WCW Nitro (Week 1, July 2001)
2 and a half weeks from Clash of the Champions, Schiavonne and Lawler welcome us to Nitro and run down Booker and DDP vs Jindrak and Stasiak and the semi-final matches for the US Title tournament. The first of which is happening now but... there's some commotion backstage. The camera catches up with Kanyon who is kicking Mike Sanders in the ribs as he's down on the ground. Shane Douglas walks by casually, looking at his opponent being attacked. He shrugs and heads to the ring.
WCW United States Title Tournament Semi-Final Match: Shane Douglas vs Mike Sanders
Douglas comes out, sits in the corner and smiles. Mike Sanders' music hits and he doesn't come out. Douglas grabs the mic and tells the ref to declare him the winner by forfeit. Suddenly, Sanders comes out holding his ribs and grabs the ref, telling him to ring the bell. Sanders fights all he can, making the match competitive for a moment but eventually Douglas gets the pin, moving him into the finals.
Winner: Shane Douglas in 4:31
Gene Okerlund is in the ring and brings out his guest Lex Luger. Luger bashes Bagwell and Midajah and tells him he wants a match with him. This prompts Bagwell and Midajah to come out. Bagwell tells Luger he should have been a team player but just because he got his ass kicked last week doesn't free him. When they signed on to be part of the new WCW, Bagwell took it upon himself to add a managerial clause to both contracts before they were signed that gave their services Midajah. Midajah then gets on the mic with an evil grin and informs Luger that her clients will not be facing each other any time soon.
A video is aired hyping the return of "The Belfast Bruiser" Fit Finlay where he stands in the shadows talking about being the most feared man in Northern Ireland... and soon WCW.
"Sugar" Shane Helms vs Shannon Moore
In a non-title match between the two former 3 count partners, Helms gets the win despite interference from Evan Karagias after a vertebreaker.
Winner: "Sugar" Shane Helms in 7:31
After the match, Gene Okerlund gets in the ring to ask Helms about Konnan's comments from last week. Helms explains that he did nothing illegal and did what he could to beat Rey and Kidman to retain his title. Konnan comes out and gets on the mic, telling Helms that Rey and Kidman are too nice to tell him he's a cheap shot artist. He says he's got more to say to him but for now... he's got a match to worry about. Helms shakes his head and walks out.
WCW United States Title Tournament Semi-Final Match: Dustin Rhodes vs Konnan
A good back and forth match with a lot of near falls. The end sees the referee get knocked down, allowing Jeff Jarrett to hit the ring and land a stroke on Dustin. Konnan watches it go down and looks around, wondering what to do. Jarrett wakes up the referee and after some hesitation, Konnan crawls over and hooks the leg for the 1-2... NO! Dustin kicks out. Konnan stands up, puts his hands on his head and looks conflicted again as he goes to pick Dustin up but gets caught with an inside cradle for the 1-2-3! Dustin rolls out of the ring and Konnan looks upset with himself. Rhodes vs Douglas is set for the US Title tournament finals
Winner: Dustin Rhodes in 12:40
After the match, Konnan paces for a bit before climbing outside and starting to throw chairs, the ring bell and anything he can get his hands on. Rey and Kidman come out to calm him down and he yells at them, telling them he's sick of the three of them being taken advantage of.
Gene Okerlund is in the ring with Animal and Rick Steiner. They hype themselves up as a combination of the two greatest tag teams of all time and Animal dares Team Canada to come out and try to do to him what they did to Jim Duggan. Team Canada comes out and stands at the end of the isle. Lance Storm tells Animal that he's a wrestler, not a fighter. But if he wants to fight, Mike Awesome is more than willing to take him on at his own game and prove that the mean streets of Chicago are an amusement park compared to the mean streets of Canada... just not tonight.
The Jung Dragons vs Jamie Noble and Lash Leroux
In a good high-flying match, The Jung Dragons win when Yang pinned Leroux after a distraction by Kimona.
Winners: The Jung Dragons in 7:16
After the match, Air Raid attacks from out of nowhere and sends Kimona and the Dragons running. Styles gets on the mic and informs them that after a talk with Bischoff, they've got a match next week. And considering Kimona's actions two weeks ago, Bischoff agreed that it's best that she manage them from the confines of a cage at ringside. Kimona throws a tantrum.
When we return from commercial, Gene Okerlund is in the ring with The Natural Born Thrillers. They discuss their title defense in two weeks at Clash of the Champions against KroniK. Their opponents for tonight, Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo make their way out but halfway down the aisle, KroniK comes out and attacks, powerbombing them both before officials come out to pull them away. The Thrillers head down the isle but are also separated from KroniK by officals.
We see a recap of last week's contract signing between Diamond Dallas Page and Booker T for their World Title match that will take place in a month and a half when WCW returns to PPV for The Great American Bash.
Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page vs Mark Jindrak and Shawn Stasiak w/ Stacy Keibler
A good back and forth match ends in chaos after Jeff Jarrett comes out to get involved only for Dustin Rhodes to attack. They trade punches, leading Jindrak to join in and then DDP to even the score. Eventually, the legal men, Booker T and Shawn Stasiak join in the fight and the referee calls for the bell, declaring a draw.
Winners: Double Disqualification in 10:53
As all six men continue fighting at ringside, Eric Bischoff comes out, calling on security to break things up. Bischoff gets on the mic and says all this chaos gives him an idea. He doesn't like not having control over things. So if they want chaos, it's gonna be organized chaos. He wants DDP, Booker and Dustin to find a partner and Jarrett, Stasiak and Jindrak to do the same. Because in 2 and a half weeks at Clash of the Champions... it will be the return of War Games!