The WCW Conspiracy Iceberg EXPLAINED!

Many theories have popped up in recent years as it pertains to the “third man” of the New World Order. 

Weeks before the reveal, Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Mabel’s name was discussed. But, because this totally undermines Eric Bischoff’s “Meltzer is a fraud” narrative, Easy E ignores that Dave called the fact that it was Hogan in print before Bash At The Beach happened. You can literally access the issue in the digital archives right now. But was it always meant to be Hogan?

Rumours abound that Sting was set to be revealed as the third man, and he probably was discussed internally when Bischoff first pitched the idea. He had grown a bit stale, which is why he eventually adopted the darker, mysterious, vigilante ‘Crow Sting’ persona. Given that Lex Luger was in the midst of a priceless bit, in which he played heel behind Sting’s back, Luger was likely in the frame also. The most interesting take is that Bret Hart was meant to be the third member of the Outsiders.  

When the Outsiders debuted, Hart was on hiatus, having worked for the WWF for nigh-on a decade. In this era, with that schedule and that glorified concrete ring, it was a very long time. He’d done everything there was to do multiple times - he’d done so much, in fact, that Vince McMahon knew deep down that his run was probably over. Vince just couldn’t let himself allow Bret to go. 

The timeline half-works, so there are dots to connect here, but the theory simply isn’t true. At the time, Bret was pretending that his acting career was going well, waiting for a panicked Vince to call with the highest offer imaginable, daydreaming about one last title run before putting Shawn Michaels all the way over in a rubber match. Bret never wanted to go to WCW, ever, even if it meant making more money for fewer dates; he was loyal to Vince and genuinely thought the WWF presented pro wrestling the right way. 

All very bleak, given what would happen.