Kevin Nash

Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American professional wrestler and actor. Nash has wrestled under various ring names for World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and, currently, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Early life

Nash attended Aquinas High School in Southgate, Michigan, and was placed on the varsity basketball team by coach Ron Gulyas in his freshman year. In his senior year of high school, Nash was the second most recruited player in Michigan behind future NBA Finals MVP Magic Johnson.

Nash attended the University of Tennessee, majoring in psychology and minoring in educational philosophy. At the University of Tennessee, Nash was a center for the Tennessee Volunteers. He remained on the team from 1979 to 1980, during which time the team made it to the NCAA Sweet 16. However, Nash frequently clashed with coach Don DeVoe, who was unhappy with his work ethic; on one occasion in Kentucky, the two became embroiled in a shoving match. In 1980, the University of Tennessee announced that Nash would not play a fourth year for the Volunteers, and he attempted to transfer to Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He later reconsidered and instead relocated to Europe, where he played basketball professionally for various teams. His career ended in 1985 in Germany when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament. With his basketball career over, Nash enlisted in the 202nd Military Police Company in Gießen, and served in a secure NATO facility for two years, during which time he was promoted to the rank of specialist fourth class.

Upon his release from the military, Nash returned to the United States and began working on an assembly line in Detroit. After he attended a World Wrestling Federation show at the Joe Louis Arena, he became interested in professional wrestling. Deciding to pursue a career in professional wrestling, Nash relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, where he worked as a bodyguard and bouncer while pursuing his interest in bodybuilding. After meeting World Championship Wrestling employee Dusty Rhodes, Nash began training under Jody Hamilton, and debuted in WCW in 1990.

Wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling

Nash debuted in WCW as the orange-mohawked "Steel", one half of the tag team known as the "Master Blasters". He was initially partnered with "Iron", who was later replaced by "Blade". The Master Blasters disbanded within a year, and in May 1991, Nash was repackaged as the silver-haired "Oz", a character based on the Wizard of Oz from the 1900 children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Oz, managed by Merlin the Wizard, was pushed strongly throughout early 1991, squashing several wrestlers, before losing to Ron Simmons at the 1991 Great American Bash on July 14, 1991.

Nash wrestled as Oz throughout the remainder of 1991. In January 1992 he was repackaged as "Vinnie Vegas", a con man, card sharp and gambler. Vegas was quickly recruited into "A Half-Ton of Holy Hell", a stable of large wrestlers created by Harley Race and also including Big Van Vader and Mr. Hughes. The stable separated in February 1992, and Vegas joined "The Diamond Mine", a stable led by Diamond Dallas Page and also containing The Diamond Studd and Scotty Flamingo. After Studd and Flamingo left the stable, Page and Vegas began teaming together as "The Vegas Connection". The tag team split in late 1992, and Nash left the promotion in early 1993.

World Wrestling Federation

In 1993, Nash left WCW, signing a contract with the World Wrestling Federation soon thereafter. He was repackaged as Diesel, the heel bodyguard of Shawn Michaels, dyeing his hair and beard black in the process.

Diesel won the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Razor Ramon on April 13, 1994 in Rochester, New York following interference from Michaels, and the duo defeated The Headshrinkers to win the WWF World Tag Team Championship on August 28, 1994 in Indianapolis, Indiana. on August 29, 1994 in Chicago, Illinois, Ramon defeated Diesel to regain the WWF Intercontinental Championship. The alliance between Diesel and Michaels became strained after Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel on several occasions, and the duo finally split after another miscued superkick cost them a match at Survivor Series 1994. On November 23, 1994, Diesel and Michaels vacated the WWF World Tag Team Championship, and Diesel went on to turn face.

