First WCW Nitro Review - The Monday Night War BEGINS!

[@Simple_Man_Golf]

Pastamania?! “GIMME YOUR SIDEBREAD, DUDE!!”

[@KyleShiflet13666]

A fellow deadlock fan, sweet

[@kevinramsey417]

"Chicken Alfredo? That's not gonna work for me, brother."

[@dkupke]

He had bad carbma brother

[@agustinval1508]

Say your prayers, take your spaghetti and you will tip 20%

[@kyleolson8977]

Hulka--yous? Hulkaroos? Pastamania is made of Hulkamaniacs! Pastamania is made of people!

[@stickfigureguy6873]

Deadlock Podcast has forever changed my views on this episode of Nitro, can’t stop hearing the word, pastamania

[@OikPoinFive]

my uncle sadly died there after having a heart attack while eating there. it wasnt related to the food though.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

That had me dead😂

[@SimplementeRene]

​@@nehemiahpouncey3607that guy's uncle too

[@makaveli4205]

Wonder what store is there now?

[@MrPie]

Their Pastamania bit will always leave me in tears.

[@AndersonTenecela]

Honestly I’m open to the idea of Brian Zane doing classic wrestling reviews but for special episodes of many shows

[@PhilLeotardosGhost]

YESSSSSS!

[@mattbatesteacher]

Foley winning the title for sure, and many others as well!

[@MickSmith1972]

Top 10 of number of times Crocket Promotion ended the Saturday night mid fight with David Crocket screaming that they had to go.

[@mjuzumaki]

"GIMME YOUR SIDE BREAD, DUDE!!" -Terry Bologna probably

[@ericmonaco4509]

OR MAYBE NOT BROTHER

[@Syt1976]

"If it weren't for that horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college." - unexpected Lewis Black reference. :D

[@mrterp04]

So I was sitting there, staring at the syrups…

[@RantingRamsay]

My woman's parents live on a horse farm in Kentucky. They came up for Thanksgiving. For most of the dinner the conversation revolved around the horse farm, so I sat in silence having nothing to contribute, knowing sweet-eff-all about horses.... and suddenly Lewis Black came to mind. When a pause in conversation happened I just spat out that Lewis Black reference with no context whatsoever. My woman knew the joke, her folks didn't. They just stared at me in disbelief as my woman held her head in her hands. I continued eating without explaining. Needless to say I slept on the couch that night.

[@JohnYomtovJr]

A Young Hulkamaniac of 25 years uttered the following......it was the dumbest thing i have ever heard in my life....if it weren't for my horse, i wouldnt have spent that year in college, brother.

[@djskylerhall]

I came to the comments specifically looking to see if anyone else had the same thought as I did. (Before Brian even said it.)

[@preed5877]

He botched it a bit

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

"Give me your side bread, dude!"

[@wolfiehatesgoogle]

WHY DON'T YOU CHICKEN MARINARA YOUR ASS ON OUTTA HERE DOOD

[@Simple_Man_Golf]

@@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819 “Who’s the best wrestler in the world?” “Macho Man!” “Get this little assholemaniac outta here, dude!”

[@DukeRhodes]

Pastamania was pretty decent for fast-food spaghetti chain. At least that's how remember it as a kid of the 90s. But then again I thought Pizza Hut spaghetti was good back then.

[@sonicheroxd5767]

"WHAT'S HULKIOS!?!?!?!" - John Blud

[@Simple_Man_Golf]

@@sonicheroxd5767 “White Clam Sauce, dude!”

[@logansheffield8641]

"WHO'S THE BEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD?" "Macho Man! ... "shawn michaels"

[@Simple_Man_Golf]

@@logansheffield8641 “Who said that?! HEY!”

[@deconstruction.]

BROTHER! I'VE JACKED OFF MY HULKAYOOS AND HULKAYOOS BROTHER! -james i think

[@AngelusX92]

@@Simple_Man_Golfno side bread for you dude

[@cwslyclgh]

They were all sleepy during the main event from all the carbs they ate from "Pastamania"

[@thekidfromiowa]

When you come crashing down (from the carbs) and you're lethargic inside.

