- 23/06/2025
WWE's biggest competition put out some very strange stuff during the Monday Night War.
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00:00WCW Nitro played host to some incredible main events during its time, as well as some that would ultimately sink the company into the ground.
00:09But that's not what this list is about, baby.
00:11This list is here to celebrate the strangest matches to ever round out an episode of Nitro.
00:17So I'm Gareth, this is WhatCulture Wrestling, and here are the 10 weirdest WCW Nitro main events ever.
00:24Number 10, Sid Vicious vs Tank Abbott, February 28, 2000.
00:28Vince Russo is one of the most divisive figures in the wrestling world for a number of reasons.
00:34The original bro, no, not Matt Riddle, was responsible for some of the best moments of WWE programming during the Attitude Era,
00:41but is also credited with helping to destroy WCW in its final years.
00:46One of his more bonkers ideas whilst working for Ted Turner was to crown the inexperienced and frankly terrible former UFC fighter Tank Abbott as WCW champion.
00:56While this pitch was so poorly received by company management, that Russo was removed as head writer,
01:02and then quit the promotion when asked to work as part of a committee.
01:05But this nightmare scenario almost came true on the February 28, 2000 edition of Nitro,
01:11where Abbott squared off against world champion the late, great Sid Vicious, with Sid's gold on the line.
01:17Much to the delight of everyone not named Tank or Vince, the cage fighter was beaten in under 4 minutes,
01:23in a match that could best be described as, uh, ropey.
01:26Yep, we'll go with ropey.
01:27Abbott would go on to join the boy band faction 3 count, and any dreams of a world title reign were permanently crushed.
01:33And while we're talking about Sid Vicious, it seems like a good time right now to ask you,
01:37what is your favourite Sid Vicious moment of all time?
01:40Let me know in the comments section below, and rest in peace, you legendary man.
01:44Number 9. Kevin Nash vs. David Flair, June 28, 1999
01:48Of all the Nepo babies in wrestling history, and oh, there have been a lot of them, few are as infamous as David Flair.
01:55Despite receiving a considerable push in WCW, Ric Flair's son never lived up to his father's reputation.
02:02Or came anywhere near it, really.
02:03That didn't stop the promotion from repeatedly trying to get him over, though,
02:07which included this main event from the June 28, 1999 Nitro.
02:11On a show featuring Kurt Hennig, Diamond Dallas Page, Eddie Guerrero, and more,
02:16it was David that was chosen to go up against world champion Kevin Nash in the main event.
02:20And yes, the belt was very much on the line.
02:23What?
02:23This was a lumberjack with all of Flair's pals surrounding the ring.
02:27But Nature Boy Jr. still couldn't get the job done.
02:29He was even armed with a stun gun.
02:31How bad do you have to be to lose a match with all that going for you?
02:34Well, very bad.
02:35The bout ended in a dismal DQ in the end.
02:37If only this was the end of David's push.
02:39But sadly, that would continue well into the following year.
02:42Unwoo.
02:43Number 8.
02:44Kevin Green vs. The Giants.
02:46June 22, 1998.
02:47The late Kevin Green was a mighty fine American football player.
02:52He played for several major franchises,
02:54was part of the NFL's 1990s All-Decade team,
02:57and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
03:01Impressive stuff.
03:02Sadly, none of this talent transferred over to the wrestling ring.
03:05Green had five matches for WCW between 1996 and 1998,
03:10four of which were on pay-per-view.
03:12His only TV match was on Nitro on June 22, 1998.
03:16And his opponent was The Giant,
03:18who himself was only about three years into his career.
03:21And in Ring Classic, this was not, dear viewer.
03:24The two big boys bumped into each other a few times.
03:26Giant hit an elbow drop,
03:28Green hit a low blow,
03:29and then Kurt Hennig ran in and caused the DQ.
03:31That was it.
03:32This whole charade was over in under 90 seconds,
03:35and almost 30 years later,
03:36people are still wondering why it was chosen to go on last.
03:39The pair would have a rematch a few weeks later at Bash at the Beach,
03:42where Giant would get his win back
03:44in what turned out to be Green's final wrestling bout.
03:47Hell of a run.
03:48Number 7.
03:48Ric Flair vs. Eric Bischoff,
03:50December 28, 1998.
03:52Anyone who's seen Starrcade 1998
03:54will know that Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair
03:57had a match that Eazy-E won
03:59after punching Nate with a foreign object.
