WCW Nitro is back with The Great American Bash just five days away! Cue "Party Hard" and the video package, pyro, and Joey Styles & Jerry "The King" Lawler welcoming us to the show, running down what's in store tonight.

The ring has a barber chair set up in the center, and Chavo Guerrero Jr. is on his way to the ring. He sits in the chair and has a mic in hand. He talks about how this Sunday, he'll put his hair on the line for a shot at the "most prestigious title in this industry," the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship. He calls champion Shane Helms a fighting champ. They've had their differences, but at Great American Bash it’s man-vs-man, hair-vs-title, and when all is said and done, Chavo will walk away with HIS Cruiserweight title.

Here comes Sugar Shane! Helms is in the ring as Chavo stands up from the chair. Helms has a mic and says he wants to thank Chavo. They've had many battles over the last year, and it’s time Helms admits to himself that he is the pinnacle of the Cruiserweight division, and he realizes now it’s because Chavo had pushed him to be so. This Sunday, they'll do it one more time, and this time, he's going to not only walk out STILL the Cruiserweight champion, he's going to shave Chavo bald on the way out. Chavo smirks as the champion extends his hand. The two shake hands and Chavo leaves the ring as Helms hops on top of the barber chair holding the WCW World Cruiserweight title above his head.

Backstage we are in Commissioner Arn Anderson's office, and he has a new assistant, Pete Gas! Pete is dressed similar to his Mean Street Posse gear, but instead of a knitted vest, he has a dress shirt & tie on with the arms ripped off. Anyway, Arn is telling Pete that Shane McMahon doesn't know he's hired him yet, but he needs the extra help to "enforce the rules in all this chaos." Just then, Kanyon bursts through the door. He asks Arn if he's had time to think about what Kanyon had to say last week, because once again, he's noticed his name isn't on the card. As Arn begins to respond, Kanyon notices Pete Gas. He flips out, saying Pete is "just another example of Shane's nepotism and ruining WCW." Pete tries to say he was hired by Arn and is here to try and help WCW in any way, but Kanyon smacks some papers out of Pete's hands instead. Pete gets in Kanyon's face when Arn finally gets their attention. He mentions Pete was not hired as a wrestler, but if Kanyon wants a match, he can have one tonight against Pete Gas.

After the match, as MIA celebrates, Disqo & Mike Sanders are here and they attack MIA from behind, hitting both with their Tag Team titles. Sanders is STILL wearing a sling. As they stand over the fallen MIA, Sanders takes the sling off and tosses it on the ground. On commentary, Styles mentions he's received word from the Commissioner's office that the two teams will meet at Great American Bash for the titles!

Commercial time. Back from the break and Buff Bagwell is coming to the ring. He gets on the mic and complains about how he should be the one carrying WCW into the future and how all these "old posers and new losers" can't hold a candle to "The Stuff." That's enough to bring out BG James. James says he's still getting his feet under him, and WCW so far has been the land of opportunity. James isn’t complaining, crying, or moaning; he's winning, something he hasn't seen Buff do a lot of lately. Bagwell sulks as James continues. James says that if Bagwell wants to call everybody names, he's got a few of his own: Buff The Muff, Mr. Muscles No Hustles, Captain Spray Tan. Bagwell flips out and cuts off James' tirade. He says that maybe James needs a reminder of who he is talking to, so why don't they meet in the ring next week! James responds, saying he thought Bagwell would never ask.

After the match, O'Haire tosses Stamboli to the floor and challenges Palumbo to come to the ring. Palumbo refuses. So O'Haire hops out of the ring, grabs Stamboli, and powerbombs him through the announce table! Palumbo looks like he's going to come to his ally's aid but simply stays at the top of the ramp.

Commercial time again! We are back with the ring set up with a black carpet, table, and two chairs. Arn Anderson is in the ring as Lance Storm enters and WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Booker T, comes out last. Anderson on the mic says he wants a nice little contract signing, as Storm & Booker will have plenty of time to duke it out Sunday, so "let's wait until then shall we, boys?" Booker grabs a pen and quickly signs the contract.

Storm grabs a pen... and a microphone. If he could be serious for a minute. Storm goes on to talk about how he's been wrestling for a decade and in that time, one thing has remained true: he's been the best technical wrestler in the world. He waves the Canadian Flag out of pride for his home country, and it's not his fault if that offends everyone in these "hick states." That's why he chose the Great American Bash to wrestle Booker for his title, because he knows it’s finally time for Lance Storm to take what is rightfully his—the WCW World Heavyweight title—and prove to everyone that he is the BEST in the world and remind these Americans that they are not the only country on this globe. Storm mentions he's even managed to secure an insurance policy that will push him over the top and make sure he walks out World champion! Storm signs the contract.

Booker with the mic now. He says he talks to lots of fans, he talks to the boys in the back, and you know what he's never heard? He's never heard one of them say anything negative about Lance Storm's ability in the ring. Lance Storm is among the best of all time. Booker agrees. But he has one question: if Storm is so great, why has he never been World Heavyweight Champion? He has all the skills, he knows every hold in that ring, he knows every move, every wrist lock, every inch of the canvas, but he hasn't known what it’s like to be THE champion. So what's holding Lance back? It's not the fans. It's that every time he gets a chance to prove how good he thinks he is, he fails. Being the champion is about more than pure skill alone. It’s heart. It’s soul. It’s a dedication to holding this title above all else. That's something Booker has learned. No matter how much Lance thinks he knows, there's obviously more for him to learn. Booker stands up and goes to leave the ring. Storm looks like he's going to attack the champ from behind, but Arn Anderson stands in the middle. Booker's music hits as Lance Storm remains in the ring looking furious.

Kanyon isn't done. He begins stomping on Gas and lifts him up to hit a Flatliner again. Lifting up Gas again, he's setting up another Diamond Cutter, and Shane McMahon's music hits! Shane sprints to the ring as Kanyon bails. Shane checks on his friend while Kanyon circles the ring and backs up the ramp laughing. McMahon with a microphone.

Kanyon's smirk quickly disappears as McMahon stares him down and Nitro goes off the air!

DYLAN'S FINAL THOUGHTS: This week was missing something. Probably a big main event. Started out great with RVD & Stasiak and that was probably the peak of the show sadly. Booker & Storm had a good contract signing segment that didn't end in violence, which is a nice twist. Hennig & Awesome was just okay instead of great, which it could have been. The main event segment with Shane's return did what it needed to do, but nothing great either. O'Haire & Stamboli had glimpses of hope but didn't cross into good territory.