WCW 1995: Let's start a war!

[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