Cursed Images of Bret Hart | WCW Monday Nitro 11/22/99
The 11/22/99 episode of Nitro was a relentless gauntlet of trash that made everyone involved look like amateurs ... except Bret Hart and Jeff Jarrett.
WCW Monday Nitro 11/22/99
Man, it’s weird watching shows that took place in or around Detroit from this era that I did not go to. In March 1998, I went to my first wrestling show at the Palace of Auburn Hills, which featured a Hogan/Sting cage match that electrified my little brain. I loved WCW to death in 1998 and got to see World War 3 and Nitro at the Palace, but WCW’s brief reign as the favored wrestling promotion of my fair hometown, which peaked with Lex Luger’s win over Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in 1997, ended the moment Stone Cold Steve Austin drove a zamboni to the ring at the Joe Louis Arena on Raw. World War 3 wasn’t just the last WCW show I attended, it was one of the last I watched period, as 1999 got very bad, very quickly. You can’t say it was their worst year ever because they remained in business, but I took one look at the card for this Nitro and felt a pit of despair open up in my heart. What the fuck is any of this bullshit? What happened to the game I used to love?
Well, it’s the day after Mayhem, where the hilariously convoluted WCW World Heavyweight Championship tournament ended in Bret Hart’s one shining moment as a conquering hero in the company. It will not shock you that Detroit, great wrestling town that it is, is 110% there for the Hitman’s sadly incorrect assertion that he was going to be the greatest WCW Champion of all time. He wants to wrestle Goldberg and will not hide from him. Oh man. Oh no. The road to the end of Bret Hart’s career begins in the same building where my love of the great sport of professional wrestling was solidified. This show is gonna break my goddamn heart. Scott Hall gets a big pop for wearing a Landing Strip tee, shoutout to the local strip club, but otherwise I knew this one was going to hurt and had my suspicions confirmed early and often. There are two DUDs on this jawn, one of which is the new worst match in the history of WCW Monday Nitro. The best match on this show, meanwhile, clocked in at #11. The Hitman giveth and WCW taketh away.
Colette Arrand
Up Next: The 288-sided die takes us back to Nitro’s first year: Episode 16, from December 12, 1995. Ric Flair vs. Eddy Guerrero! Randy Savage vs. The Giant! And because I fell behind a week or two, I’ll also take on Episode 17, taped the same night but aired on Christmas! Lex Luger vs. both American Males! Dean Malenko vs. Jerry Lynn! Savage vs. Flair! Should be a fun blast of Dungeon of Doom-era bullshit!