10 Best WCW Nitro Moments

7. The first shot in the Monday Night Wars

One of the best moments in WCW Nitro history took place on the very first episode of the show. 

A lot was riding on the success of the first Nitro, which took place at Minneapolis’s Mall of America on September 4th, 1995 and had all the major stars like Hulk Hogan, Sting, Ric Flair and Randy Savage appearing. 

Setting the tone for what was to come in the weeks, months and years after, WCW also showed that they had one or two surprises up their sleeves and were really going for it in their ratings battle with WWE. 

One day after wrestling for the WWE Tag Team Titles at a WWE house show, Lex Luger strolled down to ringside during the Sting versus Flair match, as the commentary team (including Eric Bischoff) flew into a panic at the sight of the supposed invader. 

The Total Package came out again later at the culmination of Hogan’s win over Big Bubba Rogers, saving the Hulkster from a Dungeon of Doom beatdown before teasing a confrontation with Mr. Nanny himself. 

For a first shot in the Monday Night Wars, this was a big one, as it immediately conditioned viewers to expect the unexpected and went off the air on a real cliff-hanger.