Nitro-Glycerin - Monday Nitro recap for April 26, 1999

This episode is dedicated to the passing of "Ravishing" Rick Rude, who passed away last Tuesday.

At the Central Florida Mental Hospital, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair is disrupting the entire ward. Despite the warning that there is no Nitro tonight for all the other patients, Nitro airs on the television, anyway. Flair dances around with the nurse.

WCW Executive Committee Chairman J.J. Dillon and referee Charles Robinson go through some documents. It is revealed that in case WCW President "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair cannot perform his duties due to incapacitated, it falls on the Vice President of WCW, who happens to be Robinson - who is above Commissioner "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and cannot believe what is happening. Since Flair was not deemed incompetent at the time, the ruling cannot be challenged.

We see a performance by The Nitro Girls. Also, Mike Tenay replaces Bobby "The Brain" Heenan for the week, as Heenan is under the weather.

Commissioner "Rowdy" Roddy Piper shows up. Piper says that since "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair is now incapacitated, he is the sole man in power in World Championship Wrestling, and he says there will be a big night tonight as the fans deserve it. Piper reinstates "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Gorgeous George back into WCW. Also, Savage will face Scott Steiner, who says he can take on any man, for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. He then addresses Diamond Dallas Page, asking the people what they want to see due to DDP being "THe People's Champion." DDP shows up, and after Piper puts DDP on a pedestal, he asks DDP to give a title shot to Sting. DDP says that no matter what, there is nothing that he would rather do that to put up the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Sting tonight...almost. Piper tells DDP he is his reality check, and that he will be defending against Sting tonight. Not only that, but DDP has 45 minutes to prepare before he faces Sting in the second hour.

Konnan beats Brian Adams by disqualification after he is attacked by the black-and-white nWo. After the match, it is announced that Mike Tenay's detailed weekend report is on the WCW Hotline.

Before the next match, Raven says that Perry Saturn has been laid out by The Four Horsemen ("The Crippler" Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko), and he has to fight The Armstrong Brothers (Scott and Steve Armstrong). As far as Benoit and Malenko is concerned, it's not over until the fat lady sings, and he's never seen an opera with a happy ending.

The Armstrong Brothers (Scott and Steve Armstrong) beat Raven in a 2-on-1 handicap after Steve Armstrong uses the steel chair that Raven introduced into the match against him as he pins Scott following an Evenflow DDT.

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair calls WCW Vice President Charles Robinson from the mental hospital, and tells him to get Commissioner "Rowdy" Roddy Piper put in jail.

"Mean" Gene Okerlund interviews WCW Vice President Charles Robinson, who confirms that he is in charge of the company and not Commissioner "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Robinson also confirms that Sting vs. Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship is still on. Piper shows up, calls Robinson - who calls for security - a little leprechaun, and says the only thing Robinson is in charge of is "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's bedpan. He also says Flair was not in much charge of anything when Gorgeous George slapped the snot out of him a few weeks ago. Robinson responds by slapping Piper, and security, local law enforcement, officials and even WCW Executive Committee Chaiman J.J. Dillon shows up as Piper gets his hands around Robinson's throat. Piper is pulled off of Robinson and arrested, and Robinson fires Piper from his job as Commissioner before telling him he still has Flair at Slamboree.

Sting beats Diamond Dallas Page to become the WCW World Heavyweight Champion for a fifth time after hooking the top rope to block a Diamond Cutter and hit a Scorpion Death Drop.

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair calls WCW Vice President Charles Robinson from the mental hospital, complimenting him on a great match with Sting and Diamond Dallas Page and tells him to make Goldberg vs. Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship official for Slamboree.

Rey Mysterio Jr. beats Psychosis to become the WCW Cruiserweight Champion for a fifth time. During the match, "The Crippler" Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko show up, and try to recalim Rey's half of the WCW World Tag Team Championships. Rey takes them out, then Psychosis hits Rey with a baseball slide. The match ends after Rey counters a move by Psychosis into a Tornado DDT. After the match, Benoit and Malenko run into the ring, throw Psychosis out of the ring and attack Mysterio. Benoit then walks away with Malenko and Rey's half of the WCW World Tag Team titles.

