WWE Gimmicks That FAILED The HARDEST Every Year (1985-2025)
24. New World Order In WWE (2002)
Granted, the nWo's arrival at No Way Out (nice continuity between faction acronym and pay-per-view name) 2002 did play before a bit of excitement. Federation fans were chuffed to see Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash back under the company banner, and hopes were high that they'd rekindle the original magic of the New World Order.
Nope. Not even close.
Firstly, the nWo went all inside baseball by talking about drama behind the curtain hanging over from the WCW days. They also took too long to get to their respective points, then said they just wanted to work with all of the top WWF superstars. It was tongue in cheek, but it didn't exactly scream 'we're the coolest in the room' or reflect Vince McMahon's "inject with poison" promo.
By the night after WrestleMania X8, Hogan was out and returning to his old red and yellow guise too. X-Pac, Big Show, Booker T and even Shawn Michaels were drafted in to try and rescue the nWo in WWE, but it was far too late. Mid-July brought the curtain down on the group when McMahon announced that Eric Bischoff was the brand new Raw General Manager, and that was that.
What should've been an apology for the botched WCW invasion in 2001 turned out to be more of the same mediocrity as Vince struggled to find the right creative direction. "Ruthless Aggression" became his focal point, not the New World Order and certainly not Hall or Nash.
The only poison came backstage. Somewhat ironic given that introductory promo at No Way Out.