March 18, 2002 Observer Newsletter: NWO revival flopping, WM 18 card, more
Going into the biggest show of the year, a major cloud of uncertainty about the future of the WWF, and for that matter, American wrestling in general, has hit.
The NWO, for numerous reasons, are being talked of internally by many as a major flop due to the lack of increase in ratings. In fairness, while the short-term ratings boost ended up being limited to exactly one episode of Smackdown, the return of Hogan, Hall and Nash did spark the buy rate for No Way Out, and the Hogan-Rock marquee value and name Wrestlemania will probably prove to be a huge success this week. That is far less of a certainty than it appeared to be just a few weeks ago, and few are predicting a PPV number close to the record setting level of the Austin vs. Rock match last year.
But there was never any thought there would be any serious problems until after Wrestlemania anyway. The period after Wrestlemania historically has been funny.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.