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Hollywood Hogan's nWo: Let's talk about it and remember

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D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
Over in WrassleGAF we're doing an nWo month (hence my av, and you may see some others being branded nWo) and I thought it'd be fun to make a topic to have people who aren't wrasslin' regulars chip in with their thoughts and memories as well.

First I'd like to direct you to a series of writeups at legitshook.com, that valued gaffer Strobogo has written, to re-familiarize yourself with the buildup and reveal of Hulk Hogan being the third man. Some of this is directly cribbed from his reviews.

This is from Wikipedia outlining the buildup to the infamous Bash at the Beach 1996 Pay-Per-View that had Hogan appear:

On May 19, 1996, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash wrestled their final matches for the WWF as "Razor Ramon" and "Diesel," respectively. Both Hall and Nash had opted to sign with rival WCW instead of staying with the WWF, and as such made a homecoming of sorts; Hall, a former star in the American Wrestling Association, wrestled for WCW from 1989 until 1992 and Nash broke into the business with the company in 1990 and remained in WCW until 1993.

Eight days after his last WWF appearance, Hall showed up in Macon, Georgia for May 27's Nitro from the Macon Coliseum. As The Mauler and Steve Doll wrestled in the ring, Hall emerged from the audience and jumped over the guard rail, entered the ring bringing a halt to the match, and called for the ring announcer's microphone. "You all know who I am," Hall said to the stunned crowd, "but you don't know why I'm here." He went on to deliver a now-famous speech which has since become known as the "You Want a War?" speech, stating that he and unnamed allies had a challenge for WCW Executive Vice-President Eric Bischoff and any WCW superstar.

As Nitro neared its end, Hall accosted Bischoff, who was also the lead broadcaster for Nitro at the time, in the broadcast booth and demanded that he tell WCW owner Ted Turner to pick three of his best wrestlers.[4][5] The next week, Hall reappeared on Nitro five minutes before the end of the broadcast and again interrogated Bischoff. Sting confronted and slapped Hall after Hall threw a toothpick at him, and Hall said he had a "little...no...BIG surprise" for Sting.

During the next Nitro, Hall again pestered Bischoff in the broadcast booth. Bischoff demanded to know of the "surprise" Hall had in store for Sting while being unaware that Nash, the surprise, was standing right behind him. Hall finally pointed his partner out, and Nash said, "So this is WCW, where the big boys play, huh? Look at the adjective: Play [sic]. We ain't here to play!" From then on, the two would become known as The Outsiders, randomly appearing at WCW events to cause trouble and (inevitably) be led out of the building by WCW security. Initially, the WCW broadcasters did not use "The Outsiders" to refer to Hall and Nash collectively, instead referring to Hall and Nash individually by their last names.

Despite the fact that Hall and Nash were both fully employed by WCW, the storyline's implication that they were WWF wrestlers "invading" WCW was enough of a concern to the WWF that it considered legal action over Hall and Nash's antics. Hall was the largest concern to the WWF; in addition to his usage of the terms "Billionaire Ted", "The Huckster", "The Nacho Man", and "Scheme Gene" (disparaging references to Turner, Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, and "Mean" Gene Okerlund that the WWF had made in early 1996 skits mocking WCW) in interviews, he had not fully distanced himself from his "Razor Ramon" character in the WWF, continuing to speak in a faux-Cuban accent and referring to people as "chico." WCW attempted to address these concerns at The Great American Bash in June 1996, where Bischoff invited The Outsiders to do an interview with him.

He promised them a match at the next pay-per-view event, and then directly asked both Hall and Nash if they were employed by the WWF, to which each replied in the negative. The WWF, still unsatisfied, filed a lawsuit, charging that Bischoff had proposed inter-promotional matches for TBS to associate the two companies with each other.

This was despite the fact that Ted Turner and WWF chairman Vince McMahon had carried on a rivalry for (at the time) eleven years, based on the fallout from McMahon's 1984 purchase of Georgia Championship Wrestling and its flagship program World Championship Wrestling, and the program's subsequent failure and McMahon's sale of its time slot to Jim Crockett Promotions (the forerunner to WCW). Also, prior to the nWo storyline, Bischoff routinely revealed results of taped episodes of Monday Night Raw, the WWF's flagship show, on live Nitro broadcasts (at the time RAW was only live every other week, as the WWF would show a live RAW on a Monday night and then tape the next week's show the following day) and had presided over a controversial angle on a December 1995 edition of Nitro in which Madusa, who had competed in the WWF as Alundra Blayze and was the reigning WWF Women's champion, appeared on the air with her championship belt and threw it in a trash can.

