10 Things You Didn't Know About WCW's Nitro Grill Restaurant

10. How Much It Cost To Open

The Nitro Grill was a co-concocted idea between WCW and the Mandalay Resort Group. Both parties agreed to open a wrestling-themed restaurant in 1998, and agreed on March or April '99 as the ideal opening date. That didn't happen; Nitro Grill officially opened doors on 17 May 1999.

It cost $2m.

Yes, the project would end up costing WCW almost as much as Vincent Kennedy McMahon paid to buy the remains of their entire company less than two years later. There's something sad about that, but it does show how two million dollars was pretty much chump change to WCW in 1999.

Ignore any claims that they were a fading giant by that point. WCW weren't - they were hopeful of reclaiming top spot in the wrestling industry (at least domestically in North America), and having a successful business in Las Vegas' plush Excalibur Hotel & Casino complex would help with that.