Kevin Nash shows up. He says he has been informed backstage that at Slamboree, the main event is now Goldberg vs. Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, and somehow it became forgotten that he had a title shot that night. He assures that he himself has not forgotten, and since Goldberg is in the back tonight and Sting and Diamond Dallas Page have already gone at it, he challenges Goldberg, DDP, and Sting to a Four-Way Match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. He says he has his gear in the car, and says he is waiting for an answer. At the Central Florida Mental Hospital, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair tells WCW Vice President Charles Robinson to make that match official before messing around with the nurse on duty.

Bam Bam Bigelow quickly beats Erik Watts.

"Mean" Gene Okerlund interviews Sting. Sting says he is back in black, and being back in black, if Kevin Nash wants him for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, he will say yes to stop all the whining in the back. He says there was no chance he was going to say now to Nash, Diamond Dallas Page or Goldberg, and he will see them all tonight.

Booker T retains the WCW World Television Championship against Meng. During the match, Booker T accidentally spin kicks Meng into the referee, and Stevie Ray shows up. Meng goes for the Tongan Death Grip, but Stevie Ray runs into the ring and smacks Meng in the back of the head with his slapjack. Both Booker and Meng come down, and Booker has his arm over Meng to retain the title. After the match, Stevie Ray gets in the ring, and Rick Steiner rushes in to get a piece of him. Booker T sees this and shoves Rick Steiner away from Stevie Ray, who gets out of the ring.

It is announced that Hollywood Hogan has received surgery from Dr. James Andrews at HealthSouth Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. We then see footage from HealthSouth. Andrews tells us Hogan's injury is a tear to the outside knee cartilage. We then see Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff head to HealthSouth. Hogan says he can take care of Diamond Dallas Page with a bad leg, but Bischoff urges him to take care of his leg first as DDP will be around, and let Kevin Nash take care of the family business. Hogan ultimately decides to take Bischoff's advice, and we see footage of him going under the knife. It is then mentioned by doctors that Hogan will have to sit on the sidelines for a while, and that being used to knee pain, Hogan will probably train at a higher degree than what he is capable of, which can have deleterious effects on the knee.

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair calls WCW Vice President Charles Robinson from the mental hospital, and tells Booker T vs. Rick Steiner for Slamboree. He also asks Robinson to make the four-way match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship a no-disqualification match, and that there must be a winner for it. After Flair gets off the phone, he teaches some of the patients there to dance Flair-style. All of a sudden, Scott Hall suddenly shows up in a gown much like everyone else, and tosses his toothpick at Flair.

Brian Knobbs beats Mikey Whipwreck, Horace Hogan and Hak in a four-way hardcore match.

Before the next match, Scott Steiner says he has a message for "Rowdy" Roddy Piper: real men don't wear skirts, and he is part of the nWo and does not take anything from WCW officials. He does, however, like "Macho Man" Randy Savage's match with him. If Savage wins, he is the next United States champion, but if Savage loses, he will take Gorgeous George and show here what it is like to be with a real macho man. He then tells Savage to get out to the ring if he wants to take on the largest arms in the worlds, as he will trash him. When Savage shows up, he shows up with another woman who goes by the name "Miss Madness." After this, WCW Vice President Charles Robinson gets in the ring, kicks the referee out, and becomes the referee for the match, going so far as to referee the match in street clothes.

Scott Steiner retains the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship against "Macho Man" Randy Savage in Savage's first match since June 1998 after Steiner pushes Savage into special guest referee Charles Robinson, who calls for the bell despite the contact being incidental and not deliberate. After the match, Gorgeous George confronts Robinson from inside the ring, and Robinson is suddenly laid out by Madusa, who tosses Robinson into the ring. Robinson is stripped down to his boxers, which are the same Florida Gators boxers that "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair was wearing last week.

We see footage of Madusa training Gorgeous George.

Diamond Dallas Page beats Sting, Goldberg and Kevin Nash to regain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship that he lost earlier in the show. During the match, Goldberg hits Sting with a Spear and a Jackhammer, but the pin is suddenly broken up by "Macho Man" Randy Savage, who hits Goldberg with a top rope elbow drop before getting out of the ring and tossing a foreign object to Diamond Dallas Page. DDP wraps it around his knuckles and punches out Kevin Nash, and becomes a two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion.