History YMMV / NewWorldOrder

* EvilIsCool: They weren't just cool, they were one of the coolest things wrestling has ever seen. Kids went from denying that they watched wrestling to wearing nWo shirts to school. (Go flip any yearbook from 1997: nWo, 3:16, and DX shirts. Everybody had one or the other.) That the heels were so irreverent was a big part of that. Having some of the best talkers in the business (Hogan, Nash and Hall) was another. Since that time, nearly all heels since then have tried to be cool. For context, Larry Zbyszko never strove to play a cool or even likeable person. That is the opposite of what a heel was supposed to be. Hall & Nash helped change that.

** In the retellings, the Wolfpac is said to be stale and a ratings drain. The [=nWo=] Wolfpac sold so much merchandise that they were turned into a babyface stable. Their popularity arguably exceeded that of the original [=nWo=]. At least a quarter of the audience was covered in Wolfpac merch and signs, and during the Nash[=/=]Goldberg match, the commentators had to no-sell very audible "Goldberg sucks" chants from Wolfpac fans.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The first ''Souled Out''. The commentary team was an nWo provided team who buried all the faces, all the matches were refereed by their corrupt referee Nick Patrick, and it was so obviously a predetermined victory for that the fans didn't react much one way or the other. In an nWo documentary made years later, Kevin Nash agreed that, in retrospect, that PPV showed some of the limitations they'd ran into and that the nWo was going to run its course fairly soon.

** Go check out ''Souled Out'' '97. It's one of the most bizarre things ever seen in wrestling. In Wrestling/EddieGuerreo's book, he complained about this particular match: Eddie was trying to get over as a heel, but the finish to this match made it seem like he was a face. since a non-nWo heel on an nWo show is technically a face. However, he went back to his heel character the following night.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Not everybody remembers that the Wolfpac was the trio of ex-[[Wrestling/TheKliq Kliq]] members Nash, Hall, and Waltman within the unified [=nWo=] before it was the black-and-red splinter group led by Nash with the rap theme done by C-Murder.

** Rooting for "the bad guy" was cool. Being the "outsider" was cool. Everything the {{grunge}} era in music did spilled out into the rest of entertainment, and wrestling capitalized on that. The half-shoot, half-work promo incited enough heat that some fans were ripping up and throwing down their Hogan merchandise, and a few people were even crying. Still, according to live reports, approximately 25% of the fans were still cheering The Outsiders. Nash and Hall received a predominately babyface reaction when the show first began.

** Go check out ''Souled Out'' '97. It's one the most bizarre things ever seen in wrestling.

* Rooting for "the bad guy" was cool. Being the "outsider" was cool. Everything the {{grunge}} era in music did spilled out into the rest of entertainment, and wrestling capitalized on that. The half-shoot, half-work promo incited enough heat that some fans were ripping up and throwing down their Hogan merchandise, and a few people were even crying. Still, according to live reports, approximately 25% of the fans were still cheering The Outsiders. Nash and Hall received a predominately babyface reaction when the show first began.

** Go check out ''Souled Out'' '97. It's the most bizarre things ever seen in wrestling.

* EvilIsCool: They weren't just cool, they were one of the coolest things wrestling has ever seen. Kids went from denying that they watched wrestling to wearing nWo shirts to school. (Go flip any yearbook from 1997: nWo, 3:16, and DX shirts. Everybody had one or the other.)
That the heels were so irreverent was a big part of that. Having some of the best talkers in the business (Hogan, Nash and Hall) was another. Since that time, nearly all heels since then have tried to be cool. For context, Larry Zbyszko never strove to play a cool or even likeable person. That is the opposite of what a heel was supposed to be. Hall & Nash helped change that.

