Latest news with #nWo
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
WWE legend forced to have leg amputated after car crash in harrowing health update – ‘this is hard'
WCW legend Buff Bagwell had his leg amputated five years after a horror car crash from which he struggled to recover. 2 WCW legend Buff Bagwell had his leg amputated five years after a horror car crash Credit: YouTube / Maven Huffman 2 Bagwell stood out during the Monday Night Wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s The Georgia native hadn't wrestled at top level since 2001 when his brief stint with The former nWo member would then make sporadic appearances for the likes of TNA and the independent circuit, with his latest performance taking place in November 2024. That was four years after a shock crash that damaged his right leg so badly he found himself in a long and hard battle not to lose it. Despite multiple procedures and years of rehabilitation, however, Bagwell's friend Steve Stasiak announced on social media his leg had to be amputated above the knee following complications. Stasiak posted on "I've known Buff a long time. I've seen him in the spotlight, I've seen him behind the scenes, and I've seen him fight through things most people never even hear about. "This one… this is hard. For him. For everyone who knows and loves him. "The injuries from his 2020 accident never fully healed. He gave it everything he had to avoid this outcome—but that fight led him here. And now begins a whole new kind of battle. Most read in Sport "Buff was one of the brightest stars of a wild era in wrestling. He made you look. He made you care. But it's who he is as a person—past the lights, past the persona—that I hope people think about today. "If you're reading this, I just ask that you send a little love out into the world for Buff. No grand gestures. Just something real. A thought, a prayer, a moment." WWE legend John Cena's Wimbledon interview goes viral as fans say 'I need this level of confidence' And a number of One posted: "God will never send a test that you can't handle." Another commented: "Keep fighting, you got this." A third wrote: "Sending love and prayers." This fan said: "Sending love and positive thoughts and vibes his way." And that one stated: "I love you brother, Never give in, Never Give up." 'I am gone' Bagwell previously opened up about the accident, which occurred after he consumed alcohol and seemingly blacked out on the wheel. The Stuff stated no one else got hurt and shared all the details about the awful ordeal he went through following the crash. The former heavyweight lifted the lid on his battle with alcohol addiction the preceded the crash and how he managed to gain sobriety as well as a newfound love for God. Bagwell recently said: "I was heading home [from his father's house] and I had just had surgery, ironically this foot had pins in it and I had got this knee scoped for a minor meniscus tear. 'It was like a dream' "I had been drinking, just a few beers but whatever happened, I'm going down the road with a diet coke and I am gone. I am gone. But you don't realize you are gone. "It was like a dream. I remember hitting cars, seeing faces look at me. I got off at the wrong exit and somehow, I drove through a men's and women's bathroom. "The wreck runied my kneecap. From there, that started this whole journey, trying to fix my leg. "At one stage, I was in the hospital for seven weeks and every three days, I had a surgery. It just wouldn't get better. Read more on the Irish Sun "I was so angry at what happened. I didn't think I could get sober but August of 2022 I went to rehab. August 2025, 27th, I will be three years sober. "The last three years of my life, I get overwhelmed with joy. I have been able to put together three of the best years of my life by putting God, Stacey [his fiancee] and myself in that order.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
WWE legend forced to have leg amputated after car crash in harrowing health update – ‘this is hard'
WCW legend Buff Bagwell had his leg amputated five years after a horror car crash from which he struggled to recover. Bagwell, 55, stood out during the late 1990s and early 2000s when pro wrestling fans enjoyed the infamous Monday Night Wars between WCW and eventual winners WWE. 2 The Georgia native hadn't wrestled at top level since 2001 when his brief stint with Vince McMahon 's promotion was ended just four months into his tenure. The former nWo member would then make sporadic appearances for the likes of TNA and the independent circuit, with his latest performance taking place in November 2024. That was four years after a shock crash that damaged his right leg so badly he found himself in a long and hard battle not to lose it. Despite multiple procedures and years of rehabilitation, however, Bagwell's friend Steve Stasiak announced on social media his leg had to be amputated above the knee following complications. Stasiak posted on Facebook: "Yesterday morning, Marcus Bagwell—Buff Bagwell—had his leg amputated above the knee. "I've known Buff a long time. I've seen him in the spotlight, I've seen him behind the scenes, and