83 Weeks - Monday Nitro 4/10/00 Restart [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Nitro – April 10th, 2000 Restart

You left WCW in September of 1999 and you came back in April of 2000.

When you left WCW in September of 1999, did you think your career in the wrestling business was totally over, or did you think you'd be back at some point?

Did WWF ever reach out to you after you left WCW in September of 99?

Who did you keep in touch with in WCW after you left?

WCW really started struggling as the year 2000 started. Pretty much everything was down, from TV ratings, to live attendance. The company was hurting really badly. Did you watch WCW at all while you were gone?

Did you realize how bad they were hurting?

Talk about when first contact was made between you and WCW about you coming back

You wrote in your book - I was in Minnesota with my wife, having dinner at a restaurant. There was a TV in the corner turned to Raw. I was trying to carry on a conversation with my wife, watching out of the corner of my eye and trying not to let her know I’m watching Raw. Suddenly I saw Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn all come out. 

Those were my guys, on their show. Now I knew how Vince McMahon felt. I looked at my wife and said, “They’re going to call me.” She said, “I know.” 

Forty-eight hours later, I got a call at home from Brad. “What if you were going to come back? What would it take?” “Let me give it some thought.” As I was saying that, my wife walked by the room. She stopped, turned around, and looked at me. I could see in her eyes that she didn’t want to hear what she was about to hear.

“You’re going back, aren’t you?” she said when I hung up the phone. “I don’t know. I might. I’m going to give it some thought. But I’m not sure.” “You’re going back.” She didn’t want it to happen. But it did.

Memories of that?

You wrote about your conversation with Brad Seigle - “Brad, you’re going to pay me one hundred cents on the dollar on my existing contract.” The company had been trying to buy people out by offering lump sums up front for less than the entire contract, and I wasn’t going for that. “This company is more screwed up than when I left. I will not be an employee of AOL Time Warner. I will be an independent contractor. 

I’ll provide you many of the same services, overseeing the creative direction of the company and all that… . In addition to paying me off on the old contract, you’ll write me a new one.” I think it was a two-year deal, for a pretty substantial amount of money. “And in addition to all that, you’re going to guarantee three movie contracts.” That’s called a “put deal” in the entertainment industry. I was asking for a guarantee that I would have three slots for television movies on TBS. Producers covet those commitments.

How long did it take you to decide upon those stipulations to come back and why did you pick those?

You went on to say - They took it all. I basically got everything I wanted. My contract called for me to manage and oversee the creative process. I had nothing to do with contracts, finance, or anything else. I was, in effect, the executive producer again.

Were you surprised that they gave you what you wanted?

Did you know from the start that you'd have to work with Vince Russo?

You wrote- I called Vince. He probably knew when they sent him home that they’d end up calling me back. He wasn’t surprised at all. We met at a restaurant far enough outside of Atlanta where I didn’t think either one of us would be recognized. I didn’t want anyone putting two and two together. I liked him. Vince can be a fairly charming guy. 

He can come off kind of humble when you first meet him. It’s anything but the truth, but he comes off as a pretty sincere guy. Prior to our lunch, Vince had said a lot of stupid shit to the dirtsheets about me, trying to put himself over. While I should have been pissed off enough to reach across the table and pull his tongue out of his skull, instead I took it in context. 

I called Brad back that afternoon and told him that I had no problem working with Vince. I don’t have to like someone to be able to work with him. I just have to be able to trust him, and I thought I could trust Russo.

After that lunch you had with Vince, in what ways did you think you two would work good together and in what ways did you think you might butt heads, if at all?

Do you recall any plans that you two discussed during your lunch meeting?

Meltzer reported - After seemingly swimming in an ocean of rapidly declining numbers across the board, World Championship Wrestling went to a strange pair of people as its life preservers--Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo.

In a decision that had been in the works for about one month according to company sources, Brad Siegel completed the circular back-stabbing game which wound up in, not almost, but actually a pro wrestling like tag team, of the two people, former enemies, with seemingly nothing in common, bound together by their hatred for common enemies. 

Already there are those within the company doubtful the two can remain a cohesive unit over the long haul, with the impression if things are successful, both will want full credit, and if they're not, it won't take long for fingers to be pointed. Of course, that fact will be exploited as the two will work the latter point to try and do a television angle with each other. 

