10 Things We Learned From Eric Bischoff’s Podcast: New World Order

6. The Outsiders Name Happened Spontaneously

Kevin Nash Scott Hall
WWE.com

One thing was clear: WCW couldn't use the names Diesel and Razor Ramon for Nash and Hall, because they were WWF trademarks. Bischoff said they weren't planning to anyway, if only so new names (nobody had settled on using their birth names yet) would give the situation that credibility Eric sought.

A set of cheesy, prepackaged names didn't appeal to Bischoff at all in the weeks leading up the pair's impending arrival as a unit. Thus, "The Outsiders" were born, not because of clever marketing but because that's what Hall and Nash were to WCW.

It all happened more spontaneously than even Bischoff could believe.

In effect, the WWF's lawsuit against WCW for using their characters on a rival show helped further the realism Eric had spotted in Japan previously. Barred from giving their new stars slick gimmick names, he was forced to embrace who they really were.

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