Monday Warfare: RAW VS. NITRO Podcast

Monday Warfare: The Battles Within – Episode 18 (4/29 & 5/6/96)

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An admittedly inebriated Ray Russell is joined by Steven Eckstat in this edition of Monday Warfare to discuss another TWO WEEKS of the Monday Night War between WWF Raw vs. WCW Nitro.

P.S. Sorry for any slurring in the second half of the show... I'll admit I was downing some cold ones and they were tasting good on this night.

WCW NEWS

• HULK HOGAN GONE... for a while. Things should pick up without the Hulkster hogging the spotlight.
• The latest on Brian Pillman's auto accident and injuries
• The Eric Bischoff/Johnny B. Badd saga continues
• John Tenta working without a contract

WCW Monday Nitro 4/29/96 (00:15:36)

• There's a time change due to the NBA Playoffs on TNT
• Tag Champs Sting & Lex Luger defends against Harlem Heat
• The Steiners have a hoss fight with Scott Norton & Ice Train
• Ric Flair taunts the Macho Man with Liz's money
• OUR WORLD IS ABOUT TO CHANGE... BLOOD RUNS COLD!!!
• Steve Regal takes on Belfast Bruiser (Fit Finlay) IN A WILD PARKING LOT STREET FIGHT!
• THE GIANT defeats Ric Flair for WCW World Heavyweight Championship!

WWF NEWS (00:49:38)

• IYH 7 "Good Friends, Better Enemies" Results & Fallout
• Diesel & Razor Ramon gone from TV

WWF Monday Night Raw 4/29/96 (00:54:03)

• Exclusive footage from after the IYH PPV when Davey Boy Smith confronts HBK
• Mankind faces Bart Gunn
• Bart Gunn meets Mankind again, in the locker room!
• "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. the future Scotty Too Hotty
• Savio Vega issues a POOBLIC Challenge to Steve Austin for a Strap Match
• The British Bulldog has a bone to pick with the homewrecker, Shawn Michaels
• The Godwinns vs. The New AND IMPROVED Rockers in a #1 Contenders Match
• Jim Ross in the BOWELS of the building talks to Mankind
• The Ultimate Warrior tangles with Isaac Yankem, DDS
• Raw ties its second-highest rating to date while Nitro's ratings plummet after being moved to 7pm est for the NBA Playoffs.

MORE WCW NEWS (01:23:33)

• Dean Malenko, new Cruiserweight Champion
• Finlay leaves WCW... For now
• Mike Enos arrives in WCW
• WCW bringing back the Lethal Lottery, with lazy booking
• Big Bubba (Ray Traylor) changes his gimmick... AGAIN
• Newcomer Billy Kidman is getting noticed

WCW Monday Nitro 5/6/96 (01:30:08)

• The Macho Man goes nuts on Hugh Morrus AND Referee Randy Eller!!! Classic crazy Randy Savage here.
• RIP Ray "Crippler" Stevens
• Dean Malenko battles Jushin Thunder Liger!
• We discuss Kevin Sullivan's booking strategies of the time and the mistakes that were made.
• It would seem Ric Flair is more concerned with the ladies than his WCW Title loss last week
• Did I mention... Blood Runs Cold!?
• Sting takes on Parking Lot Street Fight Champion Steven Regal
• Lex Luger misses his title match and "HACKSAW" Jim Duggan steps in to challenge WCW Champion the Giant
• As the Giant takes out the WCW locker room, Ric Flair and Sting take their shot at putting down the 7 foot Champ before LEX LUGER FINALLY SHOWS UP!!!
• Best friend and Tag Team partner Sting confronts the questionable whereabouts of Lex Luger prior to the end of the show.

WWF NEWS (02:17:27)

• WWF headed to Kuwait
• The Ultimate Wa...