In the game where political allies take precedence over economic realities, the group that pulled the coup to get rid of Bischoff in early September, headed by Bill Busch, Gary Juster, J.J. Dillon and Kevin Sullivan, and who, barely three months after a much ballyhooed hiring of Russo as head TV writer, eliminated him from power as well, saw the tables turn when they also, after barely two months in power, couldn't turn the declining economic fortunes around.

Do you remember what wrestlers you first talked to when it was announced you were coming back? Do you know if the majority was happy or angry that you returned?

Did you have any heat with anyone when you came back?

Meltzer wrote - While Russo and Bischoff purport to have just begun talking in recent days, other sources in WCW peg both working from the outside against the forces that banished each, just as Sullivan had done when he was passed over for the head creative position with the hiring of Russo. According to one source, at the same time Siegel demanded Busch and Sullivan come up with a plan to turn things around for the rest of the year and for Goldberg's return, Bischoff and Russo came up with their own plan, largely built around a storyline where they would be the two protagonists, with Bischoff representing the older wrestlers and Russo the newer wrestlers, feuding on television over power, presented to management as a new NWO type angle. After rumors started breaking, the working of the internet, which is the one thing both men have in common, began. Bischoff continually emphatically denied any interest in the job he'd been lobbying for, when it was clear his successors were doing nothing to reverse the decline started under his watch. 

Does any of that sound accurate?

Meltzer went on to write - Officially, Bischoff was hired on 3/22 as the head of the creative end of WCW. Because his deal making was largely responsible for the company running so deeply in red ink in 1999 before he was relieved of his duties on 9/9, he was given no control over the business end of the company. Busch apparently told Siegel that if Bischoff was brought back, he'd quit. Siegel, apparently believed it as much as Busch believed Benoit when, before being given the title, he said he refused to work if his career was in Sullivan's hands, and hired Bischoff. 

He planned to keep Busch in charge of the business end of the company. Busch then quit, resulting in Siegel having to work half-days at the wrestling office until a successor could be found from outside the wrestling company. Bob Mould, a somewhat legendary progressive rock artist, who was brought in by Juster because of his creative mind for wrestling, and came with strong recommendations from those who talked with him about the business but who many wrestlers didn't like getting ideas from because he himself had never wrestled, and who resigned the first time Russo was given power because Russo didn't listen to his input, resigned that day a second time. The next day, Siegel called a staff meeting at the offices in Smyrna, GA to officially announce the changes 

Do you remember your first day back? Where was it?

You wrote - I looked around at my first WCW meeting and said to myself, Wow. We don’t have a lot to work with. We still had some of the bigger names, guys like Sting, Diamond Dallas Page, Hogan, Goldberg. But I think a lot of the talent had become so disillusioned and tired that they were simply worn out. 

The whole Vince Russo disaster— or “experiment,” as I like to refer to it— had a pretty negative impact on all of their characters.

I laid out an angle that would have Russo and I feuding, with two camps of wrestlers opposing each other. I think one of the things that helped convince Vince to come back was the fact that the storyline called for him to be on television. I didn’t know how badly Russo wanted to be on TV. He was already a monster in many respects, but the newfound “celebrity” really got to him. He went off the deep end.

Meltzer wrote - On the 3/27 Nitro, announcers Mark Madden and Tony Schiavone, at the expense of calling the matches and hyping the angles for the 4/16 PPV, spent the entire show trumpeting first the angle of whether Russo would agree to work with Bischoff, although neither appeared on camera, and then, hyping the two up as if they were two of the three geniuses, those exact words being used, that created the pro wrestling boom. 

The third name was never mentioned, although I suppose the name Vince McMahon may have been implied. Russo was hyped as the guy who turned the WWF around and Bischoff as the guy who turned WCW around. There is no questioning the latter statement, as Bischoff took a company that was grossing $30 million a year in 1993 and averaging about $6 million per year in red ink, to where in 1998, the company grossed approximately $200 million and garnered a $55 million profit. But even when the company was at its peak, its future, or lack thereof, was clear. He built around wrestlers past their prime. 

Bischoff's track record was hardly strong by the time of his departure, and his business judgement was very questionable after the Master P, KISS and Megadeth fiascos, paying big money to bring back Dennis Rodman after a point where he meant nothing, and losing Chris Jericho largely due to a lack of effort in maintaining him and being brainwashed with the idea that he couldn't be a top star. 

