History Of WCW Monday Nitro - Episode One: "The Shot Across The Bow - From A Luger"

September 4th, 1995 - The Mall Of America, Bloomington, Minnesota

This is the first Monday Nitro ever, and it's being broadcast live from... the Mall of America. I know that seems odd. Hell, Pastamania probably seems odd to someone who wasn't alive in the 80s, but the Mall of America was the newest big attraction in the Midwest, and at the time, WWF's programming was usually taped from a small arena in New York City - so, why not put on your first show in front of a bustling mall crowd, in a packed portion of the Mall of America. The cameras pan across a crowd that looks like a sold out Omni in Atlanta, but is made up of probably a thousand legitimate wrestling fans, and a couple hundred lookie-loos and people just trying to get an Orange Julius or some Hulka-U's at Pastamania. The beginnings of Nitro open with the final strains of the opening to Foxy Lady, and a Jimi Hendrix sound-alike saying 'Here I come baby, I'm comin' to getcha!'. Then, an explosion through that metal WCW Nitro logo on what looks like a deserted street, but in actuality was shot in Disney Hollywood Studios. Sidenote: At the time it was MGM Studios, who had a television taping deal with Turner, and was starting to produce Hulk Hogan's 'Thunder in Paradise' television show as well as WCW Worldwide. I actually got to watch a few of the tapings of that explosion, which was a composite of a few different runs they shot at night at MGM Studios. I got to watch them detonate the burning logo, as I was working for the Mouse back in those days at that park. The show's prepackaged explosion transitions to the announce team standing at ringside: Eric Bischoff, Steve 'Mongo' McMichael, and walking up is Bobby Heenan. Of all the broadcast teams for pro wrestling, I'd rank Bischoff and Heenan as one of the best pairs on the air. Doesn't come close to Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon, or my all time favorite, Gorilla and Ventura, but they do a good job of establishing Heenan as the weaselly heel commentary, Bischoff as the polished play by play, and Mongo as the color commentator. Why Steve McMichael? Well, the WCW had a philosophy about their product, which was, that it was NOT sports entertainment, but a professional level of an amateur sport. So, they'd often bring legitimate sports stars in to blur that line between work and shoot, and Mongo was a Super Bowl ring-holder, and a man who legitimately wanted to get into the ring. Word around the campfire was, at the time, that McMichael was the top prospect at the WCW Power Plant because of his size and legit sports background - of course this was before he was exposed as being a bit of a workaday wrestler on the whole - but this is when he was starting out, so let's keep our eye on this moment when WCW is putting their best foot forward. We get a little bit of comedy between McMichael and 'The Brain' to start us off, and an announcement that Hulk Hogan is in the Main Event tonight. We open with a match that was simply put, one of the best matches WCW ever put on...