WCW Monday Nitro
May 19, 1997
Asheville, NC
Civic Center

The current WCW champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: Hollywood Hogan (8/10/1996)
WCW U.S. Champion: Dean Malenko (3/16/1997)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Outsiders (10/27/1996)
WCW World Television Champion: Steven Regal (5/18/1997)
WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Syxx (2/23/1997)
WCW Women’s Champion: Akira Hokuto (12/29/1996)

SPECIAL NOTE: Because of the NBA playoffs airing on TNT, this week will be only one hour.

Before we even hit that fancy intro, we take a look at Team Flair (or Team Piper, or Team Greene) celebrating their hollow victory the night before at Slamboree.

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Larry Zbyszko.

Gene Okerlund kicks off the program by bringing out Ric Flair. He calls last night’s match the thrill of his wrestling career by proving the nWo wrong that tradition trumps whatever philosophy those guys have going on. Syxx comes out in his wrestling outfit and interrupts. Flair starts to take off his jacket and the crowd EXPLODES. Hmm, the man didn’t have to do a double rotation moonsault to get a reaction. Why can’t there be more guys like that now? Anyways, Syxx makes a challenge to the NATCHA BOY. Flair even admits that he doesn’t know if he can handle Scott Hall or Kevin Nash, but he knows he can handle Syxx. It’s on, brother. They start slapping each other around until Flair chases Syxx to the back.

• WCW World Television Champion Steven Regal vs. Prince Iaukea
  

Looking at the entrance graphic, the TV production people seem to know Regal has gone back to being the common man while Tony Schiavone still slips that “Lord” in there. Anyways, Iaukea deserves the title shot since he’s a former champ, I guess. Regal was the babyface at Slamboree, but Asheville goes all XENOPHOBIC on him tonight! Iaukea gets in a bunch of quick pinfall tries, but Regal finishes him off with the Reverse Suplex and follows up with the REGAL STRETCH for the tapout at 2:25.

Any need to even rate these matches? Nothing is going over five minutes tonight.

Let Us Take You Back: 5/18/97, Slamboree. Mortis and Wrath handle Glacier until “The Cat” Ernest Miller jumps the rail and cleans house.

• Masahiro Chono vs. Squire David Taylor
  

Mike Tenay joins us to hype ticket sales for the Nitro planned for June 30 at the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena. Two reasons: Ric Flair and Madusa will be there to sign autographs this Saturday when tickets go on sale. The other reason is that a major star will debut that night. So get them tickets ASAP! They put over Chono here as he puts Taylor away with the STF at 2:59.

Over to Gene Okerlund, he meets up with Sonny Oono who wants to make a big announcement. Since Chono dumped him to join the nWo like six months ago, Oono says he’s bringing in a surprise opponent for him next week! Have to hand it to Sonny Oono, the man is patient when it comes to revenge.

JJ Dillon channels the spirit of Jack Tunney (seven years before the man passed away, mind you) and tells us that Nick Patrick has been reinstated as a referee, but he will go through a probationary period.

• Michael Wallstreet vs. Scotty Riggs
  

Wallstreet appears wearing an anti-WCW shirt and some Tom Cruise sunglasses. If you recall back to April 21, JJ Dillon told us that Michael Wallstreet and Big Bubba are still under WCW contracts even though they had showed allegiance to the nWo. Couldn’t they just get out of those contracts? It’s not like you can wear McDonalds attire while you’re working at Burger King and tell all the customers that Burger King sucks. I don’t know. Seems silly is all I’m saying. Do I still have to mention how Scotty Riggs still has Strike Force Syndrome going on here? The American Males tag team is DEAD. It’s never coming back! Change your music and your look! Total chinlock match from Wallstreet and Nick Patrick is the official ref. Those two end up fighting over an international object while Riggs flies in with the sunset flip. Wallstreet tries grabbing hold of the ropes to avoid falling backwards, but Patrick kicks his hands free and Riggs gets the 1-2-3. (2:50) So Nick Patrick is back. In the coolest replay moment ever, they show Riggs doing the sunset flip off the top in reverse. Fantastic, WCW.

Gene Okerlund brings out NASCAR superstar Mark Martin and Ric Flair tags along just so the crowd wouldn’t boo the guy. I’m surprised Gene didn’t call them long-time close personal friends. Anyways, Mark Martin announces that Valvoline is giving away a race car. Well, this had absolutely nothing to do with WCW. Flair drops a racing metaphor based on what he’s about to do to Syxx tonight. WOO!

Time for ‘On the Road’ with Lee Marshall. That idiot is in Nashville this week getting ready for next week’s Nitro. Gosh he’s awful. When he destroys Elvis Presley’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ just for the sake of a weasel joke, Heenan responds informing us that the wrong man died. Excellent!

More clips from last night. This one summarizes the DDP-Savage confrontation. Do they really want people to buy the replay? I’m just wondering because it doesn’t seem like they do.

• Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Jarrett & Steve McMichael (w/Debra)
  

Agh! This Mongo-Jarrett-Debra triangle is so incredibly inconsistent. Scott and Jarrett start us off. Press slam to Jarrett. Wrestling needs more press slams these days. Over in the corner, Scott delivers a wacky drop on Jarrett from the middle rope. Mongo wants the DFG. He gets thrown around a bit before he wobbles back too close for the Steiner Bulldog. Double-KO ensues as Jarrett tosses out Scott. Out comes the Halliburton and in comes Kevin Greene. Jarrett gets pulled out by Scott while Greene whacks Mongo with the Halliburton. Rick turns Mongo over the 1-2-3. (3:36) Wait, so are the Four Horsemen together or not? Kevin Greene doesn’t mind teaming with Ric Flair – the LEADER of the crew who had Mongo turn on him last June – but he still wants to whoop up on Mongo? Why couldn’t they just forget the Mongo-Greene relationship? Most everybody *would have* if you would just let it go.

During the break, McMichael and Greene got into a pull-apart brawl in the bathroom. Larry Z says Kevin Greene is stupid for hanging around the building after costing Mongo the match. Thank you Larry!

• WCW Cruiserweight Champion Syxx vs. Ric Flair
  

They go at it for about a minute before Scott Hall and Kevin Nash stop by to give Flair their finishers. I don’t need to tell you what they are. Now I understand why Roddy Piper wouldn’t suddenly appear since he hasn’t been on the program at all tonight, but where’s Kevin Greene, Mongo, and Jarrett at now? AGH!

It’s Main Event Promo time. Eric Bischoff heads to ring to call out Sting. Since he won’t return his calls or anything, he seems to be under the impression that Sting is a coward. You know the man hasn’t spoken on TV in forever. Maybe he *did* pick up the phone and you just didn’t know it because he isn’t talking. Seems like an unfair accusation is all I’m saying. Anyways, Bischoff tells us that Sting will never wrestle Hollywood Hogan, blah blah blah. Next thing you know, Sting pulls a page out of the Undertaker’s crazy playbook and comes up from under the ring to SCORPION DEATHDROP Bischoff as Nitro goes off the air.

I marked out for everything Sting in 1997 too. Looking back though, it’s really not that different week to week.