10 major missteps that changed WWE forever

#5 Letting Scott Hall & Kevin Nash walk

The Outsiders on WCW Monday Nitro

In what proved to be a major momentum shift in the wrestling industry in 1996, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash signed with WCW after Vince McMahon failed to match their offers. According to Hall, he gave Vince McMahon the opportunity to keep him six months prior when he offered several ways for Vince to increase his pay (i.e., a higher percentage on merchandise, letting Hall work in Japan like McMahon allowed Bob Backlund, etc.). The Chairman baulked on all of them and, unfortunately for WWE, it had a domino effect.

Once Hall, an upper mid-card performer in WWE, received a lucrative offer from WCW for nearly half the contracted dates, Hall's good friend Kevin Nash took an interest. After all, "Big Kev" was a former WWE Champion and had been the company's flagship performer for the majority of 1995. Surely, he could get an even better offer from WCW, given his main-event status.

By May of 1996, both New Generation icons took their talents (and eventually the mainstream wrestling audience) over to WCW, helping create their new employer's position as the top wrestling promotion in the world.