When this guy joined the nWo they went to hell?

[CMWaters]

Mar 4, 2022 10:50:38 GMT -5 thegame415 said:

I'm in the minority here, but I think when they merged is when it went to hell. I loved all things nWo before that.

What about the semi-spinoff group?

[Milkman Norm]

In retrospect it was The Giant (first time) because as other had it moved it from an invasion or WWF guys or former WWF guys to just the top heel group. Dibiase joining as the kayfabe money man didn't add anything either. Really had they not been able to sign another active wrestler free agent in the meantime Sean Waltman should have been there 4th member of the group.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

Mar 4, 2022 9:50:04 GMT -5 The Creepo Man said:

An old Pro Wrestling Illustrated Q&A with Eddie Ellner actually addressed the issue when they added Syxx and Vincent to the group. He basically said if the nWo was to succeed, it needed quality and not quantity. Who’s next? Barry Horowitz and the Gambler? (Who was the 2nd guy?)

The Gambler was like a WCW Saturday Night Jobber.

[Mozenrath]

Mar 4, 2022 14:05:49 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave is Correct said:

Mar 4, 2022 9:50:04 GMT -5 The Creepo Man said:

An old Pro Wrestling Illustrated Q&A with Eddie Ellner actually addressed the issue when they added Syxx and Vincent to the group. He basically said if the nWo was to succeed, it needed quality and not quantity. Who’s next? Barry Horowitz and the Gambler? (Who was the 2nd guy?)

The Gambler was like a WCW Saturday Night Jobber.

I was thinking he had the "Roll of the Dice", but I guess that was Reno.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

Mar 4, 2022 14:09:08 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Mar 4, 2022 14:05:49 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave is Correct said:

The Gambler was like a WCW Saturday Night Jobber.

I was thinking he had the "Roll of the Dice", but I guess that was Reno.

I mean, it could have been The Gambler's finisher too, but if a WCW Saturday Night jobber has a finishing move, do they really have a finishing move?

[Hulk With A Mustache]

Was Kyle Petty ever an official nWo member?

[Confused Mark Wahlberg]

I don't think it was one guy per se. To me, it was when I thought about what was supposed to happen if they successfully 'took over'. Like, what was going to happen then? All wrestle each other? 'nWo Souled Out' every week?

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Mar 3, 2022 9:13:10 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Mar 3, 2022 9:09:45 GMT -5 H-Virus said:

But if I had to pick one in particular, then probably Randy Savage, since that was the on that pissed me off most as a kid.

This is kinda where I'm at.  I know we got the killer DDP feud out of it, and THAT was awesome, but Savage joining the nWo made absolutely no sense

I still wish they went more with the whole Sting and Savage as the two men vs the World deal. That would been cooler.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

Mar 4, 2022 11:46:50 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

Mar 4, 2022 10:50:38 GMT -5 thegame415 said:

I'm in the minority here, but I think when they merged is when it went to hell. I loved all things nWo before that.

What about the semi-spinoff group?

The lWo really confuses me, because you would think that that the actual nWo factions would have a bigger issue with them existing at all, especially nWo Hollywood since they took the lWo name so Eddy could stick it to Bischoff over their worked-shoot nonsense. But instead of exploring that idea further, they were just another heel group that was targeting Kidman in the Cruiserweight division and having Mysterio as a reluctant member of the division. Maybe they would have done something a bit different once the Wolfpac and Hollywood unified had Eddy been healthy, but since the car crash on New Years coincided with the Fingerpoke, they just had the unified nWo beat up the lWo once, and then made everyone disavow the group, and they did except for Rey, which led to Konnan leaving the nWo and the subsequent unmasking of Rey.

[clifford]

Honestly, it should've been just Hogan, Hall and Nash with Bischoff as their corporate arm for at least the first six months. Ballooning it to like 20 guys within a few weeks it seemed just wrecked it.

[jason1980s]

I think Hogan, Nash and Bischoff were fine with as many people as can be in the group. They all needed their egos stroked and with so many joining it shows n w o is the group everyone wants to be with. But I think post early 1997 and just adding anyone and everyone they could did hurt. New members should have been a "here and there" type of thing but I feel like they thought adding newbies had to keep going.

I would say any guys whose last few months with WWF that were on the total losing end were not good choices. Kid was good given the Hall and Nash connection but not guys like Bossman, IRS, Crush. I think Hogan, Hall, Nash, Kid, Bischoff because he was probably desperate to be the center of attention-Vince didn't hire him after all, Giant and Macho for star power, Buff for somewhat "shock" value as he had been around in WCW so long and Perfect and Rude were good members.

