STW - Kevin Nash Pt. 2 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

It’s Something to Wrestle With Bruce Prichard bringing to you Diesel Part #2.

We return back to Diesel being the WWF World Heavyweight Champion and he is about to team up with Shawn Michaels...as Two Dudes with Attitude...before we get started the WWE Network on Peacock or whatever just did a feature on these two that you were heavily involved in. I wonder where they got that idea from...

From the Observer:

In Your House

6. Diesel & Shawn Michaels beat Davey Boy Smith & Yokozuna in 15:42 when Diesel jackknifed Owen Hart for the pin to apparently win the tag titles. They ran a storyline through the show that Hart didn't show up. Gorilla Monsoon ordered Jim Cornette to either send Yokozuna in alone or pick a new partner. The next night on Raw, they aired a taped segment where Monsoon ruled that since the pin was counted on someone not in the match, that the tag titles go back to Yokozuna & Owen, so the guarantee hyped for the past few weeks that at least one title would change hands was broken, with the idea being that it was okay to false advertise because in the end babyfaces were going to get the belts. Diesel was barely in, enabling Michaels to put on a very good, but not great one-man show. Smith powerslammed Diesel but Michaels came off the top with an elbow to break up the fall. Hart then did a run-in, and was immediately power bombed by Diesel and the pin was counted. ***

Defend the pin on Owen Hart. Please.

From the Observer:

Just as the cameras faded to black signifying the end of the In Your House PPV show on 10/22 in Winnipeg, a disgusted Vince McMahon threw down his glasses and his headset and said the words, "horrible" as he started to walk to the back with Jim Ross while a pull-apart brawl with Bret Hart and Diesel was still going on in the ring. Seconds later, as the brawl ended, Diesel, the person McMahon had planned to build his company around one year earlier, was being booed out of the building, yet another in the long line of failed experiments in his quest to find a new Hulk Hogan. The virtually unanimous crowd reaction to Diesel after yet another unimpressive main event match seems to make it only logical that Bret Hart is destined to have a career similar to the man who is being compared with results in outbursts--Ric Flair. Like Flair, Hart is the man picked to pick up the pieces time-after-time when experiments of creating new world champions that will be the next big thing in wrestling end up with declining box office figures.

What do you remember of this pay-per-view and Vince’s reaction?

From the Observer on Diesel vs. Davey Boy:

6. Diesel retained the WWF title beating Davey Boy Smith in 18:14. Virtually the entire match was Smith working on Diesel's left knee. Smith ended up posting Diesel outside the ring and slapped Hart at ringside. Hart jumped into the ring and went wild on Smith for a DQ on Diesel for outside interference. Diesel then attacked Hart for costing him the match to build-up their singles match on the 11/19 PPV show and they went off the air with the pull-apart brawl. *

Another bad matchup for him. When is it determined it was time to get the belt off him?

Wrestling Observer 11/13/95

Vince McMahon had a surprise meeting with the wrestlers at the 11/3 house show in Cincinnati. Don't have much in the way of details but it apparently was to combat the poor morale of late. With the cutting out of the money-losing "B" shows, a lot of paranoia has started and some of it is justified. With half as many shows, the mid-card guys for the most part are going to work a lot less dates and make a lot less money, and underneath guys will for the most part have it even worse. Even the top of the card guys are concerned, since they'll all be on the same show the feeling is the money will be cut up in a manner where it's split with more top guys so even the top guys will be earning less. The idea is that in the past, if you had Undertaker and Razor on one B show, and Michaels, Hart and Diesel on the A show, then none of them is ever more than three from the top. Now one of those guys is going to be five from the top, which is a lower spot when it comes to making money. The guys were also upset about several shows that either have been canceled or were canceled which has or would leave them on the road away from home in the middle of a tour for a day making no money. In WWF, wrestlers only get paid when they work a show, so if a mid-card guy is cut from 20 dates down to six or eight, his income will go down 60 or 70%. Some guys are being cut down in dates even worse and there are guys who go a month without bookings and thus without income. However, the company can't go on running shows that lose money for the company so wrestlers can have work.

Was this because of the Kliq or was it just time to have this meeting?

