We get photos of what happened at GAB to Eric Bischoff. Wait. We got video earlier, but we don’t see the video of the powerbomb through the table? The hell. We get more stills from the tag team match between Mongo/Greene and Flair/Arn, and the Benoit/Sullivan match.
Down to the entranceway we go as Mean Gene interviews Rey Mysterio Jr. Man, it’s weird to see Rey Mysterio without all those tattoos. He cuts a promo on Malenko, then cuts a promo in Spanish. Since I don’t speak Spanish, I’m going to assume he said he liked cheese and bacon. Why? I dunno. I want to see if anyone catches this.
Match Six: Rey Mysterio vs. Dean Malenko© for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Huh. Mysterio has that half mask he wears now. I never knew that he wore that in WCW.
Malenko works over Mysterio's midsection for the majority of this eleven minute contest. Mysterio is able to hit a few springboard moves, including a moonsault and hurricarana (the latter with Malenko on the arena floor.) However, Malenko is able to stay in control and wins with a reverse DDT.
Winner, and STILL WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Dean Malenko
Excellent TV match that got eleven minutes. Not as good as their PPV match, but still a good watch. ***¾
Main Event: Scott Steiner vs. The Giant© w/Jimmy Hart for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Steiner with taped ribs after what happened to him earlier. Giant works over Steiner’s ribs. Steiner tries to pick up Giant and suplex him throughout the match but to no avail. Giant goes to the outside and gets a wooden chair to use, but Steiner is slowly gaining steam. Steiner hit’s a suplex on the Giant, and the crowd gives a massive pop for that move. Steiner grabs the wooden chair, Hart is in, but Steiner pushes him away. Steiner hit’s the Giant with the chair. It breaks and Giant no sells it. Chokeslam and Giant wins.
Winner, and STILL WCW World Heavyweight Champion: The Giant
Alright main event. The suplex spot was definitely amazing to see. **
We’re back from a commercial, and we have the drawing for who will fight the Outsiders and their partner at Bash at the Beach. The six men in consideration to go against the Outsiders are Hulk Hogan, Giant, Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Sting, and Savage. The three men drawn to face the Outsiders are none other than Lex Luger, Randy Savage, and Sting. Heenan and Tony hype up what they heard as Nitro ends.
A bit of a bag of mixed nuts for Nitro. Some good matches, some relatively poor matches, though the biggest storyline is definitely the Outsiders and what they did to Bischoff at Great American Bash. We know who’s going against them, but who’s their third man? Will we find out on Nitro next week? What was going out back as Nitro went off the air many shows back? Why haven’t we heard anything about that? Oh well. 7/10
TV Rating: 3.4. This is the start of the streak. 80+ weeks of WCW Nitro beating WWF Raw started with this show. It’s going to be a fun ride.
Other Nitro Notes
1. Quote of the Show: “We’re going to take you somewhere we have never been before on WCW PPV Televeion; to the bathroom!” - Tony Schiavone, on the Benoit/Sullivan brawl.
2. Despite being the heels, the fans really eat up what the Horsemen say. I guess in their feud against DoD, they are the faces.
3. It sucks to see Rey Mysterio now when he was arguably one of the best performers in the WCW at this point in time. He has definitely lost a lot of his ability to move around the ring. Guess that’s what happens when you have to get surgery on your knee five times.
4. Also, Bash at the Beach 1996. Who's interested? I might be holding it Wednesday night if people want to watch one of the biggest WCW PPVs ever... though I'm starting to wonder..
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The Miz: Well, the Green Bay Packers aren't going to the Superbowl! The Miz's attempt to gain cheap heat from the Green Bay crowd. Three months later...