WCW Nitro is back on the air! It’s Wednesday night and WCW is live from Portland, Maine in the Cumberland County Civic Center! Andrew WK’s “Party Hard” plays over the opening video package, the pyro goes boom, and Joey Styles & Jerry “The King” Lawler welcome us to Nitro!
The Foundation is on their way to the ring to open the show. Diamond Dallas Page, WCW World Cruiserweight Champion, Billy Kidman, Kanyon & Mike Awesome are walking with purpose and stand in the middle of the ring. DDP has a microphone and lifts it to his mouth, but… “HERE COMES THE MONEY!” The music of WCW Owner Shane McMahon cuts off DDP before he can even speak, and here comes Shane McMahon & Sean O’Haire with their WCW World Tag Team Championships. Shane has a mic as he and O’Haire stand on the ramp.
DDP finally screams into his mic.
Kanyon grabs the microphone from DDP.
The Foundation stands together united in the ring as O’Haire & Shane stand atop the ramp and we fade to commercial.
Mysterio gets a big pop from the Maine crowd as he makes his way out. Swinger tries to jump Rey right at the bell, but Mysterio uses his quickness to duck under and hit a spinning headscissors that sends Swinger out to the floor. Rey looks like he wants to fly early, but Swinger catches him on the apron and hotshots him across the top rope to take control. Swinger uses his size well here, hitting a hard sidewalk slam and grounding Mysterio with a surfboard stretch. Rey fights out with some elbows and hits the ropes, but Swinger catches him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a close two-count.
Swinger misses a big elbow drop off the middle rope, giving Rey his opening. Mysterio fires up with a couple of quick dropkicks, then counters a powerbomb attempt into a gorgeous hurricanrana that drapes Swinger perfectly over the middle rope! The crowd knows what's coming. Rey runs, hits the ropes, and nails the 619 right to Swinger's face! Swinger stumbles back into the center of the ring, flat on his back. Rey scrambles to the apron, springs off the top turnbuckle, and connects beautifully with Dropping the Dime for the 1—2—3!
Winner: Rey MysterioMysterio is celebrating after the match when Billy Kidman slides into the ring. He has the WCW World Cruiserweight title and wallops Mysterio with it from behind. Kidman then sets up the title and delivers a Kid Krusher/Unprettier right onto the title. Kidman grabs the title and gets right into Mysterio’s face on the mat, yelling about how he is the Cornerstone, and Mysterio is an afterthought.
Backstage, we see Steve Corino with the WCW World Heavyweight title. He is wearing it around his waist and looking at himself in the mirror while polishing it. Ric Flair walks up and tells Corino that he won’t stand for someone disrespecting that championship, and to wear it, you need to earn it. Flair says Corino will give back the championship to Booker T tonight, because Ric Flair doesn’t mess around, if he doesn’t. He’s fired!
The bell rings and Amos and Smiley circle for a minute before tieing-up. Smiley breaks the grapple quickly and does a little dance then smiles at Amos. Hersch immediately clobbers him with a big clubbing blow and then hits the ropes and squashes Smiley with a big running Crossbody. Roadkill lifts up Smiley and nails a big Sidewalk Slam. He trags Smiley to the corner and climbs to the middle turnbuckle. Deadweight Elbow! 1-2-3!
Winner: Amos HerschLooks like another vignette for The Lost Church. Imagery of the dilapidated church returns with a voice over from Father James Mitchell as images of The Lost Church flash across the screen mixed with religious imagery.
Ric Flair is walking down a corridor and is approached by Booker T. Booker asks Flair where Corino is, and Flair tells him he doesn’t need brawls in the backstage area. Corino will return the title to Booker tonight in that ring, and what happens out there, is up to them. Booker says he doesn’t need Flair to fight his battles for him and to just tell him where Corino is. Flair says when he was champion, no one would have taken the title from him. Maybe he and Booker are more different then he thought. Flair walks off leaving Booker looking annoyed and angry.
Palumbo uses his size right away, shoving RVD into the corner and blasting him with heavy right hands and a big overhead belly-to-belly suplex. RVD bounces right back up, showing off his insane agility by ducking a clothesline and hitting a spinning heel kick that drops the big man. Van Dam goes for the split-legged moonsault early, but Guido gets on the apron for a distraction, allowing Palumbo to recover and clobber RVD from behind. Palumbo dominates for a bit with a long chinlock and a massive powerbomb that gets a very close two-count.
Palumbo goes for a superplex, but RVD fights him off the top rope with some forearm shots. RVD stands tall on the turnbuckle and connects with a flying side kick! RVD hits the ropes, Rolling Thunder! Guido looks panicked at ringside. RVD hooks the leg but Chuck kicks out at two. Palumbo tries to rally with a big boot, but Van Dam sidesteps it, hits a sweeping kick to ground him, and scales the top turnbuckle. Five Star Frog Splash! It connects perfectly and RVD gets the pin!
Winner: Rob Van DamGuido Maritato slides into the ring, looking to attack RVD, but Van Dam sees him coming and Guido quickly slides back out. He grabs a microphone from ringside. He says Rob Van Dam may be a good when he’s all alone, but he’s never faced Guido before! The FBI has always been about family, so next week, Guido challenges Rob Van Dam to find a partner or go it alone against Chuck Palumbo & Johnny Stamboli together. RVD accepts and says if he wins, the FBI will be banned from ringside at Souled Out.
We are backstage in Arn’s Office. WCW Commissioner Arn Anderson is shown with the Rainbow Express at his desk. He is yelling at them to leave, and they eventually strut their way out of his office. There’s another knock on his door and in walks Yoshihiro Tajiri! Anderson says he must be here because of the job opening. Tajiri just smiles, giggles, and nods. Arn says he’s tried having an assistant before, but it didn’t work out, but he needs a new one. Tajiri simply giggles and laughs again. Anderson asks him what he’ll bring to the job. As Arn asks, the Rainbow Express bust back into the office, Tajiri turns and spray green mist at the Rainbow Express who turn and run away. Anderson talks up to Tajiri and tells him he’s hired.