Wrestling Observer 11/20/95

On the WWF side, the status of the Intercontinental title apparently changed regularly over the past week. Razor Ramon faced Sid in what was announced live as a non-title match with 1-2-3 Kid as ref on 10/23 at the Raw taping in Brandon, Manitoba. The match, which aired on 11/13, with Sid winning due to Kid helping him out and completing his heel turn, was billed as a title match on all television leading up to the match. The plan was for Sid to come out of the match with the title--a plan that was changed after the Superstars, Action Zone and Mania shows were taped in mid-week. The cover story announcement was made early in the Raw show of it being a non-title match with the explanation given that Gorilla Monsoon had considered what happened at the house shows over the weekend (they did minor Kid turning angles at every show) in Nassau Coliseum, Worcester and the Meadowlands, and smelled a rat. The word among the wrestlers is that Sid, who left the tour because of a family emergency, was pretty upset after being promised the title and having it pulled from him, and that Hunter Hearst Helmsley will eventually be getting the title from Ramon. This has caused major morale problems because people see it was "the clique" (Michaels, Ramon, Diesel, Helmsley and 1-2-3 Kid) controlling the championships and people believing that different rules apply to them then the other wrestlers. Of course, the fact is the leader of "the clique" is scheduled to be losing the WWF title to Bret Hart this coming weekend and there aren't any signs that decision is going to be reversed at the last minute. When the status of a title change match changes at least once and possibly several times from the time it is taped until the day it airs, that tells you just how solid all long-term plans must be.

Did the locker room have a right to feel like this in your opinion and is this how you remember all this going down?

From the Observer regarding the 1995 Survivor Series

6. Hart pinned Diesel in 24:54 to win the WWF title. While on the apron, Diesel shoulderblocked Hart off the apron where he flew through the table that the spanish language announcers were sitting and Hugo Savinovich began selling his knee as well. Diesel threw Hart in the ring and signalled for a jackknife. He stalled for a second, and it appeared the storyline was (although it didn't appear to be the case) that he was asking the ref to stop it rather than have to jackknife Hart and the ref said no. As he went to do the move, Hart small packaged him for the title. Diesel then jackknifed Hart twice after the bell and beat up several referees. ***1/2

Did Nash go into business for himself after the match or was this was how he was directed to do so? Do you consider Diesel a success or failure as champion?

The WWF title change meant the group's top position was no longer in the hands of one of "The Clique," although only time will tell if that is temporary or not. The show also left a question in fans' eyes regarding Diesel, who strongly teased a heel turn by giving Hart two jackknifes after the match was over and attacking several referees. Diesel appeared to have been booed by 65 to 70 percent of the fans after the match and announcers McMahon and Jim Ross played it up as if it was a turn. The new character and new attitude of the promotion was set up by Diesel's mouthing motherf---er when he lost the title, so it appears they believe the ECW approach, or at least a toned down version, is now the most marketable approach in this country, which is funny on a lot of levels. He'll apparently also wrestle other babyfaces, as they did an interview where he complained that he was being packaged by Titan as something that he wasn't for the past year. Whether this winds up being a successful approach or not, faced with the conclusion based on all available figures that the direction they were going had run its course and with the increasing popularity of UFC PPV events that have surpassed WWF events as the most-widely viewed regularly scheduled events on PPV, that it's time to take the big step and go in a rougher and more violent direction.

The title change was more noteworthy in the midst of reports of outside the ring turmoil within the WWF stemming from the strong power base of "The Clique" (Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid and Hunter Hearst Helmsley) and an apparent marketing switch within the WWF to switch gears from aiming to a childrens audience to an adult audience.

The title change, however, faded into the background in less than 24 hours due to the most important, and most daring, Monday night battle in the less than three month history of the two groups going head-to-head, a battle in which WCW scored the ratings win but in reality both sides came out as losers because each side threw everything out at once and both ratings were disappointing.

WCW put what should have been on paper its ultimate never-seen-before match, Hulk Hogan vs. Sting to counter the WWF going live during sweeps, one day after a PPV show in which it was going to switch the title. The general belief was the impact of Hogan vs. Sting was lessened by the weak build-up for the match the previous week and on the weekend shows. WWF countered with its most daring, and in some eyes, its most galling angle, in years. Playing off Michaels' legit injury a few weeks back after being pulled out of a car and assaulted outside a Syracuse night club, the WWF had Michaels simply collapse in the ring in the midst of a hot main event match with Owen Hart and stay there the remainder of the show, teasing either a stroke or brain aneurism. WWF personnel and EMT's looked concerned and gave him oxygen for the last 7:00 of the show. The angle was convincing enough that from our reports, the majority who attended the show live believed it wasn't an angle. Initially those live believed it was an angle, but as it got played up stronger, most seemed to believe it was real. Most phone calls here that viewed it on television knew it was an angle but many didn't.

