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WWE’s Greatest Moments Season 3 Episode 5
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00:01Welcome to WCW Monday Nitro!
00:05Live, cutting edge, controversial.
00:09This is where the big boys play, huh?
00:12The program that fired the first shots of the Monday night ratings rule.
00:16We've got a new champion!
00:18Monday Nitro was the preeminent showcase for WCW stars.
00:22It played host to many of the most unpredictable, chaotic moments in WCW history.
00:28You want a war?
00:29Today, we look back on some of the wildest hits of WCW Monday Nitro.
00:35This is WWE's Greatest Moments.
00:39Here's your son of a man!
00:42Oh my God, what the hell are you doing?
00:46Absolutely unbelievable!
00:47Welcome, baby, out of history.
00:55Welcome, everyone, to WWE's Greatest Moments.
00:58I'm Michael Cole.
00:59And on this edition, we're taking a look at the show that began a war.
01:03The Monday Night War, that is.
01:05For two years, WWE dominated Mondays with their barrier-breaking program Monday Night Raw.
01:11The very first primetime wrestling show ever.
01:15But in the fall of 1995, their unopposed reign atop Monday nights was threatened.
01:21WCW announced plans for their very own live wrestling show, Monday Nitro.
01:25And why I wanted to go up against the competition?
01:28Because I like kicking butt.
01:30With such a brass announcement, WCW knew that it had to hit a home run with the debut edition.
01:35And boy, was that an understatement.
01:41Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Mall of America.
01:45The only building big enough to hold the debut edition of WCW Monday Nitro.
01:54At that time, WWE was live one week, taped the next.
01:58So I thought, somebody needs to do live every week?
02:02That's gonna be me.
02:03So much going on here in World Championship Wrestling WCW, where the big boys play.
02:09The first time I heard about Nitro going head-to-head with us, I thought they were crazy.
02:13We're gonna compete. Let's go. We're in a fight. Let's go fight.
02:17The one thing that I took away from all the research we did across the country,
02:20was that fans like surprises.
02:24What in the hell is he doing here?
02:27I was the surprise guy at the very end walking out.
02:31I just wrestled that weekend with WWE.
02:35It really helped set us up for great success, because there was already controversy.
02:41Well, you said things were gonna happen every Monday night, Bishop, and it's happening.
02:49In the mid-1990s, Alundra Blaze was the premier female talent in WWE.
02:55What a competitor, what an athlete, and what a fine young lady.
02:59But Alundra would leave WWE to join the rival WCW as her previous alias, Medusa.
03:08While she may have left behind the Alundra Blaze moniker, Medusa made sure not to leave behind something else.
03:23Some things happened within the company.
03:26Vince made a decision, Alundra, we've gotta let you go.
03:29She let me know that she was leaving WWE.
03:32And she said, oh, by the way, I still have the WWE Women's Championship.
03:38Hmm, I said to myself, bring it with, we'll figure it out.
03:45This is the WWF Women's Championship belt.
03:49Whoa.
03:51Wait a minute, what?
03:53Look.
03:58That's your lead, it is.
03:59A trash can.
04:00When I made the decision to drop the title in the trash can, it was an iconic moment.
04:06It started the Monday Night War.
04:08This is where the big boys play, and now this is where the big girls play.
04:13It was very personal to us, and it was clearly a decision, you know, to try to divide the audience.
04:19And they were successful.
04:20I'll tell you what, I'm in shock.
04:22Oh, I can't believe you dropped the Women's Championship in the garbage.
04:27Sure did.
04:28Wanted to make a statement.
04:30It was a big moment.
04:34Sting was one of the most beloved superstars in WCW history.
04:38With all American nature, Sting appealed to fans around the globe, cementing himself as WCW's main event hero.
04:46One, two, three!
04:49Oh, he got a new champion!
04:52But in 1996, Sting ditched the bleached blonde hair and signature scream for a more dark, ominous look.
05:01Among sold out crowds for Nitro each week, Sting would often be seen hanging from the rafters,
05:07quietly observing the actions of his foes, the New World Order.
05:11Somewhere here in the arena, there is Sting!
05:15As week in and week out, they'd threaten the existence of WCW, the company that Sting helped build.
05:22But in January 1997, Sting ditched the rafters for the ring, in a moment that shocked fans around the world.
05:32He's got a chair and he's daring anybody!
05:35It's gonna take either a mass physical effort to get this show going here.