* CreatorsPet: When the Outsiders went backstage and terrorized the WCW talent with baseball bats, Bischoff probably realized right then, "''I think we really have something here."'' What they got was two WWE guys with little league bats could beat the crap out of the entire WCW locker room. In the ''Rise And Fall of WCW'' documentary, Big Show admitted that--while it was really sad to be part of this group--it was the only way they can get ahead on the rest of the roster, and get some sort of a push.
* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The [=nWo Souled Out=] [=PPVs=], especially the first one. The commentary team was an [=nWo=] provided team who buried all the faces, all the matches were refereed by the [=nWo's=] corrupt referee Nick Patrick, and it was so obviously a predetermined victory for the [=nWo=] that the fans didn't react much one way or the other. In an [=nWo=] documentary made years later, Kevin Nash said, in hindsight, the first ''Souled Out'' was the beginning of the end, as that made it clear that things had gotten out of control.
* DeaderThanDisco: The [=nWo=] Wolfpac sold so much merchandise and were so popular that they were turned into a babyface stable. Their popularity arguably exceeded that of the original [=nWo=]. At least a quarter of the audience was covered in Wolfpac merch and signs and they were popular enough that during the Nash[=/=]Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} match, the commentators had to no-sell very audible "Goldberg sucks" chants from Wolfpac fans. The bookers hadn't even planned to make the Wolfpac face, it was the massive positive reactions they got that turned them face. They lost any and all popularity they had after the FingerpokeOfDoom and in the retellings, they're usually said to be stale and a ratings drain.
* EvilIsCool: They weren't just cool, they were one of the coolest things wrestling has ever seen. Kids went from denying that they watched wrestling to wearing nWo tshirts to school. That they were so irreverent was a big part of that. Having some of the best talkers in the business (Hogan, Nash and Hall) was another. Since that time, nearly all heels since then have tried to be cool. For context, Larry Zbyszko never strove to play a cool or even likeable person. That is the opposite of what a heel was supposed to be. Hall & Nash helped change that.

* RootingForTheEmpire: Rooting for "the bad guy" was cool. Being the "outsider" was cool. Everything the {{grunge}} era in music did spilled out into the rest of entertainment, and wrestling capitalized on that. The half-shoot, half-work promo incited enough heat that some fans were ripping up and throwing down their Hogan merchandise, and a few people were even crying. Still, according to live reports, approximately 25% of the fans were still cheering The Outsiders. Nash and Hall received a predominately babyface reaction when the show first began.
* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: They were revolutionary, sure, but clips and talking heads seem to be their legacy now. One theory is that the nWo was regurgitated so many times that when it finally hit WWE, it was neat for 5 minutes before people dissected it. People enjoyed the DX reunion much more, since they only got to see HBK and Haitch pull shenanigans together for a year or so before Michaels retired.

* [[{{Misblamed}} Mis-blaimed]]: Heenan "spoiling" the heel turn is revisionist history. This was exactly what you'd expect Heenan to say in that situation. He never trusted Hogan, so he's dubious, which is ludicrous until somehow it isn't. If you were familiar at all with Heenan on commentary you didn't bat an eye. The truth is it was Schiavone that blew the call: He was legitimately thrown off by Heenan's question.

* ArcFatigue: The nWo concept lasted at least a full year longer than it should have. By the time it was "Black & White" versus "[=nWo=] Wolfpac", it was already getting tired. The group ended up being revamped ''twice'' more before WCW's ultimate demise.

