20 Wrestling Facts You Probably Didn't Know
1. The NWo's Third Man Was Supposed To Be Sting
Everyone knows that Hulk Hogan turned heel at WCW's Bash At The Beach in summer 1996 to form the nWo and help change the fortunes of the company and, in many ways, the direction of professional wrestling in the USA. What not many people know is that Hogan wasn't the original plan.
The 'third man' invasion angle with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash - the Outsiders - had begun without a endgame in mind. The angle was Eric Bischoff's baby, and it was making waves and generating interest beyond the confines of WCW's traditional audience... but it needed a killer climax to take it to the next phase. And that climax... was Sting.
You see, Bischoff had already buttonholed Hulk Hogan about turning heel five months earlier, before the Outsiders had even left the WWF. Hogan had not only said no, but actually thrown him out of the house.
Sting was Bischoff's first choice for the role of 'third man' - it wasn't perfect, and Sting wasn't over the moon about it, but he was in. Then Hogan came back into the mix, having been watching the Outsiders' angle on TV. True to form he'd smelled the money in the air, and had changed his mind.
To the day of the show itself, Sting was the understudy, literally waiting in the wings in case Hogan changed his mind back again... or just didn't bother showing up.