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- The number one program in the world,

it's World Championship Wrestling.

- World Championship Wrestling-

- WCW, where the big boys play.

- -the sports entertainment promotion that rocketed

to fame in the 1990s.

The organization that competed with rival WWE

and nearly brought it to its knees-

- We are at war

- -with its iconic stars.

- You can call this the New World Order

of Wrestling, brother.

- Edge storylines.

- What in the hell is he doing here?

- And its epic battles.

- It's the one night the fans of professional wrestling

have been waiting for.

Their innovation and competitive fire would ignite a boom period

for professional wrestling.

We have a new World Heavyweight Champion.

- In this countdown of

the very best from World Championship Wrestling.

This is WWE's Greatest Moments.

- Who's next?

- Acknowledge me.

- My God.

Stone Cold with a beer bath.

- This is surreal.

- Look at that.

He slammed him.

- Welcome, everyone, to WWE's Greatest Moments.

I'm Michael Cole, and on this edition, we celebrate World

Championship Wrestling, WWE's rival promotion in the 1990s

that helped propel the Sports Entertainment industry

to new heights.

Let's kick things off with WCW's first serious challenge to WWE.

A new program entitled Monday Nitro, which would run head to

head against Raw on Monday nights.

For the very first time,

there was real competition on a national broadcast level.

And so we take you back to the show that officially kicked off

the famed Monday Night War.

Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Mall of America, the only building big enough to hold the

debut edition of WCW Monday Nitro.

- At the time, Monday Night Raw was recorded

live every other week.

Nitro was going head to head on Monday nights,

and they were live every week.

That was absolutely an act of war.

- So much going on here in World Championship Wrestling, WCW,

where the big boys play.

- Not only were we going to have a wrestling show on Monday

nights, our Monday night show was going to be live

and anything can happen.

- What a matchup we have got in store in this debut broadcast.

- What in the hell is he doing here?

- Lex Luger was one of WWE's biggest stars.

Lex Luger's contract had expired, and somehow WWE

just let it slip between their fingertips.

- He had jumped ship.

Lex was supposed to be at Raw, but he's here and it's live.

I mean, even the wrestlers were shocked.

- Because I was still on TV and had done a house show the night

before with WWE, so it was a big shock to everybody.

- Well, you said things were going to happen every Monday

night, Bischoff, and it's happening.

- Really helped set us up for great success

because there was already a controversy.

- Wait, Luger's in there?

- Lex Luger in the ring.

- It told everybody that you have to tune in to Nitro every

week because you don't know what's going to happen next,

and you don't want to miss it.

- If you don't tune in next week,

you got a screw loose.

- One of the most storied rivalries in WCW history belongs

to two Hall of Fame legends, Ric Flair and Sting.

Since their first encounters in the 1980s,

fans witnessed pure magic.

Anytime these two stepped into the squared circle.

- Sting to be the man, you have to beat the man.

- And by the summer of 1990, the Nature Boy and the Stinger were

ready to take their game to the next level.

- Sting is just a matter of hours now before

you face the champion for the title.

What are your thoughts?

- Well, I'd be a liar, Gordon,

if I was to say that I wasn't nervous.

- This is what we came to see.

The Heavyweight Championship of the world.

- The Great American Bash, 1990.

Sting is still relatively new.

There comes a time where you have an opportunity

to really make somebody.

This is a crowning moment right here.

- The young man that people say will dominate the 90s against

the man that has dominated the 80s,

The Nature Boy.

- You gotta remember that Flair was probably at that time,

at or near the top of his game.

- Oh.

Wow.

- Unreal.

- Sting was like magic.

He was so over and good looking,

I mean, you're just not going to hate Sting ever.

- Sting trying to go for the figure four.

This crowd now is standing.

- I mean, it was huge.

They wanted to see this match and they wanted to see the kid

from Venice Beach, California pull this thing off

and become world champion.

- Here comes Flair going for the figure four.

Sting's got him, inside cradle.

Could this be all?

Yes.

