Over the course of the year, Nitro was must see TV with action, drama, violence and the NWO running roughshod all over WCW. The stories were as compelling as ever and made you want to come back the next week to see what was going to happen. In addition to the top story, 1997 also saw the rise of the future with stars such as Rey Mysterio Jr., Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Goldberg becoming some of the most interesting parts of the show.
In this book, we'll look at every episode of Monday Nitro from 1997 and see why they were so unstoppable all year. Each show is broken down segment by segment and match by match with historical context, ratings and analysis of what worked or didn't work about each segment and how the shows added up to being so successful for WCW.
The books runs over 400 pages on a Kindle and only costs $3.99, or the equivalent in other currencies. If you don’t have a Kindle or e-book reader, there are several FREE apps you can use to read it on pretty much any electronic device. You can find those from Amazon here.
You can pick up the book from Amazon here.
From the UK Amazon here.
From the Canadian Amazon here.
Or if you’re in another country with its own Amazon page, just search KB History of Monday Nitro and my books will be the first things that pop up.
Also you can still get any of my previous books on the WWE Championship, Monday Night Raw from 1998 and 2001, Monday Nitro from 1995-96, In Your House, Summerslam, Starrcade, ECW Pay Per Views and Clash of the Champions at my author’s page here.
I hope you like it and shoot me any questions you might have.
Thomas Hall
Really enjoyed this review. Good work.
ReplyDeleteOnce we find out that Flair turns on Sting in the end, what was the (kayfabe) logic behind the Flair/Anderson mini-feud? Was the entire thing a ruse and they were beating on each other for weeks just to get a beatdown on Sting? Or was there a (kayfabe) actual feud in which at some point it was decided "let's reform the Horsemen and beat down Sting for old times' sake?" Once we find out that they turned on Sting, how do we explain all their fighting?
ReplyDelete"I guess some people never change...... Or they quickly change, and then quickly change right back..."
ReplyDeleteMy stomach, because that's disgusting.
ReplyDeleteThe Raw with Hogan's lone live appearance at the Manhattan Center wasn't put up until months after the launch too.
ReplyDeleteWhat time does the PPV start? I know NJPW usually does their shows in the early afternoon, which would make them start around 1am central time here in America.
ReplyDeleteSome people have weak stomachs and even weaker libidos.
ReplyDeleteI recognize it as a Simpsons line...
ReplyDeleteBut can't place it. Context?
Burns stole the bowling trophy.
ReplyDeleteHa
ReplyDeleteFantastic
I think to make the whole DoD/Hogan storyline even more over-the-top and ridiculous, Hogan should've acted like his mustache gave him the power of Hulkamania, and he could no longer "hulk up". He would try to do it, and he would fall to the floor and hold his upper lip in pain. That would've been the tits.
ReplyDeleteHey, is it really that much more crazy than all the shit they DID do in that feud?
Ah, a combination of Samson's hair, and Undertaker's urn!
ReplyDeleteFunny how some things stay with you.
ReplyDeleteI probably haven't seen the episode in at least 15 years, but knew right away it was a Simpsons line.
Has anyone noticed that when Lex Luger lands on the mat, he adjusts his position and lays straight as a board a lot? It's such an unnatural thing. Also, when he's on the mat, he fixes his hair sometimes. I don't know....that kind of stuff always bugs me.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
ReplyDeleteI would watch a new version of The Office featuring Kevin Sullivan in the David Brent role dealing with Hogan and Turner executives.
ReplyDelete"Kevin brother, instead of the Dungeon being a credible offspring of your Army of Darkness, let's hire my slug friends and make it a fun cartoon for the kids! I'll win of course, but we'll pay King Curtis to bastardize the great stuff you did in Florida!"
"Kevin, instead of bringing a hot chick the the ring in chains, could you maybe use a funny leprechaun?"
sigh...
God I would have loved to see old, cranky late 90s Savage in the Attitude Era. Dammit, Vince!
ReplyDeleteI've always interpreted it as a legit fight between old friends who needed to air the grievances of Festivus and realized in the process they were far more effective as a team than apart. In a way it's actually more realistic than two people staying in the same static relationship for 20 years with no break.
ReplyDeleteThat would have been amazing. Or the shits. Either way it would have been something.
ReplyDelete-We need to find a common ground, this is tearing us apart.
ReplyDelete-Make a fool out of Sting?
-THIS IS WHY I LOVE YOU.
It would be memorable at the very least.
