As the wrestling world marks the 30th anniversary of the formation of the New World Order, Eric Bischoff is making the case that the faction is one of the most important developments in wrestling history.
Speaking on 83 Weeks, the Hall of Famer argued that WWE’s modern-day success would not exist without the NWO and WCW’s Nitro forcing the industry to evolve.
“I don’t think we’d be watching the WWE that we’re watching today, had it not been for the NWO, had it not been for Nitro. I’m absolutely 100% convinced of that,” Bischoff said.
Bischoff explained that the pressure WCW applied is what pushed WWE toward the edgier “Attitude Era” that ultimately saved the company. He contended that the competition left Vince McMahon no choice but to change his approach and target an older audience.
“The Attitude Era that we forced, that change, we forced it with hammers and chisels, blunt force,” Bischoff said. “That change is what catapulted WWE as we know it today.”
According to Bischoff, that shift is also what allowed WWE to eventually go public and become the company it is now.
“Had McMahon not made that decision, I don’t think WWE goes public. I don’t think we’re looking at the WWE that we’re watching today,” he said. “I think the NWO mattered more than just about anything else that’s happened in the wrestling business in the last 50 years, other than Vince McMahon taking the company over from his father and going national.”
Bischoff also credited Hulk Hogan as the irreplaceable ingredient that made it all work, believing the angle would not carry the same weight three decades later with anyone else in that role.
