[3.0] "Nitro still has cool ideas but hollow execution, with the half-baked wrestling making the otherwise interesting feuds and storylines feel rather throwaway. The opening segment with Bischoff, Gene, and (virtually) Dillon was okay. Dillon confirmed the obvious future Sting-vs-Hogan match, which got a nice pop, but Sting's 'run-in' was too slow and then awkward once he got his hands on Bischoff, so I can't say it worked. Raven's pre-recorded promo, spouting his usual faux-deep musings, was well-delivered but really needed a live crowd's reaction. Miller & Glacier vs Parka & Psychosis was the first of many matches unfairly cut short. Maybe Miller and Glacier have dorky presentation but their martial-arts offence always look decent. The luchadors had lots of accidental friendly fir but curiously actually ended up winning. Too short; no rating (TS;NR). Ultimo vs King was pretty basic and really short but okay for its time. I liked King's arrogant displays, slick big attacks, and nicely grimy beatdown work, while Ultimo had good athleticism and energy all around. Their fast-paced trades and big spots were half good but half rather awkward. This would've been decent if given longer. **1/4. Hall and Savage's promo on DDP and Luger had unclear motivations but was at least intriguing for that reason. Their signature delivery styles were both good enough, too. DDP's interview with Gene, responding to Hall and Savage and proclaiming his innocence following his accidental Diamond Cutter on Luger, was good, since he had nice intensity and also nice comedic timing as he brushed off the heel-turn accusations. Jarrett vs Benoit was a waste. Benoit was wonderfully intense with his offence and his bumping, but Jarrett's generically dorky and cowardly heel character still does very little for me. Their work together was okay, though totally carried by Benoit, and then they did a nonsensical finish as Jarrett no-sold a top-rope suplex and simply hooked Benoit's leg for the win. I can't think of a wrestler more severely sabotaged by bad match structures than Benoit. TS;NR. Meng & Barbarian vs Mortis & Wrath featured some okay big-man brawling and a few nice big powerhouse spots, but it was robbed by finishing in under 5 mins. Why can't anything good in WCW just last longer? TS;NR. Arn's famous "I'll give you my spot" promo was pretty great. Arn's naturally 'grizzled' look and delivery made him completely believable any time he spoke, making it easy to connect with the emotion behind his words, especially given his referencing of IRL reasons for his retirement, which made it more impactful as he trued to convince Hennig to join the Horseman. We also got a great visual Flair over Arn's shoulder, growing more emotional the longer he listened to what he knew to be Arn's real-life struggles. This whole segment really upped the Horsemen's babyface factor and also instantly made Hennig a babyface after all these weeks of his heel-leaning indecisiveness. This might just be the most effective Nitro segment ever. Eddie vs Mongo was another short match but okay for its time. Eddie was energetic and worked hard with his various athletic attacks. Meanwhile, Mongo was rather uncoordinated, overly animated with his selling, and unathletic in his bumping, but he was never outright awful and at least had a few okay powerhouse moves. Him catching Eddie out of the air to counter with with a Tombstone was really cool. TS;NR. Mysterio's interview with Gene was pretty awkward, given he sounds so unconfident. Konnan coming out to rag on Mysterio and Gene was a lot more interesting, since he has far more charisma and had a few funny 'bully' lines. The Giant running out for the save and aligning himself with Mysterio did well to give Mysterio a rub to try counteract his near-0 mic skills. Jericho vs Nagata would've been been good if, as usual, it wasn't so damn short, plus if the crowd hadn't been so terrible. Young Nagata had nice impact and good general physicality/athleticism, while Jericho was likewise good all around. TS;NR. Harlem Heat's promo was good. Booker was entertainingly hyped up and intense, and he and Stevie looked pretty cool with their presentation. The Steiners interrupted but were both a bit mush-mouthed, and then Bagwell and Norton interrupted to start a brawl. Wright vs Malenko was looking to be decent before 'time constraints' kicked in, plus a BS interference finish. Jfc. Anyways, prior to that nonsense, this featured some decent grappling, striking, and general athleticism. Wright did well with his braggadocios heel work, which then made it quite cathartic whenever Malenko got the better of him. TS;NR. Savage vs Luger was pitiful. After all tho sub-5-minute matches prior, this main-event could only managed 8 minutes? Really? To make matters worse, it featured absolutely nothing or note, and then they seemingly STILL ran out of time as the show ended mid-angle! Savage dominated at least 7 of these 8 minutes with really generic brawling, and even though I ironically enjoy Luger's selling, he certainly wasn't captivating as the face-in-peril. Luger then made his comeback in only the final minute, and it was likewise really basic stuff but at least he was somewhat energetic and had the crowd behind him. Sadly, WCW sucker-punched us once again with that finish, with Hall's interference, the contrived continuation of DDP's teased heel-turn story, and of course the show itself ending right at the most dramatic moment. *1/4. I can't lie that these Nitros still do a pretty good job setting up, developing, or simply reminding audiences of the various current storylines, but I have to wonder what the point is when they almost never accompany any meaningful matches. I thought at least one of those w's in WCW stood for "wrestling", after all. They really need to cut the number of matches down, or just time their non-wrestling segments better, so more matches can actually breathe."
