ESPN announced that the New World Order will be the first official group to be inducted inot The 2020 WWE Hall of Fame.
Instead of the many individuals the group has had in it, the Hall of Fame will honor the core group of Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman.
This will be the second time all four men have been inducted; Hogan in 2005, Hall in 2014, Nash in 2015 and Waltman in 2019. Hogan’s betrayal of WCW by joining The Outsiders is considered one of the top moments in pro wrestling history. The New World Order helped WCW in the ratings during the Monday Night Wars, crushing WWE TV for months.
“You’ve got four guys that were basically going at Vince as a shoot, pushing hard to actually try to take over,” Hogan told ESPN. “Not put him out of business but basically take his spot and be the No. 1 company. All of a sudden, you’re inducting four guys in the Hall of Fame that 20 years ago were trying to stab you in the back. It’s like Vince says: In the WWE, never say never.”
Hogan, Hall and Nash started the group after Bash at the Beach in 1996 and eventually added more members like Ted DiBiase, Scott Steiner, The Giant and even Dennis Rodman. Week after week, the nWo took over WCW Nitro, making it seem like a true invasion angle. From 1996-1998, the nWo were one of the main reasons for the ratings going WCW’s way. One of the hottest storylines in wrestling was Sting v. the nWo. It eventually forced Vince McMahon to shift WWE programming to an edgier style.
“The nWo was kind of the epicenter of that Attitude Era,” Nash said. “It was the first thing. It shifted Vince’s way of thinking. We built the Saturn rocket, we put it on the launchpad, and Vince came and kicked us off. Before we got in the capsule, he said, ‘I’ll take this from here.’ He took the Attitude Era, and he took it another step further.”
McMahon brought the group back in the early 2000’s, with Hogan, Nash, Hall and Waltman as the key members. While it didn’t last long in WWE, the impact the group made is significant. The “too sweet” hand gesture and the group mentality of the nWo is still used today, whether in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor, AEW or a number of other promotions. WWE also continues to utilize the nWo’s history like selling t-shirts. Kevin Nash believes that while there may be copies, there is only one nWo.
“It happened, and it’s gone,” Nash said. “And there won’t be another one.”
The 2020 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is set to take place on April 2 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Tickets for the event will be on sale this Friday.
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