{"id":203984,"date":"2025-09-04T10:47:25","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T15:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=203984"},"modified":"2025-09-04T10:47:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T15:47:25","slug":"the-insider-story-of-the-first-episode-of-wcw-nitro-including-the-lex-luger-surprise-and-what-the-wcw-booker-said-at-the-bar-afterwards-about-ratings-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/09\/04\/the-insider-story-of-the-first-episode-of-wcw-nitro-including-the-lex-luger-surprise-and-what-the-wcw-booker-said-at-the-bar-afterwards-about-ratings-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"The insider story of the first episode of WCW Nitro including the Lex Luger surprise and what the WCW booker said at the bar afterwards about ratings expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3327429610\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>It was 30 years ago that WCW Nitro debuted. The following is an excerpt offered to PWTorch by the author of &#8220;Nitro: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner\u2019s WCW.&#8221; (Order from an independent bookseller <a href=\"https:\/\/drurylanebooks.com\/book\/9780692139172\">HERE<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Guy Evans joined PWTorch editor Wade Keller last month for a three part series lasting nearly three hours of podcasts focused on Hulk Hogan&#8217;s role in the WCW Nitro era. VIP members can access the podcasts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorchvipinfo.com\/\">HERE<\/a>. For PWTorch VIP membership information, which includes nearly 40 years of archives of newsletters and 30 years of podcasts and retro radio show, plus an ad-free version of this website and new VIP-exclusive podcasts daily (compatible with Apple Podcasts and many other iOS and Android apps), <a href=\"https:\/\/vip.pwtorch.com\/category\/vipexclusives\/vipaudioshows\/hulk-hogan-podcast-series\/\">CLICK HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p>To mark the 30th anniversary of WCW Monday Nitro&#8217;s debut, please see below for the following excerpt from the book,<\/p>\n<p>If Lex Luger couldn\u2019t keep quiet, word of a possible &#8220;jump&#8221; would surely reach the WWF. Although Nitro would emanate as a live program, secretive plans leaked frequently in wrestling, spawning a humorous expression in the process: telephone, telegram, tell-a-wrestler\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Such disclosures were often reported by the wrestling media, a collection of newsletters, magazines and radio shows that Bischoff mostly loathed. \u201cI had absolutely no respect for them,\u201d he says, \u201cnor did I value their opinions at all. There was no reason to, quite frankly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, August 14th, 1995, WCW organized a press event for &#8220;legitimate&#8221; media members &#8211; the formal launch of Monday Nitro. At a press conference held at the Harley Davidson Cafe in New York &#8211; for all intents and purposes, the WWF\u2019s backyard &#8211; Brad Siegel valiantly professed that WCW was an ideal fit for his network. \u201cWe actually went to WCW and said, \u2018we want a show that will be the best wrestling event on television, and we wanna put it on Monday nights\u2019,\u201d the network president claimed.<\/p>\n<p>Strategically, TNT selected a start date for Nitro to air unopposed; in other words, without competition, as in a fortuitous occurrence, Raw was set to be pre-empted by the U.S. Open, leaving the entire wrestling audience up for grabs (for one week, at least).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019d like to make an announcement today that I\u2019m very, very pleased to make,\u201d continued Siegel. \u201cStarting Labor Day night &#8211; Monday September 4th &#8211; TNT will once again live up to its name in a very explosive way. WCW wrestling comes to our network, live every week, in prime time and from a different city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWCW Monday Nitro Live! will be seen Monday nights live at 9pm Eastern, and will originate &#8211; as we said &#8211; from a different city, every single week. The one hour telecast will be replayed at midnight Eastern, nine o\u2019clock Pacific, [and] WCW\u2019s debut on TNT will be live from the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota. [It] will be called the \u2018Brawl at the Mall\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The choice of venue for the first show was, in the eyes of many wrestling purists, an unusual one. But located near the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area, the 4.2 million sq. ft. Mall would provide a glittering backdrop for the spectacle &#8211; and with over 30,000 daily visitors to the plaza, a curious and suitably large crowd for the show could be expected. Interestingly, the Mall became a viable idea only after initial discussions regarding a New York City debut were swiftly thwarted, the consequence of the WWF\u2019s exclusivity agreement with Madison Square Garden. \u201cThere are a lot of interesting things in the business of booking arenas,\u201d smirked Bischoff, standing confidently at the press podium. \u201cWe will come from New York [in the future],\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWCW wrestling will become the centerpiece of a brand new franchise on TNT called Monday Nitro,\u201d continued Siegel. \u201cEach week at eight o\u2019clock &#8211; leading in to the telecast &#8211; we will present the action adventure television series Thunder in Paradise which stars Hulk Hogan. After both airings of WCW on TNT, we will present a very heavy duty action movie to make Monday Nitro a very action-driven night [of television].