Monday Warfare: RAW vs. NITRO – Episode 14 (3/4 & 3/11/96)

Monday Warfare: RAW VS. NITRO Podcast

WCW takes a week off, only to return with a solid show, but a not-so-solid main event. It's a 6-Man Tornado Tag Double Strap Lumberjack Match... Yes, that's a thing here in WCW! It may be the most overbooked shlock of a match in company history up to this point! And that covers a lot of ground. Plus, Brian Pillman has a 900 number, the Giant turns on one of his own, Lex Luger is the NEW TV Champion as Johnny B. Badd is gone from WCW, and THE STEINER BROTHERS RETURN TO TAKE ON THE ROAD WARRIORS!!!

And over in the WWF, can Vince McMahon capitalize when Nitro takes a week off? Both Razor Ramon and Diesel are leaving the company. House shows and Ratings are up, though injuries plague the company. Two memorable features involving Goldust and Roddy Piper! Bret and Shawn train for WrestleMania. The Ultimate Warrior is back! HBK vs. 1-2-3 Kid. Bret vs. HHH. Softball Sid Vicious. Diesel revs up his feud with the Undertaker. Yokozuna finds allies in the battle against Camp Cornette. Plus, the Ringmaster becomes STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN, and Ted Turner said whaaaaat?

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TIMESTAMPS below!

WWF NEWS (00:03:20)

• Razor Ramon QUITS the WWF, as Scott Hall is WCW bound. We discuss Vince McMahon's response to Hall "coincidentally" being suspended for a failed drug test on the very same day.
• No Celebrities at Mania this year!
• Sid Vicious "retires" to play some Softball
• Sunny Likes it RAW... in more ways than one!
• House Show business is up for the first time in YEARS!
• Injuries and other issues cause many no-shows on the House Shows. We talk WWF refund policies

WWF Monday Night Raw 3/4/96 (00:14:53)

• Shawn Michaels takes on the 1-2-3 Kid
• Goldust invades PIper's Pit and Blows the bagpipes! You've got to hear this!!! We discuss in length the uniqueness of the Goldust character and everything Dustin Rhodes did to create something new in a business that was typically used to stealing from the past.
• The ULLLLLTIMATE WARRIOR is back!
• Roddy Piper responds to Goldust
• Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw makes his Raw Debut against Hakushi, who incidentally makes his FINAL Raw appearance.
• Mankind vignette #5!
• WWF Champion Bret Hart battles Hunter Hearst Helmsley, with HBK at ringside!
• And it's TeeVee Trivia with Billionaire Ted. Listen to some of Ted Turner's most ludicrous remarks in this "satire" of a Game Show.

Plus, how did Raw hold up in the Ratings after going unopposed from Nitro for the first time since the War started? How did Nitro's replacement fair in the Monday Night Ratings?

WCW NEWS (00:52:24)

• Johnny B. Badd is GONE from WCW
• The Nasty Boys may be on their way out as well.

WCW Monday Nitro 3/11/96 (00:54:44)

• The Giant has a fairly entertaining match with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, of all people... No fooling!
• Brian Pillman invades Nitro... Call 1-900-288-PILL
• The Steiner Brothers RETURN to WCW to take on the Road Warriors!!!! In a match that absolutely lives up to the hype!
• Mean Gene tries to make sense of a Steiner Brothers promo. Good luck, Gene!
• WCW has a new 900 Hotline commercial, featuring Johnny B. Badd... Who is now gone from the company... How will WCW handle this moving forward?
• Jimmy Hart yanks Lex Luger from the Chicago Street Fight at Uncensored!
• The newly crowned TV Champion Lex Luger battles Alex Wright, and Eric Bischoff has a field day trashing Johnny B. Badd
• In the most overbooked segment in Nitro history (up to this point anyway).... It's 6-Man action with Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, and the Booty Man battling Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Kevin Sullivan in a Lumberjack Double Strap Match... Not only do the Lumberjacks have straps, but so do the wrestlers in this Tornado style tag match of complete shlock... Plus, dissension in the Dungeon of Doom when the Giant and Loch Ness go at it... And for some reason, this is a perfect setting for Kimberly to court the Booty Man, complete with flowers.
• Post-match promo with Flair, Anderson, and Sullivan as they hype the Doomsday Cage Match at Uncensored.
• Arn Anderson with the shoot comment of the night "Nothing here tonight even vaguely resembled wrestling"... You ain't kidding, Arn!

WWF NEWS (01:21:24)

• A young fella by the name of Dwayne Johnson gets a WWF tryout match!
• The Ringmaster becomes "Stone Cold" Steve Austin!
• Hakushi is gone, and good for him!

WWF Monday Night Raw 3/11/96 (01:22:33)

• Savio Vega takes on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in what begins their feud to WrestleMania XII
• The WWF backs weightlifter Mark Henry for the 1996 Olympics. Henry teaches Jerry Lawler a lesson in respect
• Vince McMahon interviews both Goldust AND Roddy Piper, in the same ring... at the same time! How much of the Bizarre One can the Hot Rod take when Goldy invites Piper to COME into his "BACKLOT". Oh my!
• The Godwinns in a squash match as Phineas has another "spell"
• Shawn Michaels returns home to San Antonio to train with mentor Jose Lothario for the WrestleMania main event
• Bret Hart returns home to Calgary to train for WrestleMania as well. Listen as we discuss the contrast in the two vignettes of Champion and Challenger, and so much more!
• Who will wrestle the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania?
• Hunter Hearst Helmsley gets his heat back from last week's loss with an easy win
• It's the Geriatric Match Report with Schene Gene. Will there be nightfall tonight? CALL THE HOTLINE!!!
• For the first time ever, The Undertaker TEAMS with Yokozuna to take on Owen Hart & The British Bulldog
• Diesel attacks Paul Bearer, and The Undertaker seeks revenge
• Vader once again attacks Yokozuna, but Ahmed Johnson and Jake Roberts even the odds against Camp Cornette

Plus, how does Nitro fair in the ratings after being off a week? Did the WWF sustain their winning rating after WCW took a break, or are fans clamoring for more WCW?