Three days away from Sting's first-ever WWE match at WrestleMania, we flash back to Sting's final WCW match on the last-ever edition of WCW Nitro.

Sting faced Ric Flair in the main event of Nitro on March 26, 2001, putting an end to the Monday Night Wars after WWE bought the rights to WCW.

Over on Raw, the final installment of the Monday Night Wars featured Steve Austin & The Rock in a main event tag match one week before facing each other in the main event of WrestleMania 17 at the Houston Astrodome.

- Torch Back-Issue: PWTorch VIP members can read the Cover Story on this monumental shift in the U.S. pro wrestling business HERE from PWTorch Newsletter #647. Not a VIP member? Find out how to subscribe by CLICKING HERE - PWTorch.com/GoVIP.

WCW Nitro Flashback
March 26, 2001
Live from Panama City, Fla.
Report by Jason Powell, now of Prowrestling.net

-Overall score (7.0): In many ways, the show lived up to the hype created by the WWF buying the WCW. At the same time, it was a let down in terms of being WCW's final show on TNT. Outside of Flair's comments and a 30 second video package, the company's tradition was completely ignored. There was no mention made of several of the company's most important wrestlers, the NWO, or Eric Bischoff. In Bischoff's case, no one bothered to explain why he didn't attend the show despite hyping himself last week.

-Strong points: Obviously the appearances of Vince and Shane McMahon, along with William Regal. Vince appeared to be having the time of his life while shooting on Ted Turner, Time Warner, and WCW in general. Vince took some great shots, but Regal calling WCW "a bloody awful place" was the best of the night. Also, it was fitting that Sting vs. Ric Flair was the final match on Nitro based on their history with the company. For what it's worth, Tony Schiavone and Scott Hudson did their best work of their short history as an announcing team.

-Weak point: There was zero emphasis placed on the company's history on the Turner networks. It would have been nice to see short video pieces recapping some of the company's better moments going back to the Georgia Championship Wrestling and National Wrestling Alliance days. If nothing else, it would have been nice if the show had featured more video clips similar to Dallas Page's "thank you" promo. As it played out, the wrestlers weren't the only people who weren't allowed to say goodbye. After Sting vs. Flair, the show immediately cut to the Raw simulcast, eliminating any chance for Schiavone to say his goodbyes.

-Review of the program: Hosts: Tony Schiavone and Scott Hudson... The show opened with a shot of Vince McMahon standing in front of the backstage Raw set. McMahon said, "Imagine that, me, Vince McMahon appearing on WCW." Vince said he was there because he had purchased the company and its fate was now in his hands. Vince said he would hold a special simulcast with Raw later in the show to announce the fate of WCW...

Tony Schiavone and Scott Hudson introduced the show. Schiavone said he couldn't believe what he just saw. Hudson hyped the show as being the last on Turner Networks... Ric Flair walked to the ring for a promo and asked, "Did I happen to hear Vince McMahon say he is going to hold WCW in the palm of his hand?" Flair got intense and asked if that meant McMahon is holding Jack Brisco, Harley Race, etc. in the palm of his hand. "I don't think so," Flair said. Flair put over WCW as the greatest wrestling organization in the world and claimed it had been neck and neck with the WWF for years. He reminded McMahon that his own father once sat on a board that recognized Flair as the World Champion. Flair said that the WCW wrestlers aren't going anywhere and won't allow Vince to control their futures. Flair brought up Sting, calling him the greatest opponent he's ever faced. Flair challenged Sting to a match for later in the show saying, "To be the man,you've got to beat the man... and Sting, I am the man." A great promo... [C]

(1) Booker T beat Scott Steiner (w/Midajah) at 5:08 to win the WCW Title and U.S. Title. Before the match, Schiavone said that he learned of the sale on Friday, "but it didn't really sink in until Mr. McMahon opened up the show." Late in the match, Booker hit the Bookend and scored the pin... [C]

Backstage at Raw, Vince McMahon spoke to an unidentified person via telephone. Vince ripped WCW by saying it's appropriate that its final show on TNT was held at a "red neck beer drinking joint" in Florida...

(2) Rey Mysterio Jr. & Billy Kidman beat Evan Karagias & Shannon Moore and Jung Dragons at 3:36 in a three-way to earn a WCW Cruiserweight Tag Title match later in the show. After nearly slipping off the top rope, Mysterio hit a guillotine legdrop on Moore for the win. A good match with non-stop action... [C] Backstage at Raw, Trish Stratus walked into Vince's office and congratulated him on his purchase of WCW. Vince thanked Trish and made out with her on a couch...

(3) Shane Helms beat Chavo Guerrero Jr. at 4:31 to retain the WCW Cruiserweight Title. [C]

Backstage at Raw, Michael Cole entered Vince McMahon's office. Cole told McMahon that WCW fans and wrestlers are worried about the company's future. McMahon asked Cole how he felt about his own job security. Cole got the hint and left the room as Vince and Trish continued their snuggling party...