WCW takes a week off, only to return with a solid show, but a not-so-solid main event. It's a 6-Man Tornado Tag Double Strap Lumberjack Match... Yes, that's a thing here in WCW! It may be the most overbooked shlock of a match in company history up to this point! And that covers a lot of ground. Plus, Brian Pillman has a 900 number, the Giant turns on one of his own, Lex Luger is the NEW TV Champion as Johnny B. Badd is gone from WCW, and THE STEINER BROTHERS RETURN TO TAKE ON THE ROAD WARRIORS!!!

And over in the WWF, can Vince McMahon capitalize when Nitro takes a week off? Both Razor Ramon and Diesel are leaving the company. House shows and Ratings are up, though injuries plague the company. Two memorable features involving Goldust and Roddy Piper! Bret and Shawn train for WrestleMania. The Ultimate Warrior is back! HBK vs. 1-2-3 Kid. Bret vs. HHH. Softball Sid Vicious. Diesel revs up his feud with the Undertaker. Yokozuna finds allies in the battle against Camp Cornette. Plus, the Ringmaster becomes STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN, and Ted Turner said whaaaaat?

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TIMESTAMPS below!

WWF NEWS (00:03:20)

• Razor Ramon QUITS the WWF, as Scott Hall is WCW bound. We discuss Vince McMahon's response to Hall "coincidentally" being suspended for a failed drug test on the very same day.
• No Celebrities at Mania this year!
• Sid Vicious "retires" to play some Softball
• Sunny Likes it RAW... in more ways than one!
• House Show business is up for the first time in YEARS!
• Injuries and other issues cause many no-shows on the House Shows. We talk WWF refund policies

WWF Monday Night Raw 3/4/96 (00:14:53)

• Shawn Michaels takes on the 1-2-3 Kid
• Goldust invades PIper's Pit and Blows the bagpipes! You've got to hear this!!! We discuss in length the uniqueness of the Goldust character and everything Dustin Rhodes did to create something new in a business that was typically used to stealing from the past.
• The ULLLLLTIMATE WARRIOR is back!
• Roddy Piper responds to Goldust
• Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw makes his Raw Debut against Hakushi, who incidentally makes his FINAL Raw appearance.
• Mankind vignette #5!
• WWF Champion Bret Hart battles Hunter Hearst Helmsley, with HBK at ringside!
• And it's TeeVee Trivia with Billionaire Ted. Listen to some of Ted Turner's most ludicrous remarks in this "satire" of a Game Show.

Plus, how did Raw hold up in the Ratings after going unopposed from Nitro for the first time since the War started? How did Nitro's replacement fair in the Monday Night Ratings?

WCW NEWS (00:52:24)

• Johnny B. Badd is GONE from WCW
• The Nasty Boys may be on their way out as well.

WCW Monday Nitro 3/11/96 (00:54:44)

• The Giant has a fairly entertaining match with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, of all people... No fooling!
• Brian Pillman invades Nitro... Call 1-900-288-PILL
• The Steiner Brothers RETURN to WCW to take on the Road Warriors!!!! In a match that absolutely lives up to the hype!
• Mean Gene tries to make sense of a Steiner Brothers promo. Good luck, Gene!
• WCW has a new 900 Hotline commercial, featuring Johnny B. Badd... Who is now gone from the company... How will WCW handle this moving forward?
• Jimmy Hart yanks Lex Luger from the Chicago Street Fight at Uncensored!
• The newly crowned TV Champion Lex Luger battles Alex Wright, and Eric Bischoff has a field day trashing Johnny B. Badd
• In the most overbooked segment in Nitro history (up to this point anyway).... It's 6-Man action with Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, and the Booty Man battling Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Kevin Sullivan in a Lumberjack Double Strap Match... Not only do the Lumberjacks have straps, but so do the wrestlers in this Tornado style tag match of complete shlock... Plus, dissension in the Dungeon of Doom when the Giant and Loch Ness go at it... And for some reason, this is a perfect setting for Kimberly to court the Booty Man, complete with flowers.
• Post-match promo wi...

