[9.0] "One of the best episodes of Nitro in awhile. Really explosive opening where the Outsiders are laying out people that was wrestling a dark match prior to the show, they take over the broadcast booth and Tony Schivane walks out of the show not feeling safe and nWo look like an unstoppable threat again and then an awesome fight breaks out with the Faces of Fear backstage. It's a great segment that sets the tone well through the whole episode as they show up a lot during the broadcast. There was still some quality wrestling going on with the opening and closing matches being the stand out with La Parka defeating Juventud in his WCW debut and there was another very good Benoit vs Eddie match. Malenko vs Ultimo was a good sprint too, but it had a disappointing over the top rope DQ. I can see why they protected both guys with the finsh, but that's a lame rule. There's also a good follow-up segment to DDP last week where you still don't 100% know where he stands, but I love how he keeps rebuffing them without the babyface drivel. The last segment was a total surprise and a fantastic moment where Piper finally returned and exposed Bischoff for the liar he is and a fight almost beaks out with him and the nWo as Bischoff was revealed to have been a member all along. Not everything here is perfect and I'm not exactly thrilled with the direction Jericho and Jarrett are going in at the moment, but when I watch an nWo era of Nitro I want to see great storyline progression, great matches and unpredictable TV and thats exactly what this show delivered!"

[10.0] "Awesome episode. I was watching this blind and was legit surprised, even though I have a loose understanding of the NWO story. They set up the final segment in a really smooth way throughout the story. The Sting and Luger stuff was also captivating. As for the matches, thought Guerrero vs Benoit and La Parka vs Juventud Guerrera were lots of fun. This felt like a Nitro classic. WAS THE ROAD CURVY OR STRAIGHT? !"

[7.0] "Interesting developments in this episode with Roddy Piper revealing Eric Bischoff as a liar and member of the nWo. It started out awesome with the Outsiders having just laid out the participants in the dark match and causing Schiavone to leave the broadcast. The debut of La Parka was welcome, as was the Benoit/Eddie match. WCW is just getting heated up."

[7.0] "Though the matches are generally just fine, this episode was pretty good. There was a lot of storyline development heading into World War 3. The nWo standing over four guys at the opening of the episode after laying them out before the episode was a groundbreaking episode opening at the time. The DDP/nWo story as well as the Sting/Luger twist in the story are standouts as well. The Piper/Hogan story was huge at the time but doesn't really stand the test of time to me. The Bischoff turn happens here, which is interesting. Jericho is also trying his hardest with this Nick Patrick story and it helps him develop some personality but feuding with a referee is kind of a lame first story."

[5.0] "A surprisingly fine Nitro with some decent matches (even some of the <5 min ones) and some okay angles/segments, though some usual stupid Nitro-isms remains. Nash and Hall sabotaging the dark match to open was interesting, and their brawl with The Faces of Fear was likewise intriguing. Parka vs Juventud was a decent lucha showcase. Definitely a bit sloppy at times but also with nice creativity, impressive aerial spots, and an exciting pace. Nice work from both men. ***. Ultimo vs Malenko was unforuntately too short to rate but still fun. They had many impressively speedy and agile grappling exchanges, with them rushing because they clearly knew they didn't have long. Finish sucked. Really wish they were given far longer as they deserved. TS;NR (too short, no rating). French Canadians vs American Males was fine for the time it got. It had a cheesy heel-vs-face structure, but at least Bagwell was enjoyably energetic and the Canadians bumped decently. Bagwell and Riggs furthered played up their miscommunication and tension to tease a future break-up, not that that's very interesting, though. **. Luger vs Morrus wasn't much at all, but it at least had Luger's standard dorky but ironically charming Luger-istic performance. TS;NR. Sting interrupting Luger's post-promo interview with the symbolic peace offering of his baseball bat to hint at them teaming up was interesting, though it deserved more time to develop. The Saturday Night recap setting up Jericho vs ref Patrick was really stupid. Jericho vs Grunge was short and fine. Jericho had decently speedy and slick movements/attacks, and Grunge was a fine partner to highlight Jericho's skills. **. Nice fiery post-match promo from Jericho. Hogan egotistically convincing Bischoff to put him over on commentary was pretty entertaining, and DDP charismatically brushing off the nWo was once again cool. Jarrett vs Eaton was a waste. Jarrett's Flair-tribute act continues to be incredibly lame, and he very quickly got the win with 0 excitement. Flair's appearance was far more interesting than this heatless match. TS;NR. Flair was immensely charismatic as usual in the post-match, but I still hate him being paired with Jarrett. Bubba vs Powers was totally heatless. Bubba admittedly had some okay offence, but he and Powers brought zero fire. TS;NR. Benoit vs Eddie was relatively short but they both easily managed to still impress with their great technique as they executed a bunch of slick and aggressive exchanges. Even their far slower technical work was really good. Cool power moves and big spots in the 2nd half. ***. Bischoff's promo on Piper being cut-off by Piper himself was cool, and Piper was entertainingly charismatic and fired up as he called out Bischoff's apparent lies. The nWo embarrassing Piper as they did was a shame, though the reveal of Bischoff as part of the nWo was cool development (and at least logical as far as his actions in the last few months go)."

[10.0] "We just open on The Outsiders standing tall as 6 men lay unconscious in the ring. You have my full attention WCW. LA Parka makes his debut and becomes a fan favorite. The J Crown is defended getting me hyped for WW3. The Quebecers get their first win on Nitro. This week the second hour was weak compared to the first but still enjoyable."

[8.0] "That was a great episode. LA Parka debuts, a great Eddie vs Benoit match and the other matches although not as good, progressed their respective storylines a great deal. The nWo angle is getting hotter than ever, with the ending segment being one of the best ever."

[10.0] "Ah hell, I'll go all the way! Not only do you get the great development in the nWo storyline, not only is everything else churning along nicely in the company, but you get at least two great matches in Benoit vs. Eddie and Juvi vs. Parka. Just one question though, were the roads curvy or straight?"

[8.0] "Great episode. The final angle with Roddy Piper, Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff is fantastic, it's here where the nWo story takes its big turn. Also, there are really good matches in this show, Juventud Guerrera vs La Parka is enjoyable, Benoit vs Guerrero not the best from them but still solid enough."