http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/201...g-Kevin-Nash-on-Diesel-creation-of-Undertaker
Kevin Nash Analyzes Championship Run as Diesel
Kevin Nash made his decision to jump to WCW while he was WWE champion as Diesel.
“They never went with me,” explained Nash, who reigned as WWE champion for 358 days after defeating Bob Backlund on Nov. 26, 1994.
“Yes, they made me a household name,” said Nash. “At the same time, they didn’t do what they said they were going to do. I was told they wouldn’t take the belt off me for three years.”
Nash was disappointed that, as world champ and the face of the company, he did not headline WrestleMania XI against Shawn Michaels. The main event was Bam Bam Bigelow against NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor.
“That’s another thing the office did, and they did that all the time,” said Nash. “All those things added up to 1996 when it was time to leave, and I left. I love Vince McMahon and what he and the company did for me. I wouldn’t have been in the position to get the money I did from [Ted] Turner if it wasn’t for Vince. Vince is very smart, and that’s why he didn’t go with me 100 percent. He wasn’t sure if I would draw well, and I didn’t draw well.
“At that point, wrestling was dying. The Hulkamania era was over for Vince, and he was looking for the next big thing. A lot of his guys were working as occupations. There were a couple stars, and then there was a pig farmer, a dentist and a plumber.”
Nash, whose title reign is often compared to Roman Reigns’ time with the belt, was unique in the sense that Nash had very little experience in the business when he was made champ.
“When I became the world champion, I guarantee you that I had less than 150 matches,” explained Nash. “I was green, and this was also the period of time where we were being drug tested. The government was really down our throat. You were not allowed to use anything. Period. A guy like me now could probably get away with being on hormone replacement, but back then there was no leeway. As everybody whittled down during the time of the trial, I was still 315 pounds. I was the same size, and that had a lot to do with me getting the push.”
Nash was built as an indestructible force, which at 6’10” and over 300 pounds, naturally suited him and played to his strengths as a performer. As champion, however, he transitioned from a devastating heel to a lovable babyface, which manifested in creative frustration.
“They built the Diesel character in Providence at the [1994] Royal Rumble when I lasted over 17 minutes and eliminated a few guys in a row, and then they basically castrated it as champ when they put a Santa hat on my head and had me sing
I Wish You a Merry Christmas to the Titan Tower and WWE employees.”
Nash’s title reign began in earnest in November ’94, but he knew that there would be creative differences by that January as he defended the title against Bret “The Hitman” Hart at the Royal Rumble. The match was plagued by outside interference and ended in a draw.
“I went to a draw in my first pay-per-view match as world champion,” remarked Nash. “A draw. As a performer, you know then that they’re not going with you. If they were going with me, I’d have beat Bret. You can use run-ins to cause the win, but I’d have to beat Bret, and I didn’t. From there, I went on the road with Backlund and [King Kong] Bundy as my house opponents. That’s not exactly setting the world on fire. Bundy is a great guy and he’s great in a certain role, but for me, there is nothing I can do with him. I can’t chain wrestle, I can’t pick him up, I can’t toss him around. Then they brought Jeff [Jarrett] and Road Dogg [Jesse James] in so they could bump and feed. That was a lot better.”
Nash dropped the belt to Hart at the 1995
Survivor Series. Before Hart knew of the plans, however, McMahon called Nash into his office to discuss Nash’s future as champion.
“They brought me up to WWE Headquarters, which was called Titan Tower at the time, and Vince went into this elaborate idea of me fighting Mike Tyson in Central Park,” said Nash. “I asked him, ‘How much am I going to get paid?’ Vince said it was for charity, and I said, ‘F---. I ain’t fighting Mike Tyson and getting knocked the f--- out for charity.’ Then he told me, ‘By the way, you’re going to drop the strap to Bret at
Survivor Series because we’re going to put it on Shawn at WrestleMania.’
“It was an incredible smoke-and-mirrors move. So, I asked him, we just went over a bunch of horses--- for an hour to distract me? I didn’t care about losing the belt or getting it back. I’m not a mark. If you want to beat me, beat me—as long as I can turn my character back after I get beat.”
By this point in his career, Nash was more confident in character. He made sure he was going to turn heel after his loss to Hart.
“I didn’t ask for permission,” said Nash. “I told the camera guys, ‘Make sure you get a close-up of my face after I lose the belt.’ After I lost, I said, ‘Motherf-----!’ on camera right after Bret beat me.”
Nash left for WCW before the 1996
Survivor Series. He admitted that he wanted Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker to join him, but McMahon was particularly careful with the timing of their contracts.
“As soon as Shawn and ‘Taker got even close to their contracts running up, Vince locked them up,” said Nash. “We never got Shawn to a negotiating point with WCW. Vince couldn’t allow it. He couldn’t let Shawn get to that 90-day window where you had to write a written notice.
“When Scott Hall left, Scott said, ‘I’m giving you my notice, I’m leaving.’ I said, ‘I’m giving you my notice. I’m not going to let the terms of my current contract continue.’”
Nash was willing to stay in WWE, but he wanted McMahon to increase his pay, which he believed did not equate to all the sacrifices he made for McMahon’s company.
“I had a wife who was due,” explained Nash. “I was living year-to-year on whether I got a payday at ‘Mania. I didn’t know what I was going to make, and I’m driving a used Mercedes. Then, all of a sudden, I’m going to get a minimum of $850,000 from WCW, and it was for 180 days, which was considerably more days off than Vince at over 300.
“I was coming from a world where I’d sit in the car and watch guys come back from the phone booth after making a collect call home and say, ‘My kid walked today.’ Then we’d drive off to Binghamton, New York or wherever else. I didn’t want that to be my life. If you’re in this business, you’re already on the road way more than you should be. The majority of our time was Waffle Houses and getting lost with no GPS. You had a map.”
Nash wanted Diesel’s run as champion to change the direction of the business to an environment infused with far more reality-driven storylines, but he ultimately had to wait until he was with WCW to turn that idea into substance.
“Our society is f----- up, and we knew that,” said Nash. “Scott and I were more in tune to pop culture than a lot of the other guys. The Crow was the anti-hero, and there were a lot of anti-heroes. Look at the movie
Heat. At the end, when Pacino is chasing De Niro through LAX, there is nobody in the f------ theater rooting for Pacino, and De Niro was the heel. That was our society, and we knew that.”