Contrary to popular belief, 1996 was not the first time in history that WCW had beaten the WWF with a superior television rating. Previous wins had been marginal at best, so it's generally accepted that the Summer of '96 was the first time that WCW properly whipped their competition on TV. The May 20th episode of Nitro pulled a 3.1 rating, compared to Monday Night Raw's 2.3. To date, this was the biggest difference between both shows, certainly in WCW's favour. This was not the beginning of the much-vaunted 84-week unbeaten stretch however, as Raw actually won out by small margin on June 10th, posting a 2.7 to Nitro's 2.6. There was a sea-change of sorts in the industry however, and WCW started to go on a roll. Looking back on the May 20th Nitro, there wasn't exactly anything extra-special about it. The Giant defended the WCW World Title in the main event against Arn Anderson, and Ric Flair defeated Eddie Guerrero. It wasn't until the following week that Scott Hall showed up, starting the whole nWo angle.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