* RootingForTheEmpire: At that point in time, Hogan had been wrestling non-stop for 20 years and knew all the right buttons to push to gets pops -- heel or no heel.
** Hogan being cheered, fine, but '''Savage'''? Nothing like your [[WouldHitAGirl women-hating]], [[WrestlingMonster monster heel]] getting a face pop.
** As discussed by [[http://whatculture.com/wwe/10-reasons-everyone-hated-kevin-nash-in-wcw.php/ Brad Hamilton]], the [=nWo=] fundamentally changed how heels were depicted forever. Led by the swaggering and charismatic Hogan, Hall, and Nash, the [=nWo=] made the non-affiliated heels [[ShooOutTheClowns look like boobs]]. They made the babyfaces look like [[GoodIsImpotent outdated clowns.]] They made the entire show pre-Bischoff look passe by literally running roughshod over WCW's history in their motorcycles. They were tailor-made to appeal to kids, which has always been pro wrestling's core demo anyway. Even [=McMahon=] has called it "the best money angle in history", and that man has a terminal case of Munchausen's anchored by his own stupendous ego.
** In fact, the angle made ''so'' much money (at least for a while), there's perennial talk of re-re-re-re-re-reviving it in some form or another. (NEVER a good idea; it's safer to incorporate the booking ethos of the [=nWo=] "antiheroes" than to actually dig up the [=nWo=].)
* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Seeing that every heel faction that has appeared in wrestling since has ripped off the [=nWo=] in some form or fashion, it can be difficult for modern wrestling fans to see why the black and white clad street thugs who trashed the environment, beat up their adversaries and spray-painted their bodies became so popular. The pro wrestling product from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s was very cheesy and featured cartoon-like supermen fighting against equally cartoonish villains. As wrestling fans got older and peoples' tastes began to change, the [=nWo=] was revolutionary because it felt very fresh, realistic and edgy. So realistic that a few people called 911 during one of their beat downs because they believed it was a real assault!

** The [=nWo=] didn't crash so much as slowly sink, with too many stragglers trying to climb aboard. By the end they were giving away memberships on box tops.
-->'''''[[http://uproxx.com/prowrestling/2014/08/racist-gimmick-of-the-week-harlem-heat-2000/ Uproxx]]''''': Want to know why the NWO became the most trite gimmick in wrestling in the 90s? Because Stevie Ray and [[{{Wrestling/Virgil}} Vincent]] were feuding for leadership of NWO Black & White.

*** Even the Goldberg loss was agenda-driven by Hogan. He knew Goldberg was going to be the next big thing, so he agrees to put him over on the provision that he be the first guy to beat him. Obviously that didn't happen when he announced his "retirement" and Nash took over booking. (And somehow Goldberg was booked into irrelevancy after that.)
*** Hogan always found ways to avoid doing a [[{{Jobber}} job]] when it was clear he was going to lose his status as the # 1 guy in the company. The {{Wrestling/Goldberg}} loss: Bill was one dimensional and too green, plus it allowed to [[Wrestling/EricBischoff Biscoff]] to keep Hogan at the center of the company. The [[Wrestling/LexLuger Luger]] loss: he took the belt back almost immediately. [[Wrestling/UltimateWarrior Warrior]]: everyone knew he would flame out and he was too nuts to work long term. {{Wrestling/Sting}} was clearly the top guy in the company in the eyes of the fans: Hogan wasn't right with that. There wasn't an Undertaker there to tell HBK he's dropping the belt to Austin or he will beat his ass. And when it comes down to it, [=McMahon=] had a vested interest in the company's survival, so he did whatever it took to survive. Bischoff, in comparison, was a fixer for a few of the boys.

* RootingForTheEmpire: At that point in time, Hogan had been wrestling non-stop for 20 years and knew all the right buttons to push to gets pops -- heel or no heel.
** Hogan being cheered, fine, but '''Savage'''? Nothing like your [[WouldHitAGirl women-hating]], [[WrestlingMonster monster heel]] getting a face pop.

** The nWo concept lasted at least a full year longer than it should have. By the time it was "Black & White" versus "[=nWo=] Wolfpac", it was already getting tired.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The [=nWo Souled Out=] [=PPVs=], especially the first one. The commentary team was an [=nWo=] provided team who buried all the faces, all the matches were refereed by the [=nWo's=] corrupt referee Nick Patrick, and it was so obviously a predetermined victory for the [=nWo=] that the fans didn't react much one way or the other. In an [=nWo=] documentary made years later, Kevin Nash said, in hindsight, the first ''Souled Out'' was the beginning of the end, as that made it clear that things had gotten out of control.

