Nation of Domination

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Nation of Domination
Da Nation.jpg
The late 1997/early 1998 incarnation of the Nation. L-R: Kama Mustafa, Faarooq, The Rock, and D'Lo Brown.
Motto: "By Any Means Necessary"
Stable
Members Faarooq (leader, 1996–1998)[1]
Rocky Maivia/The Rock (leader, early 1998)[1]
Owen Hart (co-leader, early 1998)[1]
D'Lo Brown (leader, late 1998)[1]
Kama Mustafa/The Godfather[1]
Savio Vega[1]
Mark Henry[1]
Name(s) The Nation of Domination
The Nation
N.O.D
Debut November 1996
Disbanded November 1998
Years active 1996–1998
Promotions USWA
WWF ICW

The Nation of Domination (NOD) was a professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from November 18, 1996 to November 28, 1998. The Rock was a one-time Intercontinental Champion[2] and D'Lo Brown was a two-time European Champion[3] while in the group.

History

United States Wrestling Association (1996)

The original Nation of Domination was formed in 1996 in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The group was led by PG-13, (a tag team consisting of J.C. Ice and Wolfie D). The group also consisted of Kareem Olajuwon, Sir Mohammad, Elijah, Brakkus, Shaquille Ali, Randy X, and Queen Moisha. This group never really got off the ground in the USWA, but they saw greater success in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[1]

World Wrestling Federation

First NOD in WWF (1996–1997)

The most well-known faction with the name was the heel group formed in the WWF when wrestler Faarooq was joined by manager Clarence Mason. The two men were also accompanied by three unnamed actors, Albert Armstrong, Charles Hines, and Richard Beach, who were supposed to represent other members of the Nation. The group was based loosely on the Nation of Islam (with group members adopting Islamic names and wearing Muslim headgear) and the Black Panther Party. The extremism of the group's pro-black theme at times including the 'Nation Salute' and Faarooq's angry tirades on the microphone garnered them an excessive amount of heat from fans in arenas. Many wrestlers joined the heel stable over time including PG-13 (J.C. Ice and Wolfie D), Crush, D'Lo Brown, and Savio Vega. Their first feud was with Ahmed Johnson, who had a rivalry with Faarooq since SummerSlam. At the Royal Rumble, the Nation assisted Faarooq during his match against Johnson. Faarooq lost by disqualification after Crush interfered and attacked Johnson.[4][5]

Faarooq, Crush, and Vega were the members of Nation of Domination who wrestled while others supported them during their matches. These three men often teamed up together in six-man tag team matches such as one at In Your House 13: Final Four against Bart Gunn, Goldust, and Flash Funk[6] and most notably in a Chicago Street Fight at WrestleMania 13 against the Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) and Ahmed Johnson.[1][7] At A Cold Day In Hell, the Nation faced Johnson in a Gauntlet match. Johnson defeated Crush and Vega in the Gauntlet before losing to Faarooq.[1][8]

This lineup of the group remained intact until Faarooq became angry with them and fired the entire group with the exception of Brown[1] after Faarooq's loss to The Undertaker at King of the Ring, where Faarooq lost the match partly because of the distraction caused when Vega and Crush were arguing at ringside.[9]

Black Supremacy and The Gang Warz (1997-1998)

On the June 16 edition of Raw Is War, Faarooq promised that he would deliver a "Bigger, Badder, Better and Blacker" version of the Nation, after 'firing' Crush, Mason, and Savio Vega, retaining only Brown.[10] This led to the induction of Kama Mustafa and Ahmed Johnson into the group after Johnson turned on WWF Champion The Undertaker during a tag team match against Faarooq and Kama.[10] Johnson would be forced out of the group due to injury. He was replaced by Rocky Maivia.[1] Meanwhile, former Nation members Vega and Crush formed their own rival factions, Los Boricuas (made up entirely of Puerto Rican wrestlers) and the Disciples of Apocalypse (made up entirely of biker wrestlers) respectively. This led to a WWF style "gang war".[1]

In the following months, the Nation feuded with Los Boricuas and the Disciples of Apocalypse. This feud culminated in a triple threat match between Faarooq, Vega, and Crush who were the leaders of Nation, Los Boricuas, and DOA respectively at Ground Zero, which Vega won.[11] They restarted their feud with the Legion of Doom. At Badd Blood: In Your House, The Nation defeated LOD in a 3-on-2 handicap match.[12] As part of his heel turn, Rocky Maivia shortened and changed his ring name to The Rock. Around this time, Ahmed Johnson restarted feuds with the Nation as well and joined LOD and Ken Shamrock. This led to a Survivor Series match at Survivor Series, which the Nation lost to LOD, Johnson, and Shamrock.[13] At D-Generation X: In Your House, The Rock got a shot at the Intercontinental Championship against Stone Cold Steve Austin. In the closing minutes of the match, Austin performed a Stone Cold Stunner on the referee. A second referee came down to count a pin for Austin, although the first referee intended to disqualify Austin.[14]

As a result of this controversy,[14] Austin was forced to defend the title against Rock the next night on Raw Is War. Rock was awarded the Intercontinental Championship, however, after Austin forfeited him the title instead of defending the title in a rematch, saying he only cares about the WWF Championship. After handing over the title belt to a skeptical Rock, Austin delivered a stunner and took it back afterward. Stone Cold appeared the next week on Raw is War on the titantron, taunting Rock and eventually throwing the Intercontinental Championship belt over a bridge, into a river.[15][16] Ken Shamrock, who was already a rival of the Nation, began feuding with The Rock for the Intercontinental Championship. On the January 12, 1998 episode of Raw Is War, Mark Henry turned heel and joined the Nation, by assaulting his tag team partner, Ken Shamrock, in a tag team match against The Rock and D'Lo Brown.[17]