[@isaiahchapman7660]

Me and my family go to The Mall of America every spring break, and it's pretty fun. There was this one time when I was obsessed with early 90s era WCW when we went to The Mall of America that I said, "Yep, this is where the first Monday Nitro took place" My Dad (who's a big fan of WCW) looked at me and said, "Wait, really?" and he had a huge smile on his face.

[@SegaSky]

20% DISCOUNT FOR THE LITTLE HULKAMANIAC

[@randywilder6662]

I can't see anything Pastamania related without hearing the DEADLOCK guys in my head lol "Who is the greatest wrestler alive today?" "MACHO MAN!" "Who said that!? No side bread for you, dude!"

[@Drakeo83]

Same

[@Simple_Man_Golf]

@@randywilder6662 “Get this little bastard outta here, Jimmy Hart!” “Ha ha, okay daddy!”

[@mr.bingle4568]

“No Hulkaroos for you, dude!”

[@randywilder6662]

@Simple_Man_Golf "Hulk, you can't say that, we're live pal!" "Oh, sorry, brother!" 🤣

[@SlatePunchgroin]

​@@randywilder6662 Get this kid a free meatball dude!

[@joshawott331]

Needs to be said. I love the images for your cropping that you use. Please never change Brian

[@Pancakes26]

"YOU CAN GO TO HULK-A-HELL!"

[@sonicheroxd5767]

"WHY DON'T YOU CHICKEN MARINARA YOUR ASS ON OUTTA HERE, DUDE!?"

[@TheLandofObscusion]

"They could fight down the escalator!" So I guess we now know where the idea of Undertaker hitting Triple H with the Tombstone at the top of the escalator at Penn Station for Shotgun Saturday Night came from...

[@adamlennard1828]

I’m going through a really rough time this past 18 months or so. I can honestly say Brian your videos are always a little bit of joy I look forward too. As someone of a similar age nearly 37 who started watching wrestling in 96 I really do find myself connecting with a lot of your takes on wrestling. No idea if you’ll get to read this but wanted to say thanks Z man for bringing a little joy to this wrestling fan.

[@ComaLies225]

Hey man, hope it gets better for you

[@adamlennard1828]

@@ComaLies225thank you, for taking the time that means a lot. I’m not beat yet, gonna make 2025 my year.

[@tboland728]

Same experience, same feelings. Godspeed and God bless, boys.

[@jhhd1]

Good luck to you, I hope 2025 is good to you and that it’s your best year yet

[@adamwilson2478]

Absolutely love your output. It's a really fresh take and I love the mix of brands you're covering. It's insightful but also really humorous and incredibly engaging as well because your love of wrestling shines through. Great stuff

[@Drakeo83]

We really need a collab with Brian and the Deadlock boys!!!!

[@davidg070]

No. No we don’t. It’s gonna be Brian trying to cover the PPV and John and James laughing incessantly over him like the retards they are

[@MariettaJames-xb6is]

It's been 29 years since, WWF Monday night Raw ™ begin WCW Monday intro. The Monday night war is going on!!!!!!!

[@derickpelton3107]

Absolutely! My two favorite wrestling personalities!!!

[@roccojamison89gooker51]

A collab with Brian Zane and not Brian Last

[@MariettaJames-xb6is]

@@roccojamison89gooker51 Yo, B., the Monday night War is on now!!!!!!!!

[@DristXantrum13]

To quote James from DEADLOCK "This is not normal"

[@joeyjoejoe1394]

It is a HULK HOGAN PASTA STORE

[@SoFarSoGoodSoWhat84]

Always nice to get an appearance from The Man called Meng so we can hear the tune. It will always be funny

[@TheseBitchesWantNikes]

Always kills me too

[@BadRalph88]

Man I totally forgot about “Mean Gene’s Burgers”. Strangely enough there was one on Yokosuka Naval Base.