** The [=nWo=] didn't crash so much as slowly sink, with too many stragglers trying to climb aboard. By the end they were giving away memberships on box tops.
-->'''''[[http://uproxx.com/prowrestling/2014/08/racist-gimmick-of-the-week-harlem-heat-2000/ Uproxx]]''''': Want to know why the NWO became the most trite gimmick in wrestling in the 90s? Because Stevie Ray and [[{{Wrestling/Virgil}} Vincent]] were feuding for leadership of NWO Black & White.

* VillainSue: You couldn't get through a main event without the nWo ruining it. If you go back and watch ''Nitro'' and (more specifically) the [=PPVs=], in most matches, the announce team won't up about the nWo or Hogan. Why won't they just call the match?
** Before the days of Youtube and Hulu, during the Monday Night Wars, you could read show recaps from CRZ if you couldn't catch RAW or Nitro live. CRZ nicknamed Kevin Nash "Big Poochie" because whenever he wasn't on the screen the announcers were asking "where's Nash?"

* ReplacementScrappy: The New Blood as faces wasn't working at all. People were sick of Hogan but, Kidman was a black hole of charisma, and nobody wants Sting to be a heel in a feud with Vampiro (o anybody, really). The company had already a number of really popular, awesome young guys to elevate and were stuck with a the B-team who, while good, weren't ever going to unseat the old guard overnight.

* VillainSue: You couldn't get through a main event without the nWo ruining it. If you go back and watch ''Nitro'' and (more specifically) the PPVs, in most matches, the announce team won't up about the nWo or Hogan. Why won't they just call the match.

* ArcFatigue: The nWo concept lasted at least a full year longer than it should have. By the time it was "Black & White" versus "[=nWo=] Wolfpac", it was already getting tired. The group ended up being revamped ''twice'' more before WCW's ultimate demise.

** Which is kind of HilariousInHindsight since most smarks would now emphatically agree with Heenan's assessment.

* ArcFatigue: The Wrestling/{{n|ewWorldOrder}}Wo concept lasted at least a full year longer that it should have. By the time it was "Black & White" versus "[=nWo=] Wolfpac", it was already getting tired. The group ended up being revamped ''twice'' more before WCW's ultimate demise.
-->'''[[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Brad Meltzer]]''' in 1999: If Bischoff ran things, Wally Pipp would probably still be playing first base for the Yankees.

* DeaderThanDisco: The [=nWo=] Wolfpac sold so much merchandise and were so popular that they were turned into a babyface stable. Maybe even '''MORE''' popular than the original [=nWo=]. At least a quarter of the audience was covered in Wolfpac merch and signs and they were popular enough that during the Nash[=/=]Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} match, the commentators had to no-sell very audible "Goldberg sucks" chants from Wolfpac fans. The bookers hadn't even planned to make the Wolfpac face, it was the massive positive reactions they got that turned them face. They lost any and all popularity they had after the FingerpokeOfDoom and in the retellings, they're usually said to be stale and a ratings drain.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The face [=nWo=] Wolfpac was actually very popular, maybe even '''MORE''' popular than the original [=nWo=]. At least a quarter of the audience was covered in Wolfpac merch and signs and they were popular enough that during the Nash[=/=]Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} match, the commentators had to no-sell very audible "Goldberg sucks" chants from Wolfpac fans. The bookers hadn't even planned to make the Wolfpac face, it was the massive positive reactions they got that turned them face. In the retelling, however, they're usually said to be stale and a ratings drain.

* ArcFatigue: The [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] concept lasted at least a full year longer that it should have. By the time it was "Black & White" versus "nWo Wolfpac", it was already getting tired. The group ended up being revamped ''twice'' more before WCW's ultimate demise.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: Both Rockhouse and the Wolfpac theme go without saying.