Leadership of The Rock and Owen Hart; fall of Nation (1998)

On the March 30, 1998 edition of Raw Is War, The Rock went on to usurp leadership of the Nation from Faarooq, at which point the group permanently dropped "of Domination" from its name and its militant focus.[1][18] Instead, The Rock's 'cool' gimmick spread throughout the faction with Nation members taking on considerably more hip characters, the most notable being Kama Mustafa's transformation into The Godfather, D'Lo Brown's "bobble-head" and strut, and a new hip version of the group's entrance theme, that would become associated with The Rock's character and be remixed over and over during the years to become his current theme. The Nation's primary focus by now was that The Rock retained the Intercontinental title at any cost. They mainly feuded with Faarooq, who had just been kicked out of the stable. At Mayhem in Manchester, The Rock and D'Lo Brown lost to Ken Shamrock and Owen Hart.[19] At Unforgiven: In Your House, The Nation lost to Shamrock, Faarooq, and Steve Blackman in a six-man tag team match.[20] On the April 27 episode of Raw Is War, The Rock and Mark Henry faced Shamrock and Hart in a tag team match where Hart turned heel by attacking Shamrock and joining The Nation as well as being co-leader with The Rock.[21]

The group then engaged in a memorable rivalry with D-Generation X (DX). This highly popular feud saw the infamous parody DX performed in which they spoofed Nation members; Rock thoroughly humiliating Chyna by alluding to a possible 'romantic' encounter between the two while the rest of DX were held at bay in their locker room by a forklift; a street fight between the two groups that wound up in Triple H being, in particular, singled out by the rest of the group and being beaten down with a ladder after Southern Justice interfered with the match on The Nations behalf; the ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship between the two at SummerSlam; and X-Pac and Brown trading back and forth the European Championship.[22][23] DX and the Nation also wrestled in a six-man tag team match at Over the Edge: In Your House,[24] which the Nation won.

Toward the end of the year, the group showed signs of dissension as Rock's mannerisms and swagger began to catch on with fans. The WWF could no longer ignore the cheers and adoration of the live crowds, so The Rock once again turned face. Hart left the group when he "injured" Dan Severn following a botched reverse piledriver on Raw Is War the day after Breakdown. The incident was a mimicry of the legit incident in which Hart injured Steve Austin using the same move a year earlier. The guilt from the injury to Severn led Hart to "retire", but then re-surface as the Blue Blazer, effectively ending his affiliation with the Nation. The Godfather would venture out on his own as a fan favorite, bringing with him a bevy of beauties to the ring before his match with any wrestler. Rock would later be assaulted by Brown and Henry in October 1998 which would ultimately be the end of The Nation as a faction. After kicking Godfather out the Sunday Night Heat before Judgment Day: In Your House, D'Lo and Mark briefly continued using The Nation name, a modified titantron, and music until dropping all three by year's end as they'd moved on to the tag team division without the Nation moniker.

Aftermath

Shortly after The Nation was disbanded, The Rock decided to run solo, riding his immense rise in popularity. He won the WWF Championship at Survivor Series[25] and turned heel again by joining Mr. McMahon's Corporation stable.[26] He would later become one of the greatest superstars in WWF history and he would subsequently enjoy several years of success, not just in the world of wrestling, but also in Hollywood.[27] Owen Hart would go on to form a successful tag team with Jeff Jarrett, and later revive his Blue Blazer character before his death in May 1999.[28]

D'Lo Brown and Mark Henry would remain a tag team following the dissolution of The Nation, enjoying moderate success. After Brown attempted to help Henry lose weight, Henry turned on Brown in the summer of 1999, ending the final remnants of The Nation of Domination. Brown would eventually hold both the Intercontinental and European titles at the height of his popularity. Henry would form his "Sexual Chocolate" character and be involved in some angles of questionable quality until the development of his "Silverback" gimmick. The Nation had something of a reunion in late '99 when D'Lo realigned himself with the Godfather, imitating his pimp gimmick. This alliance lasted all the way into early '00 when D'Lo turned on the Godfather, thus ending the team.

As of now, The Rock and Henry are the only former members still employed by the WWE. Rock is signed on a part-time basis while Henry later held the ECW Championship in 2008. Henry would later win the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011. Godfather was released in 2002 and retired to manage a gentleman's club while occasionally making guest appearances over the years since with his "Ho Train". Faarooq quietly retired after an angle which saw him fired from the SmackDown brand and subsequently abandoned by his Acolytes Protection Agency (APA) tag partner John "Bradshaw" Layfield, making occasional appearances since then under his real name of Ron Simmons. Simmons and Brown, who had been released already from WWE in March 2003 and returned in 2008, were officially released (again, in Brown's case) in early January 2009 due to budget cuts. In 2012, Ron Simmons was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame while The Rock headlined WrestleMania XXVIII the following night.

Members

USWA

WWF

Incarnations

  • Fourth Incarnation (heel): The Nation
    • Type: tag team
    • Active: October 18, 1998 – November 28, 1998 ('The Nation' name was dropped; Brown and Henry continued on as a team without it)
    • Members: D'Lo Brown, Mark Henry

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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