Most Iconic Moments Of The Raw-Nitro Monday Night War
Long before the days of All Elite Wrestling, a different wrestling behemoth threatened to topple Vince McMahon and his WWF/WWE empire. World Championship Wrestling — a conglomerate funded by TBS billionaire Ted Turner — had the financial resources to threaten to put WWF out of business entirely.
The rivalry between the two organizations reached a head in the late '90s, with both of them achieving massive TV ratings with their competing Monday night shows — WWF's Raw is War and WCW's Monday Nitro. Let's relive some of the most memorable moments from the Monday Night War.
Lex Luger kicks off the Monday Night War
WCW made a big impression with its first-ever Monday Nitro show, firing a shot directly across the WWF's bow. Lex Luger — who'd been one of the WWF's biggest draws — unexpectedly defected to WCW, making his first appearance in front of a massive TV audience.
Both Luger and WCW head honcho Eric Bischoff managed to keep contract negotiations a secret, and in the pre-internet era, Luger's appearance set the wrestling world abuzz.
"You want a war?"
Diesel (Kevin Nash) and Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) were two of the WWF's biggest stars in the mid-'90s, and when they made the jump to WCW, it was heavily implied that the two — dubbed the "Outsiders" — were invaders from the WWF.
Of course, they were fully under WCW contracts at the time, but much of the audience didn't know this. This 1996 moment is iconic for Hall's line, "You want a war? You're gonna get one."
Hogan turns heel and forms the NWO
Hulk Hogan was the quintessential wrestling babyface, the good guy who implored kids to say their prayers and take their vitamins. But after moving to WCW, his act was starting to feel a bit dated.
At the Bash at the Beach pay-per-view in 1996, Hogan shocked the wrestling world by turning on his fans and becoming a bad guy. In one of the most iconic moments in wrestling history, he joined forces with Nash and Hall and announced the formation of the New World Order.
Iron Mike goes toe to toe with Stone Cold
Mike Tyson was one of the biggest names, not just in the sports world but also in pop culture throughout the '90s. This made it a major coup for the WWF when they convinced Iron Mike to appear on WWF programming.
Tyson didn't actually do much and barely affected the storyline during his short WWF stint. But his appearances created a ton of buzz and pay-per-view buys, which was all that Vince McMahon was looking for.
The Hitman's had enough
Bret Hart was one of the most talented in-ring grapplers in the business, but his bland good guy persona got a tad stale during the WWF's edgy Attitude Era. During a cage match against Sid Vicious, Hart (in character) grew frustrated with repeated interference.
In a post-match interview with Vince McMahon, Hart let loose, saying of the interference, "This is bull****" amid a stream of other expletives. It marked a big departure for the babyface Hart, along with an indication of where the company was going.
The Montreal Screwjob
The wrestling world features no shortage of real-world backstage drama and backstabbing, but no incident is more well-known than the Montreal Screwjob. Bret Hart, in his final WWF match, was under the impression that he wouldn't be forced to drop the WWF championship on his home soil.
Vince McMahon had other ideas. When opponent Shawn Michaels trapped Hart in the sharpshooter — the Hitman's signature move — McMahon called for the bell. Hart responded by spitting on McMahon on camera and then punching him in the face backstage.
McMahon kicks off the Attitude Era
Fresh on the heels of the Montreal Screwjob, WWF boss Vince McMahon made a big announcement on the December 15, 1997 edition of Raw — not coincidentally the same night Hart made his Nitro debut on WCW.
In a taped promo addressed directly to fans, McMahon announced that fans shouldn't tolerate having their intelligence insulted by cartoonish characters anymore. During his speech, he announced that it was the beginning of a new era — the Attitude Era.
Cactus Jack makes his debut
Cactus Jack was not a new character when he made his Monday Night Raw debut. After all, the man who played him, Mick Foley, was already wrestling in the promotion under his Mankind gimmick.
But when the decidedly rough and hardcore Cactus Jack made his big appearance at Madison Square Garden, it signaled a seismic shift in the once-safe WWF. It marked the beginning of a less cartoonish, more adult era for wrestling in general.
Vince gets stunned
WWF owner Vince McMahon had been on the federation's broadcasts since the '80s but was always in character as a spirited announcer. It was never acknowledged that he owned the WWF, and he rarely got involved in actual storylines.
That all changed during his legendary rivalry with Stone Cold Steve Austin. When Austin delivered his Stone Cold Stunner finishing move to McMahon, it marked a change of direction for Vince's character and the introduction of his villainous "Mr. McMahon" persona.