During their interview with Bischoff at The Great American Bash, both Hall and Nash pressed him again to name his company's three representatives. Bischoff said that he had found three men who would answer their challenge, but would not name them. Hall became skeptical of Bischoff's refusal and it led to an attack by both Outsiders, ending when Nash powerbombed Bischoff through the interview stage. Following this show, The Outsiders continued to randomly terrorize WCW events, always being chased away by armed security guards. Meanwhile, Bischoff held a draft on Nitro to determine WCW's representatives. Sting, his tag team partner Lex Luger, and Randy Savage were chosen. Meanwhile, The Outsiders had an ace up their sleeve: the mystery third man. It was rumored that Bret Hart was going to be the third man, as he was a free agent at the time, but he ended up signing a 20-year contract with the WWF, squashing the rumor.
Click to expand...

Then, for the Bash at the Beach 1996 "Hostile Takeover" match (that had AMAZING promo music as well, the Outsiders' official theme pre-nWo) I defer to Strobogo's review of Bash at the Beach, with gifs - available at https://legitshook.squarespace.com/...oys-play/2014/9/27/wcw-bash-at-the-beach-1996

OYUOU7O.gif

uYe2gEU.gif


Legitshook.com said:
The Outsiders vs Sting/Lex Luger/Randy Savage

This place is amped. Everyone is standing. Still no 3rd man. The drama is so thick you CAN'T cut it with a knife. Sting's music hits. Gene comes out instead, looking confused. Gene wants to know who the god damn 3rd man is. "All you need to know, little mayne, is that he's here, and he's ready." The 2 of them are enough as it is.

Hall and Lex start the match. Lex hits the forearm on both men. Nash grabs Lex in the corner. Sting comes in with a Stinger Splash, accidentally squashing Lex in the process. Lex falls to the floor and appears completely out. EMTs put Lex on a gurney and take him to the back. Hall tries to take some shots at him while he's tied up. Hall slaps Sting right in the face, which gets Sting all FIIIIIIIIIRRRRRREEEEEEDD UP. Macho tags in and gets hits in the gut. Nash hits sneaky snake eyes. Nash then tags in for the first time. "Who bad? WHO BE BAD NOW? WHO BE BAD NOW? Deal on him, brother!" Macho tries to roll out of an elbow drop and actually made it worse for himself. Nash's power is too much for Sting. Fall away slam. Big boot. Sting is able to hit a low dropkick on Nash, but couldn't make the tag. Macho tries to use a chair. Tony is all supportive of Hall and Nash getting injured. CHEAT TO WIN. HIT HIM WITH A BOARD. INJURE THEM. Side walk slam. Sting is getting wrecked. Hot tag to Macho! "Randy Savage is in and he's NUTS!" HULK HOGAN IS IN THE BUILDING! "Yeah, but whose side is he on?!?!" Hulk Hogan just leg dropped Macho Man. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? More leg drops. Randy Anderson is thrown from the ring. Hall counts the pin for Hulk. The reaction is wonderful. Trash is starting to fill the ring.
Click to expand...

1411854418215


[quote="legitshook.com]TO THE MEAN BROTHERJACKDUDE. Gene gets hit in the head with a full drink heading for Hulk. "You can call this the New World Order of wrestling, brother." You see, those 2 came down from a big company up north and who knows better about that company more than Hogan? Hulk made them so much money that he became bigger than the whole company. Open drinks are hitting Hogan now. Hulk got bored, brother. "They're the NEW BLOOD of professional wrestling, brother." "Look at all of this crap in this ring." "As far as I'm concerned, all of this crap in the ring represents all these fans out here." "You fans can STICK IT, brother." "I'm Tony Schiavone. Hulk Hogan, you can go to hell. We're outta here. Straight to hell." [/quote]

1411854523560


[quote="legitshook.com]God damn that reaction when Hulk dropped the leg. And that same noise didn't stop for the entire promo afterwards. Just a roar of confusion and anger. It's amazing. Trash every where, Tony telling Hogan to go to hell and storming off, Gene being disgusted, Brain being vindicated after a decade of shit talking Hulk. I don't think there has been a heel turn since to get that kind of reaction. I think this was the last time a heel turn was real.[/quote]

What a hell of a moment for wrestling. It triggered the boom in popularity that wrestling may never achieve again, reinvented Hulk Hogan, and so much more. It would kick the WWE in the ass to start making compelling content, and ignite a war between the two companies that brought out the best in each other...for a while.