[@jcace13]

I can’t believe Pillman vs Liger being the 1st Nitro match wasn’t in my wrestling knowledge, what a cool fact.

[@21stcenturyrambo16]

No garlic bread for you dude

[@platinumpagoda3079]

That doesn't bake for me brother.

[@deadeyedarwin]

Or maybe not brother.

[@JamesMMcCann]

Garlic Bread? I've tasted it, it's the future.

[@thetornadotyc]

Give me your side bread Dude!!!!

[@RaccoonRevolution]

So I found a take out menu from Pastamania online and I'm like 72% sure when Hogan said "hulkaroos" what he meant was "hulkaroni"

[@gregdeandrea1450]

It was macaroni shaped like Hulk Hogan doing various poses. There's a picture of it online. I'm sure all the little Hulksters at home really wanted to EAT HULK HOGAN TO GAIN HIS POWER.

[@pantheonvideo]

I can't decide which word is more disturbing.

[@psychorabbitt]

I for one appreciate that Lewis Black "if it weren't for my horse" reference.

[@dbinsfield]

100% this. I was listening to the episode and immediately looked up at my screen to finish the sentence along with Brian.

[@GlenGlingo9]

"I am sick and tired of playing around with kids!" - Lex Luger, 1995

[@OikPoinFive]

lol

[@OikPoinFive]

i remember a WF fan's comment was posted in the next PWI magazine that said: "Well the last I checked Lex, those kids were kicking your a**!" True, such kids (mid-carders) usually were beating Luger on WWF tv and ppv: tag team champion Owen Hart, Double J, Bam Bam, Tatanka, etc. i always remembered that quote! (well not always; not every single day for the last 30 years lol?)

[@roccojamison89gooker51]

Even Mr. Bob Backlund put Lex Luger in the CrossFace Chicken Wing

[@allencollins5666]

@@OikPoinFiveThose Midcarders Would’ve Been Jobbing To Lex Luger In WCW. In Fact, All Those Guys WWE Had To Go Over Lex Luger And Bob Backlund, If They All Were In WCW 1995-1998, Lex Luger Would’ve Taken On All Of Them By Himself. That’s A Good Reason For Lex Luger Leaving The WWE , They Having Him Jobbing To That Many Midcarders. Lex Might Been so Mad At Vince He Didn’t Tell Him He Was Leaving. Luger Just Wanted To Go Back Home To WCW. If WCW Were Around Today, A Lot Of Wrestlers WWE Who Would Go To WCW Because WWE Can’t Push Them To Destroy Vanilla Midgets Would Say They’re Tired Of Playing With WWE Little Indie’ Kids.

[@allencollins5666]

@@roccojamison89gooker51He Would’ve Been Lex Bitch In WCW.

[@WadeWallenstein]

I have a funny story regarding the first Nitro: I visited the Mall of America 1 week before and tried some fettucini alfredo at Pastamania. Got a stomach ache not long after 🤣

[@LeighLunaris]

Something about Hogan's smile for PastaMania as always made it look like he was crying for help. That man's smile never reached his eyes

[@dkupke]

He lost his smile first, brother

[@danjonmills]

He never got over the one that got away - The George Foreman Grill.

[@patrickracer43]

He got that Mr Beast smile brother

[@DDSilver2024]

This show was well-booked and well-produced. The only missed opportunity was not taking more advantage of the mall setting and possibly having some action in another part of the mall. Not sure if WCW had a second unit crew available at this show or if the Pastamania and out-of-ring segments were pre-taped. But, if they did have a second unit, the scuffle between Norton and Savage could have been more impactful if it happened outside of say, a toy store with a convenient and prominent display of WCW toys at the entrance. But, that's just a thought. The show was still incredibly effective and served as a warning shot to WWF at the time that Turner was a serious competitor - they were trying to be Pepsi to WWF's Coca-Cola; they weren't content to settle for being RC or Faygo.

[@leonardhayhurst9562]

"If it wasn't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college" has rolled around in my head for years. It's a line from Lewis Black on "The Daily Show." I marked out when you said it. As for what Mongo meant, maybe it was "apropos" kind of sounding like "a hoe."

