Kyle Petty as NWO member.

[agent817]

I remember seeing this clip a while back and thinking that this was weird, but I am getting ahead of myself here. Because this promo happened before I became a fan, I remember sometime after I gained in an interest in wrestling, I found an NWO fan-site. It was clearly a Geocities or Tripod page (ahhhh, the good old days of Geocities, Tripod, AOL Members, etc.) and I remember seeing links to members of Hollywood, Wolfpac, and "other." I noticed Kyle Petty as a member. It turned out he drove the NWO car because WCW had a car in NASCAR. I don't know much, if anything about NASCAR, but I know that a lot of cars have sponsors and because NASCAR is big in the south, as well as WCW being based in the south, I could see the connection. Plus, NWO was popular, so that's not a big deal.

I found a few clips online that involved Petty, or mentioned him.

Here is the pre-recorded promo that had Kyle Petty hanging out with the NWO. Not to mention Nick Hogan, which I thought was weird as well, but at the same time, I remember going with my dad to his friend's house when I was a kid and hanging with the guys.
www.dailymotion.com/video/xuq4fg

Then I found these two videos.

NWO introduces Kyle Petty:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ic76nfW24I

This was even weirder:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0MkwAJojQE

I think the last one is strange because they talk about Kyle Petty for crashing in a then-recent race and also bring out Jason Keller. Not to mention Keller was in racing suit. I wonder if the driver of the WCW car had won that he would have been brought out instead.

What are your thoughts?

[Burst]

I'd be willing to guess Jason Keller's involvement in the last bit was almost entirely due to him being sponsored by Slim Jim that year. I don't know the exact nuances of the sponsorship deal since I did some digging and Petty and Keller were on separate teams, but I wouldn't be surprised if WCW was splitting the sponsorship between the two of them vs. in 1996 when they were doing a full-time deal with the #29 car.

I say that 'cause I've also found a diecast of a Jason Keller car promoting Halloween Havoc (and also Slim Jim), so yeah:

[agent817]

Now that I think about it, was that promo and Kyle Petty driving up with the car the only times he made appearances? It sure seems like it. I just couldn't imagine him walking out to the ring with the rest of the NWO on Nitro during those days.

[Hulkshi Tanahashi]

This might be the most obscure celebrity involvement with wrestling ever!

[Cry Me a Wiggle]

Oct 19, 2022 14:30:04 GMT -5 Hulkshi Tanahashi said:

This might be the most obscure celebrity involvement with wrestling ever!

Don’t forget that Paul from TBS’ Dinner & a Movie also joined the nWo.

[Hulkshi Tanahashi]

Oct 19, 2022 15:13:27 GMT -5 Cry Me a Wiggle said:

Oct 19, 2022 14:30:04 GMT -5 Hulkshi Tanahashi said:

This might be the most obscure celebrity involvement with wrestling ever!

Don’t forget that Paul from TBS’ Dinner & a Movie also joined the nWo.

I stand corrected.

[fortknox]

www.fightful.com/wrestling/kyle-petty-reflects-joining-nwo-wcw

Speaking with The Two-Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Kyle recalled his time with the New World Order and still being recognized as a member of the group today.

"So here’s how that happened. Honestly, it came at a great time for me. At the time I had the long hair, the earrings, I was off in one direction while the other racers maybe were a little more mainstream. I was much different than the other drivers at the time. WCW had a car through Turner and the Turner affiliates, that Elliot Sadler drove. It was also the Cartoon Network car but was the WCW car a lot. Then the nWo came out and they were looking for something. They wanted a WCW adversary on the track and said let's get Kyle to drive the nWo car because he's the perfect fit for what we are trying to do.

"Those guys were huge, man! (laughs) They were so incredibly genuine and they were so nice to me. Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash and all those guys were great. If you ever saw those backstage segments with me and the nWo you can barely see me because I’m so small compared to those guys. That was the easiest job I ever had in my life. Those guys worked so hard and I just had to sit there with them."

He added, "I still have some nWo shirts leftover from that time period and will still wear them out. Every time I do, someone will inevitably stop me and say “nWo 4 life brother” and I’m like I am right there with you bud. I drove the nWo car off and on for about 2 years, but I drove the Mello Yello and the Hot Wheels car for about 7 years and I will get more recognition from driving the nWo car, it's crazy. I got noticed more for wrestling than for Coca-Cola and Mattel

[tafkaga]

Kyle Petty might be the only member of the original nWo never to defect or get kicked out.

[Gunhaver]

It's a shame they never worked a spot where he drove down the ramp and rammed the ring to break up a pin or something.

[RGT 85]

At least he respects that indeed the nWo is 4 life.

[OGBoardPoster2005]

He also appeared at Starrcade 1984 as a judge for the Flair/Rhodes match

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Jan 29, 2024 21:46:52 GMT -5 fortknox said:

www.fightful.com/wrestling/kyle-petty-reflects-joining-nwo-wcw

Speaking with The Two-Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Kyle recalled his time with the New World Order and still being recognized as a member of the group today.

