WCW Monday Nitro, also known asWCW Nitro or simplyNitro, is an Americanprofessional wrestling television program that was produced byWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night onTNT in the United States from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001.

Created byEric Bischoff andTed Turner, the show's premiere was notable for sparking a period of television known as the "Monday Night War". For the entirety of the show's run,Nitro went head-to-head in the ratings with theWorld Wrestling Federation's (WWF; now WWE)Monday Night Raw. Although comparable toRaw in popularity from the beginning,Nitro began to dominate in ratings, based largely on the strength of theNew World Order (nWo), a rebellious group of wrestlers that wanted to take over WCW. Beginning in June 1996,Nitro beatRaw in the ratings for 83 consecutive weeks, forcing WWF ownerVince McMahon to usher in the more adult-oriented "Attitude Era".^[1] In April 1998,Raw beatNitro in the ratings for the first time in almost two years. The shows would continue to trade ratings wins back and forth until November 1998 whenRaw pulled ahead ofNitro for good.

Besides broadcasting from various arenas and locations across theUnited States andCanada, such asMall of America inBloomington, Minnesota (from which the first episode was broadcast),Nitro also organized special broadcasts from theDisney-MGM Studios inOrlando in 1996; aired annualSpring Break-Out episodes fromPanama City Beach, Florida orSouth Padre Island, Texas starting in March 1997; and filmed some episodes inAustralia and theUnited Kingdom during the Fall of 2000.

As of June 30, 2023, all episodes are available for streaming on theWWE Network andPeacock.^[2] WWE has also released threeBest of WCW Monday NitroDVD sets.^[3]

Thefirst episode ofNitro was broadcast from theMall of America inBloomington, Minnesota on September 4, 1995.^[3] The featured matches on the one-hour broadcast wereBrian Pillman versusJushin Thunder Liger,Ric Flair versusWCW United States Heavyweight ChampionSting, andWCW World Heavyweight ChampionHulk Hogan taking onBig Bubba Rogers. The show was also highlighted by the return ofLex Luger to WCW after having spent the previous two plus years wrestling for the WWF, where he had been one of the promotion's top stars. Luger had just wrestled a match for the WWF the previous evening; the match was his final contractual obligation with the WWF, and Luger signed with WCW the morning of his appearance. The event prefigured the similar defections of WWF wrestlersScott Hall andKevin Nash the following year.

The title video for the debut episode ofNitro featured multiple shots ofBig Van Vader (one of four wrestlers featured, along with Hulk Hogan, Sting andMacho Man Randy Savage),^[4] who parted ways with WCW following a backstage altercation withPaul Orndorff. Absent from the first episode, he had been scheduled to face Hogan for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship on the September 11 edition, but was replaced by Lex Luger, who issued a challenge to Hogan on the debut show.^[5] Vader would never perform onNitro, and embarked on a WWF career in January 1996.^[6]

The advent ofNitro brought with it atelevision ratings rivalry with the WWF'sMonday Night Raw, known to wrestling fans as the "Monday Night War". Throughout this period,Nitro would grow in popularity and eventually surpassRaw in the ratings for 83 consecutive weeks.^[1]

SinceNitro was live, the show was seen as far less predictable than its WWF counterpart. Initially only sixty minutes in length (as wasRaw at the time),Nitro was expanded to two hours following the1996 NBA Playoffs (Raw would later extend to two hours in February 1997). In January 1998, the show was extended to three hours. At its peak, the rivalry resulted in performers on either show trading verbal insults and challenges. In retaliation for a segment ofRaw in whichD-Generation X (DX) travelled to theNorfolk Scope arena inNorfolk whereNitro was being broadcast (WWF was nearby inHampton, Virginia the same night), Eric Bischoff challenged Vince McMahon to face him in a match to be held atSlamboree 1998; McMahon never formally recognized the challenge and did not appear.

The July 6, 1998, episode ofNitro from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta sawGoldberg defeat Hollywood Hogan for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Nitro is best remembered for theNew World Order (nWo), with former WWF wrestlersScott Hall,Kevin Nash and "Hollywood"Hulk Hogan as rebellious heels plotting to take over WCW. Despite ratings success, both the angle and stable would later be criticized for the heel wrestlers almost never losing, and for what was seen as overexposure. As the nWo expanded, the stable would ultimately split into several warring factions within itself, while most WCW-branded wrestlers would eventually become neutral.

AsRaw began to overtakeNitro in the ratings in 1998 thanks to the WWF'sAttitude Era programming, WCW was frequently criticized for several faults, including an inability to create new stars while over-relying on established stars to support ratings.

