In my opinion one of the coolest wrestlers, possibly ever, Kevin Nash, has recently made it official that he's parted ways with WWE. So, in tribute, I've put together a list of Nash moments, things that I've always looked on fondly.
Super Shredder!
When I was younger, I LOVED the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and to find out later that the dude who played Super Shredder in TMNT Part 2 was Nash, it made me like him a little bit more.
Diesel Power
Even though it was by SCREWING MARTY JANNETTY OVER, Nash's WWF (yeah, I said WWF, so what? That was the name of the company then) debut as Shawn Michaels' bodyguard was the beginning of a great career. It wasn't his actual wrestling debut, but it was his big break, since he'd no longer have to wrestle for WCW as a lounge lizard, or the great and powerful Oz (yes, from Wizard of Oz). After initially only playing bodyguard, Nash (as Diesel), made the jump to wrestling , and DOMINATED the 1994 Royal Rumble, entering the ring at # 7, and tearing through an amazing 7 guys, one right after another. The unproven Diesel pretty much became a superstar right then, as the crowd started a "Diesel" chant, which made the WWF powers that be take notice. And, ever since then, whenever someone dominates a Royal Rumble/battle royal many people (myself included) refer to it as a "Diesel moment". A few months later, the newly popular Diesel (still playing heel though) won the Intercontinental title, AND was pitted against the WWF's top guy, and World Champion, Bret Hart at that year's King Of The Ring PPV, for the WWF title! Diesel didn't win the title at KOTR, but did win by DQ, so he rapidly growing momentum wasn't hurt any, and he still had the IC gold. At Summerslam (August) of that year, Diesel lost the IC belt, but the night before, he actually picked up MORE gold, snatching the Tag titles with Shawn Michaels! Things started to get rocky for the Michaels/Diesel paring though, they reigned as Tag champs until an incident at Survivor Series in November, where the duo weren't communicating that well in their team elimination bout. The end result was Diesel chasing Michaels out of the building , with Michaels handing his tag title over to announcer Todd Pettingill on the way out, effectively ending the partnership and tag title run. Diesel was now full-on face, and he would win the WWF World title a mere 3 days later, in only 8 SECONDS from Bob Backlund, who coincidentally won the title at the Survivor Series. It was now that the WWF was officially running on Diesel Power, and did so for almost a full year.
Diesel: The video game character
Back in the heyday of Big Daddy Cool (Diesels nickname), we didn't have Playstation 2's or X-Boxes, we had the good ol' Sega Genesis, on which I played WWF Royal Rumble and WWF Raw constantly. It was WWF Raw, where I REALLY dominated, never losing , because of my secret weapon, Diesel. As Diesel, I tore through all the competition, human or CPU. In the Royal Rumble mode, I basically recreated that "Diesel Moment", tossing everyone out to claim victory. I won the Tournament modes with ease, and the Raw Endurance mode was also a cakewalk, and I could beat all 10 opponents with just one of my guys, that being Diesel. Also, for the time, Diesel's animated Jackknife Powerbomb was as close to real as I thought possible, little did I know that years later, I'd be able to play as Nash, looking almost dead-on, and the dreaded Jackknife animated too close for comfort. Even in today's newer games, Nash rocks hard, and I still use him.
Diesel: I'm Back!
The night after Bret Hart ended his only run as WWF Champion (in a killer match, btw), Diesel came out on Raw, disrupting a match between Skip and Savio Vega, and runs down the whole WWF, telling Vince McMahon himself, that he's had enough, and is no longer willing to be his corporate puppet. This was a pretty interesting thing , since in 1995, NOBODY acknowledged on air that Vince was the man in charge EVER , he was merely an announcer. Anyways, Diesel declared "I'm Back!", in essence turning heel, but he also asked for his fans' support, making him one of if not THE first "tweener" in wrestling , meaning he straddled the fence of good and bad, a concept that would be used a few years later in the "Attitude" era. So, Diesel began the quest to regain the title, however, there was another top contender who was poised for the next title shot, The Undertaker. Diesel, being pissed that he was the one to get the title shot, started screwing with `Taker, and cost him the title at Royal Rumble `95 by running in and beating up the ref, NOT a good idea. So, at the February In Your House PPV, Diesel got his way, getting a title shot, this time, in a steel cage. So the match goes along fine, then Diesel decimates Bret, and is about to leisurely walk out the cage door to his 2nd World title, then `Taker BURSTS THROUGH THE RING, AND PULLS DIESEL UNDER! This allows Bret to recover, and walk out himself to retain. With a score to settle, and Wrestlemania 12 a month away, Diesel and `Taker were signed to face off at the big event. In a noteworthy occurrence, on the road to their `Mania showdown, `Taker started screwing with Big Daddy Cool (well more than sucking him under the ring and costing him the title), and had casket wheeled down to ringside during a Diesel match. Of course, Diesel had to see what was in there, so he opened it, and what did he see? `Taker, ready to attack perhaps? Nope, he saw HIMSELF, I'm talking a really, freaky-close, full-sized likeness, which obviously, scared the hell out of him. In the big `Taker vs Diesel match, `Taker won, not only to wrap up the feud, but because Diesel was on the way out, he had signed with the rival WCW. Big "D" would have one more match however, and it would turn out to be one of his best.
