The American Males (Bagwell & Riggs) defeated Harlem Heat (c) to win the WCW Tag Titles
Paul Orndorff defeated Johnny B. Badd
Ric Flair defeated Brian Pillman
Within the first five minutes of the show we get Mongo telling us not once, but TWICE to get our grandma out of the bathroom for Nitro. He also refers to the American Males as cuties. Have I mentioned that Mongo is a bizarre commentator?
The visual of the Giant trying to squeeze out the back of the ambulance was hilarious. He cuts a whispering promo, referring to Andre as his father. The stuff with the Task Master and the Dungeon of Doom continues to feel completely out of place, but Hogan is only content to be overcoming 5+ bodies at a time these days so needs must.
Harlem Heat manage to out themselves as complete morons by beating up the Blue Bloods backstage, taking their place against the American Males and randomly putting the titles on the line, despite not being asked to. This idiocy costs them, as Bagwell reverses a slam for a leverage pin. Very strange title change that I didn’t recall until it happened.
Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff comes out to his amazingly shit entrance music. I mentioned this before, but it just feels so weird that Orndorff was still wrestling in late ’95. He has a real sloppy match with Johnny B. Badd. The finish is botched because Badd’s shoulders are definitely not on the mat, but the worst moment of the match (and the night) is this piece of gold below.
I like to imagine that when Orndorff went back through the curtain he was immediately informed that his career would be winding down, but it is WCW and so that likely didn’t happen.
One of the most bizarre segments in the short history of Nitro was shown following the Badd/Orndorff match. It’s Randy Savage, on the set of Baywatch, doing a set on the bench press on the beach 😂 As several women look on, kitted out in the Baywatch gear, Savage is attacked mid-set by the Taskmaster. An attack that includes the dreaded sand to the eye. Just then, Ric Flair appears to break things up… in his wrestling gear. Pink trunks and boots with a sleeveless vest. Even on the set of Baywatch, he must have turned some heads!
We get a recap from Fall Brawl where Hogan rocks up on a motorbike and begins cutting a promo with Mean Gene in front of a dozen or so of the most obviously planted fans in history. Mid promo the Giant appears in a monster truck and ruins Hogan’s motorbike and then laughs like a pantomime villain. It looked more like a film scene with the budget of a Virgil autograph signing rather than a wrestling angle. We also see footage of the Giant attacking Hogan during the PPV main event and honest it is worth checking out just to see how agile the big man was back then. You forget just how much of an incredible athlete he was back in the day.
The main event is Flyin’ Brian (Pillman) vs. Ric Flair. Unfortunately they only got five minutes but it was good while it lasted. Flair got the tap out win with the figure four. He then cuts a quick promo on Arn Anderson before oddly running out of the ring to the back.
Overall this was the weakest show so far. The two most memorable moments are the Orndorff botch and the campy skit with Hogan and the Giant. Both are remembered for the wrong reasons though. WCW remains a company in transition and the stark contrast between cartoon and serious angles/wrestling doesn’t mix well. Mongo gets by because he’s so excited, but you can tell even on week three that Bobby Heenan is getting frustrated with some of his more bizarre remarks.
Had they flipped the script on this night and given away the dark matches on TV we would have seen State Patrol (Lt. James Earl & Sgt Buddy Lee Parker) defeat Col. Robert Parker & Dick Slater. Randy Savage defeat Zodiac in less than two minutes. Arn Anderson defeat Dave Sullivan and Eddie Guerrero defeat Dean Malenko. A much better show. No such luck though.
-Craig 🧐