Even though WWF had overall by far the superior show, as is usually the case, WCW won the night with the Hogan-Sting match by drawing a 2.5 rating and 3.6 share to the WWF's 2.3 rating and 3.3 share. Neither figure can be considered successful. The WWF, coming off the PPV with a world title change and a Diesel turn tease at the end, doing a 2.3 for a live show is outright disastrous.

Because of the way ratings are figured, the Michaels angle could not have had any affect on the ratings so to make any conclusion about the angle not working because WWF lost the night is faulty logic. However, if it doesn't spike the ratings next week for those curious to see how the cliff-hanger ends, the angle's legs were non-existent and at best it would be a great topic of conversation for a few days.

Diesel loses the title and immediately the biggest story is Shawn Michaels. The Clique have everything wrapped up except the top spot which is Bret’s but it’s obviously going to Shawn at this point. Where is Vince at at this point with all of this?

Besides the angle, the other highlights were Diesel taking on a new bad-ass babyface image blaming Vince McMahon on an interview for creating a fake image for him the past year, again in attempting to appeal to the 26-34 male audience as a kick-ass no apologies babyface.

Was this what Diesel needed at this point for the character?

Wrestling Observer 12/4/95

Major house shows this weekend saw them do 4,300 and $95,000 in Philadelphia on 11/24, and 7,400 and $163,000 at Madison Square Garden the next night. Both are well below what you'd normally expect from major house shows on Thanksgiving weekend, although the Garden was roughly the same number of people as the Thanksgiving weekend show last year where Diesel won the title from Bob Backlund. Told people weren't disappointed with the figure because the advance was weak and because it wasn't until the Sunday before the show that people knew Bret had won the title and would face Undertaker on top.

Is it concerning that there is no movement in houses or attendance?

Wrestling Observer 12/11/95

WWF received complaints regarding Bret Hart and Diesel using the chairs and Diesel mouthing motherf***er at the Survivor Series. They're trying to do a balancing act between making it a rougher product but not alienating any of the audience or the sponsors. That isn't going to be easy.

How hard was it to toe that line back in 1995?

Wrestling Observer 12/26/95

December In Your House pay-per-view sees:

4. Owen Hart beat Diesel via DQ in 4:34 when Diesel shoved the ref after using the jackknife. After the match he used another jackknife. Hart did a great job of carrying this. *1/2

Treading water for Nash here. Was there ever a feeling at this point of unhappiness?

Wrestling Observer 1/29/96

4. Shawn Michaels won the Royal Rumble in 58:49 by superkicking Diesel over the top rope just as Diesel was eliminating Kama. After the match they teased that Diesel would attack Michaels, but instead they did their high-five routine. **1/2

Why not have Diesel turn heel right here on Michaels or was the thinking that it would mean more to be matched up with Taker since that was his WrestleMania program?

5. Undertaker beat Bret Hart via DQ in a WWF title match in 28:31. Before the match, Diesel, leaving the Rumble, met with Undertaker in the aisle. Diesel shoved Paul Bearer which caused the two to square off and officials pulled them apartUndertaker made a comeback and hit the tombstone piledriver. Diesel then grabbed the ref and threw him out of the ring and the ref called for a DQ. The match was dull in spots but had excellent psychology and built into a good match, but the horrible finish just killed it. **3/4

The finish was horrible. It’s tough to end a pay-per-view that way don’t you think?

From the Observer:

Business is booming, which you've got to attribute to the return of Shawn Michaels because everything else is basically a constant. Besides the PPV, the live show in Fresno did a sellout (9,600/8,000+ paid) and $130,000; Stockton for Raw sold out a small (2,904) arena; San Jose, with no television (although it was promoted great in the market) sold out (4,500) for Superstars. 1/24 in White Plains, NY did 3,000 out of 3,400 capacity and $41,000; 1/25 in Baltimore did 5,900 and $87,000 which is about double the usual at the Arena; 1/26 in Madison Square Garden did a whopping 15,000 (12,800 paying $268,000) and it's expected the 3/17 show with Shawn & Diesel vs. Bret Hart & Undertaker may be the first non-PPV sellout at MSG in so many years nobody can ever remember the last time; 1/27 in State College, PA drew 7,860 and 1/28 at the Core States Spectrum in Philadelphia on Super Bowl Sunday drew 5,312 paid and $101,240. The Philly figure is nothing special for the market but phenomenal for Super Bowl Sunday.

