30 Years Ago Today, WCW Aired a ‘Nitro’ Episode That Changed Pro Wrestling Forever

There are certain pro wrestling shows that live on forever because of what happened on them. Then there are certain pro wrestling shows that live on forever because they were the starting point for something even bigger that followed. The May 27, 1996, episode of WCW Monday Nitro is somehow both.

If you’re a big wrestling fan (and you’re old enough), you might remember that episode was the first-ever two-hour episode of Nitro. And while that might not sound important on paper, it was that increase in TV time that led Eric Bischoff, then WCW executive producer, to go out and look for more top guys to build his show around. He found two names that were available: Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, and signing them would prove to be his smartest decision yet.

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Of course, if you really are a big wrestling fan (which you most likely are if you’re reading this), you already know that Hall debuted on that May 27 episode of Nitro. You also know that his debut was the spark that ignited the New World Order storyline, which in turn sparked the wrestling boom of the late ’90s.

The way Hall’s debut was written, by having him come through the crowd and debut as an “invader” of WCW from WWE, as if the entire segment was real, started the emphasis on what is referred to as the “worked shoot” angle in professional wrestling. This creative pivot from cartoonish characters to realistic ones not only became the foundation on which the nWo was built, but also the template for how to do pro wrestling in the 1990s.

Even today, 30 years later, wrestling promoters are still trying to blur the lines between storyline and reality. And while there has been some success in recreating those “1996 WCW” vibes, none of them have quite managed to stick the landing like the debut of The Outsiders and the beginning of the nWo storyline.

A few weeks later, on the June 10 episode of Nitro, Nash would finally jump over to WCW and join Hall in the now red-hot Outsiders storyline. The two quickly set up a match against WCW stars Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage for the upcoming Bash at the Beach pay-per-view on July 7 in Daytona Beach.

But that wasn’t the biggest piece of the puzzle. That would come in the form of a mystery partner for The Outsiders, one who was teased heavily all the way up until right before the six-man tag match was about to end.

Again, if you’re even a casual wrestling fan, you know that mystery partner was Hulk Hogan. You also know the three would go on to form the nWo, a faction and storyline that would take WCW and professional wrestling to new heights in the late ’90s.

(Sadly, WCW would never figure out how to move past Hogan and the nWo storyline, which would help lead to the company’s demise in 2001, but that’s a story for another day.)

To call Bash at the Beach 1996 the most important pay-per-view in WCW history wouldn’t be an understatement. It was the catalyst for what would become the most profitable era in WCW history, as well as the competition WWE needed to launch its soon-to-be-massive Attitude Era. But it’s what happened after the show, and over the course of the rest of the month, that I consider to be the finale to the greatest run any American pro wrestling company, at least one with a weekly TV show, has ever had.

Hulk Hogan joins the nWo (Bash at the Beach 1996) | CREDIT: WWE

For the rest of July, due to the 1996 Summer Olympics taking Turner broadcasting trucks away from WCW, Nitro would broadcast live from Disney-MGM Studios. More specifically, it aired outside the gates of Disney World’s Hollywood Studios. These shows were jam-packed with amazing wrestling, unforgettable moments, and a vibe that no pro wrestling company has managed to recreate since.

Simply put, they were so WCW Nitro, all the way down to the wacky filming location, that I consider them to be the show’s peak.

The July 29 episode, in particular, is one of WCW’s most memorable shows. That was the night the nWo “hijacked” the show, took out a bunch of WCW wrestlers backstage, and then fled the scene.

Bischoff’s decision to devote a ton of time to the angle was risky, as it created a lot of dead air that the (very small!) live crowd did not enjoy. Still, it was an amazing television moment that wasn’t entirely new to wrestling, but was very much new to the mainstream wrestling audience in the States.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. WCW would squander that 1996 run with one bad decision after another. And by March 2001, they’d be out of business for good. But this 1996 run, kick-started by the May 27 episode from WCW’s own backyard in Macon, Georgia, will be comfort TV for me for as long as I live. It’s still so fun to watch all these years later, which is why so many people (myself included) can’t stop talking about it on blogs and podcasts.

Because let’s be honest, what’s better than Mickey Mouse and the New World Order? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

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