs Meng

Falls Count Anywhere: The Nasty Boys vs Sabu and Mr JL

 

[Mach]

WCW Nitro #7 October 16th 1996
Live from Albany Civic Centre, Georgia

We’re live from WCW’s home state of Georgia as Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan welcome us to the seventh edition of Nitro. No time for chit chat though because we have some exclusive backstage footage from Ric Flair and Arn Anderson captured earlier this evening.

The Nature Boy and The Enforcer talk strategy

We cut to footage of Flair and Arn in the backstage area. Flair seems pretty chipper while Arn looks deadly serious. “Listen Double A can we talk - you haven’t been returning my calls since the battle royal and I get that you're angry pal but I wanna settle the score right now.” Arn looks hesitant but eventually gestures for Flair to continue. “Asking you to throw that battle royal was wrong and I’m sorry Arn. After everything you’ve done for me that was a real cheap shot and goes against my own motto of to be the man, woo, you’ve got to beat the man. So what I’m saying is this Double A is at Halloween Havoc we can work together to take out Sting and then after that - may the best man win!” Flair then offers a handshake which Arn accepts as it looks like the duo are back on the same page.

“Now Arn as for tonight - you really think two limousine riding son of a guns like The Nature Boy and The Enforcer can trust a loose cannon like Brian Pillman?” Flair asks Anderson the question that everyone wants to know. Arn replies: “Listen Ric for too long its just been Flair and Anderson, but we know that when we’re at our best there are four horsemen. And right now in this new era of WCW we need a killer on our side and trust me when I say Brian Pillman is a dangerous individual who we want having our backs.” Flair looks concerned but says: “Listen Double A I trust ya but I’m not taking my eyes of Pillman tonight because he needs to prove to me he’s horseman material.” With that the camera then cuts away from the segment.

We then cut back to the announcers as Heenan boldly proclaims that we could be seeing the start of a new iteration of the Four Horsemen here tonight as Eric Bischoff doubts that Brian Pillman can be trusted. The announcers run down tonight’s card including DDP defending his WCW TV Championship against a handpicked opponent and the trios main event which sees Flair, Anderson and Pillman team up to face the WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan, the WCW US Champion Sting and the #1 contender Lex Luger. Right now though we are going to decide the #1 contenders to the tag team championship in a Fall Brawl rematch.

Tag Title #1 Contenders Tournament Final: The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal and Earl Bobby Eaton) vs The Radicals (Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko)

The Blue Bloods are out first to a chorus of boos as Lord Regal looks disgusted with the Georgia crowd. Their road to the tournament final saw them defeat The American Males in the first round and receive a bye straight to the final after The Nasty Boys and the wildcard team of Sabu/Mr JL wrestled to a double countout. Their opponents The Radicals are out next who had to defeat The Stud Stable duo of Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater followed by The Diamond Mine contingent of DDP and Max Muscle. Malenko and Regal are starting this bout off and here we go! Regal charges at Dean right away with a running knee but Malenko catches the leg and hits a dragon screw which takes Regal straight to the mat. Malenko then tries for the cloverleaf straight away but Regal kicks him away but Malenko bounces back and then stomps on Regal’s leg. He tries for his signature submission again but Regal hooks him for a small package! One… Malenko reverses the momentum, one…two…NO! Lord Steven kicks out but Eaton has seen enough and he comes in and waffles Malenko in the back of the head with a double axe handle. That gets Benoit involved and he comes in and nails Eaton with a brutal chop as he scarpers to the floor where Regal has also rolled out to. Malenko and Benoit look at each other, nod and then run the ropes and hit stereo dives to the outside that nail both the Blue Bloods! Nitro then cuts to commercial as The Radicals feed off the energy of the fans.

As we come back Benoit is in the ring but he’s being worked over by Regal. We see that during the break his Lordship whipped Benoit into the steel steps knee first and he’s now working over that body part. Lord Steven stomps on it a few times before tagging in Eaton and the duo hit a chop block and clothesline combo which Eaton then follows up with a back suplex right into a bridge: one…two…NO! Benoit gets the shoulder up as Eaton continues the offence right away with some more shots to the knee, followed up with him balancing the knee on the bottom rope and hitting a double foot stomp. Eaton then grabs Benoit and locks in a Boston crab as he wrenches back on the knee some more as Chris tries to crawl to the ropes. Malenko comes in to break the hold up but Regal intercepts him and the pair brawl to the outside. Benoit eventually crawls to the bottom rope and the hold is broken. Eaton looks to take advantage and goes for the top rope leg drop - but Benoit rolls out of the way and Bobby crashes and burns! Benoit then hobbles to his feet and uses every ounce of power he has left delivers a bridging German suplex to Eaton! One…two…three?

NO! Regal is back in to save the match for his team! Regal then despite being the illegal man goes to lock in his signature stretch on Benoit but now Malenko is back in to break it up and deliver a Northern Lights suplex that plants Regal onto the canvas. Eaton at this point has recovered and tries a vertical suplex on Benoit but Malenko turns the tide and the Radicals hit a double vertical suplex to Eaton! Malenko then heads back to the corner and Benoit tags him in. As the dazed Regal gets to his feet Benoit back suplexes him to the outside and then follows up by diving through the ropes and taking his lordship out. Back in the ring Malenko grabs Eaton and delivers a double underhook powerbomb! He covers: one…two…three!

Winners in 12 minutes (including commercials), The Radicals (Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko)

The Radicals have done it - they win the tournament and go on to Halloween Havoc to face Harlem Heat for the WCW Tag Team Championships! Benoit and Malenko celebrate before making the belt motions round their waists as we then cut to the back.

The Heat is on at Halloween Havoc

‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund is backstage with WCW Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat and their manager Sister Sherri. Gene firstly congratulates Booker T for his impressive performance against Sting last week before moving on to the business at hand - they face The Radicals at Halloween Havoc for the tag team titles. Sherri says: “We’ve been watching this tournament closely Gene and I have to say that sure The Radicals have been impressive, they’ve been the top team in the tournament but when they step into the ring with Booker T and Stevie Ray - the heat gets turned up to a different level!” Booker T continues as Stevie looks menacing in the background: “Ya know something Gene I came into pro wrestling to take that aggression, that nastiness that I was using on the streets and to transfer it into the ring. Harlem Heat - we’re street fighters at heart and while with The Radicals I see a lot of technique, I see a lot of ability - have you got that inner animal in you dawg? Because I promise you at Halloween Havoc that it’ll be the fight of your life!” The tag champs then exit the frame as Gene throws back to the ring.

WCW TV Championship: DDP © vs his handpicked challenger

Diamond Dallas Page is making his down to the ring next with bodyguard Max Muscle by his side along with the lovely Diamond Doll. The TV Champ has the belt over his shoulder and is mouthing off to the fans as Bischoff and Heenan speculate as to who his handpicked mystery opponent could be. In the ring DDP takes the mic. “These unfounded allegations by that bum Eddie Guerrero, that I’m not a fighting champion have really hurt me.” The fans boo as DDP angrily continues, “so tonight I’m setting the record straight. Over the last seven days I have scouted the country to find the toughest opponent not just here in WCW but across the whole industry. And the man I face tonight will undoubtedly be my toughest test. So ladies and gentlemen allow me to introduce my handpicked opponent tonight: DUANE GILL!”

The future Gillberg ambles his way down the aisle to no music as the fans boo while DDP is keeping up the charade and looks incredibly focused. Gill gets in the ring, the referee holds up the belt and here we go! Gill charges at Page but he gets met with an almighty big boot from the long limbed champion! Page then picks up Gill and plants him with the Diamond Cutter! He covers: one…two…three!

Winner in 30 seconds and still WCW TV Champion, DDP

Page grabs the belt off the referee and orders Max Muscle into the ring to start putting the boots into a defenseless Gill. The #1 contender Eddie Guerrero has seen enough and he charges down the aisle and takes out Muscle with a springboard hurricanrana. Page tries fleeing up the ramp but Guerrero gives chase as the duo head backstage as Bischoff promises us we will follow the two men as we cut to commercial.

Backstage brawl explodes

We’re back from commercial and backstage DDP and Eddie Guerrero are still brawling but here comes Max Muscle to turn the tables, armed with a steel chair! He thwacks Guerrero on the back one and goes to do it again but Eddie grabs kicks Muscle in the knee and grabs the chair. Eddie then swings with chair but Muscle dodges and instead the chair makes contact with MENG who is minding his own business backstage. Guerrero looks apologetic but too late as Meng headbutts Guerrero and joins in the beat down - its three on one! The odds are evened soon however as Meng’s rival Road Warrior Hawk makes the save to even the odds and he takes out Page and Muscle with clotheslines before targeting Meng. Guerrero continues to brawl with his rivals until The Nasty Boys appear, as Heenan remarks they are like moths to a flame when it comes to backstage brawls! They soon join the action on the heel side until Mr JL appears to even the odds and help Guerrero and Hawk out. The brawl reaches a climax as diving off a nearby storage container is Sabu who dives and takes out multiple people. Doug Dillenger and the security corps pile in and finally the nine men are separated as chaos has ensued here on Nitro. Bischoff says we will try and restore some order here as we cut to a video package.

A huge hype package

The narrator of the video enthusiastically calls it literally the biggest match in WCW history as Vader takes on The Giant at Halloween Havoc. The package first recaps the feud with The Giant formally debuting, the no physicality clause being announced and then the events of last week as Vader managed to beat The Shark before The Giant came out and chokeslammed him with ease. We then have a word from each competitor. Vader says: “Giant I’m the measuring stick around here and there’s been nobody bigger and badder than me in WCW. Enjoy the no physicality clause while it lasts because at Halloween Havoc I’m putting you in your place boy!” The Giant responds: “Vader you were the biggest and baddest in WCW until I came along. Last week you saw that I’m stronger than you, I’m more athletic than you and at Halloween Havoc when I grab you by the throat and plant you with a chokeslam - you’re going to realise I’m better than you!”

We cut back to the announcers who first inform us that order has been restored backstage and that WCW management has confirmed a huge eight man tag next week on Nitro: Hawk, Eddie Guerrero, Sabu and Mr JL will take on Max Muscle, Meng and The Nasty Boys in a huge preview of Halloween Havoc! Speaking of the pay per view, some of the key players in that event are about to lock horns next. WCW Champion Hulk Hogan, #1 contender Lex Luger and WCW US Champion Sting team up to face US Championship contenders Ric Flair and Arn Anderson plus Brian Pillman. Our main event on Nitro starts right now:

Main Event: Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger and Sting vs Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman

Out first are the trio of Flair, Pillman and Anderson. Anderson and Flair comes out first as Pillman then trails them, acting as psychotic as ever. Flair looks pretty reluctant to be teaming with the ‘loose cannon’ and he gets in the ring ahead of his two partners. Anderson and Pillman fist bump but Flair is having none of his new partner before the crowd go wild as Sting and Lex Luger hit the entranceway. The popular duo are out by themselves to start with as Heenan notes that he’s not sure either of these trios can co-exist. The best friends get into the ring before ‘American Made’ plays in the arena and WCW Champion Hulk Hogan comes out to a loud reaction, which is not wholly positive, but the Hulkster is not wasting anytime showboating a she storms the ring and goes straight after Pillman as the bell rings and we are underway. Hogan goes at it with Pillman, angry about the attack on Savage a few weeks ago while Sting and Flair quickly brawl to the outside renewing their age-old rivalry. Hogan and Pillman also brawl to the apron which leaves Luger and Anderson as the legal men in the ring. The pair exchange strikes while on the outside Sting has Flair set up for a Stinger Splash against the barricade but as Sting charges Flair counters and back drops Sting into the crowd. Hogan goes after Flair but Pillman comes to the Nature Boy’s aid and the two double team Hogan. Meanwhile back in the Anderson has taken advantage of all the chaos with an eye poke to Luger and he plants his foe with a scoop slam. On the outside Hogan turns the tide on Flair and Pillman and bashes their heads together. Meanwhile in the Double A sizes Luger up for a spine buster but Hogan is back in the ring and goes for a big boot on The Enforcer, but Arn ducks and Hogan nearly levels Luger but Lex catches the boot! The two stare down as the crowd explode but Sting is back on the scene to diffuse the situation. Flair, Anderson and Pillman regroup on the outside as Nitro rolls on after the final commercial break.