05:42What do we have here?
05:44What do we have here?
05:45That's Sting!
05:47From the top of the United Center!
05:49When Sting dropped down the very first time on Nitro, it had never been attempted before.
05:55And we had a stunt coordinator that was working with us.
05:57It's like the Venom!
05:59People went crazy because they'd been up there for 15 weeks before that.
06:02I focused on being different than the WWE in as many ways as possible.
06:07To have him come down, something new in the business.
06:11Just kind of like this lone wolf vigilante guy that came out and you never knew what was gonna happen.
06:16Talk about a game of chess!
06:18Sting kind of repelling down from out of nowhere was just really consistent with the way I saw that character.
06:23That's when WCW stopped thinking wrestling and started thinking entertainment.
06:2820 stories up!
06:30That was quite a shock.
06:33Dennis Rodman is perhaps the most colorful, enigmatic star in NBA history.
06:39With his unique look at unbridled charisma, the worm was right at home in professional wrestling.
06:45The newest member of the NWO.
06:48Known for marching to the beat of his own drum,
06:50Rodman's off-court activities often took precedence over basketball.
06:54And in 1998, while firmly entrenched with his Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals,
07:00Rodman found himself wrestling with something other than basketball.
07:07The world champion, Hollywood Hogan!
07:10And would you?
07:11Dennis Rodman is here at the Palace of Auburn Hills tonight for Nitro.
07:15Dennis called me and said, hey, I can be at Nitro Monday, do you want me to come?
07:19I didn't even think to ask him if he had a game or not.
07:22I'm feeling nothing but love for Hollywood and Rodzilla!
07:29I missed practice and go to Detroit and go in the ring with Hulk Hogan.
07:33I think a lot of people sort of really dig what I was doing.
07:36You have no choice but to love me, right?
07:39Yeah!
07:40I said, wow, this guy's just not a basketball player.
07:42He's just an all-around entertainer, period.
07:45With Rodzilla in the house, there will be no stopping NWO Hollywood.
07:52Dennis Rodman brought so many eyes to WCW, he was fully invested.
07:57This is full life, baby.
07:59You know, I got a bunch of calls from Phil Jackson.
08:01Oh, we need him here at practice.
08:03I can't make him go back, he doesn't want to go.
08:05He likes hanging out with the wrestlers.
08:06You gotta love this, this is life, right?
08:08Full life, forever, baby.
08:10I knew that the sports media followed his every move.
08:12And I would get advertising, quite frankly, that I couldn't afford to buy at that time.
08:16Big news has been Dennis Rodman.
08:17On Monday, he didn't show up for work.
08:20Everything's fine.
08:21Did you have a good time this year?
08:22Absolutely, I always do.
08:23And we did.
08:24Boy, didn't we ever.
08:25It worked out perfectly.
08:26There are some things worth missing practice for, brother.
08:32By late 1997, the Monday Night War was in full swing.
08:36And both WWE and WCW pulled no punches in trying to outdo the others for raiding supremacy.
08:43I have built the most successful wrestling organization on planet Earth.
08:50Case in point, Eric Bischoff, executive producer of WCW, sought to use the fact that Monday Night Raw
08:56Raw was a taped show to his advantage.
08:59WCW would often announce the results of the taped Raw episodes in an effort to humiliate WWE.
09:06Later tonight, Mick Foley is gonna win their world title.
09:09Oh, he's gonna put some butts in the seat.
09:13With similar intent, in November 1997, WCW had fans seen double.
09:22That's Rick Rude.
09:23It's time for the Generation X.
09:28Let's bring out the man.
09:32What's he pointing out here?
09:33Who's this?
09:34I don't know, I guess.
09:35Oh, holy smokes!
09:37Rick Rude?
09:39Because Monday Night Raw was taped one week, live the next week, Rick happened to be on
09:44a taped episode of Raw that went head-to-head with my live show.
09:48The other country of the Generation X assaulting the commissioner.
09:53It's funny because he was like, he's gonna be on both shows.
09:56As our show is taped, the word is, he's gonna show up live on their show, right?
09:59Oh, what a difference a day makes!
10:03Sometimes in war you think nothing's crossing the line, but I thought that was a low one.
10:08And it was obvious to me to abandon the Titanic and swim to the refuge of the NWO.
10:17It really represented the peak of the competition between WCW and WWE at that time.
