Nitro-Glycerin - Monday Nitro recap for December 8, 1997

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan replaces "The Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko on commentary for the first hour as Zbyszko wants to focus on his match at Starrcade.

Ray Traylor beats Konnan when the lights go out. When they come back on, Konnan is mysteriously knocked out in the middle of the ring.

Steve "Mongo" McMichael beats The Barbarian. Raven's Flock (Perry Saturn, Billy Kidman, Van Hammer, Sick Boy, Scotty Riggs, the unnamed member) is seen in the front row during the match, and it is noted here - and throughout the episode - that Raven is not here tonight. After the match, Jimmy Hart calls for Meng as Mongo knocks him off the apron, and Meng catches Mongo with the Tongan Death Grip.

"Mean" Gene Okerlund interviews Disco Inferno. He says that his match against Jacqueline at World War 3 was a no-win situation. He says that the locker room has no respect towards him, and if they want to say something about him, they should say it to his face.

"Mean" Gene Okerlund interviews Buff Bagwell. For years, he has heard about Lex Luger, who didn't show him anything last week. He says that WCW has kept him down for six, and says it's time to step up to the plate. He knows Luger is in the building, and if he's 1/100th of the man he is, he will accept his challenge. He says Luger can't beat him because he's buff and he's in Buffalo, New York.

Eddie Guerrero guests on commentary for the next match.

Dean Malenko beats Prince Iaukea with the Texas Cloverleaf.

We see a performance by The Nitro Girls at the commentary table.

The New World Order brag about injuring The Giant in their newest paid announcement.

This Saturday on WCW Saturday Night: "The Crippler" Chris Benoit! Dean Malenko! Diamond Dallas Page! Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray)!

Jim Kelly and Bruce Smith of Buffalo Bills fame are in the crowd tonight. A portion of the proceeds from tonight's show will go to Jim Kelly's son's charity Hunter's Hope.

We see recorded footage from Kevin Nash, who tells The Giant that he's the true giant of professional wrestling. The Giant may be bigger, but he's the best big man wrestling has ever seen. He says The Giant wanted none of him after he knocked him out with a baseball bat, and calls out The Giant for calling him out while he was injured, knowing he could beat him then. He challenges The Giant to a match at Starrcade, and this time, The Giant is injured and can't used his choke slam. He says The Giant is a giant lamb going to slaughter while he is at the top of his game.

"Mean" Gene Okerlund interviews The Giant. The Giant agrees with Kevin Nash, saying he is one-dimensional. But that dimension is all he needs, and despite all that's been done to him, he's coming for Kevin Nash at Starrcade He says that there's only one giant, and it's him, and when he comes to Starrcade, he's bringing the choke slam with him.

We see another performance by The Nitro Girls.

Raven is scheduled to take on "The Crippler" Chris Benoit, but instead, the as-of-yet-unnamed newest member of his Flock fights him instead. We soon find out that his name is Lodi.

"The Crippler" Chris Benoit beats Lodi with the Crippler Crossface. After the match, Benoit grabs the microphone and says "Quoth the Crippler...nevermore," before calling Raven out, telling him to get in the ring so he can find out what being abused and victimized is all about.

Pyrotechnics signal the start of the second hour.

"Mean" Gene Okerlund interviews "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. Flair says that Starrcade is coming soon, and he is betting on Sting to beat "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. He knows that Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are not invinicible, and that The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) will take them down. He tells Curt Hennig he wants him in a cage, where two men enter and one man walks out, and that one man walking out will be The Nature Boy. On the subject of Bret "The Hit Man" Hart supposedly joining the nWo, Flair says he would be remiss to say that Bret calling himself the greatest of all time only works when he has his own newspaper column in his own hometown, and tells him to come to Charlotte, North Carolina so he can show him real life. He says that Bret has joined the nWo to duck him, but he wants to show Bret that the best there is, was or ever will be is The Nature Boy, and comparing Bret to him is like comparing John Elway to Jim Kelly.

Hugh Morrus vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage ends with the lights going out. When they come back on, both men and the referee are down, and Savage is seen wearing a Sting mask.

Rick Rude and Eric Bischoff show up and approach the commentary table. Rick Rude calls Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan "the three monkeys," "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and Speak No Evil." He tells Schiavone that the fans might buy his "crap," but the nWo knows better. Rude says WCW pays them, the production crew and the power bill. He says that if they know what's going on with the lights, they had better pray that it doesn't happen again because they will be back if it does and they will take out the entire commentary team. Rude then forces Tenay and Schiavone's hands on their eyes and mouth, respectively, and Bobby Heenan gets what is going on and places his hands on the speakers of his headset to avoid having Rude put his hands on him. Rude and Bischoff leave, and the commentary team have to take a commercial break to regroup as they are amazed, horrified and fearing for their lives at Rick Rude's behavior.

Disco Inferno beats Perry Saturn to take back the WCW World Television Championship and snap a losing streak that started when Disco lost the title. During the match, he sends Perry Saturn into the rest of Raven's Flock (Billy Kidman, Van Hammer, Lodi, Sick Boy, Scotty Riggs).

Bryan Rudick of the Zeta Beta Tau chapter of the University of Illinois-Champagne is the winner of this week's Nitro prize pack. We see some footage from his Nitro party.

We see another performance by The Nitro Pack.

Buff Bagwell beats Lex Luger by count-out after Luger is distracted by both Scott Norton - who shows up near the end of the match - and Vincent. Condolences and prayers are sent out before the match to executive producer and director Craig Leathers, whose mother Sarah passed away over the weekend.

The nWo make fun of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper in their newest paid announcement.

We see a video package of Sting.

Diamond Dallas Page beats Scott Hall by disqualification after the nWo runs in and attacks Page. Eric Bischoff and "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan show up before Hall puts Page in The Outsider's Edge. Another Sting dummy drops down and crashes through the ring, and the nWo get a good laugh out of it. Hogan says that when you're with the nWo, you're with the nWo for life, and that everyone knows that Sting is a coward and that he scares him off. He says that Scott Hall is the clear-cut winner tonight just like everyone in the nWo. The nWo then pull the dummy out of the ring, and Hogan says this is the best thing that can happen as he continues to make fun of Sting, saying he and Scott Hall should be tying up as Sting is just a big disappointment. Hogan then unmasks the dummy only to find out that the dummy is the real, genuine Sting. Sting is still attached to his harness as he fights off the New World Order to end the show.