As we come back from the break Sting is isolated in the ring and being worked over by Brian Pillman. The commentators explain that during the break Sting missed a top rope crossbody and his opponents have taken advantage of that fact. Pillman tries for a DDT but Sting counters and drives his foe into a neutral corner. He crawls over to make a tag but Anderson darts in the ring and cuts him off with a front facelock and Pillman hits a running knee to the trapped Sting as Flair looks a little perturbed by the teamwork of Pillman and Anderson. Pillman then heads to the top rope but Flair blind tags him so after Brian hits a successful missile drop kick to Sting Flair sneaks in for the cover: one…two…NO! Pillman doesn’t look overly pleased as Anderson calms him down on the apron. Flair props Sting up in the corner and unleashes his classic knife edge chops as the crowd woo along but Sting counters and takes a page out of his foe’s book and chops Flair a few times. Sting then charges at the corner and hits a successful Stinger splash to Flair! He then heads up top and hits a huge top rope splash to The Nature Boy and covers: one…two…three?

NO! Flair gets his foot on the rope! Sting then goes to crawl to his corner and make a tag but Anderson and Pillman are in and they yank Hogan and Luger off the apron before the quartet brawl at ringside! Flair has used this time to recover and he hits Sting with a chop block from behind before attempting a figure four which Sting counters into a small package: one…two…three? NO! Flair gets the shoulder up as Hogan and Luger send Anderson and Pillman packing back to their corner and jump enthusiastically onto the apron begging to be tagged in. Sting takes out Flair with an inverted atomic drop before crawling his way to his own corner and being forced to choose between his two partners? He pauses - but tags in The Total Package! Luger comes in like a house on fire and decks Flair with multiple forearm strikes before Anderon comes in and attempts a big spine buster but Lex counters and scoop slams his foe. Pillman comes flying in off the top rope but Lex catches the ‘Loose Cannon’ and dumps him over the top rope. He signals for the torture rack which gets a big pop and he picks Flair up and has him hooked for the submission. It looks like Flair is going to tap but here comes Double A! Anderson looks to break it up but he sees Hogan charging in with a running axe handle. Thinking fast he dodges out the way and Hogan lands the axe handle right in Lex Luger’s face!

The impact means Flair is out of the hold as Hogan apologises to the stunned Luger - Lex isn’t having any of it though and he shoves Hogan! Hulk looks pissed and he shoves Luger back. Sting tries to intervene but a pissed off Hogan shoves The Stinger out of the way. That sets Luger off and the two start throwing punches at each other in the ring! Sting is trying to break things up but amidst the chaos Flair has crawled to his corner and tagged in Arn Anderson! Hogan and Luger start brawling to the outside as back in the ring a stunned Sting turns around and gets nailed with a DDT from Double A! The Enforcer then tags in Pillman and the duo whip the US Champ into the ropes and hit a sick spinebuster/neck breaker combo move! As Hogan and Luger are too distracted on the outside scrapping with each other Brian Pillman covers Sting: one…two…three!

Winners in 17 minutes (including commercials) Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman

Brian Pillman has just pinned the US Champion! The referee raises Pillman and Double A’s hand as a dazed Flair comes back into the ring and joins in the celebrations. With Sting taken out all hell has broken loose on the outside with Hogan and Luger brawling all the way up the stage as eventually security, who have had a busy night tonight are out to separate the WCW Champion and #1 Contender. Nitro goes off the air with the situation between Hogan and Luger finally boiling over.

Highlights from WCW weekend programming

• Sting cut a significant promo at the start of WCW Saturday Night saying after what happened at the end of Nitro he’s staying out of the Hogan vs Luger situation until after Halloween Havoc is over. He then challenged Brian Pillman to a WCW US Championship match as he wants to quickly right the wrong for the loss on this past week’s Nitro
• WCW Management confirmed the Pillman vs Sting match for the US belt on Nitro with the winner going on to defend against Flair and Anderson at Halloween Havoc
• WCW Management also confirmed through Tony Schiavone that Lex Luger and Hulk Hogan will go face to face on Nitro - security will be present
• Harlem Heat cut another promo on The Radicals and promised to be in tag team action on Nitro to remind them what's in store at Halloween Havoc
• Vader defeated Kamala, after the match he sent a message to The Giant by chokeslamming his foe
• Road Warrior Hawk defeated Max Muscle
• Meng defeated Mr JL
• The Nasty Boys defeated The American Males
• Eddie Guerrero defeated Steve Armstrong

Card for WCW Nitro #8 October 23rd 1995
Live from Von Braun Civic Centre in Hunstville, Alabama

Main Event: Hulk Hogan and Lex Luger go face to face

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Brian Pillman

Meng, Max Muscle and The Nasty Boys vs Road Warrior Hawk, Eddie Guerrero, Sabu and Mr JL

And WCW Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat in action


Card for WCW Halloween Havoc October 29th 1995
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs The Radicals

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero

The Giant vs Vader

Road Warrior Hawk vs Meng

Falls Count Anywhere: The Nasty Boys vs Sabu and Mr JL

 

[Stojy]

Flair and Anderson getting back on the same page (for now) ahead of the PPV and their tag team main event makes sense. We know the big blow up is coming, but you’re building it slowly which is the right way to go. I enjoyed the way they both spoke about Pillman, as it really puts him over. Flair is worried about whether he’s too unpredictable and Anderson basically says he’s a killer. That’s some awesome praise for him. Good stuff here, as this also reminds us of the main event tonight.

This was probably the best final you could have put on in this tournament so glad to see these two teams make the final. No issue with The Radicals winning here either, their match with Harlem Heat should be great. I’m hoping for a series, to be honest.

Harlem Heat promo to get their reaction and thoughts on their new challengers were solid enough. I like the idea of technique vs. brawling which seems may happen based on the tag champs’ promo here.

DDP choosing Duane Gill as his opponent to be a ‘fake’ fighting champion is a typical yet amazingly effective heel move. The brawl with Eddie Guerrero afterwards was great. I definitely didn’t expect it to turn into the all in brawl it did in the back, but it was definitely an enjoyable chain of events. I was maybe wondering how the hell the faces were still not just getting beaten by the numbers until Sabu hit his dive though. But yeah, this was fun, and gets plenty of people on the show, and now you can make matches based off of this altercation. Smart.

Hype video package for Vader and The Giant was good. Love the build of this one, with both giants unable to touch each other.

Oh hey, there’s an eight man tag based on that earlier all in brawl. Who would have thought?

So much good stuff happening in this main event. Firstly, I adore the look as if Flair might be jealous of the camaraderie that Pillman and Anderson have. Secondly, the tease of Hogan almost hitting the Big Boot on Luger, only to then hit him with the Double Axe Handle later on was good. And maybe my favourite thing of all, as the face team breaks down because of Hogan/Luger, Pillman PINS Sting which is HUGE for him to. Just a really well booked main event, teasing multiple issues and still putting on a good match. Well done.

Love these on hour Nitro’s. So easy and quick to read, and the booking is delivering on basically everything every time. Keep up the fantastic work. Nobody gives much feedback anymore so it’s hard to tell, but it feels like this BTB is extremely underrated.

 

[Mach]

WCW Nitro #8 October 23rd 1995
Live from Von Braun Civic Centre in Hunstville, Alabama

WCW Nitro is on the air! Eric Bischoff and Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan welcome us to the final Nitro before Halloween Havoc and after their explosive brawl last week Lex Luger and Hulk Hogan will go face to face in our main event just days away from their main event at Halloween Havoc.

Strictly Horsemen Business

We then cut to the ring where Gene Okerlund is standing by with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. Gene welcomes the pair who receive a chorus of boos before Okerlund asks about their three way match with Sting at Halloween Havoc this Sunday. Flair responds: “Mean by god Gene would you get these people to shut up when I’m talking!” The fans boo some more. “Now I’ll tell ya straight what’s gonna happen at Halloween Havoc - myself and Double A are going to produce not one, but two of the greatest moments in WCW history! Moment number one will be the greatest beatdown you have ever seen because myself and The Enforcer are going to beat Sting down to a bloody pulp. That fraud will never be the same again! And then moment number two will be with Sting out the way we will then have the greatest match you have ever seen and I promise Gene that the best man will win.”

Okerlund nods as he turns his attention to Anderson and he asks him about this alliance with Brian Pillman. “Now Gene let me set the record straight on Brian Pillman, who by the way has a great chance of becoming the United States Champion tonight. He is not a member of the horsemen yet but he’s someone we’re looking at recruiting because we’ve been impressed by-” Flair then cuts Anderson off! He says: “What’s this with this Double A? Listen I know Pillman is a hell of a competitor but he’s also a certified lunatic and its gonna take a lot for him to impress the Nature Boy and join the most prestigious faction in pro wrestling!” More tension between Double A and Flair but before Anderson can respond here comes Brian Pillman!

The Loose Cannon marches to the ring and takes the mic of Gene Okerlund and says: “Listen Ric I know you may have your doubts about me, about my sanity but its 1995 not 1985 anymore. Private jets and rolexes aren’t gonna get it done in the 90s - you need to have a wild streak Ric or you are gonna get left behind. But let me prove my horseman prowess to ya right now because Sting I’m tired of waiting lets go right now!" With that Sting comes out and the US Champ charges down the aisle and here we go! Flair and Anderson bail as our US title match gets underway!

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Brian Pillman

This match came about after Pillman pinned Sting in a tag match last week. As the two exchange strikes Bischoff reminds fans that the winner of this bout will face Flair and Arn Anderson in a three way match. The aforementioned duo have now retreated to the back as Sting clotheslines Pillman over the top rope! Sting then goes for a dive off the apron but Pillman meets him with a punch to the gut and follows up by ramming the US Champ’s head off the apron! Pillman then goes to send Sting into the guardrail but the momentum gets turned around and Brian goes spine first into the steel. Sting then lines up a Stinger splash on Pillman but again Brian counters by moving out of the way so Sting crashes rib first into the rail. Brian heads back into the ring to reset the count before going back to the outside and dropping Sting ribs first on top of the rail as he makes his target clear. Pillman then hauls Sting back into the ring and delivers a brutal gut buster! He covers: one…two…NO! Sting manages to kick out but Pillman looks to capitalise on the damage to the ribs by heading up to the top rope and going for a double foot stomp! Sting rolls out of the way but Pillman also rolls through the move. The pair then bounce off the ropes and nail each other with a double clothesline! We cut to break with both men down and this US Championship match in the balance!

