WCW’s run with Monday Nitro helped change the wrestling industry forever as it created the Monday Night Wars. Eric Bischoff’s vision to compete with Vince McMahon gave WCW their first run at the throne. The New World Order’s success helped WCW find dominant ratings from mid-1996 until early 1999. Unfortunately, the episodes before and after that often featured less impressive ratings as WCW either had the boom or bust approach to success.
We will look at the lowest-rated episodes of Nitro and look at what exactly was the reasoning behind these disappointing figures. Some were due to poor booking, others took place in the wrong era and a few were hurt by other factors outside of WCW’s control. Find out what caused the negative memories for WCW as we look at the top ten lowest-rated episodes of Monday Nitro in WCW history.
Updated December 2nd, 2021 by Danny Djeljosevic: Since the debut of All Elite Wresting's weekly Wednesday night show, AEW Dynamite, in 2019 and their Friday show AEW Rampage in 2021, TV ratings have once again become a huge topic of conversation among wrestling fans. As the viewerships of AEW and WWE's various shows rise and fall by the week, looking at the ratings failures of a major promotion like WCW can reveal a lot about how to run a wrestling show, or how not to run one. These episodes of Nitro just didn't have the goods that fans wanted to see or were in the early days of the WCW Nitro when the show was still trying to gain momentum.
16 November 6, 1995: 2.3 (Main Event: Sting vs. Ric Flair)
Diehard WCW fans will struggle to understand how a show main evented by Sting and Ric Flair received some of the lowest ratings in Nitro history. They were victims of the time as Nitro just couldn’t get over the hump in the early months of the show.
The November 6, 1995 episode of Nitro delivered a 2.0 rating despite two of the top three stars facing off. WCW had a solid card with Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero, Kevin Sullivan vs. The Renegade and a squash match for The Giant making up the rest of the card. Raw received a 2.6 rating on this night for the victory.
15 *October 16, 1995: 2.2 (Main Event: Ric Flair & Sting vs. Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman)
The seventh-ever episode of Nitro dropped from the previous week’s 2.6 rating. In addition to hyping goofball affairs like the infamous Halloween Havoc monster truck sumo match between Hulk Hogan and The Giant, this episode features Chris Benoit making his Nitro debut in a match with Eddie Guerrero that won four stars from Dave Meltzer as well as Sting and Ric Flair teaming up to set up an inevitable betrayal. Meanwhile, Monday Night Raw scored a 2.6 in the ratings with Bret Hart vs. Isaac Yankem in a steel cage.
14 October 23, 2000: 2.2 (Main Event: Scott Steiner vs. Mike Awesome)
2000 is when things started to spiral out of control for WCW. Vince Russo’s decline would see the company continue to struggle despite him throwing all his ideas against the wall. The October 23, 2000 episode of Monday Nitro received a 2.2 rating.
Scott Steiner faced off with Mike Awesome in the main event with the memorable entrance of a live tiger escorting him to the ring. This did not help WCW one bit as the episode received its tenth-lowest rating in company history. WWE more than doubled the rating with Raw scoring 5.5 on this night.
13 *October 23, 1995: 2.2 (Main Event: Harlem Heat vs. Lex Luger & Sting)
It’s a shame that this go-home episode for 1995’s legendary Halloween Havoc got such low viewership given that it features the debut of one of the most popular WCW memes: the Yeti, who bursts out of a giant block of ice at the very end of the episode. That said, it’s also no surprise, given that the episode overall is very heavy on the less-than-stellar Dungeon of Doom angle. Raw ends up getting the same exact rating this week on an episode featuring a #1 contender battle royal for the IC title and Alundra Blayze winning back the Women’s belt from Bertha Faye.
12 * March 19, 2001: 2.1 (Main Event: Lance Storm & Mike Awesome vs. Chuck Palumbo & Sean O’Haire)
The final months of WCW saw Nitro regularly lose to Raw, but at least the ratings stayed relatively consistent, as future entries on this list will show. While Steve Austin and The Rock were teaming in the main event of Raw to earn a 4.6 rating, WCW was offering Lance Storm and Mike Awesome against Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire. However, everything would change the following week, as Nitro would air its final episode ever, while WWE would make a landmark announcement that would change the landscape of pro wrestling.
11 * March 12, 2001: 2.1 (Main Event: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Rick Steiner)
An eventful Raw scored WWE a 4.6 rating on the Monday of March 12, 2001, featuring four title matches, three of which saw belts change hands. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of Nitro in the third-to-last episode of the show’s history, at least ratings-wise, thanks to another 2.1. Ahead of his main event title bout against Scott Steiner at Greed on the 18th, Diamond Dallas Page took on Scott’s brother Rick in a lackluster main event in an episode that felt a bit like WCW was spinning its wheels, which was surprising for a go-home show.
10 * March 5, 2001: 2.1 (Main Event: Booker T & Diamond Dallas Page vs. The Steiner Brothers)
WCW started its final month of existence continuing its 2.1 ratings streak, though the main event of this Nitro does feature The Steiner Brothers reuniting for the first time in over half a year, though there’s little hype to that reunion. Once again, it’s up against a Raw that not only features several title matches — including The Hardy Boyz beating the Dudley Boyz for the tag title — but also a star-studded main event as Steve Austin and The Rock took on Kurt Angle and Triple H. This earned Raw a 4.5 rating.