You called it the Vince Russo experiment. Here's some numbers on that

In October, Russo's first month in power, the attendance averaged 4,628 per show for a product already destroyed by the Nash regime, the Nitro rating averaged 3.08 and the Havoc buy rate was 0.52. By January, the last month under his watch (Russo was in power through 1/14, but live show attendance were tickets bought largely in December and the entire PPV hype was completed before he was done), attendance was averaging 3,593, the rating of 3.10 due to the switch from three hours to two was the equivalent of about a 2.9, and the buy rate was down to 0.26. 

When did you guys start talking about what you wanted to do on the April 10th Nitro. What other ideas were discussed for that show?

Who came up with the restart idea and why did you guys decide to do that?

That takes us to the April 10th Nitro. It took place in Denver, Colorado. It drew 9,074, which was 6,027 paying $168,749. Cool fact, the night before this Nitro, WCW did a house show in Huntsville, Alabama drawing 1,322 paying $28,615 

Do you remember anything about what went on earlier that day. When did you meet up with Russo, what did you guys do during the day, things of that nature

Meltzer wrote - The first Bischoff/Russo era episode of Nitro was largely considered a major success. The show was built around an old vs. new feud, with them being labeled NB, or New Blood, against the Millionaire's Club. No doubt as a swerve, they changed the original plans and had Bischoff join up with Russo and New Blood against the established stars. The entire show consisted of the big stars being shown up, beaten up, and left laying at the hands of wrestlers that in the past they wouldn't have even intermingled with. 

Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan in particular were the focus of the show, which wound up turning the entire group babyface even though the idea clearly was to not have any babyfaces or heels in the promotion. 

Hogan actually laid down for a three count in a non-match with Billy Kidman after turning their past statements about each other into an angle, although it was not in a scheduled match and it was a situation where Hogan actually treated Kidman as a jobber and laid down for a chair shot from Bischoff. Flair even worked a program with the returning Shane Douglas, something Flair had long vowed he would never do, although their first match after hype known mainly on the internet didn't mean anything when it came to heat, ratings, nor was the brawl anything special. 

Overall the first show was not universally, but largely considered the best Nitro in recent memory and much stronger than a somewhat blase Raw show that opposed it. That was the first time that could be said in a long time. There was a lot happening and it was unpredictable. On the down side, there were far too many insider references that were clearly lost on the live crowd and probably the majority of the television audience. 

While Bischoff came off as a strong television personality, Russo is not good on television and looked out of place portrayed as one of the two new big stars, since ultimately the show was built around Bischoff, Russo and Hogan, ending when Bischoff destroyed Hogan's limo with Hogan "in it" with a humvee, answering the old who drove the humvee question that 99% of fans had long forgotten. 

Show opened with most of the wrestlers in the ring for a team meeting. Jarrett cut a promo saying -

When I Came to WCW some six months ago, I told everyone that I was ‘The Chosen One’. I was hand picked to be the next WCW World Champion. My future was in the hands of the man who had the biggest hand in turning the WWF around. I know because I was there. Well somewhere along the way, our masterplan got derailed by a pack of good old boys. 

Who couldn’t compete in his league and they knew it. Well I’ve just got one thing to say… Yeah I’ve just got one thing to say to that bunch of slapnuts sitting at home watching this on TV tonight. What goes around comes around. So without further ado, it is my honour and my privelige to introduce you to the man who once was Vince McMahon’s best kept secret. Who will once again change the game. The power is… Vince Russo!” 

Russo came out to a rip off of the Road Warriors entrance music

Vince said - You know after giving six years of my life to the World Wrestling Federation, I came to WCW with one thing in mind. And that was to beat Vince McMahon at his own game. And you know what? Within a matter of weeks, The New Blood in WCW were not only getting back in the game, they were changing the game. And that’s when the good old boys network kicked in. Afraid of change, and more importantly, afraid of their jobs, the political B.S. took place in the back to bring Vince Russo down. 

And you scum at home know who you are because you’re watching me now. And then one day, I’m told that there’s gonna be a change in direction. A change that I knew sucked! And you know what, I wasn’t the only one who knew. [Chris] Benoit knew, [Eddie] Guerrero knew, [Perry] Saturn knew, [Dean] Malenko, [Shane] Douglas knew and they left. There gone! Scott Steiner, he knew it and they suspended his ass. Well, you know what, that’s all over now. It’s done. And Vince Russo is back in charge again. 

And I want to turn around and I want to say something to everybody in this ring. It is over! The old boys management is over! The inflated egos in the back, afraid to lose their spots. It is over! It is a dawning of a new day. It is your opportunity to seize that opportunity.” 

