The NWO has dissension in its ranks: Kevin Nash and Scott Hall are furios at Eric Bischoff for firing Syxx. Will they seek revenge? Maybe they will. Maybe be simply packing up and leaving...they can.
The Wrestler, August '98
By: Dave Rosenbaum
In the beginning, there were only these two guys, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, formerly Razor Ramon and Diesel in the WWF. The Outsiders. Two arrogant guys who had achieved most of their success in the WWF suddenly invaded WCW with a plan: to take over. To build the most powerful clique in the sport. To dominate. To do things the way they saw fit. To change the face of wrestling.
They succeeded.
Hall and Nash. The Outsiders. WCW had never seen anything like them.
WCW might never see them again.
There is much more to this story than you see on the surface. Power struggles within the NWO are nothing new. They have been waged ever since the group was formed. In the beginning, it was obvious that Hall and Nash were in control. After all, they were the only Outsiders. Then Hulk Hogan came along. Then Eric Bischoff came along. The recruiting began in earnest. A Japanese branch was formed. Eventually, the NWO became larger than ever expected, and control seemed to be spread out among many individuals. But the power struggle continues, and most recently is has revolved around Randy Savage.
Is the "Macho Man" in the NWO or out of the NWO? Given Savage's brutal attack on Sting at Uncensored, it appeared that he was back in the NWO. But the Savage vs. Hogan and Hogan vs. Nash battles continue to divide the NWO, placing Bischoff (who's squarely with Hogan) on one side and Hall and Nash on the other?
Savage considers himself to be a member of the NWO. Bischoff and Hogan aren't so sure. Savage has said that he wants to take over the leadership of the group. As for Hall and Nash?
"We ain't gonna become part of any tug o' war," said Nash.
But these are hardly the most important power struggles going on within the NWO. One of the worst-kept secrets in wrestling is Hall and Nash, the founders of the NWO, are not long for the NWO- and very possibly not long for WCW as well. Hall and Nash are unhappy with WCW President/NWO leader Bischoff and the entire organization.
What angered them most was Bischoff's firing of Sean Waltman (Syxx), a close friend to both Hall and Nash. When he got the news from WCW in early-March, Waltman was undergoing rehabilitation for a serious neck injury he suffered last fall. He was at his home in Minnesota when the doorbell rang. The Federal Express man handed him a package. He opened it and found a letter from WCW Executive Vice President Nick Lambros inside. He was out of a job.
Bischoff would say a few days later that he wouldn't rule out rehiring Waltman, but the Kid was apparently too angry to even consider that.
By the end of the month, he had a new job. He signed a lucrative deal with one of his former employers, the WWF, and immediately joined DeGeneration X. His new name was X-Pac.
According to Bischoff, there was good reason for firing Waltman. He had missed a considerable amount of time due to injuries and was being paid a lot of money. Originally, according to the WCW President, he was hired as a "positive gesture" toward Hall and Nash. But despite the hiring of Waltman, despite the success of the NWO, despite the fact that, according to Bischoff, Hall and Nash were making more money than either one of them had made in their lives, Hall and Nash were still unhappy.
And Bischoff didn't know exactly why. What he did know was that he couldn't go around with their happiness first on his list of priorities. The organization as a whole was more important. And it was bigger than any one man- or two men, for that matter.
So the message was sent, and it was sent loud and clear: Hall and Nash are not to challenge Bischoff's authority.
If you've watched Hall and Nash over the years, you know that they don't like anyone telling them what they can and can't do. Or sending messages to them. They're arguably two of the biggest rebels in the sport. They couldn't have been happy about what happened to Waltman, and Nash obviously is fed up with the power Hogan weilds withing the organization.
Was it coincidence that only a few weeks after Waltman was fired, Hall disappeared from WCW without explanation? Maybe not. Remember what Waltman said on the March 30 Raw- that Nash and Hall would be right there with him if they weren't being 'held hostage' by World Championship Wrestling.
Unfortunately for Hall and Nash, if they do truly want out of WCW (and would like to rejoin Waltman in the WWF), there's just one major problem: both have several years left on their current contracts. Unless they can get out of those contracts (they can't just quit and seek employment in another promotion), they're staying put for a while.
If they do stay around and continue to be unhappy, they'll find ways to keep things interesting in WCW.
Of course they will. They always have. Turmoil from Hall and Nash has been a constant in wrestling during this decade.
The fun has only just begun.