04:01Eric Bischoff holds a pinfall victory over Ric Flair,
04:04and people have the nerve to suggest that wrestling is unrealistic, eh?
04:07Luckily, Flair got the chance to right this wrong
04:09the very next night on Nitro,
04:11when he took on Bischoff in a rematch.
04:13This time, though,
04:14the presidency of WCW was on the line,
04:17so you can bet your rear end
04:18there was a whole lot of nonsense surrounding this match.
04:21The NWO and the Four Horsemen all got involved,
04:24as did DDP,
04:25Booker T,
04:26and a returning Randy Savage,
04:27who turned on the black and white
04:29by beating up the Giant.
04:31And all this chaos resulted in Flair
04:32submitting Bischoff via the Figure Four,
04:35winning the day for the good guys.
04:37Yay!
04:37The crowd absolutely loved this segment,
04:40cheering for it like it was the second coming.
04:42But of all Flair's great main event opponents over the years,
04:45Hogan, Sting, Steamboat, Funk, etc.,
04:48it's probably safe to say that Bischoff ranks towards the bottom
04:51in terms of wrestling prestige.
04:52Yep, he probably does.
04:53Number 6.
04:54The Wall vs. Hulk Hogan
04:55March 27, 2000
04:57Whilst most people will remember Hulk Hogan and the Wall brother
05:01from that incredible segment
05:02where Hogan was able to identify his enemy
05:05whilst he was standing on top of a massive building,
05:07they did actually have a match, too.
05:09It took place on Nitro on March 27, 2000,
05:12and was a throwback to Hogan's glory days,
05:15where he would defend the WWF Championship
05:17against the Monster of the Month.
05:18That strategy might have worked in 1984,
05:21but in 2000?
05:22Yeah, maybe not.
05:23Wall was being given a pretty substantial push
05:25that involved him chokeslamming a lot of people
05:28off of very high things.
05:29But this wasn't nearly enough to put him on Hogan's level.
05:32There was also no way the Hulkster was gonna take a bump like that, Jack.
05:36Nor was there any reality where this meathead
05:38was gonna get a clean win here.
05:40Sure enough, the match ended in a DQ
05:42when Vampiro attacked the Wall.
05:44Even though Hogan had hit him with a chair just moments earlier,
05:47the two would never face off one-on-one ever again as well.
05:49At least we'll always have the building promo, though, eh?
05:51Thanks for checking out this wacky WCW list today, my friend.
05:55And if you're enjoying your lovely self,
05:57then hit that subscribe button down below
05:58and you will get more of these WhatCulture videos in your life.
06:01Just do it, it makes sense.
06:02Number 5, Goldberg vs. Glacier.
06:04May 18th and June 29th, 1998.
06:07Here's a weird match that didn't just main event one episode of Nitro,
06:11but 2, Raymond Lloyd is best known to the wrestling world as Glacier,
06:15the Mortal Kombat-inspired character who debuted in WCW in 1996
06:20with one of the craziest backstories ever.
06:23There simply isn't enough time to go into it all now,
06:25but it's definitely worth a read when you finish with this wonderful list.
06:28Despite his entrance and ring gear costing an absolute fortune,
06:32Glacier spent most of his time in the mid-card,
06:34but would challenge for the occasional championship.
06:36He actually got the honour of closing Nitro twice in 1998,
06:39the May 18th and June 29th episodes.
06:42And on both shows, his opponent was defending United States champion Goldberg.
06:47On one side of the ring, you had an ultra-serious badass
06:50whose character was firmly rooted in reality.
06:53On the other, though, you had a guy ripped right from the pages of a pulpy comic book.
06:57He on Earth thought this was a good idea.
06:58Predictably, Bill dispatched the wannabe Sub-Zero on both occasions,
07:02because of course he bloody did.
07:04In total, Glacier would contribute four points to Goldberg's legendary win streak,
07:08but would never get his frozen hands on a title of his own.
07:12Not cool.
07:12Number 4. NWO Sting vs. Mr. JL
07:15October 21st, 1996
07:17At Fall Brawl 1996, Sting shocked the world when he betrayed WCW
07:23and joined up with the evil NWO.
07:26Or did he?
07:27This turncoat was in fact Jeff Farmer,
07:29the former Cobra who had painted his face to look exactly like the icons.
07:33Rather than disappear after the pay-per-view, though,
07:36NWO Sting stuck around,
07:38and even got himself a main event match on the October 21st Nitro.