(4) Sean O'Haire & Chuck Palumbo beat Lance Storm & Mike Awesome at 3:06 to retain the WCW Tag Titles. In the end, O'Haire hit the Seanton Bomb on Awesome for the win... [C]

(5) Shawn Stasiak (w/Stacy) beat Bam Bam Bigelow at 1:22 in a tattoo match. The stipulation was that if Stasiak lost, he'd receive a tattoo from Bigelow. After Stacy interfered, Stasiak hit a neckbreaker on Bigelow for the win. Quick and painless...

At Raw, William Regal showed Vince McMahon his new WrestleMania jersey. Regal told McMahon that WCW "is a bloody awful place" and asked him if he really wants to buy it. McMahon told him not to worry because everything is under control... [C] A pre-taped Dallas Page promo aired. At a beach, Page thanked all of the fans "for letting Page Joseph Falkenburg become Diamond Dallas Page." He also thanked his wife Kimberly for supporting him over the years. Page asked himself if his career is now over. He answered his own question by saying, "I don't think so"... A short video feature aired with several shots of former WCW greats...

(6) Billy Kidman & Rey Mysterio Jr. beat Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo at 4:37 to win the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Titles. During the pre-match introductions, Schiavone complained about the comments Regal made. Schiavone referred to Regal as "Steve Regal" and said that WCW has had to do some crazy things "including putting his (Regal) ass over on TV." In the end, Kidman hit the Kid Crusher on Skipper for the win... Backstage, Sting cut a promo hyping his match against Flair. Sting said their feud started eight years ago and was coming down to this final match... [C]

Backstage at Raw, Vince McMahon strutted through a hallway, apparently on his way to the ring... Ric Flair walked to the ring for his match against Sting. Once in the ring, Flair looked into the camera and repeatedly said, "Fourteen times."... [C]

As Sting walked to the ring, Hudson did a brilliant job of putting him over. Hudson reminded viewers that Sting didn't jump to the WWF even when it was the popular thing for WCW wrestlers to do. Hudson also reminded viewers that Flair did go to the WWF. Hudson noted that Sting came to WCW from Bill Watts's UWF promotion. Finally, Hudson pointed out that Flair and Sting wrestled each other at the first Nitro in Bloomington, Minn. five years ago...

(7) Sting beat Ric Flair at 7:15 with the Scorpion Leg Lock. Flair wore a t-shirt along with his trunks and wrestling boots. At the start of the match, the announcers hyped that the Raw simulcast was coming up. The match was vintage Flair vs. Sting in that both men used their signature spots. Late in the match, Flair locked Sting in the figure four, but Sting reversed the hold. Moments later, Flair hit Sting with several chops, but Sting no-sold them. Later, Sting superplexed Flair and locked him in the Scorpion for the win. Afterward, Flair climbed to his feet and hugged Sting in the middle of the ring.

The show abruptly cut to the Raw simulcast without giving the announcers a chance to say goodbye... After the promo, a WrestleMania commercial aired on both networks...

***

WWF Raw Report
March 26, 2001
Live from Cleveland, Ohio
Report by Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

-Overall Score (7.0): The Vince McMahon speech was monumental, but otherwise it was "just another Raw." There was not a sense that a big PPV was just six days away. They never ran down the entire card to put the line-up into perspective.

-High Point: Obviously the Vince McMahon speech. Although it ran a bit long, it was very effective and the Shane McMahon interruption was a great payoff...

-Low Point: This had one of the lowest quantities of good wrestling of any Raw... McMahon's ill-conceived "thumbs up, thumbs down" poll on WCW wrestlers was a clustermess... Mick Foley's return seemed to be nearly an insignificant afterthought because of the WWF hoopla that preceded it...Debra's character is very flat right now. Hopefully her character will expand after WM...

Vince McMahon opened the program standing in front of two TVs, one with Raw on the screen, the other with Jeff Jarrett on the screen. He said when the time is right later he will announce during a simulcast the fate of WCW. He said after tonight he will spell Jeff Jarrett's name "G-double-O-double-N-E... gone!"...

The Raw opening montage aired followed by the usual crowd shot and fireworks. Jim Ross and Paul Heyman introduced the program. Ross talked about WrestleMania and didn't say a word about WCW at first... Kurt Angle came to the ring. Heyman said, "The war is finally over and Vince McMahon is the winner and this is his victory party." Angle said the WCW news is shocking, but even more shocking is that less than a week before WrestleMania he still doesn't have an opponent. He said even the freakin' Gobbledy Gooker has an opponent at WM. Chris Benoit then walked out and challenged Angle. They got into a brawl and within seconds Benoit had Angle in a Crippler Crossface. Angle tapped out furiously until Edge and Christian ran out and made the save. E&C helped Angle to the back as Benoit recovered from the E&C attack...

Backstage McMahon watched a screen with Buff Bagwell & Lex Luger and said to Stephanie McMahon on the phone, "The Lex Express ran out of gas a long time ago." He was on the phone with Stephanie and told her and Triple H to relax... [C]

(1) Tazz pinned Val Venis in a lumberjack match at 0:49. Goodfather, Val Venis, Bull Buchanan, Steven Richards, and APA were the lumberjacks. Tazz won with a Northern Lights Suplex after Val missed with his Money Shot. Pointlessly short... Backstage Vince McMahon asked Trish what Road Warrior Animal thinks of him owning WCW now... [C]... Ross announced the gimmick battle royal for WM...

