"The History of the nWo" is from nWoRaVen, reporter of TWNP News
Memorial Day, May 27, 1996, was when WCW would be introduced to Scott Hall. Hall, coming fresh off his WWF contract, shocked the WCW crowd in Chicago when he gave this speech in the middle of the ring :
"Hey!!! You people, you know who I am, but you don't know why I'm here. Where is Billionaire Ted? Where is the Nacho Man? That punk can't even get into the building. Me? I go wherever I want, WHENEVER I want. And where oh where is Scheme Gene? Cuz I got a scoop for you. When that KenDoll look-a-like, when that weatherman wannabe comes out here later tonight, I got a challenge for him, for Billionaire Ted, for the Nacho Man, and for anybody else in WCW. Hey, you want to go to war? You want a war? You're gonna GET one!"
On Nitro the following week Scott Hall appeared 5 minutes before the show closed. He went directly to the announcers table, and took it over, creating an nWo tradition. Hall challenged 3 of WCW's best against three of his guys. After repeated bullies on Eric Bischoff (who was then a Nitro commentator with Heenen and McMichaels), Sting arrived at the set. For his trouble Sting received a toothpick in his face, but then slapped Hall. Hall then told Sting that next week he would have "a little, no, BIG surprize" for him. The following week Hall once again appeared minutes before the closing of Nitro, with his surprize, Kevin Nash. Bischoff told them that at the Great American Bash he would give them news about this challenge of theirs.
On June 16, 1996, in Baltimore, at the Great American Bash, JUST before the main event, Bischoff appeared at the entrance ramp and called out the newly named "Outsiders". He told them that they were going to get their match, and it would be set for Bash at the Beach in Daytona. Bischoff then said he would tell them the three men who would oppose them on the next night's Nitro, but Hall was not pleased, and gave Bischoff a punch in the gut. Nash then jacknifed Bischoff through the stage and the two left. For the next few weeks on Nitro the Outsiders would show up, sometimes as fans who had bought tickets to the event. The two would always be escorted out by security. Speculation was everywhere on who their third man was, and we found out... July 14, 1996, Bash at the Beach in Daytona, Hostile Takeover Match. The Outsiders met the team of Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage. They told Mean Gene that they had enough with 2 guys, and did not need their partner just yet. But as the match began, Luger took a bad hit from Sting (who was Stinger Splashing Hall) and was carried out on a strecher. The Outsiders dominated the match. As Hall was pounding on Savage, out comes Hulk Hogan, who had come back to WCW a couple of years earlier (in a classic return match with Ric Flair). Hogan then ripped off his shirt and stood over a fallen Savage. But, as fate would have it, Hogan legdropped Savage, to the utter surprize of everyone. Hogan would legdrop Savage 3 times then pinned him, and Hall would count the 1..2..3, giving the Outsider team the unofficial win. Mean Gene then came to the ring and conducted this interview...
Mean Gene : Hulk Hogan, excuse me, EXCUSE ME...What in the world are you thinking? Hulk Hogan : Mean Gene, the first thing you need to do is to tell these people to shut up if you want to hear what I have to say. MG : I have been with you for so many years, for you to join up with the likes of these two men absolutely makes me sick to my stomach. And I think that these people here and a lot of other people around the world have had just about enough of this man, this man and you want to put yourself in this group, you've got to be kidding me!
HH : Well the first thing you've got to realize brother is this right here is the future of wrestling. You can call this, the NEW WORLD ORDER of wrestling brother. These two men right here came from a great big organization up north, and everyone was wondering who the third man was, well who knows more about that organization than me brother?
MG : I've been there done that, you have made the wrong decision in my opinion.
HH: Well let me tell you something, I made that organization a monster, I made people rich up there, I made the people that ran that organization rich up there brother, and when it came to pass the name Hulk Hogan the man Hulk Hogan became bigger than the whole organization brother. Then Billionaire Ted wanted to talk turkey with Hulk Hogan, well Billionaire Ted promised me movies brother, Billionaire Ted promised me millions of dollars, and Billionaire Ted promised me world caliber matches, and as far as Billionaire Ted, Eric Bischoff, and the whole WCW goes, I'm bored brother! That's why these two guys here, the so-called outsiders, these are the men I want as my friends. They're the new blood of professional wrestling brother, and not only are we going to take over the whole wrestling business with Hulk Hogan, and the new blood, the monsters with me, we will destroy everyone in our path Mean Gene.