07:41His opponent was Mr. JL, better known as Jerry Lynn,
07:45meaning that match featured a fake WCW champion and a future ECW champion.
07:50What a world we live in.
07:51Now, the contents of this match aren't really important,
07:54but how it ended sure is, folks.
07:55Whilst NWO Sting had JL in the Scorpion Deathlock,
08:00the real Sting made his return to Causa DQ,
08:03dressed in a proto-version of his famous crow look.
08:06This was also the night the Stinger debuted his Scorpion Death Drop finisher,
08:10and it was the final time he spoke on air for over a year.
08:13A historic moment, one worthy of the main spot.
08:16But in kayfabe, if Sting hadn't intervened,
08:19this would have been a very odd way to close the episode, that's for sure.
08:22Number 3, The New Blood vs. Kevin Nash, June 5th, 2000
08:26Of all the wackadoo ideas WCW had in 2000,
08:30The New Blood, a stable made up of all the young, oppressed talents,
08:34was actually one of the better ones.
08:36But sadly, they made them all heels, because, you know, WCW.
08:40This gigantic group of wrestlers, led by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo,
08:44got the chance to do some serious damage when they were booked in a gauntlet match
08:48against Kevin Nash on the June 5th edition of Nitro.
08:51One man versus a whole faction.
08:54What could possibly go wrong?
08:55They didn't get off to the best start,
08:57as Nash eliminated Disco Inferno, Chris Candido,
09:01Johnny the Bull, Big Vito, and Rey Mysterio Jr. within about a minute.
09:06But don't worry, here comes Sean Stasiak to save the day.
09:09Oh wait, no, yeah, he's leading a big beatdown that gets the match thrown out.
09:13Never mind then.
09:14So, to summarise, Nash beat 5 guys in about 60 seconds without breaking a sweat,
09:19and the match ended in a brawl that made the new blood look like total chumps.
09:23People wonder why this company went under in less than a year's time.
09:25Number 2.
09:26Kevin Sullivan vs. Hard Body Harrison
09:28March 10th, 1997
09:30Gather round, friends, and hear the sordid tale of Hard Body Harrison.
09:35Harrison Norris Jr. served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army
09:38before joining the WCW Power Plant training facility in 1995.
09:43He started appearing on TV in 1996 as a jobber to guys like Hugh Morris,
09:48Glacier, and Disco Inferno,
09:50but then scored his big break on the March 10th, 1997 Nitro.
09:55He was booked to face Kevin Sullivan on a show that emanated from a Florida nightclub,
10:00and it did not go well for him at all.
10:02First Sullivan beat him up,
10:03then Jacqueline beat him up,
10:05then Tony Schiavone got his name wrong on commentary,
10:08then Sullivan threw him into a swimming pool after they both got counted out.
10:11Since the quote-unquote main event of this show was an NWO talking segment,
10:16this was actually the final match on the card, all two minutes of it.
10:20As for Harrison, he would stick around in WCW until its dying days.
10:25He sued WCW in 2000 for alleged racial discrimination,
10:28and in 2008 he was sentenced to life in prison for his part in a sex trafficking operation.
10:34What a guy.
10:351. Vince Russo vs. Booker T
10:37September 25th, 2000
10:39WCW did many, many, many stupid things in its time,
10:44but one of its most dunder-headed moves was putting its world title on head writer and non-wrestler Vince Russo.
10:51This travesty went down on the September 25th, 2000 episode of Nitro.
10:55Russo got the main event slot against defending champion Booker T.
10:59But this was no ordinary match, people.
11:01This was a caged heat match.
11:03That means it was basically a Hell in a Cell rip-off.
11:05Russo tried to get the better of his opponent by wearing football gear and wielding a baseball bat.
11:10But Booker had things in hand.
11:12That was until Russo's rival, Goldberg, showed up and speared Vince through the cage wall.
11:17Since the objective of the match was to escape the cage and Russo had been judged to have done so first,
11:23he was declared the new champion.
11:24And not only that, but he immediately vacated the title,
11:27meaning that Booker T couldn't even get his win back.
11:30Madness.
11:31If anyone you know ever tries to defend Vinny Rue and his booking decisions,
11:35just show him this.
11:36That should get him to shut right up.
11:37If you've had a bit of fun with this list today, my friend,
11:39then why not check out another WhatCulture WCW video right here?
11:43Perhaps this 10x WCW was the craziest promotion ever one will do the trick.
11:48I think it will. Go and click on it.
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