WCW Monday Nitro
For the entirety of the show's run, Nitro went head-to-head in the ratings with the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF; now WWE) Monday Night Raw.
Although comparable to Raw in popularity from the beginning, Nitro began to dominate in ratings, based largely on the strength of the New World Order (nWo), a rebellious group of wrestlers that wanted to take over WCW.
Beginning in June 1996, Nitro beat Raw in the ratings for 83 consecutive weeks, forcing WWF owner Vince McMahon to usher in the more adult-oriented "Attitude Era".
The show was also highlighted by the return of Lex Luger to WCW after having spent the previous two plus years wrestling for the WWF, where he had been one of the promotion's top stars.
The July 6, 1998, episode of Nitro from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta saw Goldberg defeat Hollywood Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
Nitro is best remembered for the New World Order (nWo), with former WWF wrestlers Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan as rebellious heels plotting to take over WCW.
On January 4, 1999 Mick Foley, who had wrestled for WCW during the early 1990s as Cactus Jack, won the WWF Championship as Mankind on a pre-taped episode of Raw.
Both men attempted to bring their WWF-style writing to Nitro, including edgier storylines, lengthier non-wrestling segments, and an increased amount of sexuality.
None of these changes were able to help recover Nitro's ratings and Bischoff eventually left WCW in July 2000 after an incident involving Hogan and Russo at the Bash at the Beach event.
However, although Bischoff's offer had been accepted, recently appointed Turner Broadcasting executive Jamie Kellner announced shortly after his arrival that Nitro and all WCW programming was immediately canceled on both TNT and TBS Superstation.
Since the premiere of Nitro, WCW had gone to Club La Vela or South Padre Island every March to try to gain favor with adolescent and young adult viewers who might not otherwise be tuning into the program.
It was announced that the upcoming March 26, 2001, episode of Nitro from Panama City (which was actually held at the nearby Boardwalk Beach Resort) was to be the finale and the show was dubbed "The Night of Champions."
The show began with McMahon appearing via satellite from Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, the site of that Monday's Raw is War broadcast on TNN.
In a closing segment, simulcast between both Nitro and Raw, Vince addressed the audience in Cleveland and gloated about the purchase, stating that he wanted Turner to personally deliver the sale contract to him so he could sign it at WrestleMania X-Seven that weekend.
However, the speech was interrupted by Vince's son Shane McMahon, who announced (in kayfabe) from Nitro that he had already signed the sale contract himself, and that the WCW would continue to compete against the WWF.
[13] In addition to the tape library and other intellectual properties, WWF also purchased several contracts of WCW talent, keeping many of the younger stars.
Before the show went off the air, commentator Tony Schiavone announced the match was to continue during the commercial breaks of The New Adventures of Robin Hood, which premiered that night after Nitro.
This resulted in the premiere episode of Robin Hood receiving high ratings due to WCW fans being lured in to watch the show for the Hogan/Giant match.
Throughout the late summer and early fall of 1999, in an attempt to boost the show's declining ratings, WCW organized a competition to find a new member of the Nitro Girls.
Beginning in July 2007, WWE Classics on Demand began deleting content from episodes of Nitro, as matches and some references to Chris Benoit are removed.