Later, there would be splinter nWo groups, the lWo, and much more - but let's appreciate this, the best, at its time.
 
B

BronsonLee

Member
Fuck you, Hogan! Damn you straight to hell.

I should've listened to Heenan all my life. Never trust Hogan! Hit that guy with a socket wrench!
 
H

Hasney

Member
Truly the greatest moment in the history of our sport was this one:

1412082421949


BronsonLee said:
Fuck you, Hogan! Damn you straight to hell.

I should've listened to Heenan all my life. Never trust Hogan! Hit that guy with a socket wrench!
Click to expand...

Tony: Here come Hogan

Heenan: BUT WHO'S SIDE IS HE ON?!
 
T

Tagyhag

Member
Have they put all the nWo episodes on WWE Network? I'd pay money just to watch them.

Also, WWE: n.W.o. The Revolution is on Netflix and I thought it was a great documentary.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
Tagyhag said:
Have they put all the nWo episodes on WWE Network? I'd pay money just to watch them.

Also, WWE: n.W.o. The Revolution is on Netflix and I thought it was a great documentary.
Click to expand...

All the way through 1996, yes it is.
 
P

Parallax

best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
The nwo was so hype until they started adding everyone. Including the whack ass buff bagwell
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
Bagwell belonged in the nWo, his character was perfect for it.
 
R

RkOwnage

Member
nWo was awesome, but I'm always reminded of Starcade 1997. They had the biggest build up ever with Sting and Hogan, and at 11, I was ready to see Sting kick Hogan's ass. Not only was the match bad, Sting never looked good throughout. Didn't know it at the time but finding out that the match was bad because Hogan didn't think Sting "looked ready" just made me really despise Hogan.

Still irritates me to this day, lol.
 
stn

stn

Member
One of the greatest storylines ever, so much fun watching WCW back in the day. Though I wasn't a fan when the NWO started expanding beyond the original three.
 
B

bigkrev

Member
The build to it was great, and it was great at the start, but got diluted quickly by adding too many members that didn't mean anything (Bray Wyatts Dad was a member in early 1997 for no real reason), and probably led to the death of WCW as the NWO would always win, making WCW look like a bunch of Jobbers. The angle probably should have ended at Starrcade 1997, but it just kept going.

The NJPW vs UWFI angle that the NWO was based on only lasted a year fwiw.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
nWo members for the first incarnation of it:

Scott Hall (founding member, sided with nWo Hollywood after split)
Kevin Nash (founding member, leader of nWo Wolfpac after split)
Hollywood Hogan (leader and founding member, leader of nWo Hollywood after split)
Ted DiBiase (joined in August 1996, left in April 1997)
Nick Patrick (joined in August 1996, kicked out of the group in April 1997)
The Giant (joined in September 1996, kicked out of the group in December 1996)
nWo Sting (joined in September 1996, sided with nWo Hollywood after split)
Syxx (joined in September 1996, fired from WCW in March 1998)
Vincent (joined in September 1996, sided with nWo Hollywood after split)
Miss Elizabeth (joined in September 1996, sided with nWo Wolfpac after split)
Eric Bischoff (joined in November 1996, sided with nWo Hollywood after split)
Buff Bagwell (joined in November 1996, sided with nWo Hollywood after split)
Michael Wallstreet (joined in December 1996, contractually removed from group in April 1997)
Big Bubba Rogers (joined in December 1996, contractually removed from group in April 1997)
Scott Norton (joined in December 1996, sided with nWo Hollywood after split)
Masahiro Chono (joined in December 1996)
Randy Savage (joined in February 1997, sided with nWo Wolfpac after split)
Dennis Rodman (joined in March 1997, left the group in July 1997)
The Great Muta (joined in May 1997)
Tenzan (joined in May 1997)
Konnan (joined in July 1997, sided with nWo Wolfpac after split)
Curt Hennig (joined in September 1997, sided with nWo Wolfpac after split)
Rick Rude (joined in November 1997, sided with nWo Wolfpac after split)
Louie Spicolli (joined in January 1998, passed away on February 15, 1998)
Dusty Rhodes (joined in January 1998, sided with nWo Wolfpac after split)
Brian Adams (joined in February 1998, sided with nWo Hollywood after split)
The Disciple (joined in February 1998, sided with nWo Hollywood after split)
Scott Steiner (joined in February 1998, sided with nWo Hollywood after split)
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
bigkrev said:
The build to it was great, and it was great at the start, but got diluted quickly by adding too many members that didn't mean anything (Bray Wyatts Dad was a member in early 1997 for no real reason), and probably led to the death of WCW as the NWO would always win, making WCW look like a bunch of Jobbers. The angle probably should have ended at Starrcade 1997, but it just kept going.

