83 Weeks - Monday Nitro 09.11.95 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

The second Monday Nitro on TNT aired on September 11, 1995 and emanated from the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida. It was the first head-to-head meeting of the Monday Night Wars. Nitro drew a 2.5 rating and 3.8 share as opposed to Monday Night Raw doing a 2.2 rating and a 3.2 share. The Nitro replay did a 0.9 rating. The show drew 3,183 fans paid with a $28,000 house (tickets were $10 and $5); The venue was a sellout, with more than 5,500 total including unpaid. 

First up, the news of the week. And we have some good ones!

Appeals court stands by ruling in Jesse Ventura lawsuit against Titan

Observer: The U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit out of St. Paul, MN issued a 30-page ruling on 9/11 affirming the original verdict in the Jesse Ventura (Jim Janos) lawsuit against Titan Sports.

Ventura was awarded $809,000, largely on videotape royalties when the court ruled Titan lied to him in contract negotiations saying that nobody received a percentage of videotape royalties except wrestlers in the case of a "Best of Roddy Piper" or "Best of Jim Duggan" type of a tape. It was later revealed in the trial that Hulk Hogan, Mr. T and others had received royalties on tapes that didn't bear their name.

Titan had argued in the court of appeals that Ventura had made a deal and shouldn't be able to recover royalties but the jury in November of 1992 ruled that because Titan Vice President Dick Glover had lied to Ventura's agent, Barry Bloom, in negotiations, that deal should have been nullified.

Ventura is now due both the $809,000 plus accrued interest which would be a figure well over $1 million, plus all court costs so the total figure is expected to be in the $1.2 million range.

Question: Did Ventura ever talk about this? What was your opinion on the lawsuit and the decision?

Mean Gene’s Contract

Observer: Gene Okerlund's contract expires this week and both sides are said to be far apart when it comes to doing a new deal. Okerlund has tried to use Titan as leverage saying he could get Todd Pettengill's role and run the 900 line there, but the folks at WCW don't think McMahon would replace Pettengill. No word whether Okerlund would continue in his current role while negotiating a new deal or not.

Do you remember having issues getting Gene into a new contract? If so, how did you seal the deal?

Vader/Orndorff shoot fight

The Wednesday before the first Nitro, one of wrestling’s most legendary shoot fights took place. Big Van Vader, Leon White, clashed with Paul Orndorff, who was also an agent at the time, several hours before a television taping at Center Stage. Interviews were happening with Gene Okerlund and Orndorff was impatient. Apparently, no one could find White, so Orndorff said they would do something else and leave Vader out of it. 

Tony Schiavone told the story on What Happened When that Vader walked up to Orndorff while yelling, “You motherfucker, if you’ve got something you’ve got to say to me then you say it to my face.” Vader said those words with a shove to Orndorff, who punched him in the face immediately. According to Tony, Paul took Vader to the ground and stomped his head into the concrete until he was busted open. 

The Observer reported that a second fight later erupted between the two in an office. 

Tony says he was tasked with calling Eric to tell him what happened. Tony says Vader was fired over the incident for starting the fight. 

Question: Do you remember getting the call from Tony? Did you make the decision to fire Vader? 

Another rumor was that Vader was slated to win the WCW World Title from Hogan on the second episode of Nitro. Meltzer hinted that this didn’t work for someone, brother, and was vetoed. 

Question: Is this true? 

Metlzer reported that the fight led to renewed negotiations with Lex Luger that, ultimately, resulted in him joining WCW. By opening up between $625,000 and $750,000 from losing Vader, the rumor and innuendo was that a guaranteed money deal could be offered to Luger - which was what he wanted to jump.

Question: Did Vader leaving the company influence your decision to bring back Lex Luger?

And now, let’s start the show!

Nitro opens with the classic city-scape fire explosion. Vader is in the show open, still. He won’t be for long. 

The show begins with a beautiful aerial view of Miami. Your commentary team is Eric Bischoff, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and Steve “Mongo” McMichael. The commentary set is surrounded by a black curtain, which will eventually be changed to allow viewers to see behind the announcers.

