Kevin Nash Talks Having Heat With Eric Bischoff In WCW, Bischoff Pitching Him NWO Idea
The nWo is arguably the most popular faction in the history of professional wrestling. Kevin Nash joined Sean Waltman on an episode of the X-Pac 12360 podcast and explained how the idea came about.
Nash said that he and Eric Bischoff had a rocky relationship stemming from Nash's first stint with WCW. When Nash jumped ship to the WWE, Bischoff took personal offense because Nash initially told him he was going to stay. Nash explained that Bischoff wasn't the boss of WCW at the time, so saying he was going to stay didn't obligate him to keep his word.
"He and I didn't have a relationship, in fact, I actually had heat with him. I was trying to get out of my contract when I was Vinnie Vegas and he said to me that I had talent and that he was going to try and take over this place and that I should stick around; of course I didn't believe he would take it over," Nash said. "He told me that he had heat with me because I told him that I would stick around but then requested for my release the next day, so he told me he was disappointed in me because I told him that I was staying, but I told him, you were an announcer, it wasn't like you were the boss. It's one thing to lie to the boss, but I was just trying to get out of the office alive, and go use the fax machine down the hall to get my release."
Nash returned to WCW and founded nWo alongside Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall in 1996 and quickly rose to the top of the company. The nWo had a wildly successful run over the next three years and established WCW as the top pro-wrestling promotion. Nash revealed that the stable was all Bischoff's idea and he ran with it because he felt a sense of stability for the first time in his career with WCW.
"It was actually Eric's idea. Eric pitched it to me. He came out to Scottsdale, Arizona and pitched the idea," Nash explained. "I remember them doing something similar in Japan but it wasn't that big of a deal; it was effective but it wasn't to what the nWo became, so I said okay. I mean, all I am knowing is that I am getting guaranteed money and it's a lot. For the first time in my life, I am actually going to be able to budget my money because I knew exactly what I was receiving before coming in."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit X-Pack 12360 with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: X-Pac 12360
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.