Rick Rude pulls double duty
"Ravishing" Rick Rude, a star from the '80s, reappeared on WWF programming during the Monday Night War. But after the Montreal Screwjob, a disgusted Rude left the WWF and jumped ship with Bret Hart to WCW.
On November 17, 1997, Rude became the only person to ever appear on Monday Night Raw and Monday Nitro on the same night. This was possible because Nitro was a live show, while Raw had been taped a few days earlier.
Goldberg wins the gold
One of WCW's most successful angles, apart from the formation of the NWO, was Bill Goldberg's undefeated streak. Goldberg was portrayed as an unstoppable monster, someone who said very little while dismantling every opponent who was placed in front of him.
Goldberg's biggest moment came in front of 40,000 fans at the Georgia Dome when he beat Hollywood Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. It marked a win for the good guys after more than a year of NWO supremacy.
Sting swings down from the rafters
Sting — who'd become disillusioned with the WCW's new direction under the NWO — became a brooding figure who watched the ring from the rafters, saying nothing and never intervening.
That all changed in early 1997 when Randy Savage entered the ring to express his dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs. Savage — caught in between a rock and a hard place, was rescued by Sting — who swooped in from the rafters with a baseball bat in hand.
Y2J jumps ship
Chris Jericho was a talented superstar with boundless charisma but was unable to make an impact in the old boy's club of WCW. Frustrated with his lack of progress, he decided to jump ship to the WWF.
Following weeks of "Countdown to the Millennium" timers on Raw, Jericho — who dubbed himself "Y2J" — made his big debut on Raw by interrupting a promo by The Rock. While it would be some time before Jericho entered WWF's main event picture, his debut certainly left an impression.
DDP decimates the NWO.
Diamond Dallas Page emerged from the midcard to become one of WCW's most popular babyfaces during the Monday Night War. Nitro teased the possibility of the good guy Page abandoning his ethics and joining the heelish NWO.
When DDP's opportunity came, he pretended to join the faction by donning an NWO shirt. He then double-crossed the group by taking out Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and anyone else affiliated with the NWO who remained in the ring.
Foley wins the big one
Mick Foley had been in the wrestling biz for a long time by the time the Attitude Era rolled around, but he was never a main event star. That all changed when he beat The Rock for the WWF title in 1999.
The win was made more memorable when WCW announcer Tony Schiavone dismissively spoiled the win on Monday Nitro. The move backfired big time, as audiences changed the channel en masse to watch Foley win the gold.
Rodzilla shows up on Nitro
Both the WWF and WCW continually tried to outdo each other with celebrity guests, and Nitro's big gambit in 1998 was to bring Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman (along with Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz) into a main event storyline with Hollywood Hogan and Diamond Dallas Page.
To make things even crazier, Rodman skipped out on team practice during the NBA finals in order to appear on WCW programming. The angle never went anywhere, but Rodman's presence likely helped sell some pay-per-view buys.
Madusa ditches the belt
Alundra Blayze was, for many years, the top female wrestler in the WWF. When she moved to WCW in 1995, she made a big first impression. Now known as Madusa, she showed the WWF Women's Championship on WCW TV — and promptly dropped it in a trashcan.
She announced that WCW was "where the big girls play" and went on to spend several successful years in the promotion. She had nowhere else to go, seeing as how the stunt saw her blacklisted from WWF programming for the next 20 years.
NWO takes out the good guys
The NWO's dominance over the rest of WCW was made more real by how ruthless and dominant the group was. They had no qualms about fighting dirty, ganging up on opponents, and using weapons to gain an advantage.
In a match that pitted Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage against the Four Horsemen — a match that had nothing to do with the NWO — the heel faction interrupted the match by assaulting WCW babyfaces backstage with baseball bats.
Sting joins the Wolfpac
Sting was one of WCW's long-time stars, evolving from his neon-hued early '90s persona into his silent, black-and-white "Crow Sting" gimmick. His next evolution may have been the most surprising when he joined the NWO Wolfpac — a black-and-red faction to oppose the original NWO.
Sting had established himself as an iconoclast and lone wolf during the previous few years, so it was a massive shock to see him so eagerly join one of the WCW's biggest factions.
Triple H becomes The Game
Long before his iconic Motorhead entrance theme, Triple H was cast as a snobbish blue blood, and then a juvenile prankster. But in a worked shoot interview with Jim Ross, Triple H adopted his new persona, calling himself "The Game" for the first time.
