WCW Monday Nitro, 1997

[The show opens with footage of Ric Flair after being stitched up in a hospital as a result of last night's Fall Brawl when Curt Hennig slammed the cage door in his head]

Tony:
[very shaken up] Fans, uh, Nitro as you can see is on the air. Before I go into this card, I need to say something that I've really never said before. You know, 13 years ago, I got into this business because of Ric Flair. I was a minor league baseball announcer in this same city. He went to bat for me for the promoters and I became a wrestling announcer and when I look back on what has happened to me, I credit Ric Flair. And you have seen Ric Flair and what hap.......I can't do this show. I'm sorry. [takes off his headset and leaves]

Mean Gene:
That's very impressive, a gentleman the stature of Hugh Morrus, and you absolutely got in there and manhandled him tonight. [Bill Goldberg just walks away] Sir, I've got to get a little bit more than that. Gentleman's just walking away from me.

Bobby:
Is he a mute?

Mean Gene:
I can't believe that. Tony, I haven't seen anything like that. Very impressive. But who is this guy Goldberg?

[Tony Schiavone and Larry Zbyszko review the Piper/Hogan match footage at Starrcade 1996 that Eric Bischoff confiscated and was somehow played, but when the tape suddenly stops as if it was taken off playback, just as Randy Anderson was about to count off Hogan as submitting to Piper...]

Tony Schiavone:
What's going on here?

Zbyszko:
Well that wasn't nothing...

Schiavone:
We did not get this - [talks to production crew on the headset] what happened? Can anybody tell me what happened? The tape stopped? The tape broke?

Zbyszko:
Well what happened was -

Schiavone:
Someone's getting the tape in the production truck.

Zbyszko:
Who's in the truck?

Schiavone:
We're trying to find out fans, I apologize. I'm just talking to Craig Leathers, Keith Mitchell, in our video production truck. Someone apparently went and you hear the tape queueing up. You saw right there, I mean the hand was going up and it was gonna be the end of Hollywood Hulk Hogan with the sleeper. We all witnessed what happened, Eric Bischoff went into the video truck and grabbed the tape.

Zbyszko:
Well, anyway, the world saw what happened, we knew about it, now the missing footage had been recovered and what happened-

[Eric Bischoff confronts the announcers with the tape]

Eric Bischoff:
Don't you ever, don't you EVER, EVER, pull a stunt like that again. You or anybody else in this organization [puts down mic and starts tearing out the tape] ever, ever again. [leaves]

Schiavone:
We'll take a break.

Zbyszko:
He could beat up a tape, that's impressive!

[Randy Anderson appears with his family to appeal to Eric Bischoff about hiring him back after the events of Souled Out]

Eric Bischoff:
Kids come on up here. It's all right Randy. It's all right, kids, could you do me a favor. Would you please tell your daddy... that he's still fired? [NWO laughs] Would you do that for me?

Montana Anderson:
Please, Mr Bischoff!

Bischoff:
Montana please, tell your daddy he's fired, get on with his life.

Kevin Nash:
[mocks] Do it for little Tiny Tim!

Syxx:
God bless us everyone!

[Eric Bischoff is fuming mad at Jimmy Jett passing Randy Anderson brass knuckles during his match with Nick Patrick]

Eric Bischoff:
What do you think you're doing?!? You knocked him out! What is this? What is that? You know better than that! You know better than that! You used to be a referee!

Jimmy Jett:
Hey he won the match-

Bischoff:
You used to be a referee!! You are nothing! [to Anderson] And YOU. I saw it! Let me, let me tell you what you won. Now, you just won a permanent vacation and you are fired! Fired! Spell it, F-I-R-E-D! Leave the building now! Now! You're fired!

Jett:
It's not fair

Bischoff:
It's not fair! Take those with you!

Kevin Nash:
Alright. I've sat back here for about two hours and I'm about to puke. You know, the president has a state of the union address every couple of months. It's time the nWo has a state of the union address. Only difference is I'm not going to lie to you. I don't know what the hell's going on with the nWo right now. I tell you what, Kevin Nash and Syxx are here. And Scott Hall, people are wondering where Scott Hall is. Scott Hall's taking care of business more important than professional wrestling right now. Now while Bischoff, Hogan, Dibiase and Vincent are all up there at Rodman's opening day movie shenanigans, we're here taking care of business! So you boys in Chicago if you're watching, you better get focused because I'll tell you something right now. I'm getting pissed off! I'm getting tired of sitting around having you guys take my time. I'll tell you right now, you don't want to get me mad because I'm one person in this business that can stand alone!

Syxx:
Is this thing even working?

Kevin Nash:
I don't even know. It's WCW.

Syxx:
Go figure.