10:24It's what you call taking the bull by the horns.
10:30I began with WWE in 1997, right in the middle of the famed 83 weeks,
10:37where the revolutionary concepts on Nitro were beating Raw in the ratings on a weekly basis.
10:43Due in no small part to when Eric Bischoff created the NWO,
10:48an outlaw group that was attempting to take over WCW.
10:52But one man refused the NWO's advances at every turn.
10:55The master of the diamond cutter, Diamond Dallas Page.
11:00NWO member Macho Man Randy Savage took DDP's refusal personally,
11:05sought to make his life a living hell.
11:09spray painting NWO on the back of Diamond Dallas Page.
11:14On July 7th, 1997, the Macho Man took on the luchador La Parca.
11:19Up south of the border in Mexico, La Parca.
11:22And what was supposed to be a tune-up match, but became anything but.
11:29La Parca, he must face a member of the NWO in the Macho Man Randy Savage.
11:36We're all just under the impression that this is La Parca doing his thing, wrestling the whole match.
11:41One, two, how about that roll up by La Parca.
11:44They take me and La Parca.
11:46I start talking like, teach me how you do your gimmick.
11:51It was so much fun just going back and forth with him.
11:53And no one knew about this.
11:56Did you see that?
11:57That's not in La Parca's arsenal.
11:59That's not something he does.
12:02Incredible!
12:02He hit him in the diamond cutter!
12:04Did you see that?
12:05That's not La Parca!
12:06That's not La Parca!
12:07That's not La Parca!
12:07DDP!
12:09He did such a good job when the audience assumed it was La Parca.
12:13I just know I loved it.
12:14And it paid off so well.
12:16That is incredible!
12:18He pinned him!
12:20Diamond Dallas!
12:23Throughout 1998, Goldberg was an unstoppable force in WCW.
12:28The phenomenon that is Bill Goldberg.
12:32He piled up wins with relative ease by utilizing the most vicious move in his arsenal.
12:38There's a spear!
12:39But new on the WCW scene was former five-time WWE Champion.
12:45The hitman heart has arrived to Nitro!
12:49The hitman no doubt did his homework on the medicine Goldberg.
12:52I could beat Goldberg in five minutes.
12:55He was physically outmatched, sure.
12:58But mentally?
13:03I came to the WCW to prove that I can execute any wrestler I want, anytime I want.
13:11During that time period when I went to WCW, it was a goal, an opportunity for me.
13:17William Goldberg!
13:19You big chicken!
13:20Come out here and fight me!
13:23And here's Goldberg, right?
13:25How you can take on a guy like that?
13:26He was a beast!
13:29Whoa!
13:30Oh!
13:30He nailed him!
13:32Wait a minute!
13:33Bret Hart is down and out!
13:35So is Goldberg!
13:35Goldberg is not moving either!
13:37What doesn't do the damage that it should do?
13:39What's happening here?
13:41Bret Hart is the only one moving here!
13:43Goldberg was such a monster.
13:45He hit you with that spear, you were stud.
13:48We don't see Goldberg in that position too often.
13:51He's gonna try to pin one, two, three!
13:56Oh!
13:56Oh!
13:57That's probably the best defense for the spear that we've ever seen!
14:02That's when I realized that it was really like the Wild Wild West.
14:06You can go ahead and respect that!
14:10When Lex Luger ignited the Monday Night War on the debut edition of Nitro in 1995, he was looking for
14:16opportunity.
14:18Unfortunately, several months later, at Bash at the Beach, the New World Order was formed.
14:22And from that point on, the NWO ran the industry, with Hollywood Hogan having a stranglehold on the WCW World
14:30Championship.
14:31Who is the most powerful man in professional wrestling?
14:36And I'm gonna slap you up in the rack and become the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion!
14:41The total package vowed to help put an end to Hogan's tyrannical reign as champion.
14:50We are awaiting one of the biggest, if not the biggest, matchup ever on Nitro!
14:56Hogan was the champ, but by the time we got to Auburn Hills, Lex, he's red hot.
15:00He will go after the man who has set the standard for world titles in our sport, Hulk Hogan!
15:06Here we go, on the 100th program of Nitro.
15:10What impact, the running clothesline in the corner!
15:13NWO just ran roughshod over everybody, no one thought they were ever gonna be stopped.
15:17Think of the attributes it takes to become a champion, both of them have it right there!
