3 Reasons why the nWo would not work in 2019
Today is the 23rd anniversary celebrating the official birth of the New World Order (nWo). The moment in which time literately stood still, as well looked on in shock as we saw Hulk Hogan turn his back on his legion of Hulkamaniacs, along with every wrestler, commentator and spectator that ever looked up to The Hulkster.
Hogan's heel turn marked the beginning of the nWo. Aligning himself with The Outsiders, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, began the era in which WCW would truly begin to dominate. With each passing week, more WCW stars would jump ship and join forces with the nWo.
We all know the history behind the rise and the fall of the nWo. That is not what we're going to talk about.
Today, I would like to discuss why the nWo would not succeed in 2019, versus how the group became a blockbuster hit in the mid-'90s for WCW. Without any further ado, let's get started.
#1The Bullet Club Effect
The Bullet Club is considered to be the modern-day version of the nWo. The group borrowed the "Too Sweet" signal, along with the classic "crotch chop" from D-Generation X. They had the gang like mentality, along with a strong fan following that continued to grow and surge between Japanese wrestling fans and the ones in the United States. The group is still around, but nowhere near at the level they once were.
Having said that, what made The Bullet Club work was the style and flair of the wrestlers within' the stable.
All of them were pretty much best friends or strong acquaintances at best. Therefore, it was fun for them to get along, create storylines and put on some amazing matches in NJPW and ROH, respectively.
The nWo, on the other hand, was full of egos. During the core years of the nWo, you had Hogan, Hall, Nash, Savage, etc who were all under big guaranteed contracts with WCW. This meant they could do whatever they wanted and still get paid big bucks for it without any real motivation to improve or get past a certain level.
The Bullet Club borrowed from the nWo and was inspired by them, but the spirit was completely organic and real.
The nWo was like meshing the top 80's, early 90's WWE stars into one group, led by Eric Bischoff who was young and questionably in over his head, in trying to make this one egotistical faction work.
Fast forward to 2019. Something like the nWo clearly would not work under those parameters we saw between 1996-2000 in WCW.