The history of Monday Nitro tells the story of a show which put WCW over the top and almost put the mighty WWE out of business. WCW never felt like a real threat to WWE until Nitro started and competed against Raw every Monday night. Both promotions were forced to up their games and it changed the industry for the better.
Everyone remembers the major Nitro moments like Goldberg beating Hulk Hogan for the WCW Championship or the Finger Poke Of Doom, but there were some that flew under the radar. Find out just which memories led to polarizing reactions either at the time or all these years later. The following forgotten Nitro moments provided controversy for WCW.
10 Sabu Using Tables
The rise of Sabu in ECW landed him interest from WCW when Eric Bischoff wanted to improve his roster depth in 1995. Sabu joined the company and became an attraction for Nitro since he often did things that were not done at the time.
The matches featured Sabu bringing tables out at a time when WCW did not have weapons like that in play. WCW even had DQ rules for going over the top rope to show just how much things had changed. Sabu was viewed as a controversial wrestler, but he grew unhappy in WCW and requested his release after a few months.
9 Sting & Diamond Dallas Page Having Multiple Title Changes
Sting vs Diamond Dallas Page was one of the best matches in WCW history when facing off for the WCW Championship on Nitro in 1999. The big title change would see Sting winning the title early in the show for a huge moment.
However, WCW did this with the plans to have the belt change hands again later in the show. Page won his rematch on the same night and fans were starting to grow tired of the frequent title changes. Both men swapping the belt on Nitro felt a bit off even though one of the matches was incredible.
8 Kevin Sullivan Shaving Hulk Hogan's Mustache
Hulk Hogan tried to make the face character from his WWE days work when he signed with WCW. Unfortunately, it was a rough go since the act was stale, especially when feuding with the members of the Dungeon of Doom faction.
One idea to get heat for the heels saw Kevin Sullivan shaving Hogan’s mustache during an episode of Nitro. The moment was done to show Hogan getting humiliated to add intensity to the feud, but it came off odd since it’s hard for fans to have an emotional attachment to a mustache.
7 Chucky Challenging Rick Steiner
The Chucky character from the Child’s Play movie franchise has been around for decades with recent remakes continuing the tradition. However, a forgotten moment for the character took place in WCW during an episode of Nitro.
Rick Steiner was cutting a promo in the ring when the Chucky doll appeared on the video screen calling him out. WCW played a strange laughing sound effect for weeks with the eventual reveal of Chucky. The controversial segment only had that one week with no real payoff.
6 Ric Flair Having A Heart Attack
The various storylines involving Ric Flair during the final years of WCW made him look foolish with a few controversial segments. One to stand out for the worst featured Flair having a heart attack in the middle of the ring during an episode of Nitro.
WCW wanted to go for the shock and awe factor of someone suffering a serious illness on live television. Flair hated the angle, but Eric Bischoff was adamant it would work, especially since the two were feuding at the time. The moment was viewed as another terrible WCW idea that should have been filtered out.
5 Hulk Hogan Beating Randy Savage For The World Title
Hulk Hogan dominated the main event picture during his time in WCW with a total of six WCW Championship reigns. One of the more disappointing title wins came in 1998 when the belt was passed around twice in two nights.
Randy Savage beating Sting at Spring Stampede already felt like a rushed title change. Things grew more controversial the following night on Nitro when Savage dropped the belt to Hogan. WCW did all this planning just to find a way to make Hogan the champ at the expense of both Sting and Savage.
4 Buff Bagwell's Fake Retirement
WCW had a scare when Buff Bagwell apparently suffered a serious neck injury in 1998. Hulk Hogan mocked Bagwell for the injury writing him off in a sympathetic way making fans feel want to root for his comeback.
Buff returned and had a face segment with Rick Steiner that got the audience invested. It turned out to be a swerve as Bagwell and Scott Steiner attacked Rick to remain in the New World Order. WCW dropped the ball with a potential new face for the fake-out.
3 Goldberg Vs Sting
Nitro was the home of a huge dream match pitting Goldberg vs Sting for the WCW Championship in 1998. The match could have easily main evented any PPV with fans clearly having interest, but WCW felt the ratings pop on Nitro was worth it.
Goldberg had one of the better matches of his career thanks to Sting leading the match. Fans were invested in both men, but the finish added controversy to ruin the appeal. Hulk Hogan interfered to help Goldberg win and the match is not remembered as fondly as it should be due to that.
2 Visiting Raven's Home
Many wrestling fans wanted to see WCW do more with Raven since his character was the hottest act in ECW when they signed him away. Raven had noteworthy matches against Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Diamond Dallas Page and many others while leading The Flock.
However, WCW decided to make a big change when having him switch his backstory. An episode of Nitro featured Raven’s mother becoming a character as the cameras visited his home. The Raven character lost all credibility when it was revealed he was a rich spoiled kid lying about his tough upbringing.
1 The "Other" NWO Parody Of The Four Horsemen
The first New World Order impersonation of the Four Horsemen provided huge controversy. Ric Flair and Arn Anderson were livid at the disrespect shown by Kevin Nash specifically during his impression of Anderson in 1997.
Another segment with the same intent is barely talked about and took place in 1999 when David Flair joined the nWo Elite. Hulk Hogan impersonated Flair and Nash did the same offensive impression of Anderson. There were a few more brutal inside jokes used here to add even more controversy.