As we return Pillman has Sting locked in an abdominal stretch and he’s really wrenching back on the Stinger as the fans will the US Champ on. Eventually Sting powers through and makes it to the ropes but Pillman is straight back on him like a hyena, stomping away at Sting. Pillman then goes for his neck breaker but Sting counters into a backslide! One…two…NO! Pillman breaks free and just wallops Sting with a knee to the face. Brian then heads to the top rope and goes for a diving splash but Sting counters and gets the knees up! Sting then decks Pillman with a few strikes before whipping him hard into the corner. Sting then calls to the crowd who enthusiastically respond before sizing up Pillman for the Stinger splash! Sting charges but Pillman pulls referee Nick Patrick in the way and Sting takes out the official. Sting good nature gets the better of him as he goes to check Patrick but this allows Pillman to sneak up behind the Stinger and low blow him! Pillman laughs maniacally as he goes to retrieve the US belt from ringside. He grabs the gold and gets ready to hit Sting but then MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE storms down the ramp to a monster pop! His arm is still in a cast but Savage doesn’t care as he clocks the man who injured him from behind! Pillman drops the US title to the floor as Savage tees off on Pillman as Sting gets back to his feet! Savage then whips Pillman to Sting who meets the ‘loose cannon’ with an almighty body slam! Savage ducks out of the ring as Sting shakes Nick Patrick awake. The Stinger then locks in the Scorpion Deathlock on the prone Pillman and in the middle of the ring, dazed and confused, Brian has no choice but to give up.

Winner in 12 minutes (including commercials) and still WCW US Champion Sting

Savage has the US belt and gives it to Sting before getting back on top of Pillman and using his uninjured hand starts pounding away at Pillman as the bell repeatedly rings. Brian looks like he’s busted open here as Savage wails on him before Arn Anderson charges down to ringside without Ric Flair to try and pry the Macho Man off of Pillman. Anderson however is cut off by Sting and the two start brawling before the security squad hits the arena and try to resolve this messy situation. In the chaos Savage and Pillman are finally separated however the Macho Man makes several lunges to try and get his hands on the man who injured him.

As the security push Pillman and Anderson back up the ramp Randy Savage is at ringside and he gets in the squared circle armed with a microphone. Savage says: “Hey Pillman you weak little punk! I hope you enjoyed tasting your blood tonight because you’re gonna be tasting a whole lot more this Sunday at Halloween Havoc! You may have broken my arm but guess what brother you haven’t broken the Macho Man’s spirit ooh yeah! In fact I’ve got madness flowing through my veins faster than it ever has before and Pillman I’m challenging you to a match this Sunday, one arm, no arms, three arms it doesn’t matter because the Macho Man promises a beating of a lifetime is on your way!” Savage then poses for the fans as his music plays while Pillman and Anderson get carted up the ramp.

We then cut to the commentators who say they’ll try and get confirmation on if that match is official before Nitro goes off the air. Heenan says Savage can’t wrestle with one arm still in a cast but Bischoff says he doesn’t think anyone can stop the Macho Man right now. The ringside area has cleared now as The Armstrong Brothers, Scott and Steve are making their way down the aisle. The show keeps on rolling here on Nitro because we have tag team action up next.

The Armstrong Brothers vs Harlem Heat

The WCW Tag Team Champions make their way to the ring flanked by Sister Sherri but they are here for a good time and not a long time. The Heat get in the ring and as soon as the bell ring its basically demolition time. Stevie and Booker hit a pair of Harlem sidekicks to their sibling opponents before the duo hit a double flapjack to Steve and then send him over the top rope to the outside. As Scott staggers to his feet he gets hit with a huge spinebuster from Stevie before Booker makes his way to the top rope and delivers the impressive Harlem hangover. Booker then covers: one…two…three!

Winners in one minute, Harlem Heat

What a performance from the tag champs as the fans pop for the easy Harlem Heat win. The duo hold their belts up above their heads as The Radicals, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko, make an appearance on the stage. Benoit and Malenko eye up the belts and respectfully nod at the champions before heading to the back as Bischoff hypes this match for Halloween Havoc. Coming up after the break it’s the eight man tag team match.

The Nasty Boys, Meng and Max Muscle vs Sabu, Mr JL, Hawk and Eddie Guerrero

We’re back on Nitro and all eight men made their entrances during the break. The competitors are in the ring as a big brawl erupts when the bell rings! The Nasty Boys and Sabu and JL instantly brawl to the outside as a preview of their falls count anywhere match this Sunday at Halloween Havoc. Eddie Guerrero starts chopping away at the larger Max Muscle as Eddie’s Havoc opponent, WCW TV Champ DDP is up in the sky box with The Diamond Doll enjoying a cigar as this one unfolds. Muscle gets the better of Eddie and launches him over the top rope but Hawk also tosses Muscle over to the outside. Havoc opponents Meng and Hawk are left in the ring and Hawk invites Meng to strike him. Meng unleashes a nasty chop but Hawk doesn’t flinch and nails Meng with a head butt - that the big Tongan also isn’t fazed by! The two then start scrapping while on the outside The Nasty Boys and Muscle now have the numbers advantage over Sabu and Mr JL. This is not for long however as Guerrero gets involved and hits a springboard moonsault to the outside that takes everyone out! Holy sh*t! In the ring Meng has the advantage over Hawk and looks to apply the Tongan Death Grip but Guerrero is on one here and he springs off the ropes and nails Meng with a hurricanrana! Hawk then lifts Meng up in an electric chair and Eddie channels his inner road warrior and heads to the top thinking about a doomsday device! This sequence all falls apart however as The Nasty Boys come in and double clothesline Hawk before Max Muscle grabs Eddie off the top rope and slams him brutally to the floor. The wrestlers then retreat to their respective corners as Meng powerslams Hawk and covers: one…two…NO!

Hawk is still in this one as Meng tags in Brian Knobbs. Knobbs takes Hawk to pit city before whipping him into the ropes and executing a backdrop. Knobbs then tags in his partner Jerry Saggs and the two go for a double suplex but Hawk reverses the momentum and suplexes his two opponents. Hawk then makes the tag to Mr JL and the masked man springboards over the ropes right into a crossbody to Saggs. JL covers: one…two…NO! Knobbs was still lingering in the ring from the double suplex and he breaks the move up. This draws Sabu into the ring and he throws a sloppy (of course) kick at Knobbs before the pair clothesline each other over the top rope. This distraction allows Saggs to tag in Max Muscle and he charges in with a shoulder block that wipes out legal man Mr JL. Muscle then goes for a gorilla press slam but JL drops behind his foe and nails him in the back with a jumping drop kick. JL then goes up top and looks for some kind of leg drop but Muscle catches him straight into a power bomb! Max covers: one…two…NO! Sabu comes back into the ring to break the fall up and its at this exact point when all chaos breaks loose once again the match!

All eight men eventually storm the ring and start brawling with the Nasty Boys and the newly paired duo of Sabu and JL once again brawling at ringside and this time advancing a little bit further up to the ramp. Muscle and Meng meanwhile are making a hell of a tag team in the ring as the pair hit a double side slam to Hawk who has stormed the ring. They attempt a double chokeslam to Eddie Guerrero but Eddie counters and plants the pair with a double DDT! He covers Meng: one…two…NO! And then he covers Muscle: one…two…NO! Both men kick out! Meanwhile at the top of the ramp Saggs has pulled a table from the back and is setting it up while Knobbs bashes Sabu and JL’s heads together. Back in the ring Guerrero heads to the top rope to frog splash Muscle but here comes Meng and he grabs Eddie by the throat and locks in the death grip on the top turnbuckle. Meanwhile at the top of the stage The Nasty Boys are bout to double powerbomb Mr JL through a table when Sabu comes from behind with a flying bulldog that plants both himself and Brian Knobbs through the table! The fans are at a fever pitch as back in the ring Hawk breaks up the death grip and chucks Meng to the outside. He then picks up the confused Max Muscle and with JL and Saggs still brawling on the outside and Eddie Guerrero still on the top rope the pair hit a doomsday device! Eddie covers: one…two…three!

Winners in 12 minutes Eddie Guerrero, Hawk, Sabu and Mr JL

Guerrero celebrates by pointing up at DDP in the skybox as Page looks pretty upset with the result of the match. Nitro’s running right to the wire on time this week so Bischoff promises you will see Hulk Hogan and Lex Luger go face to face in the ring right after the break!
Havoc Hype

As we come back from break Bischoff informs us we are just seconds away from Hulk Hogan and Lex Luger going face to face but first the final match for Halloween Havoc has been confirmed - Randy Savage will take on Brian Pillman. Other grudge matches on PPV include Meng vs Hawk, a falls count anywhere match between The Nasty Boys and the newly formed wildcard team of Sabu and Mr JL plus The Giant makes his in ring debut against Vader. Onto the title matches Eddie Guerrero challenges DDP for the TV Championship, tournament winners The Radicals take on WCW Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat, both Ric Flair and Arn Anderson will challenge Sting for the WCW United States Championship and then of course the main event is Lex Luger challenging Hulk Hogan for the WCW Championship.

Hogan and Luger go face to face

Mean Gene Okerlund is in the ring to introduce our final segment. Okerlund goes over the events since Luger’s debut. Sting brought Luger onto the War Games team only for Lex to demand a title shot against Hogan and then accidentally nail Hulk with a steel chair during the match. Tensions then continued to bubble over for weeks until in last week’s trios bout they finally reached breaking point as Hogan accidentally nailed Lex and the two had to be separated by security. With all that said Gene brings out the WCW Champion Hulk Hogan.

The immortal one strides down to the ring with manager Jimmy Hart by his side. The WCW Champ gets in the ring and shakes Gene’s hand but before he even gets the chance to speak the music of Lex Luger hits and here comes the Total Package to a sizeable pop. Luger looks dead serious as he gets into the ring and grabs a mic: “Listen I want to do this one on one so Gene, Jimmy hit the bricks because now this is personal between myself and Hulk.” Okerlund needs no invitation to bail and Hogan nods at Jimmy Hart as he too heads to the back. “Listen Hulk lets cut the crap - we tried to be each other’s friends mainly out of loyalty to my main man Sting. But lets face it Hogan we both have egos a mile wide and an alliance between me and you was never going to last because you’ve got what I want - the WCW Championship. And at Halloween Havoc Hogan its coming home with me.”

