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Back in early summer 1996, a revolutionary stable took over WCW programming. They would eventually become known as the New World Order (nWo).
The idea behind the group was that two former WWE performers wanted to go to war with rival group WCW. The initial "Outsiders" were Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, known as Razor Ramon and Diesel in WWE.
The idea was the brainchild of WCW boss, Eric Bischoff, and was a smart piece of business. Not only did he increase interest with his existing fan-base but he generated a considerable buzz among the WWE Universe who were eager to see Hall and Nash and potentially other WWE stars take on WCW on their home turf.
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So aghast were WWE at these developments that they sent a steady stream of cease and desist legal letters to WCW insisting the company acknowledge Hall and Nash were no longer affiliated with WWE.
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However, even when WCW complied with the order, it did nothing to diminish the impact of the nWo storyline, which was further enhanced, when one of the most famous WWE Supestars of all time, Hulk Hogan, joined the group and declared the faction as the nWo for the first time.
Newly released WWE star, Ted DiBiase was then added to the ranks as the financial muscle behind the physical mass of Hogan, Hall and Nash.
The fifth member of the nWo was the first of the squad to have never wrestled (at that time) for Vince McMahon's WWE, The Giant (later Big Show in WWE).
Member number six was Syxx, previously known as 1-2-3 Kid in WWE and also newly released from the company.
The ranks then expanded at an incredible rate with opening card acts such as Vincent and VK Wallstreet joining the group.
The nWo dominated WCW storylines for three years before the group quietly disbanded in early 1999.
Several reformations would occur in WCW and WWE in subsequent years without ever recapturing the initial magic which propelled WCW to 83 straight Monday Night War victories as Nitro outdrew RAW in the ratings.
Now, the nWo are finally being recognised for their significant contribution to the wrestling industry as the headline act in the 2020 class for the WWE Hall of Fame.
The members being recognised are the three original members of the group, Hogan, Hall and Nash and also Syxx. Conspicuous by their absences are DiBiase, Big Show and Bischoff himself, but nevertheless the nWo are a deserved induction.
This slideshow looks at eight of the nWo's most memorable moments, listed in chronological order.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!
#8 You wanna a War?! (Nitro - May 27, 1996)
Mainstream wrestling in 1996 was still quite cartoonish in nature. WWE was still filled with ludicrous gimmick wrestlers such as: Duke "The Dumpster" Droese and Isaac Yankem, DDS. WCW had the bonkers "Dungeon of Doom."
However, on May 27, 1996 the fun times ended. WCW got serious.
During a match between jobbers, Steve Doll and The Mauler, fans began to react to a large man, decked out in denim who made his way through the crowd, hopped the guard rail, demanded a microphone and entered the ring. They recognised that man as former four-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, Razor Ramon.
Scott Hall, using his Razor Ramon accent announced: “You people know who I am. But you don’t know why I’m here.” He called out WCW, advising the company had been talking trash about WWE and now they were about to be on the receiving end of a reckoning.
"You wanna a war? You're gonna get one." Hall threatened.
The implication being that WWE had sent one of their top stars to WCW to defeat their rivals. This generated a buzz not seen in the industry since the 1980s.
It was a truly incredible moment and was a precursor to the unforgettable angles and moments to come.
#7 Hulk Hogan turns "Hollywood" (Bash at the Beach - July 7, 1996)
Game changer.
That was what occurred at WCW's 1996 Bash at the Beach pay per view event.
The show was main evented by a Six-Man Tag Team encounter between the WCW team of Macho Man Randy Savage, Lex Luger and Sting versus The Outsiders, Hall, Nash and a mystery partner. As the match wore on however, the mystery partner never showed until the climax of the bout, when Hulk Hogan appeared, apparently to assist his WCW colleagues, but instead leg dropped his buddy, Savage repeatedly.
Hogan was the third man and cut a passionate post-match promo in which he trashed WCW and it's fans and christened the upstart invaders as the New World Order.
It is impossible to explain how much of a seismic shock this was in 1996, with Hogan turning heel for the first time since 1981. Think, John Cena turning heel in 2011 as a comparable modern day example, only much bigger.
This invigorated Hogan's declining career and catapulted WCW to new heights and set up several years of incredibly dynamic programming.
#6 The Outsiders raise hell (Nitro - July 29, 1996)
Speaking of dynamic programming. The July 29, 1996 episode of Nitro played host to an excellent angle; one of the hottest of the year.
During a six-man tag team match on Nitro, between Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage and the triumvirate of Ric Flair, Chris Benoit and Steve McMichael, manager, Jimmy Hart frantically ran to the ring, telling the competitors to come to the backstage area.
Backstage, Arn Anderson and Marcus Bagwell had been laid out by Hall and Nash.
The Outsiders weren't done there. With the fight spilling to the outside of the arena, Cruiserweight Champion, Rey Mysterio attempted to come to the aid of his colleague, by leaping off a guard rail towards Nash. However, the mighty Nash caught Mysterio in mid-air and threw him like a dart into the side of a trailer. Mysterio then fell face first onto the concrete.
Hall and Nash then departed inside a limo. As it left the arena, an enraged Savage leapt on the hood, trying to gain vengeance on the pair.
It was a hell of an exciting angle and one that proved so realistic, many nearby residents called the police, believing a real life street brawl had just occurred!
