20 Years Of Nitro

It's the go home show for Starrcade 96 and both Hollywood Hogan and Roddy Piper are in the house! DDP sits in on commentary to learn if he'll face Chris Benoit or Eddie Guerrero for the US title, Dean Malenko and Lord Steven Regal square off in a champion vs champion match, Fake Sting fucks around, and much, much more!!

We're back with all the news from wrestling from 12.16.96 through 12.22.96! UWFi is going out of business, ECW is having difficulty with their first PPV, and the WWF is preparing to launch Shotgun Saturday Night! We check out the 12.16.96 ratings war and talk about what happened on RAW that week, including a controversial segment with Jerry Lawler and Goldust. It's all here where the big boys play!

The road to Starrcade runs through Pensacola, Florida and "hometown" boy Hulk Hogan is in the house, but is Roddy Piper there to answer Hollywood's summons? Steven Regal and Psicosis thrash each other, the son of an all-time legend makes his inauspicious Nitro debut, and Tony Schiavone risks the wrath of the Taskmaster. By the end of the show the nWo has two new members and once more Sting leaves everybody guessing. Join us where the big boys play!

Dave and Tim sift through the wrestling week of 12/9 through 12/15 1996. ECW is preparing for their first PPV, WWF is planning to launch Shotgun Saturday Night, WCW is touring Germany, and more! There's some talk about ratings demographics and if they're a new phenomenon in the Wednesday Night Wars, WWF It's Time results, ratings analysis and I think you can hear Dave's cat once or twice!

Andy (@drewcifertweets) from The Road Home from Wrestling joins Tim and Dave to discuss the talkiest Nitro we've seen to date. This show features promos from Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, DDP, Kevin Sullivan, Arn Anderson, Woman, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Debra McMichael, Eric Bischoff, Mongo, Rick & Scott Steiner, and Sony Onoo! There's some wrestling to discuss, a bunch of problematic shit, a discussion about politics in wrestling and much, much more!!

On this week's WorldWide Edition Dave and Tim look at the happenings in WWF, ECW, NJPW, AJPW, All-Japan Women's and more!

This week Nitro throws up a bunch of short, inconsequential matches and a few promos as the build for Starrcade stalls out a bit. The nWo take over commentary to liven things up, a bleeding Stevan Regal causes a match to be shot from a unique angle, and the Four Horsemen argue about....something?

Dave and Tim cover everything in wrestling the week of 11/24/96. It's a pretty slow news week but we talk about the upcoming Royal Rumble, plans for Shotgun Saturday Night, the weekly Monday tv ratings, WCW Saturday Night results and more!

Dave and Tim are joined by the Proletariat Boar of Moldova for a Nitro that features an ultimatum by Eric Bischoff and the nWo that threatens to tear WCW apart, starting with the American Males. Meanwhile, the WCW Championship Committee has implemented a tournament to crown a new United States Heavyweight Champion and we have two first round match ups tonight! Sting! Jeff Jarrett! Alex Wright! Lee Marshall! And so much more!!

Tim and Dave give their thoughts on the surprising news that Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman have joined WWE as full time Executive Directors of RAW and Smackdown, respectively.

Tim and Dave cover the second annual WCW World War 3 event, providing live commentary to the 60 man, 3-ring, battle royal main event that will determine the next contender to Hollywood Hulk Hogan's WCW Championship. But before we get there we've got the J-Crown Title from Japan being defended, the WCW Cruiserweight and Tag Team Titles being defended, and we'll finally see Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper put pen to paper and sign the contract for their match at December's Starrcade!

Tim and Dave explore the week of wrestling that was 11-18-96 through 11-24-1996! ECW's infamous Mass Transit Incident takes place! El Hijo del Santo turns heel and shocks Mexico! Curt Henning gets some revenge on the WWE for ruining his Lloyd's of London payout! Plus our recap of RAW, coverage of the 11-18 RAW vs. Nitro ratings, and much, much more!!

Dave and Tim are joined by Joey Geko of the Sultans of Spandex Podcast for the go home show for World War 3 and many of the 60 WCW stars who will fight in the big 3 ring battle royal are looking to build momentum. However that all takes a backseat when "Rowdy" Roddy Piper makes his Nitro debut and uncovers a shocking secret that will permanently alter the balance between the nWo and WCW. Ric Flair makes his first appearance post-shoulder surgery, The Outsiders bully Tony Schiavone, a certain burly skeleton debuts on Nitro, and much, much more!!

In this week's WorldWide Edition we talk about wrestling from 11/11/96-11/17/1996. We've got the results of ECW's November to Remember and the WWF's Survivor Series. We'll play some music from the Crush Gals, recap an important angle from Saturday Night, and talk about what the nWo got up to at the 1996 Cable Ace Awards. Come join us where the big boys play!

With negotiations between WCW and Rowdy Roddy Piper still in limbo, a fan hops the barricade with a mysterious package that hints at Piper's true motivations. Sting makes his presence felt inside the ring for the first time in months. The Cruiserweight Division is busy with multiple opponents scouting each other at every turn. Jimmy Hart demands a title shot for the Faces of Fear. Plus Hollywood Hogan, The American Males, Juventud Guerrera, Chris Benoit, Lex Luger, and much, much more!!

Dave and Tim explore the wrestling week that was 11/4/1996-11/10/96. RAW has Brian Pillman Jr. waving a gun around, Konnan and AAA are having an acrimonious divorce, Curt Henning no-shows WWF events and more! They also talk a little bit about women main eventing WrestleMania for the first time and beg people to find a new joke to mock AEW.

The slow burn towards World War 3 continues this week as Eric Bischoff tries to make "the match of the decade" between Hollywood Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper. A women's championship is introduced and a tournament for this new title begins. Cracks are forming in the team of the American Males, Lex Luger tries again against Booker T, Sting lurks, a new Guerrero shows up, and much, much more!!

In our bonus companion episode to Nitro #59 we look at what else happened in wrestling the week of 10/28/96-11/3/96. We'll check in on the RAW results, examine the ratings, and talk about something that excites us about wrestling in the present. We also comb through the dirtsheets to talk about Raven crucifying The Sandman, AAA splitting with Konnan, RAW moving to a new time slot, and much, more! Plus the debut of Eastman Presser's amazing new theme song for our bonus episodes!!

It's the night after Halloween Havoc and the dust settles upon WCW and the surprise appearance of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Hollywood Hogan offers his response to the rowdy one and changes his tune significantly from the PPV. Elsewhere Dean Malenko defends his new cruiserweight championship, Lex Luger goes one on one with Booker T, and Mean Mike Enos shows why he may be one of the most undervalued men on the roster. Meanwhile in the rafters above the action a transformed Sting keeps an eye on the proceedings.

Haunted by Hollywood Hogan using the ghosts of his failed marriage Randy Savage looks to finally avenge his constant humiliations and capture Hogan's WCW title at Slim Jim's Halloween Havoc. The nWo has their eye on acquiring other belts though, as The Outsiders look to unseat The Harlem Heat and The Giant pretends to defend Ric Flair's US Title against Jeff Jarrett. All that, a cruiserweight title match, Mongo in action, and much, much more!