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The New World Order is remembered fondly for the tremendous success the faction achieved while helping WCW pass WWE as the top wrestling promotion for over a year. No other wrestling act outside WWE has led to that much of an impact on the United States wrestling scene. Fans usually think about Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and even Eric Bischoff as the most important members.

Randy Savage is among the biggest names to join the nWo but does not get discussed as much. There was an interesting start to Savage joining the group and a few noteworthy stories as part of the faction. Savage added another legitimate top superstar to make the faction feel stronger. The entire tenure of Savage in the nWo deserves a deeper look at how it went down.

Savage Joining The NWO Was A Unique Story

WCW placed Randy Savage as one of the first major rivals of the New World Order when the group started. Savage was on the six-man team that took a beat down when Hulk Hogan turned heel to join Kevin Nash and Scott Hall on that night. Hogan winning the WCW Championship as the first major step in the nWo’s takeover led to Savage becoming his first PPV challenger at Halloween Havoc 1996.

RELATED: 10 Members Of The nWo: What Was Their Best Match?

The group mentality of the nWo saw them using the numbers advantage to help Hogan win the match. Savage endured multiple attacks, Miss Elizabeth joining the group in a confusing manner to get in his head, and embarrassing moments like Hogan spray-painting a yellow streak down his back. Savage left after his loss for a few months before returning with Sting.

Sting Confronts Randy Savage

WCW was in the early stages of Sting’s Crow character when declaring he held no more loyalty to WCW after they believed he joined the nWo. Savage dressing in all black and appearing with Sting made fans think they were together for the long haul. WCW instead booked this as a swerve with Savage helping Hogan defeat Roddy Piper as his moment officially joining the New World Order.

He Played An Important Role In Helping The Faction Stay Hot

There was a mixed reaction to Randy Savage joining the New World Order to reunite with Miss Elizabeth, Hulk Hogan, and other familiar names from his past. Some fans felt another big name joining the group made little sense since the nWo already had Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and The Giant as realistic top names. Savage was positive to add even more star power and someone with a different goal to the group.

Diamond Dallas Page revealed that his legendary feud with Savage came solely out of Randy wanting to work with him and other new talents once joining the nWo. The series of matches and segments were designed to make Page feel equal to one of the most credible wrestlers in the company. Savage did his job and then some to elevate DDP to the next level.

Randy Savage Vs Diamond Dallas Page

Programs like these helped keep the nWo strong instead of growing stale with all cheap Hogan wins. Savage also took part in many tag matches on PPV and television to intertwine feuds. WCW proved that Savage joining the group was the right call since his face character was just going to take more losses to the nWo if not joining.

He Caused NWO Civil War Storyline

The New World Order splitting into two factions of the Wolfpac and Hollywood is remembered for Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan clashing as the respective leaders. However, it was Randy Savage who set that storyline up during his tension with Hogan. Nash started to grow wary of Hogan when Hogan showed anger over Savage getting a WCW Championship title shot against Sting instead of him.

Savage winning the title was a shocking move that came from Nash getting involved to help Savage after Hogan tried to screw him. Unfortunately, the following night saw Savage’s title reign ending after 24 hours when Hogan defeated him thanks to Bret Hart joining the Hollywood version of the nWo. Nash’s anger reached new levels to have their official split.

Randy Savage NWO Wolfpac

The momentum of Nash made him the better leader of the Wolfpac despite Savage’s issues with Hogan starting the angle. Savage’s body was also banged up and led to an injury before the Hollywood vs Wolfpac storyline played out. The two groups ended up reuniting to reform the nWo Elite while Savage was on the shelf. WCW ended the entire nWo concept by the time Savage returned in the summer of 1999 with a new look. Even though it wasn’t always perfect storytelling, Savage was one of the most important members of the faction at its peak.