Why 1997 Was The Greatest Year In Wrestling History
6. The NWO Had Yet To Become Too Swollen
The New World Order eventually became a bloated monster that was largely a parody of itself, but in 1997 the nWo hadn't quite eaten itself just yet.
To be fair, the '97 incarnation of the nWo wasn't the absolute best iteration of the stable, yet it was a line-up that still had value, that still felt special, and that was infinitely better than what would follow for the nWo letters in the subsequent years.
By this point in time, the nWo still had 'Hollywood' Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Ted DiBiase, nWo Sting, and Syxx amongst its ranks, and those six names were joined by Vincent, Elizabeth, Eric Bischoff, Buff Bagwell, Michael Wallstreet, Scott Norton, Randy Savage, Konnan, Curt Hennig, and Rick Rude as 1996 ran through to '97.
Granted, you could argue that only Bischoff, Savage, Hennig, and likely Konnan added anything to the nWo act out of those additional names, but this version of the New World Order was still far more enjoyable than what would follow with nWo Hollywood, nWo Wolfpac, nWo Elite, nWo B Team, and the disastrous nWo 2000.
There are so many reasons to throw shade at the nWo when reflecting back on their overall influence on the wrestling business, but the faction was still a major draw in 1997.