MG : Look at of all this crap in this ring. This is what's in the future if you want to hang around with the likes of this man Hall, and this man Nash.
HH : As far as I'm concerned, all this crap in the ring represents these fans out here. For two years brother for two years, I held my head high, I did everything for the charities, I did everything for the kids, and the reception I got when I came out here, you fans can stick it brother! Because if it wasn't for Hulk Hogan you people wouldn't be here, if it wasn't for Hulk Hogan Eric Bischoff would still be selling meat from a truck in Minneanapolis, and if it wasn't for Hulk Hogan all the Johnny-Come-Latleys that you see out here wrestling wouldn't be here. I was selling out the world brother while they were bumming gas to put in their car to get to High School. So the way it is now brother, with Hulk Hogan and the new world organization of wrestling brother, me and the new blood by my side, whatcha gonna do when the new world organization runs wild on you? Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do?
MG : Hey, don't touch me I've got a fleet of lawyers, Tony, Bobby, DAMNIT , back to you!
In the weeks that followed on Nitro we saw the three nWo members always show up in a black limo. They would come to Nitro and either interfere in a match or randomly punk people. This led to such acts as the infamous trailor deed where Nash threw Rey Mysterio Jr. head first into a WCW broadcast trailor. The three also began their spraypainting tradition, as they would cover WCW property with the letters "nWo"or "HH" (Hollywood Hogan). They also began another tradition, the "The following message has been paid for by the New World Order" announcements. However, they were always monologues rather than the merchandise commercials they run these days. Then came August of 96, the first Hog Wild (now known as Road Wild) where the nWo got it's first title shot as Hogan challenged the Giant. Hogan made easy work of Giant with a little help from Nash and Hall. The nWo had won it's first title. After the match each Outsider held one end of the belt as Hogan spraypainted "nWo" on it. As soon as the spraypainting was over, Hogan called out the Booty Man (who is now known as the Disciple). He came out with a new nWo shirt on as Hogan gave a speech about how the Booty Man has always been on his side. After the speech the Outsiders and Hogan surprizingly beat the piss out of the Booty Man. This was the last we saw of the Booty Man for a while...
Soon came the Clash of the Champions, where Hogan defended the heavyweight belt against Ric Flair. Hogan breezed through Flair in a very uneventful match. For the next couple of weeks, a lot of speculation was brewing about who the 4th man would be, since it seemed likely that the nWo would be in the War Games match at the upcoming Fall Brawl. Three weeks before the PPV, we found out who the fourth man was. During a typical type nWo beat down (where they punked the Horsemen and the the Dungeon of Doom, a stable that the Giant was part of), Giant came out to make the save for his team, or did he? The Giant entered the ring and chokeslammed Kevin Sullivan. However, this still did not answer the question of who the fourth man would be in participating at Fall Brawl, because Giant already had a match against Randy Savage. Not only that, it was in this week that WCW annoucned that the War Games match at Fall Brawl would be WCW vs. nWo, and the 4 men from WCW would be Sting, Luger, AA, and Ric Flair. The next week we were given the fifth member of the nWo, but he was never OFFICIALLY announced as the 5th man, Ted DiBiase. However, DiBiase said he was going to introduce the next man on next week's Nitro, and that would be the fifth man to join the nWo. Six days before Fall Brawl all seemed normal, but as Nitro ended Lex Luger was chasing around ref Nick Patrick (Patrick was being deemed as nWo by WCW announcers). Patrick led Luger out near the nWo black limo when Sting appeared from the limo. Sting then attacked Luger as Nitro went off the air. So, voila, there are the 4 men to participate in Fall Brawl. During War Games the nWo team was announced as Hogan/Hall/Nash/Sting, whereas the WCW team was announced as Luger/AA/Flair/Sting. Sting DID appear on the side of the nWo, but not the REAL Sting, as this was the nWo Sting. The real WCW Sting then came out and punked everyone, WCW and nWo, then left. Team nWo then defeated Team WCW as Lex Luger was forced to submit to the nWo Sting's Scorpion DeathLock. By winning this match the nWo won a few rights, mainly an nWo segment to be aired on WCW Saturday Night. The following night on Nitro, Sting gave a "screw you" interview. Also on that Nitro we were introduced to the sixth member of the nWo (really the seventh, but hey, who cares) Syxx.