[@jonathanhipsher]

I was thinking the same thing. Like him thinking its pronounced "a-prop-ho" instead of how it is actually pronounced. Its the Reddit "bone apple tea" deal.

[@markg7373]

Luger- I don't want to be a pirate.

[@DeweySizemore]

If I had a nickle for every time Sting and Flair wrestled each other, I'd have $8.00 in Nickles....which is Weird because it happened SO MANY times in WCW...

[@4KidsRocks1]

Pastamania wasn’t even a full restaurant. In was a food court booth located in the cheapest, most out of the way part of Mall of America and the food was allegedly just frozen pasta and knock off Chef Boyardee served in heated trays.

[@thekidfromiowa]

It lasted a matter of only months if I'm not mistaken.

[@manny.animations7836]

No way dude!!

[@miltonpjr]

To whoever made this…..BRAVO 👏

[@miltonpjr]

Brian Zane you the fucking man dude! I appreciate the videos and your take on wrestling. Keep up the great reviews, oh and fuck cornette lol I jk I jk

[@razorramon123]

The mall setting is priceless! Imagine if they hosted a PPV called "Mayhem at the Mall" with a Department Store brawl match, elevator match or triple escalator match with similar rules to a cage match.

[@stephensandridge3784]

Brian! Off a random thought I decided to pick up your quest of Mongo's weird stream of consciousness. I think instead of 'apropos', Mongo may have meant to say 'Arapaho", the Native American tribe that according to the internet originated in Northern Minnesota. Likely Mongo was trying to have some wordplay on 'ho' with the farm tool comment. Either way, the statement was indeed 'apropos' given how disjointed his in-ring work also was, God bless him. We still love you Mongo!

[@glenndallas7171]

Yeah, my guess is he was trying to do a pun with ho or plow and just mangled it.

[@Anynom]

It's hard to express how shocking Luger's appearance was. No word on the Internet/dirt sheets he was jumping like this so his walking on was wild. Hell, when I saw it, I first thought he'd been shopping at the Mall and just wandered on camera for fun.

[@NoneofYabiz-rx3zi]

Wrong, broski. Meltzer wrote about it at least a week before trying to get WCW to bring him back. Luger has made a lot of money in wrestling in the past. His original WCW deal was for $500,000 a year and his WWF deal is around $350,000 a year. But now, WCW is only offering him a $1000-per-match deal, with no guarantee on how many matches he gets and mostly seem interested in bringing him in as a heel to put over Hogan, without much interest in him beyond that.

[@jasonbrown8694]

Bubbas shaking headlock walked so the Yetis full shaking bearhug could fly

[@lysergicpillamyd483]

I think you mean The Yeh-Tay!!!

[@KEVINZARD]

🎶THE MAN CALLED MENG🎶

[@brendanb2982]

YOU WANT A WAR?

[@MayaY2J]

HULKAROOS AND HULKAYOOS

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

At least this time Bobby Heenan could enter the show man I still love his vignettes trying to get into raw premiere

[@SapinskiMath]

Actually, in September back then, USA was covering the US Open tennis tournament. Westminster preemptions were around Valentine's Day back then.

[@makaveli4205]

I always hated that

[@morriswatchman8199]

I'm glad I read through the comments first because I was going to also note Mr. Zane's history mishap. It is good to know that others also remember those ridiculous preemptions.

[@morriswatchman8199]

@@makaveli4205 I always had a hard time believing that dog shows, golf and tennis tournaments really had a higher viewership than pro wrestling, even back then. NBC-Universal obviously changed their tune, because now they have a bunch of sister networks that carry those programs so USA can air WWE without issue... though it took them long enough to wise up.

[@SapinskiMath]

@morriswatchman8199 I don't know that I call it ridiculous. Yeah, I'd rather watch wrestling than tennis, but I had bigger stuff to be bothered about. (Though a month after Nitro debuted, USA permanently cancelled long running afternoon block of game shows. That's what's not cool.)

