Kevin Nash Talks WWE Not Going With Him As Champ, How Vince McMahon Told Him He Was Losing The Belt
Sports Illustrated interviewed former WWE Champion Kevin Nash for their "Week in Wrestling" feature. During the interview, Nash went in-depth about WWE not fully going with him as WWE Champion and noted they told him he would hold the belt for three years (his reign lasted 358 days). Below are a couple of highlights:
Being "castrated" as champion:
"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.
"I went to a draw in my first pay-per-view match as world champion. 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."
Vince McMahon telling him he would be dropping the belt:
"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. 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."
Nash also discussed turning heel after losing the belt, why he left for WCW, wanting to take others with him and more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.
Source: Sports Illustrated