The next couple of weeks on Nitro the nWo was quiet, introducing some new members, Vincent, a driver to drive their new nWo nascar, and Nick Patrick the ref. The Giant vs. Ric Flair for the US Title was signed, but Flair was forced out with an injury as the nWo attacked him with lead pipes. Giant then took possession of the title which he didn't rightfully own. Meanwhile on the nWo segments on Saturday Night, the Outsiders won the tag titles. On Nitro the following weeks, the nWo would regularly attack the Macho Man, so it seemed only fitting that Savage would get a title shot at Havoc. At Halloween Havoc, October 25th, Las Vegas, the Outsiders were crowned WCW Tag Champs by defeating Harlem Heat and, the main event, Hogan defeated Savage with help from Giant. During the post match celebrating, Roddy Piper showed up and told Hogan to "shape up". Hogan was not too pleased with this and the two agreed to have some sort of a match. A few weeks later on Nitro, Easy-E called the Nitro set and told the announcers that he visited Piper and, for some unmentionable reason, Piper could NOT have a match with Hogan. The next week on Nitro the nWo took over the announcers set and confronted Bischoff, wanting the real story about the Piper situation. Bischoff told them he could not discuss it. Later that Nitro, before the last commercial break, Bischoff said he had enough and stormed to the ring. After the commercial we were shown Bischoff in the ring explaning why Piper cannot fight Hogan. During this interview, Piper's music plays and out comes Piper, calling Easy-E a liar. The nWo then enters the ring and announces their newest member, Eric Bischoff! The next week on Nitro, Easy-E told all WCW wrestlers that they have ONE MONTH to convert their contracts to nWo contracts or be enemies 4 life. Almost IMMEDIATELY we had a taker, Marcus Bagwell, who would later be known as Buff Bagwell. In the next 2-3 weeks we saw more members, Big Bubba, M. Wallstreet, and Scott Norton. The next PPV, World War 3, had only one nWo match, the 60 man battle royal. The battle royal featured everyone in the nWo. Of the last 7 men, 6 were nWo, as Lex Luger was the lone WCW man remaining. He eleminated all but Nash and Giant, and, as Nash and Luger got tied up in the ropes, Giant eliminated them both, which granted Giant a title shot. Meanwhile Piper vs. Hogan was signed for Starrcade of 96. It was dubbed the match of the DECADE (haha, yeah, right). Also at Starrcade, the Outsiders successfully defended their tag titles against the Faces of Fear AND the Nasty Boys in a triangle match. A NEW US Champ was crowned in a trournament when Flair was stripped of the title due to injuries. The winner? Eddie Guerrero defeated DDP in the finals for the win. Page had won nearly EVERY match in the tournament with HELP from Hall and Nash, who had been egging him to join the nWo. Page kept refusing saying that if they REALLY wanted him they wouldn't be asking him to be joining NOW, they would've asked him in the beginning. After DDP had lost the US belt, Mean Gene did an interview. He said DDP needed to make a choice and DDP quietly said "nWo". Two weeks later on Nitro Page won a SQUASH match against Brad Armstrong, and the Outsiders entered the ring and presended him with a black and white nWo shirt. Page took the shirt and celebrated with the two, then attacked Hall and tossed Nash out of the ring. DDP then left through the crowd, getting a HUGE pop and becoming a face. During the same time, the nWo saw it's first loss in rakings, the Giant. After losing his match at Starrcade to Luger (the nWo's FIRST loss), he then failed to save Hogan, who was then defeated by Piper. The Giant was accused by TRILLIONAIRE Ted DiBiase and Hogan of "Dropping the ball". The Giant attacked Hogan and DEMANDED a title shot, which he felt he deserved after winning WW3. Hogan agreed and the two met at the nWo's first PPV, "Souled Out". Souled Out featured matches such as "The Battle of the American Males" where Buff fought Scotty Riggs, Eddie Guerrero fought Syxx in a ladder match, Masa Hiro Chono's nWo debut against Jericho, and a title defense of the tag belts as the Outsiders met a returning Steiner Brothers. But as Starrcade saw the first two losses of the nWo, Souled Out saw numbers 3 and 4 as Guerrero beat Syxx and the Steiners won the tag belts. Chono, however, made short work of Jericho and Hogan cruised past the Giant. DDP, again, refused to join the nWo. The next night on Nitro, Hall/Nash/Bischoff took over the announcing booth again. They then demanded that Randy Anderson (the ref who crowned the Steiners as champs while Nick Patrick was unconsious) come out. Anderson did and was asked by Bischoff where he got tickets to be there, and Anderson said he was given the tickets. Bischoff then said it was ILLEGAL for refs to accept gifts and FIRED Anderson. Bischoff then awarded the tag belts back to the Outsiders.