[crowd cheers]

- A new Heavyweight Champion of the world has been crowned.

Sting has upset Ric Flair to win the Heavyweight

Championship of the world.

- It meant so much, you know, and I became the champion

for the very first time.

And it was a great, great night, a great memory.

It's a big accomplishment for the Singer in his short career.

Thank you very, very much.

- Two years later, Sting was again set to square off

in a World Heavyweight Championship match,

this time against the man called Vader.

But due to injury, Sting was unable to compete.

In his place,

Former Florida State Seminole football standout Ron Simmons,

who stepped into the spotlight for a golden opportunity to

become an indelible part of WCW history books.

- And so it will be, ladies and gentlemen,

Ron Simmons with the luck of the draw.

- Early 90s didn't see a lot of black men fighting

for the World Championship,

- And we are ready to go.

The World's Heavyweight Championship

is on the line here.

- Although we didn't speak about it openly,

Ron and myself,

we understood the importance of the night.

There was a buzz.

- This is the opportunity that Ron Simmons has long for.

- Everyone in this business strives

to become a WWE champion.

Vader's in the corner.

He's going down.

He's going down on his-on his backside.

Big Ron Simmons opening up with the power.

- The match is rolling along.

And you know they're having a good solid hard hitting match.

And then all of a sudden out of nowhere.

And Simmons, he's got him in a powerslam.

he's got him in a powerslam.

He's got him.

Simmons got him.

Simmons has won the match.

Simmons is the champion.

Simmons has won the world title.

- Became the first African-American world champion

in the history of professional wrestling.

- And new WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

- Couldn't tell you what that did for me as a kid,

but there's a kid in the front row

who is also a young black kid who loses his mind.

That's the kid I would have been at that age.

That's what you strive to get to in this business is the top

and that is becoming champion.

When it happened to me, it was the top of the world.

All those long hard hours in the gym, traveling on the roads.

Man, it finally paid off.

- He has realized his dream to become the best in the world,

and indeed he is.

- Drama and emotion are at the heart of every great rivalry,

and our seventh moment was no exception.

In 1997, the on screen competition between Diamond

Dallas Page and Macho Man Randy Savage

would captivate wrestling fans worldwide.

And at the Spring Stampede, the animosity reached a boiling

point in one of the most exciting and ferocious battles

in WCW history.

- If you thought this was

going to be pretty, you got another thing coming.

- DDP,

in order to sort of truly solidify himself,

he has to beat one of the best who's ever done it.

- If you don't beat Savage you're-

you're never gonna, you know, be a top guy,

- This isn't your big day.

It's your last day on the planet Earth.

Oh, yeah.

- It was hot in there, and Randy and I went out there

and we tore it down.

- And it's no disqualification.

They can do it all.

They can go any place, and it will probably happen.

- He beat me down and I come back and he beat me down

and I come back.

- Look at this.

- There you go.

- Page.

- One of my favorite moments was he chucks me up

goes to slam me

- It is on.

He got him

He hooked him Morris.

- One.

Two.

Three.

- He got him.

He got him.

- The place went ballistic.

It made me a top guy.

- Diamond Dallas Page the biggest night in his career.

- An unforgettable rivalry filled

with so much passion and chemistry.

The same magic formula that Latino greats Rey Mysterio

and Eddie Guerrero possessed in spades.

Our sixth selection on the countdown would see these

legends meet with a unique stipulation.

Rey had to put his mask on the line against Eddie's coveted

Cruiserweight Championship.

- Well, I'll tell you what, Tony,

there's going to be a fight here.

Let me tell you something.

What's at stake here,

Guys' livelihood's at stake here.

At the time, Eddie and I were feuding and it came down

to Halloween Havoc.

And it was mask versus title.

- What does the mask mean in Lucha libre?

Everything.

- And here we go.

- I didn't want to give up something

that was part of my beginning.

Our mask is our legacy.

- Nice arm drag by Mysterio.

- Don't try this at home.

