September '95

Monday Night Wars September '95

An important note to start is this. I will be limiting the amount of foreshadowing in these reviews as the idea is to watch everything as though I'm watching for the first time. Although for certain angles and matches, this will be unavoidable. Also my style of reviews may change to accommodate the longer shows. Hopefully as I go on, my writing will improve as I focus more in depth on key moments. I will be awarding a point to the show I either believe to be better, or in some cases, the show I enjoyed more. Finally, I will watch a retrospective "Timeline series" from each year, to provide added insight. Kevin Nash will join us from team WWF during the year of 1995. Let's begin...

WCW Monday Nitro Sept 4th

WCW Nitro 4/9/95 (3 Stars)

The first Nitro had good wrestling (one decent match and a short Flair/Sting affair at least) I'd like to add I've been very kind in my rating of this show for several reasons. I'm taking into account that watching it live would have been very different, I've seen it many times before without really paying attention, and the first match is regarded as a classic for reasons I will later explain. Nitro opened with Brian Pillman defeating Jushin Liger. Was it a good match, yes. Was it a match of such quality you'd be unable to find something that would rival or even best it on any given week during an Impact, NXT or AEW taping? No. People go gaga over this match, calling it "ahead of its time '' It may have been ahead of its time for a mainstream wrestling show on a Monday Night. But contextually, people had been working matches like that for a lot longer, that were a lot longer, and also a lot better. Pillman himself would do just that later in the month when he faced a worker in Marc Mero, who is nowhere near as accomplished in the ring as Liger. Sting defeated Ric Flair via DQ, retaining his U.S Title in the process. This was the right match, on the right spot of the card, with the right finish. Hogan defeats Bubba Rodgers in the main-event. This would be a premonition of some of the stale Hogan main-events we would see for the rest of the year. It did a good job of establishing Hogan as the top guy, which in all fairness, he should have been (during this time period at least) To close out the show Lex Luger made his WCW debut in a surprising move as he entered the ring aiding Hogan against the Dungeon of Doom. Kevin Nash added that no-one knew and they (WWF talent) were all genuinely stunned! Luger had worked a house show for the WWF the night before and even had involvement in the SummerSlam main-event a week prior! As a telecast overall, this was actually a very good one. I'm perhaps only judging it so harshly because of how good people claim this show to be.

Raw/Nitro Sept 11th

Monday Night Raw 11/9/95 (2 Stars)

Raw's response was slightly weak. We see Goldust call out Taker on the Titon-tron, 1-2-3 Kid interfere with his partner's match (Razor Ramon) setting up some excellent bouts in the future between the pair, and a lacklustre IC Title defense by HBK whereby he defeats Sid.

WCW Nitro 11/9/95 (2.5 Stars)

Over on Nitro we see Sting defend the US Title against VK Wallstreet (a play on Vincent Kennedy) and it was during this segment where Bischoff would attempt to spoil the competition's TV by giving away the results of the show for the first time. Former WCW booker Kevin Sullivan has gone on record saying even he thought this was a bad idea. After a DoD run in during Hogan's main-event title match with Lex Luger, Savage questions why the DoD didn't touch Luger, but Sting defends him. The Fall Brawl team is set. Hogan, Sting, Randy Savage and Lex Luger Vs Dungeon of Doom. Nitro gets the point going head to head against the WWF for the first time

Fall Brawl '95

WCWs first PPV offering in the Monday Night War era (Fall Brawl) included a classic opener with Marc Mero performing as Johnny B. Badd going over Brian Pillman, 2 title changes with DDP winning the TV Title from Renegade, Harlem Heat winning the Tag Titles from Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater, as well as Arn Anderson defeating Ric Flair in a very good and highly anticipated grudge match. The main event saw Hogan's team topple the Dungeon of Doom in a Wargames match, only for The Giant to "snap" Hogan's neck in a really cool looking moment. Not a great PPV, although Flair/Anderson was really good, I enjoyed the opener and the main event was interesting if nothing else (2.5 Stars)

Raw/Nitro Sept 18th

Monday Night Raw 18/9/95 (2.5 Stars)

The next night, Raw opened with a good match seeing 1-2-3 Kid beat Razor due to a Dean Douglas interference, a fun Douglas "grading" promo and a good main event involving Tag Champs Owen Hart & Yokozuna, defeating Men on a Mission. We saw the debut of Kevin Dunn's "shaky camera" technique during this match. The show closed with a fun JC Promo putting the heels over for Sunday. According to Kevin Nash, ”Dean’s“ WWF career was already dead following his first match with Sean Waltman (1-2-3 Kid) after Sean proclaimed he couldn’t work with the ECW veteran.