The change from pushing Shawn & Bret and Diesel not being the champion seems to have increased attendance. Do you think there was a correlation there?

Wrestling Observer 2/12/96

There is very much talk and/or concern that either/or both Diesel and Razor Ramon may go to WCW after their contracts expire.

How prepared were you for them to leave and/or how prepared were you to try and keep them to stay?

Wrestling Observer 2/19/96

McMahon complained of contract tampering, bringing up in specific, Diesel, The Bushwhackers and Jean Pierre Lafitte. He claims Diesel was offered a three-year deal by an intermediary. McMahon told others, and Diesel has also claimed to those in the dressing room that they are offering him $750,000 per, and most expect him to take it when his Titan contract expires in April. At his age, with a family, if that figure is accurate, he'd be a fool not to. It is believed WCW has also made overtures about bringing in Razor Ramon, who was originally a strong WWF team player in the locker room, but his mood has changed with a shrinking paycheck during the fall along with being unhappy about many aspects of how he's been used, including the feud with Goldust, not to mention family issues which are a prime issue since the WCW road schedule is so much easier. McMahon claimed that the money being offered as the word has gone through his dressing room, along with the easier work schedule, has hurt morale.

How real were the issues with contracts and contract tampering between WWF and WCW at this point?

Wrestling Observer 2/26/96

In Your House

5. Bret Hart beat Diesel in a cage match to retain the WWF title in 19:13. Even forgetting the confines of the match, Diesel looked slow and unimpressive and Hart lacked fire. It picked up in the last few minutes and had a great finish. As Diesel was about to go out the door to win, Undertaker came from under the ring and grabbed his foot and dragged him under the ring and special effects of smoke under the ring went through the ring. Hart then escaped the cage to win but come out of the show once again as a second-tier star underneath Undertaker, Diesel, Michaels and Vader. Diesel then climbed back from under the ring, with his pants torn, and climbed the cage "running away" from Undertaker to show he was afraid of him. Ironically, after largely being cheered during the match, Diesel was almost 100% booed afterwards. *1/2

There’s been a well heard shoot interview where putting this match together Diesel attempted to hit Hart with the power bomb to make the angle with him & Undertaker hotter and Hart refused and went to Vince and Vince agreed and that’s when Nash knew he was leaving. Do you have a memory of this? Do you agree that Taker & Nash needed that and Bret wouldn’t have been hurt by taking the power bomb?

Another thing lending credence to why Warrior would be brought back is internal fear that several of the top babyfaces (not just Diesel and Ramon) could be leaving.

We talked about a few weeks ago as to how the roster was about to be re-done in the WrestleMania 12 episode. Was this part of the reason Warrior was brought back?

Wrestling Observer 3/4/96

Diesel, the other half of the twosome wildly rumored all week to be WCW-bound, also missed the weekend shows with a degree of controversy somewhat attached. Diesel suffered a combination separated and fractured shoulder, apparently early in the In Your House cage match against Bret Hart. The injury may partially or totally explain the poor quality of that match compared with previous matches the two have had. Diesel did swing an axe pretty good the next night in the angle where he destroyed the Undertaker's casket, and also worked against Bob Holly (in the Raw match which aired on 2/26 in which they worked a storyline about him being injured coming in since he had missed the weekend shows but they were airing the taped match), but didn't work at the Superstars taping the next night where they were scheduled to hold the first "Triple Threat" (Triangular) match involving himself, Bret Hart and Undertaker in Huntington, WV. Diesel was said to have been unhappy with that headline program even though it figured to be a big draw. In that match, Diesel was pulled due to the injury and Hart wrestled Undertaker for the title, with Diesel's interference leading to Undertaker getting pinned. It was expected that similar endings were planned for the weekend series of major shows at the Continental Arena (formerly Meadowlands) in East Rutherford, NJ, the Pittsburgh Civic Arena and the Gund Arena in Cleveland. Diesel was expected to appear at those shows, be announced as injured, and then get involved in the match, one would assume in the finishes allowing Hart to retain the title. However, Diesel refused to make the weekend bookings, leading to Goldust getting involved in the East Rutherford and Cleveland matches leading to non-finishes, and in Pittsburgh, an apparent booking snafu led to them having no interference and doing a double count out finish which left fans unhappy, because it was the same finish that had ended the previous Hart-Undertaker match in the same city and it was a much weaker match than the first time.