Steve Regal stepped out and said he wanted to talk about W.C. (pause) Fields. Regal said as a warm-up match he was going to wrestle Molly Holly. Crash ran out with Molly Holly. Regal attacked Crash from behind, then put the Regal Stretch on Molly. Crash made the save, so he put the stretch on him. Doink made the save. Doink put Regal in the Walls of Jericho, then pulled off his wig and revealed himself to be Chris Jericho...

Coachman interviewed Regal and asked him about being shown up by Jericho. Regal said he had revenge in mind for Jericho - he would have a warm-up match against Big Show later... E&C told Angle they had a match against The Hardys later. Angle was happy. E&C introduced Rhyno who said any friend of E&C is a friend of his. Edge asked Angle what he thought of Rhyno. Angle said, "I don't know about the intelligence or integrity, but he's definitely got the intensity"...

Ross and Heyman began plugging WrestleMania. A video montage then aired hyping Austin vs. Rock. While this video aired, Sting vs. Ric Flair began on TNT. Then highlights aired of the Rock-Austin sitdown interview with Jim Ross from Smackdown... Coachman interviewed Debra about Rock & Austin vs. Taker & Kane. She said now was not the time for her to answer questions... Trish helped Vince McMahon put on his jacket. Vince said now is the time for him to address the WCW stars and fans. He said before he goes out there, he needs a kiss for luck...

As Flair and Sting embraced in mid-ring on TNT, Vince McMahon walked to the ring. The TNT/TNN simulcast began as McMahon entering the ring appeared on both TNN and TNT at the same time live. Heyman declared McMahon the winner of the Monday Night War. After the segment with Vince and Shane McMahon took place, a WrestleMania commercial then aired on both networks. Then both networks went to separate commercial breaks...

(2) The Hardy Boys & Chris Benoit beat Edge & Christian & Kurt Angle when Benoit made Edge tap out at 2:22. When Benoit and The Hardys continued their attack on the E&C after the match, Rhyno ran out and made the save, goring Lita in the process... [C]

(3) X-Pac (w/Albert) pinned Test at 4:00. Eddie Guerrero was the special guest referee. Heyman said Vince has reason to be upset because this was the night he was supposed to be able to declare victory in the Monday Night Wars and his son screwed it all up for him. When Test had Pac pinned, Guerrero feigned hip pain and couldn't make the count. A second ref came to the ring and counted to two; Guerrero stopped the count. X-Pac kicked Test, but Test immediately took over. Albert entered the ring and gave Test a Buffalo Bomb, leading to X-Pac getting the pin. Guerrero beat up Test afterward... Cole attempted to interview Austin about the Raw main event. Austin stared him down and didn't respond, then walked away... [C]...

Mick Foley came out, making his return to the WWF. Heyman said he was fired. Foley, laying on his false humility as thick as ever, said, "I'm glad to know you all remember who I am." He held up his new book, "Foley is Good," and said it goes on sale in May. He said that's not why he was there. He said not to be egotistical, but WrestleMania wouldn't be WrestleMania without him involved. He said he has taken it upon himself to get involved in one of the really big matches at WM. Vince walked out and interrupted. He said he was in no mood, so Foley should leave the ring now or he'd have him arrested for trespassing. Foley said in June of 2000 he became WWF commissioner and the WWF enjoyed a period of prosperity and fun that was unequalled. He said just a few weeks before Christmas 2000 Vince fired him. Vince again told him to get out of the ring. Foley said the history lesson wasn't over yet. Foley said he and Linda, before she was institutionalized, had a private meeting. He said he brought the most important document to the ring with him. He said he was going to be special ref in his match against Shane.

(4) Big Show pinned Chris Jericho at 2:40. Kane attacked Big Show from behind, ramming him into the stairs. Raven then ran out and attacked Kane from behind with a trash can lid. Regal then ran to the ring and gave Jericho a neckbreaker. Big Show then gave Jericho a chokeslam and pinned him. Kane gave Raven a chokeslam and left him flat on his back alone in the ring... Rock asked a worker backstage where Austin's locker room was... [C]... Ross interviewed D-Von and Buh Buh Ray Dudley from WWF New York... Rock entered Austin's dressing room and talked about their tag match... [C]...

After Nitro ended, Raw's over-run began...

(5) Rock & Steve Austin beat Kane & Undertaker when Austin pinned Taker at 4:35. In the end Triple H ran out with a chair and bashed Taker in the back just as Taker was setting up a Last Ride. Austin covered Taker for the win. Taker stared down Triple H as he returned to the back. Austin celebrated in center-ring with beers. Rock re-entered the ring and approached Austin from behind. Rock gave Austin the Stone Cold Stunner and then stood over him. Debra looked upset at ringside, but also confused about how she should react. Rock opened a beer, set it next to Austin, and returned to the back with his belt...

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