The Complete History Of The New World Order | Wrestling Timelines
March 17, 2022 - WrestleMania X8
There is at least a decent narrative reason for this latest nWo retread, which happens this time in the WWF. Vince McMahon is able to do this because he purchased WCW and its intellectual property in March 2001, long after WCW self-imploded in bleak, but also darkly hilarious, fashion.
Vince brings in the nWo because in storylines, his ownership of the WWF is under threat. Nobody else is going to kill his creation but him. The original three - Hogan, Nash, and Hall - are playing it meta, performing as toxic locker room sh*t disturbers who will, presumably, drain interest in the promotion with their self-serving antics.
Again, the nWo does not work. The problems are both familiar and unexpected. Hall, sadly, is in no condition to perform. He had re-debuted on February 17; he’s gone on May 6 because he can’t conduct himself professionally.
Nash, clever enough to sit on his guaranteed WCW money and confident in the WWF’s ability to bungle the 2001 WCW Invasion angle, necessitating his star power in 2002, suffers a bicep injury in March.
At WrestleMania X8, in one of the loudest and most epic moments in wrestling history, the fans no-sell Hollywood and embrace Hulk Hogan - even at the expense of the Rock. Deep down, they’ve missed him, and they show him that by affording him a hero’s welcome. The difference between the WCW and WWF audience is stark. There’s no Horsemen guy in Toronto. The nWo isn’t going to work.
The original version of the nWo disbands that very night. Another ghostly version of the Order, with no real aim nor purpose, haunts the WWF over the next few months. It’s a vehicle for comedy - Goldust’s attempts to get initiated are played for laughs - and a generic, sad heel threat elsewhere.
On July 15, in a note of irony and some lovely foreshadowing, Vince officially declares the group dead on the same night he introduces its original mastermind, Eric Bischoff, as the General Manager of Raw.
The nWo, however, is not exactly dead.
29 years after the nWo was originally formed, the second iteration of the Bullet Club Elite - itself a derivation of the nWo - is still trying to “take over” at time of writing.
The nWo really is ‘4 Life’.