New World Order

The nWo (New World Order) was a professional wrestling faction formed by Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hollywood Hogan in WCW. Eric Bischoff helped create and develop the storyline behind the scenes, while Hall, Nash, and Hogan became the original on-screen members and founders of the group.

Hall arrived unexpectedly on WCW Monday Nitro in May 1996 and claimed that he and his associates were taking over the company. Kevin Nash joined him several weeks later, and the two became known as The Outsiders.

Hogan revealed himself as their third member at Bash at the Beach on July 7, 1996, when he attacked Randy Savage and declared that they were the “New World Order of professional wrestling”.

The nWo presented itself as a separate organization working against WCW. Its members interrupted matches, hijacked broadcasts, attacked WCW wrestlers, and aired paid announcements during company programming.

They wore black-and-white clothing, spray-painted the nWo initials on opponents and championships, used the “Too Sweet” hand gesture, and repeated phrases like “nWo 4 Life.” The group’s simple black-and-white shirts became a wrestling and pop-culture phenomenon, with fans throughout WCW arenas wearing the same design.

The nWo became one of the main attractions of the Monday Night Wars between WCW and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Hall and Nash’s arrival, Hogan’s switch to the villainous Hollywood Hogan, and the group’s invasion style helped WCW Monday Nitro beat WWF Monday Night Raw in TV ratings for 83 weeks in a row.

The storyline created wrestling fiction, fueled real competition between the companies, and became one of the most influential wrestling angles of the 1990s.

The faction also controlled several of WCW’s championships. Hollywood Hogan held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship through much of the group’s peak, while Hall and Nash repeatedly won the WCW World Tag Team Championship as The Outsiders. Hogan even spray-painted the letters “nWo” across the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt after winning the title.

WCW gave the faction its own pay-per-view when nWo Souled Out took place on January 25, 1997. The event was presented as an nWo-controlled broadcast with its own announcers, referees, entrance area, music, and visual style. There, Hollywood Hogan defended the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against The Giant, while The Outsiders defended the WCW World Tag Team Championship against The Steiner Brothers.

The faction expanded throughout 1996 and 1997 with members like The Giant, Syxx, Buff Bagwell, Randy Savage, Konnan, Curt Hennig, Scott Steiner, Scott Norton, and Brian Adams.

Ted DiBiase appeared as its financial backer, Eric Bischoff supported the group through his WCW executive role, and Miss Elizabeth and Rick Rude accompanied its members.

Basketball star Dennis Rodman also joined the nWo and wrestled alongside Hogan. The group later expanded into New Japan Pro-Wrestling through nWo Japan.

Sting became the nWo’s main WCW opponent. The group introduced an impostor Sting who attacked Lex Luger and caused WCW wrestlers to question whether the real Sting had joined the faction. Wrestler Jeff Farmer played the impostor, who later became a separate member known as nWo Sting.

After his friends doubted him, the real Sting stopped speaking, abandoned his colorful appearance, and developed the darker black-and-white character commonly called Crow Sting. He watched the nWo from arena rafters and spent more than a year targeting Hollywood Hogan.

Their feud led to Hogan defending the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Sting at Starrcade on December 28, 1997. Sting won after a disputed three-count was overturned and Bret Hart restarted the match, although controversy over the finish later caused the championship to be vacated.

The original nWo began to break apart in 1998 because Hollywood Hogan and Kevin Nash disagreed over the faction’s leadership and direction.

Nash, Randy Savage, and Konnan formed the red-and-black nWo Wolfpac in April 1998, while Hogan’s remaining followers became known as nWo Hollywood. Lex Luger and the real Sting later joined the Wolfpac, while Scott Hall initially remained with Hogan’s group. The split ended the original unified version of the faction and turned the two nWo branches against each other.

The two sides reunited through the Fingerpoke of Doom incident on the January 4, 1999, episode of Monday Nitro. Kevin Nash had recently defeated Goldberg for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and was scheduled to defend it against a returning Hogan.

Instead of having a competitive match, Hogan poked Nash in the chest, Nash fell to the mat, and Hogan pinned him to win the championship. The staged title change brought Hogan, Nash, Hall, and other members together as nWo Elite.

The Fingerpoke of Doom became one of the most criticized moments in WCW history. On the same night, WCW revealed that Mick Foley (as Mankind) would win the WWF Championship on the taped episode of Raw, causing an estimated 600,000 homes to change channels.

This moment is often used as a symbol of WCW losing momentum during the Monday Night Wars, although the company’s decline was heavily influenced by creative, management, and business problems. Nash has also disputed the claim that the Fingerpoke by itself changed the direction of the ratings competition.

The reunited nWo failed to regain the control that the original faction had held in 1996 and 1997. Injuries, membership changes, and changes in WCW management weakened the group, and the nWo Elite gradually disappeared.

A later version called nWo 2000 featured Nash, Scott Hall, Bret Hart, Jeff Jarrett, and Scott Steiner, but that group also had a short run.

Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash revived the nWo in the WWF at No Way Out on February 17, 2002. Hogan left the group after losing to The Rock at WrestleMania X8 and becoming a fan favorite again.

X-Pac, Big Show, Booker T, and Shawn Michaels later joined, but Hall left the company, and Nash suffered an injury. With none of the three original members remaining in the active lineup, WWE disbanded the faction in July 2002.

The nWo helped popularize invasion storylines, large anti-establishment factions, reality-based presentation, and villains who remained popular with fans. Its imagery and mannerisms continued through later wrestling groups.

The nWo popularized the Kliq’s “Too Sweet” gesture on television, and Bullet Club later adopted the gesture as a tribute to the group. The nWo remains one of the most influential factions in professional wrestling history.