I'm interested where we go as we head into 1996, a year of prosperous growth for the company with the obvious and infamous Hostile Takeover, leading to the nWo. With how things have changed, I am incredibly curious where we go, especially with Scott Hall in a position to be on the long-term chase for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
I think it's safe to say that you may already be looking at Brian Pillman turning on Ric Flair down the line. I think it might be the rivalry that would put him on the map, too. That is, of course, should you decide against letting him go to ECW and WWF a la what Eric Bischoff did. Gotta work everyone, brother! Realistically, though, a Pillman and Flair rivalry could be the keys to the kingdom that Pillman needs to be taken as a viable headliner in WCW.
I was happy to see the Blue Bloods get some shine in their WCW World Tag Team Championship shot at the Road Warriors, but of course Hawk and Animal got the win. I'm curious if the Steiner Brothers will be returning soon, or whether Harlem Heat will come back for revenge on their former manager Sister Sherri.
I found the entire World Cup of Wrestling gimmick bizarre when watching Starrcade 1995 a few weeks ago. There was little build, then zero follow-up. Just all-round strange booking, so I'm glad to see the contingent from New Japan Pro Wrestling appear on this Nitro. I think the Great Muta belongs as a babyface, and I really liked the split from Sonny Oono. You have a natural rivalry with Oono's chequebook of contacts from overseas with this. Not a bad decision to bring back Too Cold Scorpio either, hopefully it's a better run than what Flash Funk afforded him.
Beautiful stuff with Brian Pillman's betrayal of the Four Horsemen. He's acting absolutely crazy, but it works in the framework of the storyline. It's like you've decided against "working the boys" and decided to work the crowd. You know. The ones who really matter. Anyway, I do think it's interesting you slotted Eddie Guerrero with Dean Malenko in the Horsemen over Chris Benoit. I'm not sure if Eddie truly fits the style of the Horsemen as well, however.
Fascinating super-push opportunity for Alex Wright, who was a sex symbol to a lot of younger women at the time. It's really a shame how his career panned out in WCW, considering he more than has age on his side at this juncture. It's obvious Randy Savage will be leaving with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, but I'm on board with this as a match for the title. A main event? Hmm, indecisive.
Koji Kanemoto getting the win over Too Cold Scorpio just made sense, but it was nice to see the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship make an appearance. I just hope it isn't a long-term thing where we see New Japan Pro Wrestling titles defended here. I'm not sure if they'd be appearing full-time. Speaking of, I'm surprised you elected to not splice in some sort of angle to set up the Tokyo Dome show in a few weeks. God bless Jerry Lynn, but he's got to escape the Mr. JL alter ego. I suspect the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship is months away.
I'm sure the New Year's Day edition of Nitro will be a big one. I could see it as a viable new beginning for the product. WCW Saturday Night looks cool, I always liked the look of the line-ups on paper when they reeled them off. Just wish they were available to watch on the WWE Network.
Very true to Sting promo. I find the discourse with Johnny B. Badd very interesting. I just hope it leads to a more serious change in B. Badd's persona. Also makes me curious what his future might be, should he not leave in March and head to the WWF. I hear his wife is a hell of a character...
Solid main event that was effective in Randy Savage retaining the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The Dungeon of Doom under his leadership is a very interesting concept. Was very happy to see the Great Muta emerge as his next potential challenger, but I'm now very interested in how this will play out. Politically, a match pitting World Champion against IWGP Heavyweight Champion is really tricky. I suspect either a draw or other non-finish may be the way to go. Sting coming to his old friend/rival's aid was also a nice touch. Has Sting had a shot of his own at Savage yet? I suspect from the mentioning that Hulk Hogan will be returning in the distant future.
Overall, not a bad fallout show from Starrcade. I think the next few weeks following the Holiday season will be more interesting and indicative of the proper direction as we head into 1996.