I've seen him fight through things most people never even hear about. "This one… this is hard. For him. For everyone who knows and loves him. "The injuries from his 2020 accident never fully healed. He gave it everything he had to avoid this outcome—but that fight led him here. And now begins a whole new kind of battle. "Buff was one of the brightest stars of a wild era in wrestling. He made you look. He made you care. But it's who he is as a person—past the lights, past the persona—that I hope people think about today. "If you're reading this, I just ask that you send a little love out into the world for Buff. No grand gestures. Just something real. A thought, a prayer, a moment." WWE legend John Cena's Wimbledon interview goes viral as fans say 'I need this level of confidence' And a number of WWE fans responded to Stasiak's call by sharing their love and support following the tragic news. One posted: "God will never send a test that you can't handle." Another commented: "Keep fighting, you got this." A third wrote: "Sending love and prayers." This fan said: "Sending love and positive thoughts and vibes his way." And that one stated: "I love you brother, Never give in, Never Give up." 'I am gone' Bagwell previously opened up about the accident, which occurred after he consumed alcohol and seemingly blacked out on the wheel. The Stuff stated no one else got hurt and shared all the details about the awful ordeal he went through following the crash. The former heavyweight lifted the lid on his battle with alcohol addiction the preceded the crash and how he managed to gain sobriety as well as a newfound love for God. Bagwell recently said: "I was heading home [from his father's house] and I had just had surgery, ironically this foot had pins in it and I had got this knee scoped for a minor meniscus tear. 'It was like a dream' "I had been drinking, just a few beers but whatever happened, I'm going down the road with a diet coke and I am gone. I am gone. But you don't realize you are gone. "It was like a dream. I remember hitting cars, seeing faces look at me. I got off at the wrong exit and somehow, I drove through a men's and women's bathroom. "The wreck runied my kneecap. From there, that started this whole journey, trying to fix my leg. "At one stage, I was in the hospital for seven weeks and every three days, I had a surgery. It just wouldn't get better. "I was so angry at what happened. I didn't think I could get sober but August of 2022 I went to rehab. August 2025, 27th, I will be three years sober. "The last three years of my life, I get overwhelmed with joy. I have been able to put together three of the best years of my life by putting God, Stacey [his fiancee] and myself in that order.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The night WWE legend Scott Hall killed a man
"Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling's New World Order Changed America," the upcoming book written by Marc Raimondi which documents the rise of the legendary nWo faction and the impact it had on the broader world, publishes on Tuesday, June 24. The following is an excerpt detailing the rise of Scott Hall, aka two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee Razor Ramon, who emerged as a central figure in wrestling's New World Order. Scott Hall was at work the night of January 15, 1983, tending bar at the strip club Thee Dollhouse in Orlando, Florida. He was bracing himself. Hall knew an altercation — 'of course it was over a girl' — was imminent. Advertisement It was early in his shift when Hall got word that the husband of the woman he had been seeing was outside in the parking lot. The man had busted all the windows out of Hall's car, and was fixing to get a piece of Hall next. Hall, a well-built, 6-foot-5 bodybuilder, went outside to confront the man and knocked him down immediately with one punch. The man, named Rodney Perry Turner, reached for a firearm and a struggle ensued. Hall took hold of the gun first — and shot Perry Turner in the head. He died instantly. Hall, then just 24 years old, was charged with second-degree murder. The case against him was later dismissed when sworn testimony was not enough to prosecute. 'I drilled him, and he went down, and his shirt went up and he was reaching for the gun, so I reached for it, too,' Hall recalled. Advertisement A bar employee told the Orlando Sentinel at the time Perry Turner had threatened to kill both Hall and Perry Turner's wife, Carol, when he found out Hall and Carol were dating. Two months earlier, Perry Turner had fatally shot another man. Perry Turner claimed he was attacked after the man made a pass at Carol. Perry Turner was never charged, as the killing was ruled justifiable. 'I should have sought counseling right then, but I didn't know anything,' Hall said. 'I was a kid.' Hall was raised in a military family. He has referred to his father as a 'big shot' in the U.S. Army. Hall's parents and grandparents had issues with alcohol, an addiction that definitely did not skip a generation. Advertisement 'We come from a long line of hard-drinking rednecks,' Hall said. Hall went to high school in Germany where his dad was stationed and moved just about every year before his family settled in Florida when he was a teen. Hall's father was a pro-wrestling fan, and Hall himself wanted to be a wrestler ever since he was eight years old when his dad took him to a hair-versus-hair match. Hall took a piece of the losing wrestler's hair home with him. 