Thursday, August 25, 2011

Why is Kevin Nash Only Entertaining in Stables?

By Brian Phelps

You know, I don't know if I'm the only guy that has put this together about Kevin Nash, but it seems like Nash is only entertaining to watch when he is in a group or stable. When he is by himself, he is just boring... but for some reason in a faction or group he comes off more cool. Let's be real, how many great Kevin Nash matches do we remember? We remember Kevin Nash more for infamous bad matches like the "Finger Poke of Doom" in WCW. What about when he botched a Jack Knife Powerbomb and broke The Giant's (aka WWE's Big Show) neck? Or, who can forget when he beat Goldberg's streak at Starrcade in a horrible finish where Goldberg lost because he got stunned with a taser gun? I mean honestly and no disrespect to Nash, but I can't think of one great Kevin Nash match. We remember Kevin Nash for the factions he was in more than anything.

When he was in his first run with WCW by himself, he was just boring as "Oz" and "Vinnie Vegas". Even then, he was in stable called the "Diamond Mine". But basically from that point on he has always been in stables, and whenever he is by himself without a stable he is just boring. Think about it.

During his first WWF run, he spent most of the time as Shawn Michaels lackey when he was known as "Diesel". Then after he split from Shawn Michaels he became a really boring WWF Champion. Then he defected to WCW and formed a stable with Scott Hall called "the Outsiders", and he was very entertaining. Then Nash and Hall joined up with Hulk Hogan and formed the NWO stable. Then, he broke apart from the original NWO faction and formed the NWO Wolfpac (where he was at his most popular, and truly put him over as an entertaining singles competitor). Then, when the NWO broke up he was just boring again. Then, NWO 2000 formed with Nash joining up with Jeff Jarrett, Scott Hall, and Bret Hart. When that fizzled out, he was boring Kevin Nash again. Then for a short period before WCW's demise he joined up with Diamond Dallas Page and formed a team called "the Insiders" and was entertaining again. After WCW's demise, he returned to the WWF/E and reformed the original NWO Stable with Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan and he was cool again. After the NWO fizzled out again, he went solo and wound up in a boring feud with Triple H resulting in a Hell in a Cell match that no one really remembers. Then he left WWE for TNA. There, he formed a stable called the "Kings of Wrestling" with Scott Hall and Jeff Jarrett (not to be confused with Ring of Honor's Kings of Wrestling tag team). After that ended, Nash went solo in TNA and was fairly boring for several years until Kevin Nash joined the "Main Event Mafia" stable with Booker T, Scott Steiner, Sting, and Kurt Angle. After that ended, Kevin Nash was boring again until Scott Hall and X-Pac showed up in TNA and they formed "the Band" (which was the NWO under a different name)... after that fizzled out Nash then rekindled the "Wolfpack" with Sting. Then he left TNA and returned to the WWE and took out CM Punk, and is currently presumed to be in some sort of a possible alliance with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and John Laurinitis.
In closing, I mean no disrespect towards Kevin Nash. Nash is a certified wrestling legend. It's been said by Ric Flair that Kevin Nash is not a talented wrestler, but was just a good looking big man who just happened to be in the right place at the right time when he showed up in the WWE in 1994. I would agree that Nash did come along at a time when the WWE was in a state of rebuilding and needed big men as the days of Andre the Giant and One Man Gang were gone. Kevin Nash was cool as Diesel, but we remember him less as a great wrestler and more as Shawn Michaels bodyguard. We remember him as Hogan's back up in the NWO. We remember him in TNA as the number 4 guy in the Main Event Mafia after Kurt Angle, Sting, and Booker T... but ahead of Scott Steiner. Don't get me wrong because I'm a big Kevin Nash fan. However, I just am able to realize that without the factions... without being a bodyguard or an outsider... that Kevin Nash probably would not have been a household name. Without Shawn Michaels giving him "the rub", Diesel probably would have just been another decent big man that never hit the next level like Crush or Wrath (aka Adam Bomb), or a flash in the pan... fly by night big man like Kurgan or Nathan Jones. Nevertheless, I can't take anything away from Kevin Nash because even at his most boring... is still fairly entertaining.

Here's a run down of Kevin Nash's multitude of teams and stables throughout the years

Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels (WWF 1994?)

Kevin Nash and the Kliq (WWF circa 1995?)

Kevin Nash in original nWo (WCW 1996)

Kevin Nash in nWo Wolfpack (WCW 1998)

Kevin Nash in nWo 2000 (WCW 2000)

Kevin Nash in The Insiders (WCW 2000-2001)

Kevin Nash in WWE's nWo (WWE 2002)


Kevin Nash in Kings of Wrestling (TNA 2004)

Kevin Nash in Paparazzi Productions (TNA 2006)

Kevin Nash in Main Event Mafia (TNA 2008)

Kevin Nash in The Band aka TNA's nWo (TNA 2010)

Kevin Nash in TNA's Wolfpack (TNA 2010)












1 comment:

  1. Lets agree to diagree on this one. I think Nash wrestles a very interested style. I like his moves, he really puts over the "big man" aspect of his matches really well.

    Was Nash better in stables, well yeah, mainly because he was the front runner most of the time. I like Nash all around, he's a good singles competitor and a very good guy on the mic as well. To see Punk go toe to toe with Nash won't be the most exciting match(if it even happens) but will be exciting to see.

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