[1995-09-04-WCW-Nitro] Nitro introduction / Brian Pillman vs Jushin Liger

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

The original Nitro opening, which had Hogan, Savage, Sting and Vader. Vader would be replaced with Luger within a week.

 

We get some outside shots of Monday Nitro, and maybe it's just me, but Nitro at the mall made WCW feel more like a Tiffany concert instead of a wrestling promotion. I was hoping for stonewashed denim and big hair, but sadly, we didn't get it.

 

Mongo catches Heenan with a joy buzzer, which is unrelentingly hilarious.

 

Liger/Pillman isn't that good of a match, but it has historical value as the first-ever Nitro match. I'm always amazed when most fans remember guys like Liger and Muta when they come back for occasional matches. Chalk it up to injuries or drugs or just spinning his wheels for years in WCW, but this match demonstrates how far Pillman had fallen at this point from 1992. In spite of that, I still think this was a good match to kick off Nitro to distinguish it as a bigger deal than weekend TV.

[Tim Evans]

Man Mongo was so awful on commentary. Easily one of the worst ever. I agree that this wasn't that good but it was good enough to open the first Nitro. Found it interesting that both Bischoff and Heenan were calling out Pillman on his botches.

[BackToBionic]

McMichael was a terrible commentator but I suppose he at least had passion for the sport? He seems genuinely excited (maybe overly so at times) Bischoff is terrible too in this era of Nitro. He'd just shit all over most guys that weren't Hogan, Sting or Savage.

[PeteF3]

Here we go...the start of the thing that's keeping me plowing through what is overall a subpar year to say the least. We are LIVE from the Mall of America, and I was always a fan of WCW's willingness to hold Nitro in odd venues, whether by choice or by necessity (Disney during the '96 Olympics). Mongo drops the immortal line, "This place is apropos, and that don't mean you're digging around in the dirt with farm implements, baby!" Bobby informs McMichael that he was a "big fan when he played for Denver," which is funny.

 

Liger of course, once again, gets the stereotypical Fu Manchu entrance music instead of just bringing a tape over of his normal theme. The match is certainly a far cry from SuperBrawl 2, with Pillman having regressed quite a bit in the intervening years. But it's still good enough, and an enjoyable spotfest to kick Nitro off. Pillman blows a few headscissors and the ending isn't done well, but this did its job. It's still good to see Brian actually do something for pretty much the first time since the Austin feud.

[flyonthewall2983]

The "tension" between Mongo and Heenan was the worst part of it for me. McMichael's insults are all the same, and Heenan doesn't have many smart comebacks like he would have in the WWF. It's no secret he didn't like working there now and stuff like this is easy to see why.

 

For some reason I thought Flair/Sting was the first match. This is nowhere near Liger/Pillman in '92 as Brian is showing serious rust and wear and tear from his injuries now. The handshake at the end surprised me, especially without the sneak attack later that would be so commonplace in both companies.

[tjones324]

This match wasn't as good as I remembered it being up rewatching it. Pillman was pretty sloppy and it just didn't seem to flow for me. As to Mongo, perhaps I had expectations so low that he managed to meet them. I'm not saying he was by any means good, but he wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting if that makes sense.

[Beast]

Pure spotfest, but it works as the introduction of WCW to a new audience. Liger's costume and the dives would have immediately stood out (and probably did to my 10-year old self). 

I've always looked at this episode as the premier example of how to book the 1st episode a new show, especially one that could be seen by a wider audience than usual. 

1) Liger vs. Pillman - Has historical value for WCW fans, but for everyone else is an introduction to a style WCW did better and more often than WWF (aside from Waltman/Hakushi during this period).

2) Sting vs. Flair - Followup to a legendary feud (that even WWF-only fans may have heard of), plus features a surprise return from a WWF star in Luger. Again, historical value for WCW fans because Luger had issues with both men in the match.

3) Hogan vs. Bubba - Biggest name and current champion in a rare TV match, against a former rival in the WWF.

Add in numerous vignettes/appearances by new talent (Norton, Sabu, IRS), plus finishing strong with the 1st ever Hogan/Luger interaction and this hits on all cylinders. 

Raw has never quite matched the feeling of the beginning of Nitro, where it felt like anyone could show up (Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero) and the matches were a weekly Who's Who of '90s stars (Hogan, Flair, Sting, Luger, Savage, Anderson). Add in the Steiners and Road Warriors (and Public Enemy debuting) in early '96, plus the emergence of The Giant and even pre-nWo Nitro was something special.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Brian Pillman vs Jushin Thunder Liger - WCW Nitro 9/4/95

After a lot of hemming and hawing, I am pulling the trigger, I am going to go through all the Nitros of 1995. I just love this period too much not to do it and I have been doing all the big PPV matches, I am might as well do it. I am going to be briefer in my reviews to try to make this take up less time. 

I have seen all the Nitros from the beginning through November, may be even December. I was surprised how disappointing this was. Even though their SuperBrawl II match is a stone cold classic. It is a far cry from that. It is not the couple botches, which never really bother me, it is how stilted it is. They are both waiting a beat too long in the match and it really takes you out of the match. It feels more like dress rehearsal of the match they wanted to have. These are complaints I often levy at today's wrestling, but you can see the same problems here in 1995. Today's wrestling is a weird mix of New Japan Juniors, All Japan Heavies and Lucha. It is not too surprising you can see the influences here in this particular match, but also the pitfalls of the style that would ultimately rule professional wrestling. It was clear the directive from Bischoff was to hit a lot of high spots. They did that. There was zero flow or connective tissue between the high spots, but there were a lot of high spots. I wouldnt even say they pushed the tempo. It was kinda slow honestly. Flair/Sting in the next match blew them away in tempo. I dont think this was necessarily a Pillman which was alluded to on commentary and on this forum because Pillman had a very strong, explosive match with Johnny B. Badd match a couple weeks later. I think this was interactive effect between both on this night

This match would look great on a highlight package. You take all the high spots on the outside, the ground-to-air dropick by Pillman, the powerbomb by Liger, this thing would look great. As a match, it is just alright. At the same time, it is a great match to open Nitro. Jushin Liger is a visually impressive wrestler. If you are curious about it or channel surfing, you would be like who is the dude with horns and him and Pillman busted out a lot of stuff you wouldnt see in WWF outside of Shawn Michaels or 1-2-3 Kid. It served its purpose even if didnt hold up well.