Was there a worry of not investing in Nash at this point because of injuries, age and money? Or was one more than the other?

At press time, the future of Diesel, also 36, in the WWF was speculative. The dressing room gossip was leaning toward the idea he was also-WCW bound, as he also has a family and the WCW combination of guaranteed long-term money and easier travel schedule is more family friendly. Rumors have been that they are offering, depending upon whom you choose to believe, anywhere from $450,000 to $750,000 per year for a three-year guaranteed deal to make the jump and go in as a heel and work a program against Hulk Hogan which naturally would be the top angle in the company. Unlike the Scott Hall deal, this isn't considered as a virtual lock and more that simply the odds are better than 50% he'll make the jump. He's also been unhappy about his role in WWF since the decision was made to take the title from him last year. As of right now, the expectations were that they didn't know if Diesel would be back in time for Madison Square Garden on 3/17, and instead of waiting to find out, the WWF made the announcement at the East Rutherford show that the card was being changed from the Diesel & Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart & Undertaker main event to a Hart vs. Michaels WWF title match and a Goldust vs. Undertaker IC title match. Presumably Diesel would work underneath if he even appears. There was also concern regarding Wrestlemania, although the belief was it was probable Diesel would still appear against Undertaker and it is believed they will continue to go on the assumption that match would take place. Diesel's window to give notice or his contract automatically renewing for one year was to end at the end of this week. While he could give notice and leave in 90 days at any point in the year, according to wrestlers under a WWF contract, if he were give notice "late," he'd likely be given a conditional as opposed to unconditional contract release meaning they would let him work anywhere except for their rival, WCW, until the end of the rolled-over contract, which should he not give notice, would be the late spring of 1997.

It was just time for all parties to move on wasn’t it?

Wrestling Observer 3/11/96

Kevin Nash (Diesel) officially gave notice that he would be leaving the World Wrestling Federation to accept an offer from World Championship Wrestling in a phone call to Vince McMahon at 10:50 a.m. on 3/5.

No contract terms are available but the general belief within the industry was that WCW was offering Nash a three-year guaranteed deal with reports on the price being anywhere from $450,000 to $750,000 per year, more likely closer to the lower amount. Nash is expected to be joined by Scott Hall (Razor Ramon), who gave notice on 2/20. Hall had not officially told the WWF that he would be accepting a WCW offer, although it is widely believed that will be the case within both companies, but that he was giving notice to explore the possibilities elsewhere. Nash is scheduled to start back with the WWF on 3/15 after missing a few weeks with a separated and fractured shoulder which was believed to have taken place in the 2/18 PPV cage match against Bret Hart. An interoffice memo sent in the WWF by Linda McMahon stated that there would be no change in previously scheduled bookings involving Nash, who would continue to work with the WWF through June 6, 1996.

Was there any conversations after him giving notice to renegotiate?

Wrestling Observer 3/25/96

The Bret Hart & Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels & Diesel match on 3/17 drew the first sellout at Madison Square Garden for a non-PPV event so many years nobody can remember the last one along with setting an all-time record house show gate.

So Diesel’s on his way out after the year he had and business is starting to get hot again. Do you put that solely on Bret & Shawn?

Wrestling Observer 4/8/96

Wrestlemania XII

5. Undertaker pinned Diesel in 16:46 with a tombstone.

We just talked about this match in the WrestleMania 12 episode. Anything to add?

From the Observer:

The WWF took excellent advantage of its largest Raw audience ever with one of its best shows ever. The company shot angles to heat up the upcoming Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel and Ultimate Warrior vs. Goldust PPV matches on 4/28. They also built farther into the future for an eventual PPV match with Vader vs. Yokozuna that will likely take place in May or June and Ahmed Johnson vs. Davey Boy Smith, which will be a house show program for May and no doubt hit PPV at some point.

