Top 5 Most Memorable Moments On WCW Monday Nitro
When it comes to wrestling in the 90’s, perhaps the biggest thing people remember most is the Monday Night Wars between the WWF and WCW.
While WWF would ultimately win the war, there was a period where WCW was thumping The Fed in the ratings - 83 consecutive weeks, in fact. WCW had some great moments, so here are the five most memorable.
5. Chris Jericho’s 1,004 holds promo: 
During his WCW run, Chris Jericho played a prominent role in the Cruiserweight Division. His most notable feud was with Dean Malenko. On the March 30th, 1998 episode of Nitro, Jericho defeated Marty Jannetty, which was then followed up by a promo by Jericho. The promo mocked Malenko being “The Man of 1,000 Holds”, with Jericho presenting a list of his 1,004 holds. Jericho proceeded to name the moves, and would even include arm bar more than once. The segment was certainly one of the most entertaining in WCW history.
4. Lex Luger returns to WCW: 
After a lackluster run as “The Lex Express” in WWF, Lex Luger was looking to return to WCW. Eric Bischoff, however, wasn’t a fan of Luger both professionally and personally, but made an offer to Luger out of respect to Sting, who was real life best friends with Luger. WWF was under the impression that Luger would re-sign with them, but he chose WCW’s offer instead. On the debut episode of Monday Nitro, September 4th, 1995, Luger appeared in front of the crowd to the shock of the broadcast booth. Later that night, Luger would confront Hulk Hogan to challenge him for the WCW World Heavyweight title, as Nitro went off the air.
3. Arn Anderson’s in-ring retirement: 
Member of The Four Horsemen - One of the most underrated professional wrestlers of all-time - And a great mind for the business - All these things perfectly sum up Arn Anderson. During the first couple of years of Nitro, Arn was wrestling less and less, with the main issue being neck problems. On August 25th, 1997, Arn announced his retirement from the ring, in perhaps the most emotional moment in Nitro history. Since then, he’s worked behind the scenes for both WWE and AEW.
2. Goldberg captures the WCW World Heavyweight title: 
Say what you want about Bill Goldberg as a wrestler, but there’s no denying that he was best homegrown talent that WCW ever produced. On the September 22nd, 1997 episode of Nitro, Goldberg made his debut by defeating Hugh Morrus, which would subsequently be followed by many victories after that. In the summer of 1998, Goldberg would feud with Hollywood Hogan. Rather than having the match on pay-per view, Eric Bischoff elected to put the main event on the July 6th Nitro - a financial decision that most still question years later. With WCW and nWo wrestlers feuding on the outside, a distracted Hogan would receive a spear from Goldberg, followed by The Jackhammer. Bobby Heenan proclaimed on commentary that Goldberg became the very first world champion to be undefeated.
1. Scott Hall shows up: 
While Lex Luger’s return to WCW was made to be a shock, that had nothing on the impact Scott Hall would make. Following a mediocre stint as The Diamond Studd in WCW, Scott Hall would join the WWF, and have huge success as Razor Ramon. During the May 27th, 1996 Nitro, Hall would come from the crowd in denim attire, and interrupt a match between Steve Doll and The Mauler (Mike Enos). Hall began with his promo with the line “You know who I am, but you don’t know why I’m here.” This moment would plant the seeds for the Monday Night Wars, as Kevin Nash would come in soon after, while Hulk Hogan would turn heel at the ‘96 Bash At The Beach - forming the nWo, and helping WCW consistently beat WWF in the ratings for 83 straight weeks.