Seven Things: 7 Favorite Forgotten NWO Members

    • Seven Things: 7 Favorite Forgotten NWO Members

      Welcome to Seven Things, a list that will run weekly and consist of very eclectic topics. These are of my opinions and doesn’t express the views of others on WrestlingOnEarth.

      Before Wrestling On Earth was formed, I wrote a little about this on a Tumblr page that not many people knew of. If you were one of the few to read it, you will notice there are quite a few differences in this list. I’ve re-watched a lot of WCW and it has changed a couple of my opinions as you’ll see here.

      There have been many WWE produced shows or DVD’s discussing the NWO and it’s usually always the same story. Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff create the NWO. It becomes the greatest phenomenon to hit pro wrestling and usher in a new height of pro wrestling popularity at the time. They add too many wrestlers to the faction, it becomes convoluted and begins to sink the WCW product.

      In this week of Seven Things, we look back at some of the forgotten rebels of the New World Order and their legacies. After all, it was supposed to “4 life” for the whole NWO; not just the popular kids.

      7. The Giant

      The last edition of Seven Things featured a look back of the silly history of The Giant/Big Show so it only makes sense we start this one off laughing at him again, especially after his abysmal Survivor Series main event this weekend. The Giant joined the NWO shortly after losing the WCW title to Hulk Hogan due to wanting the money and power that came with the New World Order. After a while, The Giant would want another title shot vs. Hogan which led to him getting kicked out of the NWO.

      WCW would begin to trust him for the next year and what did he do? The big man stabbed them in the back again, joining the NWO again siding with NWO Hollywood to take down the NWO Wolfpac and WCW. It was just too sweet for his appetite of looking foolish to pass on. This NWO run surely had to work out better for The Giant, right? Wrong. The Wolfpac and Hollywood would merge creating a super NWO which only allowed elite guys such as Horace Hogan and Disco Inferno to be in it. The Giant was beat down and kicked out again for not reaching the standard. When giving thanks this week, please thank Big Show for countless moments of unintentional humor.

      6. Stevie Ray

      One facet of WCW I’ve learned to appreciate recently in viewing an abundance of 1999 shows is how the super NWO died off. Ric Flair becoming a tyrant president of WCW led to Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash becoming cool and randomly leaving the NWO despite wearing NWO colors and using their NWO theme musics.

      With everyone branching out, there was a group of five guys still calling themselves the NWO – Scott Norton (Flash), Brian Adams (Crush), Vincent (Virgil), Horace Hogan (Captain Nepotism) and Stevie Ray (No Other Names Needed). They would constantly argue who was the true leader of the NWO among themselves but let’s be real… WE ALL KNEW IT WAS STEVIE RAY! With the weapon of a slapjack and the catch phrase of “Fruit booties,” Stevie Ray was in a class of his own.

      The last legs of the super NWO ended with Ernest “The Cat” Miller and Sonny Onoo calling them out weekly with Ernest defeating all of them week by week. After The Cat schooled the suckas, Stevie Ray reformed the Harlem Heat with Booker T and Brian Adams became a KISS demon. R.I.P Super NWO.

      5. Dusty Rhodes

      One of the most hilarious moments in pro wrestling history was Dusty Rhodes joining the NWO. The setting was Scott Hall vs. Larry Zbyszko in what, believe it or not, was one of the most hyped matches in WCW with an excellent build. It unfortunately featured a very old ex-wrestler turned announcer. It only made sense for Dusty Rhodes to be in Larry’s corner, an old ex-wrestler turned announcer himself.

      NWO lackey Louie Spicolli hit the ring to attack The Living Legend. Good ol’ Dusty comes to Larry’s defense destroying Spicolli with Bionic Elbows. After that, he does a few creepy (and/or sexy) gyrations before elbowing Larry! The American Dream then VERY slowly unbuttons his jersey to show a NWO shirt as he became a member of the NWO. It begs the question of why did Dusty beat up Spicolli if he was in the NWO? Poor Louie. A victim of the convolution that was the New World Order.

      After this, Dusty would walk to the ring with Scott Hall a few times and do absolutely nothing else in the NWO. Zbyszko would make a lot of fat jokes about him during his time on commentary in the months following. WCW did not book Larry vs. The American Dream but you can always watch Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler from Wrestlemania 27 for weird announcer feud blow offs.

      4. Disco Inferno

      In a desperate attempt to get into the NWO Wolfpac, Disco Inferno interfered during the Kevin Nash vs. Goldberg Starrcade match before Scott Hall and a taser gave Nash the win. When the super NWO was formed, Disco became a full fledged member by slapping Diamond Dallas Page in the face on behalf of Scott Steiner.

      Glenn Gilbertti was fantastic at playing the role of a goof and it made for some wonderful moments. Most of all was during the NWO vs. Four Horsemen feud in 1999, the NWO imitated the Horsemen and Disco played the role of Mean Gene Okerlund to absolute perfection. This skit was better than DX’s Nation of Domination imitation skit. I said it.

      Another Disco gem was his music video skit mocking ex-NWO member Konnan’s actual rap video. Tony Schiavone’s face at the end sums up the greatness of Disco Inferno.

      3. The Great Muta

      There’s no real weird reason for this other than the fact he’s The Great fucking Muta. Also, he happened to look ridiculously cool in the NWO face paint. After the NWO ended, Muta returned to WCW and become part of the Vampiro/ICP faction of juggalos. This is (Wrestling On) Earth.

      2. Dennis Rodman

      I’m a massive fan of Dennis Rodman and loved his NWO appearances. It was great for WCW to have a household name appear as part of the NWO and Rodman was that at the time. Known for his out of this world personality, Rodman was still on the NBA Champion Chicago Bulls and would sometimes skip practice DURING THE PLAYOFFS to make his appearances on Nitro. That’s more commitment to WCW than 90% of their main event scene showed.

      There was even an incident where Rodman and Karl Malone tried to sell their WCW PPV match during a NBA Finals game that I spoke about in a Seven Things regarding the best wrestling celebrities. One of my favorite moments is in a WCW Nitro episode when the NWO attacks The Giant yet again. This time, The Worm was there to hit elbow drop after elbow drop on an unconscious Giant. It was hilarious and a must see moment as Giant lays on his face not moving a muscle as Rodman keeps hitting the elbows. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact Nitro date and could not find a link on YouTube to share the greatness. If anyone has it, feel free to shoot us a link.

      1. Scott Norton

      Scott Norton was the dude. When looking back at old shows, I tend to skip a few matches or segments I know isn’t noteworthy but I NEVER skip anything Scott Norton related. Norton was one of the most convincing guys in the ring as I recall being a kid hating him and thinking he was a jerk for “hitting too hard.” Any match of Norton vs. a cruiserweight is something special to see.

      When Sid and Vader each appeared on RAW last year to beat up Heath Slater, I hoped Scott Norton would join in on the fun to complete my dream hoss trio. Norton is regarded as a superstar and arguably a legend in Japan and it’s unfortunate he never really got many significant opportunities in WCW but he surely helped the NWO. As a muscle, Norton made them seem more unstoppable and dominant during the highs.

      If/when Ryback gets cut after WWE quits on him again, I’d like to see someone book Norton to squash him in Japan or on the indies. It’s my current wrestling dream match, even with current day Flash getting up there in age. Happy Thanksgiving, folks. Be sure to devour a turkey in celebration of the best NWO member forgotten or remembered – Scott Norton.

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