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Kevin Nash

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Kevin Nash United States
Born (1959-07-09) July 9, 1959 (age 65)
Detroit, Michigan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Diesel
Kevin Nash
Oz
Steel
Vinnie Vegas
Billed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Billed weight325 lb (147 kg)
Billed fromDetroit, Michigan
Las Vegas, Nevada (as Vinnie Vegas)
Emerald City (as Oz)
Steel Mines (as Steel)
Trained byJody Hamilton
DebutSeptember 14 1990

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/ World Wrestling Entertainment and, currently, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Biography

Early life

Nash was born in Trenton, Michigan. 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 basketball team. 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 1981 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.

World Championship Wrestling (1990-1993)

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 shark, 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 (1993-1996)

In 1993, Nash left WCW, signing a contract with the World Wrestling Federation at the request of Shawn Michaels.[1]. Nash made his WWF debut at a house show on June 6, 1993, assisting Michaels in defeating Marty Jannetty for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Nash was given the character of Diesel, the heel bodyguard of Shawn Michaels, dyeing his hair and beard black in the process. The following January, Diesel appeared at the 1994 Royal Rumble, eliminating seven men in under 18 minutes of in-ring time.

Diesel won the Intercontinental Championship from Scott Hall, who was then wrestling under the name Razor Ramon, on April 13, 1994 in Rochester, New York following interference from Michaels. 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.

File:Hug MSG Incident.jpg
The MSG Incident.

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 In Your House 3: 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 (kayfabe), 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. As the eighteenth WWE Champion, Diesel had the longest reign as WWE Champion since Randy Savage's first reign, and this was the longest until John Cena's third reign. 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 In Your House: 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 on 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 Kliq" 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 (though Nash claims it was approved by Vince McMahon) , as it showed heels and faces consorting with one another. Shortly thereafter, Diesel and Ramon left the WWF and joined WCW.

World Championship Wrestling (1996-2001)

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 pushed them as "invaders" from the WWF (the WWF legal team eventually filed suit against 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. With Hulk Hogan, they formed the New World Order (nWo). This angle helped 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 1990s.

Through late 1996, and into 1997, Nash normally teamed with close friend Scott Hall as the Outsiders, and they held the WCW tag-team titles off and on for the better part of a year. Kevin Nash also began to show his leadership qualities in the nWo, and became a sort of "second in command" alongside Hulk Hogan. Kevin, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman distinguished themselves from the rest of the nWo, calling themselves the "Wolf Pac" in 1997.

After a while, however, the nWo began to fight within its ranks, with Hogan and Nash battling for control. The situation came to a head on April 20, 1998, during a match between Hogan and recent nWo inductee (and rival) Randy Savage for Savage's recently won WCW World Championship. During the match, Nash interfered on Savage's behalf and jackknifed Hogan to the mat, signaling the breakup of the nWo into two separate factions. (Nash's interference was not enough, however, to prevent Hogan from regaining his championship, thanks to Bret Hart's interference shortly thereafter).

Nash became the leader of nWo Wolfpac, alongside Savage, Curt Hennig, and Konnan. However, Hennig shortly thereafter defected over to Hogan's nWo Hollywood faction. Then, during a match between Hall and Nash and Sting and The Giant (who had recently rejoined the nWo after being kicked out two years prior), Hall turned on Nash by hitting him with his tag team title belt and leaving the ring. However, the Wolfpac wasn't down for long as Lex Luger joined with Nash's team. Sting would eventually become a member as well, after being recruited heavily by both sides towards the middle of 1998.

After Sting won Giant's half of the tag team titles at the Great American Bash that June, Nash became Sting's partner. They would defend the championships until July 20, 1998 when they were defeated by Hall and the Giant. Nash then set his sights on his former partner, and the rivalry came to a head at Halloween Havoc on October 25, 1998. During the course of the match, Nash jackknifed Hall twice, but instead of pinning him left the ring, taking a count-out loss.

The next month at World War 3, Nash entered the 60-man, three ring battle royal that was a staple of the pay-per-view, with the winner getting a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Starrcade the following month. Nash survived to the end, and earned his shot at the title.