"So here’s how that happened. Honestly, it came at a great time for me. At the time I had the long hair, the earrings, I was off in one direction while the other racers maybe were a little more mainstream. I was much different than the other drivers at the time. WCW had a car through Turner and the Turner affiliates, that Elliot Sadler drove. It was also the Cartoon Network car but was the WCW car a lot. Then the nWo came out and they were looking for something. They wanted a WCW adversary on the track and said let's get Kyle to drive the nWo car because he's the perfect fit for what we are trying to do.

"Those guys were huge, man! (laughs) They were so incredibly genuine and they were so nice to me. Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash and all those guys were great. If you ever saw those backstage segments with me and the nWo you can barely see me because I’m so small compared to those guys. That was the easiest job I ever had in my life. Those guys worked so hard and I just had to sit there with them."

He added, "I still have some nWo shirts leftover from that time period and will still wear them out. Every time I do, someone will inevitably stop me and say “nWo 4 life brother” and I’m like I am right there with you bud. I drove the nWo car off and on for about 2 years, but I drove the Mello Yello and the Hot Wheels car for about 7 years and I will get more recognition from driving the nWo car, it's crazy. I got noticed more for wrestling than for Coca-Cola and Mattel

Oh my god, the nWo *is* still going!

[Jake, The Jake, Jake]

Jan 29, 2024 21:46:52 GMT -5 fortknox said:

www.fightful.com/wrestling/kyle-petty-reflects-joining-nwo-wcw

Speaking with The Two-Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Kyle recalled his time with the New World Order and still being recognized as a member of the group today.

"So here’s how that happened. Honestly, it came at a great time for me. At the time I had the long hair, the earrings, I was off in one direction while the other racers maybe were a little more mainstream. I was much different than the other drivers at the time. WCW had a car through Turner and the Turner affiliates, that Elliot Sadler drove. It was also the Cartoon Network car but was the WCW car a lot. Then the nWo came out and they were looking for something. They wanted a WCW adversary on the track and said let's get Kyle to drive the nWo car because he's the perfect fit for what we are trying to do.

"Those guys were huge, man! (laughs) They were so incredibly genuine and they were so nice to me. Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash and all those guys were great. If you ever saw those backstage segments with me and the nWo you can barely see me because I’m so small compared to those guys. That was the easiest job I ever had in my life. Those guys worked so hard and I just had to sit there with them."

He added, "I still have some nWo shirts leftover from that time period and will still wear them out. Every time I do, someone will inevitably stop me and say “nWo 4 life brother” and I’m like I am right there with you bud. I drove the nWo car off and on for about 2 years, but I drove the Mello Yello and the Hot Wheels car for about 7 years and I will get more recognition from driving the nWo car, it's crazy. I got noticed more for wrestling than for Coca-Cola and Mattel

Well he sounds charming

[Urn Anderson]

Back when I was a kid, my dad was huge into Nascar. We stood in line for about 3 hours to meet Kyle Petty at a grocery store opening, and he left when it was our turn to go next.

Kyle Petty will always be a heel to me.

[agent817]

Wow. I am surprised someone found my old thread.

[buckethead]

I'd like to know why they didn't use the Soundgarden song 'Kyle Petty, Son of Richard' for these segments.

[FHgrad99]

Jan 31, 2024 18:48:58 GMT -5 buckethead said:

I'd like to know why they didn't use the Soundgarden song 'Kyle Petty, Son of Richard' for these segments.

They could have used one of the songs he recorded in the 80's but i don't think slow country music and pro wrestling are a good mix.

[cosmo]

Oct 18, 2022 10:39:33 GMT -5 Burst said:

I'd be willing to guess Jason Keller's involvement in the last bit was almost entirely due to him being sponsored by Slim Jim that year. I don't know the exact nuances of the sponsorship deal since I did some digging and Petty and Keller were on separate teams, but I wouldn't be surprised if WCW was splitting the sponsorship between the two of them vs. in 1996 when they were doing a full-time deal with the #29 car.

I say that 'cause I've also found a diecast of a Jason Keller car promoting Halloween Havoc (and also Slim Jim), so yeah:

I actually own all three WCW diecast cars.

I'm such a nerd.

[karl100589]

Jan 31, 2024 23:28:50 GMT -5 FHgrad99 said:

Jan 31, 2024 18:48:58 GMT -5 buckethead said:

I'd like to know why they didn't use the Soundgarden song 'Kyle Petty, Son of Richard' for these segments.

They could have used one of the songs he recorded in the 80's but i don't think slow country music and pro wrestling are a good mix.

Hey, they helped get the West Texas Rednecks over.

[THE FVNKER]

I have zero idea about this guys personal life, but looking at his wiki it appears he has some kids that would’ve been old enough to know what the NWO was at the time it was going on.. I’d like to think that they probably thought they had the coolest Dad in the world. I mean, a NASCAR driving Dad is cool on its own but imagine being in school during the mid to late 90’s and being able to say your Dad was IN THE NWO.

I’d be spray painting it on the walls 😂