We close out the month of February in WCW with more crazy Brian Pillman stories, Hulk's revenge on Arn Anderson, the Booty Man arrives, Lex Luger is COMEDY GOLD, and there's even a Loch Ness sighting!

Then over in the WWF it's the fallout from IYH 6 on the Road to Wrestlemania, when Diesel and the Undertaker play mind games with each other, Yoko has his hands full with Camp Cornette, Roddy Piper announces the Mania 12 Main Event stipulations, Sunny gets skimpy, the Ringmaster gets "Stone Cold", Larry Fling Live makes its debut, the Ultimate Warrior returning?, and Goldust cuts a promo that unbelievably makes the air in ANY era as he wants to play Roddy's "Bagpipes"... And that's one of the LESS offensive things he says! WOW! Audio included! You've gotta listen!

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TIMESTAMPS below!

WCW NEWS (00:00:48)

• Crazy Brian Pillman gets himself "fired" from WCW and shows up at the ECW Arena!
• Chris Cruise blasts Gordon Solie
• "Mean" Mike Enos looks for a job

WCW Monday Nitro 2/19/96 (00:13:09)

• Hulk Hogan vs. Arn Anderson, the REMATCH! Hulk looks for revenge after being PINNED by Arn last week on Nitro.
• Alex Wright comes face to face with the Loch Ness Monster
• Can Brad Armstrong break the family curse when he takes on The Belfast Bruiser (Fit Finlay)?
• WCW Champion Ric Flair faces former Champion Randy "Macho Man" Savage in Macho's return title bout.
• PLUS, it's the epic debut of the Booty, Booty, Booty, Booty, BOOTY MAN... BROTHER!

WWF In Your House VI Quick Results (00:34:07)

• We run down the quick results for WWF's In Your House VI "Rage in the Cage" PPV, featuring WWF Champion Bret Hart vs. Diesel in a Steel Cage! Which you can listen to in full as part of our Watch-Along Series over at https://www.patreon.com/wrestlecopia . You can Subscribe to Patreon and our All-Access for only $5! Cancel at any time. New shows are added weekly, including all PPVs from the Monday Night War era. They make great complimentary pieces to this Podcast!

WWF Monday Night Raw 2/19/96 (00:36:18)

• Sunny on the Beach is a great way to start off any show
• Jeff Jarrett becomes the next casualty of the Ahmed effect!
• IC Champion Goldust battles Razor Ramon, as the feud continues. The Bad Guy says he wants Goldy's ass... Be careful what you wish for, Razor!
• Vader makes his mark on Barry Horowitz and poor Aldo Montoya
• It's President's Day, and Sunny has a message for us all
• The Ringmaster sports a new look, Shaved head and black trunks, as he battles Marty Jannetty. This is Marty's last hurrah as a singles wrestler before becoming the comedy goof with Leif Cassidy. This also marks the first time Vince McMahon refers to Steve Austin as being "Stone Cold".
• On the 8th Day, God created Mankind... Maybe he should have rested that day too!
• The Undertaker faces Tatanka
• Diesel chops down the Undertaker's resting place to play some mind games with the phenom
• Billionaire Ted on Larry Fling Live!
• Plus, THE ULLLLLTIMATE WARRIOR???

Plus, the Ratings continue to soar for both companies!

WCW Monday Nitro 2/26/96 (00:59:25)

• Sting faces Big Bubba as an angry granny in the front row tussles with the local police
• Lex Luger = Comedy Gold this week when he accepts the Road Warriors "Chicago Street Fight" challenge, then asks what the match is.
• Lex Luger battles the returning Renegade in a solid TV match
• More Lex Luger comedy ensues as he celebrates his win, only to scold manager Jimmy Hart for cheating when buddy Sting arrives. Lex goes so far as to offer Renegade the win in order to pacify the Stinger. GREAT STUFF from Lex this week!
• The Road Warriors take on Harlem Heat
• It's 1989 all over again when 3/4 of the SummerSlam '89 Main Event team up.. It's Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, and the Booty, Booty, BOOTY MAN... Brother, team up in 6-man action to take on Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Kevin Sullivan in the main event of the s...

