It's been 30 years since professional wrestling was changed for good, when Hulk Hogan was revealed as the now-infamous "third man" of the nWo, alongside Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, at WCW Bash at the Beach 1996. Many within the industry are looking back at the now-historic event, including then-WCW official Eric Bischoff. On an episode of "83 Weeks," he discussed feeling like it wasn't that long ago."I look at [Hogan], now, in [photos] and I still can't believe he's not here," Bischoff said. "I still hear his voice from time to time, pops into my head. Same with Scott Hall. Obviously, [Hall] passed awhile ago, but I haven't really accepted that yet... When you say 30 years ago, it seems like forever and it seems like five minutes ago, in the sense that I still feel like I should be getting a phone call from Scott or Hulk anytime now."Bischoff discussed how infamously, Hogan wasn't sure if he wanted to turn heel for the first time in his already-lengthy career. Sting was on deck to become the third man if Hogan changed his mind at the last moment, but Bischoff doesn't think "The Icon" would have been the leader of the nWo."Just looking at the characters, the personalities, I would say probably not," he said. "I think at that point, it would have been Kevin who would have probably taken that lead role."As Bischoff and Conrad Thompson were talking about other options for the "third man," Bischoff revealed he hadn't ever thought of Lex Lugar. Bischoff said now, he realized that wouldn't have been a bad idea, but it was never discussed."Would it have been as big as Hulk Hogan? Absolutely not," he said. "Would it have been pretty damn good? Yeah, it could have been."
When thinking about what would have happened if Hogan hadn't become leader of the group, Bischoff pondered Hall's career. Hall and Nash, as The Outsiders, were one of the biggest parts of WCW as a tag team. Bischoff said if Nash emerged as leader of the nWo, he doesn't think it would have impacted how successful Hall's career was."Scott was so perfectly positioned," Bischoff said. "He was a guy that he didn't need a belt, he didn't need to be a champion to be an extremely valuable character. I think Scott enjoyed kind of being basically a jack of all trades. You could plug Scott into any situation."Bischoff said that Hall would kill it no matter where he was on any card, whether it be the main event, opening match, or an angle in between. He explained that he believes it was easy for Hall to take on a more passive role, because he was so good at everything, and maintained his career with that approach."From just my perspective, Scott was in many ways cooler than his personality," Bischoff said. "He had that cool vibe to him. There was just nobody cooler than Scott Hall, really. But, as cool as that character was, he was even cooler."If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "83 Weeks" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
