Curtain Call: How An Unscripted Goodbye Changed The Course Of Pro Wrestling

Author:Ryckert, Dan [Ryckert, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Up To Something Publishing
Published: 2014-02-10T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THREE

THE FALLOUT

Eight days after the Curtain Call, Scott Hall immediately made an impact on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro. Entering through the crowd in street clothes, the former Razor Ramon hopped the guardrail and grabbed a microphone. As announcer Tony Schiavone sold shock, Hall announced to the world that change was coming to Turner's organization.

"You know who I am," Hall said. "But you don't know why I'm here." After mocking Turner, Eric Bischoff, and Randy Savage, he ended the promo by saying "You wanna go to war? You're gonna get one."

Hall continued interrupting WCW broadcasts for two weeks, and was eventually joined by Nash on June 10th. The two were portrayed as outsiders from the "other company," and challenged WCW stars Sting, Randy Savage, and Lex Luger to a match at the upcoming Bash at the Beach pay-per-view. Nash and Hall promised that a "third man" would be joining them for the six-man tag match, and the early days of the internet went wild with speculation regarding his identity (WWE stars such as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker were all rumored).

The match began without the third man present, and Hall and Nash used heel tactics to gain the upper hand throughout. With Randy Savage on the mat, Hulk Hogan entered the arena, presumably to defend his friend from the villainous outsiders. Instead of coming to Savage's defense, however, he shocked the Daytona Beach crowd by performing his signature leg drop on the Macho Man. A chorus of boos erupted from the Ocean Center crowd, with many tossing garbage into the ring at the three former WWF stars.

Hogan, Hall, and Nash began referring to themselves as the New World Order, and the storyline was an immediate success. Eric Bischoff came up with the original plan after witnessing a similar invasion angle during a visit to Japan, and he wasn't shy about repeatedly referencing McMahon's company. He'd directly ask the men "Do you work for the WWF?," and many fans weren't quite sure of where the line between fantasy and reality was drawn.

With WWF losing many of their top stars and WCW striking gold with the NWO angle, things weren't looking good for Vince McMahon. The famed Monday Night Wars (referring to the battle between WWF Monday Night Raw and WCW Monday Nitro for ratings dominance) began with Turner's organization as the clear top dog. For 84 consecutive weeks, they defeated Raw in the weekly Nielsen ratings.

“It was pretty clever, quite frankly, on the part of Bischoff or whoever’s idea it was to position them as invading WCW," McMahon says. "I thought ‘uh oh, now I’m really in trouble.’”

One of the main factors that eventually put McMahon back on top was the popularity of Stone Cold Steve Austin, and his career path would have been decidedly different if not for the events of the Curtain Call.

While Nash and Hall were stirring up trouble down south, Vince McMahon was left cleaning up the mess left behind by their departure. Breaking kayfabe so brazenly warranted punishment, but McMahon had few options.

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