Later that night Piper entered the ring with his son to give his farewell to the fans and to wrestling. Hogan took exception to this and faced Piper in the ring, saying how sad it was that Piper KNEW he was going to get punked so he brought his son. When Hogan ordered Piper out of the ring and out of his sport, Piper cheapshotted Hogan. This setup the main event for Superbrawl VII, Piper vs. Hogan. Also on the card, Syxx won the cruiserweight strap with a clean win over Dean Malenko, the Outsiders lost the tag belts to Luger and Giant and Hogan lost via countout to Piper in the main event. But the surprize of the evening was the nWo's newest member, Randy Savage, who aided in Hogan's keeping the gold. The following night on Nitro, Bischoff AGAIN awarded the tag titles back to the Outsiders and Macho attacked DDP, setting up a HUGE feud that would last most of 97. Little would happen in the next few weeks as the third annual Uncensored approached. The main event was Team nWo vs Team WCW vs Team Piper. Team nWo was comprised of : Hall/Nash/Savage/Hogan, Team WCW : Luger/Giant/SteinerBros., Team Piper : Piper/Flair/Benoit/McMichaels. Each team had a special stipulation. If Team nWo won, they would get title shots and matches WHENEVER they wanted. If Team WCW won, there would be no more nWo. If Team Piper won, Piper would get a cage match title shot at Hogan. Team nWo breezed to victory, ensuring they would have title shots upon demand. However, this was used only once, as Macho challenged Prince Iakeah (if I spelled that right) for the TV title (which was the ONLY title the nWo has NEVER held). Iakeah won by DQ as the entire nWo beat the pineapples out of the dumb kid. As little happened in February, March through September would be even more dull. The following PPV, Spring Stampede, featured two nWo matches, a tag-team match featuring Nash defeating Rick Steiner to hang on to the tag titles and a match that introduced Dennis Rodman to the world of the nWo. Rodman helped in the DDP punking at the end of the Savage/Page falls count anywhere match. Also during this time, 2 new members joined, Konnan and the Great Muta. The following PPV, Slamboree, featured one nWo match, as the original Wolfpac (Hall/Nash/Syxx) met Piper/Flair/Greene. For some reason WCW thought it would make SENSE for the Pac to job, because they did. However, the nWo would get their revenge at the Great American Bash, where Hall and Nash called out Piper and Flair for a tag match. The Outsiders were rewarded for their previous jobbing as they won the match and Randy Savage got a clean pin over DDP in another Page/Savage match. The following night the nWo saw it's second member to leave, Trillionare Ted DiBiase, who started managing the Steiner Bros. The nWo then began plugging it's first birthday. Bash at the Beach was upon us, a PPV which featured Hogan/Rodman against Luger/Giant. Luger and Giant got the clean pin, despite Nash dressing as Sting and attacking Giant with a bat. On 2 different Nitro's, Sting had beaten Easy-E. This was one of the first times that Hogan and crew were starting to go against Sting. As the show closed Sting repelled to the rafters, a place where he would stay for many months. On the next Nitro, the new executive of the championship committee, JoJo Dillon, FORCED Hogan to defend his title against Luger on that Nitro since Hogan hadn't defended the title in 5 months. Luger sneaked away with the victory as he racked Hogan and won the title. Luger's title reign lasted a mere 6 days, as Hogan regained the belt at the next PPV, Road Wild, thanks to help from the fake Sting. Following the match Hogan repainted the belt with "nWo" as he had done one year ago.