Tons of WWF and WCW news and notes this week, talking Brian Pillman's wild ride, Rad Radford's health scare, Vince McMahon's desperate moves, Sherri Martel's termination, and multiple injuries.

Then, over in WCW... Paul Orndorf exacts revenge on the Horsemen, Macho Man has a bad week with the ladies, Scott Riggs tries to give the Loch Ness Monster "The Clap!", Sting & Luger vs. the Roadies, Macho Man vs. Benoit, Devon Storm debuts against Konnan, and Arn Anderson PINS Hulk Hogan!

On the WWF side of things, it's a double main event on the go-home show to IYH 6! First Shawn Michaels & Diesel face Yokozuna & The Bulldog, then Bret Hart defends the WWF Title in a Rumble rematch against the Undertaker. Plus, Gorilla Monsoon talks the Vader attack and Yokozuna makes his FACE TURN!

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TIMESTAMPS below!

WCW NEWS (00:01:08)

• Sherri Martel is fired from the WCW!
• Scheme Gene Okerlund continues his Hotline shenanigans

WCW Monday Nitro 2/5/96 (00:05:30)

• It's the Go-Home show before SuperBrawl VI
• WCW Champion Randy Savage defends against Chris Benoit of the Horsemen
• Woman turns heel and joins the Horsemen in attacking The Macho Man
• The Giant with a last-minute attack sends the Hulkster to the hospital!
• Randy Savage points the finger at Liz
• Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman take on Kevin Sullivan & Hugh Morrus
• "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff returns to exact revenge on Arn Anderson
• Ric Flair battles Marcus Bagwell
• Tag Champions Sting & Lex Luger vs. The Road Warriors!

WWF News (00:34:13)

• Vader undergoes shoulder surgery
• Billy Gunn suffers a neck injury, Tag Titles vacated
• Rad Radford has a health scare when he's found lying in the rain after a seizure. Spicolli is taken to the hospital in critical condition.

WWF Monday Night Raw 2/5/96 (00:37:07)

• It's the Go-Home show to In Your House VI
• Shawn Michaels & Diesel face Yokozuna & The British Bulldog
• Yokozuna defects from Camp Cornette and turns babyface!
• 1-2-3 Kid goes one-on-one with Hakushi
• Mankind on his way to the WWF... Have a nice day!
• Gorilla Monsoon discusses his injuries and actions in the fallout of his run-in with Vader
• Billionaire Ted has words for his father
• WWF Champion Bret Hart defends against The Undertaker

WCW SuperBrawl VI Quick Results (01:09:36)
We run down the quick results for SuperBrawl VI, featuring a Double Main Event - 2 Cage Matches! Which you can listen to in full as part of our Watch-Along Series over at https://www.patreon.com/wrestlecopia . You can Subscribe to Patreon and our All-Access for only $5! Cancel at any time. New shows are added weekly, including all PPVs from the Monday Night War era. They make great complementary pieces to this Podcast! Subscribe today and follow along on the ride.

More WCW News (01:13:11)

• All the latest on Brian Pillman, what's a work, what's a shoot... Where does the man end and the Loose Cannon begin?
• Desperate times call for desperate measures. Vince McMahon goes to a variety of tactics in his war against Turner and the WCW.

WCW Monday Nitro 2/12/96 (01:28:56)

• It's the fallout from SuperBrawl as WCW has the week all to themselves when WWF Raw has "gone to the dogs"
• Randy Savage meets Hugh Morrus
• Scotty Riggs tries to give the Loch Ness Monster "The Clap"!
• Mean Gene talks with 13-time WCW Champion Ric Flair and the newly turned heel Miss Elizabeth following the PPV
• U.S. Champion Konnan takes on "Dangerous" Devon Storm in Storm's WCW debut
• Arn Anderson PINS Hulk Hogan!!! This is NOT a typo!
• It's "HELTER SKELTER" when both the Horsemen and the Mega Powers invade the Nitro announcer's area to close the show.