At Starrcade 1998, Nash would capitalize on his opportunity, and won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg. In doing so, Nash managed to break Goldberg's long running undefeated streak. Also, in doing so, Nash won controversially. Goldberg was setting up for a spear late in the match when Hall, who was still a member of nWo Hollywood at the time, shocked Goldberg with a taser while he was in the corner. Nash pinned the incapacitated Goldberg to win his second world championship and his first since 1994.

On January 4, 1999, Nash was to face Goldberg in a Starrcade rematch, but the match didn't happen because of Goldberg being arrested for stalking Miss Elizabeth (kayfabe). That night also marked the return of Hulk Hogan to the show after his "retirement" two months prior. With Goldberg unable to wrestle, Nash challenged Hogan instead for the championship. In a controversial moment known as "The Fingerpoke of Doom", Hogan took his finger and poked Nash in the chest, 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 angles for WCW. Nash's booking abilities are widely considered as one of the many reasons the quality of wrestling in WCW suffered while he was lead booker. It has been stated many times that Vince McMahon secretly paid Nash to destroy WCW from the inside. In his 2006 autobiography, Controversy Creates Cash, former WCW President Eric Bischoff criticized Nash's work ethic, dubbing him "Big Lazy" (a reference to Nash's nickname, "Big Sexy"). The name had previously been coined by the Honky Tonk Man on several radio interviews.

Nash would eventually win the WCW Championship again in 1999 from Diamond Dallas Page, and the nWo would disintegrate. He would then find himself in a rivalry with the returning Randy Savage, who was now heel with a new attitude and look, and his partner Sid Vicious. This rivalry culminated in a tag team match featuring Nash and Sting vs. Savage and Sid, in which Nash lost the championship via pinfall by Savage. Nash would get his revenge the next night in a title match between Savage and the returning Hulk Hogan, and in an eerily similar situation to Savage's first title defense from the previous year, he used a Jackknife on Savage, preserving the victory for Hogan.

DDP & Nash

The following week, however, Nash turned heel and attacked Hogan during a match, aligning himself with Sid and Savage against Hogan, Sting, and a returning Goldberg. This ran until Road Wild, where Hogan defeated Nash in a "retirement" match. (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 on August 28, 2000 in Las Cruces, New Mexico in what remains to date the last major title change to occur in the State of New Mexico. However, he would eventually lose it back to Booker T 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, who 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 SuperBrawl, 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/Entertainment (2002-2003)

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 interfered in the main event of the evening, helping Chris Jericho defeat Austin and thus retain the WWF Undisputed Championship.

Nash suffered a biceps injury that put him out of action for several weeks, and almost immediately upon returning, suffered a quadriceps tear in a tag match. Vince McMahon disbanded the nWo following those events. Nash returned in 2003, much to the delight of Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Nash was given an ultimatum at the time due to Shawn Michaels and Triple H feuding. Nash was to choose either Michaels or Triple H to continue as friends with (kayfabe). After Nash would not make the decision, Triple H made the decision for him and turned on him with a low blow. This led to Nash feuding with Triple H for the next few months 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 after being pinned by Jericho following a superkick from Michaels. He then stepped away from in-ring action shortly afterwards due to aggravating a previously existing shoulder injury, 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. WWE chose not to renew Nash's contract.

Independent Scene/Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004-present)

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 2004, Nash and Hall traveled 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, 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 on December 5, 2004, the Kings of Wrestling were defeated by Hardy, Styles, 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, 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 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 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. During his time out, Nash did an interview with WWE.com. He discussed the Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan match which was scheduled for WWE Summerslam 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 on October 23 2005. In the weeks preceding the event, Nash and Jarrett had several heated confrontations, on one occasion 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, a battle royal was held to determine the number one contender which Rhino won who in turn defeated Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Nash was later discharged from the 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 on May 14, 2006, powerbombing Puma, and continued his campaign on the May 19 2006 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, 2006 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.

Around this time, Nash and Alex Shelley formed a stable known as Paparazzi Productions, with Johnny Devine as a cameraman. Nash then decided to go for the X Division championship. He got penciled into a Number One Contendership match for the title against Chris Sabin at Hard Justice. He claimed that he had developed an 840° somersault splash that he would unveil in the match. However, over the weekend, he suffered a mysterious neck injury, supposedly while practicing it with Tito Ortiz, and named Alex Shelley to replace him in the match. Confined to a wheelchair, Nash was helpless as he watched Shelley lose the match to Chris Sabin.