- You know, I know he had a lot to prove that night,

and so did I.

- And a superb maneuver here.

Pulling back on the chin, sitting on the back.

And here again digging on the mask

- He's got the mask ripped.

- They went out there and showed what lucha libre was all about.

Those guys went out there and changed the game.

- Rey Mysterio Jr. just will not quit.

- One of my favorite matches.

- This is from the middle turnbuckle.

One.

Two.

Three.

[bell rings]

Yes, what a fight.

What a battle.

- I was so proud of him and happy for him because

he not only deserved it, man, he stole the show.

- That night, turned out to be a perfect night for me.

A night that changed my career.

Put me on the map.

- And they are standing here for this man, Rey Mysterio Jr.

- In our number six moment, longtime rivals and hard hitting

brawlers Vader and Cactus Jack waged war at Halloween Havoc

1993, in an epic Texas Death Match.

And yes, it's as brutal and terrifying as it sounds.

With victory being declared only when their opponent is so badly

beaten that they can't get to their feet

by the referee's ten count.

- Hello everybody, and welcome to Halloween Havoc 93.

- Vader and Cactus Jack in a Texas Death Match

still to come.

Cactus seems very focused.

I guess that's what you call it.

He still has that bag that he won back at Fall Brawl with him.

- You can't hurt Cactus Jack.

I would gear up for those matches

as if they were the biggest matches of my life.

- The match will continue until one man cannot get to his feet.

- This style of match was what Mick excelled at.

- This may prove to be Cactus's downfall.

Oh, he hit the post.

- Cactus has a cactus.

- Literally every single punch you can hear.

It's absolutely brutal.

- Look at those series of lefts and rights.

Oh, it's like the Night of the Living Dead.

- Oh.

- He was so big and so intimidating

and he hit so hard.

When I was on Vader's back.

Essentially crushed me.

- Oh.

Falls back with him.

- Cactus Jack.

Mick Foley's body would just hit the ground.

Your body is not supposed to be able to take that.

- Throws him out to the runway.

What does Race got in his hand?

He's stung him with it.

He got him with bolts of electricity.

- Vader's up in ten.

This match is over.

- That was the first time I really saw

that level of violence.

A moment that helps really put WCW on the map.

- Halloween Havoc 1993 was wild.

- The competition between WWE and WCW brought out the best in

both respective companies, and in 2001, WWE purchased WCW.

- That's right.

I own WCW.

- It would air the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro

from Panama City, Florida.

- Welcome to a landmark night in the industry.

I have seen it and I still cannot believe it.

- It was an exciting time for us

and we were simulcasting this thing.

Huge.

Huge deal.

- A historic day in Sports Entertainment.

And it goes down on our very last telecast.

- We got Sting and Ric Flair one last time.

- He's got it on.

- Center of the ring.

- It's over.

And Sting wins.

- Got to see Booker T.

- That's the match that I remember vividly

like, you know, seared in my brain.

I was making history.

- He's got it, Book End

Here it is.

One, two.

Could it be it?

Yes it is.

Yes.

Booker T.

- It was kind of mixed emotions, actually, you know, because it

was the end of an era.

- The last Nitro was was surreal and a little bittersweet.

And you kind of felt like.

Mm.

What's next?

- Shane McMahon is on Nitro.

- Nuh uh.

It's not how it ends.

- The deal is finalized.

- And the name on the contract does say McMahon.

Shane McMahon.

- Oh my God.

I now own WCW.

[crowd cheers]

- Our next moment takes us to the summer of 1994, when Hulk

Hogan, who was the face of WWE for nearly a decade, shocked the

world by signing with the rival World Championship Wrestling.

Hogan's debut would be a dream match against WCW's World

Heavyweight Champion at the time, The Nature Boy Ric Flair

at the inaugural Bash at the Beach.

- And now WCW is about to dominate the globe in

professional wrestling.

That's why we're here today, to sign the contract for a match

between two of wrestling's biggest superstars,

Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.

- You had to put our best foot forward.

You had to go for broke.