McMichael says tonight will be the biggest moment in TV since the old lady said “Where’s the beef?’.

Meltzer hated Mongo on commentary, saying, “Steve McMichael was actually worse the second week because he's still clueless and has nothing to add and no name value. He clearly doesn't know any of the wrestlers except the guys like Hogan, Sting, Flair and Savage who are already names and thus don't need announcers' help to get over.”

Also, very ahead of its time: the ring apron is transparent and has lights behind the Nitro letters. Eventually, the aprons would have red cloth behind the Nitro letters.

Why lose the transparent ring aprons?

Sabu pins Alex Wright at 3:57 - before the referee reverses the decision and DQs Sabu

Sabu runs out, runs into and shoves David Penzer, who drops his cards!

Observer:  Sabu was hurting, it appeared both from his hip and shoulder but still did a lot of suicidal spots. He did a somersault plancha. He then set up a chair on the floor and ran and leaped off the chair to do a leg whip but Wright moved and he splattered on the floor. Wright delivered a dropkick on the floor and a dropkick off the top rope followed by a dive of his own and a superplex off the top. Sabu came back with a reverse leg whip to the throat but Wright hit a german suplex (the one move Bischoff called correctly) for a near fall. Sabu got behind Wright while both were standing on the top rope and used a rana for a pin in 3:57. After the match Sabu got a table and came off the top rope to the floor with a clothesline with both going through the table and the referee reversed the decision so Wright was declared the winner. This match was very good while it lasted but way too short and the announcers never mentioned Sabu the rest of the show and didn't get him over well during the match. **1/2

Stan Notes: 

• Hot match with loads of beautiful spots by Alex Wright including one of the best missile drop kicks I’ve seen. 
• Everything Sabu does looks dangerous. Alex Wright was sitting up...wright...on the table. Sabu just jumps head first at him and breaks the table with his own body. 

Flair promo where Luger comes out, gets put over by Flair, laughs...and leaves. Why did he do that? Meltzer said it was to tease the idea that Luger would turn heel and join the Horsemen.  Awkward segment that Metlzer called a “total waste of time.”

Sting pins V.K. Wallstreet to keep the U.S. title with a crossbody off the top in 4:12. 

Meltzer called it, “A nothing match. *1/4;”

Stan Notes:

• During the entrances, Bischoff asks Bobby Heenan why Wallstreet is now calling himself “VK.” Of course, this is to allude to Vincent Kennedy 
• Fireworks for Sting go off and actually hit the ceiling of the building. That can’t be safe!
• Sloppy match. Sting wins with a cross body off the top. 

It was during this match that the announcers really began to lay into WWE (with Bobby Heenan notably not blasting them).

McMichael says Luger literally came out of the Bush Leagues. (No. That’s not right. If he literally came out of the Bush Leagues, he would have been playing baseball.) Eric says he won’t be the last to jump. 

Bischoff’s Burial of WWE

While describing the tactics used by both sides going into week 2 of Nitro, Meltzer said Bischoff knocked WWF for a continual hour, “gloating about Luger coming out of the bush leagues to play with the big boys and saying he won't be the last one, several mentions that just nine days ago Luger was in the WWF, having Steve McMichael say don't turn the channel and watch a show named after an uncooked egg, changing Mike Rotunda's name to V.K. Wallstreet (V.K. being short for Vincent K.). Bischoff even went so far as to tell viewers not to channel surf because the other show was taped two weeks ago and Shawn Michaels beat "the big guy" with a superkick that he wouldn't be able to get a green belt with at a corner karate studio. When Luger was in trouble during the Hogan match, Bischoff said that Luger was rusty because he hadn't been facing tough competition, noting that their world champion was barely a mid-level guy here. In some East Coast markets, TNT purchased what I was told was a great commercial that aired midway through Raw telling viewers that if you want to see real wrestling and not a kiddie show, turn to TNT and see wrestling where the big boys play. 

Question: Do you remember that commercial? Or would that have been a decision someone made without consulting you?