Hogan has a wry smile on his face as he replies: “Well Lex that might have been the first honest thing you’ve said since coming to WCW brother because we are never gonna be friends. The only thing I ask of you dude is this Sunday you go about things the right way jack. No cheating, no underhanded tactics, just two dudes going in there and laying it all on the line for the richest prize in the game brother - my WCW Championship!” Hogan then holds the belt right up in Luger’s face. Lex replies: “Well Hulk you have my word that it’ll be a fair fight because I know that I’m better than you and I know that come the end of Halloween Havoc you’re gonna be in the Torture Rack begging for the match to end and then I will reclaim my WCW Championship.” Luger points to the belt on Hogan’s shoulder as the intensity ramps up.

Hogan replies: “If you think you’re better than me brother then you are in for a big shock because guess what dude - nothing is as powerful as Hulkamania. And you should know better than anyone Luger because you tried to create your own version of Hulkamania and it failed! So at the end of the night when there's no Sting backing you up and all the hulkamaniacs are chanting my name, you’ll be on your crappy little express bus leaving Detroit on the highway to nowhere and you’re gonna know that there was nothing you could do to stop Hulkamania running wild on you!” Luger and Hogan go nose to nose now as Lex goes to speak into the mic and respond but instead he blindsides Hogan with a forearm! The Hulkster staggers back as Luger looks a little conflicted by the cheap shot but before Hogan has a chance to return fire Luger bails out of the ring and retreats up the ramp, pointing at Hogan’s championship belt. Hulk holds the belt up in the middle of the ring as Bischoff gives the hard sell that Luger got an easy shot in on Hogan here but that we are due for one hell of a fight at Halloween Havoc!

Highlights from WCW Weekend Programming

• Vader defeated Big Bubba Rogers
• Ric Flair defeated Marcus Bagwell
• Arn Anderson defeated Scotty Riggs
• Jim Duggan defeated The Zodiac
• The Blue Bloods defeated Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater
• The Radicals defeated Kamala and The Zodiac
• Alex Wright returned from injury in a backstage interview and Disco Inferno approached him about forming a team

Final card for WCW Halloween Havoc October 29th 1995
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs The Radicals

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero

The Giant vs Vader

Randy Savage vs Brian Pillman

Road Warrior Hawk vs Meng

Falls Count Anywhere: The Nasty Boys vs Sabu and Mr JL

LEAVE YOUR PREDICTIONS NOW

 

[Dubb]

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger
My gut is telling me Hogan probably retains here but I think there's a good opportunity to strap the title to the "new" guy in town and give something a little fresher for the title scene with Luger with the belt.

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson
Could see Sting mixing it up with Luger for the title, so probably need to get him away from this belt and a triangle match could certainly do that. Going with Anderson because I think he benefits most from a title win here.

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs The Radicals
Radicals have had a hot start but don't think they're ready to dethrone the champs yet.

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero
Heel DDP from this era is so fun and you're doing a great job with him, let's keep the belt on him.

The Giant vs Vader
As much as I want Vader to be a dominant force, I think you have to use him to put over the new monster in town... and a win over Vader would certainly quickly make Giant legitimate.

Randy Savage vs Brian Pillman
Going to go with Pillman putting up a good fight but Savage winning in the end.

Road Warrior Hawk vs Meng
MENG MENG MENG.

Falls Count Anywhere: The Nasty Boys vs Sabu and Mr JL
This hopefully is the easiest call on the show. Please...

 

[Stojy]

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger
Since I'm not leaving feedback on the go home show, just let you know here that I enjoyed the final segment between Hogan and Luger. Love how much of a dickish move it is for Hogan to call Luger out on trying to create his own version of Hulkamania and fail lol. He deserved that cheap shot from Luger as far as I'm concerned. In terms of winner, I wasn't necessarily thinking it before, but now Dubb has mentioned it, I do like the idea of Luger getting a title run, and this will also open the door for some fun Hogan character development.

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson
Sting could basically be anybody in this feud, this feud is all about Flair and Anderson and their slow building issues. It's why I think Sting retains and Flair and Anderson can continue to bicker without the US Title in the picture post this.

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs The Radicals
I'm going for a draw. Whether time limit, or double DQ or whatever, I think we get a non result to set up a series between these two teams.

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero
More fun character, would like him to keep the title.

The Giant vs Vader
It's going to break my heart reading it, but this feud is set up for The Giant to win and look strong. You've booked this really well but poor Vader

Randy Savage vs Brian Pillman
The Pillman push is really early on, and after his loss to Sting, I don't want him to be so early established as a jobber to the stars. Savage has his injury to fall back on, and can get his win back later. Please have Pillman win here. Would do wonders for him.

Road Warrior Hawk vs Meng
Surely Meng wins.

Falls Count Anywhere: The Nasty Boys vs Sabu and Mr JL
Nasty Boys win, opening the door for Sabu to murder Mr JL afterwards because fuck Jerry Lynn.

 

[KingBoggs23]

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger
I echo what has been said but I think Hogan goes over in the end. Plus I have to differ to win these predictions though.

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson
What Stojy said. Flair and Anderson end up costing each other and Sting gets the retain.

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs The Radicals
I like The Radicals but I feel the time isn't right for a title change.

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero
Just realized I have all the champions retaining. Hmmm....Oh well....DDP wins even though I love Eddie it's not his time yet.

The Giant vs Vader
As much as I love Vader, I feel The Giant needs to win and be able to get built up.

Randy Savage vs Brian Pillman
I think this would be the match of the night. I feel Pillman is on the cusp of a breakthrough and what better way than to have Savage and Pillman go all out but in the end, the vet Savage is just too much.

Road Warrior Hawk vs Meng
Meng wins always. lol, Meng for World Champion....I will settle for the US Title though.

Falls Count Anywhere: The Nasty Boys vs Sabu and Mr JL
I love the Nastys as brawlers but I like this team-up of Jerry Lynn and Sabu. I liked Sabu in WCW. He didn't fit there at all but his matches were entertaining and this would be no different.

Bold are my picks for the winners.

 

[Roy Mustang]

Final card for WCW Halloween Havoc October 29th 1995
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger

WCW US Championship: Sting © vs Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs The Radicals

WCW TV Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero

The Giant vs Vader

Randy Savage vs Brian Pillman

Road Warrior Hawk vs Meng

Falls Count Anywhere: The Nasty Boys vs Sabu and Mr JL

 

[Mach]

World Championship Wrestling presents live on pay per view:

HALLOWEEN HAVOC

October 29th 1995 from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan

It's the spookiest night on the wrestling calendar, it's Halloween Havoc! The show kicks off with a video package that recaps the main feuds heading into the event, of course highlighting Lex Luger’s debut and subsequent conflict with Hulk Hogan. There is also a spooky 90s filter over the footage to really emphasise that there'll be both tricks and treats for WCW competitors here tonight. We get highlights of the other big programmes including The Giant vs Vader, Randy Savage vs Brian Pillman, Sting defending his WCW US Championship against both Ric Flair and Arn Anderson plus the unbeaten Radicals taking on Harlem Heat for the WCW Tag Team Championships. With that the video package ends and we cut to the arena.

“Over 13,000 fans are packed into the Joe Louis Arena for what promises to be one of the biggest pay per view events in the history of our sport,” exclaims Tony Schiavone as fireworks go off welcoming the live crowd to the event. The classic Halloween Havoc set is in place tonight as there is a huge pumpkin in the centre of the stage with cemetery props around the edges of the stage before the ramp leads to an orange-roped ring. Schiavone is of course joined by Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan who boldly proclaims that Hulk Hogan’s record breaking WCW Championship reign will come to an end tonight at the hands of ‘The Total Package’ Lex Luger. Schiavone says time will tell with that one but right now let's not waste anymore time and get straight into the action.

Falls Count Anywhere: The Nasty Boys vs Sabu and Mr JL

Ring announcer David Penzer is in the ring to tell us that the following contest has no disqualifications or count outs and that pinfalls and submissions count anywhere. Out first is the new team of Sabu and Mr JL, who have seemed to gel well together as a team despite both of their respective mysterious personalities. The duo make their way to the ring to a decent pop as Schiavone explains they were put together as a wildcard team for the recent contenders tournament. The Nasty Boys are out next to a chorus of boos as they spend their time jaw jacking with the fans heading down the aisle. Heenan explains that these two teams have already faced off on WCW Saturday Night, but the action was so chaotic that the match was thrown out, hence the falls count anywhere stipulation. As The Nasty Boys reach the apron Sabu and Mr JL hit stereo dives to the outside and as this is falls count anywhere referee Billy Silverman rings the bell! JL and Sabu have the early advantage on the stunned Nasties as they first double Irish whip the staggering Saggs into the guardrail with a thud before picking up Brian Knobbs and executing a double suplex to the outside with the thin layer of padding the only thing protecting the veteran. JL then hits a back breaker on Knobbs and holds him in place while Sabu gets back in the ring and climbs up to the top turnbuckle! He goes for a diving leg drop but Saggs is back in and he barges JL out of the way which means Sabu crashes and burns right to the outside! The Nasties then grab Sabu and hit him with a double flap jack onto the steel steps! Knobbs covers: one…two…NO!

JL is back in to break it up but The Nasty Boys deal with him swiftly by taking the masked man out with a double clothesline. Knobbs then grabs Sabu and whips him with such ferocity that he goes over the barricade and is temporarily out of the match. Saggs meanwhile grabs JL and rolls him back into the ring as the match effectively becomes a handicap match. Saggs wails on JL in the corner as Knobbs goes under the ring and emerges with a trash can. He gets in the ring and brutally thwacks JL over the head with it before passing the weapon to Saggs. Jerry then waits for JL to get to his feet while teeing up to whack with the can but the masked man counters with a spin kick that sends the trash can into Saggs’ face! Knobbs quickly cuts that offence off though with a clubbing blow to the back of the head before he then throws JL to the outside. He again goes under the ring and grabs a table from there which of course causes the audience to pop, especially in 1995 given the table’s relative rarity. Saggs has also now recovered and he heads to the outside to beat down JL some more. The two look to be going for a double powerbomb but flying from out of nowhere is Sabu who springs off the barricade with a cross body but Knobbs catches him! Brian then slams Sabu through the table instead of JL! He covers: One…two…three?

NO! JL leaps back in at the nick of time to break it up. Saggs then grabs his masked foe and the duo start brawling up the ramp as Knobbs gathers himself while Sabu looks out for the count from being put through a table. Saggs scoop slams JL at the top of the ramp before he goes to the side of the stage and picks up one of the grave stones! He goes to whack JL but he gets me with a boot to the gut and JL plants Saggs with a DDT right on the stage - but he’s too tired to go for the pin! Meanwhile back at ringside Brian Knobbs has recovered now and he begins marching up the ramp to once again make this a handicap encounter but this time Sabu is in hot pursuit having also recovered. At the top of the ramp Knobbs starts working over the downed JL but instead of getting involved, Sabu just walks past his partner and heads backstage! Heenan speculates that this wildcard tag team has already broken up! The Nasty Boys then continue to beat down on the spent JL and once again seem to be setting him up for a double power bomb but then from out of nowhere Sabu appears on top the giant pumpkin that’s part of the set and dives off with a senton wiping out both Knobbs and Saggs as the crowd explode! Holy S***! Sabu lands on top of Saggs and covers him: one…two…three?

