-My wife met Michael Learned from The Waltons and had no idea who she was.
-Today, Project 45 goes back to 1995 and the start of the Monday Night Wars with the debut episode of WCW Monday Nitro.
-In September 1995 I had just started my senior year of high school.
-WCW Monday Nitro was broadcast live on TNT on Monday, September 4, 1995 from the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
-Classic Intro.
-Eric Bischoff welcomes us to the debut edition of WCW Monday Nitro. He brings on the newest member of the WCW Broadcast Team Steve Mongo McMichael. Mongo is excited to be here. They get interrupted by Bobby Heenan. He and McMichael start sniping at each other. They kick things off big time.
-Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Liger: They lock up. Pillman with a wrist lock. Liger reverses the hold. Into a side headlock. Pillman reverses a corner whip. Liger jumps to avoid the charge. Liger goes back to the opposite corner and hits a moonsault on Pillman for a two count. Liger with a rear chin lock. Back up and drive to a corner and Liger with a knee to the stomach. Liger with a chop and a corner whip. Pillman with a head scissors takedown. Pillman with some chops. Liger reverses an Irish whip. Pillman gets his leg up on the charge again. He hurricanranas Liger out of the corner. He gets a two count. Pillman with a snap mare. Pillman with a forearm. Liger reverses an Irish whip. Liger with a drop toe hold. Liger gets Pillman up in a surfboard. Into a face lock, but Pillman won't give up. Liger with an Irish whip. Pillman runs, but Liger ducks and Pillman stumbles to the outside. Liger comes off onto Pillman off of the apron to the floor. Liger tries to suplex Pillman in, but Pillman reverses it and suplexes Liger to the outside. Pillman then dives onto Liger from the top rope to the floor. He then throws Liger back in the ring. Pillman climbs up top, but Liger hits the ropes causing Pillman to post himself on the top rope. Liger superplexes Pillman off the top rope. He gets a two count. Liger goes up top, but as he comes off, Pillman hits a dropkick in midair. Pillman gets a two count. Pillman chops Liger. Pillman Irish whips Liger, but drops his head and Liger hits him with a forearm. Liger hits a power bomb and gets another two count. Liger puts Pillman on the top rope and hurricanranas him off. He gets a close two count. Liger puts Pillman on another turnbuckle, but Pillman fights back with shots. Pillman with a tornado DDT. He gets a two count. A couple of reversals and Pillman gets a roll up to get the pin.
-Eric Bischoff interviewed Hulk Hogan earlier in the day at Pastamania. Hogan says he is putting the WCW title on the line in the Main Event of Nitro against Big Bubba.
-WCW United States Championship Match. Sting vs. Ric Flair: Both men get their share of cheers when they come out. Right before the bell rings, Lex Luger is shown coming down the aisle and looking at the ring in that iconic shot that started the Monday Night Wars as Luger had been in the WWF up until that point. A Luger chant goes out. Sting and Flair are just staring at him. Bischoff yelling at security to get Luger out of here. They pan away from him to the ring and they finally lock up. Back to the corner and break. They lock up again. Flair with a side headlock. Sting pushes off and Flair comes back with a shoulder block. Sting with drop downs and leapfrogs to avoid Flair. Sting then military presses Flair and slams him down. Flair backing off. Sting Irish whips Flair and presses him again and slams him. Flair backing off. Sting hip tosses Flair out of the corner. Sting follows that up with a dropkick. Flair rolls out to the floor to regroup. He collapses on the outside. A Sting chant goes out. He then gets back in. Test of strength. Flair with a poke to the eyes. Flair then chops Sting in the corner. Then a right hand to Sting's jaw. Sting comes back. Flair begs off. Sting with another military press slam. Flair kicks Sting in the stomach. Flair with an Irish whip. Sting ducks a clothesline, Flair rushes Sting and they both spill to the outside. He then rushes Sting and Sting lifts him up and throws Flair back in. Flair begging off. Sting with a corner whip and goes for the Stinger Splash, but Flair moves. Sting comes out and bulldogs Flair. Sting with another corner whip, but Flair hits a back elbow when Sting comes in. They both collapse. Flair chops Sting down. Flair goes up top, but gets caught and slammed off so TASIYDAH. Sting with an Irish whip and another press slam. He gets a two count. Arn Anderson is shown coming to ringside. Sting goes for a top rope splash, but Flair moves. Heenan says Flair and Anderson, who have been having problems, have patched things up. Flair with a nice delayed vertical suplex. Sting gets back up as Flair struts. Sting clotheslines Flair. Another clothesline. Sting with a corner whip. Flair up and over, but gets clotheslined on the apron right by Anderson. Flair back in and begging off. Sting with corner mounted punches to Flair. Flair hip locked out of the corner. Sting lifts Flair up on a turnbuckle and Flair is trying to fight back. Back and forth on the turnbuckle. Flair pushes Sting off. Flair with an Irish whip and they both block hip lock attempts and Flair with a side headlock takeover. Flair with a cover that Sting bridges out of. Sting with a backslide. He gets a two count. Sting puts Flair on the top rope. Sting hits a top rope superplex. Sting looks at Anderson and tells him to come in if he wants some and Flair clips Sting's knee. Flair gets the figure four on. Sting trying to reverse it and Flair grabs the ropes for leverage as referee Randy Anderson checks on Sting. Flair gets caught and refuses to break the hold and gets disqualified. Anderson comes in and breaks the hold. Flair gets to his feet and extends his hand to Anderson. Anderson takes his jacket off instead to fight. They start to brawl and Anderson knocks Flair down to the mat. Anderson then jumps Flair and they fight out to the floor. They then fight towards the back until Doug Dillenger holds Anderson back from going after Flair.