'And I just was hooked since then,' Hall said. Hall had spent time working the regional circuit as a wrestler in the 1980s, including a stint in the AWA like Hulk Hogan. Hall had a run with Curt 'Mr. Perfect' Hennig as the AWA tag-team champions, and Verne Gagne then wanted to position Hall as his No. 1 babyface. Hall absolutely looked the part. He was tall and handsome with light brown hair and a bushy mustache. With a wide chest, big arms, and bulging trapezius muscles, Hall looked kind of like a jacked-up Tom Selleck. Razor Ramon makes his entrance at WWF Wrestlemania X8. (George Pimentel via Getty Images) 'When Verne started pushing him to be his top guy, I know other people were going like, 'Oh man, same size as Hogan, better body, better-looking,'' Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer said. 'But when it didn't work, it was kind of like, 'Oh, he doesn't have charisma.'' Advertisement Things just didn't click for Hall as a generic good guy. The fans didn't get behind him. After taking a hiatus from wrestling, Hall found his way to WCW in 1991. He knew he had to change things up, because regular old Scott Hall, as impressive as he looked with his shirt off, wasn't working. And Hall really committed to changing things up. His new character was called The Diamond Studd. He was a cocky ladies' man with slicked-back black hair, a toothpick between his teeth, and dark sunglasses. The bushy hair and mustache were long gone. The Diamond Studd wore a five o'clock shadow and didn't skip trips to the tanning bed. The leaner Studd looked nothing like 'Big' Scott Hall from the AWA. The Diamond Studd was managed on screen by Diamond Dallas Page, who previously had accompanied the very popular Fabulous Freebirds to the ring. Like Hall, Page had a background in the nightlife industry, managing several Florida clubs. Hall and Page got along well, in the ring and outside of it. And Hall started to have some success in WCW with Page by his side. Hall had size, good looks, and could work an entertaining match in the ring. There might not be a blueprint for wrestling stardom, but he checked a lot of boxes. Still, Hall wasn't being positioned past the early matches on WCW cards. The main event wasn't even in sight. Advertisement That didn't matter to Hall so much. He was grateful just to have the job of his dreams. But Hall and his wife, Dana, had just had their first child, Cody. Making more money to support his growing family would have been nice. So Hall started having conversations with Pat Patterson, McMahon's right-hand man. nWo members Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan face off with Lex Luger, The Giant and Booker T during WCW Monday Nitro in February 1997. (WWE via Getty Images) 'Some guys were higher up [in WWF], but everybody was a star,' Hall said. 'So I said, 'I don't have to be a main eventer, I still want to wrestle.' Because even the lower-paid wrestlers are getting paid, and I had no education. So I thought, this is what I still want to do for a living. If I have to be a bottom guy, I'd rather do it for the best company.' 'Bottom guys' in wrestling — or low carders and midcarders — are kind of like the fighters you see on the preliminaries of boxing or UFC events. They're talented enough and have a big enough following to earn a spot on the event, but don't have the skill level or star quality to make the main event. Their main role is to lose to wrestlers tabbed as stars as those would-be stars make their way to a headlining role. Advertisement Hall would never be a 'bottom guy' again. He was pushed near the top of the card immediately in the WWF with a new character: Razor Ramon. Hall, as Ramon, became an arrogant, well-dressed, and villainous Cuban American from Miami. It was basically a rip-off of Al Pacino's suave but brutally violent Tony Montana character in "Scarface," which had gained a renewed cult following a decade after its release. McMahon had never seen the movie and when Hall came to him with the idea, he thought Hall was a genius. For weeks on WWF television there were taped vignettes trumping up his arrival. Hall wore gold chains with an open, button-down shirt revealing his chest hair. He spoke with a fake Cuban accent, called people 'chico,' and borrowed phrases from "Scarface," adding his own spin, like 'say hello to the Bad Guy.' Hall was neither Cuban nor even Hispanic, just like Hogan wasn't actually Irish. In wrestling, everything is about the performance. And Hall was more than believable enough as Razor Ramon.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The night WWE legend Scott Hall killed a man
"Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling's New World Order Changed America," the upcoming book written by Marc Raimondi which documents the rise of the legendary nWo faction and the impact it had on the broader world, publishes on Tuesday, June 24. The following is an excerpt detailing the rise of Scott Hall, aka two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee Razor Ramon, who emerged as a central figure in wrestling's New World Order. Hall was at work the night of January 15, 1983, tending bar at the strip club Thee Dollhouse in Orlando, Florida. He was bracing himself. Hall knew an altercation — 'of course it was over a girl' — was imminent. Advertisement It was early in his shift when Hall got word that the husband of the woman he had been seeing was outside in the parking lot. The man had busted all the windows out of Hall's car, and was fixing to get a piece of Hall next. Hall, a well-built, 6-foot-5 bodybuilder, went outside to confront the man and knocked him down immediately with one punch. The man, named Rodney Perry Turner, reached for a firearm and a struggle ensued. Hall took hold of the gun first — and shot Perry Turner in the head. He died instantly. Hall, then just 24 years old, was charged with second-degree murder. The case against him was later dismissed when sworn testimony was not enough to prosecute. 'I drilled him, and he went down, and his shirt went up and he was reaching for the gun, so I reached for it, too,' Hall recalled. Advertisement A bar employee told the Orlando Sentinel at the time Perry Turner had threatened to kill both Hall and Perry Turner's wife, Carol, when he found out Hall and Carol were dating. Two months earlier, Perry Turner had fatally shot another man. Perry Turner claimed he was attacked after the man made a pass at Carol. Perry Turner was never charged, as the killing was ruled justifiable. 'I should have sought counseling right then, but I didn't know anything,' Hall said. 'I was a kid.' Hall was raised in a military family. He has referred to his father as a 'big shot' in the U.S. Army. Hall's parents and grandparents had issues with alcohol, an addiction that definitely did not skip a generation. Advertisement 'We come from a long line of hard-drinking rednecks,' Hall said. Hall went to high school in Germany where his dad was stationed and moved just about every year before his family settled in Florida when he was a teen. Hall's father was a pro-wrestling fan, and Hall himself wanted to be a wrestler ever since he was eight years old when his dad took him to a hair-versus-hair match. Hall took a piece of the losing wrestler's hair home with him. 'And I just was hooked since then,' Hall said. Hall had spent time working the regional circuit as a wrestler in the 1980s, including a stint in the AWA like Hulk Hogan. Hall had a run with Curt 'Mr. Perfect' Hennig as the AWA tag-team champions, and Verne Gagne then wanted to position Hall as his No. 1 babyface. Hall absolutely looked the part. He was tall and handsome with light brown hair and a bushy mustache. With a wide chest, big arms, and bulging trapezius muscles, Hall looked kind of like a jacked-up Tom Selleck. Razor Ramon makes his entrance at WWF Wrestlemania X8. (George Pimentel via Getty Images) 'When Verne started pushing him to be his top guy, I know other people were going like, 'Oh man, same size as Hogan, better body, better-looking,'' Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer said. 'But when it didn't work, it was kind of like, 'Oh, he doesn't have charisma.'' Advertisement Things just didn't click for Hall as a generic good guy. The fans didn't get behind him. After taking a hiatus from wrestling, Hall found his way to WCW in 1991. He knew he had to change things up, because regular old Scott Hall, as impressive as he looked with his shirt off, wasn't working. And Hall really committed to changing things up. His new character was called The Diamond Studd. He was a cocky ladies' man with slicked-back black hair, a toothpick between his teeth, and dark sunglasses. The bushy hair and mustache were long gone. The Diamond Studd wore a five o'clock shadow and didn't skip trips to the tanning bed. The leaner Studd looked nothing like 'Big' Scott Hall from the AWA. The Diamond Studd was managed on screen by Diamond Dallas Page, who previously had accompanied the very popular Fabulous Freebirds to the ring. Like Hall, Page had a background in the nightlife industry, managing several Florida clubs. Hall and Page got along well, in the ring and outside of it. And Hall started to have some success in WCW with Page by his side. Hall had size, good looks, and could work an entertaining match in the ring. There might not be a blueprint for wrestling stardom, but he checked a lot of boxes. Still, Hall wasn't being positioned past the early matches on WCW cards. The main event wasn't even in sight. Advertisement That didn't matter to Hall so much. He was grateful just to have the job of his dreams. But Hall and his wife, Dana, had just had their first child, Cody. Making more money to support his growing family would have been nice. So Hall started having conversations with Pat Patterson, McMahon's right-hand man. nWo members Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan face off with Lex Luger, The Giant and Booker T during WCW Monday Nitro in February 1997. (WWE via Getty Images) 'Some guys were higher up [in WWF], but everybody was a star,' Hall said. 