WCW Monday Nitro

If it hadn't been for Nitro, we'd still be watching midcarders winning squash matches on WWF/WWE television (taped four weeks in advance).

In the last couple of years it was on TV, the critics were quick to pan Nitro, but if you look at tapes of that era (arguably its worst) and compare it to the fare dished out be the McMahon clan, you'll be wishing it was the other of the "Big Two" that folded.

WCW Monday Nitro made it's debut in September 1995 and ran until March 2001-that's almost six years of top notch action. Along with the WWF's Monday Night Raw, Nitro was a brilliant programme.

Along the way we had the big guns such as Hulk Hogan, Sting and Ric Flair but the great thing about Nitro was the way it highlighted some of the undercard wrestlers such as Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio Jr.

Nitro was a very unpredictable programme for a long while. In one edition Lex Luger made a surprise return to WCW after wrestling in the WWF 24 hours earlier. You never knew what would happen on Nitro-anybody could show up, friendships could be broken up and throughout the series there were some wild brawls.

I strongly recommend tracking down old WCW Nitro tapes particularly from the 1996-1998 era.

The past six years that this program has been on the air, I would have to say has been both on the plus and negative sides. There has been some very memorable moments on this program such as The N.W.O.'s hostile takeovers, the breaking of young stars like Chris Jericho and Billy Kidman, Arn Anderson's retirement, and the recent emergence of the cruiserweight tag-team division. The down moments have been watching Hulk Hogan trying to make his comeback (over and over again) and some very bad gimmicks like "The Dog" and The "No Limit Soldiers". I am a very big fan of pro wrestling and don't like to just glorify the W.W.F. for being more popular. I like to judge the product itself and in my book W.C.W. Monday Nitro has definitely aired some great moments.

March 26, 2001 was one of the saddest days in my life when I saw WCW for the last time. In the past year since that Wrestling has gone to hell. Every week I am subject to some of the most god-awful wrestling on WWF Raw. The only reason I still watch is because there is nothing else on TV that is better. What makes me sad about the situation is that they were so close to selling WCW to Eric Bichoff and he would have brought WCW back to prominence. I miss seeing Goldberg, Sting, Bret Hart, and some of others who are not around.

WCW Monday Nitro is the best wrestling program on television. Unlike some shows, the main event changes from week to week and everyone (except Ric Flair) keeps their clothes on. The only problem is that sometimes they insult the viewers' intelligence by showing the same thing over and over again and following things a little longer than they have to. For the most part, Nitro is something the whole family can watch and enjoy.