The next week on Nitro a tear-jerking retirement of Arn Anderson happened and Curt Hennig joined the horsemen. The following week the nWo came out and did a parody of this, with Nash dressed as AA. The nWo parody prompted an nWo/Horsemen Wargames match at Fall Brawl. Team nWo, consisting of Nash/Buff/Syxx/Konnan met the Four Horsemen, Hennig/McMichaels/Flair/Benoit. On the night of Fall Brawl it was announced that the nWo had attacked Hennig, and it wasn't likely he would be able to compete. Hennig did manage to come out, however, he was wearing a sling on his right arm. When it was his turn to enter the ring, he took off the sling, to reveal 2 pairs of handcuffs. He then attacked Ric Flair! The nWo handcuffed McMichaels and Benoit as Nash ran around with a microphone asking the 2 horsemen if they would surrender. The 2 Horsemen kept refusing as Hennig dragged Flair to the door of the cage and propped his head in the door's path, threatening to slam it. McMichaels, when prompted by Big Kev to "Give up or the man gets the guillotine", did so. Hennig STILL slammed the door on Flair, causing serious injury and many stiches. Flair would be out for a couple of months. The next night on Nitro, Hennig and Nash said it was the death of the horsemen and Hennig gave Hogan a present, Flair's robe. Hennig later snagged the US Title from Mongo.
As the nWo began jobbing, the next PPV rolled around, Halloween Havoc. This featured yet ANOTHER meeting of Savage vs. DDP and Hogan vs. Piper in a non-title bout. Savage proved to be the MADNESS as he sent DDP out on a strecher, seriously injuring his kidneys (an injury which has still not healed). Hogan, however, lost to Piper in a cage match. Three fake nWo Sting's showed up to try and save Hogan (even though Hogan kept thinking one was the real Sting), but the real Sting no-showed. On the next Nitro Hogan came out, frustrated with Sting always interfering in his matches and Sting's new popularity. Hogan promised he would sign a Starrcade match with Sting (as that was what Sting had been wanting from JJ Dillon). In November the biggest announcement ever came from Eric Bischoff's mouth, "Bret Hart is joining the nWo". As we know now, that was not the case, however, for 2 straight weeks on Nitro the nWo came out and sang "Oh Canada!" in honor of Bret. During this time Easy-E also announced Rick Rude as the newest nWo member. It was also during this time that Scott Hall had begun a feud with WCW announcer Larry Zybysko. Bischoff had gotten into the feud and said he would fight Larry Z at Starrcade, but only if Larry would put control of Nitro on the line. The nWo even took over a couple of Nitro's (obviously as a test to see crowd reaction) during the time between Easy-E's announcement and Starrcade. Also, the Giant and Kevin Nash had begun a feud over who the "Real Giant" of pro-wrestling was. Nash and Bischoff both wanted out of their matches but JoJo would not approve of it. Starrcade rolls around in December. Bret Hart is named as the special guest ref for the Easy-E/Zybysko match. It is not known if Bret is nWo or not at this point, as, during the match, Bret kept enforcing STRICT rules on Larry while he let Bischoff get away with lots of cheats. Bischoff strapped a foreign object onto his shoe and kicked Larry, knocking him out cold. It was at this point that Bret Hart beat up Bischoff and raised Larry-Z's hand. Also that night Nash no-showed against the Giant, but Scott Hall stepped in, and made fun of Giant. Hall received a beatdown for his trouble and Giant demanded that they fight at the next PPV, OR ELSE. Perhaps the worst part of the entire PPV, Hollywood Hogan lost his heavyweight title to Sting after Bret Hart interfered on Sting's behalf. This led into the new year. The second Nitro in 1998 proved to be the biggest in nWo history. As JoJo announced stricter fines on all nWo athletes who would break rules, the Macho Man didn't want to listen. During a match with Lex Luger, Macho tried to hit him with a chair. However, Easy-E ran out and pulled the chair from Macho. Macho then closelined Easy-E and tried to hit Luger again. Hollywood Hogan ran out and prevented this. Macho then got in Hogan's face. Nash ran out and closelined Macho from behind, and it was THIS event that will eventually lead to a breakup of the nWo. The next Nitro even more tension built up between Nash/Hogan and Savage. It was also on that Nitro when JoJo Dillon outlawed the jacknife powerbomb from being used as Kevin Nash had injured the Giant with it (at the previous Souled Out). JoJo then said that any powerbomb used in WCW would result in that person being taken to jail. Nash disregarded this decree and jacknifed Ray Traylor later that night. Nash was then escorted out by police while