Nash went out of action due to the injury (Nash was actually re-negotiating his contract with TNA), but returned prior to Bound for Glory, and announced The Kevin Nash Open Invitational X Division Gauntlet Battle Royal for Bound for Glory, which was won by Austin Starr. Nash has taken an interest in Starr, which seems to be at the behest of Alex Shelley.

Kevin Nash then worked with the X Division stars in a weekly segment known as the Paparazzi Championship Series (a play on the "Bowl Championship Series"). Despite being portrayed as a heel, Nash's amusing appearances in the PCS and occasional guest commentary turned him into a face. He has also begun continuing these skits along with Dutt and Lethal, in a segment called "Paparazzi Idol". Nash has become a manager of sorts for Jay Lethal, helping him adopt a gimmick where he impersonates "Macho Man" Randy Savage. At TNA Sacrifice 2007, Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt had an altercation. Nash broke it up, but Sonjay kicked him. Sonjay apologized, and Nash forgave him. Dutt then became the "Guru" with Nash humming mantras backstage. Since then, he announced his intentions to begin managing the Motor City Machineguns, but would actually next appear in the role of Dr. Nash, "psychiatrist" and adviser to Kurt and Karen Angle.

At No Surrender 2007, Kurt and Nash had an altercation before Kurt's world title defense against Abyss. Within the month they had forgiven each other, with Nash warning the Angles about how dangerous Sting can be based on Nash's experience feuding with Sting in WCW claiming that "the man's a demon". At Bound for Glory 2007, Nash interfered on Kurt Angle's behalf during his World Title defense against Sting, but it was for naught, as Sting captured the title from Angle via Scorpion Death Drop after fending off Nash and Angle's wife, Karen. The following Thursday on iMPACT, Nash and Angle had an altercation because Angle blamed Nash for him losing the World Title. Angle would eventually attack Nash but Nash would have the last laugh, jackknife powerbombing Angle in the middle of the ring.

Wrestling facts

  • Finishing and signature moves
  • Managers / Wrestlers Managed
  • Nicknames
  • Big Daddy Cool
  • Big Kev
  • Big "D"
  • Big Sexy
  • Dr. Nash
  • Sexy Giant
  • The Giant Killer
  • The Giant Slayer
  • The Great and Powerful
  • Lord Master
  • The Outsider
  • The Leader of the Pack (WolfPack)
  • The Silver Fox
  • The Sexecutioner
  • The Seven Foot Juggernaut
  • The Streak Ender

Championships and accomplishments

  • Most Improved Wrestler award in 1994
  • Most Overrated Wrestler award in 1999
  • Most Overrated Wrestler award in 2000

Acting career

In 1991, Nash made his acting debut in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze as the villain, Super Shredder. He also had a very minor role as a jackhammer worker in the 1998 movie Family Plan.

He was the first choice for the role of Saberetooth in X-Men, however was unable to star due to scheduling conflicts, he was replaced by his stunt man (and, conicidentally, former brief tag team partner in WCW), Tyler Mane.

Nash appeared as The Russian in the 2004 movie adaptation of the Punisher comic books.

He played Guard Englehart in the film The Longest Yard (2005)

He also has appeared in two movies in 2006, DOA: Dead or Alive as Bass Armstrong and in Grandma's Boy.

He made guest appearances in three different TV shows as well. He appeared on one episode each of The Love Boat: The Next Wave (episode "Captains Courageous") and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (episode "The Crucible") and in two episodes of Nikki as The Big Easy (episodes "Gimme Shelter" and "Stealing Nikki").

Personal life

Nash has a son, Tristen, who was born in June 12, 1996 with his wife, Tamara. The couple wed in 1989 and separated in 2000 but have since reconciled. [2] Nash dated WCW Nitro Girl Chae from the late 90s to 2002.[citation needed]

He is best friends with Shawn Michaels,Scott Hall and Paul Levesque (Triple H), the former of whom was instrumental in Nash's WWF signing in 1993. Hall, Michaels and Nash were friends during the entirety of Nash's first WWF run, with Levesque joining the pair in 1995. Along with Sean Waltman, they formed the backstage faction known as the Clique. They all remain very close friends to this day.

References

  1. ^ Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story- p. 176
  2. ^ Stated in the August 2000 issue of WOW Magazine
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