'So I said, 'I don't have to be a main eventer, I still want to wrestle.' Because even the lower-paid wrestlers are getting paid, and I had no education. So I thought, this is what I still want to do for a living. If I have to be a bottom guy, I'd rather do it for the best company.' 'Bottom guys' in wrestling — or low carders and midcarders — are kind of like the fighters you see on the preliminaries of boxing or UFC events. They're talented enough and have a big enough following to earn a spot on the event, but don't have the skill level or star quality to make the main event. Their main role is to lose to wrestlers tabbed as stars as those would-be stars make their way to a headlining role. Advertisement Hall would never be a 'bottom guy' again. He was pushed near the top of the card immediately in the WWF with a new character: Razor Ramon. Hall, as Ramon, became an arrogant, well-dressed, and villainous Cuban American from Miami. It was basically a rip-off of Al Pacino's suave but brutally violent Tony Montana character in "Scarface," which had gained a renewed cult following a decade after its release. McMahon had never seen the movie and when Hall came to him with the idea, he thought Hall was a genius. For weeks on WWF television there were taped vignettes trumping up his arrival. Hall wore gold chains with an open, button-down shirt revealing his chest hair. He spoke with a fake Cuban accent, called people 'chico,' and borrowed phrases from "Scarface," adding his own spin, like 'say hello to the Bad Guy.' Hall was neither Cuban nor even Hispanic, just like Hogan wasn't actually Irish. In wrestling, everything is about the performance. And Hall was more than believable enough as Razor Ramon.
New York Post
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
How the New York Order changed pro-wrestling forever
In 2002, Mark Raimondi was waiting for his breakfast in a restaurant in Tokyo. As he waited, the local man serving the food spotted the black hoodie he was wearing, adorned with the logo of the New World Order (nWo), the 1990s movement that revolutionized pro-wrestling, and simply smiled at him. 'He didn't speak English and I can't speak any Japanese, but we were able to connect through memories that meant something to both of us,' he recalls. 9 Pro-wrestlers Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan became household names as part of pro-wrestling's New World Order, which became a '90s pop-culture phenomena whose influence transcended far outside the competition ring. WWE via Getty Images In 'Say Hello to the Bad Guys — How Pro-wrestling's New World Order Changed America' (Simon & Schuster), ESPN journalist and former Post writer Raimondi investigates just how the rebel New World Order not only changed the face of professional wrestling but also manage to tap into the national psyche unlike anything before. Advertisement 'The kids, teens, and young adults who grew up watching the nWo from 1996 to 1999 — and there were millions — are now leaders of industry, politicians, writers, producers, entertainers, musicians, and professional athletes, all of whom are helping to shape American culture right now,' he writes 9 Hulk Hogan, arguably the best-known of the New World Order-members. Getty Images In the late 1990s the fierce competition between rival pro-wrestling organizations the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE) and World Championship Wresting reached its zenith, as their events went head-to-head on live television and each tried to outdo the other with increasingly spectacular stunts and controversial storylines. Advertisement The resulting surge in popularity and unprecedented mainstream attention was largely down to the emergence of an outrageous new faction in the WCW — the New World Order. Conceived by WCW senior vice president Eric Bischoff, it featured former WWF wrestlers Scott Hall and Kevin Nash and a mysterious 'third man,' later revealed to be another ex-WWF wrestler, the legendary Hulk Hogan. Rebellious and edgier than their counterparts, the New World Order were portrayed as outsiders, a band of unsanctioned invaders intent on taking over the WCW with the key storyline being Hogan 'turning heel' and switching from good guy to one of the baddies. 9 The New World Order singlehandedly reinvigorated professional wrestling and helping to turn it into the multi-billion dollar entertainment machine it is today. Advertisement 'That's where the nWo was born, at the intersection of genuine and phony. Lines became blurred. The antiheroes became the main characters,' says Raimondi. 'And pro wrestling was never the same again.' Nothing was off limits for the nWo. They even used storylines based on Hall's chaotic private life. Advertisement A self-destructive character, he often drove drunk and had totaled eight Cadillacs in just a few years and now it was all part of the act. 'He started stumbling to the ring holding a cocktail cup, acting like he was drunk on television,' adds Raimondi. 