Welcome to ‘The BeatDown,’ a weekly battle of wrestling topics to discuss, debate and get in actual fights about. This week, we discuss the two of the most influential factions in wrestling history.

It’s always safer to travel in groups, especially in the world of wrestling. These groups, more like small collections of wrestling legends, were two of the most powerful and influential in wrestling history. Degeneration X and the nWo rewrote the wrestling history books. But which faction was better?

Here are the arguments for both.

D-Generation X

As the Monday Night Wars raged on, Vince McMahon was in dire need to make a mark on the industry and set his brand of pro wrestling apart from the guys down south. In 1997, that’s just what he did in the ‘Attitude Era’ when Shawn Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley (both members of a backstage group of close friends know as the Kliq) took the WWF from PG to TV-14.

The dynamic duo were masters of sexual innuendo, sophomoric/crude humor, and most of all… making fans cheer their hearts out week after week as the most entertaining stable parodied their opponents, from ‘The Hart Foundation’ and ‘The Nation of Domination’ to Vinny Mac himself. Running interference for a degenerate in need, they eventually held every title available at the time. DX was great on the mic, entertained millions in the ring, and were dripping in gold. If you don’t think that makes them the best stable, I’ve got two words for ya: S*ck It!

nWo

The following announcement has been paid for by the nWo. In what is one of the most successful angles in all of modern professional wrestling, the New World Order blurred the lines of reality like no other. Beginning with former WWF superstars, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash “invading” the WCW, ‘The Outsiders’ quickly added to its ranks, eventually becoming the largest stable in wrestling history. In fact, the nWo had several specific factions, imitations and parodies including lWo, bWo, oWn, and the nWo Wolfpack.

In a sense, Eric Bishoff’s brainchild turned the world upside down, especially after Hulk Hogan traded his yellow and reds for black and whites, completing his heel turn with a scathing verbal assault on the fans. During the stable’s initial four year run, seldom did a match take place that didn’t end up with someone running out from the back to lend a helping finisher or chair shot to a friend’s opponent. Although this group was wildly popular, it still couldn’t manage to toss the WWF over the top rope.

So which will it be?


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