Trying something a little different this week (which I actually intended to do last week but I ended up losing half of it) by posting a quick bio written by moi to hopefully give the matches and moments a bit more context (if itâs not tlâdr, of course)
After a career-ending injury ends his basketball career, after only one year playing in the Bundesliga for the Giessen 46ers, Nash joins the U.S Army stationed in Germany, before moving back to his native Detroit to work on the assembly line of the Ford Factory floor and then moving to Atlanta, Georgia working as a manager at a strip club who, like Scott Hall and DDP before him, gets signed to WCW as a result.
While there he would fumble around with various shitty gimmicks, including Steel of The Master Blasters (an obvious L.O.D/Demolition rip off), THE LITERAL WIZARD OF OZ WITH KEVIN SULLIVAN and finally, Vinnie Vegas, initially joining a big boy stable with the likes of Vader & Harley Race, would eventually join DDPâs Diamond Mine and forming their own tag-team, The Vegas Connection.
Frustrated with Bill Watts and WCW creative, Nash would depart for WWF on the recommendation of Shawn Michaels and is immediately enlisted as The Heart Break Kidâs personal bodyguard âDieselâ in late '93. Heâd make his PPV in-ring debut at Survivor Series '93 in the highly thrown-together, New-Gen era threatening team of Adam Bomb, I.R.S & Rick âThe Modelâ Martel vs Marty Janetty, Macho Man Randy Savage, Razor Ramon & The 1-2-3 Kid., before an impressive performance at Royal Rumble '94.
After accompanying Shawn at the legendary Wrestlemania X Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title vs Razor Ramon, Nash himself would win the title from Ramon on an episode of Superstars shortly after, before challenging Bret Hart in a champion vs champion match (and a warning sign of things to come) at King of the Ring '94 which ends in a bullshit finish but bizarrely is in the middle of the card to make way for⌠Roddy Piper vs Jerry Lawler in the main event!
The night before Summerslam, Diesel & Michaels win the WWF Tag Team Titles from The Headshrinkers, making Diesel briefly a double champion, however, he would lose the Intercontinental Title back to Ramon at the PPV on the following night.
The Kliq is very much alive and kicking by now as Shawn & Diesel put on a clinic vs Razor & The 1-2-3 Kid for the Tag Titles on an episode of Action Zone, however, their title reign would soon be up as Shawn âaccidentallyâ superkicks the increasingly popular Diesel at Survivor Series '94 beginning the road to Wrestlemania XI baby!
Three days after Survivor Series, where on the same night Bob Backlund ended Bret Hartâs World Title reign, DIESEL WINS THE WWF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FROM BOB BACKLUND AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN IN AN 8-SECOND SQUASH MATCH IN A NOD TO HOW HOGAN WON THE TITLE FROM IRON SHEIK WHO DEFEATED BACKLUND IN SIMILAR FASHION 10 YEARS EARLIER.
Ahem Anyway, Dieselâs vs first defence is against Hart for his title rematch at Royal Rumble '95, and it is a banger up until the bullshit finish (again).
Later that night, Shawn Michaels wins the Royal Rumble match itself to set up their Wrestlemania XI encounter, in which Diesel wins and goes off into the sunset with Pamela Anderson & Jenny McCarthy on each arm, presumably to go look at big trucks or something.
That summer, Diesel feuds with Psycho Sid at the inaugural In Your House pay-per-views, in a couple of duds, and teams with Bam Bam Bigelow (who is being ârewardedâ for jobbing to Lawrence Taylor in the main event of WMXI) to defeat Psycho Sid & Tatanka as we are now fully entrenched into the New Generation Era. The peak of which comes at Summerslam '95 as Diesel defends his title against King of the Ring winner Mabel in an absolute slog while a seething Bret Hart feuds with Jerry Lawlerâs dentist Isaac Yankem D.D.S.
Diesel then briefly becomes double champion again as he and a recently re-united Intercontinental champion Shawn Michaels, defeat The British Bulldog and Yokozuna for the Tag Team Titles after Owen Hart no shows, winning all the gold! Itâs only for a night, however, as the result is declared null-and-void the next night on Raw as Hart wasnât officially defending his title.
After a Dusty finish in a title defence against Bulldog at IYH 4, Dieselâs yeah-long reign finally comes to an end at Survivor Series '95 as Bret Hart finally wins his rightful place and title back after a year of absolute bollix.
Diesel puts in another impressive performance at the Royal Rumble match but is ultimately eliminated last by his frenemy Shawn Michaels, who would go on to achieve his âboyhood dreamâ at Wrestlemania XII. In the meantime, Diesel gets his rematch in a cage vs Bret Hart at In Your House 6: Rage in a Cage, before taking on The Undertaker at the showcase of the immortals.