There was no putting off Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.

- It's the one night the fans of professional

wrestling have been waiting for

Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan finally tonight.

- Shaq was at ringside.

- The ovation for the great Shaquille O'Neal.

- Shaquille O'Neal was a friend of Hulk Hogan's.

[bell rings]

- There's nobody out buying popcorn.

There's nobody in the kitchens at home.

Every eyeball in the world is glued to this.

- We had a really good match in Orlando and made everybody

look and not look away.

- The big boot.

- Oh, no.

Please, no.

- The leg drop.

- Oh, no.

Please, I'll do anything.

- One

Two.

Three.

Hulkamania lives in World Championship Wrestling.

- It was magical.

The night could not have been better.

- Shaquille O'Neal in the ring

with the Hulkster.

- We knew that Hulk Hogan joining WCW would be a really

big deal, but none of us anticipated the phenomenal

ratings, traction, and growth that WCW

experienced until it happened.

- The Hulkster becomes the WCW Heavyweight Champion

of the world.

- Here' the nWo.

- In the late 1990s, the nWo was on a tear.

They were lawless anarchists who ran roughshod

over the entire WCW roster.

No one seemed to be able to stop them.

- Sting high above the ring.

- That is, until the enigmatic Sting stepped out of the shadows

and into the light.

- Here he comes.

Only one man makes a dramatic entrance like that.

- Setting the stage for

our number two moment, the match of the century.

- Welcome to Starrcade 1997.

- Whether they love nWo or hate them,

they wanted to see somebody, you know stand up to him.

- As the world looks on tonight at this Starrcade,

this match of destiny,

Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Sting.

- Hear the crowd react.

To see the interest that people had.

And you know, hear the buzz all over the place.

- Ladies and gentlemen, we are so glad you could be

with us for this moment.

- Sting was the face of WCW and Hogan being the face

of WWE for so long,

getting them in a world title match is just a dream match.

- Sting is going to bring back the Scorpion Deathlock.

- It's right in Hogan's face.

- He's calling for the bell.

- Hulk Hogan lost to Sting.

Sting won the world championship.

- Sting has brought it back.

- It's a big moment, yeah.

It-it-it was good.

- Sting was the antihero, but really a hero that we needed.

And it really, really worked.

- There's not a right way to approach Goldberg.

You're in trouble when they ring the bell.

- Goldberg burst onto the scene and amassed an incredible

winning streak over 100 strong.

- Goldberg is for real, and this is another chapter

in the legend that grows.

- With momentum on Goldberg's side,

the stage was set for a showdown on Nitro on July 6th, 1998.

The rafters of the Georgia Dome were packed to capacity to

witness Goldberg face off against the villainous leader

of the nWo, World Champion Hollywood, Hulk Hogan.

- The fans are ready.

Millions of homes all over the world are ready.

[crowd chants "Goldberg"]

- 106 consecutive straight A's for Goldberg.

- There has never been a world champion undefeated.

- Will Goldberg be able to measure up

to that pressure here on Nitro?

- I was nervous to the nth degree because, you know,

I had just gotten in the business.

- He may have been green, but he got better really fast.

- You got to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt

that you belong here.

For Goldberg, the time is right now.

- Goldberg in the ring is one of those guys

that was intense,

but he was what we needed.

It was the real deal, man.

When he hit you and kicked you,

you better hang on for that ride.

He was just ready for the best.

- He's got him up.

- It was the best night of my wrestling career,

my athletic career in my life.

- We've got a new champion.

Listen to this.

- To beat Hogan in front of 40,000 people,

that was pretty damn cool.

[crowd chants "Goldberg"]

- Certainly one of the loudest crowd reactions in WCW history,

and a true embodiment of the drama and thrills the WCW gifted

us throughout its existence.

Well, that'll do it for this edition

of WWE's Greatest moments.

Hope you've enjoyed this

look back at the very best of World Championship Wrestling and

its unforgettable contributions to the one of a kind industry

known as Sports Entertainment.

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