<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTNT is becoming known for a network that has the best of its kind. We\u2019ve got the best sports franchises with the NFL and the NBA. We\u2019re quickly becoming the best maker of original movies on TV&#8230;.we have the best cartoons&#8230;the best movie library available. [And so] we thought it was about time to put the best wrestling on TNT.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a heck of an opportunity,\u201d beamed Bischoff in support several minutes later. \u201cThose of you who&#8230;have watched our growth over the last 12 months know that there\u2019s a lot of momentum here. I wanna thank Brad. I wanna thank everybody at TNT.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of great people [working at TNT]. They\u2019re creative. They\u2019re driven. They\u2019re aggressive&#8230;and that\u2019s the kind of combination we felt we needed to take WCW to the next level. And that\u2019s exactly what we intend to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the press conference wore on, a stoic Siegel witnessed a buoyant Bischoff boldly predict a competitive ratings battle from the start. \u201cSince the addition of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, [WCW] has really closed the gap [with the WWF],\u201d argued Bischoff. \u201cWe\u2019re coming on strong and we have a lot of momentum. We believe that we\u2019ve got the biggest stars in our industry&#8230;and that\u2019s what entertainment is all about. [People are] entertained by stars, and we\u2019ve got \u2018em in WCW. Now [fans are] going to have a choice. They can watch whatever else is going on&#8230;or they can flip on over and watch Monday Nitro on TNT.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis show is gonna be in your face&#8230;up to the edge&#8230;over the edge&#8230;[there\u2019s gonna be a] surprise every single Monday. It\u2019s gonna be live and when I tell you it\u2019s \u2018in your face\u2019, I mean it\u2019s gonna be in your face&#8230;this is an incredibly different product.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the fact that we have the biggest stars in the industry already differentiates us from the WWF and Monday Night Raw. A lot of the people they have over there are kind of&#8230;WCW has-beens. We\u2019re gonna be live every week &#8211; they\u2019re not. We\u2019re gonna take the show all over the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll I can say is tune in. September 4th, you\u2019ll see the difference. I can stand up here and talk all afternoon long about creatively, all of the different things that we\u2019re gonna do\u2026but we\u2019re gonna give the show an edge. This show is gonna be more like rock-and-roll than meat and potatoes. [It\u2019s a] faster pace, more of an MTV-type of show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[So] how long do I think it\u2019s gonna take [to become number one]? Hey, I\u2019m not gonna [instantly] overtake a company that\u2019s done a pretty good job of branding themselves in this position for the last couple of years. This is a long-term project for us. We\u2019re not doing this to just see if it\u2019s gonna work for six months. This is a long-term project, and we\u2019ve got a big commitment from the Turner organization, Brad Siegel, and some very aggressive creative people over at TNT.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only thing I like better than competition is winning, and we look forward to [winning].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But it would not be Bischoff, however, who would deliver the most biting comment in the WWF\u2019s direction. Mindful of the potential impact of a Lex Luger defection, Sting &#8211; representing the stars of WCW along with Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage &#8211; presciently foreshadowed what was about to come.