WCW Nitro 18/9/95 (2.5 Stars)

Over on Nitro we have the famous Randy Savage Bay-Watch scene, another title change with The American Males winning the tag belts from Harlem Heat, Savage calling out Lex Luger once again saying he doesn't trust him, a solid Ric Flair promo where he says "Arn Anderson broke the horseman code by bringing in an outsider" and a short Flair/Pillman match with Flair pinning Pillman while he was locked in the figure four. Just in case you ever see that spot and hear someone claim "Wow, I've never seen someone pinned off a figure four in my life!" Just remember, it happened here and wouldn't be the last time. It was a case of promos going against matches on the two shows this week. I call it a draw

In Your House 3 (Triple Header)

IYH 3 had 1-2 star mid card matches with meaningless feuds peppered throughout. We see 1-2-3 Kid piss off Razor Ramon further, trying yet failing to help him and costing him his match with Dean Douglas in the process. The main event was a great idea on paper but as a pro wrestling match was average at best. All of the belts were on the line as the Tag Champs Yokozuna and Owen Hart took on the IC and World Champs in HBK and Diesel. Shenanigans ensue as British Bulldog is declared as Owens replacement, only to see Owen run into the match and end up getting pinned anyway. Bret Hart had a really solid match with Jean-Pierre Lafitte in the co-main but a feud centred around stealing cheap sunglasses is never going to enhance a PPV. Although if it weren't for this match, I'd struggle to give the show even 2 stars. The event would also feature the only PPV appearance of Dan Spivey (Waylon Mercy) in a losing effort to Savio Vega. Bray Wyatt credited Spivey and his character, in part, as inspiration for his early gimmick in NXT Overall IYH 3 grade (2 Stars)

Raw/Nitro Sept 25th

Monday Night Raw 25/9/95 (2.75 Stars)

Finishing the month Raw blew it away with a far better show! Nitro seemed rushed and felt more like an event with announcements/build for future matches over an actual show. Even Raw's undercard match was much better and came across as more professional/major league. See a returning Marty Jannetty defeating Chris Candido performing as Skip on Raw Vs Alex Wright pinning Disco Inferno on Nitro. Add in a solid tag match with the Smoking Gunns retaining their titles against Owen & Yokozuna, and an exciting main event involving Taker going over Bulldog. A strong Raw to end the month.

WCW Nitro 25/9/95 (2 Stars)

Nitro's counter offer left much to be desired. Two promos, an ok match with Kurazowa going over Sgt. Pittman, Taskmaster beating Randy Savage via DQ and a poor main event with Meng pinning Lex Luger rounds of Nitro (Meng is universally credited as one of the toughest men in pro wrestling, more on that MUCH later) Arn’s promo was interesting at least. He said that due to Flair’s actions in the past, no one would be dumb enough to work with him now. There was also an interesting segment at the beginning with Randy Savage challenging Lex Luger. Luger actually put his own career on the line which seemed unnecessary as it was him being challenged and not the other way round, but there we go. Raw wins the last week of the month easily for me. That said, I enjoyed the AA promo on Nitro and I am far more interested in Lex Luger/Randy Savage next week over anything else advertised on Raw, so there may be a method to the madness

Summary and scores

Not an awful lot to report so far. Nitro is just getting started and 1995 was a famously slow year for the WWF. Fan interest was dwindling, the in ring product was suffering and the live attendances were down. The scores for the month are, WCW 1-1 WWF with one draw

Match of the month: Ric Flair Vs Arn Anderson (Fall Brawl 95)