The NJPW vs UWFI angle that the NWO was based on only lasted a year fwiw.
Click to expand...

I liked the nWo but this is one thing I will not argue against. One thing that I think other factions (4-Horsemen, D-Generation X) did better than the nWo was help make other people look better in the process.
 
L

LakeEarth

Member
One thing I learned from 90s WCW is that you never turn your back on the wolf pack. Because, if you do so you may, in fact, end up in a body bag. That's advice I will follow to the grave.
 
shoplifter

shoplifter

Member
^^^ because fuck you, that's why. Muta just does what he wants. Also, he was the most well known Japanese guy at the time and with the NJPW-WCW relationship at the time it made sense to make an angle out of the NWO spreading worldwide. Chono and Tenzan were probably really the 'best' fits though. Especially Chono with that pimp coat he wore to the ring.


bigkrev said:
T (Bray Wyatts Dad was a member in early 1997 for no real reason),
Click to expand...

Former well-known WWE guy. That's really the only reason unless they wanted to just play up Dibiase and him as 'money men' in-character.
 
J

Jarnet87

Member
The worst thing that ever happened to wrestling. Every monday would go like this

Nitro intro > NWO come out and talk > disco inferno/norman smiley/B rate fights>main event>NWO comes out and beats up on the good guy>spray paint his back>end of show.
 
B

bigkrev

Member
shoplifter said:
Former well-known WWE guy. That's really the only reason unless they wanted to just play up Dibiase and him as 'money men' in-character.
Click to expand...

Except Giant, who had zero ties to WWF at the time was the first big deal NWO addition. The logic of "former WWF guys" would have worked, but they fucked it up right from the start!
 
BFIB

BFIB

Member
Jarnet87 said:
The worst thing that ever happened to wrestling. Every monday would go like this

Nitro intro > NWO come out and talk > disco inferno/norman smiley/B rate fights>main event>NWO comes out and beats up on the good guy>spray paint his back>end of show.
Click to expand...

We'll see you on Thunder!
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
As opposed to
Jarnet87 said:
The worst thing that ever happened to wrestling. Every monday would go like this

Nitro intro > the Giant vignette> disco inferno/johnny b badd/ B rate fights>main event>Giant comes out and chokeslams the good guy/Four Horsemen beat up the good guy>Giant roars/Four Horsemen make four horsemen sign at camera>end of show.
Click to expand...
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
I won't have anyone badmouthing Disco Inferno, he's wonderful.
 
BFIB

BFIB

Member
The thing about the nWo angle is how WWE constantly has to remind us and attempt to recreate their own revisionist history on the Network. You can see it for yourself for $9.99 a month.

But anyway, nWo is by far the greatest angle in the history of pro wrestling (at least stateside). Its something that WWE has never even come close to, and it constantly eats at WWE. You can tell in their discussion around it "Bischoff was trying to put us out of business!" etc.

Bischoff did the one thing that no one else was able to do. He beat McMahon, and handily for 2 solid years. No one else can stake that claim, and for that, nWo Hollywood (before the Wolfpac) will always hold a special place to me. It was such a great time for wrestling, and anytime it melds into mainstream, its so much fun to be involved.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
nemss said:
The thing about the nWo angle is how WWE constantly has to remind us and attempt to recreate their own revisionist history on the Network. You can see it for yourself for $9.99 a month.

But anyway, nWo is by far the greatest angle in the history of pro wrestling (at least stateside). Its something that WWE has never even come close to, and it constantly eats at WWE. You can tell in their discussion around it "Bischoff was trying to put us out of business!" etc.

Bischoff did the one thing that no one else was able to do. He beat McMahon, and handily for 2 solid years. No one else can stake that claim, and for that, nWo Hollywood (before the Wolfpac) will always hold a special place to me. It was such a great time for wrestling, and anytime it melds into mainstream, its so much fun to be involved.
Click to expand...

You sure about that?

stonevsvince.jpg
Click to expand...
 
