Former WWE Writer Claims Wild nWo Reboot Plan Derailed by Failed COVID Test

A new nWo in WWE during the ThunderDome era? Apparently it almost happened.

WWE

People don't have a lot of fond memories of the WWE ThunderDome era, but it could have been even worse had a new version of the nWo come to fruition.

The nWo is arguably one of the greatest factions in the history of professional wrestling. Originally formed in WCW in 1996 when Hulk Hogan turned heel and aligned with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall at Bash at the Beach, the nWo storyline fueled the Monday Night Wars and helped lead WCW to ratings dominance over WWE for 83 weeks.

After purchasing WCW, Vince McMahon attempted to relaunch the nWo in 2002 with the original three members, but the faction never found the same success in WWE that it did in WCW. Despite that, WWE was willing to try again during the ThunderDome era with a group of names that will shock you.

Hulk Hogan nWo | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Former WWE writer reveals nWo reboot members

Former WWE writer Chris Dunn was a recent guest on the Public Enemies Podcast. When asked if the company ever saw an opportunity to bring back past legendary stables, Dunn told a story about how an nWo reboot was planned during the ThunderDome era and would have featured Sheamus, Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Lars Sullivan.

"Do you guys remember that ThunderDome? Really tough to do TV in there, so a lot of ideas were thrown against the wall," Chris Dunn said while laughing. "So it was discussed at one point, bringing back the nWo in 2020, a new version.

"So the pitch was Sheamus, Cesaro, Nakamura, and Lars Sullivan. So it was really close to happening, I forget which legendary nWo member was supposed to fly to Orlando to introduce this new nWo. It wasn't X-Pac. Essentially, they landed and they didn't pass the COVID test so they couldn't do it."

Asked what the plans were for this nWo reboot, Dunn admits they were going to figure it out as they went along after the debut.

Kevin Nash responds to planned nWo reboot claim

When you think of a legendary nWo member, you immediately think back to some of the original founding members from 1996. Names like Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman come to mind as those who could carry enough weight to launch the next iteration of the nWo. But this is news to one of nWo's founding fathers.

WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash took to social media to respond to this claim, revealing that he had never heard of such a pitch and ruled out that he, Hall, or Waltman could have been the nWo member Dunn is referring to.

"Never heard anything about it. Scott and @TheRealXPac and myself were out almost every weekend together. So it definitely wasn't one of us," Kevin Nash said in a post.

Never heard anything about it. Scott and @TheRealXPac and myself were out almost every weekend together. So it definitely wasn't one of us.

— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) May 26, 2026

Since it took this long for this story to come out, it's likely we'll never know who the "legendary nWo member" was that saved us all from getting another iteration of the nWo by testing positive for COVID.