WCW Monday Nitro

Overview

WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001. Production ceased shortly after WCW was purchased by the WWF. The debut of Nitro began the Monday Night Wars, a ratings battle between the WWF and WCW that lasted for almost six years and saw each company resort to cutthroat tactics to try to compete with the competition. In mid-1996, Nitro began to draw better ratings than Raw based on the strength of the nWo storyline, an anarchist wrestling stable that wanted to take over WCW. Nitro continued to beat Raw for 84 consecutive weeks, forcing WWE owner Vince McMahon to change the way he did business. As the nWo storyline grew stagnant, fan interest in the storyline waned, and Raw began to edge out Nitro in the ratings. The turning point for the organizations came during the January 4, 1999 broadcast of Nitro, during which lead commentator Tony Schiavone gave away the results of matches for that night's Raw broadcast. As Raw was taped and Nitro was live, Bischoff believed that knowing the outcome would dissuade viewers from watching the program. Excited by the prospect of seeing perennial WWF underdog Mick Foley win the WWF Championship, a large number of Nitro viewers changed channels to watch Raw, switching back to Nitro after Foley won the title. From that week forward, Raw beat Nitro in the ratings by a significant amount, and WCW was never able to regain the success it once had.

84%

Ted Turner

creator

Eric Bischoff

creator

Cast

Richard Fliehr

Total episodes: 264

Gene Okerlund

Total episodes: 264

Terry Bollea

Total episodes: 264

Ray Heenan

,Bobby Heenan

Total episodes: 264

Steve Borden

Sting

Total episodes: 264

Larry Pfohl

Lex Luger

Total episodes: 264

Randy Poffo

"Macho Man" Randy Savage,Randy Savage

Total episodes: 264

Scott Hall

Total episodes: 262

Darren Matthews

Lord Steven Regal

Total episodes: 262

Scott Levy

Total episodes: 262

Roderick Toombs

Total episodes: 262

Bobby Eaton

Total episodes: 262

Richard Fliehr

Total episodes: 264

Gene Okerlund

Total episodes: 264

Terry Bollea

Total episodes: 264

Ray Heenan

,Bobby Heenan

Total episodes: 264

Steve Borden

Sting

Total episodes: 264

Larry Pfohl

Lex Luger

Total episodes: 264

Randy Poffo

"Macho Man" Randy Savage,Randy Savage

Total episodes: 264

Scott Hall

Total episodes: 262

Darren Matthews

Lord Steven Regal

Total episodes: 262

Scott Levy

Total episodes: 262

Roderick Toombs

Total episodes: 262

Bobby Eaton

Total episodes: 262

Extra

Release Date

September 4, 1995

Last air Date

March 26, 2001

Status

Ended

Original Language

English

Networks

Available On

You can visit JustWatch for more information.

seasons

Season 7

Aired on: 2001 | 13 Episodes

Relive all the action and excitement from World Championship Wrestling's flagship show. This season's memorable moments include the end of WCW as WWE declares victory in the Monday Night War.