Around this time Diesel starts getting some big money offers from Eric Bischoff to jump ship and âcome homeâ to WCW, Nash finally accepts but not before putting over his mate and new champion Shawn Michaels in a No Holds Barred match at IYH 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies, before leaving with the infamous âCurtain Callâ at MSG in May '96.
In June '96, Nash joined his best friend Scott Hall (who had arrived on-screen two weeks earlier) as invading antagonists of WCW âThe Outsidersâ. Challenged by WCW babyfaces Lex Luger, Randy Savage & Sting for a match at Bash at the Beach, Hall & Nash promised they would have a third man to even the ranks who turned out to be⌠âHollywoodâ Hulk Hogan! Forming the new World order and changing the wrestling business forever, along with putting WCW on top for just over the next year and a half.
nWo would quickly assert themselves as the top stable in WCW, with Hogan, Hall & Nash (along with fake nWo Sting Jeff Farmer and bankrolling fourth member Ted DiBiase) defeating Team WCW featuring Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, Ric Flair & real Sting (accompanied by Miss Elizabeth) in a WarGames match at Fall Brawl '96.
Afterwhich, Hall & Nash became the domineering force of the Tag Team division for the next year and a half, defeating Booker T & Stevie Ray a.k.a Harlem Heat at Halloween Havoc '96, holding the titles (barring a few one-day blips to The Steiners and The Giant & Luger) for a whole year and including Sean âSyxxâ Waltman as a champion defending the titles âFreebird/Wolfpacâ style.
Hall & Syxx would lose the titles to The Steiners while Nash was injured in October 1997, and then the wheels start to fall off. Nash returns from injury only to no show for a match with The Giant on the biggest show of the year (the infamous Starrcade '97) before the two finally meeting at Souled Out '98 where, attempting to hit the Jackknife Powerbomb, nearly breaks The Giantâs neck. This is passed off as Nash intentionally trying to injure The Giant in a gross angle, in which Hall & Nash are rewarded with their final (proper) Tag Team Title run defeating The Steiners at SuperBrawl VIII after Scott turns on Rick to join the nWo.
On Nitro, the night after Spring Stampede in which Nash & Hogan defeated Roddy Piper & The Giant in a âBaseball Bat on a Poleâ match (because, wrestling), Nash turned on Hogan and formed the babyface nWo Wolfpac, with Savage & Konnan, as its leader. Hall showed finally showed his allegiances when he turned on Nash as The Outsiders were defending their Tag Titles against Sting & Giant at Slamboree '98.
Sting would then join up with nWo Wolfpac and defeat The Giant for control of the WCW World Tag Team Titles a month later at The Great American Bash '98 and would choose Nash as his partner the next night on Nitro. They would hold the titles for just over a month before losing them to Scott Hall & The Giant because 1998 WCW is a literal merry-go-round at this point. A month after, Wolfpac Nash, Sting & Luger would take part in the disastrous 3 vs 3 vs 3 WarGames match against Hollywood nWoâs Hogan, Hart & Stevie Ray(?!) with both losing to WCWâs DDP, Roddy Piper AND THE (RETURNING) WARRIOR!
Nash then feuds with Scott Hall who is a (not so) Kayfabe drunk and addict at the time. The feud and resulting match at Halloween Havoc '98 is incredibly difficult to watch as Nash Jackknife Powerbombs an intoxicated Hall twice and leaves the ring to lose by count-out. Nash around this time got onto the booking team, so naturally, BOOKS HIMSELF TO GO OVER BROTHER, winning 1998âs World War 3 Match to earn a title shot vs Goldberg.
And so, the stage is set for Nash to headline WCWâs biggest show of the year, Starrcade, against as of yet undefeated WCW champion Goldberg, and, depending on who you ask, humiliates him for not being âone of the boysâ by unceremoniously ending his title reign and undefeated streak thanks to a returning Scott Hall, disguised as a steward, and his cattle prod. To make matters much worse, Nash gives the title back to Hogan the week after following the infamous âfinger poke of doomâ incident, ending WCWâs 83-week reign over WWF on top of the ratings, by the very same people who created the boom period in the first place.
Following this, Nash was given the pencil as the head booker and WCWâs decline would continue from here until its eventual closure in 2001, and while this isnât completely Nashâs fault (Vince Russoâs still to have his time yet) it is clear the company is beyond repair. Nash would book himself as champ for reals this time, ending another popular babyface run in DDP at Slamboree '99, and Booker T a year later (though Nash would at least drop the title back shortly after in a âcaged heatâ match!)
Nash & DDP would briefly reunite their tag team for the first time in 7 years as âThe Insidersâ and win the belts from Chuck Palumbo & Shawn Stasiak at Mayhem 2000 with a great follow-up match at Starrcade, before dropping to Palumbo & Sean OâHaire at Sin 2001. Nashâs final WCW PPV match would be a losing effort against World Champion Scott Steiner in a deep breath Falls Count Anywhere 2-out-of-3-falls retirement vs title match at SuperBrawl Revenge!
