The New Generation Era created hope for wrestlers and fans alike who wanted something different from WWE. Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage led the previous Golden Era with larger-than-life characters that resembled superheroes with massive physiques and unique presentations. WWE wanted to evolve a little more with the times by pivoting to more athletic based wrestling.
The landscape changed with new stars made and fans falling in love with the more entertaining in-ring style. Quite a few stories came out throughout the years looking back at some fascinating aspects of WWE at the time. Noteworthy names and future legends were involved in the tales. Each of the following stories aren’t very well known from behind the scenes in the New Generation.
10 The Undertaker Tried To Stop Mick Foley From Dude Love Character
Mick Foley broke out as one of the top signings from that time to play the Mankind character. Bruce Prichard and Vince McMahon wanted to expand his character after watching the Dude Love videos he produced as a teenage backyard wrestler.
Foley was asked to portray the Dude Love character towards the end of the New Generation Era. The Undertaker was livid about this, and Foley claimed that the legend was trying to talk him out of it. Their previous feud got Mankind over as a heel, and Undertaker was worried this would erase it.
9 Shawn Michaels Was Planned To Face Bret Hart At SummerSlam 1992
The epic SummerSlam 1992 main event between Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith was considered the best match in WWE history when it happened to many fans. Bret recently shared more about that match during a recent panel at Starrcast.
Vince McMahon was actually thinking about having Hart defend the Intercontinental Championship against Shawn Michaels. Bret heard rumors about this and asked Vince about using Davey in that role since it was at Wembley Stadium. The story continued that Hart talked to Michaels first, and he understood the logic.
8 Vince McMahon Faxed Angry Letters To Ted Turner
The New Generation Era started with WWE way ahead of WCW as the top promotion and ended with him falling behind. WCW gave Eric Bischoff more power and his move to debut Nitro as a show competing against Raw changed everything.
Vince McMahon had interactions with WCW owner Ted Turner in the past and was upset about another company competing with them. Bruce Prichard and other employees of the time confirmed that Vince wrote a few letters expressing his anger and faxed it to Turner.
7 WWE Wanted Disco Inferno For Rockabilly Character
WWE placed Billy Gunn in a few different gimmicks with the hope of having him break out in a singles role. The Smoking Gunns ending led to him getting a complete character change with the new name of Rockabilly and Honky Tonk Man as his manager.
Stories circulated that Disco Inferno was actually the name thought of when WWE wanted someone to play this character managed by Honky Tonk Man. Disco ended up staying in WCW, so Billy received the new name and persona that flopped badly.
6 Vince McMahon Wanted To Fire Mabel Minutes After SummerSlam Main Event
Mabel had one of the worst pushes of the New Generation Era when winning the King of the Ring tournament. The pay-off of Mabel winning the tournament and moving up the card featured a SummerSlam 1995 main event against Diesel for the WWE Championship.
Everyone knew that Mabel wasn’t ready for the main event scene, and he developed a reputation for injuring others.
Kevin Nash almost suffered an injury during the match, and Vince McMahon was going to fire Mabel once they arrived backstage for working recklessly. The request of Nash to not fire Mabel saved his job for a few more weeks.
5 Ultimate Warrior Was Fired For Taking Time Off After His Father Died
Most fans are still confused about Ultimate Warrior’s failed short run in 1996. Warrior received a push against some odd names, but he was gone after a few months. Vince McMahon was already growing frustrated at Warrior losing the luster that made him a star.
Warrior also had a history of being unreliable and upsetting management. WWE actually fired him shortly after Warrior requested another month off after some time off following his father passing away. Warrior told Vince that he hated his father, and they didn’t speak for years to make McMahon feel it was a lie to get out of work.
4 The Rock Challenged Ahmed Johnson To A Fight
The Nation of Domination featured so many interesting names having to work together for their faction to thrive. Ahmed Johnson spent time feuding with the Nation before he turned heel in shocking fashion to join them.
There were stories about Johnson upsetting other wrestlers backstage with his complaints. The Rock apparently had enough and challenged Ahmed to a fight after his comments. Bruce Prichard shared that it didn’t get physical, but Johnson claimed it did in his past interviews.
3 WWE Refused To Clear Yokozuna Due To Weight Issues
The end of Yokozuna’s WWE career came out of nowhere to fans watching the product before the internet or media gave us wrestling content 24/7. Yokozuna returned and left the product multiple times without any storyline explanation.
WWE felt that Yokozuna was reaching a size where it wasn’t safe to have him in the ring. Yokozuna could not get cleared at the end of his deal despite losing nearly 100 pounds. WWE releasing Yokozuna saw him wrestling six independent matches before he unfortunately passed away at a young age.
2 Vince McMahon Laughed At Vader's Calls After Getting Arrested
Vader getting arrested in Kuwait for assaulting a reporter on television was a huge story that doesn’t get talked about enough. WWE’s tour there saw Vader arrested and stranded in a Kuwait prison for two weeks when the other wrestlers traveled back to the United States.
Vince Russo shared stories about Vader calling Vince McMahon in horror and almost breaking down in tears due to the fear of being stuck in a foreign prison. McMahon and Bruce Prichard stopped taking Vader’s calls, and Russo claimed they even laughed at him.
1 Bret Hart Was Asked To Join The Kliq
Bret Hart was viewed as the biggest enemy of the Kliq due to being the company’s top star when the friend-group formed and due to his future issues with Shawn Michaels. The timing of The Kliq forming came when Hart and Michaels were still good friends.
Various stories from Bret detailed the night that Michaels and Kevin Nash tried to recruit him into the Kliq. Their idea was that they’d band together to put more leverage in their hands than the other wrestlers or even Vince McMahon. Hart claimed that he turned them down and the official Kliq started not too long after.