It was a significant change in Triple H's direction, and it set up the trajectory for him to become a main event star. While the interview wasn't "real," it certainly felt that way.
Arn Anderson leaves the Four Horsemen
Arn Anderson was a talented wrestler who never sought the spotlight, instead choosing to serve as an enforcer for more flamboyant stars like Ric Flair in the Four Horsemen stable.
Double A was hampered by real-life injuries in 1997, and delivered an emotional promo on Nitro to announce that he wouldn't be able to continue his career. As one of the most respected men in the business, the announcement shocked the industry.
D-Generation X invades Nitro
The WWF got some measure of revenge on WCW for its earlier "invasion" angles by pulling off a real-world invasion of their own. In April of 1998, with both Nitro and Raw taking place a stone's throw from each other, D-Generation X attempted to invade Nitro.
The stable of pranksters, led by Triple H, attempted to get into the building where Nitro was taking place while riding a "tank." They weren't let in, of course, but the incident made for great TV ratings.
The Radicalz make the jump
High-profile defections from WCW to WWF (or vice versa) were commonplace, but when WCW stalwarts Perry Saturn, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit (who was the current WCW champion), and Dean Malenko all made the leap simultaneously, it was seen as the beginning of the end for WCW.
The group, known as the Radicalz (yes, with a Z), were four of WCW's most talented but also most overlooked wrestlers. All four found more success after joining the WWF.
Undertaker's dark wedding
To go along with the WWF's edgy new direction, the Undertaker took on a darker, more sinister, borderline Satanic persona during the Attitude Era. One of his first orders of business was assembling a stable of heels and trying to marry the boss's daughter.
He did so in an evil way, naturally: By tying Stephanie McMahon to...an Undertaker symbol that looked a lot like a crucifix. Stone Cold Steve Austin, a longtime enemy of the McMahon family, did the right thing and rushed to the ring to save Stephanie from the forces of evil.
Bret takes out Goldberg
Bret Hart's WCW run is mostly regarded as a "what if" scenario, as the Hitman was criminally underused during his time in the promotion. But his biggest moment came on Canadian soil when Hart — now a villain — went toe to toe with Goldberg.
The Hitman called out Goldberg, who gamely came into the ring and attempted to deliver his trademark spear — only to fall to the mat in pain. Hart, ever the heel, revealed that he was wearing a metal plate under his hockey jersey.
Undertaker throws Mankind off the Hell in a Cell
In one of the most iconic moments in pro wrestling history, the Undertaker and Mankind squared off at the 1998 King of the Ring in a Hell in a Cell match — essentially a gigantic cage with a roof on it.
The Undertaker threw Mankind from the top of the cell and through the announcer's table. Mankind was able to recover, climbed to the top of the cell, and was chokeslammed through the roof. It was one of the most brutal matches ever seen on WWF television.
Stone Cold hoses down the Corporation
The rivalry between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin stretched on for years, but it was never hotter than when The Rock was Vince McMahon's anointed Corporate Champion, and Austin was the edgy outsider.
Things came to a head when Austin interrupted a promo featuring McMahon, The Rock, and the Corporation by bringing a beer truck to the ring. Austin got a massive pop from the crowd when he proceeded to hose everyone down with his favorite beverage.
The Fingerpoke of Doom
The Fingerpoke of Doom has gone down as one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history — and a symptom of WCW's downfall. A much-hyped pay-per-view match between Hollywood Hogan and Kevin Nash ended in a way that left audiences fuming.
Nash and Hogan were presented as bitter rivals, but their big match consisted of Hogan cartoonishly poking Nash in the eye. Nash fell down like he'd been shot, laid down for the three count, and fans were furious.
David Arquette wins the WCW championship
Actor David Arquette is a massive wrestling fan, and this culminated in his wrestling-themed 2000 movie Ready to Rumble, a box office disaster that was produced with WCW's cooperation.
WCW doubled down on this partnership by introducing Arquette into its storyline, eventually putting the heavyweight belt on Arquette. Gifting the company's most important belt to a non-wrestler was a bridge too far for many fans, who roundly criticized the move.
The end of Nitro
After Time Warner merged with AOL in 2001, there was little desire to continue funding WCW's bloated, money-losing proposition — and WWF boss Vince McMahon acquired the struggling promotion's assets for a considerable discount.
The March 26, 2001 edition of Nitro would be the last (and a fitting end to the Monday Night War). It was kicked off by Vince McMahon and son Shane appearing on WCW television — something that previously would have been unthinkable.