Kevin Nash:
I'll tell you something right now. Steiner Brothers, big win tonight, who cares? I'll tell you one thing in Tupelo, Mississippi, Nash will be there. Whether Scott's with me or not, it doesn't really matter. I'll be there, I'll take you on alone. And all you Napoleons back there, you know who I'm talking about. All you guys that you can't get on the adult life because you don't make the height requirement. The only reason you people breathe is because I ALLOW IT!! Yeah, I'll smash that camera! I'll tell you right now as long as I got breath in my lungs, I'll fight WCW BY MYSELF!!

[the Four Horsemen come out and Arn Anderson has something to say to Mean Gene]

Arn Anderson:
Well, Gene, all I can tell ya', to get a response like this makes what I got to say tonight mean that much more. Ya' see, I'm a realist. As everybody knows, I've got average size and speed and average ability, but I've parlayed that into what I would call a very successful career. And I did that on sheer will alone. But another reality is four months ago they took four vertebrae out of my neck. Consequently, I'm left with a hand, my left hand, too weak to hold a glass, too weak to button a button.

[the NWO comes out spoofing the Four Horsemen, with Kevin Nash as Arn Anderson, Syxx as Ric Flair, Konnan as Steve "Mongo" McMichael, and Buff Bagwell as Curt Hennig]

Kevin Nash:
I take care of Horsemen business. Before I go any further: Let me all of the Horsemen out here know one thing: Guys, the beer is on ice. You know something, it's pretty ironic that on Labour Day WCW would decide to honor me cause anybody that's followed my career knows one thing: You were always wondering when I was gonna go into labour.

You know I sat back that day and I watched that highlight tape of my career and I said to myself:
You know: I'm a guy of average size, average speed, average quickness, average looks, average intelligence, average carpentry skills - but you know what? I parlayed that into a wrestling career that I might say so myself was quite excellent. But you know something? Four months ago, I had a neck injury. Subsequently, I lost the feeling in my hand, my left hand. The significance of that: That's the hand I open beer with. But you know something? I willed myself back from that injury. I got to the gym - I didn't do anything there, I walked around - but I got to the gym. And you know what? I started a comeback.

[The NWO appears in the ring with Canadian flags and having brought back Kevin Nash...]

Eric Bischoff:
...And now the announcement I know I have been waiting to make, 'cause I have been working on this for a long time, the newest addition of the NWO, and Bret Hart, because you were such a... [punches the air] knockout kind of a guy! [everybody laughs, knowing its a reference to Bret punching Vince McMahon after the Montreal Screwjob]

Hulk Hogan:
He passed the initiation!

Bischoff:
We have a special, special [pulls out paper from his jacket] gift for you. Liz, can you come around here? [passes out paper to NWO members] All right let's do it. On three, one, two - this is for you, Bret - three [the NWO sings O Canada]

Rick Rude:
Oh what a difference a day makes. Twenty-four little hours. You know and we all have our 15 minutes of fame and I'd like to take a couple of my 15 minutes to talk about the rights and the wrongs in the world of professional wrestling. What's wrong in the world of professional wrestling is Shawn Michaels claiming to be World Champion when he never beat Bret Hart. What's wrong with the world of professional wrestling is for Vince McMahon to instruct the referee to ring the bell in order to rob Bret Hart of his title. But on the other hand, what's right in the world of professional wrestling is for Bret Hart to abandon the Titanic and swim to the refuge of the nWo. What's right with the world of professional wrestling is nWo's course to destruct WCW. What's right with the world of professional wrestling is for the nWo to beat the living shit out of the man called Sting. Now the only thing wrong with that entire situation is that I didn't have the chance to participate. Sting second verse is gonna be same as the first. A little bit rowdier and a whole lot worse, because this time Sting, I will partake.

[Hulk is in the middle of another promo when a WCW event staffer delivers him a silver gift box]

Hulk Hogan:
The NWO is just too sweet. Oh, oh my God! [sees Bret Hart arrive in a limousine with women and a male waiter accompanying him] You're right. It's only one guy. The newest member of the NWO, Bret Hitman Hart. I knew it had to be him, boss. Thank you Bret. [opens box and suddenly pulls up a fake severed head of himself; screams in horror] Oh my God! [points to Bret thinking he delivered the head]

Mike Tenay:
Looks like a message has been delivered to Hollywood Hulk Hogan and the NWO, Mr Rude.

Rick Rude:
What is this?

Bobby Heenan:
What is going on now?

Rude:
Is Bret Hart trying to say he wants a piece of the NWO?

Tenay:
[sees spotlight focused on Sting] Look at that, it's Sting! He's arrived on the scene.

Heenan:
He's on top of the NWO sign, at the top of the building here in Macon.

Rude:
[as Sting ziplines to the ring] Take him out Hollywood, take him out!

Tenay:
[Hogan scampers out of the ring] Sting is on his way to the ring. We'll see you Sunday at Starrcade!