NO! The Nasty Boy somehow gets his shoulder up! What a start to Halloween Havoc as this match just gets more and more chaotic. Brian Knobbs then hauls Sabu up and gives his opponent a low blow - its all legal in this match before trying the same on JL but the masked man catches his foe’s arm and responds with a sick knee to the head. JL looks to be going for some kind of pile driver on the stage but Saggs comes steaming in with the gravestone from earlier and smashes it right over JL’s head! He then grabs Sabu and goes to throw him off the stage but Sabu stops his momentum and really channeling the suicidal part of his nickname does a back suplex of the stage meaning both himself and Jerry go through a conveniently placed table and take each other out of the match! Knobbs meanwhile has staggered back to ringside and grabs a chair as JL has recovered to meet him in the middle of the ramp. Knobbs swings for the fences but JL ducks and then nails him with a drop kick to the back! Brian drops the chair and JL then grabs the Nasty Boy and delivers a sick pile driver on the chair while on the ramp! A truly sick manoeuvre as an exhausted JL drapes an arm over Knobbs. One…two…three!

Winners in 15 minutes, Mr JL and Sabu

What an absolute war that Mr JL and Sabu have won by putting both life and limb on the line for. Sabu eventually emerges from the wreckage at the side of the stage and grabbing his neck as the referee raises Mr JL’s and his partners hand as The Nasty Boys have been definitively beaten here. Heenan speculates that a tag title shot could be in the pair’s future as The Nasty Boys look to rebuild from this loss.

We then cut to our next video package of the evening which is showcasing the feud between Eddie Guerrero and WCW TV Champion DDP. Newcome Guerrero won a four-way at Fall Brawl to earn this opportunity and since then has called on DDP to be more of a fighting champion. Since then DDP has responded by sitting in his sky box with The Diamond Doll and wrestling against his handpicked opponent Duane Gill in a match lasting barely a minute. There’s no excuses for Page tonight though because he’s taking on Eddie Guerrero with the title on the line.

WCW Television Championship: Diamond Dallas Page © vs Eddie Guerrero

Back in the arena and charismatic challenger Eddie Guerrero is out first. We’re still in Eddie’s singlet era as he slaps hands with the fans on the way down to the ring, looking very pumped to get his hands on some WCW gold. Out next to a chorus of boos is the champion, DDP who is flanked by his enforcer Max Muscle as well as the lovely Diamond Doll. Page gets in the ring and holds up his championship for all to see before handing it over to referee Mark Curtis who raises the belt in the air and this bout is underway! Page and Eddie circle each other before locking up. Page uses his power to force Eddie into the ropes and gets a cheap shot to the face in before the referee calls for a break. Page plans to use his height and power to win this match because he instantly goes for a big boot but Eddie ducks and as Page turns around he hits the champ with a few european uppercuts, before grabbing his wrist, springboarding off the ropes and hitting a beautiful arm drag! Eddie covers: one…NO! Dallas quickly kicks out however and heads to the outside to regroup. Guerrero considers diving to the outside but Max Muscle gets on the apron to block his path. Eddie shrugs his shoulder and drop kicks Max off the apron to a huge pop, but that ultimately costs him as Page sneaks back in and clotheslines him from behind before putting the boots to Eddie as the crowd boos. DDP then poses arrogantly over the downed Guerrero before setting him up in the corner and delivering a running big boot. As Eddie staggers in the middle of the ring Page heads to the apron and floors Guerrero with a slingshot crossbody straight into the cover: one…two…NO!

Guerrero gets the shoulder up but we are now in a period of dominance for the TV Champ as The Diamond Doll holds up a 10 sign on the outside, showing her appreciation for that move. Dallas locks in a deadly chin lock as he plots his next moves before Eddie manages to get out of it with a jaw breaker. Guerrero then runs the rope but is absolutely flattened with a flying clothesline, which DDP then follows up with first an inverted atomic drop and then a gutwrench gut buster! Page covers: one..two…NO! Eddie still kicks out but he’s on the ropes here Dallas looks hell bent on retaining his title. Page then tries for a powerbomb but Eddie counters with a backdrop! He then heads to the top rope and goes for a diving crossbody but DDP catches the move and turns it into a back breaker! Dallas then grabs Eddie and hits him with a jumping DDT! Another cover: one…two…NO! Great resilience from Eddie here as Page continues to just batter his opponent. Page tries for a neck breaker but Eddie counters into a back slide: one…two…NO! Dallas gets out of it but is immediately nailed with a drop kick from the El Paso native. The challenger then springs off the ropes and goes for a hurricanrana but Page catches him and hits a brutal looking spinning power bomb! Straight into the cover: one…two…three?

NO! Again Eddie gets the shoulder up. DDP looks pissed now as he seems to be signalling for the Diamond Cutter! He hooks Guerrero but Eddie counters, pushes Page into the ropes and catches him with a European uppercut to the back of the head, which looks brutal! Guerrero then grabs the staggering Dallas and performs a tornado DDT to the champion! Eddie covers: one…two…NO! The champ kicks out but the momentum has swung the challenger’s way. Eddie hauls the larger DDP up and delivers a vertical suplex but of course in vintage Guerrero style he hits a second followed by a third for the three amigos to be complete. Rather than covering Guerrro heads to the top rope and looks for the frog splash but Max Muscle is up on the apron distracting the official. In a risky moment Guerrero then turns his attention to Muscle and he hits a missile drop kick from the top rope to the apron which takes Max out but also sends Eddie crashing to the floor! This gives Page enough time to recover and he heads to the outside and grabs Eddie, before whipping him into the ring apron. DDP then hauls Eddie back into the ring and hits him with the Diamond Clash powerslam and covers: one…two…three!

NO! Eddie gets his foot on the rope! DDP can’t believe it as Guerrero stays alive in this contest. Page signals for the Diamond Cutter now but Eddie counters with a knee to the back and follows up nailing a springboard hurricanrana right into a pin! One…two…NO! Page kicks out as Max Muscle is stirring at ringside. Seeing Eddie has this match in hand, The Diamond Doll goes to distract the referee while Muscle gets into the ring and lines up to lariat Eddie but the challenger ducks and Muscle nails Page by accident! Eddie then grabs Muscle and chucks him out of the ring, grabbing Dallas and planting him with a brainbuster! He covers: one…two…three? NO! Page gets the shoulder up just before three but Eddie wastes no time, heads straight to the top rope and executes a perfect frog splash. He covers: one…two…three!

Winner in 13 minutes and new WCW Television Champion, Eddie Guerrero

Eddie has done it - he’s defeated DDP to claim the WCW Television Championship. The Diamond Doll is distraught at ringside and Heenan ponders that Muscle’s involvement may have basically handed the match to Eddie. Guerrero clutches the championship belt as a crestfallen DDP heads out of the ring and berates Max Muscle while holding his ribs. Intrepid interviewer Mean Gene Okerlund has appeared at ringside and makes his way into the ring for a post-match interview with Eddie.

Okerlund of course congratulates Eddie on the win before asking him about how it feels to win the WCW TV Championship. Eddie says: “Thank you Gene and thanks to all the fans here in Detroit for having my back tonight!” Nice reaction for the cheap pop as Eddie continues: “Ya know esse I was up against it tonight but I pulled through because I’ve got the legacy and tradition of the Guerrero name with me. I’ve been working my whole career to win a championship in a top company like WCW but let me tell you homes the work starts from tonight. I promise to be a fighting champion like WCW has never seen before which is why I ain’t wasting any time - I’m throwing out an open challenge for this Monday on Nitro and if you think you’ve got what it takes you can step into the ring with Eddie Guerrero.” Okerlund then thanks Eddie for his time as we have our first match confirmed for Nitro.

An address from his Lordship

We then cut backstage where Eric Bischoff is standing by with The Blue Bloods, Lord Steven Regal and Bobby Eaton. Bischoff says that following Eddie’s challenge just now Steven Regal stormed up to him demanding some interview time so Eric asks what’s on Lord Steven’s mind. “Mr Bischoff you represent the height of rudeness because I asked for this interview time like a gentleman but I wouldn’t expect anything more from an American like yourself. Now as for that little toerag Edmund Guerrero he should remember that I’ve held that WCW Television Championship twice with my reigns coming to over 300 days as champion, so I don’t need any lectures from you on being a fighting champion sunshine. So you want a challenge on Nitro - well I’ll promise I’ll give you a ruddy good hiding and make your title reign the shortest in history!” With that Regal and Bobby Eaton storm off as we have our first match for Nitro as we cut back to the arena.

Road Warrior Hawk vs Meng

Back in the arena and the fearsome Meng is making his way down the aisle. Meng was a member of the Dungeon of Doom but with The Taskmaster disappearing it seems as though the big Tongan has been flying solo in recent weeks. Meng gets in the ring and poses menacingly before his opponent, Road Warrior Hawk comes down to ringside. This rivalry started when the two brawled out of the cage during War Games last month and has been raging on since then. With both Hawk and Meng in the ring this contest is underway! Meng starts off this match strong as he unleashes some big chops to Hawk but the tag team specialist counters with some stiff shots of his own. Schiavone calls this one a hard hitting affair as the pair then go for a double headbutt which Meng gets the better off. The Tongan then whips Hawk into the corner before putting the boots to his face-painted opponent. Meng then charges at Hawk with a hip attack but Hawk ducks out of the way and comes back into the ring to take the big Tongan down with a shoulder block. Hawk then whips Meng into the corner himself and starts punching away at him as the crowd cheers along. He gets up to nine before Meng grabs him by the throat and tries to lock in the death grip! Hawk is flailing about however and so Meng decides instead to turn the move into a powerbomb! He covers: one…two…NO!

Hawk stays in this bout but Meng is in complete control here as he hammers away with some more chops against Hawk. The Road Warrior eventually manages to get out of dodge with a kick to the gut and he follows that up with a scoop slam to his opponent. Hawk then goes for a running lariat but Meng catches him and hits a beautiful belly to belly suplex on his opponent. Meng covers again: one…two…NO! Hawk manages to kick out. Meng then signals for the Tongan Death Grip and he locks in the deadly submission but Hawk is close to the ropes and he drags himself and Meng to the outside to break the hold. The pair then starts exchanging shots up the ramp as Heenan notes this is just like Fall Brawl but this time there’s count outs in place! The referee is up to six as the two continue to just exchange shots but Hawk seems to get the advantage and as the referee is at seven Hawk manages to hook a vertical suplex and plant Meng on the ramp - but he also damages his own back. The referee is up to eight as the two competitors start crawling down the ramp, knowing that time is against them, both men are on their feet as the referee gets to nine and just in the nick of time both men get back in the ring as the referee was about to count them out!

Both men are tiring now but back in the ring they charge at each other and wipe each other out with a double clothesline. Hawk is back to his feet first and he scales the ropes looking for a high-flying manoeuvre, however Meng recovers and then grabs the ref, distracting him long enough for a hooded man to appear and absolutely whack Hawk on the back of the head leaving him in no man’s land on the top rope! The announcers are stunned as to who this man is but with Hawk in no man’s land Meng grabs him and launches him off the top rope as the road warrior crashes to the floor. Meng then locks in the Tongan Death Grip and Hawk struggles briefly but it eventually knocks him out and the referee calls for the bell!

