Eric Bischoff Discusses Who Would Have Been NWO's Third Man If It Wasn't Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan being revealed as the NWO's third member alongside Kevin Nash and Scott Hall at WCW Bash at the Beach is still one of the most shocking heel turns in the history of professional wrestling, but there could've been an alternative version of the faction according to former WCW promoter Eric Bischoff.

Speaking with "Complex," Bischoff named the WWE Hall Of Famer that was considered to be the third man over Hogan, as well as the wrestlers that never would've been added to the group.

"Well, I think the natural evolution, like if we couldn't have come up with something way more creative, would have been Randy Savage. I mean, common sense, right? He's the guy that got run over by the car in the match. So he'd be the guy with the strongest desire to get his hands on somebody. But it was such an obvious choice that it was too obvious to be interesting ... It certainly wouldn't have been anybody from the outside in terms of real life. There was absolutely zero consideration of bringing in a Shawn Michaels or an Undertaker or any of that, nobody brought that up and if they would have, it would have been a short lived conversation."

With Bischoff wanting the third man to be integral to WCW's future, Sting was one of the first wrestlers who came to mind, but he felt that if he inserted "The Icon" into the NWO, he wouldn't have been the ultimate protagonist to rival the faction. He also considered Ric Flair as the potential hero, but leaving WCW for WWE in 1991 is what steered him away from putting "The Nature Boy" in that position.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Complex" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.