** As discussed by [[http://whatculture.com/wwe/10-reasons-everyone-hated-kevin-nash-in-wcw.php/ Brad Hamilton]], the nWo fundamentally changed how heels were depicted forever. Led by the swaggering and charismatic Hogan, Hall, and Nash, the nWo made the non-affiliated heels [[ShooOutTheClowns look like boobs]]. They made the babyfaces look like [[GoodIsImpotent outdated clowns.]] They made the entire show pre-Bischoff look passe by literally running roughshod over WCW's history in their motorcycles. They were tailor-made to appeal to kids, which has always been pro wrestling's core demo anyway. Even [=McMahon=] has called it "the best money angle in history", and that man has a terminal case of Munchausen's anchored by his own stupendous ego.
** In fact, the angle made ''so'' much money (at least for a while), there's perennial talk of re-re-re-re-re-reviving it in some form or another. (NEVER a good idea; it's safer to incorporate the booking ethos of the nWo "antiheroes" than to actually dig up the nWo.)
* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The face nWo Wolfpac was actually very popular, maybe even '''MORE''' popular than the original nWo. At least a quarter of the audience was covered in Wolfpac merch and signs and they were popular enough that during the Nash[=/=]Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} match, the commentators had to no-sell very audible "Goldberg sucks" chants from Wolfpac fans. The bookers hadn't even planned to make the Wolfpac face, it was the massive positive reactions they got that turned them face. In the retelling, however, they're usually said to be stale and a ratings drain.

* VillainSue: The Outsiders, and Hogan especially.
** While Scott, Eric, and Kev were willing to eat crow on occasion, it was made clear to writers early on that Hogan is The Man, and is to be treated as such. In one memorable New Blood match, Horace (Hogan's nephew) and Kidman are feuding over Wrestling/TorrieWilson. Hulk shows up outta nowhere, cleans house (throwing Kidman over the top rope through a table and pinning Horace), then yanks Torrie in for a kiss. [[TheCasanova Of course she likes it]] and practically flings her panties Hulk's way before walking out with him, leaving both Kidman and Horace in the dust.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The face nWo Wolfpac was actually very popular, maybe even '''MORE''' popular than the original nWo. At least a quarter of the audience was covered in Wolfpac merch and signs and they were popular enough that during the Nash[=/=]Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} match, the commentators had to no-sell very audible "Goldberg sucks" chants from Wolfpac fans. The bookers hadn't even planned to make the Wolfpac face, it was the massive positive reactions they got that turned them face. In the retelling, however, they're usually made out to be stale and a ratings drain.

* MisBlamed: The face nWo Wolfpac was actually very popular, maybe even '''MORE''' popular than the original nWo (at least a quarter of the audience was covered in Wolfpac merch and signs). The bookers hadn't even planned to make the Wolfpac face, it was the massive positive reactions they got that turned them face. In the retelling, they're usually made out to be stale and a ratings drain, but they were popular enough that during the Nash[=/=]Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} match, the commentators had to no-sell very audible "Goldberg sucks" chants from Wolfpac fans.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: "Rockhouse" of assorted Wrestling/JimiHendrix songs, most obviously "Hey Joe".

* VillainDecay: The [=nWo=] didn't "fail" so much as slowly sink, with too many stragglers trying to climb aboard. By the end they were giving away memberships on box tops.

* VillainSue: The Outsiders, and Hogan especially.

** While Scott, Eric, and Kev were willing to eat crow on occasion, it was made clear to writers early on that Hogan is The Man, and is to be treated as such. In one memorable New Blood match, Horace (Hogan's nephew) and Kidman are feuding over Wrestling/TorrieWilson. Hulk shows up outta nowhere, cleans house (throwing Kidman over the top rope through a table and pinning Horace), then yanks Torrie in for a kiss. Of course she likes it and practically flings her panties Hulk's way before walking out with him, leaving both Kidman and Horace in the dust.

** While Hall, Bschoff, and Nash were willing to eat crow on occasion, it was made clear to writers early on that Hogan is The Man, and is to be treated as such. In one memorable New Blood match, Horace (Hogan's nephew) and Kidman are feuding over Wrestling/TorrieWilson. Hulk shows up outta nowhere, cleans house (throwing Kidman over the top rope through a table and pinning Horace), then yanks Torrie in for a kiss. Of course she likes it and practically flings her panties Hulk's way before walking out with him, leaving both Kidman and Horace in the dust.