The nWo's History Told In Photos, Through The Years

The New World Order truly changed the wrestling world forever by becoming the hottest act in WCW. Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall formed a tremendous trio looking to lead a hostile takeover. The feud of nWo members facing WCW stars created must-see television for wrestling fans. Dozens of other members joined the group with different versions forming.

WCW, WWE and even New Japan each utilized the nWo at different times to various levels of success. The phrase “a photo can tell a thousand words” can be used for any noteworthy act in wrestling to stick around long enough. Each of the following pictures helps tell the entire story of the New World Order throughout the years.

10 Starting The Angle

Scott Hall and Kevin Nash threaten Eric Bischoff

An underrated aspect of the New World Order storyline was Scott Hall and Kevin Nash setting it up before the group actually formed. Eric Bischoff having a war of words with Nash and Hall created huge interest with two noteworthy stars to leave WWE implying an invasion was coming.

Hulk Hogan joining may have put them over the top, but this angle was working with Hall and Nash cutting promos. Nitro became must-see television to see what exactly The Outsiders would do next to start their hostile takeover.

9 Shocking Formation

Bash at the Beach 1996 remains a major night in WCW history for Hulk Hogan turning heel. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall teasing a third mystery partner to face Sting, Randy Savage and Lex Luger had fans tuning in with huge expectations.

The biggest name in the industry turning heel for the first time on a big stage created shockwaves in the business. Hogan’s heel promo forming the New World Order showed how much heat they had when fans threw garbage in the ring.

8 Hogan Title Win

Eric Bischoff deserves credit for not waiting too long to push the New World Order into a bigger role. Hulk Hogan instantly received a WCW Championship match against The Giant and won the top prize to give the faction some power.

The moment of Hogan spray painting the big gold belt with the “NWO” letters was another statement to add momentum. Hogan became the top heel in the industry after just a month due to actions like this getting the heel heat.

7 Taking Over WCW

WCW booked the New World Order to essentially take over the product by hijacking episodes of Nitros and PPVs. A rare match instance of this came in the World War 3 battle royal in 1996. The Giant won the match as a member of the nWo with help from the others.

Lex Luger was the last WCW representative trying to run the table eliminating nWo members until Giant got the better of him. Many shows ending with the New World Order standing tall became polarizing, but it worked well those first few months.

6 Getting Their Own PPV

The Souled Out 1997 debacle must be discussed when looking back at the New World Order. WCW had some outstanding moments from the faction, but the low points were almost as noteworthy from the negative perspective.

Eric Bischoff’s original plan was for the nWo to have their own show that eventually became Thunder. However, a test PPV went horribly at first with moments like the group arriving to the show on a garbage truck. The matches and segments were viewed as a train wreck that hurt the original plan.

5 Feud With Sting

WCW pulled off some masterful storytelling by having Sting feud with the New World Order. Sting was already among the most over faces, so it was a risk to have him leaving the ring for over a year to experiment with the Crow character.

The nWo tricking WCW wrestlers and fans into believing Sting betrayed them led to his isolation. Sting watching from the rafters and slowly enacting his revenge was remarkable. Any segment with Sting attacking the New World Order showcases the best of WCW.

4 NWO Civil War

The initial plan of the New World Order getting their own show meant that too many members would join. WCW changing plans meant the faction grew that large for no apparent reason. One idea to fix this was splitting the nWo into two separate groups.

Kevin Nash formed the Wolfpac that got over huge with Sting, Lex Luger, Randy Savage and Konnan joining him. Most other members stayed heel with Hulk Hogan in the nWo Hollywood faction. Both groups feuded against each other for the latter half of 1998.

3 NWO Elite Disappointing

WCW fans loved cheering for the Wolfpac and enjoyed them as a face act on their own. That was the biggest risk when having the two New World Order factions reuniting again as the nWo Elite. Kevin Nash laying down for Hulk Hogan in the infamous finger poke of doom started the nWo Elite as poorly as possible.

Goldberg feuding with an even stronger nWo faction was a good idea on paper, but it completely missed the mark. Hogan leading everyone again felt stale and culminated with a horrible feud against Ric Flair. WCW ended the nWo Elite quietly, not with a bang.

2 NWO 2000 Disaster

WCW was bleeding money and losing viewers in 2000 when Vince Russo came up with a desperate plan. The New World Order formed a new group under the name of nWo 2000 when Bret Hart led Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.

Bret creating a new faction to help him beat Goldberg could have worked, but this felt like a lazy recycling of the nWo. Injuries to Hart and Goldberg ruined any chance of success. This version of the nWo lasted a few weeks before the wrestlers dropped the angle.

1 WWE Trying To Reunite Them

The New World Order became the hottest topic in wrestling again when Vince McMahon announced he was bringing them back. WWE fans were hyped to see the trio of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan returning to the company with their legendary WCW act about a year after WCW ended.

The feuds with Steve Austin and The Rock provided strong interest from the fans, but their act wasn’t meant to be this time. Hogan facing Rock culminated with fans cheering him for a face turn. Nash and Hall trying to keep the group going with new members led to more issues coming up to end their final run poorly.