BFIB

BFIB

Member
Austin/McMahon was a great rivalry. But it didn't hold the shock value that nWo carried after Hogan turned.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
nWo was a bigger and better angle than Austin vs McMahon, even though that was also amazing.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
nemss said:
Austin/McMahon was a great rivalry. But it didn't hold the shock value that nWo carried after Hogan turned.
Click to expand...

No argument there, Hogan turning is the best heel turn ever. But WWF/WWE seemed to be able to milk the Austin/McMahon angle longer than WCW was able to milk the nWo.

I think we should be fortunate that arguably the two greatest angles in American pro-wrestling history happened pretty much simultaneously.
 
R

Revolver

Member
Greatest heel turn ever. The nWo angle was the greatest angle ever too until it went on far too long and pretty much everybody on the roster wanted in on it by the end. But for a time it was the hottest thing around.
 
B

BobTheFork

Member
I love Bobby Heenan so much but 'Who's side is he on?!!!" has to be the biggest blown call/giveaway in Wrestling all time. It's not even the only time he did it.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
snk2 said:
Hollywood Hogan's greatest championship win ever:

fingerpoke-of-doom-o.gif


also the greatest night
in the history of our sport
Click to expand...

To this day, I'm amazed that wrestlers and marks alike get offended by this angle. Like... they know it's an angle right? And that the whole thing was Kevin laying down for Hogan because Hogan couldn't beat Goldberg?

Worried about the prestige of the title or whatever when the same title would be given to Vince Russo and David Arquette. Not to mention Vince having the WWF title which no one ever said a word about.
 
BFIB

BFIB

Member
Sephzilla said:
No argument there, Hogan turning is the best heel turn ever. But WWF/WWE seemed to be able to milk the Austin/McMahon angle longer than WCW was able to milk the nWo.

I think we should be fortunate that arguably the two greatest angles in American pro-wrestling history happened pretty much simultaneously.
Click to expand...

Had WCW kept the nWo small, and built a solid storyline to carry after it, then who knows what would have happened?

WCW couldn't answer WWE's attitude, so I'm not sure WCW would have ever caught WWE again. Honestly, the best thing WCW could have done was moved Nitro to Tuesday Nights after '98. By then, the war was pretty much over, WCW should have tucked its tail, fled to Tuesdays, and worked on building its own identity rather than having their own jumbotron, red ropes, and Dusty eating burritos in the back before giving the stinkface.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
BobTheFork said:
I love Bobby Heenan so much but 'Who's side is he on?!!!" has to be the biggest blown call/giveaway in Wrestling all time. It's not even the only time he did it.
Click to expand...

That's why it isn't a giveaway - Heenan had been pestering Hogan for a long, long time and that sort of reaction was expected.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
BobTheFork said:
I love Bobby Heenan so much but 'Who's side is he on?!!!" has to be the biggest blown call/giveaway in Wrestling all time. It's not even the only time he did it.
Click to expand...

I think if Heenan didn't say anything like that, it would have been a dead giveaway that Hogan was about to turn. Heenan tried to smear Hogan for years leading up to that moment so, before Hogan dropped the leg on Savage, that line was Heenan just being his normal self.

Data West said:
Not to mention Vince having the WWF title which no one ever said a word about.
Click to expand...

Didn't Vince immediately vacate the title after that, though?
 
T

TarpitCarnivore

Member
Data West said:
To this day, I'm amazed that wrestlers and marks alike get offended by this angle. Like... they know it's an angle right? And that the whole thing was Kevin laying down for Hogan because Hogan couldn't beat Goldberg?

Worried about the prestige of the title or whatever when the same title would be given to Vince Russo and David Arquette. Not to mention Vince having the WWF title which no one ever said a word about.
Click to expand...

If I recall, basing this on the documentary from Netflix, this happened because of their (Nash mainly) displeasure with the organization.
 
R

ReturnOfTheRAT

Member
nemss said:
The thing about the nWo angle is how WWE constantly has to remind us and attempt to recreate their own revisionist history on the Network. You can see it for yourself for $9.99 a month.

But anyway, nWo is by far the greatest angle in the history of pro wrestling (at least stateside). Its something that WWE has never even come close to, and it constantly eats at WWE. You can tell in their discussion around it "Bischoff was trying to put us out of business!" etc.

Bischoff did the one thing that no one else was able to do. He beat McMahon, and handily for 2 solid years. No one else can stake that claim, and for that, nWo Hollywood (before the Wolfpac) will always hold a special place to me. It was such a great time for wrestling, and anytime it melds into mainstream, its so much fun to be involved.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

It was such an incredible run.
 
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