Powerbombs & Paydays: 30 Years Of Kevin Nash

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we celebrate the career of “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash.

Is Kevin Nash the funniest man in pro wrestling?

Matthew Smith: Far from it.

Juan Bautista: Yes. He is just natural while some people try too hard.

David Gibb: I don’t know him or enough pro wrestlers personally to answer that. He makes a good knowing smile while holding a glass of wine, though.

John Corrigan: Jim Cornette is my pick, but Nash definitely cracks me up. He has the best shoot interviews and his storyline in the X-Division was hilarious.

Chad Gelfand: He’s up there. There isn’t a funnier shoot interview than Nash inhaling ravioli while he gets awkwardly interviewed.

Steven Jackson: He’s definitely one of the funniest men in pro wrestling, but not thee funniest.

Jack Goodwillie: Not even close. That title, bar none, belongs to The Rock. I wouldn’t even put Nash in my top 10 as far as funny wrestling personalities go. In no particular order, The Rock, Mick Foley, John Cena, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Paul Heyman, Jim Cornette, Bruce Prichard, Big Show and Sheiky Baby are all funnier than Kevin Nash. If you include Pat McAfee, he’s funnier than Nash, too.

Does he get a bad rap for his WWE Championship run in the ’90s?

Smith: I’m bored to death every time he is on TV. His run wasn’t the greatest, but he also could have been booked better to help him out more. It also didn’t help to have Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart around.

Bautista: Yes. His championship run was a product of where the business had headed. He could’ve had his run two years earlier or later and have been fine.

Gibb: Yes and no. The “worst drawing champ etc. etc.” thing is kind of pointlessly mean because it wasn’t like he had Hogan’s undercard or promotional push buoying him. On the other hand, his title reign was not very interesting by the standards of today’s wrestling storytelling.

Corrigan: Absolutely. First of all, he’ll be the first to admit his limitations in the ring, so nobody should have expected five-star classics during his run. Secondly, Diesel was a precursor to the Roman Reigns treatment, as Vince McMahon stripped everything that made him cool in order to become “the face” of the company. Finally, he was saddled with King Mabel!

Gelfand: The business was in a bad way due to a ton of awful gimmicks and the blame has to go Vince McMahon for that. Nash unfairly takes the brunt of the criticism.

Jackson: Kevin does get an unfair rap for his run in 1994-1995. People forget that he had only been in the WWE just under two years when he won the WWF Championship. Holding the belt during that really tough time for business was always going to be difficult. The majority of the matches Kevin had haven’t held up well. But some are still fun to watch, and he really made the WWF Championship his own.

Goodwillie: Not really. history looks back on his WWE Championship run fondly after all the dumb angles and matches he booked for himself in WCW. I’d say it’s more forgotten than anything, but bad rap? That might be a little harsh.

What’s Kevin Nash’s greatest match?

Smith: vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XI.

Bautista: vs. Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1995.

Gibb: I don’t think he was that kind of a wrestler. He had good matches with Shawn and Bret, though.

Corrigan: He does much better in tag team bouts, but I do enjoy that battle with Hart at Survivor Series 95.

Gelfand: vs. Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1995. Nash had help from Bret Hart, but that match showed he was capable of putting on a great match.

Jackson: Without a doubt, Good Friends, Better Enemies from In Your House. Kevin and Shawn Michaels put on such a brilliant No Holds Barred match, which gradually ushered in the Attitude Era. Plus, this was Kevin’s swansong from the WWF on PPV at that time, and what a match to go out on!

Goodwillie: The answer to this question seems tough on the surface because Nash is rightfully seen as such a poor wrestler. But it’s really not. Shawn Michaels had the secret sauce for Nash, and always knew how to get the most out of the big man, sometimes using smoke, mirrors and the kitchen sink. For that reason, while I expect it to appear in many of the answers here, I’m going to go with the No Holds Barred match between Diesel and HBK back in April ’96. It’s weird to think a career could peak in 1996 and go on for another 15 years without an equal to that performance, but that’s exactly what Kevin Nash did.

What’s Kevin Nash’s greatest moment/angle?

Smith: The start of the Outsiders angle.

Bautista: Power bombing Eric Bischoff.

Gibb: “Look at the adjective!”

Corrigan: “Whadda ya bench, Lex?!”

Gelfand: When he pretended to have an injured leg in a cast under a blanket. When he whipped the blanket off, he was totally fine and sprung up from the wheelchair.

Jackson: Kevin’s greatest angle was coming out on Nitro and creating The Outsiders with Scott Hall, eventually leading into the nWo.

Goodwillie: It has to be his initial appearance in WCW alongside Scott Hall, who had already shown himself to the WCW audience. The shock and awe of two guys forcing themselves onto the television of the rival wrestling company set a tone for the next four years in WCW, for better or worse, and it wouldn’t have worked the same without Hall and Nash.

Ultimately, has he done more good or harm to the industry?

Smith: He played the industry well, made his green and not a lot of friends. His influence is still very much there, though. Even with my dislike for him, I think he did good for the industry.

Bautista: From a business standpoint and getting guaranteed contracts, yes. It’s a bit more subjective when it comes to booking, but he’s done good.

Gibb: He’s a net neutral. He’s a smart guy who made a lot of money for himself and helped redefine the way fans look at wrestlers as stars and human beings. He also brought some pretty rotten preconceptions about talent and fan psychology to the table with him at various times when he was most powerful. He’s a very interesting case.

Corrigan: He sunk WCW and should have never ended Goldberg’s streak. However, Nash didn’t get into pro wrestling to lift everybody else up. He saw it as an opportunity for a guy his size and with his charisma to make lots of money. Can’t blame him for that, plus, he was successful.

Gelfand: Nash helped secure guaranteed contracts for wrestlers and was a large part in the creation of another wrestling boom. Even for as terrible a booker as he was in WCW, he didn’t put the final nail in its coffin. So with that, Nash’s overall wrestling legacy is positive.

Jackson: Kevin Nash has done good for the pro wrestling industry. He helped form the NWO and he carried the WWF on his back at a time when the company was looking like it was going under. Plus, he has helped a lot of younger talent since his WCW days, and really fights hard for equality in wrestling. Yes, he has made some terrible mistakes (Fingerpoke of Doom anyone?), but the word harm suggests some form of injury. Kevin hasn’t injured anyone with his actions, or the credibility of the industry for that matter. There are much worse people associated with wrestling than Big Daddy Cool!

Goodwillie: Tough question. To get to the bottom of it, you really need to list out all the positive and negative things he’s done and figure out which list comes out on top. For positives, Kevin Nash became a bankable star in the two largest wrestling companies of all time, played a key role in forming the coalition that WCW got behind that would ultimately push the WWE towards moving in a new creative direction, set a new standard for guaranteed money in wrestling, helped abolish kayfabe with the Curtain Call and Outsiders angles, helped elevate a young TNA without ever really getting in the way and attempted to elevate CM Punk at the end of his career.

For negatives, Nash contributed to a toxic WCW locker room culture, used The Kliq to take and abuse creative power backstage in WWE, booked himself to win the world title, helped abolish kayfabe with the Curtain Call and Outsiders angles (admittedly a positive and negative), stymied Goldberg’s growth in WCW and was probably never really worth the investment to TNA, gouging them for hundreds of thousands of dollars. At best, the negatives and the positives cancel each other out in my mind, leaving me with a very bland opinion of Nash. Granted, his style was never going to appeal to my tastes too heavily, anyway, but the sheer quantity of problems and wrestling companies he’s left in his wake can’t be ignored either.