The Monday Night Scores Wrestling Podcast

Episode 14 - Art Attack of the Head Clones

The lads are back with another episode of mid-90s wrestling action featuring more comedy than you can shake a 2x4 at. 

 

Speaking of which, we see perennial woodsman Hacksaw Jim Duggan go head to head with the Total Package Lex Luger on WCW Monday Nitro, where Duggan’s terrifying tease has Los Liam diving behind el sofá. It’s not all scary though as we get another high-flying wresting clinic from WCW’s most consistent performer Eddie Guerrero, who’s up against the mysterious masked Mr. JL.

 

Over on WWF Monday Night Raw there are more frights in store if your name’s Chaparita Asari, who goes up against the formidable Aja Kong and her stunning moveset that has to up there with the most devastating in the business, as these two competitors square off in a cracking bout you’re not going to want to miss.

 

All that plus the heel Horsemen on home turf result in Hogan getting a not-so warm welcome, the return of an Art Attack stalwart that absolutely does not go to plan, and an appearance from a young Jeff Hardy who manages to make the very most of his TV time on Raw. 

 

What’re you waiting for? Get that button walloped.

Episode 13 - Shawn Michaels and The Unger Games

Ste, Jim and Liam return to ’95 to cast their eyes over another instalment from wrestling’s most famous ratings fracas.

Raw grant an unimaginable amount of air time to the most unpalatable of sources in a tasteless segment that has far outstayed its welcome…as Brother Love returns for another interview.

There’s plenty of time for talking this week though, as the good doctor Jeremy Unger gives us the skinny on Shawn Michaels’ concussion, Vince doles out a scolding and Bob Backlund’s descent into madness gathers pace.

Flick over to Nitro and an armistice may have been called following World War 3, but WCW’s best friends just can’t seem to get along. Desperate to curtail the treehouse squabbles of his top stars, Eric Bischoff has enlisted the services of an unseen ‘commission’ – find out the ironclad sanctions they’ve placed upon the great and good of TNT television.

There’s all this, and more, so let’s get cracking.

Episode 12 - Bret Hart and The Embarrassed Borrower

Three shows, three “giants” and three times the Mean Gene segments anybody could reasonably expect...

 

Never mind the rag sheets, this is where the real scoops are at! Join Ste, Jim and Liam for a comedy-packed run through of WCW’s World War 3 ‘95 PPV with a right mess of a main event.

 

We then deal with the fallout on Nitro the following night where, in amongst some superb Japanese women’s wrestling action, we get a whole lotta Hogan.

 

And as if that wasn’t enough, we also catch up with Vince McMahon and Co. to see what they had in store for us on Raw, where bonafide legend and new World Heavyweight Champion Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart suffers some poultry-based ignominy after leaving his interviewer red-faced.

 

Finally, we’ll decide whether Raw or Nitro deserved to win the TV ratings battle that week before revealing which one took the gold in reality.

 

What’s not to like?! Let’s get cracking...

 

Episode 11 - Hulk Hogan and The Mask of Sorrow

It’s a new year, but the same old tin hats are back on as we review our first Monday Night Wars battle of 2021. 

 

First up, Los Liam gives us the low down from Survivor Series ’95, where the Undertaker delivers a royal beating and Bret Hart takes Diesel’s WWF title, much to the delight of…erm…Diesel, apparently. 

 

The following night on Raw, HBK is at the epicentre of a medical emergency, Earl Hebner thrusts himself into the Oscar’s picture and there’s a heinous attack that earned Ted DiBiase more heat than Beelzebub’s blast furnace, in the eyes of one of the TMNS team, if no one else. 

 

Then it’s over to Nitro where, fresh from their stellar night on our New Year’s Honours show, they plated up a free slice of Hogan v Sting, but it fell to a familiar moustachioed face to pull the programme out of the toilet.

New Year Honours - Special Edition

Join us as we roll out the red carpet and wield Hulk Hogan’s Maid Marion sword to anoint the knights of the 1995 wrestling realm in the first ever TMNS New Year Honours List. 

The debate is fierce as we look to bestow such prestigious accolades as Best Wrestler, Best Match and Jobber of the Year on the most deserving grapplers and, as we dole out the titles, we unearth a peculiar, yet absolutely logical pattern.

So put your glad rags on and be at the ready with your enthusiastic applause – let’s get awarding.

 

 

Audio credit: WWE Network

Xmas Special - All Filler, No Killer

The numerous outtakes videos online and beyond show you that even the most accomplished of microphone maestros make mistakes sometimes. Well, if the pros drop the ball on rare occasions, you can imagine the terrible mess we make of almost every recording.

Having spent the last few months laughing at wrestlers getting things wrong, we thought we’d turn the tables on ourselves and serve up a selection of the mishaps we picked out from the Everest building up our cutting room floor.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, and a happy and healthy New Year.

Episode 10 - Everybody Loves Roy Raymond

Jump in the TMNS time machine and travel back to 1995 for another week of Raw and Nitro wrestling reviews.

Hulk Hogan’s internationally-broadcast descent into insanity continues with one of the strangest promos you’re ever likely to encounter on WCW but, thankfully, Eric Bischoff and the boys deliver with some indelible in-ring action that is not to be missed.

Flicking the channel, we find it’s Jobber-Mania on Raw, with Vinny Mac plating up two squash matches either side of a 2020-inspired ‘face-to-face interview’ between WWF champ Diesel and his Survivor Series challenger, Bret Hart.

There’s all of that, plus we observe as all logic is strapped to a rocket and fired into the sun ahead of the main event…much to the chagrin of our resident Nit Picker.

Episode 9 - Duggan Does Derry

Ste, Jim and Los Liam are back with another review of the battle between Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff, as The Monday Night Wars enters its ninth week.

On Raw, we’ve got recaps, previews and a cameo from the 42nd President of the United States…or so some of us thought. There’s a little bit of wrestling to talk about too.

Over on Nitro, we push the button to start World War 3, with some revelations to raise the stakes in what promises to be a brain-bending 60-man battle royal on the upcoming PPV. Also, there’s some splendid in-ring action to savour and, in a move that is certain to shake up the ratings ruckus, Hacksaw Jim Duggan is being sent on holiday. Where’s he going, and just how bad is Ste's geography?

Click the link to find out.

Episode 8 - Down for The Count

The mushroom cloud of Halloween Havoc ’95 is in the rearview as Ste, Jim and Los Liam hurtle down the highway towards another week of Monday Night Wars action.

 

The Raw comms team donned their fancy dress to mark All Hallows Eve, but some ghastly promos unintentionally supplied WWF’s biggest fright of the night.

 

Also on the show, Owen Hart and Razor Ramon duke it out for the Intercontinental strap and we savour a Marty Janetty masterclass (well, one of us does…).

 

Meanwhile, WCW allow Jimmy Hart to pay homage to Premier League great Alan Shearer as he unleashes his evil side in jubilant fashion. We also enjoy a healthy dose of Eddie Guerrero, hear from the Horsemen and discover how Bobby Heenan handles suspect sushi.

 

Now what’s not to like about that?

WCW Halloween Havoc ’95 Special - Empire of Toilet

It’s 25 years to the day since Halloween Havoc ’95 was unleashed on innocent *cough* erm… we mean *cough* paying members of the public and, after weeks of build up on The Monday Night Scores, we felt it was something we simply had to watch. After all, who can pass up the chance to see a real-life Yeti?

Join us as we take leave from the Monday Night Wars battlefield to place one of WCW’s most notorious PPV’s under the TMNS microscope, assessing the good, the bad and the unimaginably ugly.