Larry Zbyszko Recalls Laying Out The NWO's Initial Invasion Of WCW

Few in the wrestling industry have had such a vast and storied career as Larry Zbyszko. The former protégé and rival of Bruno Sammartino, as well as WWE Hall of Famer, recently sat down with the "Insiders Edge" podcast and the part he played in the genesis of the New World Order in WCW came up.

"When I heard about who [was] coming in — Scott Hall, Kevin Nash — I heard the ideas that some people had, but they weren't good ideas," Zbyszko said. "I was going 'Oh my God, we can make this the biggest thing in wrestling. We could make it look like the WWE is invading WCW.' So I programmed things to make it look like that." Zbyszko worked with Eric Bischoff to develop a plan for Hall and Nash's debuts as they made their moves over from WCW's main rival. "Even [Eric] ... had an idea ... but when I laid everything out, Eric went 'Dammit, that makes me mad. Your idea is great, better than mine!' But he was smart enough to listen. ... Scott listened, Nash listened," Zbyszko added.

The self-proclaimed "Living Legend" also discussed the positive crowd reactions he began receiving while part of the WCW commentary team. "They just started chanting 'Larry! Larry!' and I couldn't ignore them. The fans were showing their love and I couldn't help it, so I got up and gave them the big 'L' and they popped." However, it seems not everyone was a big fan of the adulation Zbyszko was receiving. "It was funny because, back in those days, some of our so-called good guys were running around the back and they were complaining to the upper echelon," Zbyszko continued. "They're going 'What's going on here? The broadcaster's more popular than I am!'"