On November 26, 1994, Diesel defeated Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York in an eight-second squash match. Michaels was irate about his former bodyguard having beaten him to the WWF Championship, and was sufficiently motivated to go on to win the 1995 Royal Rumble, earning himself a title shot at WrestleMania XI. At WrestleMania XI on April 2, 1995, Nash, accompanied to ringside by actress Pamela Anderson, defeated Michaels to retain the title. Shortly after WrestleMania XI, Michaels was betrayed by his new bodyguard, Sid, prompting Diesel to come to his rescue. This led to the tag team being reunited, now known as "Two Dudes with Attitude". On September 24, 1995 in Saginaw, Michigan at "Triple Header", Diesel and Michaels challenged Owen Hart and Yokozuna for the WWF World Tag Team Championship, in return placing Diesel's WWF Championship and Michael's WWF Intercontinental Championship on the line. After Hart no-showed the event, he was replaced by Davey Boy Smith. In the course of the match, Hart arrived at ringside, entered the ring and was pinned by Diesel for the win and the titles. However, the victory was declared invalid on September 25, 1995, and the titles were returned to Hart and Yokozuna. Diesel's WWF Championship reign continued until November 19, 1995, when he was defeated by Bret Hart at the 1995 Survivor Series in Landover, Maryland. Following the loss, Diesel attacked Hart, proclaiming "I'm back!" This marked the end of the face Diesel. For a time he became a tweener, facing both faces and heels alike, but after the 1996 Royal Rumble, in which he was runner-up to Michaels, Diesel began targeting faces exclusively.

Shortly before WrestleMania XII, both Diesel and Razor Ramon agreed to return to World Championship Wrestling as part of WCW President Eric Bischoff's drive to lure employees from the WWF to WCW with the offer of lucrative contracts. Diesel lost to The Undertaker at WrestleMania XII on March 31, 1996, then went on to feud with Shawn Michaels once again. In his last televised WWF appearance until 2002, Diesel challenged Michaels for the WWF Championship (which he had won from Hart at WrestleMania XII) at "Good Friends, Better Enemies" on April 28, 1996. He wrestled Michaels for the title once again in a steel cage match at a house show May 19, 1996, but was again defeated. After the match, Diesel, Michaels, Razor Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley - a group of off-screen friends known collectively as "The Clique" hugged one another in the ring and wished each other farewell. This incident, later referred to as the "Curtain Call", was a serious breach of kayfabe, as it showed heels and faces consorting with one another. Shortly thereafer, Diesel and Ramon finally left the WWF and joined WCW.

World Championship Wrestling

After two weeks of Scott Hall appearing on WCW programming and taunting announcers, wrestlers and the company, Nash finally debuted alongside his friend. The duo were known as The Outsiders, and the storyline was pushing them as "invaders" from the WWF (the WWF legal team would eventually sue WCW because of this). At Bash at the Beach 1996, Hall and Nash fought the team of Lex Luger, Sting and Randy Savage and promised to add one more man to their entourage. In a shocking move, Hulk Hogan returned to WCW and attacked the WCW team, aligning himself with Hall and Nash. The three formed the nWo, the New World Order. This incredibly hot concept would help WCW Monday Nitro to win in the ratings against WWF Monday Night RAW for 84 consecutive weeks and arguably helped WCW reach its prime in the mid to late '90s.

After the nWo was split into two factions, Nash became the leader of the Wolfpac faction. At Starrcade 1998, Nash won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg. In doing so, Nash managed to break Goldberg's long running undefeated streak. However Nash would lose the title in unceremonious fashion just a short time later on Monday Nitro. In a controversial moment known as " The Fingerpoke of Doom," Hulk Hogan faced off against Nash for his world title when Hogan took his finger and poked Nash, who proceeded to fall down and willingly allowed Hogan to pin him for the title. This event would reunite the nWo for another run, but the entire circumstance actually would begin WCW's declining ratings.

Backstage, Nash wrote some of the later storylines for WCW. Nash's booking abilities (or lack thereof) are widely considered as one of the many reasons the quality of wrestling in WCW suffered while he was lead booker.

Nash would eventually win the WCW Championship again in 1999 from Diamond Dallas Page, and the nWo would disintegrate. Hulk Hogan defeated Nash in a "retirement" match at Road Wild. (The "retirement" would allow Nash to take some time off.) In the fall, Nash returned to WCW along with Scott Hall and announced that he was "getting the band back together." This was revealed to be an all-new version of the nWo involving Nash, Hall, Bret Hart and Jeff Jarrett. This group would not last long either, and Nash spent most of 2000 feuding with the likes of Terry Funk, Mike Awesome, Scott Steiner and Booker T. Nash won the WCW Championship again from Booker T, but would eventually lose it back to him later on at Fall Brawl. He even had a stint as WCW Commissioner (where he demanded wrestlers call him "Lord Master") and served as a coach/mentor to the Natural Born Thrillers, whom would eventually turn on Nash. Nash aligned himself with Dallas Page, forming a team called "The Insiders." The Insiders managed to win the WCW Tag Team Championship at Starrcade that year.

