The nWo (New World Order) was both a professional wrestling storyline and the stable of wrestlers who were its central players. The nWo storyline, run by WCW, began on the July 6, 1996 Bash at the Beach PPV. This storyline involved a faction from "outside" WCW - originally Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan - "invading" the federation. This proved to be a turning point in the history of wrestling, as it drew attention to the (then) second rated WCW, and helped bring pro wrestling back into mainstream entertainment.
The idiosyncratic capitalization of the group's initialism, nWo, comes directly from the official logo that WCW created for the stable.
Background
Storyline
According to the angle, the nWo faction went against tradition, and planned to take over WCW. Hulk Hogan captured the WCW world title from the Giant at Hog Wild in August 1996, then promptly spray painted the title with "nWo". This began a long and bitter feud between WCW and the nWo. At Fall Brawl 1996, team nWo defeated team WCW in the war games match, cementing their stranglehold on WCW. Sting, who was one of WCW's main supporters, grew disgusted at the accusation that he had joined the nWo, and after the war games match, he told WCW to stick it, and went on a hiatus. The nWo continued to dominate WCW, and new members soon appeared, including Ted DiBiase, Syxx, and The Giant. Legendary superstar, Macho Man Randy Savage took the lead in the battle against the nWo, but in the end he lost to Hogan and disappeared. In a shocking event, WCW president Eric Bischoff revealed that he was a member of the nWo, therefore giving them major power.
The odds were too much to bear for WCW, and soon Rowdy Roddy Piper surfaced in WCW to battle old nemesis Hulk Hogan, who had now dubbed himself "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan.
Piper gained a victory over Hogan, but could not capture the title. In January 1997, the nWo made great strides when they held their very own PPV titled Souled Out. In this event, Hogan faced former nWo member the Giant. Hogan defeated him, and Nash & Hall lost their tag titles to the steiner bros. But the next night, Bischoff gave the belts back to the nWo. In February 1997, Randy Savage returned and shocked WCW by joining the nWo. Through 1997, the nWo controlled the power in WCW. WCW seemed to gain an advantage in august 1997, when Lex Luger won the title from Hogan. But Hogan won the belt back at the 1997 Hog Wild PPV. After an eventful fall, where the nWo destroyed the 4 horsemen, and gained a new member in Curt Hennig, Sting returned to action to face Hogan at Starrcade 1997. This was the most anticipated match in WCW history.
In a controversial finish, Special referee Bret Hart proclaimed Sting the new WCW champion. But the title was soon held up, and Hogan and Sting fought again at Superbrawl 1998, where Sting captured the belt. For the first time, the nWo was having problems within. Randy Savage was having problems with Hogan, and the two fought in a cage to settle the difference. Hogan soon recaptured the title, and the nWo again had control. In April 1998, the nWo officially split in two.
On one side was the nWo Wolfpac, which was headed by Kevin Nash. On the other side was nWo Hollywood, which was headed by Hogan. The two sides battled each other throughout 1998. In July 1998, Hogan lost the title to Goldberg, and the nWo slowly started to lose focus. It seemed that the nWo had beaten WCW by splitting in two - they had no one left to fight but each other. But splitting in two also destroyed the nWo. They never again had the power that they originally had. By October 1998, Hogan left the nWo and went on hiatus. As 1999 started, Kevin Nash was the WCW champion, and he and Hogan conspired a huge nWo comeback in January. This was the famous match where Nash lay down for Hogan, and allowed the pin. The nWo reigned again, but for only a short time. By mid 1999, the nWo had disappeared. In late 1999, the nWo came back for one more run, consisting of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Bret Hart, Jeff Jarrett, and the Harris twins. This nWo lasted into early 2000, but soon faded away.
After World Wrestling Entertainment bought WCW in 2001, Vince McMahon brought in Hogan, Hall, & Nash as the nWo. In this storyline, the nWo was brought in as McMahon's allies in an attempt to destroy WWE so that McMahon would not have to share power with new WWE "co-owner" "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. However, Hogan left the group after he lost his Wrestlemania 18 match with The Rock and was assaulted after that match by Hall & Nash. Hall & Nash brought in 2 new nWo members afterward, X-Pac (formerly known as Syxx) and Shawn Michaels, but the nWo never regained its momentum from 1996 & 1997, and was disbanded by Vince McMahon after he regained full control of WWE from Ric Flair.
The nWo was at its strongest from July 1996 until December 1997. Their reign forever changed the face of wrestling, and the effects are still felt today.
General credit for the "invasion" storyline is given to Paul Orndorff. Other details such as merchandise, hand-signs and the attitude of the nWo is mostly credited to Terry Taylor.