Ever the consummate professional, Nash disappears as soon as the AOL-Time Warner merger is announced and sits out the rest of his contract, along with his nWo original stablemates Hall & Hogan for the rest of the year. As 2002 rolled around however the three would get the band back together, this time in the WWF, having avoided the stinky InVasion angle entirely and arrive to usher in the âRuthless Aggressionâ era at no Way out 2002 helping newly minted undisputed champion Chris Jericho retain his title against Steve Austin. Nash would continually interfere in Austinâs match with his buddy Scott Hall at Wrestlemania X-8 and when it came to him finally re-entering the ring, he immediately tears his biceps, returns, and then tears his quads effectively disbanding nWo for good!
Nash would return right after Wrestlemania XIX having to choose between the perennially feuding Shawn Michaels & Triple H. Reign of Terror Trips would turn on Nash (and then reward him with a main event feud, not for the last time) as Nash had his first competitive match in two years a six-man tag at Backlash 2003 teaming with Shawn & Booker T vs Tri, Jericho & Ric Flair!
After an absolute dud between Nash & Tri for the World Heavyweight Championship at Judgement Day, the two fare slightly better in Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood. A month later, Nash would shave his hair for his part in the upcoming Punisher film and leaves the company to get neck surgery being eliminated from an Elimination Chamber match at Summerslam '03 during the height of Triâs Reign of Terror.
After a year away, Nash would appear in TNA along with his buddy Scott Hall in support of Jeff Jarrett, forming the âKings of Wrestlingâ and feuding with Jeff Hardy, A.J Styles & Randy Savage! The stable wouldnât last long, however, as Hall would leave again in the new year and Nash would challenge a Triple-H aping Jeff Jarrett in an (obviously) losing effort for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Against All Odds.
After suffering a mild cardiac arrest later in the year, Nash slows down for the rest of his career, mostly used as a backstage guy, feuding with the X Division in the mid-2000s and getting an evergreen push with the Main Event Mafia between 2008-09 after Nash turns on his partner Samoa Joe in a TNA World Tag Team Match vs Sting & Tomko at Final Resolution!
With The Main Event Mafia, Booker T debuts the âTNA Legends Titleâ (later TV title) who lost to A.J Styles, who would then drop it to Nash at Victory Road. Nash would feud with Mick Foley over it in mid-2009 (oof), Abyss and eventually losing it to Eric Young at Bound For Glory, which also spelt the end of The Main Event Mafia stable. In 2010, HOGAN & BISCHOFF arrive to ruin everything! Which means⌠itâs the 90s nostalgia time baby and (just donât call it nWo for legal reasons) THE BAND ARE GETTING BACK TOGETHER as Hall, Nash & Sean Waltman reform âThe Bandâ. Surprisingly, Hall & Nash put on a fairly competent match with Team 3D in a 2010 Steel Cage Tag Match at Lockdown!
As the year went on creative and personal differences took hold during Hogan & Bischoffâs version of the reign of terror, and despite Nash, Hall & Eric Young winning the TNA Tag Titles under the Freebird rule, Hall & Waltman would get fired for legal issues while Nash & Sting leaving out of frustration by the end of 2010. Meaning, at the beginning of 2011, Nash was free to return to the WWE, entering the 40-Man Royal Rumble⌠as Diesel!
If only they had left it there⌠Nash & Waltman appear at the 2011 Hall of Fame to help induct Shawn Michaels, and then⌠KEVIN NASH APPEARS AT SUMMERSLAM 2011 AND RUINS THE SUMMER OF PUNK!!! Itâs 2003 all over again as Tri books himself in the main event of the following PPV Night of Champions against Punk (ironically one of Punkâs only main event matches around this time despite being champion for being most of it) and Nash gets kayfabe fired for attacking both! Nash then returns to help main event R-Truth and The Miz defeat Triple H & Punk at Vengeance! And if this wasnât enough of a waste of time, this wet fart of a comeback ended with Nashâs only actual match at TLC in a âSledgehammer Ladderâ match against Triple H, which Nash would leave and end up being his final competitive match for a major American company!
Bar an appearance at the 2014 Royal Rumble Match, Nashâs last major match was for ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING in 2012, during a nWo Japan/USA reunion arc. Nash would team with Keija Mutoh (Great Muta) to defeat TaiyĹ Kea and a young Seiya SANADA during the companyâs 40th-anniversary tour. Nash has made a few sporadic appearances since, most notably during the Triple H vs Sting/D-X vs nWo farce at Wrestlemania 31 but has been retired now for the better part of a decade, instead, concentrating on his acting career with celebrated performances in the Magic Mike films and the first John Wick movie.