[@morriswatchman8199]

@@SapinskiMath I agree. Cancelling the afternoon gameshow block was bush league on USA's part.

[@ramiking745]

And GCW doing a show at the American Dream in New Jersey a few days ago makes me appreciate the mall setting for a wrestling show.

[@hankarmas]

Lex Luger arriving on the first Nitro by wearing "the worst shirt to eat pasta in."

[@wesleycooper6775]

As someone who was born in Minnesota, it’s always interesting to see what shops were at MOA on the bottom floor and how, till this day, events are held in the same place the first nitro took place; pretty damn cool!

[@anthonymcarthur3956]

11:26 that wheeze gives me life

[@theFRIS]

picking up on how Bischoff struggled to say "what the hhhh...hhhell is he doing here?" is something I appreciate

[@a.j.4317]

On that restaurant tour - Don’t forget WWF New York!! I went there three times as a kid!

[@thekidfromiowa]

The Nitro Grill

[@a.j.4317]

@ I posted this on a video on Maven’s channel, where he mentioned WWF New York… I’ll repost here: 1) First trip was in February of 2001 for my cousin's birthday. I was 13, and I believe we went on a Saturday. No wrestlers were there, but I took a lot of photos with a disposable camera (and I still have the pictures!) There was a lot of memorabilia on display, which was cool, including the Andre the Giant handprint. There was also a chair signed by Edge and Christian, the Hardys and the Dudley Boys, as well as another dented chair signed by Chris Jericho (notably, he drew an arrow to the dent and wrote "Kane's head," so I surmise he cracked Kane's skull with that chair). I also remember seeing a signed copy of Chyna's Playboy magazine on display. I think I had a cheeseburger to eat. I remember thinking the store was cool, and my dad bought me a Rock shirt that read "It Doesn't Matter" on the front and "It Just Doesn't Matter" on the back. I wore said shirt later that year to meet Mick Foley at a book signing, and Mick thought that shirt was the coolest thing. I even remember telling Mick that I got it at WWF New York, and he asked me how I liked it (I told him that WWF New York was a lot of fun). 2) Second trip was May of 2001 - but it wasn't really a formal visit. I was on an 8th grade class field trip to New York City and I made my group stop in. It was a weekday afternoon. We just went into the store and looked around. I didn't buy anything and no wrestlers were there, that I know of. We didn't stay long; just looked around and left. I remember Billy Gunn's "The One Billy Gunn" theme/entrance video was playing on the screens while we were in there. Also, my teacher chaperone erroneously called it "The Smackdown Shop." I had to correct her and tell her it was called WWF New York. 3) Final time I went was February of 2002, again for a birthday (same cousin's birthday). Again it was a Saturday and no wrestlers were there -- HOWEVER, it was the day before No Way Out and Curt Hennig was appearing at the restaurant the next night (I distinctly remember our server telling us, "Mr. Perfect will be here tomorrow!"). I'm pretty sure that was the day I got the Stone Cold Steve Austin "What?" shirt (obviously got it at the store). Like the first time, I took photos of the memorabilia on a disposable camera, and we checked out the arcade. I remember playing the Royal Rumble Dreamcast game. My friends played that vibration/electrocution Uncle Fester game (and they all said it hurt their hands). Overall, WWF New York was a fun place, and it's a part of WWE history. I'm lucky enough to have gone a few times, being a resident of New York State. Also, my memory is pretty good. I'm surprised I'm able to recollect all this information, now that I sat down and thought about it, lol.

[@WrestlingForever93]

A fun and good song for the intro! I also enjoyed the unique venues WCW did events in the 90's and agree it was ambitious. I think it showed WCW wanted reach out to fans of all kinds. I also understand there was likely shady reasons for doing events at these locations like Mall of America to promote PastaMania restaurants , Hog/Road Wild so Eric Bischoff and others could ride motorcycles , Charlotte to see a Nascar Race , and then Disney-MGM studios. In the end , I think WCW revolutionized wrestling with there interesting locations.