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll I gotta say to sum it up,\u201d Sting bellowed at the media, \u201c[is] somebody is in for a Raw deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Returning to the New York market in his red-and-yellow garb, Hulk Hogan generated significant attention at the press conference. Showcasing the affable charm that long endeared him to decision makers &#8211; both in and out of the industry &#8211; since the early 1980s, Hogan took to the podium with ease. \u201cNow I\u2019ve got Mr. Siegel right where I want him,\u201d he joked, demonstrating a headlock before teasing an eventual match with Savage, almost in the very next breath. After a deft Harley Davidson plug, Hogan prepared to conclude his comments with a modification of a catch phrase he made famous in an earlier time. \u201cWhat are you gonna do,\u201d he asked rhetorically, \u201cwhen Hulk Hogan and Monday Nitro run wild on you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Curiously, the line was delivered, but devoid of reaction. Hogan\u2019s eyes darted as he repeated himself, fighting back against an apparent glitch in the matrix. \u201cWhat are you gonna do when Hulk Hogan and Monday Nitro run wild on you?\u201d he demanded again, achieving some mild applause in response. For the first time in a long time &#8211; maybe forever &#8211; the usually willing media greeted the Hulkster routine with a collective yawn.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, and despite WCW entering a new era, there appeared no sign of phasing out the Hulk Hogan character. Observers noted the intriguing coincidence of a Hogan-themed restaurant, Pastamania, situated conveniently inside the Mall of America doors. It stood as a telling reminder that despite the aging champion\u2019s failure to connect with the hardcores, his sheer recognizability still created opportunities that no other wrestler could enjoy. To the casual mainstream audience, he remained the most famous performer of his genre, the Michael Jordan of wrestling, it could easily be argued. For that reason, Bischoff decreed that the inaugural Nitro feature a rare Hogan title defense, effectively giving away a pay-per-view match on television.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, in the time since his summit with Bischoff, Lex Luger received a formal contract offer from Vince McMahon. In an unusual lapse of attention, McMahon was oblivious to the possibility of covert Atlanta talks, but regardless, his offer failed to address several (preexisting) points of contention. On Friday, September 1st, Lex called Sting to inquire about Bischoff\u2019s earlier proposal. Two days later, on Sunday, September 3rd, 24 hours before the Minneapolis Nitro and incredibly, the same day as Luger was advertised to appear on a WWF card in New Brunswick, Canada, Bischoff reiterated the terms of the deal: $150,000 per year, no notice, and everything must be kept under wraps. I\u2019m in, Lex confirmed, confident that eventually, his performance would warrant a commensurate raise.<\/p>\n<p>During the following morning, Luger boarded a plane headed for Minneapolis. At the airport, he was bundled into a van and driven to a hotel separate from the other wrestlers, minimizing the risk of being seen by fans camping out in the lobby for autographs and pictures. To ensure that no one &#8211; not even \u2018the boys\u2019 themselves &#8211; could potentially leak out word of his defection, he was instructed to wait in his room until just before show time. Upon arrival at the Mall, he was escorted to an isolated area away from detection, a towel covering his head for good measure. Bischoff then delivered the pertinent instructions &#8211; at the outset of a match involving Ric Flair and Sting, Luger would first appear, and then, at the very end of the show, \u201cyou\u2019ll come out again and get nose-to-nose with Hulk,\u201d Bischoff told him.<\/p>\n<p>At 8:00pm ET, the Nitro era was officially underway. Pat McNeely\u2019s brilliantly designed opening sequence, featuring a hearty dose of explosions and pyro effects, preceded sweeping aerial shots of downtown Minneapolis. \u201cFrom the land of ten thousand lakes&#8230;\u201d narrated an exuberant Eric Bischoff, \u201c&#8230;Minneapolis, Minnesota&#8230;the Mall of America&#8230;\u201d he continued, as an establishing shot of the Mall exterior filled the screen. \u201cThe only building big enough to hold the debut edition of WCW Monday Nitro!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The shot faded to an impressive overhead of the ring, surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd, sparkling lights, and the striking image of captivated patrons on board a huge ascending escalator. \u201cWe are coming to you live,\u201d emphasized Bischoff, \u201chere on TNT!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the undercard, the show kicked off with a fast-paced clash between the colorful Jushin \u2018Thunder\u2019 Liger, and the unpredictable Brian Pillman. \u201cI knew we were gonna do well with that,\u201d says Sullivan, \u201cbecause Liger was the darling of the [wrestling media] at the time. I also knew that I wanted [Ric] Flair to wrestle Sting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since fighting each other to a 45-minute draw in a legendary bout at Clash of the Champions in 1988, Flair and Sting had been inexorably linked in the minds of wrestling fans. They possessed a unique chemistry, with Flair\u2019s methodical style contrasting perfectly with the upbeat, enthusiastic and highly athletic Sting. More importantly, in a time of great