By the start of , Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were two of the biggest stars in professional wrestling. What proceeded was a declaration of war on WCW. The wrestling world was a buzz. Later that episode Hall returned and warned that he was not alone and that his partner was coming soon.
The announcers never addressed him by name, nor did they say if he was or was not from WWE. Something that only added to the intrigue. Both men answered no before Nash put Bischoff through a table with a powerbomb from the entrance ramp. That mystery partner would not only change WCW but all professional wrestling. Using the longtime WCW diehard as the mystery partner would have been one of only a handful of choices that could have been as impactful as choosing Hogan.
He saw what was going on with Scott and Kevin. Hogan had played a heroic babyface character for over a decade, and becoming a villain was a risk that came without a financial guarantee or the promise of the adulation of fans around the globe. But the momentum of Hall and Nash—which he was able to sense watching the videotapes of Nitro sent to him by Jimmy Hart while he was away filming his movie—was too strong to ignore.
Eric had mentioned the idea to me, and I thought I could be a really intense heel. Amid the uncertainty, there was an overwhelming amount of optimism entering the pay-per-view. The WCW roster was loaded. Plus, Hall and Nash were entering the prime of their careers, with every promo redefining the way that top stars, especially heels, could interact with the crowd. There were genuine main-eventers in Savage and Sting, Luger had come in to his own and, of course, there was the fascination and intrigue over who would be the third man.
The main-event took an important turn when Sting accidentally knocked out Luger, turning the bout into a two-on-two affair. There was no turning back once Hogan started his stride down the aisle. Instead, he was in his own head questioning his decision to wear cowboy boots, lamenting the fact that he would have been far more comfortable—and confident—in his wrestling boots.
Had I been wearing my wrestling boots, it would have been a much bigger production. It was such a rookie move on my part. Hogan, Hall and Nash in the ring together, as partners, was the defining moment of the show. But the idea that, 25 years later, it would still be a talking point for wrestling fans around the world was never even remotely considered. With Bischoff serving as an executive producer, the project is yet another reminder of the enduring impact of the NWO. Wrestling, particularly in WWE, rarely takes chances of this magnitude.
One reason the moment worked was that it was not overproduced. From the broadcast booth, Tony Schiavone saw the moment unfold with a unique perspective. I was there in WWE in I knew what he meant to the fans. The presence of Gene Okerlund played an integral role.
The established interviewer stepped into the ring, incredulous at Hogan for his nefarious actions. Years before, Eric Bischoff had tried to get me to do a Hulk Hoagie sandwich. When I said Eric would still be selling meat out of a truck in Minnesota, that was true—Eric thought me doing frozen sandwiches was going to be his claim to financial freedom. The ties to WWE, talking about turning that company into a monster, it all turned out really well.
Bischoff laughs at the memory of the Hulk Hoagie sandwich and offers some insight behind that story. Wallstreet that they could not be members of the nWo under the terms of their WCW contract. Hence, a match was made for March 16, at Uncensored. Team nWo won the match, and because of the pre-match stipulations, they could now challenge for any WCW title whenever and wherever they wished.
After the match Sting descended from the ceiling and attacked the nWo with a baseball bat, making it apparent that he was not siding with Hogan and company, even though he had previously allowed Hogan to embrace him in the center of the ring on an earlier episode on Nitro.
Because Hulk Hogan was concerned about his image and his newfound friendship with new nWo member Dennis Rodman , Kevin Nash grew concerned that the focus of the nWo was slipping away from total domination of WCW. There was a brief confrontation between Hogan and Nash, but they never came to blows; instead they settled up, and the nWo seemed stronger than ever.
Throughout the spring of , Hogan stayed in the background as The Outsiders and Syxx feuded with the Four Horsemen. Patrick returned to being an honest referee, while DiBiase joined up with nWo foes The Steiner Brothers and managed them for a short time when they held the Tag Team titles. Hogan submitted to Luger's finishing hold, the Human Torture Rack, dropping the title that he had held onto for nearly one year.
In the aftermath, it seemed that the nWo was in disarray. However, Hogan would regain the title five days later at Road Wild. All seemed well again within the nWo. The focus of the nWo then switched back to the Four Horsemen. When long-time Horseman Arn Anderson announced his retirement in an emotional speech on Monday Nitro on August 25, he offered his spot as Horsemen "enforcer" to the newly arrived Curt Hennig. Hennig replied: " It would be an honour ". Kevin Nash, dressed as Arn, would make references to alcoholism and Arn's age.
Syxx, dressed as Flair, mocked his age and mannerisms. Backstage, Flair and Anderson were rumoured to be genuinely upset at the parody. Steve McMichael submitted in order to stop the nWo from beating on Flair; after the match, Hennig slammed the door of the steel cage on Flair's head as he lay prone. This led to Hennig feuding with Flair, and also led to the return of Roddy Piper. Hogan would face Piper in a steel cage match on October 26 , at Halloween Havoc.
Piper won the match, but was beaten badly by Randy Savage and Hogan after the match. Sting refused, only wanting one man: Hulk Hogan. On November 10, the nWo came to the ring wearing Canadian flags, singing "O Canada," and making references to Bret Hart and the Montreal Screwjob , which had taken place the night before. This led to speculation that Bret Hart would soon be joining the nWo. He also made hostile references to Sting, whom he held a grudge against for ending his career three years earlier during a match in Japan.
This win earned him a WCW Title shot in the future. Instead of joining the nWo, however, he agreed to be the special referee in the match pitting Larry Zbyszko against the nWo's Eric Bischoff.
Meanwhile, frustrated by Sting's constant psychological games, Hogan finally agreed to face Sting and put the WCW title on the line. Sting vs. Hogan and Bischoff vs. It seemed as if the nWo was poised to take full control after a year and a half of fighting WCW.
This event was intended as a legit test run for a permanent changeover of Nitro to an nWo-centric show, with the soon-debuting Thunder becoming the WCW-centric prime-time show. However, due to abysmal ratings following the twenty-plus minutes of the conversion of the set on live television, the plan for an nWo weekly show was quietly dropped, with the only evidence being the occasional nWo Monday Nitro T-shirt being worn by an nWo member.
This gave full control of Nitro to WCW. Hogan had originally pinned Sting, but confusion arose when Bret Hart appeared at ringside and accused referee and former nWo member Nick Patrick of making a fast count, claiming "it would never happen again. Hogan then submitted to Sting's Scorpion Death Lock. After 13 months of inactivity, Sting had finally stood up for WCW and ended Hogan's reign atop the company.
WCW now had full control of Nitro , and it seemed that the nWo would fall apart at the seams. Because of the controversy surrounding Sting's title win, James J. This prompted Sting to finally speak after 16 months, telling Dillon " You have no guts!
Soon, problems began to arise between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Savage had attempted to defeat Lex Luger on numerous occasions, but lost because of botched interference from fellow nWo members, including Hogan. This led to heated arguments between Savage and Hogan, and there were near physical confrontations between Savage and Nash. It was rumored to have the NWO run its course through SummerSlam that year, but something happened along the way: Hogan's fanbase forgave him and he donned the red and yellow once more.
The NWO isn't just a footnote, it's history. Without it, who knows how WCW would have lasted had they kept milking the same formula. Originally, Sting was supposed to be the third man in Hall and Nash't team, but it's doubtful the impact would have been as great as it was with Hogan making the heel turn. Twenty years is a long time, but for some, this moment has been etched in their brains.
It was something unique and something we'll all remember as fans.
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