[@mrterp04]

I’m interested in the alternate reality where Pastamania becomes somewhat successful-what would’ve happened to it when Hogan turned heel?

[@anthonyrivera2306]

Say hello to our newest dish, "The New World Order Pasta, BROTHER!!!"

[@RaccoonRevolution]

Creepypasta

[@kevinramsey417]

I like to think they'd have renamed it to Pasta World Order. Our sauce is just...too...SWEEEEET!

[@chairmanofthebored]

Pastamania becomes one of those insult restaurants like Dick’s in Vegas. Servers cut promos on you and blow cigar smoke on your rigatoni.

[@stfi7566]

Fans would’ve been throwing ravioli into the ring instead of trash every week.

[@chrisbreezy3048]

As someone who had only seen clips from the first episode of WCW Monday Nitro, this was a nice bit of nostalgia to see in full for the first time. For a 45-minute show, WCW really crammed in a lot of good stuff and changed the landscape for years to come! S/N: Prayers to Mongo as he continues to fight and overcome the awful disease that is ALS. 🙏

[@Kamau1865]

Thanks, Brian. Excellent insight as always. I must admit my thirst for wrestling is pretty low at present, but I'm still tuning in to your content, if no one else's.

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

Steve: this looks like the thunder dome Vince: that’s a great name for our new arena

[@roguerifter9724]

I have this image of someone eating Pastsmania then having to rush to the toilet due to it running through them.

[@timrandall4910]

This whole comment section is just deadlock references and I love it

[@JLvatron]

Thank you for an Excellent video, BZ! Mall of America was indeed an exciting and fresh venue. Pastamania is amazing! I was never a big fan of Lex Lugar, but his shirt was tres cool. As for the "Stinkin hand", Hogan prolly meant Lugar's hands were dirty from the WWF. ...or maybe he didn't wash them after eating Pastamania!!

[@ianhealy9262]

I could watch a video of all of Zane's impressions all day.

[@timbartschwolfman]

"The Shroud of the Dark Side has Fallen.....Begun The Monday Night War Has"

[@coreyhendricks9490]

The first Nitro where Sting vs Ric Flair went down and the last Nitro they went against each other, good times to sad times, cool video as always Brian 💯

[@lancefier3231]

When Sting announced his retirement on AEW in Minneapolis, according to him and Flair they've wrestled over 1,500 times in their career.

[@markula_4040]

Pretty sure that's exaggerated. If Sting was in NWA/WCW for 15 years (1986-2001), that would make for 100 matches per year and 1 every 3.5 days. I seriously doubt Sting wrestled Ric on average twice a week for that long. According to CageMatch net, they wrestled around 270 times and while all were not 1 on 1, that is still a TON. More than 10% of Sting's total career matches.

[@brianmcmahan6719]

I remember going to school the next day in 5th grade talking about Lex Lugar showing up!! Gosh those were the days! ECW was just starting to become known as well. Great times!

[@jasonmaclean719]

19:00 they were so tired from all that pasta brother! Those carbs hit 'em hard dude👍

[@TheBigJere]

A wild LEX LUGER appears! That shirt! That mullet! Never gets old.

[@orinanime]

4:45 - "if it weren't for my horse..." OHMYGOD thank you so much for referencing that. My wife and I constantly reference this Lewis Black story to each other and friends and family when telling people about weird random nonsensical sentences we hear. It's so great to hear other people reference it as well.

[@alaskaspikerman375]

A new WWW right as I start my lunch break? What a dream come true!

[@brettt141]

WCW intro is still amazing.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

16:04 Man, the Temu Dibiase character DID NOT work for Mike Rotunda. It's too bad WCW nor Kevin Sullivan created a new version of The Varsity Club, instead of The Dungeon of Doom.

[@6oclocknewsat8]

I was looking up the Varsity Club yesterday. 😅 I thought it was funny how Rotunda and Steiner came out in their varsity jackets while Sullivan wore his bathrobe and still doing the cult leader stuff.

