Larry Zbyszko Claims AWA – NWA Invasion Idea Is What Led To The NWo

Ric Flair and Larry Zbyszko were two of the biggest names in the professional wrestling industry in the 1980s, however, they were in separate organizations. Zbyszko was in AWA and Flair was in NWA, therefore one of the only ways for them to wrestle each other would have been through an invasion angle.

During an interview with It's My Wrestling Podcast, Larry Zbyszko discussed how an invasion angle between AWA and NWA would have resulted in him wrestling Ric Flair.

"Well, here's the story because it was supposed to happen. In 1985, I was in AWA and Flair was in the NWA, you know, and TBS with the Crocketts. And Vince was way ahead of both those organizations and territories. They were trying to hang but it was over with the pay per views and the cable nationwide. So my first action figure came out, I think 84/85, and if you look at it it's the NWA collection, and all the AWA collections had AWA wrestlers in them but mine had a doll of me and a doll of Flair.

"Flair wasn't in the AWA, he was in the NWA. They were putting together a scenario of an invasion where the NWA was gonna wrestle the AWA guys, and I was supposed to be having matches with Flair. I even did a couple of interviews one day in Minneapolis for ESPN, you know, calling Flair out and challenging him because I'm the living legend. I retired Bruno I retired Karwowski, and then Flair was going to come back and bad mouth me on TBS saying he was the Nature Boy, he's the greatest. You know, the man gimmick. So then, one show, someone would invade the other group on one of their shows. But at the last minute, the Crocketts and the Gagnes, it fell apart."

Larry Zbyszko showed great interest in competing in a match with Ric Flair, but unfortunately, it did not come to be. Zbyszko spoke on the nWo and how he felt that he and Flair could have been as hot as the faction.

"The interesting thing is that was the exact same idea when Eric Bischoff and Greg Gagne were in the office of WCW. That invasion idea, the same one we were supposed to do with me and flair started what became the nWo where we had Hall and Nash invade WCW and made it look like the WWE guys were invading WCW. That's where the idea came from. That's why me and Flair were in the same pack but we never wrestled each other. That's the situation that became the nWo which became the hottest thing ever. It was supposed to happen with me and Flair 10 years earlier."