After Russo is done talking, you come out and say “Are you done yet?” you make your way to the ring and shakes hands with Russo and hugs him. You then say 

Let me tell you something, this man, Vince Russo and I have more in common than anybody knows. But the big thing is that we were both screwed by the same good old boys network. Vince is right, those days are over. But it’s OK. I don’t even mind. Any do you know why I don’t mind? It’s because it’s given me a hell of an opportunity to think about all the great things I did here in WCW. But it’s also an opportunity to realise the mistakes that I have made. Mistakes like… Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sting, Diamond Dallas Page, and oh yeah, oh yeah, lets not forget Sid ‘wishes he was’ Vicious. 

But you know what the biggest mistake I’ve ever made? I mean this is a real big one. Hulk Hogan. I’m sorry, I really am sorry. Everybody told me he would screw me. He would use me. They said ‘Do not look into that red and yellow light’ because you will be blinded. Well, I was blinded but tonight I’ve got 20/20 vision. I’m seeing real clearly for the first time in a long time and right now I want to apologise to everybody in this ring. The New Blood. And I want you guys to know, that if there is anything that I can do for Vince Russo that will help you, I am there for him. I am there for you because it is a whole new WCW. 

And where are they? Where are they? Where is Diamond Dallas Page? Where is Sting? Where are they?” Whilst Bischoff was talking, we cut to backstage were we see Lex Luger, Sting, Diamond Dallas Page & Sid Vicious watching backstage. Russo then says that they are hiding with their tail between their legs as Sting, Sid Vicious, Lex Luger & Diamond Dallas Page walk onto the stage. Bischoff says “You guys look like you’ve shown up ready for work”. 

Page takes the mic and questions what you had been smoking to which you replied with “Screw you, Page! You want to know something, if it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t be here tonight. You’d be slurping drinks in a rundown redneck bar in the middle of Florida. Telling the world that you’re friends with Bon Jovi. Where were you for the last six months while I’ve been sat at home umemployed? 

How about you, Sting, who’s the guy who rebuilt your career? I’ll tell you who it is, the same guy who made Lex Luger a multi-millionaire. When the WWF didn’t want anything else to do with him. That’s who it is. What about you, Sid? I’ll tell you what guys, I made you and I can sure as hell break you. 

But this time, it’s gonna be more fun. And it’s gonna be a little more fair. This time, it’ll be a level playing field. 

Vince Russo then cuts you off and says “You know what, Eric, before we get into that level playing field, I have something that I want to say and it’s a little personal. Because I know, he is back there hiding as well. I got something that I want to say to Ric Flair. Ric Flair, you are a piece of shit on the bottom of my shoe. I’m gonna scrap of that shit, and flush your ass down the toilet personally. Now Jeff, this is where you gotta trust me. Eric said that this is gonna be a level playing field and we’re gonna start a new day right here tonight. 

So, Jeff, I’m gonna ask you to hand that US title over to me. All titles will be stripped tonight! It’ll be a brand new playing field.” Russo then takes all of the belts from people expect for the World Heavyweight Title which is around Sid’s waist. As Russo is doing this, the fans start chanting for “Goldberg”. Sid then dares you to takes his belt off him and you said “OK”. you then starts walking over to Sid on the ramp. You ask Sid “Do you wanna lay me out?” to which Sid smiles and looks into the crowd for a response. 

He then asks Sid “Can’t find your scissors?” which is a reference to a confrontation that took place between Sid and Arn Anderson years ago that involved scissors. Sid then eventually hands over the World Title to you & you say “See you on the 16th, Spring Stampede. That’s when a real world champion will be crowned”. This segment alone took 19 minutes.

We are then shown Hulk Hogan arriving in the arena as we cut to commercial

After commercial, Tony, Scott & Mark recap everything that just happened. We cut to Hogan’s locker room where we see him taping up one of his wrists. Sting then enters and tells him that you are onto him and says he isn’t ribbing him.

Tony then tells us that you made an announcement during the commercial break that a mini tournament has been made for tonight to determine who will face Jeff Jarrett for the now vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Spring Stampede in 6 days

Match one is a WCW World Ttile Quarter Final Match between Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger. Page comes out with his wife, Kimberly, and his music gets cut off and he also doesn’t get his pyro. Lex Luger then comes out with Elizabeth. His music is also cut off. When he gets in the ring to flex and pose, his spotlight is removed and the lights come back on. During the match, Buff Bagwell made his entrance and gets all of his music and pyro and starts talking to Elizabeth. This distracts Luger who is then hit with the Diamond Cutter for the three at 4:23. Page’s music plays for a bit before it gets cut.