-Scott Norton comes up to the announcers screaming that he signed a contract and that he needs an opponent. He and Mongo start screaming at each other until Randy Savage comes in and tells Norton that he will wrestle him. Norton says what are we waiting for and Savage says lets do it right now. Savage gets in the ring, but they hold Norton back and Bischoff throws it to a video package of Sabu.
-When they come back, Mean Gene Okerlund is in the ring to announce Mike Hill from Cullman, Alabama for being the Harley Davidson Sweepstakes Winner.
-Preview of WCW Saturday Night.
-A look at VK Wallstreet, who has returned to WCW.
-WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match. Hulk Hogan with Jimmy Hart vs. Big Bubba: Hogan gets a good ovation coming out. The bell rings. They circle each other. They lock up and Hogan pushes off. Another lock up and Bubba with a side headlock. Hogan pushes off. Hogan with a shoulder block. A Hogan chant goes out. Test of strength. Bubba with a boot to the stomach. Bubba attacking Hogan in a corner. Bubba with a corner whip and a corner splash. Bubba choking Hogan in the corner. Hogan blocks being run head first into the corner and runs Bubba in instead. Referee Randy Anderson pulls Hogan away allowing Bubba to get an eye poke in. Bubba with a shot and a backbreaker. Bubba with head and body shots to Hogan in the corner. The crowd is booing Bubba. Hogan gets his boot up on a Bubba corner charge. Another boot and a shove knocks Bubba down. Hogan punches Bubba and goes after Anderson when he tries to stop him. Bubba with an uppercut to Hogan. Bubba hits his patented leapfrog body guillotine. Bubba then slides to the outside and goes after Hart. Hogan comes out after Bubba and punches him. He throws Bubba back in the ring. He drapes Hart's jacket around Bubba's head while Hart distracts Anderson. Hogan with corner mounted punches to Bubba. Hogan with a corner whip and a clothesline. Hogan with an eye rake and punches to Bubba in the corner. Hogan with a scoop slam. He drops elbows on Bubba. Bubba comes back with more shots. Bubba with a scoop slam. he runs Hogan into the corner, but misses the charge when Hogan moves. Hogan comes off the ropes and gets the sidewalk slam from Bubba. Hogan kicks out at two and the crowd goes mild. Hardly any reaction at all. Hogan Hulks up! Punches, big boot, leg drop, pin. The Dungeon of Doom attack Hogan. Lex Luger comes in and helps Hogan clear the ring. Randy Savage and Sting come out to separate Luger and Hogan. Hogan asks Luger what he's doing here. Mean Gene gets in the ring. A Luger chant goes out.
-Fall Brawl ad.
-Hogan tells Luger he has no business in his backyard. Luger says he's here for the WCW Championship. Hogan says he's going to stay champion. Hogan says that Luger doesn't have to wait, if he shakes Hogan's hand, he'll get a title shot next week on Nitro.
-The announcers talk about what happened and whats coming up before signing off from Minnesota.
-Final Thoughts: This kicked off one of the most successful eras of the business and the Monday Night Wars. The Luger appearance was huge at the time. Things would get crazier over the next few years.