Torrie, Dawn, and Stacy are all trying to out-do each other with standard catfight hair-pulling, slaps, and lots of catering to the camera, which the fans don't seem to mind. Stacy tries to use her long legs to choke Torrie in the corner, but Dawn Marie rolls her up from behind for a two-count. Shark Girl is the only one out here actually trying to wrestle, hitting a nice arm-drag on Dawn and a dropkick to Stacy.
The match gets chaotic as Torrie and Stacy brawl out to the floor after Stacy tries to rip at any part of Torrie she can get her hands on. Inside the ring, Dawn Marie goes for a bulldog on Shark Girl, but Shark Girl reverses it, shoving Dawn into the corner. Shark Girl hooks Dawn's head and hits a tornado Dead Sea DDT out of the corner! She hooks the leg and gets the victory.
Winner: Shark GirlAfter the match, Jazz has appeared and is making her way to the ring. She slides in the ring and her and Shark Girl pose off. Dawn Marie then shoves Shark Girl from behind who gets blasted by a Jazz clothesline! Jazz quickly locks in an STF on Shark Girl with the WCW Women’s Title right in her face, the rest of the Shark Squad run out and Jazz releases the hold and slides to the outside as La Sharka & Shark Boy check on their deep sea comrade.
Mero gets a bit of offense in early on, using some stiff jabs that back Jarrett into the ropes. Mero hits a nice Samoan drop, but gets a short 2 count. Jarrett counters a neckbreaker with one of his own, and from there, it's pretty much all Double J. Jarrett works over Mero's leg, wrapping it around the ring post and executing a textbook shin breaker. Mero tries to mount a brief comeback with a desperation clothesline, but Jarrett ducks it, kicks him in the midsection, and drops him flat with The Stroke for an easy 3-count.
Winner: Jeff JarrettCurt Hennig has come onto the stage with a microphone. He says he and Jarrett have a lot of history, and he can’t say he’s surprised by Jarrett’s antics since being back in WCW. He thinks he can smash his guitar on anyone he wants, until he tried to do it to Hennig. So Curt has a challenge, at Souled Out, Curt Hennig vs. Jeff Jarrett, Guitar on a Pole Match! Jarrett yells “you’re on slapnuts” and raises his guitar high above his head as we fade to commercial.
Awesome and O'Haire kick things off and man, these two are just violently running into each other. Total power display as they trade heavy shoulder blocks in the middle of the ring until O'Haire completely changes the pace, hitting the ropes and dropping Awesome with a beautiful spinning heel kick! Awesome tags out to Kanyon, and Shane McMahon wants in. The crowd goes absolutely nuts as Shane-O-Mac enters and starts throwing some quick lefts and rights on Kanyon. Shane hits a back body drop, but things shift quickly. O'Haire tags back in, hits the ropes, and gets tripped up by DDP from the outside!
Now The Foundation is completely taking control through those classic underhanded tactics. Kanyon and Awesome are doing a great job isolating O'Haire for a really long stretch here, hitting double-team backbreakers and keeping him completely cut off from his corner. O'Haire is looking gassed, but out of nowhere, he catches a charging Mike Awesome with a desperation powerslam! Both men are down! O'Haire crawls... and he makes the hot tag to Shane!
Shane comes in like a house on fire! He's leveling Kanyon with a flying clothesline and just drops Awesome with a DDT. The match is breaking down completely now with all four men brawling inside. Awesome goes for a clothesline on O'Haire, but O'Haire catches him on the rebound and takes him out with a devastating Death Spiral! Meanwhile, Shane hits a big spinebuster on Kanyon! Kanyon is flat on his back. Shane looks up at the turnbuckle and the crowd is getting totally unglued. Shane scales the top rope, looking for the Leap of Faith Elbow Drop! Diamond Dallas Page slides into the ring with a steel chair and smashes Shane right across the back! The referee has no choice but to call for the immediate disqualification.
Winners and still WCW World Tag Team Champions: Sean O’Haire & Shane McMahon by DisqualificationDDP continues laying chair shots onto McMahon, but O’Haire has slid into the ring. He ducks a chair shot and takes to beating DDP with his fists. He hoists DDP up for a Death Spiral, but Kanyon has come up behind him with a low blow! O’Haire then eats a Diamond Cutter from DDP as Mike Awesome slides into the ring as well. Awesome grabs a chair and is looking like he is about to end the career of Sean O’Haire when BG James music hits! Here comes the “Doggfather” for the first time since Starrcade! He has a crowbar in his hand and slides into the ring as The Foundation scrambles. Shane & O’Haire stumble to their feet as we have a 6-man staredown.
Back from the final break, Ric Flair is in the ring. He has a microphone in hand.
Booker T is on his way to the ring and approaches Flair, he goes to take the microphone but Flair pulls it away. Ric then gestures to the entrance way, and here comes Steve Corino with the WCW World Heavyweight championship over his shoulder. Corino comes down to the ring and demands Ric Flair back up Booker into the corner before entering. Corino snatches the mic from Flair’s hand as he does this.
Corino slowly approaches Flair and gives him the title belt with a big grin on his face, then waves at Booker before quickly dropping down and sliding out of the ring. Booker approaches Flair who for a moment stares at the Belt before finally handing it to Booker. Booker grabs the belt and the microphone that Corino has left on the mat.
Booker T then poses with his championship as Nitro fades out with Corino and Flair staring on at the champion.