Post by Leo on Apr 9, 2024 16:20:40 GMT -5
WCW Nitro Episode 56 for April 8, 2024
Live from the Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia
Commentary: Gorilla Monsoon and Wade Barrett
Announcer: Gary Michael Cappetta
Interviewer: SoCal Val
Referees: Tommy Young, Joey Marella and Charles Robinson
AEW International Title Shot Tournament Semi-Finals
“National Treasure” Nick Aldis vs. “Flyin’” Brian Pillman
Pillman gets caught on a crossbody and eats a fallaway slam. He avoids a bicycle kick and gets a spinning heel kick. Aldis catches Pillman on a springboard clothesline try and delivers a Rock Bottom. He follows with a superkick and a slingshot suplex. Aldis up top for the Macho Man elbow drop. Pillman with a pop up belly to belly superplex. Both men down. Brian puts an arm over Aldis for a one, two, thre…shoulder up. He goes for the Air Pillman, but flies into a Codebreaker and Aldis finishes with the Treasure Chest.
Winner and advancing to the finals: Nick Aldis by pinfall at 13:30
Aldis cuts a promo ringside with SoCal Val afterward. “I’m a former UWA Universal Men’s Champion. I know what it’s like to travel around the world and defend a title. There’s nobody better suited to win this tournament and take the title off of Triple H than me. If it’s Steve Austin or Ronnie Garvin in the finals, I’m claiming victory and I’m claiming the AEW International Title right after that.”
COMMERCIAL
Magnum TA vs. Tracy Smothers
Magnum with a discus punch and a reverse atomic drop into a clothesline. An elbow drop misses and Smothers comes back with three arm drags and a dropkick that sends Magnum TA to the floor. Smothers with a senton over the ropes to the floor, but Magnum catches him for a leg trap powerbomb. He rolls Smothers back into the ring and gets a belly to belly suplex for the victory. Post match, Kevin Owens comes out to the entrance stage and does a golf clap. Footage is shown of Magnum and Owens running afoul of each other lately.
Winner: Magnum TA at 7:11
SoCal Val has Perfectly Wonderful of Curt Hennig and Paul Orndorff on the interview stage with manager Col. Robert Fuller. She asks about the situation with Steve Austin, who ordered him to the back during the last AEW International Title Tournament Special. Fuller tells her not to worry her pretty little head about that. HIs focus right now is helping Pretty Wonderful get the WCW World Tag Team Titles back from Harlem Heat. Orndorff knows they can do it as long as Hennig has his back and isn’t playing around with Booker T on the floor. Hennig reminds Orndorff he took the loss. They start arguing and Fuller tries to broker peace between them.
COMMERCIAL
Tessa Blanchard vs. Mickie James
James gets an arm trap neckbreaker off of a crisscross and follows with a springboard bulldog. She wants the Mick-Kick, but Tessa grabs it, spins Mickie around and gets a slingshot back suplex. Jumping cutter sets up the Magnum for the win. Post-match new WCW Women’s Champion Asuka runs out and brains Blanchard from behind with the can of Arrogance. She looks at the camera and says “Asuka champion. Asuka arrogance.”
Winner: Tessa Blanchard at 11:32.
SoCal Val has Chris Jericho on the interview stage. We get footage from the last Tubi Special of Randy Savage getting on Jericho for cheating in his match with Brian Pillman. “Oh yeah, the Macho Man can snap into a Slim Jim and he can also stick it. Wrestling is not about who is the best wrestler, it never has been. It’s about who is the smartest inside that ring. I lost to Magnum TA at Destination Dallas in our 30-minute ironman match, not because he was the better wrestler, but because he wrestled a smarter match and took every advantage and every little way to win that he could. That used to be me and it will be again and if the Macho Man doesn’t like that, oh yeah, shove it.”
COMMERCIAL
AEW International Title Tournament Semi-Finals
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. “The Man with the Hands of Stone” Ronnie Garvin
Austin with a whip to the corner and a charging clothesline. He stomps a mudhole into Garvin and then flips off the fans. Garvin pulls himself up by the ropes and Austin runs into an outstretched boot as he charges back into the corner. Garvin with a fistdrop to the skull from the second rope. Garvin Stomp, but Austin blocks it by grabbing the leg and standing up. Garvin impresses with an enzuigiri. He goes up top for his top rope sunset flip. Austin ducks underneath and comes around with the kick, wham, stunner for the win.
