Breaking Down The Myth: The NWO Saved The Wrestling Business

When looking at what the nWo had become by then, it's no surprise that the initial split of the New World Order came at a time when WCW's grip on the ratings war was fading.

Having had a successful 37-week run, 13 April 1998 saw WCW lose out to WWF Raw in the ratings. Many look back and cite the overgrown, oversaturated monster that the nWo had become by this point as being the catalyst for WCW audiences starting to opt for WWF when it came to their Monday night viewing habits.

The nWo would be split into two rival factions by the end of that April, yet WWF went on to win out on the ratings front for the majority of the rest of the year, completely dominate WCW across 1999 and 2000, before Ted Turner's promotion was famously bought out by Vince McMahon in 2001.

So reliant had WCW become on the nWo, and so complacent had the success of the nWo caused WCW management to become, it got to a point where the company's only answer to any ratings decline was to look to rehash the nWo in some form or fashion.

As mentioned, once the decision was made to end the main incarnation of the New World Order in April '98, the group was split into the rivalling nWo Hollywood and nWo Wolfpac stables. When Hollywood and the Wolfpac didn't swing the ratings battle, it was decided in January 1999 to form the nWo Elite and nWo B Team groups.

Even then, another relaunch was around the corner when nWo 2000 formed in December 1999. The bloom was long off the rose, yet WCW was adamant to milk this once-over cow completely dry rather than look at alternative solutions to its ratings slump.