On January 4, 1999Mick Foley, who had wrestled for WCW during the early 1990s as Cactus Jack, won theWWF Championship as Mankind on a pre-taped episode ofRaw.Nitro announcerTony Schiavone sarcastically commented on the match, which unexpectedly resulted inNitro losing in the ratings battle when several hundred thousand viewers switched over toRaw to see the title change. That night's episode ofNitro would be notorious for the "Fingerpoke of Doom", in which a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Kevin Nash and Hollywood Hogan was quickly revealed to be a ruse that reunited the core members of the nWo as the "nWo Elite". The match was universally panned and was considered to have damaged WCW's credibility and begin their decline.

In October 1999, former WWF writersVince Russo andEd Ferrara were hired by WCW. Both men attempted to bring their WWF-style writing toNitro, including edgier storylines, lengthier non-wrestling segments, and an increased amount of sexuality. Many WCW fans greatly resented Russo and Ferrara for changing their programming to be like the WWF, as they preferred the traditional method of wrestling over long skits, screwjobs, and risque innuendo that were widely popular among WWF audiences.

Nitro would be reduced to two hours in January 2000, returning the program to an 8-10 p.m. timeslot, with the first hour running unopposed and the second hour competing with the first hour ofRaw. Eric Bischoff would be brought back toNitro and was paired with Russo to "reboot" WCW on April 10, 2000. None of these changes were able to help recoverNitro's ratings and Bischoff eventually left WCW in July 2000 after an incident involving Hogan and Russo at theBash at the Beach event. Russo would later suffer a severeconcussion after being speared through a cage by Goldberg, later leaving WCW on extended leave to recover. Further declines from late 2000 would see WCW search for new ownership beginning in early 2001.

In an attempt to save WCW andNitro, Bischoff attempted to purchase WCW with a group of investors. However, although Bischoff's offer had been accepted, recently appointedTurner Broadcasting executiveJamie Kellner announced shortly after his arrival thatNitro and all WCW programming was immediately canceled on both TNT and TBS Superstation. Bischoff's group then withdrew their deal, as it was contingent on keeping WCW programming on some outlet. Instead, WCW's trademarks and certain assets (such as its video library and the contracts of 24 wrestlers),^[10] though not the promotion itself (which continued to exist as a Time Warner-owned legal entity under the name Universal Wrestling Corporation until late 2017),^[11][12] were bought byVince McMahon'sWWF, its long-time competitor.

Around the time of the cancellation, WCW was preparing to make its yearly trip toPanama City, Florida forspring break. Since the premiere ofNitro, WCW had gone toClub La Vela orSouth Padre Island every March to try to gain favor with adolescent and young adult viewers who might not otherwise be tuning into the program. It was announced that the upcoming March 26, 2001, episode ofNitro from Panama City (which was actually held at the nearby Boardwalk Beach Resort) was to be the finale and the show was dubbed "The Night of Champions." The show began with McMahon appearing via satellite fromGund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, the site of that Monday'sRaw is War broadcast onTNN. McMahon announced his purchase of WCW to the crowd and appeared in vignettes throughout the show, including one where he terminated WCW'sJeff Jarrett on air due to bad blood the two had in the past.

The show was unique in that all five of WCW's major championships (excluding theWCW Hardcore Championship) were defended that night and in six of the seven matches contested on the show, the faces won. (Traditionally WCW was seen as the promotion where heels were often the top stars as opposed to the WWF, where faces were often the top stars. Shawn Stasiak was the only heel to emerge victorious on the final episode ofNitro.) In addition, various WCW wrestlers were interviewed giving their honest,out-of-character responses to the selling of WCW. The co-main event of the evening was WCW World Heavyweight ChampionScott Steiner taking on WCW United States Heavyweight ChampionBooker T in a match with both belts on the line; Booker T defeated Steiner for his fourth WCW World Heavyweight Championship while retaining the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship.

Just as it had been on the initialNitro, the final match of the finalNitro and the final match in WCW as a whole was between long-time WCW rivalsRic Flair andSting, a match that was more informal than their usual encounters (Sting and Flair were seen smiling and nodding respectfully towards each other throughout the match). Sting won using his finishing move, the Scorpion Deathlock. After the match, the two competitors stood in the middle of the ring and embraced to show respect for one another.

In a closing segment, simulcast between bothNitro andRaw, Vince addressed the audience in Cleveland and gloated about the purchase, stating that he wanted Turner to personally deliver the sale contract to him so he could sign it atWrestleMania X-Seven that weekend. However, the speech was interrupted by Vince's sonShane McMahon, who announced (in kayfabe) fromNitro that he had already signed the sale contract himself, and that WCW would continue to compete against the WWF. The twist came as part of the setup of their match at WrestleMania X-Seven, and of what would later become the WWF's "Invasion" storyline.^[13]

In addition to the tape library and other intellectual properties, the WWF also purchased several contracts of WCW talent, keeping many of the younger stars. Four of WCW's championships found their way into the WWF; in addition to Booker T carrying both the WCW Championship (as it was renamed) and United States Championship with him into the WWF, McMahon also signed then-WCW Cruiserweight ChampionShane Helms and then-WCW Tag Team ChampionsChuck Palumbo andSean O'Haire to contracts. Palumbo and O'Haire would defeat Team Canada (Mike Awesome andLance Storm) on the final episode ofNitro. (The WWF scrapped the WCW Hardcore Championship, as it was officially retired immediately following the finalNitro despite no one holding it sinceMeng departed for the WWF in early 2001, and theWCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship for undisclosed reasons; Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio were the last champions and McMahon was only able to sign Kidman to a contract at the time.)