Backstage, we see Hogan knocking and opening doors looking for you as we go to commercial

After Commercial, we see Curt Hennig talking to Vince Russo about why he isn’t in the tournament. Russo says that if he can beat Jeff Jarrett tonight then he will takes Jarrett’s place in the main event at Spring Stampede. We then cut to Hogan who is still looking for you

Tank Abbott’s music plays and he comes to the ring. He says he doesn’t know the difference between a wrist lock and a wrist watch then he calls out Goldberg. Tank then says he is going to beat up innocent victims until Goldberg finally accepts his challenge. Tank makes his way to the announce table and attacks Mark Madden. He rips Mark’s shirt off. Tank throws him into the ring and punches him until security break it up

Backstage, we see Jeff Jarrett talking to Russo about having to wrestle against Curt Hennig to which Russo replies with “Trust me.” Also backstage, we see Torrie Wilson confronting Billy Kidman about what he’s about to do. Then we cut to Hulk Hogan who asks Terry Taylor where you are, as we cut to commercial

After Commercial, we see Hogan has finally found you & you invited him into his office for a chat. Billy Kidman’s music plays as he comes out to cut a promo

“You know, I feel like I’ve been handed a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card because for years, me and the rest of The New Blood have been held down by the ego maniacs trying to hold on to their fading careers. I’ve been used and abused and told to keep my mouth shut. Well, tonight is my night. And the one man I wanna address is the biggest ego maniac of them all. Hulk Hogan! That’s right, Hulk, for weeks you’ve been bad mouthing me. 

You’ve been talking about my size. And yeah, I may not have the body that you have but I have two things that you can’t take away from me and they’re two things that you will never have. Heart and talent! We all know the only way to get that grotest orange tan that you have is to be in the spotlight for way too long. You say that Billy Kidman can’t draw flies. 

Well, maybe you’re right. But who would know better than drawing flies than a pile of shit like you. So, Hulk, that leaves only one thing that I’ve waited a long time to do. I’m calling your ass out! It’s time if your balls are as big as your bald spot”. Hogan hears what Kidman had to say from a monitor backstage and makes his way to the ring to confront Kidman.

Hogan says “Who in the hell do you think you are, Kidman? I’ve been sitting in the back and this isn’t the first time I’ve listened to your crap. I’ve been watching you the last couple of months. I’ve been hearing you crying. ‘When am I gonna get the break? When am I gonna get the push?’ Well you’re the kind of punk that gives the young guys a bad name.” 

Kidman replies by saying that Hogan’s career is over. Hogan replies with “If you were in my league, if you were in the same game as me you might understand what this business is all about. But you’re so damned ‘pee-whipped’ with that girl that you…” This causes Kidman to attack Hogan before he can say something about his girlfriend, Torrie Wilson. 

Hogan starts to make a comeback after Billy Kidman dives into a guardrail by sending him into the ring post then into the guardrail. Hogan then throws him into the ring and lays into him with punches in the corner. You then come out with a chair in hand. He then hits Hogan in the head with the chair which causes Hogan to bleed. Kidman then pins Hogan and youcounts the fall and raises Kidman’s arm in the air.

We cut backstage to find a limo pulling up and Ric Flair gets out.

After Commercial, Hulk Hogan is going nuts backstage. He throwing everything and dropping swear words 

We then cut to Ric Flair who is watching some of the things that happened earlier in the show. He then comes to the ring and talks. “Woo! Only this time, it must be Vince ‘Oh My God you’re back’ Russo, huh! Is that it? Russo, if what I’m told if correct, you and Bischoff have just given me the green light. I said it last week, I said ‘I can’t say how I feel about you in ten seconds, give me ten minutes!’ 

Here’s the deal, Russo, here’s what you can’t stand. You came from the WWF to save us. My friend, you grew up watching me, pal. You know it and you live with it everyday of your life. You want to call me ‘old’. Put ‘old’ away and call me ‘great’. You think in this town that every time Brian Griese [NFL player for Denver Broncos at the time] throws a touchdown that they forget about John Elway. Elway’s the man! Elway! Elway!