shouting "Attica, Attica". Also that night Hall fought Luger. As Luger was racking Hall, Savage attacked Luger with a chair and threw Hall to the outside. Savage dropped one elbow on Luger but as he was going for another, Sting made the save. Hogan came down to the ring and helped Hall up, but neither man nor any other nWo-ite helped Savage as he layed helpless in the ring. Both Hall and Hogan laughed at Savage as the show ended. The next Nitro proved very interesting as Sting fought Savage. Hogan promised he would not help out Savage in his match, neither would any nWo-ite. Savage responded by saying there are MANY men in the nWo wanting to stab Hogan in the back. Later during the match, Hogan DID interfere in the match, but not on Savage's behalf. Savage easily had the match won but Hogan broke up the count. Luger then ran down and started beating on Hogan and Savage. The nWo came out and helped Hogan, but nobody helped Savage as Luger held him in the torture rack. As problems continued with Savage, Bret Hart made his return to WCW. Hogan said he had NOT forgotten about how Hart cost him the nWo title and he would get revenge. It was at this time that Bryan Adams (former Crush) would help Hogan get the advantage over Bret and join the nWo.
After the next PPV, the nWo was treated to 2 new members, Big Poppa Pump, Scott Steiner (who had betrayed his brother, allowing the Outsiders to get the tag belts) and the Disciple, who was previously known as the Booty Man. The following week on Nitro, Big Poppa Pump tried getting his brother into the nWo as well, however Rick refused and, with help from Giant, viciously attacked Kevin Nash, Buff Bagwell, Scott Steiner, and Konnan. It was at this time that things started to go downhill for the nWo. During a Nitro bout against Roddy Piper, Nash ran to the ring and held the Scotsman for Hollywood. However, Hogan missed Piper and instead connected with Nash, which sprung the beginning of their rivalry. The following week on an April 7th, 1998 Nitro, problems arose for Randy Savage. Apparently he was hit by a speeding Red and Yellow Dodge Viper, a Viper which Nash claimed Hogan was driving. Hogan often joked about the run over and clearly said he was driving the car that ran Savage over. That same night a heavyweight title match was scheduled, Nash vs. Sting. Nash told Hogan that he would NOT share the title with him WHEN he won it. During the match Hogan ran-in and attacked Sting, causing the DQ loss for Nash and preventing him from becoming the next champ. Nash and Hogan then had to be held apart by their nWo brothers as everyone was speculating on the breakup of the New World Order. Another week passed and this time a rematch was scheduled. Nash vs. Sting, again, but this time JJ Dillion reinstated the jacknife powerbomb as a legal manuver. Nash was almost defeated until Randy Savage came to ringside and showed support for Nash by hitting Sting. Nash the jacknifed the injured Stinger, but BRET HART again ran down and fought off the nWo. For the second week in a row, Nash was cheated out of a heavyweight belt. It was about this time that Bret Hart started saying how much respect he had for Hogan and all that ga-ga. On the next week's Nitro Hogan called out Bret Hart. Hart came out wearing a "Hogan" shirt and said how much he respected Hogan. But before he could explain anything, Randy Savage ran in and began beating on Hogan and Hart. However, numbers overwhelmed the Madness and Hart eventually put Savage in the sharpshooter. It was about this time as well that Macho injured his leg. For two weeks in a row his leg had been beaten and bruised. Also, during a six man tag, Bryan Adams left Big Poppa Pump and Konnan to fend for themselves, leaving them. It was clear to both fans and announcers that all this could only lead to one thing, breakup of the nWo. On the following Nitro, Nash with Savage and Konnan fought Luger. However, as Savage and Konnan tried to interfere, many WCW wrestlers including Sting and Giant ran in and began a beatdown of the three nWo members. Bryan Adams was about to run down and help out his brothers, but Bret Hart again came out and held Adams, the man who had recently beaten him down, back. Hart told Adams to let the WCW guys beat the hell out of Nash/Savage/Konnan, because, as he said, it was a "beautiful thing". By this time, the Wolfpack had been formed, a group consisting of Kevin Nash, Randy Savage, and Konnan. Nash was declared leader by Savage even though, as Nash claims, "We're all equal in the Pack". On the following Nitro, Dusty Rhodes came out and announced that, at the next PPV event (Slamboree), both him and Scott Hall (who was out for MANY months on personal problems) would be on the side of Kevin Nash. Rhodes also warned