Breaking Down The Myth: The NWO Saved The Wrestling Business
1. Two Decades Of Monopolisation
The nWo was undoubtedly the hottest thing in the wrestling business for a time - hell, the faction was one of the hottest acts ever for a time - but do the cons outweigh the pros, when all's said and done?
Eric Bischoff and WCW took an idea from New Japan Pro Wrestling, tweaked it at a time when a couple of big-name players were ready to jump ship from WWF, and the end result was pro wrestling gold that pushed World Championship Wrestling to new heights.
It was an over-reliance on the New World Order concept that had such an important role to play in WCW's eventual demise, though. Whether it was Bischoff, Vince Russo, Kevin Nash, or whoever held the pencil, there was always a propensity to try and strike gold one more time by revisiting an idea that had worked so well previously.
Again, not to throw all of the blame at the nWo's door, but as contributing factors which added up to the death of WCW, they in turn allowed for the iron grip of Vince McMahon to monopolise the wrestling business for the best part of two decades.
Sure, TNA tried their hand. Yes, New Japan Pro Wrestling reached more international homes than ever before. And thankfully, now we do have AEW as something to cling onto as competition to WWE. But since WCW's ratings began to nosedive in the first half of 1999, it was only a matter of time until Vinny Mac cleaned up - just like he did when he decided to make WWF a national, then international brand in the '80s - and the wrestling business was a damn sight worse off for that.