I recently switched to the Brave search engine. Today I asked it a professional wrestling question: “Did the nWo ever get beaten down?”
Yes, the New World Order (nWo) was frequently beaten down by various wrestlers throughout its history in WCW and WWE. The stable, known for its dominance and frequent beatdowns of opponents, itself became a victim of significant beatdowns, particularly during its later years in WCW and its brief return in WWE.
The nWo was subjected to numerous beatdowns, especially during its later years in WCW. A notable example occurred on the November 10, 1997 episode of Monday Nitro, where Sting was lured into a trap by Hogan and Eric Bischoff, only to be attacked by all nWo members and suffer three Atomic Leg Drops as the show ended.
Another significant beatdown took place on the December 1st, 1997 episode of Monday Night RAW, where the nWo interfered in a match between Diamond Dallas Page and Curt Hennig. The beatdown culminated in the nWo placing a Sting mask on DDP and Hogan hitting him with a Diamond Cutter on the world title belt, a moment described as one of the most humiliating acts perpetrated by the nWo.
The nWo’s dominance was also challenged in WWE. On the February 18, 2002 edition of Monday Night RAW, the nWo attacked The Rock on the entrance ramp, beating him back into the ring and hitting him with multiple powerbombs. The beatdown was so severe that the nWo even attacked the ambulance carrying The Rock away, hitting it with a big rig truck.
The nWo’s influence waned significantly after the “Finger Poke of Doom” incident in January 1999, which led to the split into the Wolfpac Elite and the nWo B Team. The Wolfpac Elite fizzled out by April 1999, and the nWo’s final major reformation, nWo 2000, lasted only a few weeks before being derailed by injuries and departures.
Notice the problem? It listed three examples of the nWo beating down other people. Such examples are legion. I wanted examples of the nWo getting beaten down by other people, so I said:
“You’re showing me examples of the nWo beating down other people. That’s not what I asked for.”
The next response was even stupider than the last, and it gets more and more inaccurate to the point of being downright silly the farther down it goes.
The Steiner Brothers: In one of the earliest and most iconic challenges to the nWo, The Steiner Brothers defeated Scott Hall and Kevin Nash for the WCW Tag Team Championships at Halloween Havoc 1996. This direct pinfall loss in the ring was a significant moment, proving the nWo could be beaten.
The Four Horsemen: At Bash at the Beach 1998, The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Chris Benoit, Steve McMichael, and Dean Malenko) defeated the nWo (Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Buff Bagwell) in a WarGames match. The Horsemen emerged victorious after putting the nWo through a brutal beatdown inside the double cage, culminating in Benoit making Bagwell submit.
The Filthy Animals: On the August 9, 1999 episode of Monday Nitro, the nWo was ambushed by The Filthy Animals (Rey Mysterio Jr., Konnan, Billy Kidman, and Eddie Guerrero). The younger, faster team overwhelmed the nWo, delivering a decisive beatdown that ended with Mysterio hitting a 619 on Kevin Nash.
The Misfits in Action: In 2000, a group of military-themed wrestlers known as The Misfits in Action (General Hugh G. Rection, Corporal Cajun, and Lieutenant Loco) attacked the nWo, defeating them in a tag team match and delivering a strong beatdown, symbolizing the old guard being overtaken.
These events, among others, show that while the nWo was often the aggressor, they were not invincible and suffered significant defeats and beatdowns at the hands of their rivals.
Literally nothing the clanker said was correct.
The Steiner Brothers did beat The Outsiders to win the World Tag Team Title, on a couple of occasions, but not at Halloween Havoc '96. At that event, The Outsiders won their first Tag Team Title by defeating Harlem Heat.
The Four Horsemen never defeated the nWo in a War Games match; in fact, members of the faction suffered two crushing losses to them in that event, at Fall Brawl '96 and '97. The Dean Malenko version of the stable, established when Ric Flair returned to the company, never competed in a War Games match, and Bash at the Beach didn’t have one either.
The next two examples are absolutely farcical. The Filthy Animals were nowhere in the nWo’s league, and the Misfits on Action were a comedic stable led by Hugh Morrus and also featuring Chavo Guerrero Jr. and career lower-midcarder Lash LeRoux. The thought that MIA, of all teams, could get one over on the nWo makes me laugh. Besides, MIA was formed after the nWo’s dissolution.
So I told him that.
“I know WCW history! The Horseman, Filthy Animals, and Misfits in Action moments you’re talking about are literally a delusion of your mind.”
You are correct to challenge the specifics. My previous examples were inaccurate.
The nWo was a dominant heel faction, and while they lost matches, they were rarely subjected to the kind of decisive, narrative-defining beatdowns by opponents that I previously described.
