>>17315795The UWFi invasion was also a copy from the original UWF invasion... which was a copy of the even earlier storyline invasion of Riki Choshu & Inshin-gundan in the early 80's.
Choshu, Saito, Kobayashi, and others all saw their NJPW contracts expire at the same time. Being an immensely popular heel stable that was suddenly free to leave for greener pastures created the "invasion" storyline when they went to AJPW. Baba went so far as to imply in storyline that these guys were still under contract with Inoki until he was threatened with legal action.
...and that was in 1984. Nothing about the NWO was original. Bischoff was the master of recognizing the greatness of other people's work. He saw the success of invasion storylines and cruiserweights while working with NJPW. He saw the profits CMLL and others were making in Mexico, saw the success ECW was having with hardcore, etc. Bischoff was a ripoff artist... it's ironic that Vince ultimately beat him by ripping him off and just going further with it
