Pro Wrestling To Return To Mall Of America For The First Time In 27 Years

By Eric Mutter

Twenty-seven years ago this September, professional wrestling changed forever when WCW launched "WCW Monday Nitro" on Monday nights on TNT. "Nitro" kicked off the Monday Night Wars between WCW and WWE and served as the catalyst for the start of the Attitude Era and the formation of the nWo. Since then, the location of the first "Nitro", the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has not hosted a wrestling show again... until now!

Today on Twitter, Minnesota-based independent promotion F1RST Wrestling announced that pro wrestling is returning to America's favorite mall.

"BREAKING NEWS!" F1rst Wrestling tweeted out. "Professional Wrestling returns to the Mall of America! Saturday, September 10th, 2022. F1RST Wrestling presents: SATURDAY NIGHT NITRO!"

Fans will note that the Saturday Night Nitro takes place only 6 days after the 27th anniversary of the first-ever "WCW Monday Nitro" episode. The first "Nitro" took place on September 4, 1995, and in contrast to later "Nitro" episodes in 1996 and beyond, was only an hour-long

"WCW Monday Nitro's" debut is remembered for matches such as Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Ric Flair vs. Sting, and the WCW return of Lex Luger, who confronted Hulk Hogan after Hogan defeated Bubba Rogers (Ray Traylor) in the main event. During the show, Hogan also promoted his Mall of America restaurant, Pastamania, which shockingly closed less than a year later. No word on whether F1RST Wrestling will be bringing Pastamania back for this show as well.

Founded by former Wrestling Society X star Arik Cannon in 2007, F1RST Wrestling is best known for its yearly Wrestlepalooza events and for showcasing talents such as Ariya Daivari and current AEW stars Dante and Darius Martin (Top Flight) earlier in their career. Their most recent show was Wrestlepalooza XIX in March, which featured Dante defeating luchadors Aramis and Arez in the main event. No talent has been announced for Saturday Night Nitro at this time.

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