Meltzer continued, “However, after Bischoff came under tremendous criticism for knocking McMahon too hard, I'm told that will be the end of it with Bischoff apparently feeling this was his response to five years of media knocks by McMahon and in particular for McMahon's letters several months ago to Ted Turner trying to get Turner to fold the company because of it being a poorly run company that was embarrassing Turner's good name.”

Question: What do you remember about Vince McMahon sending letters to Ted Turner telling him to shut down his ‘poorly run company?’

Meltzer also said, “Bischoff was totally out of control and even though some of the knocks were shocking (telling fans Raw was taped two weeks ago and they were live and giving the result of the main event away) and a few inside ones were funny, by the end of the show Bischoff was totally annoying and came off like a bratty child.”

Any response to that criticism?

Teaser for WCW Saturday Night (actually they give us the entire card).

Randy Savage pinned Scott Norton in 5:39. 

Observer: Norton spent most of the match destroying Savage's back. Savage sold it good (only problem was when he did his run in later in the show, he had stopped selling it). Finish saw the Dungeon of Doom, who come across as the most inept group of main event heels in history, doing a run-in and Norton crashed into Shark, who somehow was knocked out and fell on Norton's legs. Norton was then trapped on the ground so Savage delivered the elbow off the top for a pin. **1/4;

Stan Notes: 

• Norton keeps taunting Mongo, like there was something planned for them. 
• Norton suplexes Savage over the top rope - but then let’s his feet lay on the top rope, similar to Orton’s move, and DDTs him. It looks NASTY because Savage tries to roll forward. 
• Now, I know this finish will get shit - but I loved it. Shark/Tenta comes out and then he falls on Scott Norton’s legs! Savage nails an elbow off the top and pins Norton. The referee counts while Tenta is still on Norton, which is a little weird but it’s pro wrestling.

At Fall Brawl, we learn Hulk, Macho, Sting and Vader (jk lol) will fight Muscular Dystrophy. Is that a new tag-team? Nope. The show will benefit MDA. I don’t know what that is but it sounds like something Dockins would want me to sign.

Camera takes a shot of a WWF wrestling buddy when Hogan comes out. 

How’s that go over with Eric when the other company’s merchandise makes it on TV? No big deal since you have the talent? 

Hogan beat Luger to keep the title via DQ in 5:28. 

Observer: With the added weight, Luger looked even more clumsy than usual and it was bad, made worse because of all the hype going in with Bischoff calling it "The Match of the Century." With all the talk about Luger, it was shocking just how not over he was live. They traded a few no sell spots with Hogan in the babyface role although the crowd was kind of split and flat for a Hogan match. Finish saw Hogan do the superman comeback complete with legdrop when the inept heels all attacked Hogan for the DQ, so he at least gave the impression that he was going to beat Luger. Hogan, Savage and Sting then destroyed the heels in all of 30 seconds, making me want to see the War Games really bad, while Luger did nothing, still selling the devastating legdrop. Savage got mad at Luger for not helping while Sting defended Luger and wanted him on the War Games team. In a badly acted skit where it appeared the fans could have cared less, Hogan asked Luger where he was coming from and Luger said he'd agree to be on the team provided Hogan gave him the title rematch he had promised Vader.

Stan Notes: 

• Hogan starts out with some wrestling, which he’s quite good at. 
• Lex racks Hulk, facing the wrong direction (away from the hard cam). 
• For some reason, the referee raises Hulks arm three times during the torture rack. That would be like raising someone’s arm three times who was in a kimura or leg-lock; this move doesn’t put you to sleep. 
• Lex just drops him and goes for the pin - so Hulk can Hulk up, do his finisher...and the Dungeon of Doom runs out again.
• Mean Gene says Vader doesn’t qualify for Hulk Hogan’s team. Hogan says Luger gave him the match of his lifetime. Luger replaces Vader on the team after an argument about who can be trusted. 

Eric gives us a tease for The Main Event over the weekend, and next Monday’s Nitro too. And we’re desperately out of time. 

Overall, how did you feel about the second episode of Monday Nitro?