[10.0] "Matches were short but they were so good with progressing a story or just being awesome that it doesn't matter about the length. My highlight was seeing Yuji Nagata again, the guy is a beast but I don't think he's a cruiserweight."
[3.0] "If you consider the episode in its entirety and not just the Arn stuff this has to be one of the weaker Nitros to date. No good matches and the storylines are advancing at a snail's pace where they advance at all. I can't understand how high these ratings are when the Arn Anderson speech only takes up about 5 minutes of a 2-hour show."
[9.0] "Famous of course for that all time great promo from Arn Anderson, and well deserved. Some good matches as well, particularly Faces of Fear vs. Mortis & Wrath and Dragon vs. Silver King."
[5.0] "Der Rücktritt von Arn Anderson ist ein emotionaler Moment und es ist natürlich schade. Von diesem Geschehen ab gibt es hier aber nichts besonderes zu sehen und war eine solide Nitro Ausgabe."
[5.0] "Bischoff gerät ausser Rand und Band, als JJ Dillon den Konfrontationskurs zwischen Sting und dem Hulkster bestätigt. Aber Sting beruhigt ihn, indem er ihm das Hulk-Shirt in den Mund steckt. Geht doch. Der Sieg der Mexikaner über die jüngst so fröhlich vereinten Miller & Glacier kommt überraschend und geht fast nahtlos ins folgende und ganz passable Singles-Match zwischen Dragon und Silberkönig über. Nach Statements von Hall, Savage und DDP kommt es zu einem weiteren Midcard-Match zwischen Jarrett und Benoit. Und Double J klaut sich einen glanzlosen Erfolg. Die Faces of Fear zeigen den Comic-Boys, wer die wirklichen harten Jungs sind, während Anderson seine persönliche Fackel an Hennig weiterleitet. Der Erfolg McMichaels über Eddie ist viel zu deutlich. Ähnlich deutlich ist Jerichos Erfolg per Submission. Der arme Malenko bekommt von drei Seiten eine Packung - Jarrett, Eddie und Wright. Luger am Ende ist erst gegen Savage und dann mit DDP beschäftigt, was in mir Fragezeichen aufwirft. Dank Anderson ist die Show erinnerungswürdig, aber alles andere, was hier passiert, ist es eher weniger."
[7.0] "Ein gutes Nitro mit einigen tollen Momenten. Sting darf am Anfang der Show Bischoff buchstäblich sein Maul stopfen und zeigt dabei zum ersten Mal nach vielen Monaten Emotionen. Das war eine tolle Charakterpräsentation und Bischoff durfte erneut die Opferrolle einnehmen. Raven hatte erneut eine kleine Promo, die dieses Mal Richards thematisierte und auf einem ähnlichen Niveau war, wie vor einer Woche. Parka und Psychosis durften dann überraschenderweise Glacier und Miller besiegen und Ultimo konnte sein Match mit einem kleinen Handicap gewinnen. Hall und Savage hielten eine ordentliche Promo und versuchten einen Konflikt zwischen Luger und DDP zu provozieren. Klassisches Booking ohne großes Tamtam. JJ vs. Benoit war akzeptabel und Mortis & Wrath waren anscheinend auch als Jobber angekommen. Dann kam mit dem Karriereende von Double A das traurige Highlight dieser Ausgabe. Eine tolle Promo, die Ric Flair sichtlich mitgenommen hat und die Story rund um Hennig auf eine neue Ebene hob. Die 3 Titel Matches waren für Nitro Verhältnisse einwandfrei und vor allem die letzten 2 Matches kurz und spaßig. Mysterio vs. Konnan und die Tag Team Title Fehde wurden auch nochmal aufgefrischt bis dann der Main Event mal wieder im Chaos endete und die Konflikte zwischen Luger und DDP weiter gingen."
[7.0] "Unterhaltsame Show mit einem guten Anfangssegment und einem sehr guten Segment rund um die Horseman mit Arn Anderson. Ansonsten gab es hier einen kuriosen Opener und ein sehr abprubtes Ende der Show."
[8.0] "Ein gutes Nitro. Ordentliches Wrestling mit den Cruiserweights, die Midcardstories (z. B. Faces of Fear gegen Wrath&Mortis oder auch die Geschichte um das Stable mit JJ und Guerrero) wurden klasse weitergeführt, Sting war da und es gab eines der emotionalsten Segmente in der Nitrogeschichte: Das Karriereende von Arn Anderson."