It doesn’t mean that Brian Griese ain’t a player but Elway’s the man and if you’re from New York, what you better get used to, if you grew up looking at Yankees Stadium, you say Joe, you say The Knicks, you saw Ric Flair next to them. That drives you crazy, pal. This is the only business sport in the world that you get your ass kicked for getting old. Forget about old, I got great. So did Hogan. So did Sting. So did Page. We all got great based on our own abilities. You want to insult me! Here’s the deal. I hate Bischoff but at least he’s got the guts to step up to Vicious. Russo, I ain’t spending $200,000 on John Taylor. You got a problem with me, then step up to me.”

Scott Steiner’s music hits and he comes out and stands on the stage. “Ric Flair, you old bastard, I’m listening to you in the back on the moniter and quite frankly, you’re boring me to death. The last time I came out here and did an thing on you, you obviously listened because you gritted your teeth but your still crooked as hell. After I did that interview, you and your old bastard friends tried to get me fired. 

But that didn’t surprise me none because if you look at the WWF now and see whos the champion up there with the exception of one person, they’ve all come from here. Except you and your old bastard friends ran them out so you could be a 14-time world champion. That don’t mean shit to me. That fat ass in the front row with no teeth could be a 14-time world champion if he has all his friends pulling the strings. 

When I look at you, I see a confused look on your face so I’m gonna put it to you another way. I know there’s no way in hell you can never be at my level physically and mentally so I’m gonna lower myself to what you are, that old class, white trash from Charlotte, North Carolina. So see if you can guess who I am now”. Steiner then pulls out some fake teeth and starts imitating Flair. While Steiner’s doing this, Shane Douglas comes from out of nowhere and knocks down Ric Flair with one punch and a elbow while Steiner is still bad mouthing Flair.

These guys had a lot of heat for many years with each other. Shane would often call Ric out during promos in ECW. What's your memories of getting them to work together here?

Cut to backstage where we see Kevin Nash on crutches arriving

After commercial, the camera cuts to Bret Hart sat in the audience and no one notices that he is there. Meltzer wrote - They wanted him in the rafters but he vetoed it recognizing how people would take that. 

Is that true? 

We also get a recap for Shane Douglas attacking Ric Flair. Backstage, Flair is looking for Douglas. He should try looking by the interview section because that’s where he is with “Mean” Gene Okerlande who shouts at Douglas for attacking Flair. Douglas says that Ric Flair is making a joke out of the business, says he will “franchise his ass” and has hated him from day one.

54 minutes in and we are now getting our second match.

Match two is a WCW World title Quarter Final match between Sting and Sid Vicious. Sting defeated Sid Vicious in 6:17 by Count Out. During the match, the referee is knocked down which leads to The Wall running in and hitting Sid in the back with a chair after Sid had just powerbombed Sting. The Wall then chokeslams Sid through a table on the outside of the ring which causes him to get counted out.

So it’s Diamond Dallas Page vs Sting against the winner of Jeff Jarrett vs Curt Hennig for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Spring Stampede. 

Ric Flair enters the ring and challenges Shane Douglas to a match later tonight. Cut to backstage where we see Hogan still on a rampage throwing a box of ice at the camera.

After commercial, we see Hogan asking people where you're at, and throws them into a fence. 

Tony then talks about the premiere of “Ready to Rumble” at Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California which saw David Arquette hit Jeff Jarrett over the head with a guitar as Jarrett said he would crash the premiere. Tony and Scott then say that David Arquette is going to be on Thunder on Wednesday and they both tell him not to after everything that has happened.

Match 3 is a WCW World Heavyweight Championship Semi Final match between Jeff Jarrett vs Curt Hennig. Jeff Jarrett defeated Curt Hennig in 4:28. Once again, the referee is knocked down which causes Shawn Stasiak to enter using Hennig’s old music. Scott Hudson tells us that Stasiak used to be Meat in the WWF. Stasiak attacks Hennig and hits him with some move. Jarrett then hits Hennig with The Stroke for the 3.

Backstage, Hogan enters a skybox in the arena and asks fans where you were. 

We then cut to Ric Flair walking backstage for his match with Shane Douglas

After commercial, we see Kevin Nash on the phone to someone. We then get a interview by Mean Gene and Sting.

Match 4 is Ric Flair vs Shane Douglas. Both men wrestled in street clothes. But it isn’t a street fight? Ric Flair defeated Shane Douglas by Disqualification in 3:03 after Vince Russo hit Flair with a baseball bat. After the match, Shane Douglas attacks Flair with Russo’s bat while Russo steals Ric Flair’s $15,000 Rolex and leaves with Douglas. Backstage we see Kevin Nash making his way to the ring

After commercial, we get a recap of the aftermath of the Flair vs Douglas match.