#5 "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan wins the WCW World Title (Hog Wild - August 10, 1996)
The nWo had been wreaking havoc on WCW wrestlers and staff for two months, however something was missing: gold.
The opportunity to win a WCW title was afforded to Hollywood Hogan, when he challenged WCW World Champion, The Giant, in the headliner of the inagural Hog Wild pay per view, taking place from the World renowned, Sturgis motorcycle rally.
In a passable main event, Hogan, with assistance from the Outsiders downed The Giant to win his second WCW World title.
The nWo now possessed the WCW World Championship.
Post-match came another memorable angle, when Hogan's long-time buddy, Ed Leslie, formerly known as Brutus Beefcake in WWE and The Butcher and The Bootyman in WCW, came out to the ring, wanting to join the faction.
After discussing his long friendship and association with Hogan, Leslie believed he was the newest member of the hottest stable in wrestling. However, Hogan showed friendship was no longer important to him and his allegiance was with The Outsiders and The Outsiders only.
Leslie was battered senseless by the group and the nWo remained a three-man team, for now.
#4 Eric Bischoff is revealed to be the man behind the nWo (Nitro - November 18, 1996)
WWE gained the upper hand in the Monday Night Wars, mainly due to the ground-breaking Austin/McMahon feud which saw WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin clash with his maniacal boss, Vince McMahon on a weekly basis.
The evil McMahon character was created out of necessity following McMahon's real life double cross of then-WWE Champion, Bret "Hitman" Hart at the 1997 Survivor Series.
When fans loudly jeered McMahon at every opportunity, the WWE boss had no choice but to turn himself heel. However, the heel owner gimmick was actually popularised a year earlier by WCW boss, Eric Bischoff.
Bischoff like McMahon, was an affable on-screen announcer. However, on the November 18, 1996 Nitro, when confronted by Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bischoff finally revealed that he was a member of the nWo and was running the faction covertly and had been for many months.
This heel turn was a huge shocker and extremely influential in the history of wrestling as the plethora of heel owner/commissioner gimmicks in the two decades since have attested.
#3 Macho Man Randy Savage joins the nWo (SuperBrawl VII - February 23, 1997)
It was Macho Man Randy Savage who was leg dropped multiple times at Bash at the Beach 1996, when Hulk Hogan turned heel and aligned himself with The Outsiders to form the nWO.
Savage was one of the leading lights of WCW in taking the fight to the nWo. It was nothing short of shocking then when Savage joined the renegade faction.
That occurred at the conclusion of the headline bout at SuperBrawl VII wherein Hollywood Hogan defended his WCW World Title against Rowdy Roddy Piper.
With Hogan in Piper's sleeper hold, Piper was initially awarded the win. However, Savage pulled Hogan's legs under the bottom rope and informed the referee, who promptly restarted the match. Hogan then used brass knux, that Savage had covertly placed on his hand to knock out Piper and retain the gold.
Savage was now part of the nWo and aligned once more with his on/off again buddy, Hogan.
#2 Scott Steiner joins the nWo (SuperBrawl VIII - February 22, 1998)
Another year, another SuperBrawl nWo defection. This time, it was one half of the tag team, the Steiner Brothers.
During the WCW Tag Team Championship match at SuperBrawl VII, Scott betrayed and attacked his brother Rick, allowing their opponents, nWo's Outsiders, Hall and Nash to win the belts.
The nWo had infiltrated a family and the aftershock was huge.
The Steiners had been one of WCW's leading acts for a decade and had brought the fight to the nWo since the renegade group's inception. However, company and familial loyalties die hard and Scott was now the newest member of the nWo.
Scott's defection was also the catalyst for his successful singles career. Without his brother by his side, he captured WCW's mid-card singles belts, the Television Title and United States Title whilst part of the nWo before he won the big one, the WCW World Championship in 2000, following the faction's demise the previous year.
#1 The Finger poke of Doom (Nitro - January 4, 1999)
Many observers cite the infamous "Finger poke of Doom" incident on the January 4, 1999 episode of Monday Nitro as the death of WCW.
However, the company continued to be profitable for several months afterwards and the angle in theory had some logic behind it; the issue was that the planned conclusion to the controversial segment never happened, which causes people to look at it in complete disdain.
To rewind a week. At Starrcade on December 27, 1998, Goldberg lost the WCW World Championship and his purported 173-match undefeated streak to Kevin Nash after he was tasered by a stun gun wielding, Scott Hall.
Hall and Nash who had been feuding for months were now suddenly back on the same page. On Nitro a week later, Hollywood Hogan returned to television after months away and challenged Nash for the title after Goldberg, who had been scheduled to compete in a rematch, who was arrested in a set up.
The reasons became clear, when Hogan who had been leader of the nWo Black & White and Nash who had led the nWO Wolfpac competed. The match lasted only a minute or so as Hogan poked Nash in the chest and the giant collapsed to the mat as if he had been shot. Hogan promptly covered the champion to win the WCW World Title for a fifth time.
The two warring nWO factions united as one and ended the night by beating down Goldberg. Now, the original plan called for Goldberg to run through the nWO players one by one, until he vanquished Hogan and maybe the nWo once and for all and regain the gold. If that had been the final outcome, then this angle would perhaps be remembered more fondly.
One thing, that is for sure though. Over 20 years on, this remains one of the most memorable moments, not just in nWo history but wrestling history overall.