[@andrewsarkis4516]

well they did revive the Varsity Club in late 99

[@kenterminateddq5311]

​@@andrewsarkis4516 they did? Was Kevin Sullivan involved or he was still leading the Dungeon?

[@andrewsarkis4516]

@ he was involved in

[@ItsRMFL]

Is there a timeline where there is the Pasta world order tomato vs Pasta world order Alfredo?🤷‍♂️

[@blackfoxx86]

Then Eddie Guerrero forms the Salsa World Order.

[@ItsRMFL]

@blackfoxx86 Parmesan on a pole match

[@gregdeandrea1450]

I'd kill for a video on weird ass Wrestler food and restaurants.

[@pjdolont9012]

B.Z. legitimately has the voice of an angel.

[@Redfield70]

That Macho Man impersonation had me doing a double take.

[@danielochoa2845]

Years ago, I went to the Mall of America and I popped up the first Nitro on my phone to see where exactly the ring was. Definitely looks different now.

[@Roboheart1119]

Love this. Brian, I’m going to start a petition prohibiting you from reviewing any Classic Reviews other than 1990s WCW 🙃MORE WCW! MORE WCW!!😊

[@Jamal-bl7yh]

WCW Nitro Was and Still Is The Most Influential TV Show of all time would've given my Twin Sister just to watch Monday Night Nitro In 1995 on TNT God Bless Ted Turner

[@benestrada5589]

I pop every time I hear "THE MAN CALLED MENG!!!!"

[@MarcoCaifan87]

We need the full version of the WCW Christmas Carol 😂

[@stevenbrown2318]

Before he was IRS in WWF/E. Mike Rotunda was known as Michael Wallstreet in WCW late 1990/91. It's the first time I saw Terri Runnels as Alexandra York. And the first time they used the York Foundation which later included Terrance (Terry) Taylor, Thomas (Tommy) Rich and Richard (Ricky) Morton.

[@TheCheat420]

Lex after the first Nitro: "But I don't WANNA be a pirate!"

[@stevensuarez4843]

"cue Seinfeld theme"

[@orinanime]

10:35 - 11:25 : Sting vs Flair. As far as I could find, Sting and Flair wrestled 37 times initially from 1988 to 2000, on television, so that doesn't account for untelevised matches. That's also including 1-on-1, tag teams, group matches, etc. Just 1-on-1 televised matches, from '88 to '00, seems to be 13. Then you have Flair's retirement match in '01. Then Sting's retirement match in 2011. For a total of 39 televised matches, 15 of which were 1-on-1.

[@Henshingod]

17:00 AKKKTUALLY, Mike Rotunda very briefly had the Michael Wallstreet gimmick in WCW in 1991 before jumping to the WWF as IRS. In fact, he was paired with none other than Alexandra York with the laptop gimmick and everything. When he left, they just plugged Terry Taylor (the Taylor Made Man) into the role instead, eventually adding Ricky (Richard) Morton and Tommy (Thomas) Rich to form the York Foundation. So he started as a ripoff, went to the competition as a similar character, eventually teamed up with the original, and then went back to the other company as the ripoff.

[@edalder2000]

Brian's Macho Man impression always pops me.

[@SteveReaves]

About Mike Rotunda, that was his previous gimmick in WCW, Michael Wallstreet. Much like Ray Traylor was previously Big Bubba Rogers as the "Insurance Policy" for the Midnight Express. Edit: The problem I had with them saying that there would be NO enhancement talent on Nitro, and debuting Norton vs Savage, and Rotunda vs Sting, it immediately established Norton and Rotunda as Jobbers to the Stars.

[@jstats13]

In the interest of historical accuracy, Westminster is held during the winter. At this time the USA network carried live coverage of the United States Open (Tennis) and that is why RAW wasn't on that week.