Diesel & Razor are leaving while things are getting hot. Was there a thought to try and keep the band together at this point with TV ratings starting to get up?

Razor Ramon and Diesel both finish up on 5/19. I believe that after the PPV and TV tapings, both are only going to work the Baltimore, Philadelphia and MSG house show run 5/17 to 5/19 and that's it. There is no truth to any rumors that Ramon wanted to stay and was turned down.

We’re here at the end. What’s Diesel’s legacy in WWF?

Wrestling Observer 5/6/96

Shawn Michaels and Diesel put on a memorable performance to make an otherwise average show into a strong show on the 4/28 WWF In Your House PPV at the Omaha Civic Center.

We just covered the Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel episode in the archives...but between the Nash interview and the match, this is the first real look at Attitude era PPV main events right?

Wrestling Observer 5/27/96

The final appearances of Diesel and Razor Ramon in the WWF came in a strange curtain call finale of the clique before the first indoor non-PPV house in WWF history to top $300,000 on 5/19 in Madison Square Garden.

The Garden's second straight sellout, the first time that's happened in 11 years, of 18,800 fans (16,564 paying $319,411) saw what many were saying was the best MSG house show since Wrestlemania X.

Both Diesel and Ramon, in their final appearances before starting with WCW in mid-June, were the recipient of chants of "You sold out" and "Please don't go" by a decent percentage of the crowd that seemed to know it was their final show. Ramon was booed in his match with Hunter Hearst Helmsley (who replaced Goldust who missed another weekend because his knee hasn't recovered well enough for him to work), and heavily booed with a loud "You sold out" chant after he did the job. After the match, he grabbed the house mic and before he could get more than a few words out, panicked WWF officials, since this wasn't part of the show, cut off the power. As it was, all Ramon ended up saying was something to the effect of telling people to "Say Goodbye to the Bad Guy."

However, it wasn't over for the Bad Guy just yet. After a very strong main event cage match where Shawn Michaels beat Diesel to keep the WWF title, it was time for the curtain call. Michaels had won the match by walking out the cage after laying Diesel out with the superkick. After the match, Michaels kissed Diesel, who revived like the frog kissed by the princess, and the two hugged in the ring. Diesel got a lot more cheers during the match than most would have figured, although Michaels was still the most popular wrestler on the show. Ramon and fellow clique member Helmsley then came into the ring and the four got on all four posts and gave clique signals to the fans, some of whom were teary-eyed and saying it was one of the best moments of wrestling at MSG in years. Supposedly this final display wasn't approved by WWF officials, but it got over great with the audience so little will probably result from it. However, there were other wrestlers who were very unhappy at what they considered a kayfabe violation, particularly since Helmsley was in the ring hugging Ramon and Diesel had just finished a match with Michaels and magically arose from a finishing move by being kissed. The other clique member, 1-2-3 Kid, wasn't at the show as his future with the company is somewhat in question after he showed up at the Superstars taping on 4/30 in no condition to perform, and won't be back until June at the earliest.

The MSG show climaxed a four-show tour which drew $664,192. While there have been numerous larger crowds, in fact most crowds at MSG during the 80s were larger, this was the largest non-PPV gate ever, breaking the $299,526 record set at the previous show in March. The previous afternoon, Philadelphia drew its largest non-PPV house since 1992 when 8,308 fans paid $158,402. Hershey that night drew 4,783 and $80,410, its best non-PPV house since 1991. The tour opened on 5/17 in Baltimore at the Arena drawing 6,559 fans and $106,329, its best non-PPV gate since 1989. Perhaps the most impressive stat of all is that they did $251,000 additionally in merchandise at the four shows including $111,000 in Madison Square Garden. They averaged close to $7 per head in merchandise over the weekend, which is close to double what you would expect, which shows that the characters on top that they are merchandising are very over.

With the exception of Hershey, all the shows were headlined by Michaels beating Diesel in cage matches. Davey Boy Smith attempted to interfere in all the matches, but they were teases of title change finishes. Diesel refused to work Hershey after he was originally booked in the main event, saying he wasn't going to do a double-shot, so Smith worked that show against Michaels.

Various times through the next couple of years the rumors would always sprout up about Kevin Nash returning to WWF. Was there ever any smoke to the fire or was it just Nash trying to bump his contract up with WCW? Do you remember Nash refusing to work Hershey?