Winner in nine minutes, Meng

Meng wins this bout with a huge assist from this hooded man. The man then gets in the ring and removes his hood to reveal it’s… THE BARBARIAN! Meng then grabs Hawk and Barbarian nails him with a running big boot before dumping the road warrior out of the ring. Schiavone notes it's been almost three years since we’ve seen The Barbarian in WCW and this alliance with Meng could be one hell of a force! Hawk is going to need some backup pretty soon if he wants to compete with Meng and The Barbarian.

A war is coming to WCW

We’re kicking off hour two of Halloween Havoc with a video package looking to our next PPV which will be the first ever WCW: World War Three, live from Norfolk Virginia on November 26th 1995! The package details that the event will feature the largest ever match in WCW history as 30 men in one ring battle for the chance to challenge for the WCW Championship at Starrcade! Who will make history and outlast 29 other men to become the first ever World War Three winner?

The video package ends and we cut back to the announce duo of Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan who hype up World War Three some more before throwing to our next match which will see the tag team tournament winners The Radicals (Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko) take on the WCW Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat.

WCW Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat © vs The Radicals

The unbeaten challengers are out first to a decent pop as the super serious Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko make their way to the ring. This pair are the definition of no-nonsense and defeated The Stud Stable, The Diamond Mine and The Blue Bloods on their route here to this tag team title match. Out next are their opponents Harlem Heat accompanied by their manager Sister Sherri. The tag team champions have also become fan favourites in the last couple of months, so the crowd may be split here as to who to cheer for. They hand over the belts to the official who raises them in the air and this championship bout is underway! Booker T and Chris Benoit start this match in the ring and the pair instantly lock up and Booker uses his power advantage to transition into a side headlock. He tries to take Benoit down to the mat but Chris wriggles out of the hold and into a waist lock. The Canadian attempts a German suplex but gets an elbow to the face for his troubles. Booker then charges at Benoit with a clothesline but Chris ducks and tags in Malenko. The pair then hit a double back breaker to the champ but his brother Stevie soon comes in and decks Benoit before heading back to the corner. Booker has the upperhand on Dean now and hits an impressive combo of a big boot and follows it up with a sidewalk slam! Booker covers: one…two…NO!

A kick out by Malenko keeps The Radicals' hopes alive. Booker then tags in Stevie Ray before the pair hit a double back drop to Malenko before Benoit returns the favour from earlier and chases Booker out of the ring. Stevie uses his power to overwhelm Dean as he goes at him with clubbing blows before a spinebuster from Stevie is countered into a DDT on Malenko that spikes the tag champ on his head! Dean covers: one…two…NO! Stevie Ray powers out but Malenko is now the one in control as he knees Ray repeatedly in the back. Malenko then tries for a Northern Lights suplex but Stevie pushes him away and goes for a scoop slam but his back gives out from those knees which allows Dean to then jump on Stevie and lock in a sleeper hold. Ray then drops to one knee as Malenko locks in the hold even tighter before Stevie gets his second wind and gets back to his feet and manages to charge over to his corner and tag his brother in! Booker then grabs Malenko and delivers a back suplex before Benoit again comes in but this time Booker sees him coming and floors him with a Harlem side-kick! Benoit and the tired Stevie have both rolled to the outside and this gives Booker a chance to attack the groggy Malenko one on one and he absolutely plants him with a spine buster! The cover: one…two…NO!

Dean gets the shoulder up as meanwhile on the outside Chris Benoit has delivered a sick German suplex to Stevie Ray that could take him out of this match for a while. Back in the ring Booker sets Dean up for the axe kick but as he bounces off the ropes Benoit grabs his ankle to stall the attack. This gives Malenko enough time to recover and nail Booker with a few sick chops before Benoit gets in the ring and the two hit Booker with a double back suplex. Malenko then tags in his canadian partner and Benoit just releases an onslaught of offence on Booker T. Starting with some vicious chops he follows up with one German suplex, followed by another German suplex, followed by a third into a bridge: one…two…NO! Booker T gets the shoulder up as a concerned Sherri Martel looks on at her man being picked apart here. Benoit then tries to lock in the cross face but Booker rolls through into a pin! One…two…NO! Benoit kicks out as Malenko comes in and decks Booker with a clothesline from the top rope! The crowd are rallying behind Booker here as Malenko again heads up top while Benoit sets him up for a pile driver! The pair then hit a brutal spike piledriver on Booker! It has to be over: one…two…three?

NO! Stevie Ray comes in at the last second to break it up! He then delivers a Harlem side-kick to Malenko and throws him to his own corner before setting up Benoit and delivering a huge power bomb to the Canadian! He then heads back to his corner as Booker T struggles and finally makes a tag to his big brother! Stevie comes in like a house on fire and delivers another Harlem side-kick to Benoit as Malenko comes charging in now! Ray goes for a kick to Dean but Malenko catches him only for Booker T to come in and the duo deliver a double Harlem side-kick to Malenko! Dean rolls to the floor as Stevie Ray delivers an atomic drop to Benoit while Booker follows up an axe kick! Stevie Ray covers: one…two…three?... NO! Malenko has put Benoit’s foot on the rope - he saves his partner! Booker then goes for a slingshot cross body to the outside to take out Malenko but Dean pulls Sherri in the way and Booker takes himself and his own manager out - what the hell? Stevie then tries for a pile driver to Benoit in the ring but he’s distracted by the goings on outside the squared circle and this allows the challenger to push him away and then clock him with an enziguri! Benoit then hooks the crossface on the downed Stevie Ray as Malenko comes back in to add his Texas Cloverleaf to the mix! With both submissions locked in Stevie has no choice but to tap out!

Winners in 14 minutes and new WCW Tag Team Champions, The Radicals

They’ve done it and we have new tag champions! Benoit and Malenko take the tag belts away from Harlem Heat. Schiavone focuses on Malenko using Sherri as a human shield while Heenan says they were just doing what it takes to win. The crowd has a mixed reaction to the title change as Booker is still checking on his manager on the floor. The Radicals retreat up the ramp with their belts as we head to our next video package.

The Loose Cannon Explodes in WCW

We then cut to the next video package which focuses on the explosive rise of Brian Pillman in WCW over the last couple of months. The package first focuses on the physical injuries he’s inflicted, firstly on Alex Wright, then Johnny B Badd and finally Randy Savage as he has broken each of their arms in the process. The video then focuses on the cryptic promos Pillman has been cutting over the last few weeks, taking aim at the big players in WCW like Randy Savage not putting the work in like Pillman has as well as his ongoing threats of an ‘Apocalypse’ coming to World Championship Wrestling plus his alliance with Arn Anderson and possibly Ric Flair. Finally we see the angle on last week’s Nitro where Randy Savage returned and cost Pillman his US Championship match against Sting to set up tonight’s heated encounter.

Brian Pillman vs Randy Savage

Perhaps the most heated match of the night is up next as Brian Pillman makes his way down the aisle for this bout to a chorus of boos. Pillman is snapping at the fans where out of nowhere RANDY SAVAGE appears behind Pillman and attacks the ‘loose cannon’ to a huge pop from the fans! Savage has a heavily taped up injured arm but he doesn’t care as he starts wailing on Pillman! He then beats on Brian at ringside before clotheslining his rival over the barricade. Pillman staggers back into the crowd but Savage is a man possessed and he gives chase and tackles Brian at the bottom of the stairs and starts punching away at him! Pillman reverses the momentum however and he starts going to beat on Savage until the Macho Man breaks free with a stiff shot. Referee Nick Patrick is desperately pleading with the competitors to get back in the ring but they are laser focused on beating the hell out of each other as Randy Savage then runs up the steps, fist bumps a Detroit fan and then flies down the stairs and nails Pillman with a running axe handle! Macho hits the move with such impact however that his injured arm is already in severe pain. Savage fights through it however and throws Pillman back over the barricade with his good arm. As Savage clambers over the barrier Pillman has recovered and he hits a dropkick to Randy that sees him tumble to the floor. Pillman laughs maniacally as he then whacks Savage’s injured arm against the steel steps, causing Macho Man to scream in pain. Pillman then rolls Randy back in the ring and finally this bout is underway.

The ‘loose cannon’ is not wasting any time executing his strategy - re-injure Savage’s arm. He is stomping away at the taped up limb before balancing it on the middle rope and executing a running kick to the arm. Pillman then grabs Savage in a wrist lock and wrings the arm a few times before dragging him across the ring and kickin him the arm a few more times. Pillman goes lock in an armbar on Savage but the veteran counters with a few stiff shots to the face before whipping Pillman into the ropes and decking him with a clothesline from his good arm. Savage continues on offence with a running knee and he follows up with a vertical suplex attempt but he cannot haul Pillman up due to the injured arm. Pillman then counters with a vertical suplex of his own to Randy and taunts Savage about how easy it is for him to hit the move. Brian then drags Savage to the corner and punches him down until he is on the ground then heads to the outside. He grabs Randy’s arm and whacks it against the ring post multiple times as Savage’s screams can be heard right at the back of the Joe Louis Arena. Pillman then, with a sick look on his face, grabs Savage’s arm and applies an armbar, Bret Hart figure four style, around the armbar as Nick Patrick starts counting out Pillman who simply smiles until he needs to get back into the ring to break the count.

The referee asks if Savage wants to call the match off due to this obvious injury but he politely tells Nick Patrick to go f*** himself. While the ref was checking on Savage however Pillman was up to his dastardly trick as he has undone one of the turnbuckle pads, exposing the steel. As Savage hauls himself to his feet with his good arm Pillman approaches and nails Randy with a few blows to the head. He then goes to Irish Whip Savage into the exposed turnbuckle but Macho Man somehow reverses it and sends Pillman into the ropes - but Brian stops his momentum just at the last second! Savage then charges at Pillman, but Brian ducks out of the way and Randy collides head first with the exposed buckle! Pillman staggers back as Savage collapses to the ground before continuing the assault by biting Savage in the head! As Randy is turned over the crowd and the commentators are shocked to see Savage split wide open as Pillman wipes some of the blood from his face. Pillman tells Randy it's over as he goes for his signature neck breaker but Savage breaks out of the hold with an elbow to the face, follows up with an atomic drop and punctuates this offence with a piledriver! Savage is bleeding badly however and both men collapse on the ground as Heenan notes no one has even gone for a cover yet, this match is about pure hatred.

Despite being on the receiving end of the move Brian Pillman is up to his feet first as Savage still clutches his arm on the ground. Brian plots his next move as Savage slowly gets to his feet and the ‘loose cannon’ heads to the apron. As Randy stumbles to his feet Brian hits his signature springboard clothesline which wipes out the bloody Savage but Pillman is still not done, he’s still not going for the cover. He grabs Savage by the injured arm and drags him to the corner with exposed turnbuckle and looks to whack his arm against the steel but Savage, possibly using everything he has left counters with a headbutt to Pillman and then absolutely thwacks Brian against the exposed buckle himself! Pillman is not bleeding but he looks like he’s been knocked out cold! Randy then looks at the crowd, who cheer wildly and he begins to scale the ropes as Schiavone urges him not to. Then perched on the top he just about manages his signature pose and goes for the flying elbow drop - but Brian Pillman moves out of the way! Randy Savage crashes and burns on his injured arm and he squirms on the mat in agony as Pillman goes for the kill, grabs the bloodied Savage by the neck and hits his signature hangman’s neck breaker! He covers: one…two…three?

