WrestleMania 31 gave fans the only glimpse of D-Generation X vs the New World Order they ever got.
However, a small indie promotion in Doncaster, England tried to put that match on four years earlier in a leisure centre in North Wales.
That’s right – the infamous One Pro Wrestling (1PW) went one further with this one. While they were known for booking cards filled with TNA and ECW stars (and scamming fans with promises of Shawn Michaels and The Great Muta), nothing any indie promotion in the UK had ever done came close to this.
D-Generation X vs The New World Order. WWE vs WCW. Two of the greatest factions battling it out in front of thousands of fans.
In Wales.
How was that going to happen?
1PW Was Known For Booking High-Profile Guests For Their Shows
Ever since their formation in 2005, 1PW has always been keen on bringing in foreign stars.
Their entire history is defined by this. They grew on the promise of bringing countless “imports” into the country, running TNA-lite shows at the Doncaster Dome in front of nearly 2000 fans.
Stars like AJ Styles, Abyss, Christian Cage and Raven all made regular appearance for 1PW. Other legends like Bret Hart and Ric Flair also made appearances in some of the most star-studded shows in the world, let alone just in the UK.
However, the biggest name they ever booked was a recently retired Shawn Michaels. This $100,000 deal was set to bring the company to new heights, both at home and internationally.
1PW had a grand plan to introduce Michaels to the people of the UK, and that was through a dream match between the NOW and DX.
They Booked Shawn Michaels On A $100k Contract
One of the most high-profile signings 1PW ever made was getting Shawn Michaels booked for the promotion in 2011.
Shortly after his retirement from wrestling at WrestleMania 26, owner Danny Rodd managed to secure a deal with the WWE legend to make an appearance for the promotion at their Five Anniversary Show in October 2011.
The deal was struck in February 2011 and tickets flew off the shelves. Fans were desperate to see Shawn Michaels in the UK for the first time since a WWE tour in 2009, even though he would not be wrestling at the event.
However, his impact on the show would be limited. Michaels’ demands for appearing were strict and didn’t allow him to have any physicality, have any impact in any matches (as a referee or general manager, for example) or even appear in the ring at all.
It seemed unsure what he would actually be doing, but that didn’t stop 1PW. While details were kept quiet at the time, it transpired that the promotion had actually signed Shawn Michaels on a five-appearance deal for a whopping $100k.
This was because Danny Rodd had allegedly inked a deal to bring 1PW to Dubai, with the Heart Break Kid being a deal breaker for the Middle Eastern financiers.
We’ve gone in detail about how 1PW’s deal with Shawn Michaels fell through. They cancelled his appearances, scammed fans out of their money and shut down the entire company in the wake of the embarrassing situation.
Worst of all, it helped ruin 1PW’s plan for a match between the New World Order and D-Generation X.
DX vs NOW Was Planned For 1PW Last Stand
1PW The Last Stand was the final show of the promotion’s original run. After six years as one of the premier British promotions, the company closed down before Shawn Michaels could make his appearance in October 2011.
The WWE legend was supposed to appear The Last Stand in May 2011. However, it would be via a video shown on screen, similar to how they announced The Great Muta for a show in 2007 (that he also wouldn’t be at and caused the company to go out of business).
Read more about how The Great Muta helped put 1PW out of business in 2007.
1PW owner at the time, Danny Rodd, spoke with James Dixon about the failed Shawn Michaels signing. He revealed that he wanted to announce him on-screen at The Last Stand, at the end of a match between D-Generation X and the NOW.
Yes, a dream match between the two biggest factions in American wrestling history was going to wrestle for the first time ever in Deeside Leisure Centre in North Wales.
“I didn’t announce anything about Shawn because my original plan was to have NWO vs DX at The Last Stand. At the end of the show, they would all do the arched pose and point to the screen, which would show Michaels and let the world know he was coming to the UK through 1PW.”
However, anybody expecting to see Triple or Hulk Hogan turning up would have been very disappointed. While Road Dogg & Billy Gunn vs Kevin Nash & Scott Hall was a big match and a dream encounter for many fans, they are not the main men of their respective factions.
Sadly, even the less impressive, but still quite good, edition of faction warfare never came to pass. Scott Hall cancelled his booking as his alcohol issues continued to ravage his life, while Billy Gunn couldn’t work the show due to a visa issue.
This left just Nash and Road Dogg in the mix. The show even had to be rewritten at the last minute to make the pair up, as Kevin Nash refused a singles match against Bad Bones on the day of the show.
Instead, the main event that was meant to see D-Generation X vs the NWO was changed to Road Dogg and Kevin Nash vs Kid Fight and Liam Thompson. Hardly the dream match people had waited decades for.
The reveal of Shawn Michaels appearing also never happened. He never came to the UK and the deal with 1PW fell through. This was the end of the promotion as they closed down soon after The Last Stand, staying dead for the next 11 years before an unlikely return that nobody asked for.
The WWE did actually plan to have D-Generation X taking on the New World Order in 2006. This actually involved Shawn Michaels and Triple H against Hall and Nash and would have been one of the biggest matches of the decade in the WWE.
Sadly, this also was cancelled and the match was one that fans never got to see. The closest we got was the two teams facing off at WrestleMania 31 as part of Sting’s match with Triple H. Both teams ran in to attack one another and, while making no sense, provided an amazing moment for fans of the Attitude Era.
With all the main members of the factions now retired or deceased, we’ll never get to see that DX vs NWO match.
Given the state of the DX vs Brothers of Destruction match, you can count yourself lucky.
To learn more about the various controversies and scams from 1PW, click this link!