For all the Kevin Nash in the nWo in the WWE era check it out in the Archives. We’ll fast forward to Nash after the nWo and tearing his quad in the 10-man tag match.

Wrestling Observer 4/21/03

WWE: Not really much more to report on the Goldberg-Jericho thing from last week. Goldberg was talking to Nash earlier in the night about his angle where Nash was going to power bomb Jericho and Goldberg made a comment about Jericho’s selling (I believe in reference to the Michaels match from Mania), which naturally got back to Jericho. It is believed either Nash told Jericho, or more likely that Shane Helms overheard the conversation and went to Jericho. Jericho went to Goldberg and said something to the effect of that they were no longer in WCW, and in WWE, guys try to help each other so if he had anything negative to say, to say it to his face or else stay out of his business. The two had words, which heated up and the language got colorful. Apparently, Goldberg went to grab Jericho by the throat, and Jericho grabbed a front facelock and they both went down, when it was quickly broken up. The two had more words after it was broken up, back and forth, before both shook hands. In some circles, Jericho is kind of a locker room hero since Goldberg is the outsider and there is the natural resentment of him for getting a great deal and starting out on top, having never paid his dues, plus Jericho stood up to a guy who is probably a good six inches taller and 55 pounds heavier than he is. Flair is also kind of a quiet hero backstage for what he did to Bischoff, who is quietly hated by the vast majority

How much of a shit stirrer was Nash?

Talks of Kevin Nash recovering and coming back are being discussed and there’s even talk of making him Diesel again. Who was the pushing force behind that and why was its Vince?

What did Kevin think of it?

“Kevin Nash claimed in a wwe.com interview that the plans for him to come back with the Diesel name were changed because even a week after dying his hair, it was coming back gray, and Diesel shouldn’t have gray hair. Sounds like as silly a reason as any. He still debuted with his Diesel fist mannerism that he was banned from doing in WCW and the old Diesel music. WWE had sent out advertising to different arenas for upcoming appearances of Nash, calling him Diesel and not Nash, even as late as the weekend”

4/12/03 - Kevin Nash returns to the ring teaming with Shawn Michaels & Booker T to face Triple H, Ric Flair & Chris Jericho at a house show. It is Michaels first house show in 5 years.

How important was it for the WWE to get a full strength Kevin Nash back at this time? Was Nash excited about getting back in the ring? Was Vince looking for just some type of return on his investment at this point?

Backlash 03

From the Observer…”7. Ric Flair & HHH & Chris Jericho beat Booker T & Kevin Nash & Shawn Michaels in 17:51. The match was supposed to focus on Nash vs. HHH to build them up, and everyone else’s role was to be secondary. Everyone sold big for Nash, who at least wasn’t exposed or turned on. Flair had Michaels in the figure four while Jericho used a lionsault on him. Jericho got the walls on but Nash saved Michaels. Nash gave Jericho the snake eyes. Ref bump. Nash power bombed Jericho and HHH hit Nash with a sledge hammer for the pin. **½”

Any objections from Kevin regarding putting over HHH or did he know it’s what was needed to build him & Hunter?

Judgement Day 03

Kevin Nash defeated World Heavyweight Champion Triple H via disqualification at 7:49 when the champion hit referee Earl Hebner with his sledgehammer as Hebner attempted to stop Triple H from using the weapon on Nash; prior to the bout, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair were scheduled to be in the participants' corners but were ejected for brawling before the opening bell; after the bout, Nash dropped Triple H with a Snake Eyes onto an exposed turnbuckle and hit the powerbomb; moments later, Sgt. Slaughter, Terry Taylor, Tony Garea, and referees came out to help the champion backstage but Nash jumped the champion, fought off Flair, shoved away Michaels, and hit the powerbomb on Triple H through the Raw announce table near the entranceway

Meltzer gave this all  DUD. What did you think? Was the Nash - HHH program, even with Flair & Shawn...just not working? Was it Kevin? How badly was Hunter and Kevin trying to keep this going?

It’s announced that Triple H & Kevin Nash will face off in a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood and on the go-home Raw Mick Foley is added as a special guest referee. Who makes that call and why?