In 2001 (WCW's final months), the Insiders continued their feud with the Natural Born Thrillers. Nash would lose another "retirement" match to Scott Steiner at Super Brawl, but it would not be long before WCW announced the sale of the company to the World Wrestling Federation. As he had a guaranteed contract with AOL-Time Warner, Nash chose to wait out the remainder of his contract, which expired on December 31, 2001.

World Wrestling Federation

Following the expiration of his AOL-Time Warner contract, Nash, along with Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan, was re-hired by the WWF. Their re-hiring was announced several weeks before their debut, with Vince McMahon claiming to have hired the nWo in order to destroy the WWF. Billed as the original nWo, Nash, Hall and Hogan returned to the WWF at No Way Out 2002 on February 17, 2002. In the course of the evening, the nWo delivered an interview in which they claimed to have reformed, gave a six pack of beer to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (which he refused) and traded insults with The Rock. They solidifed their status as heels by interfering in the main event of the evening and helping Chris Jericho defeat Austin and thus retain the WWF Undisputed Championship.

The nWo in the WWF/WWE did not last long for several reasons. The first reason was that Hulk Hogan's reaction to his WrestleMania X8 in Toronto prompted his return to his old babyface, yellow and red persona. Secondly, Scott Hall was released from the company a short time later for alcohol abuse. Third, Nash suffered a quadriceps injury that put him out of action. Vince McMahon disbanded the nWo following those events.

Leading up to 2003, it was heavily rumored that Kevin Nash would be portraying his old character Diesel once again. Kevin Nash did return in 2003, and although he had darker hair and a variation of his theme song "Diesel Blues," he was still known by his actual name. Nash would spend the next few months feuding with Triple H which would eventually lead to a Hell in a Cell match with Triple H at Bad Blood 2003 with Mick Foley as the special guest referee. In August 2003, Nash feuded with Chris Jericho, and was forced to cut his hair after losing a hair vs. hair match against Chris Jericho. (It was said that he agreed to cut his hair short due to his upcoming acting role in The Punisher.) After his role in the movie was filmed, he decided to retain his short haircut. His last WWE Match was at SummerSlam 2003 in an Elimination Chamber match against Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Goldberg, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton. He was the first one eliminated thanks to Shawn Michaels. He then stepped away from in-ring action shortly afterwards due to a previously existing shoulder injury recurred, forcing him to undergo reconstructive surgery. On October 27, 2003, Nash underwent neck surgery under Dr. Jho in Pittsburgh, the same procedure as Kurt Angle. Not surprisingly, the WWE chose not to renew Nash's contract, and Nash's contract expired on December 31, 2003. Nash has stated in an interview that he spoke with Vince McMahon about working for the company backstage in a creative capacity, but he felt that it would take too much time away from his family so he declined. He is one of the few former WWF/WWE wrestlers who still has an amicable relationship with McMahon.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Nash and Scott Hall were reunited on February 20, 2004 when they teamed together in a loss to Christopher Daniels and Tom Howard at the fifth Ultimate Pro Wrestling anniversary show. On May 8 of that year, Nash and Hall travelled to Japan to wrestle for the Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX promotion. They were defeated by Naoya Ogawa and Shinya Hashimoto in the main event of Hustle-3 in the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama.

Nash debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling alongside the returning Scott Hall on November 7, 2004 at the inaugural monthly TNA pay-per-view, TNA Victory Road 2004, with the duo helping NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett retain his title in a ladder match with Jeff Hardy. In subsequent weeks, the trio identified themselves as the Kings of Wrestling, and began feuding with Jeff Hardy and A.J. Styles. At TNA Turning Point 2004 on December 5, 2004, the Kings of Wrestling were defeated by Hardy, Style and Randy Savage.