9 * February 26, 2001: 2.1 (Main Event: Dustin Rhodes vs. Jeff Jarrett)
WWE got a 5.1 rating with Raw in the last Monday of February, which was no surprise given that it was the night after No Way Out, one of the best pay-per-views of the year (but not the best, obviously). Road to WrestleMania 17 notwithstanding, Raw offered a rather underwhelming episode while Nitro had a stronger show with lots of solid in-ring action and Booker T making a surprise return after months of inactivity. Still, however, WCW was on the decline so ratings remained consistently low compared to the competition.
8 * February 12, 2001: 2.1 (Main Event: Scott Steiner vs. Kevin Nash)
While The Rock and Rikishi were fighting to determine who gets to choose the stipulation for Steve Austin vs. Triple H at No Way Out to earn a 4.8 rating, the Nitro main event featuring Scott Steiner vs. Kevin Nash for the World Title ended in a DQ.
But that’s okay because they’ll meet up again at SuperBrawl Revenge the following Sunday in a Loser Leaves WCW 2 out of 3 falls match. Once again, Nitro offered some solid matches and decent time for the Cruiserweights, guys like Billy Kidman and Lash LeRoux just can’t beat a show with The Rock on it.
7 January 8, 2001: 2.1 (Main Event: Scott Steiner vs. Jeff Jarrett)
WCW barely had a fan base come 2001 when the company was past the point of saving. Scott Steiner faced off with Jeff Jarrett in a heel vs. heel WCW Championship match in the main event of the January 8, 2001 episode of Nitro.
The theory that heel vs. heel matches don’t draw was true here as Nitro received a terrible 2.1 rating. Other matches on the show included Sid Vicious vs. Shane Douglas, Billy Kidman vs. Lance Storm and Chavo Guerrero vs. Shannon Moore. Raw dominated with a 4.8 rating on this night as the Monday Night Wars was now a bloodbath.
6 April 29, 1996: 2.1 (Main Event: The Giant vs. Ric Flair)
WCW’s ratings were not that strong in the early years of Nitro until the New World Order found success on the mainstream level. The April 29, 1996 episode of Nitro was actually an entertaining one, but it only received a 2.1 rating on the night.
Ric Flair lost the WCW Championship to The Giant in the main event. Other exciting bouts included William Regal vs. Finlay in a Parking Lot Brawl along with a classic Harlem Heat vs. Sting and Lex Luger tag match. WWE wasn’t doing too hot either, but Raw edged out Nitro with a 2.9 rating.
5 *February 19, 2001: 2.0 (Main Event: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Kanyon)
Airing the night after WCW’s penultimate pay-per-view, the lackluster SuperBrawl Revenge, the February 19th, 2001 episode of Nitro saw the show’s ratings drop only slightly from the previous one. While the build to Diamond Dallas Page vs. WCW Champ Scott Steiner at Greed officially kicked off here, over in the competing Raw, WWE scored over double that with a 4.8, featuring a main event where Steve Austin and The Rock teamed up against Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle.
4 November 13, 1995: 2.0 (Main Event: Sting vs. Dean Malenko)
The early struggles of Nitro featured WCW trying to showcase their top names and rising younger talents in noteworthy matches. The November 13, 1995 episode would see Sting face off with Dean Malenko in the main event, but they only scored a weak 2.0 rating.
Randy Savage vs. Meng and Johnny B. Badd vs. Eddie Guerrero were the other noteworthy matches on the show. Raw defeated Nitro in the ratings war with a 2.6 rating. Both shows were somewhat close until the New World Order pushed WCW to a dominating lead.
3 May 6, 1996: 1.9 (Main Event: The Giant vs. Jim Duggan)
The May 6, 1996 episode of Nitro did not provide much excitement in the main event as everyone expected The Giant to easily defeat Jim Duggan. This played a role in the terrible 1.9 rating showing just how little interest fans had in the episode.
There were a few fun matches like Sting vs. William Regal, Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit and The Steiner Brothers vs. Public Enemy, but WCW was struggling just months before the nWo angle saved them. Raw demolished Nitro with one of their better ratings of the year at 4.1.
2 April 3, 2000: 1.8 (History of Nitro Special)
WCW anticipated a low rating with the April 3, 2000 episode of Nitro. The company was in a terrible state and looked to rebuild. Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo were both returning to run the show together and the official rebranding started with this episode.
Tony Schiavone hosted the highlight show looking at the history of Nitro and discussing plans for the future. Bischoff and Russo promised huge success, but we know how it turned out. This episode with no matches scored a 1.8 rating as Raw destroyed it with a 6.4.
1 April 27, 1998: 1.7 (Main Event: Goldberg vs. Scott Norton)
Not many fans would expect the lowest-rated episode of Nitro to come in 1998 since it was WCW’s strongest year financially. The reasoning for this was the NBA Playoffs airing live and hurting Nitro’s time split. WCW was forced to split Nitro over the course of two nights.
Monday April 27, 1998 would see two matches on the card receiving five total minutes with Goldberg vs. Scott Norton and Chris Jericho vs. Chavo Guerrero in the short broadcast. WCW would get two hours the following night on the Tuesday lineup. Raw took advantage of this to get a 5.7 rating on the night destroying Nitro's 1.7.