'Or maybe he actually was drunk. At that point, it hardly mattered.' The fans lapped it up. 9 Donald Trump raising the hand of Bobby Lashley in victory at Wrestlemania in 2007. Getty Images 'The idea of the antihero being the protagonist wasn't an especially new one in the entertainment industry,' says Raimondi. 'But the nWo hit in such a formative time and was consumed by millions of people every week.' Being in the nWo gave Hulk Hogan's career a much-needed boost, too. When he first left the WWF in 1993, the wrestler's popularity had plummeted, not least because he had admitted to taking steroids. Now though, he was once again in the good graces of the nation's wrestling fans. 'The boos and indifference toward Hulkamania were gone. It was running wild again,' says Raimondi. Advertisement 'All it took was Hogan to be a dastardly son of a bitch for several years before fans wanted to see the old him again.' With their distinctive black and white branding and anti-establishment personas, the impact of then nWo's arrival was so significant that soon the WWF would follow suit. They launched their own Attitude Era, where they enlisted box office names like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Triple H to push the boundaries still further with edgier storylines, profanity and even sexualized content. 9 Former pro-wrestler Dwayne Johnson with daughter Simone Johnson, who is also a well-known wrestler. Getty Images For author Raimondi, the burgeoning popularity of wrestling at the time was part of a wider cultural shift in the late '90s, when a wave of pseudo-reality shows like The Jerry Springer Show and The Real World pushed the limit of credulity to great success. Advertisement 'Like wrestling, few really believed everything happening on Springer or Real World was completely on the up-and-up,' he writes. 'Yet, people watched anyway — at a high rate — and bought in, to an extent, to their staged realities. 'Almost everyone has been aware for decades that pro wrestling isn't a legitimate sports competition, but Robert Downey Jr. isn't actually Iron Man, either.' 9 Rapper Kendrick Lamar has reference the New World Order in lyrics to songs related to his 'beef' with Drake. AP Wrestling's surge also came at a crucial moment for network television as the expansion of cable meant an increased demand for entertaining and low-cost programming. 'Talk-show guests and reality television contestants came much cheaper than actors,' adds Raimondi. Advertisement 'So did pro wrestlers.' Today, the success of the New World Order and the transformative effect it had on the fortunes of both pro-wrestling organizations continues to permeate all aspects of modern life. President Trump, for instance, hosted an episode of Wrestlemania and once shaved the WWE owner Vince McMahon's head in the ring. More recently, Trump even appointed McMahon's wife Linda, a former CEO of WWE, as the secretary of education. 9 Pres. Trump with Linda McMahon, now US Secretary of Education. REUTERS Advertisement Dwayne Johnson, a former wrestler whose daughter is now in WWE, is now the highest-paid actor in the world and one of most recognizable people on the planet. In music you would be hard pressed to find a hip-hop artist who has never rapped a lyric about pro-wrestling. Kendrick Lamar, for instance, used the line 'sweet chin music,' in his definitive Drake diss track 'Not Like Us,' a reference to the finishing move of WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. In 2017, meanwhile, influencer Kendall Jenner even rocked an oversized nWo logo shirt at a Michael Kors show during New York fashion week. 'To understand pro wrestling is to understand America itself,' writes Raimondi. 'It's capitalism, it's materialism. It's bombast. A wrestling program is like a TikTok algorithm come to life.' Almost inevitably, the success of nWo and the WCW meant that WWF — the bigger of the two operations — began to eye its competitor and in March 2001 bought out its rival, acquiring all of the organization's assets for $4.2 million. Now, the nWo was living on borrowed time. While Hogan, Hall and Nash briefly rehashed their act in WWF — and new members of the faction came and went — Vince McMahon announced that the New World Order had been disbanded on July 15, 2002, during an episode of 'Raw.' While the nWo was no more, the founders could at least take comfort from the impact they had, both in the wrestling ring and outside it. 'The nWo was more than just a wrestling faction; it was a cultural phenomenon that redefined the landscape of professional wrestling,' adds Raimondi. 9 Author and former ESPN journalist Marc Raimondi. And while Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan are still here to tell their story, the other founding member, Scott Hall, passed away in March 2022, after he suffered three heart attacks as a result of a blood clot that developed after a hip operation. He was 63. Prior to his death, when Hall was first inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, he gave a speech explaining what being a member of the New World Order had meant to him. 'Hard work pays off — dreams come true,' he said. 'Bad times don't last. But Bad Guys do.'