[@RikkiRoxxNWS]

Hogan may have lost his train of thought during that promo with Luger at the end. Lex has since told the story of how when they went to commercial break, he dropped character for a second and smiled, getting caught up in the moment. Hogan didn't take kindly to it, and supposedly shoved Lex and said some variation of "Get that smile off your face right now before I knock it off", reminding him that they're supposed to be setting up an angle and not screwing around. Since he was legit pissed in that moment, when they went back live he may have had a hard time getting back on track with what he'd planned to say. I think it shows class that in telling the story, Lex always admits that he was wrong for breaking character and that Hogan was right to correct him. Apparently they never had another problem ever again after that.

[@carlosmontesinos1544]

"Wrestling isn't traditionally held in places like a mall" *laughs in mexican while watching a lucha show in a subway station

[@CardPlayingStrategies]

Damn, dropping a deep Lewis Black reference with the "if it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college."

[@nikospud860]

You mentioned that Sting v Flair has to be one of the most frequently done matches on your PPV reviews and that gave me the idea that you should do a tier list of Sting v Flair matches.

[@FrenchPaul1988]

Or a top 8 ɓest (and worst) Sting vs Flair matches video.

[@MCastleberry1980]

I remember flipping through and watching out of boredom since Nitro was live on the west coast and started at 5 pm. Was 100% a WWF guy and mostly would watch WCW to make fun of stuff like the American Males theme and the Dungeon of Doom. That being said, seeing Lex Luger show up in whatever the hell that shirt was, was a big moment and grabbed my attention. Plus, I was still a huge Randy Savage fan, so seeing him every week was cool. Also, when talking about that Mongo line, I had that same Lewis Black bit pop into my head before you said it lol

[@harshckuk]

1995 isn't that far behind, it's only 8 years ago,.... Lemme check calendar.....Oh Fuck 😮😮

[@jamesparks1895]

Dude, a Lewis Black reference? Spectacular.

[@davedreamsofdumplings]

Amazing Louis Black drop. Between that and 'nothing can kill the Grimace', I may have found the only person who gets my references

[@nicksoapdish157]

At 10:16, in the 2010's when I was stationed in Japan, at the Navy base in Yokosuka; at the rec-center there had a Mean Gene's Burgers and those burgers and chicken fingers they had there were delicious.

[@rynrly5548]

the man called meng bit gets me every time

[@antiadam666]

Sting and Flair according to cage match have had 54 singles matches from 1987-2011. Good god

[@Millwall77]

Rey Mysterio and Psicosis wrestled each other over 500 times.

[@OtakuAnthony]

I did eat at Mean Genes burger place before. I never knew he had a chain until I saw it in person.

[@platinumpagoda3079]

I always think it's hilarious that Eric erroneously recalls Ted giving him 2 hours every Monday. Bro, nitro started on 1 hour. And people actively listen to bischoff on his podcast and take what he says for granted😂. 4:34😂😂😂ditto.

[@HandlebarOrionX]

2:49 I know F1RST Wrestling have recently done shows at Mall Of America, (thought GCW was there too but nope) but imagine if like TNA or AEW and ROH or NJPW Of America, or AAA use it too, to the production value WCW funneled in, and it just becomes a regular wrestling venue for all the companies big and small to utilize until eventually even WWE does a one off PLE there. With there being crossover

[@SuperNitroZ64]

Thay'd be amazing!

[@vanger1211]

GCW’s was at a mall in Jersey, not MOA.

[@HandlebarOrionX]

@@vanger1211 Aw dang it

[@phillipreed6599]

About Ric Flair’s biggest rivals. I went through cagematch and did the leg work. Sting/Flair wrestled 45 times and was only trumped by Flair/Steamboat at 90 times (both were an amalgam of their NWA/JCP & WCW matches)

[@phillipreed6599]

I was surprised that Windham/Flair was only 25 times and Rhodes/Flair was only 24

[@lokix2]

I'm also a tv nerd and enjoy where you can see the live shot underneath the tape shot

[@munchmahquchi4050]

During that hogan promo i was like "what's with the paper shredder?" Then saw the ramen and realized it was a pasta cutter🤣

[@newageoutlaw]

AMAZING Lewis Black reference at the start there.