Help me watch / navigate wcw during nitro era

[lakersfan45]

I want to watch nitro as back in the day I followed wwe for the most part and skipped most of nitro / wcw

A couple years ago I tried to watch from the first episode of nitro but I didn't make it very far. I think I skipped to January 96 and again didn't make it very far.

So instead I decided to rewatch Raws from that era and made it from 95 to mid 97. I think now is a good time to try nitro again. It's now or never. What's a good month / week to start on ?

 

[deezy]

Start at the end and go backwards.....you'll love WCW after that instead of hating it like the rest of us who had to live it.

 

[rikwebb]

Could start at the run in to Bash At The Beach 96/Start of the NWO starting on the May 27th 1996 episode when Scott Hall first appears

 

[Goatenstein]

Be a man and start at the beginning if you want to enjoy the nWo era in its fullest.

 

[gspieler]

Hall and Nash showing up(along with the Hogan heel turn), was more or less the catalyst for the AE. That would be the most logical point to start who's only experienced wrestling through a wwe perspective.

I think to appreciate before that, you'd have to have been a fan through the old NWA days, or the equivalent of, which you are admittedly not.

 

[prod2821]

Aw man go back the 1980s with the Horsemen, Sting, Wargames, etc.

I mean if you want to go back to the Monday Night Wars then yeah around the NWO entrance is a good starting point, the Lex in the Mall starting point is pretty bleh but from most of those Nitro's you'll get good cruiserweight matches

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

In 94/95 it literally felt like WCW was just all of WWF's washed up fogies but 96-98 is when Nitro was fucking awesome

 

[GSPSAKU]

Start at the end and go backwards.....you'll love WCW after that instead of hating it like the rest of us who had to live it.

Lol, this may not be a bad proposition but you definitely will miss out on the build up.

Be a man and start at the beginning if you want to enjoy the nWo era in its fullest.

I would have to agree wit Goatboy here.

In 94/95 it literally felt like WCW was just all of WWF's washed up fogies but 96-98 is when Nitro was fucking awesome

Skip the early Nitros as 1995 was especially bad. Hogan's wrestling was horrible, his gimmick sucked and the angles he was involved in were all absolutely horrible. The whole Dungeon of Doom, even as an 11 year old was beyond stupid.

Could start at the run in to Bash At The Beach 96/Start of the NWO starting on the May 27th 1996 episode when Scott Hall first appears

I would say start with the May 27th, 1996 episode as recommended by rickwebb. This starts the build up and for my money, the way the NWO angle was handled for the first year was spectacular and the way Sting was handled from the late summer of 1996 until early winter of 1998 was a thing of beauty; for my money the best angle every constructed in the WWF/JCP/WCW tv era..of course you get to see it blow up in your face as well but that's beyond the point. WCW showed the world how to build up a star and an angle without having said wrestler say a single word or wrestle an actual match. Goodness I get chills thinking about how great the Sting/NWO build was...if only I had the time and luxury to go back and watch from mid '96 to December '97, I definitely would.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

I would say start with the May 27th, 1996 episode as recommended by rickwebb. This starts the build up and for my money, the way the NWO angle was handled for the first year was spectacular and the way Sting was handled from the late summer of 1996 until early winter of 1998 was a thing of beauty; for my money the best angle every constructed in the WWF/JCP/WCW tv era..of course you get to see it blow up in your face as well but that's beyond the point. WCW showed the world how to build up a star and an angle without having said wrestler say a single word or wrestle an actual match. Goodness I get chills thinking about how great the Sting/NWO build was...if only I had the time and luxury to go back and watch from mid '96 to December '97, I definitely would.

MAN That was a really bad match at Starrcade 97.

I remember watching it with my cousins and when they saw Sting come out they were all like

 

[GSPSAKU]

MAN That was a really bad match at Starrcade 97.

I remember watching it with my cousins and when they saw Sting come out they were all like

By Sting's standards, he was definitely bigger and less defined. He has admitted in interviews since that he was really in a bad place, not working out much and didn't care much about wrestling at that time. Didn't give any input into the match like he usually would and just did whatever.