"The Night of Champions" was the penultimate WCW broadcast, prior to the final episode ofWorldWide on the weekend of March 31–April 1, 2001.WCW Monday Nitro was the last professional wrestling program to air on TNT until the first episode ofAEW Dynamite on October 2, 2019.

When then-WWF Women's ChampionAlundra Blayze signed with WCW in 1995 (going back to her old name of "Madusa"), she brought the WWF Women's title belt with her and threw it in a trash can on the December 18, 1995 episode ofNitro^[14] (the third week thatNitro started before the top of the hour), and the title itself would become inactive for the next three years. Many cite this incident as one of the causes of the infamousMontreal Screwjob. This infamous event would be parodied by WCW on a 2000 episode ofNitro, whenScott Hall threw theWCW World Television Championship in the trash and"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan found and claimed the belt weeks later on an episode ofSaturday Night.

The only wrestler to appear on bothNitro andRaw on the same night was Rick Rude. Rude was able to appear on both shows because he was not under contract with the WWF at the time, appearing on a handshake deal with McMahon onRaw – which was still pre-recorded at the time whileNitro was broadcast live. To emphasize that onlyNitro was live, Rude had a full beard on theRaw broadcast but only a mustache onNitro.

The January 13, 1997 episode ofNitro ended with the first two minutes of the Hollywood Hogan vs.The Giant main event. Before the show went off the air, commentator Tony Schiavone announced the match was to continue during the commercial breaks ofThe New Adventures of Robin Hood, which premiered that night afterNitro. This resulted in the premiere episode ofRobin Hood receiving high ratings due to WCW fans being lured in to watch the show for the Hogan/Giant match.^[15]

On the May 24, 1999 broadcast Bret Hart eulogized his brother Owen who was killed in an in-ring accident at the WWF pay-per-view event Over the Edge the night before.

The rock bandKISS appeared in August 1999, and debuted a wrestler namedThe Demon while performing "God of Thunder". According toDean Malenko, it was the lowest ratedNitro ever.

Throughout the late summer and early fall of 1999, in an attempt to boost the show's declining ratings, WCW organized a competition to find a new member of theNitro Girls.^[16] Over the course of eight weeks, 300 women took part in the competition; two women who successfully passed the regional auditions were subject to Internet voting by home viewers. Eight women were selected to participate in the final round of the competition, which was held on the November 8, 1999 episode ofNitro.Stacy Keibler was declared the winner of the competition after receiving the most internet votes among the eight finalists, and received a spot on the dance troupe along with a cash prize of $10,000.^[17]

Since buying the WCW video library, WWE Home Video has included manyNitro matches and segments on some of their Superstar biography DVD sets. Episodes were also streamed onWWE Classics on Demand, as part ofThe Monday Night War feature.

While the service did show episodes ofNitro, they are often edited. Some WCW entrance theme music tracks are replaced with stock WWE music. A lot of the crowd noise is also removed on most episodes and pay-per-views. Beginning in July 2007, WWE Classics on Demand began deleting content from episodes ofNitro, as matches and some references toChris Benoit are removed. Benoit is sometimes shown in segments where he is not the main issue of the segment. This was in light of the controversy surrounding thedeaths of Benoit and his family on June 24 of that year.

In April 2009, WWE Classics went back to the first episodes that aired in September 1995. These shows alternate with the currentNitro airings (December 1997 and onwards).

A 3-disc DVD entitledThe Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro was produced and released by WWE on June 7, 2011. The set is narrated by former three time WCW champion Diamond Dallas Page and highlights some of the biggest matches and moments in the history ofWCW Monday Nitro. The sequel,The Best of WCW Monday Nitro Vol. 2 was released on DVD and Blu-ray February 12, 2013. Followed by the final set titled,The Very best of WCW Monday Nitro Vol. 3, which was released on August 11, 2015.^[3]

As of 2016, all 288 episodes ofNitro (September 4, 1995 – March 26, 2001) are available on demand on theWWE Network.^[18]

• 1995 in American television

• WCW Monday Nitro atIMDb
• WCW Monday Nitro 1995 Intro onYouTube

• 1995 American television series debuts
• 2001 American television series endings
• American live television series
• American English-language television shows
• TNT (American TV network) original programming
• World Championship Wrestling shows

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