The Swan Song of Big Daddy Cool
For his last match, Diesel would be against his old friend/sometimes rival, Shawn Michaels, who had recently won the WWF title from Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 12, and had cemented himself as a face a few months before. To set the match up, Diesel feigned a reunion of the two, only to lay him out after a match. The match was then made not only a title match, but a No Holds Barred affair as well. On April 28th at In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies, Diesel and Michaels went at in an all out brawl, the likes of which hadn't become commonplace at the time. Since he was leaving the company (along with fellow WWF star Razor Ramon, which would become VERY important soon after), Nash lost, but did so in a fantastic match.
The group that changed wrestling forever: The NWO
May 27 1996. It was Memorial Day, and the first 2 hour addition of WCW's Monday Nitro, when Scott Hall A.K.A. Razor Ramon stormed the ring during a Mike Enos vs Steve Doll match. Now, to people not in the know, which was a lot of people, since the internet wasn't everywhere then, seeing a top WWF just show up on the rival company's flagship show, that was going head to head with WWF's Monday Night Raw, was HUGE. I remember sitting there stunned, like the crowd, and probably most of the fans watching , as Hall declared "You wanna war? (referring of course to the heated WWF vs WCW war that raged practically WCW's inception, but was really raging then), you got one!". So there it was, the fans saw Razor F'N Ramon, whether acting under orders from the WWF, or on his own, just punked out WCW, their own show. Hall, still not named as such (WWF owns Razor Ramon, Scott Hall is his given name, same deal with Nash & the Diesel name), would show up the next week near the end of the show, take over announce booth, and issue a challenge, 3 of WCW's best vs 3 of HIS guys (basically saying he has two more people to aid him), drawing out one of WCW's top guys, Sting. Sting and Hall have a confrontation, that included Hall tossing a toothpick in Stings face (a Razor Ramon trademark), only to be slapped. Hall then says that the next week, he'll have a little, no BIG (he emphasized big) for him, and WCW. So, around the same time the next week, who should walk out? Kevin Nash. Now, there were two, known only as "The Outsiders", promising to "takeover", and they pressed WCW for who would face them for their challenge, to which WCW boss, Eric Bischoff told them that he'd announce it all at the Great American Bash PPV. At the Great American Bash, the "Outsiders" and Bischoff had a summit of sorts, where the first thing Bischoff did was ask about their allegiance to the rival WWF, which was dispelled (WWF sued WCW, since they had implied that the WWF was behind Hall and Nash's takeover plot, and Hall was still using the trademark mannerisms and accent). Bischoff then announced that the match WOULD happen at WCW's next PPV, Bash at the Beach in Daytona Beach Florida (which happens to be my old stomping grounds). Then, when Eric informed them that their opponents would be announced the next night on Nitro, Hall and Nash were pissed, so Hall punched Eric, and Nash Jackknifed him through a table off the stage! The next night on Nitro, The Outsiders would finally find out who'd accepted their challenge, Sting , The Macho Man Randy Savage, and Lex Luger, but who was their third man? The Outsiders didn't reveal who it was, and when the time came for the big match, the third man was still nowhere to be seen. So, with 2 vs 3, WCW battled this outside threat, who actually dominated the WCW forces with only two men, and team WCW was in dire need of help. With Luger and Sting nearly dead, Savage tags in, and he too ends up beaten. There were a few top WCW stars who weren't choices for this match, like Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, The Giant etc, will anyone of them help WCW? And, when they needed it the most, Hulk Hogan, returning from filming a movie, comes out, and runs The Outsiders off, with poor Savage still laid out in the ring. Hulk prepares for battle, rips the shirt, then, LEGDROPS THE MACHO MAN! OH MY GOD! HOGAN WAS THE THIRD MAN! Honestly, NO ONE saw that coming. We aren't treated to a finish, but after the most shocking moment in wrestling , things just got crazy, Hall, Nash, and Hogan beat up on the WCW team, as the ring FILLS with garbage. Mean Gene, as shocked as the fans, announcers, and everyone else, enters the ring to interview Hogan, and understand what's going on. Hogan then rips the WCW a new one, even telling the fans to "Stick it"! Hulk then declares the trio "The New World Order of wrestling", the NWO. From that night on, the finally named Hall, Nash, and the newly dubbed "Hollywood" Hogan DOMINATED WCW, literally, everything that went on in WCW for almost two years revolved around them. The NWO would beat up whoever, take over the announce booth and call matches themselves, recruit WCW stars to join them (even Eric Bischoff joined), insert their own programming into the broadcast, anything they wanted, they OWNED WCW.
