WCW Monday Nitro
July 29, 1996
Orlando, FL
Disney MGM Studios

The current WCW champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: The Giant (4/29/1996)
WCW U.S. Champion: Ric Flair (7/7/1996)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat (7/27/1996)
WCW World Television Champion: Lex Luger (3/6/1996)
WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: Rey Mysterio (7/8/1996)

That’s right. During the week’s house shows, the Steiners traded the belts back and forth with Harlem Heat to make them 6-time WCW world tag team champs. The Steiners? Only 3-time WCW world tag champs. WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?!

HOUR NUMBER ONE! Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Larry Zbyszko.

WCW Motorsports! They won a race. A Busch race, but a race nonetheless!

Larry Z debuts his “new world odor” phrase he would use to death over the next two and a half years.

On the previous week’s Saturday Night, Hall and Nash lure Lex away from Sting with a telephone call so they can beat Sting up when he’s not looking out in a parking lot. That’s actually pretty awesome.

• Jim Duggan vs. Mike Enos
  

This was WAY too long. Just a lame brawl mixed in with chinlocks. Enos misses something off the top, signaling a Duggan comeback. Enos stomps Duggan down in the corner. As the ref backs Enos away, Duggan tapes up his fist and blasts Enos for the win. (7:31) As Zbyszko says, Duggan has to pull things out of his tights to make up for his IQ. And the ‘Living Legend’ lives on. ½*

Afterwards, Gene Okerlund grabs an interview with Jim Duggan concerning Hulk Hogan and the nWo. Like everyone else, he feels betrayed. It’s actually a good interview until he calls Hogan a great technical wrestler, which gets a big laugh. What a comedian that Jim Duggan. Just when he had me thinking he was half way intelligent.

WCW Saturday Night! Watch it IF YOU WEEL! 6:05PM eastern! TBS! US Champ Ric Flair battles Chavo Guerrero Jr.! World Champ The Giant faces Brian Knobbs! Huh? Chris Benoit takes on Randy Savage! NICE. It’s the MUTHASHIP! PAY WINDAHS AND PLUNDAH, BABY!

• Sting, Lex Luger & Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair, Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael (w/The Ladies)
  

Schiavone bets the farm that Ric Flair will be the fourth man to join the nWo because of all the power they possess, WHICH MAKES NO SENSE. This is a rematch from last week when Ric Flair no-showed. Debra walks down to the ring in front of Liz and Woman. I can’t imagine that threesome getting along all that well since she’s been in the biz a whole whopping 15 seconds. Huge brawl outside the ring to start. The bell rings, but then we go to commercial and the bell rings again when we come back. Much like last week, Sting starts off destroying everybody. The Flair Flip sends him right into a shot from Luger. Savage grabs him some of Flair and takes him over to the VIP table where Flair gets a fruit tray dumped on him. To escape Randy Savage, Flair gets back in the ring and walks right into a press slam from Sting. Tag to Savage, he gives chase and Flair rolls out to get a kiss from Liz to REALLY piss off Savage. Not very bright, Ric. Back in, Savage beats him out to the floor where Flair retreats all the way towards the entrance. Savage beats him back to the ring where Flair tags Mongo. Luger comes in to face the big guy. Lex throws him off a headlock and McMichael falls through the ropes. Oh me. Back in, Flair takes over and quickly takes a press slam from Lex. Flair heads to the apron, but Luger brings him back in with a suplex for two. In comes Benoit, Savage has enough of a mudhole stomping in the corner and tackles Benoit to the mat. It’s CRAZINESS! Back to Flair, he gets drilled with a clothesline. Tag to Sting, we see the same old stuff with these two. Ten count corner punch leads to a hiptoss, which sets up a superplex in the opposite corner. Blind tag to Mongo stalls a sunset flip. Sting plays face in peril for a while as the Horsemen manage to keep Sting in their corner. That leads to a FIGURE-FOUR. Sting reverses into the ropes and counters the second attempt with an inside cradle. The Sting beatdown continues as Jimmy Hart comes out and tells a camera man to get to the back. Jimmy ~ “The Outsiders are in the back!” So one of the floor cameramen head to the back while Jimmy tries to get everybody’s attention in the ring to stop fighting and come help. The match ends as a result of a double countout. (13:00) What’s more important is going on backstage. No rating since the match just stops, but it was pretty good.