Bad Blood 03

6. HHH pinned Kevin Nash in the Hell in a Cell match in 21:01. Mick Foley got a bigger pop coming out than either guy. I thought this was a solid, well put together match. HHH blocked the power bomb and got a tool box. He used a hammer to Nash’s torn thigh and another hammer to the head. Nash juiced. Foley took the hammer from HHH. Fans popped when Foley shoved HHH down. HHH then got a screwdriver and dug it into the cut. HHH next got out a barbed wire board. Nash got it away and used it on HHH, who then juiced big. He put the board into a corner and dropped HHH with a snake eyes type of move onto the board. HHH then broke a crate of wood on Nash. Then came the sledge hammer. Fans actually booed Foley when he took the sledge hammer away form HHH. HHH decked Foley and laid out both Nash and Foley with chair shots. Foley juiced. Foley came back with Mr. Socko, putting the mandible claw on HHH. HHH escaped with a low blow. Nash then KO’d both Foley and HHH with the ring steps, so no ref to count. HHH rammed Nash into Foley, who dove off the apron fast into the cage, which was the biggest spot of the match. Nash catapulted HHH into the barbed wire board in the corner and hit the power bomb. HHH kicked out. HHH came back with a sledge hammer shot and the pedigree for the pin. ***¼

Was adding Mick important to making this a bigger match? Did it save Hunter & Nash? How did they feel about doing barbed wire gimmicks?

Raw 7/7/03

Test pinned Kevin Nash with a boot to the face at 1:47 after pushing an interfering Trish Stratus into Nash; after the bout, Test pushed Trish into the ringside barrier

Test over Nash in 2 minutes? What’s up with that? How hard was that to sell to Kevin?

Raw 7/28/03

Kevin Nash defeated Chris Jericho via disqualification in an impromptu match following a low blow; after the bout, Nash bloodied and brutalized Jericho inside the ring and around ringside until Jericho escaped into the crowd

Any hesitation to put these two together after everything that happened with them in WCW?

Raw 8/4/03

Bill Goldberg defeated Ric Flair via disqualification when Randy Orton interfered; after the bout, a brawl ensued involving Evolution, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Goldberg, and Chris Jericho; moments thereafter, Steve Austin announced that the new main event for Summer Slam would feature all six men in an Elimination Chamber match

Nash on top again? Was it just because of the contract at this point?

Rob Van Dam pinned Chris Jericho with a split-legged moonsault; after the bout, Jericho - blaming the earlier brawl with Kevin Nash on his loss - challenged Nash to a hair vs. hair match

Who thought this was a good idea?

Raw 8/18/03

Chris Jericho pinned Kevin Nash in a hair vs. hair match after hitting him in the face with brass knuckles; after the bout, Jericho cut off much of Nash's hair before Nash came to; it's important to note that Nash was accidentally hit with a spear from Bill Goldberg earlier in the show during the Highlight Reel

Why was Nash getting his hair cut here?

SummerSlam 03

World Heavyweight Champion Triple H (w/ Ric Flair) defeated Shawn Michaels, Bill Goldberg, Kevin Nash, Randy Orton, and Chris Jericho in an Elimination Chamber match at 19:15; Jericho pinned Nash at 8:05 with a roll over after Michaels hit the superkick as Nash attempted to powerbomb Jericho; several moments later, before leaving the ring, Nash hit the powerbomb on both Jericho and Orton; Goldberg pinned Orton with the spear at 13:01; Goldberg pinned Michaels with the spear and Jackhammer after avoiding the superkick at 15:20; Goldberg pinned Jericho with the spear and Jackhammer at 16:05; prior to Michaels' elimination, Goldberg speared Jericho through one of the plexiglass chambers; Triple H pinned Goldberg after avoiding the spear and hitting him in the face with a sledgehammer thrown in the ring by Flair; after the bout, Flair, Orton, and Triple H bloodied Goldberg before handcuffing him to the cage so that Triple H could once again hit him in the head with the sledgehammer

Meltzer called this a burial of Nash on his way out. This is the last PPV main event of Kevin Nash’s career. Did you know that Kevin was going to disappear at this point?  Nash disappears from the WWE for now. He films the Punisher. He films The Longest Yard.

How much was it flirted with at the time to bring Kevin back? Who was his biggest proponent?

Kevin Nash returns at the Royal Rumble in 2011 when TNA had been pushing him and was about to debut a new main event faction and WWE decides now’s the time to take him back. What do you remember about that from being in TNA at the time?

What is your relationship with Kevin like now?