NO! RANDY SAVAGE KICKS OUT! Pillman is at a loss, he cannot believe there is life left in Savage. Randy rises to his knees and asks Pillman ‘is that all you got’ but the fiendish Pillman replies with a boot to the face that puts Savage down! Brian then grabs Savage’s injured arm in the centre of the ring and locks in an arm bar! He is yanking on the arm and Savage is screaming, he is in agony and to the shock of everyone in the audience he has no choice but to give up!

Winner in 14 minutes (18 including pre match), Brian Pillman

As the bell rings Pillman of course doesn’t let go of the hold but the full referee corps is already storming the ring to pull Brian off Randy Savage. Pillman does eventually release the hold and raises his hand in victory at the beating he just gave the injured Savage. Pillman then heads to the back, admiring his handiwork as the medics tend to Savage in the ring. They bring a stretcher out for the Macho Man but Savage is having none of it as he shoves them to the side and using the one good arm he has left he somehow manages to haul himself up on the ropes to his feet and leave the ring under his own power. Schiavone commends Savage’s courage while Heenan reminds Tony that this is the biggest win of Pillman’s career.

Coming soon to WCW…

We then cut to a video package telling us that a brand new division is coming to WCW very soon. It will feature some of the top competitors in the world at what they do and will be unlike any of the other wrestlers in World Champion Wrestling. That’s because a brand new women’s division is launching next month. Featuring top talent frock across Japan and North America the toughest women in pro wrestling will come to WCW to compete to see who just is the best women’s wrestler in the world!

The Giant vs Vader

As we come back from that video Tony Schiavone talks us through a tale of the tape which compares Vader and The Giant’s physical attributes. The Giant outweighs Vader and is nearly a foot taller than him so it could be the mastodon’s toughest challenge yet. Vader’s music hits and the now-popular monster makes his way down the aisle to a good pop as Heenan points out that The Giant has been outdoing all the impressive physical feats Vader has tried in recent weeks. Vader gets in the ring and poses before the lights in the arena darken. Then emerging from the back, to the soundtrack of some particularly menacing music is The Giant. Over seven feet tall and over 500 pounds some of the people in the arena cannot even believe what they are seeing as the big man easily steps over the top rope and goes nose to chest with Vader. After weeks of no physicality it is finally time for these big behemoths to lock horns and here we go! The visual of The Giant already towering over the massive Vader is almost comical but the masked man doesn’t waste long hammering away at The Giant who simply no sells the strikes before clocking Vader with one punch right in the jaw that sends the veteran loopy and he staggers back into the corner. The Giant then grabs Vader and biels him from one side of the ring to the other with ease as the crowd are amazed by this feat. Vader can’t quite believe how easily he was thrown across the ring and briefly retreats to the outside to plot his next move as The Giant stands stoically in the ring.

Vader gets back in and charges at The Giant with a few tackles but the debutant is unmoved and instead just runs over Vader with a big boot. He then grabs Vader and throws him into the corner and proceeds to hit some ungodly chops to his foe’s chest but eventually Vader counters with a kick to the gut! Giant stumbles back and Vader starts unloading more strikes before he bounces against the ropes and goes for a running tackle but Giant grabs him, lifts him up and impressively scoop slams Vader into the canvas! Giant covers his foe: one…two…NO! Vader kicks out but Giant doesn’t let up as he casually walks on Vader, winding his opponent. Giant then grabs Vader by the throat and hauls him to his feet but again the masked man cuts him off, this time with a headbutt that rocks Giant. Vader foolishly tries to end the match with a powerbomb but Giant counters that into a backdrop before he even has the chance to try and lift the big man up. Giant stomps on Vader a few more times while he’s grounded before then going for a running leg drop and executing the move and squashing Vader underneath him! Giant covers: one..two…three?

NO! Vader manages to kick out again! The Giant is getting impatient now and he hauls Vader up once again but Vader stuns his foe with a kick to the knee! He tries to chop the big tree down with multiple stomps to the knee before hitting yet another running tackle that just doesn’t knock the big man over. Vader tries to slam The Giant but he just cannot lift him so Vader changes strategies and whips The Giant into the ropes but on the rebound Giant nails him with a drop kick! Holy s***! Heenan proclaims The Giant is the most athletic big man he’s ever seen as both the fans and Vader are floored by the move. The Giant then hits a leg drop on his foe but instead of covering he signals for the chokeslam. Vader somehow manages to stagger to his feet and in a last act of defiance slaps The Giant in the face. It is irrelevant though as Giant clasps Vader’s throat, hauls the big man up and chokeslams him with authority. Giant hooks the leg: one…two…three!

Winner in eight minutes, The Giant

What a performance from The Giant scoring a huge debut win over Vader. The Giant doesn’t acknowledge the fans or even celebrate the win he simply walks over the top rope and retreats to the back like it was another day in the office for him. Vader is still laid out in the ring as we cut backstage.

Sting speaks

Mean Gene Okerlund is backstage with the WCW United States Champion, Sting who will be defending that gold against Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in a three way match very shortly. Gene asks how Sting feels going into a match where the odds are stacked against him. Sting replies: “Well Gene you should know by now that you can never count out the Stinger! The odds being stacked against me ain’t a problem because I’ve had people coming for me since they day I stepped foot in WCW. Ric Flair and Arn Anderson are some of the best in the world, but I have two things they don’t. Number one: the support of these great fans in Detroit and number two: I have integrity Gene. Because they may claim they’re both on the same page tonight Gene but they are lying through their teeth and I know when push comes to shove they’ll stab each other in the back to get their hands on the United States Championship.”

The fans pop for this as Gene asks about tonight’s main event between his best friend Lex Luger and the WCW Champion Hulk Hogan. “Listen Gene I said all I need to on Nitro - I’m keeping myself out of the picture and all I can hope is that both men play by the rules and try and win the right way. Right now all I care about is beating both Flair and Anderson to retain my United States Championship” Sting then does his signature call to the fans and they respond in kind as we cut back to the arena.

WCW United States Championship: Sting © vs Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson

Dave Penzer is in the ring and first reminds the fans that in this bout there are no disqualifications, no count outs and the first person to score a decision will be the United States Champion. ‘The Enforcer’ Arn Anderson is out first in his signature red gear as the announcers recap that it was 20 man battle royal where Double A refused to take the loss for Ric Flair led to this three way. Speaking of the nature boy Ric Flair is out next and like Double A he is clad in red as the horsemen have laid out their game plan here, take Sting out and let the best man win. The Stinger himself then appears as the US Champion has the belt around his waist and looks to be ready for the fight of his life. Referee Micky Jay holds the title belt up and here we go. Flair and Anderson nod at each other and go for Sting but the champ strikes first and takes the pair out with a double clothesline! Flair and Arn spring to their feet but they get taken out with a double shoulder block before Sting heads to the top rope and beats his chest! The Stinger then flies off the ropes with a cross body but Double A catches him and plants him on the mat with a powerslam. Flair then starts stomping away on the leg of Sting as Arn pounds away on his face as Schiavone bemoans the mugging that his boy Sting is on the end of at the moment. Flair then hauls up Sting and whips him into Double A who goes for an early spinebuster but Sting catches him with a headbutt before whipping The Enforcer into Flair. Sting then grabs Ric and clotheslines him to the floor as the champ tries to even the odds and focus on Arn in the ring.

Sting whips Anderson into the corner and goes for a Stinger splash but Double A moves out of the way and Sting crashes into the turnbuckle. Anderson then hits a back suplex to his opponent and then goes for a quick cover: one…NO! Flair on the outside looks a little miffed that Anderson would go for a cover so soon but he looks past it for now as he gets back in the ring to continue the onslaught versus Sting. The pair hit a double knee drop to Sting before then executing a double vertical suplex to their opponent that is really wearing him down. Flair takes a moment to grandstand for the fans while Double A then places Sting on the top rope. Anderson is directing traffic now as he gets Flair to go on the adjacent turnbuckle. It looking like the setup for a power and glory combo but it all goes wrong as Sting reverses the superplex at the last second, pushing Anderson off the ropes and Flair is already in motion meaning he splashes his stablemate instead! Flair is fuming as he gets to his feet only to be met this time with a successful diving crossbody into a pin! One…two…NO! Flair kicks out but Sting goes to cover the downed Double A: one…two…NO! Anderson kicks out and this title match will continue.

Sting is on a roll here as he whips both Flair and Anderson into opposite corners and follows up with a running clothesline to each of them. He then focuses in on Flair and unleashes a flurry of punches as the fans count along until Anderson intervenes and grabs Sting and sets him for a DDT but the Stingers drives Arn back into the corner and shoulder barges him in the gut a number of times before starting the ten punches on him. Sting can’t catch a break for long however as Flair then grabs him by the leg and delivers a shin breaker to Sting to save Anderson. Ric again goes back to work on that leg and he beckons Anderson over to assist as the pair lift Sting up each by one leg and smash the champ’s knees into the canvas. Flair then looks to lock in the figure four but Sting pushes him away and Flair knocks back into Arn Anderson who is sent into the corner. Sting is hobbling a bit but he whips Flair into the opposite corner and calls to the crowd before charging at each of his opponents with a Stinger Splash to the delight of the crowd. Double A slinks to the outside after taking the move leaving Sting in the ring with Flair and the franchise of WCW wastes no time in hauling Flair up and slamming him into the mat with a gorilla press. Sting isn’t done yet though because he heads to the top turnbuckle and dives off with a big splash. He hits the move and covers Ric: one…two…NO!

Flair kicks out but Sting isn’t done yet, he goes for the Scorpion Deathlock but Flair reverses into a small package: one…two…NO! Sting reverses the momentum into a small package of his own: one…two…three? NO! Arn Anderson is back in the ring and he breaks the pinning predicament up. Double A then grabs Sting and spikes him with a DDT but doesn’t go for the cover yet as he shakes Flair up telling him the job isn’t finished yet. The pair grab Sting and seem to go for a follow-up double DDT but gets out of it and stuns Anderson with a big right hand before whipping Flair into the corner and the nature boy takes his classic bump to the outside. Sting then hits some classic offence to Anderson, first hitting him with the one armed bulldog before nailing him with a drop kick. He then grabs the legs of Double A and locks in the Scorpion Deathlock! He’s wrenching back on Anderson, who looks like he might be on the verge of quitting but in comes Flair who hits an almighty chop to Sting’s chest but the champ just roars in Flair’s face and refuses to break the hold so Ric lives up to his dirtiest player in the game moniker and thumbs Sting right in the the eye to release the hold. Flair then grabs Sting and drags him to the other side of the ring where he locks in the figure four! Sting is in a lot of pain here with his leg already worked over but he’s giving it everything he’s got to persevere through this but then Anderson comes steaming in and covers Sting while he’s in the leglock! One…two…three?