In the back, we see Scott Hall and Kevin Nash standing over Marcus Bagwell and Arn Anderson holding baseball bats. They drop the bats since they seem to feel they’re finished with their attack when Scotty Riggs comes out of a trailer and sees his partner Bagwell laying. When Riggs turns around to look at the Outsiders, Hall grabs a duffel bag full of something and blasts Riggs in the face. They continue to try and leave when Rey Mysterio comes out of the trailer and jumps off the banister onto Nash. He’s caught and then thrown like a lawn dart head first INTO THE TRAILER! Once the Outsiders see a bunch of WCW wrestlers coming, they jump in their limo and start to drive off. Randy Savage actually dives on top of the limo and reaches inside the sunroof as the limo peels out of the Disney MGM Studios. Everybody stands over the people they’re closest to – Eddie over Rey, the Horsemen over Arn, Sting and Luger over the American Males. Everybody is FREAKING OUT. Rey is telling Eddie that there were four men with them. Umm, no? Fire trucks and ambulances pull up to help assist and take the injured to the hospital. On an interesting note, the paramedics literally take off Rey’s mask (I mean, it is a head injury) for the first time ever on TV. Of course, Rey covers up his face, but the mask is off all the same. Arn and Bagwell go in the same ambulance and since Sting and Flair are going with them, they’re all in the same ambulance together, which is quite interesting I say.

But how convenient though. In the second hour, Rey Mysterio was scheduled to defend the Cruiserweight title against Eddie Guerrero. The Steiners were supposed to wrestle the American Males. Arn Anderson was looking to face the Giant in a world title match.

HOUR NUMBER TWO! Your hosts are Eric Bischoff, Tony Schiavone, and Larry Zbyszko. Bobby Heenan refuses to do the broadcast because he doesn’t feel safe when he considers his past neck injuries.

• Rick & Scott Steiner vs. High Voltage
  

Since the Steiners are all distracted by what just happened, High Voltage work a little harder to get a win. Specifically when Rick is in the ring. Rage nails Rick with a flying shoulder tackle, but Kaos gets caught coming off the top for a powerslam. From there, it becomes a squash as the Steiners UNLOAD. Scott busts out the STEINER SCREWDRIVER SUPLEX on Rage for the easy 1-2-3. (4:46) Are High Voltage the only Americans who will take that move? Pretty fun squash once the Steiners forgot about watching their backs for the nWo. *½

• Eddie Guerrero vs. Big Bubba (w/Jimmy Hart)
  

Pretty obvious that this match was just a time killer. Eleven minutes for Eddie vs. Bubba? Anyways, Bubba tosses Eddie around and twists on his neck when he has him down. Spinebuster out of a bearhug gets two. Eddie fight out of a chinlock and hits a Tornado DDT, but Bubba won’t stay down. Eddie jumps up on Bubba’s shoulders and punches him down. When Jimmy gets up on the apron and tosses the megaphone, Eddie surprises Bubba with a sunset flip for the 1-2-3. (10:47) I guess if nothing else, this shows Eddie could beat the big guys if he was to win the U.S. heavyweight title at Hog Wild. Even though I don’t believe Bubba has ever won a match on Nitro. **

We get our first ever black and white nWo announcement. Even watching this now, it blows me away. Just fantastic. Hey Lex, WHADDAYA BENCH? WHADDAYA BENCH, LEX?

• WCW World Heavyweight Champion The Giant (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Greg Valentine
  

Bischoff has left for the hospital. Hammerin’ Greg tries his darnedest, then takes a CHOKESLAM OFF THE MIDDLE ROPE! A Super Chokeslam, if you will. Another CHOKESLAM gets the win. (1:41) Greg just couldn’t compete. ¼*

Okerlund meets Giant and Jimmy Hart in the ring. Giant does his best Hulk Hogan impression to prove what kind of con Hogan really is. He says Hulk told America what they wanted to hear, even though he didn’t believe himself. Chokeslam, brother. It’s coming at Hog Wild.

AND WE OUT!