Kevin Nash was one of the biggest stars in WWE and WCW in the 1990s. The seven foot tall former basketball player became the WWE Champion in 1994 as the alpha male, biker called Diesel. Big Daddy Cool main evented multiple WWE shows until his contract ran out in 1995, and he moved over to WCW.
In WCW, he made a huge splash by debuting alongside Scott Hall as the invading forces known as The Outsiders. Seen as WWE stars taking over WCW (Although not said, WWE did take WCW to court over gimmick infringement), they started the most influential and hottest storyline in maybe the history of wrestling, all thanks to the perception that Hall and Nash jumping ship to WCW was “real”.
In one segment on WCW Monday Nitro, Scott Hall joined Kevin Nash as he ran through the crowd holding baseball bats. The pair threatened the WCW roster with their weaponry, including some of the top stars like WCW legend Sting. Fans were incensed and thought that the WWE superstars were invading WCW Nitro, and believed that the pair could take down the whole company if they wanted to.
Hall and Nash later recruited wrestling’s biggest superstar Hulk Hogan into their group, forming the New World Order at Bash of the Beach 1996. Being a former WWE star, Hogan formed a natural extension tot he group and continued the storying that had turned Nash from big WWE star to nationwide icon.
The NWO made all three men megastars, but Kevin Nash knew that this run would not last forever. In fact, it was even before the formation of the NWO that he knew that they were doomed.
Kevin Nash on WWE beating WCW
On the recent episode of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions, Kevin Nash was the featured guest. The two-time Hall of Famer sat down with Stone Cold Steve Austin to discuss his career, from his start as a basketball player in Europe to being at the top oft he world in WWE and WCW.
One thing that Steve Austin and Kevin Nash spoke about was Nash’s time in WCW. In the interview Kevin Nash revealed the incredible moment where he knew that the WWE would beat WCW. He pin pointed the exact time, which curiously came when WCW were dominating in the ratings and he and Scott Hall were two of the hottest wrestlers in the entire business.
Kevin Nash revealed that the moment came when he and Scott Hall ran through the crowd and threatened all the top stars of WCW with baseball bats. The fans went wild and thought that the two Outsiders were coming in to destroy the company, and believed that they could. That is where Nash identified the issue.
“‘Dude, do you realize what happened tonight? The perception that two guys from WWE jumped ship and are going to take over your company — the people believe that.” Kevin Nash told Eric Bischoff after Bischoff bragged about the incredible ratings and how he wanted to put WWE out of business.
“They think two guys can beat 100. No, you’re not gonna put him out of business.”
Nash noted that the perception in the fans eyes was still that of WWE over WCW. The fans knew in their hearts that two WWE stars could defeat WCW, and that perception bled into the nations view on either company.
Later, Vince McMahon would secure Mike Tyson in a main event feud with Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 14. Nash confessed that at this point, he had known that Vince had waited to make his move and that he had played his hand perfectly. It would take a while but that was going to be the death of WCW.
Kevin Nash and Steve Austin
The Steve Austin and Kevin Nash interview is available to watch on the WWE Network. Click here to go to the network and sign up to watch the interview in full.
What did you think about Kevin Nash and Steve Austin’s interview? Do you think he was right about Kevin Nash moment when he knew WWE beat WCW? Let us know in the comments or click below to read more