Plus, we talk ratings, WCW's erratic and hotshot booking while the WWF stays on course... for now...<...

The Outsiders - Scott Hall & Kevin Nash cause CHAOS on Nitro, forcing Charlotte Police to nearly DRAW THEIR GUNS!!! We take a look at Titan's lawsuits against Turner & WCW. Sunny encounters Kloudy. Plus, for the FIRST TIME EVER, The Undertaker battles "Stone Cold" Steve Austin!

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Monday Warfare: The Battles Within – Episode 24 (June 24, 1996)

WWF NEWS

• Todd Pettingill Hospitalized!
• The Brian Pillman News Continues
• We take a in-depth look at Titan Sports & the WWF's lawsuits and restraining orders against Turner Broadcasting, WCW, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Eric Bischoff. You won't believe some of the requests Vince McMahon and company are making... or maybe you will.

WWF MONDAY NIGHT RAW 6/24/96 (00:22:29)

• We look at King of the Ring '96 Results
• We compare the WWF's new approach to the opening of Raw vs. the days of old
• NEWWW Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson battles Triple H!
• Goldust quotes the Terminator!
• Ahmed speaks with Mike... I mean Dok Hendrix! Johnson welcomes all challengers, including "Sweet Lips"
• The Body Donnas vs. Steve Lombardi & Jerry Fox takes a backseat to SUNNY VS. KLOUDY!
• Did I mention SUNNY VS. KLOUDY?
• The Rockers explode as Vince McMahon buries Marty Jannetty
• 6-MAN ACTION: Camp Cornette - Vader, Owen Hart, British Bulldog vs. Savio Vega, Aldo Montoya, Barry Horowitz
• DESTRUCITY RUNS WILD! UNLEASH THE WARRIOR INSIDE YOU!!!
• Brian F'N Pillman makes his Monday Night Raw Debut, and he wants his G.D. money!
• Jerry Lawler questions the Paul Bearer's allegiance with The Undertaker
• Goldust has a surprise for the Dead Man.
• FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.... THE UNDERTAKER VS. "STONE COLD" STEVE AUSTIN!!!

WCW NEWS (00:47:09)

• WCW and the Macho Man invade Regis & Kathy Lee
• The Great American Bash Buyrate doesn't impress
• Scott Steiner gets heat for T-Boning The Giant
• We take a look at the various rumors of the Outsiders' "Third Man" for Bash at the Beach. Rumors abound include King Mabel, Crush, Lex Luger, and Bret "Hitman" Hart!!!

WCW MONDAY NITRO 6/24/96 (00:52:22)

• We're in Charlotte, NC... RIC FLAIR country, so it's "bizarro world" all night long as the fans cheer the Horsemen, Boo the babyfaces, and chant "WE WANT FLAIR" for the entire 2 hours!
• Larry Zbyszko forshadows the future of WCW when he talks about NEW WORLDS to conquer
• The Macho Man, Sting, & Lex Luger prepare for Bash at the Beach
• Locker Room mayhem with Sting & Luger, The Steiners, and Harlem Heat
• In a true contrast of style, The Blue Bloods (Regal & Taylor) meet The Public Enemy!
• Kevin Sullivan destroys Kip Abee, but encourages him to EAT FRESH!
• The Taskmaster talks The Horsemen
• Is OUR WORLD About to Change... Or is GLACIER'S?
• Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko battles "Hardwork" Bobby Walker with an unusual finish!
• We discuss Bobby Walker's Descrimination Lawsuit vs. WCW
• Disco Inferno demands attention as his CD just went Gold, but Malenko isn't impressed.
• Eddy Guerrero faces The Barbarian in another odd-ball match
• Mean Gene welcomes Guerrero back from New Japan
• Th...