Eric Bischoff isn’t buying the idea that social media killed the chance of another nWo-style storyline.
While speaking on 83 Weeks, Bischoff was asked whether something like the nWo could still work today with spoilers, scoop culture, and fans constantly hunting for backstage information. His answer was yes, but only if wrestling stops pumping out new factions every few months and pretending that is the same thing as building a real story.
“Yeah, it could. It could. I think for any faction that would be nWo-ish or -esque, we’re going to have to kind of take — let’s not have any more factions for a while. We just keep cranking factions out like they’re cookies in a cookie dough press. And they all suck, with the exception of The Bloodline.”
That was Bischoff’s real issue. He doesn’t think the problem is fans knowing too much or watching clips on their phones. He thinks wrestling keeps trying to recreate faction magic without giving those groups enough story to survive.
“What has come across the line? They’re really cool factions and they get positioned well and they got really cool posters and all kinds of cool [stuff], but they fizzle out within 90 or 120 days. Next, let’s do another one.”
Bischoff said wrestling probably needs to let the faction idea breathe for a while before trying to create the next major takeover angle. To him, the nWo worked because the timing was right and every beat mattered, not because three people simply stood together and got a logo.
“I think if we would go through a period where we didn’t have people trying to resurrect the success of, you know, DX or nWo and just let that whole faction thing kind of take a breather and then if you came back with something, because look, it all comes down to story.”
Then he went back to the original nWo rollout and pointed to why it actually hit. Scott Hall arrived first, Kevin Nash followed, Bischoff got powerbombed, and then Hulk Hogan turned heel. The story had timing, escalation, and a payoff people actually cared about.
“You laid out — and I’m not taking credit for it because there’s a lot of other people involved beyond me — but the story the way you laid out week one, Scott Hall, week two, you know, week three, here comes Kevin Nash. Week four, Eric is powerbombed off the stage. Then Hulk Hogan turns heel.”
That is where Bischoff got fired up. He said people use modern viewing habits as an excuse for weak creative, when the real issue is that nobody is telling a strong enough story.
“I mean, the beats within that story were timed so perfectly that the story is what made it work. And this is where I get really short of patience with people, is the willingness to go, ‘Oh, well, we just can’t do it anymore because things are different now and people watch your [stuff] TV on their phone.’”
Bischoff didn’t soften the point either. He said blaming social media is just a way to avoid admitting the story is not good enough.
“This is bulls***. You’re just making excuses for the fact that you can’t come up with a good f**ing story. Everything is story-driven. Everything.”
For Bischoff, the idea of another nWo is not impossible. What is impossible is expecting a group to become the next nWo when the industry keeps rushing out faction after faction with no real patience behind them.
“And crapping out factions once every three months hoping to get lightning in the bottle is not creative. Nor should anybody judge the potential success of the next Bloodline or the next nWo based on the fact that, ‘Well, that was then, this is now, and people get all their entertainment on their phones.’”
Then he unloaded one more time on the excuse that wrestling can’t do that kind of story anymore: “That is such a chicken s**, cheap-ass, gutless way to address the fact that you just can’t find your ass with both hands and a f**ing compass when it comes to creative.”
Bischoff’s point is pretty simple: another nWo-style angle could still work, but it cannot be forced, rushed, or built like every other forgettable faction. The Bloodline worked because fans had a real story to follow. The nWo worked because the story unfolded at exactly the right pace. If wrestling wants that kind of lightning again, Bischoff thinks the answer is not another logo or another group photo. It is better storytelling.
Do you agree with Eric Bischoff that another nWo-style storyline could still work today? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
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