Winner: Steve Austin by pinfall at 9:32
SoCal Val catches Austin on the floor for a post-match promo. “Stone Cold Steve Austin don’t need any damn manager, any damn friends or any damn fans screaming his name. All I need is to get the hell out of WCW and becoming the AEW International Champion is how I do it. I have to face Nick Aldis at SuperBrawl, fine. I have to beat him to get a shot at Triple H and then beat him, fine. I have to wrestle two matches in one night, fine. Because when you stack the deck against me, that’s when I upend the damn table we’re playing on and that’s the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so.”
COMMERCIAL
Footage is shown of the feud between Charlotte Flair and the Von Erichs against Kamille Kaine and Strictly Business. This includes pre-taped promos from the Von Erichs and Strictly Business.
“The Queen” Charlotte Flair vs. Kamille Kaine
This is just a wild brawl that spills to the floor in short order. Flair hits a killer spear on Kaine and they break through the ring barrier wall into the crowd. Both women are down. Security and medical personnel clear things as we go to break.
Double count out at 4:50
COMMERCIAL
WCW World Heavyweight Title
“The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes © vs. Copperhead (Odyssey Jones) of the Snake Pit
Copperhead no sells the flip, flop and fly and scores a double chop to the throat. Spinebuster and he goes for the big splash off the ropes, but Rhodes gets his knees up. Dusty with three elbow drops to the leg and he locks in a kneebar. Copperhead breaks by raking the eyes. Copperhead impresses by getting Rhodes up for a powerslam, but he slips off the back and into the Weaverlock.
Winner: Dusty Rhodes by submission at 7:31
While Rhodes celebrates post match, Jake Roberts runs out and attacks Rhodes from behind. He hits the DDT and then lays Damian over him as we fade to break.
COMMERCIAL
We come back to Shane McMahon standing in the ring with a microphone. “When I came to World Championship Wrestling, it was still Continental Championship Wrestling and basically little more than a toy for Andy Kaufman. I finally fulfilled my destiny in not only running WCW, but turning it into the best territory of the Universal Wrestling Alliance. But just as I ended one chapter in this company’s history and started another, I do so again today.”
“Over the past couple of years, I’ve focused on nothing but WCW at the expense of my wife, my children and my other business ventures. When Bruce Prichard came to me at Destination Dallas III with an offer to buy WCW with financial backing from show sponsor and host, J.R. Ewing. I knew, despite the money, it was time for me to move on and for WCW to move on as well.”
The crowd does a “thank you, Shane” chant. Bruce Prichard then comes out, hugs Shane and takes the microphone. “There will always be a place for Shane McMahon here in WCW anytime he wants to visit.” Prichard points at Shane and the fans cheer as he exits.
Prichard continues. “Throughout my career in professional wrestling, I’ve always been the number four man, or the number three man or the number two man, but I’ve never been the boss. And while J.R. Ewing is backing my play financially, he’s going to be a silent partner. And I’m going to have some help in the back, you have to have that, but WCW from here on will be my vision and a vision I hope all you fans can get behind.”
“They say when you make an omelet, you’ve got to break a few eggs. There are going to be some big changes upcoming. For starters this is the last episode of Nitro on Fox and Thunder is ending on Fox Sports. They’ve been a great broadcast partner, but the Tubi Specials were an experiment I wanted to try. A streaming service that allows us to do shows when we want, where we want and how long we want them to be, either live or on tape. That flexibility of programming is something I want. A wrestling program doesn’t have to be in a neat, little two-hour box every single week. A pay-per-view doesn’t have to be in a neat, little four-hour box every single month. I’m proud to announce that Netflix will be the new home for all WCW programming moving forward.”
“Another thing, is that while WCW has the greatest talent in the UWA, without question. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Our roster is just too big and too packed and a lot of guys are getting lost in the shuffle to their detriment. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be wishing some roster members the best on their future endeavors and hope they can find a spotlight elsewhere in the UWA. SuperBrawl on April 21 will be our last traditional ppv and then it’s the era of Netflix and a new chapter, the best chapter yet, for WCW.”