The nWo's 5 most memorable moments in WCW and WWE history
This morning, I woke up and grabbed my smartphone to shut off my alarm clock. The screen was full of the same headline - "The nWo to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame." Immediately, my mind began to flood with memories of the influential WCW faction from my youth (well, after, you know, "is my kid awake?", "do I have coffee?", "are they shutting my power off today?" - the usual).
WWE.com announced this morning (although apparently both People and ESPN beat them to it, somehow) that along with former multi-time WWE Champion and big-shot movie star Batista, the original three members of the New World Order - 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall - as well as "Syxx/X-Pac" Sean Waltman (who already has a ring for his induction with Degeneration X) will be inducted into the hallowed and technically physically non-existent halls of WWE's Hall Of Fame.
So, I put together a list of five of the nWo's (you are legally required to write it like that) most memorable moments in both their WCW and WWE incarnations. Don't worry, there's only one WWE entry.
These may not be moments that the group themselves would like to remember, but they're moments that we will always remember - especially old guys like me that were around to watch them when they happened.
So, let's get started.
#5 The nWo debut in WWE
WWE's usage of former WCW stars following their purchase of their former rival has been, to but it generously, hit or miss over the years. Not that this was entirely their fault at first, what with most of WCW's biggest stars electing to let their contracts with AOL Time Warner pay them to stay home during the Invasion angle. But, eventually, those contracts ran out and those stars needed work.
On February 17th, 2002, the once unthinkable happened - Hogan, Hall. and Nash not only returned to WWE, but as the group once used as WCW's main weapon to put WWE out of business. The No Way Out (get it? No Way Out? NWO? OK, you get it, never mind) PPV opened with the faction's iconic theme music playing, TV screens switched to black and white, strobe lighting, and the three men headed to the ring, their intentions somewhat unknown.
As a group, the nWo didn't fare particularly well in WWE - although Hogan would go on to have a pretty memorable run, including a final run with the WWE Championship (trivia time: this would be the final reign of this championship before WWE switch from their previous name, the WWF). But, the moment of these three reappearing on WWE television was certainly a historic one.