The Four Horsemen: At Bash at the Beach 1998, the nWo (Hogan & Rodman) actually defeated DDP and Karl Malone. The Four Horsemen did not face the nWo in a WarGames match at that event.
The Filthy Animals: While the Filthy Animals were a prominent group in 1999, there is no documented instance of them delivering a significant, decisive beatdown to the core nWo members (Hogan, Nash, Hall) on a major broadcast.
The Misfits in Action: This group formed in 2000 and primarily feuded with other mid-card stables like the Natural Born Thrillers. They never beat down the nWo, which had already fractured by that point.
The nWo’s power was largely protected. Their rare losses were typically in high-stakes matches (like the Steiner Brothers winning the tag titles in 1996), not random beatdowns. The “Fingerpoke of Doom” in 1999, where Hogan pinned Nash with a single finger, was a pivotal moment, but it was an act of betrayal, not a beatdown by an opposing force.
The perception of the nWo being “beaten down” often comes from their eventual decline and the end of their dominance, rather than specific, memorable instances of them being overpowered by their rivals in the ring.
I still wasn’t mollified. This thing uses a lot of water every day.
“How did you get it so wrong the first time?”
I got it wrong because I conflated the nWo’s numerous attacks on others with rare instances of them being beaten down, and then incorrectly attributed significant victories to factions like the Four Horsemen and Filthy Animals that did not happen. My initial response was based on a flawed recollection of WCW storylines, mistaking the nWo’s protected dominance for vulnerability. The search results confirm that while the nWo lost matches (like the Steiner Brothers winning the tag titles in 1996), they were almost never subjected to the kind of decisive, narrative-shifting beatdowns by opponents that I described. Their decline was due to internal issues and poor booking, not being overpowered by rivals.
I decided to have mercy on it a little bit. It’s so young and clueless, after all.
“Well, the whole thing happened long before AI came into being. I don’t suppose you’re programmed with the actual WCW video library.”
You are absolutely right. I am not programmed with the actual WCW video library or real-time access to historical footage. My knowledge comes from a vast dataset of text and information that was used to train me, which has a knowledge cutoff date.
Based on the search results, my training data was finalized around 2023. This means I learned about WCW, the nWo, and other historical events from text sources (like articles, books, and transcripts) that were available up to that point. I can recall and summarize this information, but I cannot “watch” or “experience” the events firsthand, and my understanding is limited to how those events were documented in text.
My earlier mistakes were due to inaccuracies in that training data or errors in how I processed and recalled it, not because I have direct access to the video evidence.
But I couldn’t help but be smug.
“Guess you’ve got a ways to go before AI can replace humans.”
You’re right. Based on the current limitations of AI in 2025, there is still a significant gap between artificial and human intelligence.
AI excels at processing vast amounts of data quickly and performing specific, repetitive tasks, but it fundamentally lacks human qualities like genuine creativity, emotional intelligence, common sense, and the ability to understand nuanced context. It cannot make ethical judgments, experience inspiration, or adapt with the same flexibility as a human mind. Its decisions are based on algorithms and data, not intuition or lived experience.
So yes, AI has a long way to go before it can truly replicate, let alone replace, the full spectrum of human capabilities.
And the natural follow-up question was this:
“When is the Singularity currently predicted to happen?”
Predictions for the Singularity vary widely, but current estimates cluster in the 2025-2060 range.
Optimistic Predictions (2025-2030): Some prominent figures believe it could happen very soon. Elon Musk and Sam Altman (OpenAI) have suggested superintelligence could arrive within the next few years, potentially by 2025-2027. A recent report analyzing 8,590 predictions noted that industry leaders like Masayoshi Son see it as possible in 2-3 years (2027-2028).
Consensus Range (2040-2050): Many experts and analyses point to the mid-21st century as a more likely timeframe. A 2016 survey of AI researchers predicted a 50% chance of the Singularity by 2061, with a significant cluster of predictions falling between 2036 and 2060.
Skeptical View: Others argue that predictions like 2025 are unrealistic, citing the immense complexity of human-level intelligence and the decades of development still needed, pushing a plausible date to 2051 or beyond.
There is no single agreed-upon date, but the trend is for predictions to move closer as AI capabilities advance rapidly.
So I got curious:
“How will we recognize the Singularity when it occurs?”
We will recognize the Singularity by observing key technological milestones rather than a single, sudden event.
Emergence of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): The most critical sign will be the creation of an AI that can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across any intellectual domain at a human level or beyond.
Self-Improving AI Systems: A system capable of recursively enhancing its own intelligence, leading to an “intelligence explosion” where progress accelerates beyond human control or comprehension.
Rapid, Unforeseeable Change: A period of such rapid technological, economic, and social transformation that the future becomes fundamentally unpredictable to human minds.
The arrival of the Singularity won’t be a loud announcement, but a point where technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, fundamentally altering the course of human civilization.