Nash Rocks the Mic
During the NWO days, Nash showed the world just how funny, and flat out cool he was, by cutting some great promos. Nash's offerings on the microphone never failed to entertain, neither did he as an announcer during NWO takeovers of the booth. Ever since the burgeoning personality he showed then, Nash has been gold on the mic.
Nash 1, Goldberg 0
A lot of people were pissed by this next Nash moment, being that Kev' ended the 170+ win streak of WCW World Champion Goldberg , and winning the title at Starrcade 1998. Personally, I HATE Goldberg , and didn't care who beat him, just that someone did it, so I was overjoyed that Nash got the job done. Credit must also go to Scott Hall, since it was him who used a taser on Goldy, allowing Nash to hit the Jackknife to win.
The Deadly Dose of Poison
It was February of 2002, in the WWF, 50% Owner, Vince McMahon was hot off the heels of being humiliated by WWF Co-Owner, Ric Flair, losing to him in a match at the Royal Rumble the previous month. Vince snapped, and he was willing to stop at nothing to get rid of Flair, finally shocking the world by saying that if Flair didn't resign as co-owner, he was going to inject the WWF with a "Lethal dose of poison", bringing back the original NWO! People were stunned, after Hall & Nash's WWF departure in 1996, everyone thought that the door for them to return would be closed forever, Vince had even gone on record to say as much himself, not to mention Hogan, who's 1993 departure jump-started the competition, and hurt Vince a great deal, also being said to unlikely ever return. But, was this just a threat, aimed at getting Flair to give up his part ownership of the WWF? We'd soon find out, because Vince demanded that Flair make his choice on Smackdown a few weeks after the Rumble, and Flair refused to give up his 50%! Now, it was set, Vince would bring in the NWO, who Vince informed us, would return at February's No Way Out PPV (No Way Out? NWO? How about that coincidence?). Unfortunately for Nash, Hulk's GIANT face reaction forced the WWF to turn him back to the Hogan we all love, along with a short title run (making me the happiest person EVER). On top of that, Hall got fired soon after he returned, thus breaking up the original NWO. And, to make matters even worse, Nash couldn't wrestle due to a biceps injury. They tried to keep the angle going but with crappy members like X-Pac and Big Show, the NWO was dead. Nash made one last attempt to "Put the band back together", introducing Shawn Michaels (who retired in 1998, and hadn't been seen in some time), as the newest member of the NWO in June of 2002. That formation of the NWO didn't last either, as Nash suffered another injury (in his return match actually) a few weeks after Michaels returned, tearing his quadriceps, sidelining him for a LONG time (about 9 months), and Vince McMahon publically put the metaphorical bullet in the head of the NWO.
Nash returns
Nash returned in April of 2003, and targeted Raw Champion (simply known as the World Title, Smackdown got the REAL title when they split the show into two "brands") Triple H. What followed was a pretty bland feud, and HHH never lost his precious title. The one cool thing about the feud was Nash just leisurely applying a vintage Jackknife (where he'd just lift a guy, then quickly drop him, not like the usual powerbomb) on HHH through a table.
Well, that wraps it up, but I certainly hope Nash's post WWE career goes well, he has a substantial role in the Punisher movie coming out later this spring , and if it does well, maybe he'll get steady acting gigs.
Posted by exstar507
at 5:22 AM EST