It may seem strange to include a specific angle on this list, alongside a host of more general, sweeping points, but the importance of the nWo can't be overstated. Hulk Hogan's heel turn at Bash At The Beach 1996 kickstarted a movement that would reshape the entire wrestling world, transforming WCW into a faction-based landscape and touching that coveted pop culture nerve. New World Order t-shirts are still visible today at wrestling events, but where absolutely everywhere in the 90s - on the streets as well as in arenas. The nWo didn't just change the mould of the typical main event heel; it also changed the fans' perception of heeldom itself. Hogan, Nash and Hall were cool. They wore all black, defied authority at every turn, and cut promos filled with obscure in-jokes and fourth wall-breaking references. They almost single-handedly propelled WCW past the WWF in the Monday Night Wars, rejuvenated the career of Sting, and turned Goldberg into one of the decade's biggest babyfaces.
