The Importance Of… 6.12.09: Monday Nitro

MONDAY NITRO
　

Last week, I discussed the importance of Raw, and went so far as to declare it the most important wrestling show of all time. I stand by that assertion, but there is little question that Raw would not have been Raw had it not been for WCW Monday Nitro. For nearly six years, Nitro was in direct competition with Raw, and, for an extended period, Nitro was decisively ahead in the ratings war. Perhaps more notably, Nitro went a long way toward revolutionizing the business, creating a different product and pushing the WWF to do the same. If Raw is the most important show in wrestling history, there is little doubt that Nitro is number two.

From the very first episode of Nitro, WCW established that this show was going to be something different. While the match line-up was far from PPV quality, it did feature a number of big names, with scheduled confrontations between Sting and Ric Flair, and Hulk Hogan and Big Bubba Rogers. The real star of the show, though, was Lex Luger. Just days earlier, Luger had been wrestling in WWF, and yet, on this premiere, Luger strolled out from behind the curtain, quietly making a huge return that established that anything could happen on Monday Nitro.

LEX LUGER
　

Luger’s surprise appearance underscored two of Nitro’s most notable attributes— the benefits of live TV, and unexpected signings of WWF talent. WCW took advantage of being live every week by regularly giving away the results to the WWF’s taped shows. Prior to Nitro, it was unheard of for a national wrestling promotion to even acknowledge another promotion’s existence, much less set itself up in direct competition to it. Ted Turner and the WCW powers that be set themselves up for this kind of conflict in scheduling the show opposite Raw. Each time Eric Bischoff or Tony Schiavone read off WWF results, it was much to the dismay of the competition, and to wrestling traditionalists in general, who may have been flipping back and forth between the shows, or taping one and watching the other. WCW may have never made better use of live TV, though, than when it came to the debut of Rick Rude. When Rude made his first appearance on Nitro, it was just days after his last WWF appearance—close enough to appear on the taped Raw and live Nitro on the very same night. These duel appearances made a strong statement about the WWF being one step behind WCW at the time. Stronger yet was the statement WCW made with the return of Madusa, who had been wrestling as Alundra Blayze in WWF. Madusa brought the WWF women’s championship with her, and, in a famous incident, dropped it in a garbage can on Nitro.

THE OUTSIDERS
　

When it came to signing away WWF talent, though, no moves were bigger than the acquisition of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Like so many of WCW’s sign-aways, Hall debuted without any prior announcement. He stalked to the ring, openly announcing the obvious—that fan’s knew who he was, but didn’t know why he was there. When Hall was joined by Nash, and the two recent WWF stars declared war on WCW, it created a real illusion that the WWF was the invading party. This would kick start one of the hottest angles in wrestling history, in the emergence of the New World Order. With Hall and Nash backing a newly heel Hulk Hogan, the super group went on wreak havoc, garnering unbelievable heat through constant swerves and face-heel turns, not to mention countless violent attacks on the WCW establishment. It has been well-documented that the nWo grew far too large, and that the story went on too long without a proper conclusion. Regardless, early on in its run, the nWo represented the coolest storyline in wrestling, and went a long way toward advancing Nitro to the spot of the most popular wrestling television show.

EDDIE, CHRIS, CHIRS and GUYS IN MASKS…
　

Much of WCW’s success was based upon the fusion of the top names in wrestling, with the originality of the nWo storyline. But while past-their-prime stars were dominating the top of the card, it was the undercard that saw the greatest action during Nitro’s run. Indeed, WCW established a formula of starting its show with a promo, and then moving on to light heavyweight action, featuring some of the most impressive luchadores to ever ply their trade in the US. Beyond the Mexican high-flyers, men like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho established a new generation of technically savvy, hardworking super-talents to rival the Bret Harts and Shawn Michaelsws of the generation before. These undercard talents provided the steak to the main event’s sizzle, helping to round out the show and keep fans’ attention over long broadcasts that, by the end of Nitro’s run, ballooned to over three hours a week.

Of course, WCW’s main event scene could only survive on big names and promos for so long. As Nitro’s run at the top began to taper off, fans caught on that the show’s ‘dream matches’ rarely delivered—the main event often not starting until 11 p.m., and often ending less than five minutes into the action, with run-ins, disqualifications, and non-finishes running rampant. In these instances, WCW demonstrated an important lesson—that fans would only stand for incomplete action and unfulfilled promises for so long before turning the channel.

In a ratings skid, one of Nitro’s few saving graces was Bill Goldberg. Goldberg established himself on Nitro through a marathon undefeated streak that saw him run over much of the undercard, and then some established talents as well. Seeing Raw overtake Nitro, WCW management made the bold decision to announce that Goldberg would challenge Hulk Hogan for the WCW title on the following week’s Nitro. After only one week of build, Goldberg’s first title win at the Georgia Dome did deliver WCW a new ratings victory, as well as one of the biggest moments in free TV wrestling history. In reality, though, the moment proved to be a waste. There was nothing the company could do on free TV to follow that moment, and what could have been a great televised program, leading to a huge PPV payday amounted to one big night for the company.

AND THE END…
　

Wrestling historians look back fondly upon the last episode of Nitro, and, indeed, it was a well put together show. It started with a bang, with top face of the day Booker T regaining his world title from Scott Steiner. From there, every belt was on the line over the course of the broadcast. The show culminated in a final showdown between Sting and Ric Flair—the same match that had occurred on the first Nitro, and the same feud that had largely defined WCW in the pre-Nitro era. The funny thing about this last episode of Nitro was that it was so very different from almost any Nitro that preceded it—focused on in-ring action, featuring clean finishes to matches, and generally giving the fans a reason to smile. All considered, it comes as no surprise that it was the only episode of Nitro for which Vince McMahon had creative input.

And so, in the spring of 2001, just days before Wrestlemania XVII, Nitro ended its run. WCW had its share of problems, from the misuse of talent, to frivolous booking, to the over-application of the shock TV formula. And yet, for all of these shortcomings, the company put together a show that changed the way wrestling fans saw heroes and villains, and created an atmosphere for live wrestling TV, where anything could happen, surprises were the norm, and the biggest names were always around. So much of what Nitro did fed into the WWF, laying the foundation for the Attitude Era, and solidifying live TV as the definitive way to broadcast a wrestling program. For all of this, Nitro was incredibly important.

That’s all for this column. Next week, we take a look at the importance of Thunder. See you in seven.