[thegame415]

Mar 4, 2022 11:46:50 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

Mar 4, 2022 10:50:38 GMT -5 thegame415 said:

I'm in the minority here, but I think when they merged is when it went to hell. I loved all things nWo before that.

What about the semi-spinoff group?

I didn't mind them, although I think have virtually every Hispanic/Latino wrestler on the roster join wasn't good. It could've been split, and led to a lot of feuds about pride and heritage.

[Slingshot Suplay]

Michael Wallstreet. Absolutely no reason to be in the ring at that time, let alone in the nWo.

[Tiger Millionaire]

Curt Hennig. Those other guys, like Virgil or Norton, they did have a purpose; to be cannon fodder for WCW to get some heat on. They were fine if you are doing an angle that involves the whole company. Hennig, he was the guy who they turned for the sake of turning, to kill the Horseman and any potential money they could make so they could have a swerve and then they did nothing with Hennig.

[Cry Me a Wiggle]

I got into WCW and wrestling in 1998 via WCW/nWo World Tour and Revenge on the Nintendo 64, so the nWo could never have enough members in my mind. Hell, I remember the very first heel turn I witnessed was one of my own, deciding to put Dr. Frank in the nWo shirt and renaming him Hogan's Monster.

But had my Revenge narrative carried into WCW 1999 continuity, Hogan's Monster would have joined the Wolfpack post-Fingerpoke of Doom, taken off the Boris Karloff mask, and swapped it out with a Lon Chaney Jr. mask. It would have ruined everything.

[Hit Girl]

Bischoff

[Ultimo Gallos]

For me it is easy...It is when Hogan joined.

[Celexa Bliss]

While I did say Hogan as my pick, I get why it happened and as far as establishing them as a major force to be reckoned with, it did the job. He gave them credibility and took them from "two ex-lower midcarders" to "holy shit, we're screwed".

The Giant, while a bit of a head-scratcher, also made sense. Young guy who just had the best rookie year in wrestling history at the time. Just lost the title, yeah he's pissed and wants revenge. But hey, what if we throw all this cash at you? It did make him leaving a few months later kind of silly, but as a reason to join, it worked.

I'll defend a few of the more controversial choices, like Syxx, Vincent and Bagwell. Syxx was still a great wrestler at the time and it gave them a guy to go for the Cruiserweight title, which helps if you're about total domination. Vincent was originally intended to be security, which was just another way of saying "servant". He was there to run interference for Hogan and take beatings, like he did for DiBiase in the past. As for Bagwell, he was the perennial underdog in WCW for nearly five years by that point. He'd been through the Dangerous Alliance, the Dungeon of Doom and multiple incarnations of the Horsemen. But the nWo was where he saw the tides turning and decided to jump on board. And boy did he benefit from it. For all the nWo did to undermine guys and hurt WCW long-term, they made Buff Bagwell a bigger name than he would ever have been as an American Male.

I would say the true answer to the question isn't just one guy, though. I love Scott Norton, but I also think the nWo hurt him in the long run. When the b-team split in 1999, he was the only one not to come back in a different role. He vanished. Other than Chono and Tenzan, everybody else made at least a cameo later on. You can also make a case for Big Bubba and VK Wallstreet, since they actually moved DOWN the card when they joined. Compare their spots in fall of 1995 to where they were in fall of 1996, it wasn't ALL from joining the nWo, but it didn't help.

[CeilingFan]

Dusty Rhodes.

[jason1980s]

Mar 5, 2022 16:04:13 GMT -5 Tiger Millionaire said:

Curt Hennig. Those other guys, like Virgil or Norton, they did have a purpose; to be cannon fodder for WCW to get some heat on. They were fine if you are doing an angle that involves the whole company. Hennig, he was the guy who they turned for the sake of turning, to kill the Horseman and any potential money they could make so they could have a swerve and then they did nothing with Hennig.

Curt Hennig was a natural heel but he was so talented fans just wanted to cheer him. I think he preferred heel though because we saw three turns in 1994, 1996 and 1997 and even his 2002 return was kind of a tweener. But I think the Horsemen turn was the worst idea. Again, fans wanted to cheer him and even though he wasn't really a "group" guy he I feel like his character wouldn't stand for being in a group like n w o where almost everyone is made to feel inferior and just another body to the guys like Hogan, Bischoff, Hall and Nash.

Also, not sure I posted about Dusty but he had played a good guy so long, him turning feel wrong. But I suppose he wanted to get in on the gravy but it was a few months past the prime of the group.