10 Pivotal NWO Moments On WWE Network's WCW Monday Nitros

10. Masa Chono Joins (December 16th, 1996)

Masa Chono nWo The nWo had already been established by the end of 1996, setting the pro wrestling world on fire, but Masahiro Chono joining the group was a seriously underrated moment that has never quite gotten enough credit or the publicity it deserved. Even though he wasn't a huge name to the North American audience, Chono was already a huge star in Japan, performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling for well over a decade before the nWo ever came along. He was one of the top names in all of Puroresu, without a doubt. Adding him to the nWo provided the group to become bigger on an international level, and with the formation of nWo Japan, the group was able to begin taking over in another promotion, as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjuGVmF4Klc Fans began to wonder if a true worldwide takeover was underway. They wondered if Mexico was going to get its own version of the nWo, or if England would get their own version, or if Australia would get their own. It got people talking, which, at its core, is what wrestling is supposed to do. As was the case with a lot of things WCW put together, however, nothing ever really came of Chono's addition to the group in the United States (he would be relatively successful with nWo Japan, though), and that was really it, although it could have been much more.
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Columnist/Podcaster/Director at LordsOfPain.net for nearly seven years, with nearly 2000 total columns written. Interviewed and/or involved in interviewing the likes of Tyler Black/Seth Rollins (twice), Diamond Dallas Page, Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, Uhaa Nation and more.