10 Wrestlers With Incredible First Years

1. Scott Hall And Kevin Nash - WCW

Kurt Angle KOTR
WWE.com

Measured on the far-reaching and genre-defining ramifications of their defection, there can be no greater first year in a promotion than Kevin Nash and Scott Hall's return to WCW in 1996.

The entire landscape of the wrestling business in June 1997 was unrecognisable from the one they had sent shockwaves through twelve months earlier.

It's hard to discus the two without drawing on the New World Order as a concept, but really, without the shocking arrivals of the two WWE stalwarts onto WCW Monday Nitro, the whole idea may have just remained on Eric Bischoff's drawing board.

Taking the guaranteed money (and the tasty add-ons) of a Ted Turner contract, the two would help drastically alter how talent would get paid, which for better or worse, has since given countless talents that followed a more stable income for all their hard work.

Furthermore, the rise of the nWo forced the creative arm of WWE to spring back to life, generating the heady days of the Monday Night Wars, something Hall and Nash were a giant part of each and every week.

WCW would rapidly become theirs and others playgrounds in subsequent years, but it's truly hard to see just how the entire industry would have survived and thrived in the barren 90s without the seismic shift that took place at their behest.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett