Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| WCW Nitro Grill | |
|---|---|
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | May 22, 1999 |
| Closed | September 30, 2000 |
Previous owners | Sitka Restaurant Group, World Championship Wrestling |
| Food type | Steakhouse |
| Location | Las Vegas, United States |
Seating capacity | 350 |
WCW Nitro Grill was an American professional wrestling-themed steakhouse owned by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that opened on May 22, 1999 at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada.[1] It was built at a cost of $2 million. Professional wrestlers frequented the restaurant when they were touring in Las Vegas.[2][3][4][5][6][7] The restaurant hosted weekly watch parties for WCW Monday Nitro and WCW Thunder as well as occasional autograph signings with members of the WCW roster.[8] It closed on September 30, 2000 just six months before most of WCW's holdings were sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 2001.[9][10] The dining room was 16,000 square feet and could seat 350 people.[11] After the Las Vegas location opened, there were tentative plans to open more Nitro Grills across the United States, although none were ever announced.[12]
The former Nitro location in Las Vegas is now currently occupied by Dick's Last Resort, a chain of bars and restaurants in the United States with 12 locations in 7 states.[13]
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
WCW Nitro Grill was an American professional wrestling-themed steakhouse owned by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that opened on May 22, 1999 at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. It was built at a cost of $2 million. Professional wrestlers frequented the restaurant when they were touring in Las Vegas. The restaurant hosted weekly watch parties for WCW Monday Nitro and WCW Thunder as well as occasional autograph signings with members of the WCW roster. It closed on September 30, 2000 just six months before most of WCW's holdings were sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 2001. The dining room was 16,000 square feet and could seat 350 people. After the Las Vegas location opened, there were tentative plans to open more Nitro Grills across the United States, although none were ever announced. The former Nitro location in Las Vegas is now currently occupied by Dick's Last Resort, a chain of bars and restaurants in the United States with 12 locations in 7 states.
The Nitro Girls were a dance team in World Championship Wrestling introduced in July 1997. Centered around Kimberly Page, the group generally consisted of a roster of seven members, all of whom had some degree of professional dance experience. Their initial function was to dance and entertain the live crowds during commercial breaks of WCW Monday Nitro as well as engage in promotional work for the company, however, beginning in late 1999, many of the members began to become involved in wrestling storylines and acted as valets and managers to the wrestlers. The group was de facto disbanded by early 2000, with a number of the former members having adopted entirely new personas.
Terry Gene Bollea (; August 11, 1953 – July 24, 2025), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, was an American professional wrestler and media personality. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most recognized wrestlers of all time, Hogan won multiple championships worldwide, most notably being a six-time WWF/WWE Champion. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Hogan also competed in promotions such as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Known for his showmanship, large physique, trademark blond horseshoe moustache and bandanas, Hogan began training in 1977 with Championship Wrestling from Florida and achieved global stardom after joining the WWF in 1983. His heroic, all-American persona helped usher in the 1980s professional wrestling boom, during which he headlined eight of the first nine editions of WWF's flagship annual event WrestleMania and regularly headlined Saturday Night's Main Event. His first reign as WWF Champion lasted 1,474 days—the third-longest in the title's history—and he became the first wrestler to win back-to-back Royal Rumbles in 1990 and 1991. In 1994, Hogan joined WCW and won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times. His reinvention as the villainous Hollywood Hogan and leadership of the New World Order (nWo) revitalized his career and significantly contributed to the success of the "Monday Night War" wrestling boom of the late 1990s, including three headline appearances at Starrcade. Hogan returned to WWF in 2002—after WWF acquired WCW—winning the Undisputed WWF Championship for a then-record-equalling sixth reign before departing in 2003. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, a second time in 2020 as part of the nWo, and a third time posthumously in 2026 when his match with André the Giant at WrestleMania III was inducted into the Immortal Moments category. Outside wrestling, Hogan appeared in films such as Rocky III (1982), No Holds Barred (1989), and Suburban Commando (1991), and starred in television shows including Thunder in Paradise and Hogan Knows Best. He also fronted the Wrestling Boot Band; their sole record, Hulk Rules, reached number 12 on the Billboard Top Kid Audio chart in 1995. Several controversies damaged Hogan's public image. In 1994, he faced scrutiny after admitting he used anabolic steroids dating back to 1976 and admitted to discouraging efforts to unionize professional wrestlers. In 2012, his reputation was more severely damaged when the internet media company Gawker published portions of a sex tape, which later had portions leak in which Hogan was heard using racial slurs and openly admitting to being racist. Hogan sued Gawker, which was found liable and subsequently declared bankruptcy. Despite this legal victory, Hogan's reputation was negatively affected, a view reflected in the mixed public reaction to his death in 2025.
Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Funk is known for the length of his career, which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements. He is also known for his influential hardcore wrestling style he pioneered in the latter part of his career. Over the course of his career, Funk wrestled for professional wrestling promotions including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, the International Wrestling Association of Japan, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and multiple National Wrestling Alliance territories including Big Time Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, Georgia Championship Wrestling, and Stampede Wrestling. He was the promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion. Championships held by Funk included the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, NWA World Heavyweight Championship, USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, and WWF World Tag Team Championship. He headlined ECW's premier annual pay-per-view event, November to Remember, three times. Funk was inducted into multiple halls of fame (including WWE, WCW, NWA, and Hardcore). Outside of wrestling, Funk had a second career as an actor, including numerous film collaborations with Sylvester Stallone.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Joe Louis.