The Outsiders were a professional wrestling tag team made up of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. They’re best known for their run in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where their arrival in 1996 introduced the invasion storyline that led to the formation of the New World Order (nWo).
Hall appeared unexpectedly on WCW Monday Nitro on May 27, 1996, followed by Nash on June 10. The two former WWF wrestlers challenged WCW’s roster while presenting themselves as outsiders trying to take over the company.
At Bash at the Beach on July 7, they teamed against Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage before Hulk Hogan revealed himself as their mystery partner and joined them to form the nWo.
The Outsiders became one of WCW’s leading tag teams and won the WCW World Tag Team Championship six times. Their first reign began at Halloween Havoc 1996, where they defeated Harlem Heat.
They also had major rivalries with The Steiner Brothers, Lex Luger and The Giant, and other wrestlers who defended WCW against the nWo.
Their offense featured Hall’s Outsiders Edge and Nash’s Jackknife Powerbomb, while their sunglasses, street clothes, catchphrases, and relaxed presentation matched the nWo’s rebellious image.
The team separated during the nWo split in 1998. Nash formed the nWo Wolfpac, while Hall eventually sided with Hollywood Hogan’s nWo Hollywood and turned against Nash during a tag team title match at Slamboree. Hall and Nash later reunited and won their final WCW World Tag Team Championship together in December 1999.
Hall and Nash returned to WWE with Hulk Hogan as the nWo in 2002. They reunited again in TNA in 2010 as part of The Band with Sean Waltman and Eric Young, with the group winning the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
Hall and Nash were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as members of the nWo in the Class of 2020, which was formally honored in 2021.
