Zodiac

‘WCW BASH AT THE BEACH 1995’ Recap + Review – Hogan vs. Vader, Lifeguard Match, Coolest Wrestling Venue of All-Time

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DATE: July 16, 1995
VENUE: Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, CA)
COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone & Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
VIEWING METHOD: Peacock

Bash at the Beach 1995 brings the action of World Championship Wrestling to an honest to god beach, the only place that contain a main event as big as Hulk Hogan vs. Vader in a Steel Cage. Since we’re on a beach and Baywatch is a thing we’ve also got a Lifeguard match as Ric Flair and Randy Savage continue their year-long feud, The Renegade defends the Television Championship against “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, and…Jim Duggan takes on Kamala? We sure this is a WCW show?

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[#everyNITROever] ‘WCW Monday Nitro’ 10.2.95 – Savage vs. Luger, Flair vs. Anderson

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Venue: Denver Coliseum (Denver, CO)
Commentators: Eric Bischoff, Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan, & Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichael

The beef between Randy Savage and Lex Luger gets physical this week as Luger puts his WCW career on the line in their first-ever encounter. Also on the show perennial ECW opponents Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko face off in a WCW ring, Hulk Hogan wants The Giant (BROTHER), and Ric Flair and Arn Anderson square off once again in a Fall Brawl rematch.

Champion Roll-Call

  • WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan
  • WCW United States Champion: Sting
  • WCW World Television Champion: Diamond Dallas Page
  • WCW World Tag Team Champions: The American Males (Marcus Bagwell & Scotty Riggs)

The Lineup

  • If Luger Loses He Must Leave WCW: Randy Savage vs. Lex Luger (*1/2)
  • Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (***)
  • Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson (***)

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[#everyNITROever] ‘WCW Monday Nitro’ 9.25.95 – Luger vs. Meng, Savage vs. Taskmaster

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Venue: Florence Civic Center (Florence, SC)
Commentators: Eric Bischoff, Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan, & Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichael

On this week’s Monday Nitro future dancing best friends Alex Wright and Disco Inferno meet in singles action, Randy Savage gets revenge on The Taskmaster for the latter’s beach attack on the set of Baywatch (…yup), and Lex Luger takes on Meng. Also Hulk Hogan is here to show off his goofy neck brace so that’s fuuuuun.

Champion Roll-Call

  • WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan
  • WCW United States Champion: Sting
  • WCW World Television Champion: Diamond Dallas Page
  • WCW World Tag Team Champions: The American Males (Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Scotty Riggs)

The Lineup

  • Alex Wright vs. Disco Inferno (**)
  • Craig Pittman vs. Kurasawa (***1/4)
  • Randy Savage vs. The Taskmaster (1/4*)
  • Lex Luger vs. Meng

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[PPV Recap] ‘WCW Fall Brawl 1995’ – War Games, Anderson vs. Flair, Badd vs. Pillman

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Date: September 17, 1995
Venue: Asheville Civic Center (Asheville, NC)
Commentators: Tony Schiavone & Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan

The third annual Fall Brawl features Hulk Hogan’s first time in a War Games match, as he leads his team into battle against The Dungeon of Doom. Also on the show Ric Flair takes on Arn Anderson for the first time, Johnny B. Badd and Brian Pillman fight to become #1 contender to the United States Championship, and Harlem Heat tries to win back the WCW World Tag Team Championship from Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater. Let’s goooo.

Champion Roll-Call

  • WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan
  • WCW United States Champion: Sting
  • WCW World Television Champion: The Renegade
  • WCW World Tag Team Champions: Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater

The Lineup

  • #1 Contender’s Match: Johnny B. Badd vs. Brian Pillman (****1/4)
  • Cobra vs. Craig Pittman (SQUASH)
  • The Renegade [c] vs. Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP (**)
  • Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater [c] vs. Harlem Heat for the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (*1/2)
  • Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair (****1/2)
  • War Games: Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Sting, & Randy Savage vs. The Dungeon of Doom (*)

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[#everyNITROever] ‘WCW Monday Nitro’ 9.11.95 – Hogan vs. Luger, Sabu Debuts

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Venue: Knight Center (Miami, FL)
Commentators: Eric Bischoff, Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan, & Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichael

This week on Monday Nitro the WCW World Heavyweight Championship is on the line as Hulk Hogan takes on the returning Lex Luger for the first time. Also on the show VK Wallstreet makes his return to WCW, Randy Savage faces off with Scott Norton, and ‘Das Wunderkind’ Alex Wright tries to figure out how to face Sabu while WCW tries to figure out how to market Sabu given the current state of their product.

Champion Roll-Call

  • WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan
  • WCW United States Champion: Sting
  • WCW World Television Champion: The Renegade
  • WCW World Tag Team Champions: Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater

The Lineup

  • Alex Wright vs. Sabu (**1/2)
  • Sting [c] vs. V.K. Wallstreet for the WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP (**)
  • Randy Savage vs. Scott Norton (**1/4)
  • Hulk Hogan [c] vs. Lex Luger for the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (**1/2)

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[#everyNITROever] ‘WCW Monday Nitro’ 9.4.95 – Hogan vs. Rogers, Sting vs. Flair, A Total (Package) Surprise

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Venue: Mall of America (Bloomington, MN)
Commentators: Eric Bischoff, Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan, & Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichael

Despite having many of their competition’s former stars and the corporate backing of billionaire Ted Turner, World Championship Wrestling struggled to compete with the longstanding dominant force in professional wrestling: the World Wrestling Federation. Running out of ideas Eric Bischoff, then the company’s President, presented Turner brass with an idea: a weekly live show on Monday nights to directly compete with the WWF’s flagship Monday Night Raw. Although many believed it was a fool’s errand, Turner agreed and on September 4, 1995 WCW debuted its first-ever episode of Monday Nitro live on its new home TNT during a week where Monday Night Raw was pre-empted due to the U.S. Open tennis championship. This gamble would eventually pay off and not only did it raise the profile of WCW, it led into one of pro wrestling’s boom period.

But while we know Nitro’s impact on a broad scale, I want to dive deeper and see how the shows themselves hold up. I want to see what stories really stand the test of time, which matches deserved to be remembered, and most importantly I want to relive the rise (and, sadly, fall) of my favorite wrestling company. This is #everyNITROever and there’s no other way to begin than the first episode, aired live from the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. Let’s do this.

Champion Roll-Call

  • WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan
  • WCW United States Champion: Sting
  • WCW Television Champion: The Renegade
  • WCW World Tag Team Champions: Buckhouse Bunk & Dick Slater

The Lineup

  • Brian Pillman vs. Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger (**1/2)
  • Sting [c] vs. Ric Flair for the WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP (**1/2)
  • Hulk Hogan [c] vs. Big Bubba Rogers for the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (*3/4)

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