15:23People come to you all the time, I was there that night, man, it was unbelievable!
15:26Hogan on the attack!
15:28Oh!
15:28There's his leg drop!
15:29That's it!
15:30That's it!
15:31Cover one, two, and he kicked out!
15:34The audience liked the idea of surprises.
15:40Got him now!
15:41They're standing in Detroit!
15:42Yes!
15:44He's got him in the rack!
15:46He's got him in the rack!
15:47Hogan says yes!
15:48Hogan says yes!
15:48Hogan says yes!
15:49Look at him tamp out!
15:50Luger won the title!
15:51Luger won the title!
15:53That roof came off that place, because they never expected to see Hogan, who was in a title
15:58match on a live TV.
16:00It is celebration time in the Motor City!
16:03The guys were really truly excited, because we got left laying for over a year, so finally
16:08we had a night to celebrate.
16:10It was all based on keeping the audience off balance and surprising them as often as we
16:15could.
16:16WCW is at its strongest point.
16:21During the new generation era of WWE, one of the most popular superstars was the bad
16:27guy, Razor Ramon.
16:30Say hello to Razor Ramon.
16:33Oozing machismo, Razor was a major WWE superstar in the mid-90s, capturing the Intercontinental Championship
16:41and then record four times.
16:43Nobody beats the bad guy.
16:47But in May 1996, Ramon suddenly disappeared from WWE TV.
16:52What happened next sent shockwaves throughout the professional wrestling business.
17:00Welcome back live to the first hour of this edition of WCW Monday Nitro on TNT.
17:06Wait a minute, what the hell was going on here?
17:09Scott Hall became available.
17:11Now the idea is starting to frame in my head.
17:14It comes down through the crowd.
17:16Hmm, audiences are used to seeing that.
17:19When you present them with things that they haven't seen before, they automatically assume
17:26it must be real.
17:28I'm a little skeptical.
17:30I mean, I've just left WWE.
17:32You people, you know who I am.
17:38But you don't know why I'm here.
17:43Scott was a real linchpin to taking that moment I had with Nitro to a whole new level.
17:49You want a war?
17:51You're gonna get one.
17:53People thought Vince sent me there.
17:55That's the only reason it worked.
17:58Everybody was in shock and awe.
18:00Things had just got bigger.
18:06It's now time for our number one moment.
18:08From the moment that Goldberg burst onto the scene in WCW,
18:12he displayed a hard-hitting style that immediately grabbed your attention.
18:18Who's next?
18:19As months wore on, it became apparent that Goldberg was destined to be on a collision course
18:24with the leader of the NWO and WCW world champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
18:30Goldberg ain't nobody.
18:32He's not in the same league as Hollywood.
18:35On the July 6th, 1998 edition of Nitro, in front of a sold-out Georgia Dome,
18:41Goldberg finally got his crack at Hogan and the championship.
18:47Nitro, it's on the air!
18:58What I remember most is how big and how pivotal of a moment that was for WCW.
19:04There was a little bit of discussion whether or not we wanted to do it on a pay-per-view,
19:08but we're in the television business, we're not in the pay-per-view business,
19:12so it was just a perfect setup.
19:14And it could be the night where Goldberg walks away with the goal
19:17from arguably the greatest champion our sport has ever had in Hollywood Hogan.
19:23If I'm gonna be the bad guy, we need another Hulk Hogan.
19:30It's about being in the right place at the right time.
19:33He's got him on!
19:39One, two, three!
19:42Thank you, thank you!
19:47Hulk passing the torch was huge.
19:49Hogan put me over in front of 45,000 people.
19:53I mean, what a cool deal that was.
19:55That match helped re-establish us.
19:58It was magic.
20:00It's been a night that we will never forget.
20:04That win was a true passing of the torch moment
20:06and signaled to the professional wrestling world
20:08that Goldberg was an unstoppable force
20:11and ready to be its number one entity.
20:13In 2001, the final Nitro aired as WCW closed its doors for good.
20:18But in six short years,
20:20Nitro packed a lifetime of memorable moments
20:23that will never be forgotten.
20:26Revolutionary.
20:27Transformative.
20:29Nitro tore down the status quo
20:30and dared to challenge the mighty WWE
20:34and did just that.
20:36Well, that'll do it for this edition of WWE's Greatest Moments.
20:39I hope you've enjoyed this look back at the very best
20:42of WCW Monday Nitro.
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