Hogan that Nash would kick his bald ass. However, not to be outdone, Hogan introduced the world to his newest nWo member, the Giant. Giant then fought an outraged Kevin Nash, spraypainting nWo on his back. However, at the next PPV, Scott Hall betrayed Kevin Nash, causing them to lose the tag belts to Giant and Sting. Again Scott Hall left wrestling for several months as it was revealed he was going to be in rehab. It was also very apparent that nWo Hollywood (as Hogan's faction was now being called) was on top, with more members and the heavyweight title (which Bret Hart had helped Hollywood Hogan win a couple of weeks back). It was also during this time that 2 important things happened to the nWo factions, 1) Bret Hart and Hogan agreed to team together for the first time against Piper and Macho, 2) Lex Luger joined the Wolfpack. Luger then became the "recruiter" for the Pack, and his first recruit was Sting himself. So it became very complicated, Giant with one tag belt in nWo Hollywood and Sting with one tag belt in nWo Wolfpack. When Sting defeated Giant at a PPV, Sting chose Kevin Nash as his tag partner. On the next week's Nitro, Randy Savage fought DDP in a cage match with Piper as a guest ref. During the match nWo Hollywood managed to raise the cage and attack. It was at this time that Savage left the wrestling world for surgery on his knee, leaving the Wolfpack with only 4 members, Nash/Konnan/Luger/Sting. It was about this time that new feuds began as Hogan and Dennis Rodman were feuding with DDP and Karl Malone. This led to one of the biggest Nitro in history... The date, July 7th. There were THREE big major things that happened, 1) Buff Bagwell, who had suffered a severe neck injury and had been out for several months, returned. In a very touching speech he thanked everyone and appeared to be done with the nWo, 2) Scott Hall finally made his return as he had to fight Bill Goldberg, 3) Hollywood Hogan had to face Goldberg as well, provided Goldberg could defeat the returning Scott Hall. Well, sad as it is, Goldberg BEAT Hall, then BEAT Hogan, to win the heavyweight title. On the following Nitro, Hogan blamed Hall for the loss, and challenged him to a match. Hall said Hogan got HIMSELF beat and he would beat his ass around the ring. However, this was all a setup for Nash as Big Sexy would interfere in the match. As he was about to jacknife Hogan and regain Hall as his best friend, Hall viciously attacked Nash again, proving to Hogan that Hall was a true black and white member. Hall then began calling himself "Medium Sexy the Nash Killer", and mocked Nash wherever he went. When asked WHY he turned on Nash, Hall would keep proclaiming that Hogan had the money Hall needed and that Nash had turned his back on Hall during Hall's personal problems. On the following Nitro, July 21st from Salt Lake City, Buff Bagwell fooled everyone and proved he was black and white for life as he helped Big Poppa Pump injure Rick Steiner. Also that night, Bret Hart, who was now aligning himself with Hogan on a regular basis, won the US Title from an injured DDP, and Hall/Giant defeated Nash/Sting to win the tag belts, again with help from Bret Hart, who distracted Sting to help his nWo Hollywood team win the tag straps. On the next Nitro, it was apparent that the Pack was trying to get DDP to join, as he fought Hogan and they helped DDP. However, the Pack became overwhelmed with nWo Hollywood members, and Goldberg then ran out. Goldberg cleared the ring, however, he was met with a chokeslam from Giant. It was also near this time that Bret Hart lost the US Title to Luger, however, he regained it on an August Thunder. Luger held the strap for a mere 3 days before Hart took it back. The next week's Nitro proved to be crap. The WARRIOR (minus Ultimate), who was rumored to make his return, finally did, and, during his 9184938219432891 minute long speech, he declared he would do away with HOLLYWOOD Hogan and return HULK Hogan to the world. He said Hogan was once an honorable man and would make sure he went back to his good ways. It was also during this time that Stevie Ray joined nWo Hollywood, adding to it's growing roster while the Pack remained at 4 with an injured Macho. This pretty much leads us up to where we are now. At the last Havoc, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall's feud was STILL GOING, and Bret Hart and Sting's feud was also STILL GOING. Hollywood Hogan defeated Warrior, and welcomed Horace, his real life nephew, as the newest nWo Hollywood member. Right now the nWo is only a SHELL of what it once was and will never be the same until the Wolfpack and nWo Hollywood merge once again and return to the original plan of a hostile takeover, which has taken over 2 1/2 years to accomplish.