ReplyDeleteThe Giant's chokeslam here was awesome. He lifts them up, jumps, and brings himself down to the mat with his opponent. I forgot how athletic this guy used to be.
ReplyDeleteBritish Bulldog used to adjust the waist of his tights after taking a bump all the time and it was one of those things my uncle pointed out to me as a kid to tease me a bit about wrestling being fake. "That guy's so hurt he has to adjust his pants."
ReplyDeleteThe Giant was very athletic and svelt for his size when he was young. He's easily 200 lbs heavier now than in 95, he also used to do some mean drop kicks!
ReplyDeleteThere was a 9-25-95 nitro and its on daily motion. I don't understand how the wwe can have sites with way more stuff for free than they have on the network. Put the goddamn episodes up in order.
ReplyDeleteVince woulda just used him on commentary or something.... Macho going to WCW was refreshing bc he was actually wrestling as opposed to c level angles and announcing w Vince.
ReplyDeleteIDEA OF THE YEAR!!! haha
ReplyDeleteIt's scheduled to air on the network in the next few days, actually, and when you go to the description it gives you the "Watch the first airing on the WWE Network" message that implies it hasn't been uploaded yet. Weird.
ReplyDeleteI believe it's the only episode from 1995-1996 Nitro that isn't up, so there was probably a problem with the video. Hopefully they're fixing it.
ReplyDeleteWas there any reason why they decided to beat down Sting rather than just becoming friends again?
ReplyDeleteBecause Horsemen?
Your best post ever.
ReplyDeleteLike Abyss with Hogan's HOF ring
ReplyDeleteHe also grabbed the top of the cage at Wargames '95 and vaulted himself over the top rope and into the ring; unbelievably agile in his 20s.
ReplyDeleteThere were strong rumours of him going back to the WWF in 97 or so. At that point, Vince would have taken anyone of any name value and pushed them to the top because the roster was so thin. I mean, Del freakin' Wilkes got a PPV title match!
ReplyDeleteIts absolutely scary how good Eddie was back then.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it was because there was a "Hulk Homo" sign visible in the crowd, and they needed to blur that out?
ReplyDeleteI say this with an unblemished record of staunch heterosexuality: Boysenberry deters all.
ReplyDeletethe funniest was towards the end of his WCW run he was smoking cigs in the ring. I remember one squash where The Gentlemen Chris Adams was morally outraged that he would smoke in his presence. He received a choke slam and ashes dumped on him as The Giants retort.
ReplyDeleteThe missing episode was up, but WWE sometimes pulls shows from on demand when they're about to air on the live stream. The 9/25 Nitro airs on the live channel tonight at 7:00 eastern.
ReplyDeleteSeconded
ReplyDeleteI can't decide if that makes perfect sense or is the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard. Either way, good to know.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, Smoking Giant. Didn't he do a missile dropkick on Steiner that he sold by flying halfway across the ring?
ReplyDeleteThere's another story of a habit Lex had during his matches...as per Missy Hyatt's book, FWTW.
ReplyDeleteThe "rematch" was taped earlier for that week's WCWSN, and of course it was really good. I have it somewhere...
ReplyDeleteNever heard this. What was it?
ReplyDeleteHe's better not bloated and juiced to the gills
ReplyDeleteSurvivor 96 was the rumor
ReplyDeleteThanks Dock, don't have the time to watch these shows in their entirety so appreciate the reviews to keep up to date with what's happening and what's worth pursuing (although in the end it's almost everything...).
ReplyDeleteBecause WCW?
ReplyDeleteAnd to be fair Scott, Luger choked a lot in WCW too. . .
You can skip this show here, and you'll be just fine. The weekend show looks to be pretty damn strong though. Wouldn't be surprised if the Tanahashi/Shibata match turned out to be one of the best of the year.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds about right. I believe it starts at midnight pacific. I always check in an hour early though, cuz the time has been incorrectly listed once or twice in the past. It's the shows that start at 2:30am Pacific that are hard to stay awake for. Byt the time they get to the main, it's 5 in the morning and the sun is coming up, and I'm running on fumes.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Smoking Giant moment was a line from Chavo when he was in his crazy phase: "Don't you know those will stunt your growth?"
ReplyDeleteYeah I've been singing the praises of early Giant since the nitros hit the network. Paul Wight had the character down from the jump.
ReplyDeleteFANTASTIC
ReplyDeleteHey guys. Maybe we're too hard on old Dock.
ReplyDelete