Kevin Nash makes his way to the ring on crutches as we are told that he has a broken ankle. Nash says “Denver, Colorado! Big Sexy in the…[fans shout ‘house’]. Let me see if I’ve got this right. We got a couple of jack-offs in the back running around deciding whos careers there gonna make and whos there gonna break. And to add insult to injury, these two jack-offs have decided that their gonna play ‘Wrestler’ and attack the boys. Now granted, after travelling up and down the road the last ten years with Scott Hall, I’ve lost a couple of brain cells, my question is ‘What the hell happened to sweet little wrestling show we were doing every Monday?’

I mean, where in the hell is The Dog when you need him? You know, Russo, Easy E, I’m gonna give you guys an opportunity. I just got off the phone with Scott, and you know what? Scott’s straight. Scott’s sober. And Scott’s in a real bad mood. So why don’t we cut the chase boys, but you know what, the way I look at it, either one of you guys wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Scott and I. Russo, you know for a fact Scott Hall and Kevin Nash when you were in the World Wrestling Federation saved you from being decapitated by Shawn Michaels numerous occasions. 

And you, Easy E, if it wasn’t for The Outsiders there would have been no N.W.O. and you’d still be bringing Verne Gagne his coffee in Minnesota. You want us out, it’s real simple, if you’re gonna come down here, bring your bat, bring your chair. Most importantly, bring your balls!” Just then, Mike Awesome enters the ring and attacks Nash with his crutches. 

Tony points out that Mike Awesome is the current ECW World Champion. Before Awesome talks, he flips off a fan and says “When I heard Bischoff and Russo were back in the saddle here in WCW, I knew that it was too sweet of an opportunity to pass up.”

This was a really big deal at the time, because Mike Awesome was the ECW World Champion, which Tony Schiavone said on commentary.

Meltzer wrote - In a strange series of circumstances, it appeared that Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, in their attempt to re-create the debuting impact of Nitro in 1995 with Lex Luger's surprising walking on the set, combined with the incident where Madusa threw the WWF womens title belt in the garbage can, since they were unable to secure any WWF talent, made a huge pitch to garner ECW's heavyweight champion.

Awesome, who apparently had more than two years remaining on a deal through the late summer of 2002 with ECW, started the weekend by no-showing matches on 4/6 in Cleveland and 4/7 in Warren, OH. There had been some rumors the previous weekend regarding Awesome jumping, with Paul Heyman claiming it would be impossible because of their existing contract. Heyman and contracts have always been one of those strange deals because of the widespread belief, justified numerous times in the past, that wrestlers claimed by the promotion and even in many cases by the wrestlers themselves as being under contract to the company, actually weren't. 

Sabu represented himself to WCW as not having had a written contract with ECW, which as it turned out, wasn't the case, which has left him in temporary limbo.

When Awesome missed the first show, there was no cause for concern since he stated that his flight from Florida was grounded and he had never missed a show previously. The next night, he claimed his flight had been delayed again when he hadn't arrived, and just before show time, reports from the arena claim Jeff Jones talked with him and he said he had landed and would be at the arena shortly. 

But once again he never arrived, which raised legitimate suspicion even though nobody in ECW up to that point was aware of internet reports of his leaving for WCW. By that evening, word was getting around about a report on the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show that morning in Tampa, a known wrestling fan who has worked with all three major promotions when they run the city and is well known for being friends with Terry Bollea and Jimmy Hart, claiming that WCW had made Awesome a high six-figure per year offer and he was joining the company. 

By the next day, it was fairly common knowledge in wrestling that he had accepted the WCW deal and was not going to return to ECW and drop the title before leaving. It was generally regarded, whether Heyman had or hadn't treated him fairly, that by no-showing the final weekend and not dropping the title in the ring before leaving, he was acting unprofessionally, whether by his own designs, or through encouragement of WCW to throw the belt itself in the garbage can on Nitro and make a statement regarding questions about whether ECW had surpassed WCW for the No. 2 spot.

Talk about all of this happened

Meltzer went on to write - Heyman showed up on 4/8 in Buffalo for the TNN tapings and showed several people what appeared to be a three-year contract with Mike Alfonso for slightly over $600,000 in total over the duration. The contract contained initials on several pages and a signature. The nature of the business being what it is, there were those who even questioned whether the signature was real, particularly since friends of Alfonso and apparently even Alfonso himself were insistent that he had never actually signed his contract.