PS, I spent 2 hours watching every Nitro segment that had Sting on it and man was it a blast to watch. Got all the way to the last Nitro before Starrcade and that's where my road ends. Rewatching it for the first time since it actually unfolded nearly 20 years ago, my goodness was there heat. It was like every other Nitro, the fans were so pissed, the ring was littered with trash. It basically never happened in the old WWF/WWE and only during the first two year run of the NWO was it like that. Imagine the NWO angle and Sting angle happening in old days? Sure it wouldn't have the same effect but I'm just saying, if the fans were that heated, wrestlers would get attacked way more.

BTW, speaking of wrestlers getting attacked, all of the Sting/NWO segments I just watched, there were 3 different incidents of fans coming into the ring but the camera doesn't pan on them although in two of them, it's very obvious.

It's still crazy to see how hot the NWO/Sting angle was. My memory serves me right; the greatest build up I've ever seen and still hold up today as the greatest wrestling build and angle

 

[lakersfan45]

Okay just started the May 27 nitro. I hopefully make it through a few episodes

 

[jamesmiller14]

I watched Chuck Liddell vs Randy Couture 2 last night.

Not an especially technical or state of the art fight. Was definitely better the first time when I had no idea who would win.

Underwhelming.

So imagine not being a kid anymore that had to wait all week long for Raw or Nitro to come on to see what happens next. All before you were completely smartened up on the business and in life.

I didn't notice blown spots, production botches or bad camera angles when all I wanted was to see if Sting would suspend from the rafters to fight the NWO tonight.

This last paragraphs is where I should tie all of this into a bow for my point, but I think I've probably made my point.

 

[My Spot]

Start with the Nitro right after Bash at the Beach. I loved those outdoor shows (all of the Turner production was busy with the Olympics so they had 3 or 4 Nitros outside at MGM Studios in Orlando).

 

[lakersfan45]

I watched Chuck Liddell vs Randy Couture 2 last night.

Not an especially technical or state of the art fight. Was definitely better the first time when I had no idea who would win.

Underwhelming.

So imagine not being a kid anymore that had to wait all week long for Raw or Nitro to come on to see what happens next. All before you were completely smartened up on the business and in life.

I didn't notice blown spots, production botches or bad camera angles when all I wanted was to see if Sting would suspend from the rafters to fight the NWO tonight.

This last paragraphs is where I should tie all of this into a bow for my point, but I think I've probably made my point.

You made your point. And that's one of the big things I noticed with wcw. The camera a large portion of the time making HUGE mistakes. Like not catching someone walking out and the camera is on the stage while the wrestler is already on in the aisle or ring type of mistakes. It's more distracting than I thought it would be. At the same time I appreciate how they try to present it like a sport moreso than wwe at the time

 

[the ambush]

Lol, this may not be a bad proposition but you definitely will miss out on the build up.


I would have to agree wit Goatboy here.



Skip the early Nitros as 1995 was especially bad. Hogan's wrestling was horrible, his gimmick sucked and the angles he was involved in were all absolutely horrible. The whole Dungeon of Doom, even as an 11 year old was beyond stupid.


I would say start with the May 27th, 1996 episode as recommended by rickwebb. This starts the build up and for my money, the way the NWO angle was handled for the first year was spectacular and the way Sting was handled from the late summer of 1996 until early winter of 1998 was a thing of beauty; for my money the best angle every constructed in the WWF/JCP/WCW tv era..of course you get to see it blow up in your face as well but that's beyond the point. WCW showed the world how to build up a star and an angle without having said wrestler say a single word or wrestle an actual match. Goodness I get chills thinking about how great the Sting/NWO build was...if only I had the time and luxury to go back and watch from mid '96 to December '97, I definitely would.

That Sting should have been the man to dethrone Hollywood Hogan/NWO, he should have been the hero. Not anyone else.

 

[ColombianFist]

Watch nitro after Bash at the Beach 96.

I will say this: the hogan heel turn was very hot and marked the beginning of the NWO era, however after watching some clips i find interesting also how Sting went from his surfer-glam rock persona to his current crow gimmick and the fact that he didn't talk for a year.

that's how you build up a match in pro wrestling.