Who started the nWo?
The concept was originally started by Scott Hall, who "invaded" WCW on the first two-hour Nitro in May of 1996 (see "Monday Night Wars") and declared that they were taking over, although he didn't note who "they" were. The implication was that is was a WWF takeover, which led to a later lawsuit and was publicly denied by Hall at the "Great American Bash" PPV in 1996. Kevin Nash joined him two weeks after he debuted, and the two of them promised a third man at the "Bash at the Beach" PPV in July. The third man was Hulk Hogan, who coined the phrase "New World Order" during his heel turn interview, although in a nebulous and roundabout way. Commentators Bobby Heenan and Larry Zbyzsko later officially named them the nWo, building on Hogan's speech, and the rest is history.
That's not what I meant.
Oh, you mean who thought of the *gimmick*? Off-and-on booker Paul Orndorff is generally credited with the creation of the "invasion" angle, and Nitro booker Terry Taylor is credited with coming up with the details (the t-shirt selling, the black and white, the attitude). Hulk Hogan was given much leeway in his own angles (as usual) and improvised a great deal of the mannerisms and catchphrases (as did Hall and Nash). And it should be noted that Eric Bischoff had almost NOTHING to do with the nWo's creation, although he often takes credit for it regardless by stating that it was based on the New Japan-All Japan feuds. Which means he didn't create it, he just borrowed it from somewhere else.
Are they a separate organization from WCW?
No. It is merely an angle/feud/storyline/whatever used to draw heat for the wrestlers involved. Everyone involved is an employee of Ted Turner and WCW. A storyline to explain the non-firing of WCW turncoat Eric Bischoff stated that Bischoff still held the position of Executive Vice President, but JJ Dillon held all the actual power, which is why Bischoff could spend WCW's money on behalf of the group trying to take it over. Recently this storyline has become further muddled with Eric Bischoff's "pen of power" angle, as he re-asserts to the smart fans that he's the one in control while the announcers believe Dillon to be in control.
What the hell is Konnan saying?
Konnan's two favorite catchphrases are "Arriba la raza" and "We bout it bout it and rowdy rowdy". "Arriba la raza" is a spanish phrase, which loosely translates to "forward the race", and is basically a call for unity amongst chicanos. Konnan himself is a white guy from New Jersey, but that's neither here nor there. "Bout it bout it" (pronounced "bowdy bowdy") is a reference to a rap song by Master P, and is basically a way of saying "We're there" in slang. Got a hot party to go to? We bout it. Got it? The "rowdy rowdy" part is just to rhyme.
What's with all the "spot" jokes?
In the fall of 1997, the Four Horsemen were actively trying to recruit Curt Hennig as the fourth member to replace Jeff Jarrett, and not having much luck at it. Finally, in one of the greatest and most emotional interviews ever given, Arn Anderson came from the dressing room, announced his retirement, and personally offered Curt Hennig his spot in the team as his last gift to the wrestling world. Many tears were shed and Hennig accepted. Then along came the nWo. In perhaps the single most simultaneously beloved and despised interview spot in the history of televised wrestling, Syxx, Buff Bagwell, Konnan and Kevin Nash dressed up as the Four Horsemen and re-enacted the interview, absolutely savaging the group and basically spitting on the career of Arn Anderson for the sake of a laugh. Kevin Nash (as Arn Anderson) delivered a line about "Not my dog Spot, not a liver spot, but MY spot" that became instantly famous, and all reports said that the *real* Horsemen had to be physically restrained from rushing the ring and were unaware that the parody was planned. The Four Horsemen met the nWo in a WarGames match shortly after, lost, and the entire Horsemen concept was completely buried as a direct result. Curt Hennig left the team for the nWo.
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