WCW Nitro 9-11-95 - Episode 2

Nitro's opening has held up nicely. They cut from that to an overhead shot of MIAMI! Bischoff hypes up THE MATCH OF THE CENTURY between Hogan and Luger, and the debut of Sabu! Mongo talks about THIS BEING THE BIGGEST THING SINCE THE OLD LADY WHO SAID WHERE'S THE BEEF - IT'S IN THE WCW! Luger-Hogan recap - it's weird seeing parts of the footage get all weird since they used to be cut off by CRT TV siding. Bischoff says Vader is AWOL and won't be at Fall Brawl. The Nitro set debuts here, and it also ages nicely. Sabu's got one of those generic WCW themes they'd rotate for random goobers - yargh. Bischoff talks about The Sheik being Sabu's uncle, and Mongo seemed to know him, or he confused him for the Iron Sheik. The ring skirt has NITRO in black with a rectangular cutout and some lights behind it - it's a great look. Bischoff calls a somersault plancha a moonsault. Air Sabu off the chair into the guardrail misses.

Mongo keeps calling Sabu a little fullback. Sabu does his pose and eats a flying dropkick from Wright. Nice over the top dive from Wright - far smoother than Sabu's stuff. Wright gets a superplex off the top! They screw up something and do a whip into the buckle setting up a flying leg attack from Sabu. German suplex gets 2 for Wright.  A sloppy super victory roll gets the win for Sabu. Wright looked so so so so so much better than Sabu here. Sabu gets no music for the win and Wright gets beaten up some more, culminating in a shitty dive through a table with Wright just standing there - so Sabu drove himself through it. Sabu gets DQed for it, and Bischoff compares it to ATTEMPTED MANSLAUGHTER. So yeah, this was a fail all the way around.

Sting-Wallstreet is next, BUT FIRST Mean Gene talks to Flair. Ric's looking dapper in a nice suit. Flair talks about football for a bit. Luger's out in his WCW black and white getup. Flair rattles off his stats in such a way that Vince would be overjoyed. Boy was Luger coming out a bit random. Bischoff talks about THE BIG ONE ON PPV. How can it be the big one if THE MATCH OF THE CENTURY is on this show? Heenan says he doesn't know who to cheer for between Flair and Arn. Michael Wallstreet is now VK Wallstreet, leading to Eric asking what's up with the name change. Wallstreet gets a U.S. Title shot. Bischoff talks about IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE CHANNEL, DON'T BOTHER - SHAWN MICHAELS BEATS THE BIG GUY WITH A SUPERKICK AND THEIR SHOW IS 2-3 WEEKS OLD! Sting's shiny jacket is something else. Wallstreet's got a giant black singlet and GIGANTIC gold dollar signs on the side. Sting whips him into the buckle leading to him bailing tot he floor. Just what Wallstreet needs - stalling. Bischoff talks about how Luger was wrestling for the WWF 9 days ago, and now he wants the WCW World Title. Mongo says he left the bush leagues for the majors. This is ballsy, but hey, the show needed to make its mark early - it was new and needed to be daring. Even in this rather nothing match, they're making you want to keep watching to hear what they'll say next. VK gets a back elbow and then some elbow drops. Sting counters the Samoan drop with a sunset flip for 2. Sting gets a knee to the back, a Stinger splash, and wins with a flying crossbody - I don't recall that ever getting a win for him, so this was nice to see. Savage-Norton is next.


They run down Saturday Night's card - its graphics haven't aged well. Norton's got a pretty badass theme that sounds a bit like Ambrose's, but it's better. Norton jumps Savage when he's got his jacket on. Norton is just tossing him around - this is a really smart way to debut a guy. Norton a bump over the top off a lariat. Double sledge off the top to the floor. Norton catches him doing it mid-ring and gets a bearhug. Savage is fantastic as the face in peril here. Norton does a double backbreaker like it's nothing, and then gets a sloppy press slam. Norton gets a powerslam for 2.9. Draping DDT from Norton. Savage sidesteps the flying shoulderblock ala Hogan-Warrior! Knee to the back sets up the corner punches and the Dungeon of Doom comes down. Shark gets dropped on Norton's legs setting up the flying elbow...um, WHY WASN'T THAT A DQ!? Taskmaster has a wacky stick with him. Hogan-Luger is next.

Luger gets a nice light and pyro display and they show it from behind is back, so it looks amazing! Hogan's WCW theme really is fantastic - it's a blatant Real American-ish song, but nowhere near as blatant as Honky Tonk's theme. Mongo and Heenan talk about football. HOGAN OUTWRESTLES LUGER and gets a half-nelson! This match is so weird to see - you've got Hogan facing what the WWF was hoping would be his replacement. Luger no-sells Hogan, so Hogan no-sells Luger. The commentators talk about EACH OF THESE MEN HAVING FRIENDS. WHAT NOW!? Bischoff says that Luger's struggling against Hogan because THE WWF'S CHAMPION BARELY MADE IT ABOVE MID-LEVEL IN WCW! What a burial of Diesel, who would ironically help WCW in mere months. LUGER GETS THE RACK and seemingly wins, but the ref waves it off. Hogan comeback. BIG LEG, Dungeon of Doom comes out. Hogan gets beaten down, but not Luger. Gene talks about how Hogan's team is down a guy, and Luger can't be trusted brother! Sting knows Luger and vouches for him. They're getting some terrible feedback on the mic, and Sting wants Luger on the team. Savage talks about Jimmy not getting hit either, and Jimmy says he got Sting and Savage to come help. I like this - nice, simple, logical storytelling. Hogan makes the deciding call to put Luger on the team. Luger gets to be on the team, but wants a title shot - smart guy. Badd faces Mr. Wonderful next week, and the Males COULD DEBUT. This, like the first show, was a super-easy watch.

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