–Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan are in the studio for today’s broadcast. They focus their attention on the Giant using a monster truck to destroy WCW Champion Hulk Hogan’s Harley Davidson motorcycle.
–Okerlund and Heenan recap the Cobra-Sergeant Craig Pittman feud and how they love sneaking up on each other.
–Heenan talks to a Ric Flair action figure, ranting about how he has alienated Arn Anderson and is letting Hulk Hogan run his life.
–Okerlund and Heenan discuss the continued love story between Colonel Robert Parker and Sister Sherri.
–Winner Faces Kurasawa on Monday Nitro: Sergeant Craig Pittman (35-4) beats Cobra (5-1) after rolling through a flying body press at 6:36:
Dusty loses his mind before the match, singing Morse Code sounds. Cobra likes to give a ringside fan dog tags before the match, but he fails at this easy babyface gimmick by giving them to a middle-aged woman at ringside instead of a child. Unlike their previous two encounters there are no sneak attacks and that is a problem because both men have trouble putting together a long match. Dusty also has problems on commentary, making all kinds of Vietnam parallels despite this feud being about the Gulf War. Pittman works the arm for a long time, and it does not factor into the finish since Cobra does not sell it during his comeback and Pittman rolls through a flying body press to move on to Monday Nitro. Rating: ½*
The Last Word: The concept of giving the winner on Main Event a match on Monday Nitrois a cool concept and it gives Main Event a purpose in WCW’s overcrowded programming schedule. The match was terrible on this show but it was nice that WCW was willing to match babyfaces and heels against each other as it made the booking unpredictable.
Backstage News*: WCW personnel celebrated news that Turner Broadcasting was planning a merger with Time-Warner to create the world’s largest media conglomerate. However, it is unclear what this might mean for the company in the short and long-term.
*The 0.48 buyrate for Fall Brawl, which brought in $1.21 million, was the lowest ever for Hulk Hogan headlined pay-per-view and the lowest of the year.
*WCW is banning all banners and signs on Monday Nitro after the recent Nitro had an ECW banner and other “inside” sayings on posters facing the hard camera.
*New Japan was interested in bringing in Randy Savage in November until he asked for $30,000 per match. There is heat with Hulk Hogan because he did not wrestle on the Collison in Korea shows in North Korea.
*Ric Flair’s cataract surgery was successful, and he will return to action soon.
*Johnny B. Badd suffered injured ribs working a dark match against Diamond Dallas Page in Florence, South Carolina but he should be well enough to wrestle at Halloween Havoc.
*Lee Marshall might be used for play-by-play on Main Event telecasts.
*In talent relations news, Bull Nakano, Akira Hokuto, Mima Shimoda, and Mariko Yoshida will be booked by WCW for its November 26 pay-per-view in Norfolk, Virginia and Monday Nitro the following night. The WWF wanted to get Nakano for the Survivor Series, but All Japan promised her to WCW first. The four women will wrestle the first All Japan Women’s match on American television. In terms of male Japanese talent, WCW is looking to bring in Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kensuke Sasaki, Shinjiro Otani, Jushin Liger, Koji Kanemoto, and Masahiro Chono for Starrcade. The reason other talents like the Great Muta, Shinya Hashimoto, and Riki Choshu are not being used for the WCW vs. New Japan angle is because New Japan wants to save them for an interpromotional feud with Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWFI). Chris Benoit is booked to debut on the October 16 Monday Nitro against Eddy Guerrero. WCW is looking at adding the One Man Gang and/or Giant Gonzalez to the Dungeon of Doom, with both men possibly debuting at Halloween Havoc. Kamala will be leaving the company after Halloween Havoc.
Up Next: Monday Nitro for September 25!