Matt Hardy considers the nWo the most important wrestling faction since its 1996 debut, although he believes D-Generation X did a better job of keeping its membership under control.
During The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, host Jon Alba asked Hardy to rank the best factions to emerge since the nWo arrived in WCW.
“It’s hard not to name the nWo number one, the Elite definitely does stand out as being a great faction there, especially what they did in just starting, you know, AEW as a whole. Evolution, I think, would have to be in there,” Hardy said.
Hardy also identified the original Wyatt Family, The Bloodline, The Shield and Bullet Club as groups deserving consideration.
“The Bloodline for sure. The Bloodline is in there,” Hardy said. “The Shield, obviously you had three guys that went on to be main eventers. Obviously, all multiple time world champions.”
“Yes, the Bullet Club for sure. The Bullet Club was a huge deal, and the thing that was so crazy about the Bullet Club is it was like sprawling, you know, because it was in Japan, and then it was like so influential here in America and just in all different areas and things,” he added.
Alba argued that DX deserved the top spot because more of its members went on to become major stars. Hardy, however, pointed to the nWo’s impact on the wrestling industry and WCW’s rise during the Monday Night War as the reason he keeps the group at number one.
“But I just think just their influence and their effect on the industry because they’re the people that turned WCW around. They started kicking WWE’s a** when, you know, it was so competitive, and they became like the leader of the industry for a while,”* Hardy said.
Hardy acknowledged that the nWo eventually suffered from having too many members, diminishing what initially made the faction feel special.
“The nWo didn’t necessarily make guys, but they just made such a colossal difference in the industry, and they made wrestling so cool and so mainstream. And it was in the beginning, you know, because like once it evolved and they added all these members, it got watered down so much, and it was just, it lost a lot of its meaning and value,” he added.
That, Hardy believes, is one area where DX succeeded.
“Yeah, I mean it just got way too watered down, and that’s one thing that was great about DX. They kept it limited, you know, dude,” Hardy said.
“So that’s one thing DX did right. They had, you know, X amount of people, and they got the guys over they need to get over. Chyna did. She went on to be probably, you know, the most popular woman in WWE history. One of them, no doubt about it,” he said.
Hardy also praised the success of the New Age Outlaws, recalling his experience working extensively with Road Dogg and Billy Gunn alongside his brother Jeff.
“Jeff and I, we were blessed. We had to work with them so much, and they were amazing,” Hardy said.
Hardy believes The Bloodline also belongs near the top of the conversation because of its impact on WWE’s business.
“Well, I also think, John, I think the Bloodline has a pretty strong tie in there, you know, especially originally because they had a great thing going, and they really made WWE business hot, especially when they had to, you know, they had their a** to the fire when AEW was there,”* Hardy said.
He similarly highlighted The Elite’s role in the creation of AEW as an accomplishment that significantly changed the wrestling industry.
“That’s huge, that’s massive. I mean, with that, that’s, you know, once again, business altering, business changing. It changes so much about everything, and it makes the pro wrestling world a better place,” he said.
Hardy also revealed that he once pitched WWE on creating a faction featuring himself, Jeff Hardy, Edge and Christian following their famous ladder match. His idea was for the four men to unite and feud with DX while presenting themselves as the future of professional wrestling.
“I mean, the only thing I really voted for and tried to push to get, and it was against, it was to go against DX. It was after our ladder match. You know, I threw in that idea about making myself, Jeff, Edge, and Christian a faction together. That we have this unique respect, and because of that ladder match and what we did, breaking so many barriers, doing all this new stuff, we are the version one of what tomorrow’s wrestlers look like, but obviously that didn’t happen. They had different plans,” Hardy said.