NO! Sting kicks out and breaks the hold! The Stinger is fired up now as he grabs Flair and Arn, who are pissed at each other, and literally bangs their heads together before tossing Flair to the outside! Sting then grabs Arn and hammers away on him before punctuating the strikes with an atomic drop and follows up by hitting Anderson with a bodyslam! Sting beats his chest some more before Flair comes in and absolutely leathers him with a chair shot! It’s all legal in this match. Before Sting goes down Flair whips him into the ropes and launches him at Anderson who executes a beautiful double A spinebuster to the champion before tossing him out of the ring! Well it all comes down to this Arn Anderson and Ric Flair one on one in the ring. Flair still has the chair in hand but he drops it behind him and invites Anderson to lock up to show who the better man is. However before they get a chance BRIAN PILLMAN appears grabs the chair and thwacks Flair in the back! What the hell? Flair crumples to the mat as Pillman hands a conflicted Anderson the chair. Pillman tells Arn to do what is needed and Anderson nods and whacks Flair right over the head with the steel chair as the crowd boo vociferously! Pillman then grabs Flair, whips him into the ropes and Anderson catches him with a spinebuster! He covers Flair as Sting desperately tries to crawl back into the ring to save the match: one…two…three!

Winner in 20 minutes and new WCW United States Champion, Arn Anderson

The fans continue to boo as the commentators realised what we have just seen - Arn Anderson has turned his back on Ric Flair to join up with Brian Pillman. After the bell Brian gets the chair in the ring and places it round Ric’s arm and Anderson stamps on it without hesitation! Sting tries to stop Anderson from doing anymore damage to Flair but Arn wipes him out with the US Championship belt before Pillman throws him out of the ring and to the floor. The duo then leave to a chorus of boos as medics rush to the ring to attend to Flair’s damaged arm. Pillman and Anderson admire their handiwork from the stage as ‘Mean’ Gene appears and asks what the hell is going on. Pillman just laughs as Anderson barges past Okerlund and leaves him hanging as we then switch back to the ring where Sting is coming to and is looking pissed off while medics tend to Flair’s arm. Even for Heenan, Pillman may have gone too far now as we cut to the announcers.

Coming up on Nitro…

Well the big announcement is that Nitro will have a 30 minute overrun tomorrow night on TNT so there’s a 90 minute show on the cards for WCW fans. Schiavone runs down the matches for the show in Dayton Ohio which will see Lord Steven Regal challenge new WCW TV Champion Eddie Guerrero for the title. Plus just confirmed The Giant will make his Nitro debut against Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Also just in two losing champions from tonight will get a shot to get back their belts at World War Three but only if they can beat some winners from tonight’s PPV. So on Nitro Harlem Heat will take on Sabu and Mr JL with a shot at the tag titles on the line while Sting will face Meng with a shot at the WCW US Championship on the line. Plus Brian Pillman and Arn Anderson will be at the show to hopefully explain themselves while we will also see both halves of tonight’s main event in Dayton. Speaking of which, let's hear from Lex Luger and WCW Champion Hulk Hogan.

Luger and Hogan’s final preparations

Mean Gene Okerlund has recorded backstage interviews with both Hogan and Luger asking them the same questions which are now going to be played back to back. Okerlund’s first question is about each man’s strategy heading into this bout. Luger says: “Listen Mean Gene, I’m the total package, I’m a highly strategic competitor and despite all the war of words and fights Hulk and I have had since I got to this company I know how dangerous Hulk Hogan can be, so I’m going to wear him down and use my superior athleticism to tire him out and exhaust him so that when I get him in the torture rack he’ll have no choice but to give in.” We then cut to Hogan’s response and he says: “Well let me tell ya something Mean Gene strategy goes out the window tonight brother because when you’ve got the largest arms in the world dude and when tensions are running as high as they between myself and Lex then the only strategy I need is to go out there and kick his ass!”

Okerlund then asks Lex what it would mean to him to become WCW Champion. Luger says: “Gene it tears me up inside seeing someone like Hogan parade around this company, which prides itself on excellent professional athletes, with that belt. It is a symbol of excellence in this sport and it would mean the world to me to knock Hogan off his perch and reclaim the gold.” Gene asks Hogan about what being WCW Champion means to him and Hulk says: “I’ve held championships all the around the world dude but they were all trinkets compared to the WCW Championship. I’ve been defending this belt for 469 days and I intend to make it to 500 days, 600 days, hell a thousand days because it means the world to me Gene.”

Final question from Okerlund as he asks both men if they can trust their opponent tonight. Lex says: “I don’t trust Hogan one bit Gene but and I’m sorry Stinger, tonight isn’t about trust it's about one thing and one thing only - getting back the WCW Championship.” Hogan responds: “I’ve been saying it since day one Gene Luger is a snake in the grass and I’m gonna have eyes in the back of my head tonight because I know the Hulkamaniacs out there will be on my side and Luger whatcha gonna do when Hulk Hogan and the hulkamaniacs of Detroit run wild on you!”

WCW Championship: Hulk Hogan © vs Lex Luger

Well it has all come down to this and Michael Buffer is in the ring to announce tonight’s main event. Referee Nick Patrick is also standing by as the challenger Lex Luger makes his way down the aisle. He gets a mixed response as the ‘total package’ looks super focused on the task at hand - beat Hulk Hogan. Luger gets in the ring and waits for his opponent and ‘American made’ hits and here comes the Hulkster. The WCW Champion Hulk Hogan confidently strides down the aisle to a mostly positive response as Michael Buffer introduces him in the most grandiose way possible. He gets in the ring and points at Luger in the classic Hogan manner. Referee Patrick raises the WCW Championship above his head and here we go Hogan vs Luger starts now. The two circle each other in the ring and Hogan invites Luger in for a test of strength but instead Lex whacks Hulk in the face with a forearm and tries to hook him up for the torture rack but Hogan counters with some elbows to the back before he and Luger stare each other down as Hulk seems to acknowledge that Lex nearly had him there. Luger smiles and then invites Hogan in for a test of strength but Hulk replies with a punch to the face and follows up with a scoop slam! He goes to bounce off the ropes for a leg drop but Luger has already rolled to the outside and gives Hogan a mocking round of applause as Hulk invites Luger back into the ring.

Rather than obliging Lex grabs the WCW Championship belt and holds it up at ringside and invites Hogan to come and take it from him. Hulk is enraged and goes after Luger who drops the belt and as Hogan charges at him uses the champ’s momentum against him and whips him right into the guard rail! Lex then shoulder tackles Hogan in the gut against the guard rail a few times before grabbing him and throwing him back into the ring. Hulk retreats to the corner to recover but Luger is relentless and flips Hogan around so he can get to work with elbows and kicks to Hulk’s back in the corner. Luger flexes impressively before hitting a Stinger splash to Hulk’s back in the corner. Lex then slams Hulk down onto the mat and covers: one…two…NO! A confident enough kick out from Hogan but its Luger who is in control of this situation. As Hogan sits up Lex relentless knees Hulk in the back before going for a running forearm to the back but Hogan ducks and Lex almost hits the ref but pulls up short. This gives Hogan time to get back to his feet and unleash some strikes to Lex before trying for a scoop slam but his damaged back means he takes too long to do so and Lex gets out Hogan’s clutches. Luger then hits a back breaker before leaving Hogan over his knee and driving his knee into the spine of Hulk to great effect. Lex then grabs Hogan and locks in a bear hum putting more and more pressure on the back of the champion. He really squeezes Hogan as the champ looks in deep trouble here as the ref asks if he wants to submit but Hulk yells ‘no’ and this seems to fire up Hogan who eventually starts elbowing his way out of the submission and finally breaking the hold with an elbow to Luger’s face!

Now it’s time to Hulk up because Hogan is feeling and a good portion of the crowd are too. He threateningly points at Lex before decking him with a clothesline, then with another before punctuating the offence with a big boot that has Luger staggering around the ring. Hulk then grabs Lex, scoop slams him to the mat and signals for it as the crowd reach a fever pitch. He goes for the leg drop - but Luger rolls out of the way so Hulk crashes and burns! Lex then gets to his feet and hauls Hogan up for a huge running powerslam! Lex covers: one…two…NO! Hulk manages to kick out but now Luger has seen enough he’s signalling for the torture rack which the fans are popping for! He goes to lift Hogan up for the rack but Hulk again slips out behind him and waffles him in the back of the head with an elbow. Hogan then whips Luger into the ropes, delivers the big boot, signals for it and lands the big leg drop! But on impact Hogan instantly grasps onto his back and he can’t make the immediate cover due to the injury. Eventually Hulk manages to crawl over to Lex and make the cover: one…two…three?

NO! That delay has cost Hogan and Luger just manages to kick out before the three count. Hulk struggles to his feet clutching his back as Lex also gets back up to his and the two start exchanging haymakers back and forth as the crowd boos and cheers are fairly balanced between the two. Luger seems to have the advantage in the exchange and as Hogan looks out on his feet he picks the Hulkster up and hooks him in the torture rack! He synches the hold in and in desperation to get out of it Hogan is flailing desperately. Luger turns with Hogan still on his shoulder and one of Hulk’s flailing boots catches referee Nick Patrick in the face - sending him down to the canvas. Luger still has the hold in but realising Hogan has no one to give up to he eventually just slams Hogan down onto the mat. Lex looks around thinking about what to do next and out of the corner of his eye he sees the WCW Championship belt which he dropped way earlier in the match is still on the floor. Luger then goes to the floor and retrieves the belt as the fans boo! Back in the ring Hogan is stirring and Luger is preparing to take with the championship belt. As Hogan gets to one knee Lex looks to charge at him but he stops himself! With a look of regret Luger lets out a scream and dumps the belt back to the outside knowing that wouldn’t be the right thing to do. Hogan has staggered back to both feet now as Nick Patrick has also started to rouse and Luger looks to deliver the killshot in the form of a running flying fore arm but instead he is caught with a big boot! This sends Luger reeling but doesn’t knock him down so Hogan clocks him with a second big boot that sends Lex down to the canvas! Hogan signals for it, runs and drops the leg on Luger! He manages to drape an arm over Lex for the cover: one…two…three!

Winner in 17 minutes and still WCW Champion, Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan has done it his gargantuan championship reign will roll on. He holds the belt high above his head and hot dogs for the fans as the announcers praise this fantastic contest. Luger comes to and looks regretful in the corner as Hogan celebrates with his belt. Schiavone and Heenan sign off on this edition of Halloween Havoc by plugging Nitro tomorrow night live on TNT.



Card for WCW Nitro #9 October 30th 1995
90 minute special live from the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio

US Championship #1 Contenders Match: Sting vs Meng

Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Match: Harlem Heat vs Sabu and Mr JL

WCW Television Championship: Eddie Guerrero © vs Lord Steven Regal

Nitro Debut: The Giant vs ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan


Card for WCW World War 3 November November 26th 1995
Live from the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia

30 Man World War 3 Match for a shot at the WCW Championship at Starrace 1995 (competitors to be announced)

WCW United States Championship: Arn Anderson © vs Sting OR Meng

WCW Tag Team Championship: The Radicals © vs Harlem Heat OR Sabu and Mr JL


Prediction Scores:

Roy Mustang: 5/8
Dubb: 4/8
KingBoggs: 3/8
Stojy: 3/8