Hall left TNA in early 2005, and Nash and Jarrett separated after Nash made clear his desire to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Nash received a title shot against Jarrett on February 13, 2005 at TNA Against All Odds 2005, but lost following interference from the debuting Outlaw. Following the defeat, Nash joined forces with Sean Waltman and began feuding with the newly formed Planet Jarrett. At TNA Destination X 2005 on March 13, 2005, Nash lost to The Outlaw in a first blood match following interference from Jarrett, who struck Nash with his title belt. The rivalry between Planet Jarrett and Nash and his allies culminated in a scheduled Lethal Lockdown match at TNA Lockdown 2005 on April 24, 2005 pitting Nash, Waltman and Diamond Dallas Page against Jarrett, The Outlaw and "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown. However, Nash was removed from the card and replaced with B.G. James after contracting a staph infection, which left him sidelined for much of 2005.

Nash returned to TNA on October 1, 2005 on the first episode of TNA iMPACT! to be aired on Spike TV, attacking and powerbombing Jarrett. Nash went on to challenge Jarrett to a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA Bound For Glory 2005 on October 23, 2005. In the weeks preceding the event, Nash and Jarrett had several heated confrontations, on one occasions brawling with one another and with guest referee Tito Ortiz. On October 22, 2005, one day before Bound For Glory, Nash was hospitalized with chest pains. At Bound For Glory, Nash was replaced by Rhino, who defeated Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Nash was later discharged from hospital, having suffered a mild cardiac episode. He made a partial return to the ring in December 2005, wrestling several matches on a tour of South Africa.

Nash returned to TNA once more on the April 27, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, announcing in a pre-taped segment that he would give a private interview to Alex Shelley one week later. The interview saw Nash claim to be the most profitable WWF World Heavyweight Champion of all time and describe the X Division as "basically filler". Nash went on to announce that he intended to destroy the X Division in order to re-assert his position within TNA. He began his campaign at TNA Sacrifice 2006 on May 14, 2006, powerbombing Puma, and continued his campaign on the May 19 episode of iMPACT! by attacking Chris Sabin shortly after he had defeated Petey Williams to win the TNA 2006 World X Cup Tournament for Team USA. After destroying the World X Cup trophy and powerbombing Sabin, Nash informed the supine Sabin that "size matters!" Nash continued to attack X Division wrestlers over subsequent weeks, leading to Sabin challenging him to a match at TNA Slammiversary 2006. Nash's attacks were also coupled with pre-taped segments with Shelley (some appearing only on the internet website YouTube) and his "X Division debut" on the June 15 episode of iMPACT, where Nash wrestled a comedy match against a midget Shelley dubbed a "Sabin-type wrestler". Nash defeated Sabin at Slammiversary in his second televised match in almost a year, albeit with the assistance of Shelley.

Acting career

Filmography

The Secret of the Ooze (1991) as "Super Shredder"
Family Plan (1998) as "Jackhammer Worker"
The Punisher (2004) as "The Russian"
The Longest Yard (2005) as "Guard Engleheart
Grandma's Boy (2006) as "Mover #2"
Dead or Alive (2006) as "Bass Armstrong"

Television appearances

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (May 9, 1997) in episode "The Crucible" as "Giant"
The Next Wave (October 23, 1998) in episode "Captains Courageous" as "Rocky Williams"
Nikki (November 26, 2000) in episode "Stealing Nikki" as "The Big Easy"
Nikki (December 9, 2001 ) in episode "Gimme Shelter" as "The Big Easy"

Wrestling facts

Finishing and signature moves

Jackknife Powerbomb (Release powerbomb)
Walking sidewalk slam / Emerald City Slam (as Oz)
Airplane spin
Big boot
Chokeslam
Snake eyes
- Managers

Big Daddy Cool (WWF)
Big Kev (WCW)
Big Sexy (WCW, TNA)
The Giant Killer (WCW)
The Giant Slayer (WCW)
The Great and Powerful (WCW)
Lord Master (WCW)
The Outsider (WCW)
The Silver Fox (TNA)
The Sexecutioner (WCW)
The Seven Foot Juggernaut (TNA)
The Streak Ender (WCW)

Championships and accomplishments

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him #1 in the 1995 PWI 500
PWI ranked him # 59 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
PWI ranked him # 40 of the best tag teams of the PWI Years, with Scott Hall
PWI ranked him # 55 of the best tag teams of the PWI Years , with Shawn Michaels
PWI Most Improved Wrestler (1994)
PWI Match of the Year, versus Shawn Michaels (1995)
PWI Wrestler of the Year (1995)
PWI Tag Team of the Year, with Scott Hall (1997)
- World Championship Wrestling