10 Wrestling Gimmicks That Got Out Of Control

2. The New World Order

nWo WCW
WWE.com

The Four Horsemen worked because it felt like an exclusive club (despite having many incarnations over the years, the group was often small), and The Shield bulldozed though WWE for years because three men made their presentation easy to follow. Meanwhile, the nWo had 62 members between 1996-2002.

Sixty two!

Eric Bischoff's genius takeover storyline started with Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan, then quickly started to branch off into other 'B' factions, spin-offs in New Japan and various failed resurrections. Things got silly, and the once-proud gimmick was watered down terribly just a few years into its run.

The phrase "strength in numbers" didn't apply here - the nWo was actually weaker for carting along members like Vincent, Horace Hogan, Brian Adams and other low-to-mid carders. WCW's attempt to branch them off into a separate show also flopped before it really got started.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.