In 1996, Hulk Hogan took the wrestling world by storm when he turned his back on his millions of fans and partnered with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to create the core threesome of the New World Order. Together, they wreaked havoc on World Championship Wrestling, all the while turning the tides in the Monday Night Wars in WCW's favor. It was only a month before Hogan had captured the World Heavyweight Championship and Nash and Hall were Tag Team champions. In 2002, the group reunited to invade WWE as the company attempted to inject some excitement and unpredictability into its television and pay-per-view broadcasts. Hogan, Nash and Hall targeted the likes of the Steve Austin, The Rock and Kane to the dismay of the WWE fans. At WrestleMania X-8, Hogan lost a classic against The Rock while Hall went down in defeat at the hands of Austin. That night would prove to be the last go-round for the all-time great trio as Hogan went back to his babyface ways while Nash and Hall soon found themselves aligned with X-Pac. The New World Order was a revolutionary concept that changed the wrestling business as fans, promoters and wrestlers knew it. It pushed WCW to the forefront of the war with WWE and nearly put Vince McMahon's company out of business. Hogan, Nash and Hall reinvented themselves and starred for an entirely new audience, proving themselves to be among the smartest performers in the industry. Unfortunately, their ego got in the way of business more times than not and by the time 2001 rolled around, WCW was out of business and the three household names were left to return to the company that made them if they wished to continue their careers.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
