10 PPV Level Matches WCW Put On TV

With the premiere of its new flagship show, the live and weekly WCW Monday Nitro, World Championship Wrestling changed the game as far as how pro wrestling was presented on television. In competing with WWE’s Monday Night Raw in television ratings, WCW won over viewers by offering big, pay-per-view quality matchups, which were a rarity for pro wrestling shows in years prior. After all, the television shows largely existed to advertise house shows as well as the PPVs, where bouts were expected to be high-quality and substantial.

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Over the years, WCW put countless high-quality matchups on television for free, so let’s look at 10 instances of this practice, some of which actually predate the premiere of Nitro.

10 Goldberg vs. Sting (WCW Monday Nitro, 9/14/1998)

In July, Goldberg won the WCW World Title (more on that later) and in mid-September defended the belt against Sting, one of the top babyfaces of the company in the main event of Monday Nitro. This eight-minute battle between heroic characters that could have been a PPV headliner — will Sting be the one to break Goldberg’s streak? — occurred on television without much build, but it’s a solid bout while it lasts, with a hot crowd and Goldberg getting the win thanks to interference from Hollywood Hogan.

9 Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW Saturday Night, 5/14/1994)

In April of 1994, the Spring Stampede pay-per-view main evented with Ricky Steamboat challenging Ric Flair for the World Title in a bout that ended in a double-pin and subsequent vacating of the belt. The legendary rivals had a rematch on WCW’s pre-Nitro flagship show, WCW Saturday Night to determine a champion once and for all. In what seemed super rare for wrestling TV in 1994, Flair and Steamboat went 36 minutes before Flair won back the belt.

8 Kevin Nash, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner & Vince Russo vs. Booker T, Goldberg, & Kronik (WCW Monday Nitro, 9/4/2000)

While Eric Bischoff era WCW as no stranger to gimmickry and doing PPV-level matches on TV, Vince Russo’s infamously berserk era of WCW somehow outdid Bischoff in September of 2000 by putting a War Games match on free television. In this, a team of heels (including Russo himself) sought to defend Kevin Nash’s World Title in an overbooked, complicated, and ridiculous bout using the multi-tiered cage from the film Ready to Rumble.

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Termed “War Games 2000,” the whole affair is an unexciting 19-minute brawl, with Russo’s worst booking indulgences on display. Howeve,r it’s still wild that they gave away such an extravagant gimmick match on television.

7 Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair (WCW Monday Nitro, 1/22/1996)

In the main event of Starrcade ‘95, Ric Flair defeated Macho Man Randy Savage to win the WCW World Title, but Savage won the belt back on this late January Monday Nitro less than a month later, marking the first time ever that the World Title changed hands on Nitro. Despite that seeming like a big deal, the bout happened in the middle of the show, with the main event being Hulk Hogan taking on One Man Gang for some reason.

6 Kevin Nash vs. Sid Vicious vs. Big Ron (WCW Thunder, 1/26/2000)

Speaking of firsts, the 1/26/2000 episode of the questionable B-show WCW Thunder marked the first time someone captured the World Title on that show. In this episode, Kevin Nash — who was WCW Commissioner at the time — stripped Sid Vicious of the belt and awarded it to himself. However, it didn’t stick, as the belt was defended later that night in a three-way cage match with Vicious and Nash’s flunkie, Big Ron. As Vicious tapped out Nash in a submission hold to win the belt back, one can’t help but wonder why such a big cage match happened on WCW Thunder.

5 Hollywood Hogan vs. Lex Luger (WCW Monday Nitro, 8/4/1997)

August of 1997 marked a major moment in the WCW vs. nWo storyline. Over five months since the last time Hollywood Hogan defended the World Title — against Roddy Piper at SuperBrawl — he found a challenger in Lex Luger. Overcoming interference from the nWo, Luger put Hogan in a Torture Rack to earn a rare submission victory over Hogan, the World Title, and a huge reaction from the live crowd. It’s shocking that such a big moment wasn’t saved for pay-per-view, especially since Hogan won the belt days later at Road Wild, totally torpedoing Lex Luger’s momentum.

4 Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW Clash of the Champions 6, 4/2/1989)

As stated, Flair and Steamboat had a major title match on television in 1994, but that wasn’t even the first time they did so. In the main event of the sixth Clash of the Champions TV special, Ricky Steamboat defended the NWA World Heavyweight Title against Ric Flair in a 2/3 falls match.

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More than just a PPV-worthy bout, this near-hour-long affair is actually considered among the greatest matches of all time, the apex of a game-changing rivalry between one of the best heels and best babyfaces of the era.

3 Big Van Vader vs. Ron Simmons (WCW Main Event, 8/16/1992)

Fans may know of Ron Simmons’ landmark victory over Big Van Vader to become not only WCW World Champion, but one of the first black world champions in a major wrestling promotion ever. However, it may surprise fans to find out that it not only happened on television, but happened on WCW’s early 1990s B-show Main Event. It’s one of the more egregious matches WCW gave for free, as not only did Simmons win the World Title, but he defeated a major monster heel to do so.

2 Ric Flair vs. Sting (WCW Clash of the Champions, 3/27/1988)

The Clash of the Champions shows always seemed to promise bigger matches than usual on television, and the first one in 1988 is no different as rising babyface Sting challenged rival, top heel and multi-time champion Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Title in the main event. The bout ends in a 45-minute time limit draw, followed by the panel of judges being unable to decide who truly won the match. While some fans may criticize the lack of a definitive finish, it’s the bout that made Sting a top star in the company.

1 Goldberg vs. Hollywood Hogan (WCW Monday Nitro, 7/6/1998)

With Goldberg’s epic winning streak being WCW’s hot angle of 1998, it was inevitable that the rapidly rising star would end up with a shot at the World Title. A big money match, WCW surprisingly gave it away on this early July Nitro, with Goldberg taking on top heel Hollywood Hogan — and winning. The crowd reaction in the Georgia Dome was immense, with Goldberg’s clean win over Hogan being a major moment in WCW history. And — again — it happened on TV for free.