Backstage the stories went around that WCW had made offers or inquiries about several ECW wrestlers including Storm indirectly (this is definitely true), Sandman, Rhino, James Vandenburg, Mikey Whipwreck and Kid Kash. On 4/10, there was an attempt to get a temporary restraining order against Awesome appearing on Nitro, which didn't happen, but the previous night, due to the existence of the contract, it appeared Awesome was being pulled from the show the next night anyway. 

Negotiations went back and forth all day between WCW and ECW, ending just prior to the show going on the air with the agreement that WCW would pay ECW a figure reported in the low six figures to give Alfonso a release from his deal, and in return, Alfonso would not bring the ECW belt on television, would appear in street clothes to do his angle with Kevin Nash, and WCW would allow him to wrestle in Indianapolis for ECW on 4/13 to drop the title in the ring. This would be his final ECW appearance, so ECW could broadcast the news of the title change the next night on TNN before he actually wrestled his first match on WCW television. 

In addition, on Nitro, Awesome would be billed as ECW champion and they would plug the upcoming title defense in ECW and the TNN show on Friday. The situation got even more complicated because WCW sort of plugged that Awesome had a title defense upcoming but in a vague way where it really didn't mean anything, never plugged the TNN show, and apparently, also violated the agreement by Awesome cutting an interview on the show. 

This led to a situation that went back-and-forth prior to the WCW Thunder tapings on 4/11 in Colorado Springs, CO which Eric Bischoff termed that afternoon on Wrestling Observer Live something that he had spent most of the day working on, and termed Awesome's eventual work destination as far as WCW or ECW being "a jump ball" while sources in ECW claimed the original settlement because of the violation may be out the window. 

Awesome would drop the ECW Title to WWF wrestler, Taz at that Indianapolis house show for ECW

Backstage, we see Hulk Hogan on the phone sat in his limo. He says hes gonna beat your ass . He then see the camera and slams the door. Just then, the white Hummer from last year makes a return and smashes into Hogan’s limo. You get out of the driver’s seat and is joined by Kidman who was in the passenger’s seat.

After commercial, we see Billy Kidman writing N.B. on Hulk Hogan’s chest and says he should get it tattooed.

The final match is a WCW World Title Semi Final match between Diamond Dallas Page (w/Kimberly) vs Sting. Page gets all of his music and his pyro this time. Before the match starts, Jeff Jarrett’s music hits and goes to the commentary table and joins Tony and Scott. More interference as Jeff Jarrett goes after Kimberly which distracts Page. 

The referee goes after Page to get him back in the ring which causes Sting to be attacked by Vampiro. Vampiro hits The Nail in the Coffin and leaves before Page and the ref get back in the ring. Page hits the Diamond Cutter on Sting and gets the win in 3:42.

So the main event at Spring Stampede is Jeff Jarrett vs Diamond Dallas Page for the Vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Jarrett goes to hit Page with his guitar but Page ducks out of the way and Jarrett ends up hitting Kimberly. We cut to commercial

After commercial, we get a recap of Jeff Jarrett hitting Kimberly with the guitar and we see Diamond Dallas Page carry Kimberly to the back. We then see Jeff Jarrett, Vince Russo and yourself, who are all smiles.

Jarrett then comes back out to the ring and says “That’s right. Six days. Six days and counting until The Chosen One realises his destiny. Six days until The Chosen One gets to show who has all the stroke around this place. Six days until Spring Stampede until I am crowned the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. And Page, this Sunday, if you want to bring your wife back along, there’s gonna be a real man in the ring who can show her some more ‘wood’.” 

Page’s music hits and charges the ring to attack Jarrett. Just then Scott Steiner runs out to attack Page. Lex Luger then runs out and attacks Jarrett, Steiner and Buff Bagwell who had just ran out. The Wall and Vampiro both come out and attack Luger & Page. Sting then runs out and tries to clean house but is cut off by Booker T and Ernest “The Cat” Miller. The New Blood beat up Sting, Page & Luger and stand tall as both Vince Russo & you come out and shake each others hands 

Just then, Bret Hart appears behind them as Nitro fades to black to end the show

What was your relationship like with Bret when you came back?

He had been out since Starrcade, in December because of the kick from Goldberg. What did you want to do with him when you returned?

In hindsight, would you do everything on this show exactly the same way, or would you change some things?

Nitro did a 3.06 rating (3.58 first hour; 2.64 second hour) and a 4.6 share. Raw did a 6.17 rating (5.68 first hour; 6.61 second hour) and a 9.4 share