need, they could be relied on faithfully to attract an audience, a fact not lost on Sullivan. \u201cSince the Clash of the Champions, you could just put them down [to wrestle] and they were gonna draw a number,\u201d he shrugs. \u201cIt didn\u2019t take any genius to figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The presentation looked major league, and the action lived up to the hype. The Pillman-Liger opener, conducted at a frantic pace with exciting high flying moves, could hardly be mistaken for the plodding style of a typical Raw match. Next, in a complete shock to viewers at home &#8211; not to mention Vince McMahon himself &#8211; Lex Luger emerged in the entrance aisle as Flair and Sting prepared to do battle. \u201cWhat the hell is he doing here!?\u201d exclaimed Bischoff coyly in his announcing role. \u201cGet the camera off of him! Get the security and get him outta here!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I\u2019m the only person who can say that I attended every single Nitro,\u201d says David Penzer, the long-time company ring announcer. \u201cWhen Lex Luger walked down that aisle, it sent a message to everyone that \u2018hey, we\u2019re for real\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the main event, a predictable paint-by-numbers Hogan match ended with the Hulk-Luger confrontation, and in a clever move, director Craig Leathers cut to break shortly after the two stars collided. As the commercials rolled on TNT, however, the in-ring face off almost got real; a relaxed Luger broke character as the cameras turned away, smiling at WCW\u2019s biggest star in a moment of satisfied tranquility. Wipe that grin off your face, or I\u2019ll knock it off, threatened the Hulkster through gritted teeth. You\u2019re stealing money from me and my family right now.<\/p>\n<p>Once the show resumed, the venerable \u2018Mean\u2019 Gene Okerlund, a peerless on-screen interviewer beloved in wrestling circles, entered the fray to uncover some answers. \u201cI am sick and tired of playing around with \u2018kids\u2019,\u201d Luger announced over Okerlund\u2019s microphone, alluding to the younger, less established roster of his most recent employer. \u201cI\u2019m here to get it on with the big boys, and that means you,\u201d he directed at Hogan. A title match was announced for the following week &#8211; an intrepid move considering the bout\u2019s perceived importance.<\/p>\n<p>After the show, a concerned Lex attempted to apologize for breaking character, but the old-school Hogan unceremoniously brushed him aside, bristling at the notion that someone would endanger kayfabe. Nonetheless, Luger\u2019s dramatic entrance had given Bischoff the element of unpredictability that the pre-Nitro research study suggested he needed. To several confidants, Bischoff quietly predicted that a 2.5 rating &#8211; precisely 2,385,000 viewers, according to Nielsen\u2019s ratings formula, could be within reach once the head-to-head competition began proper the following week.<\/p>\n<p>But no one quite knew what number to expect for the first (unopposed) show. In the hotel bar afterwards, Kevin Sullivan tempered expectations, telling Pro Wrestling Torch reporter Wade Keller that it would take months for the TBS viewership to find Nitro on TNT. Across the bar, Eric Bischoff watched its replay on a television screen, digesting the finished product as a viewer for the first time. \u201cHe was glued to the screen like a parent watching their child perform in a high school play,\u201d Keller wrote years later. \u201c[But he was] surely critiquing it in his mind, too.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The above is an excerpt from the book, &#8220;Nitro: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner\u2019s WCW.&#8221; (Order from an independent bookseller <a href=\"https:\/\/drurylanebooks.com\/book\/9780692139172\">HERE<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1554056192\"><div id=\"pwtor-797888855\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>It was 30 years ago that WCW Nitro debuted. The following is an excerpt offered to PWTorch by the author of &#8220;Nitro: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner\u2019s WCW.&#8221; (Order from an <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/09\/04\/the-insider-story-of-the-first-episode-of-wcw-nitro-including-the-lex-luger-surprise-and-what-the-wcw-booker-said-at-the-bar-afterwards-about-ratings-expectations\/\" title=\"The insider story of the first episode of WCW Nitro including the Lex Luger surprise and what the WCW booker said at the bar afterwards about ratings expectations\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":203985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-203984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-specialfeatures","category-exclusives_flashbacks"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-04-at-10.45.32-AM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203986,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203984\/revisions\/203986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}