Kevin Nash On Why His Match With CM Punk Was Cancelled

[Jack-Hammer]

I ran across this a few minutes ago and it was a pretty interesting little read. Nash was having an interview with PWTorch's Wade Keller and the subject of his match with CM Punk came up:

"I'll tell you what nobody knows about this entire thing. I never went into it and WWE never went into it because of the privacy issue. What happened was, because of the Wellness Program, because my dad died of a heart attack at 36 years old, they do beyond a thorough physical. Well, my heart and everything else was fine, but I'm on Plavix and Plavix is a blood platelet agulator; they call it a blood thinner. It's not, it stops your platelets from sticking together so you don't get cardiovascular disease and blockages in your arteries and have a heart attack. it's also for stroke. It's very common to take with a statin drug if you have anybody in your heredity who died before 50 let alone having a father who died of a massive coronary at age 36."


"So I was on Plavix. So this comes through. When the doctor sees I'm on Plavix, I can't wrestle. So now I'm supposed to wrestle C.M. Punk. I can't. They won't medically clear me. Triple H has to take my spot. It screws up the entire angle. That's how all that came about. WWE would never - because that's the class of the program - let that come out, but I need to make sure people realize it wasn't Creative's [fault], it was that a 52 year old guy was on Plavix and I had to go off it. I had to be off it for a certain amount of time before I could go back to work. It just so happened that I was finishing the Soderbergh film "Magic Mike" at the time, and I had to go shoot that, so it coincided with me going away for a while. I took the shot with the sledgehammer in Buffalo at Night of Champions and that got me away until I could be clear, and then I came back and we went into the match with Paul [Triple H] and I. At that point, Phil [C.M. Punk] and I sort of missed our opportunity to have that match. That's the true untold story that I give only Wade Keller (laughs)."

I suppose the WWE was just being extra cautious with when it comes to Nash. I've read articles in which the medical exams conducted by WWE go into extreme detail, which is a good thing when you take everything into consideration.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

That's actually pretty cool to know, since I hate how that whole angle played out.

It still doesn't change the fact that he could have been some kind of enforcer on a John Laurinitis faction or something. Not to mention, since he came back and had that match with Triple H, why did they just finish up with him right there? If the angle keeps going, a match with Punk still could've been worked to...

It's good that he cleared up that some of this is not creative's fault - let's face it, medical reasons have stopped a lot of things from happening - but that doesn't let creative completely off the hook IMO. What about Miz/Truth vs Cena/Rock? That was bad too. But I guess that's all The Miz's fault...

 

[VinnieSunshine]

I love how WWE then just let the blame fall of creative doing a terrible job of screwing the angle up. Vince has too much pride to say "hey, things happened and thats why we couldn't do it the way we wanted to".

I kinda had a feeling something happened behind the scenes to make the angle go as dumb as it did.

Kudos to Nash for coming out and telling us that it wasn't creatives fault...that it wasn't ANYONE'S fault.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

I love how WWE then just let the blame fall of creative doing a terrible job of screwing the angle up. Vince has too much pride to say "hey, things happened and thats why we couldn't do it the way we wanted to".

I don't remember WWE blaming anyone. Everyone knew the reason Nash wasn't able to compete was a medical issue of some sort, I believe even on RAW Triple H cancelled the match due to a medical issue Nash couldn't alter. There wasn't even a report that WWE or Vince was blaming Creative, they went with a different direction in the angle when Nash was fit to compete.

Well done to Kevin for at least clearing it up. Nice to see the dude takes care of himself, for a 52-year-old man he is in great physical condition and even in the Ladder Match with Hunter he did a great job, I enjoyed their match and I liked seeing Nash back in the ring at the highest level. Would have enjoyed a longer Nash/Punk program with a match but that's how the story goes, don't fuss over spilt milk.

 

[ShawnBronald]

It's sad that Nash's physical condition has ruined a few great (yes, great) WWE angles. Because Nash has bad knees, the nWo angle had to be scrapped. Even before it was scrapped, his injury totally derailed it. Now this? The Punk/Nash/HHH thing could have been cool. Obviously I'm not blaming him for having to take this medication, it's important that he was on it. I'm just saying that, because of a physical issue beyond Nash's control, another great angle was totally ruined.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Good on WWE for being thorough with their medical examinations. Also, good on WWE for keeping this news private, instead of corporate posting a "Kevin Nash has failed a wellness test" news blurb and entering the IWC into a new anti-Nash era. They probably could have solved this all earlier if Nash had been upfront and told them what he was on ahead of time - then again since he was in TNA for so long he probably didn't even think anything of it. The meds aren't a big deal, and help him stay alive, so I don't think any true harm was done here. I don't know what effect they have on the body as far as limiting a wrestling match goes, but I almost question him going off them just to wrestle Triple H at TLC.

Plus, let's be honest here... I'm sure I wasn't the only person who didn't want to see CM Punk and Kevin Nash wrestle a match. They were able to disguise Nash's mobility in the ladder match at TLC, but they would have been much more exposed in a straight match with Punk - a smaller, more athletic worker. Of course I was upset with how the angle turned out, since months of planning and a fantastic few months for Punk were kind of slowed down by this unforeseen hiccup, but in retrospect I don't think good was going to come from the program either way...

 

[sTyLnK]

I don't blame the WWE. Their program is top notch and they take it very seriously. The wrestlers know this. So while a lot of the IWC fans get all whiny about Evan Bourne for example saying weed is fine etc. Remember this. Every single wrestler in the company knows what they can't use, even if it's something like weed. They know the risks, so if they don't want to give it up, don't be in the company. It's pretty simple.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

Well it makes sense. The last kind of press the WWE needs is someone dying in the ring because the performer shouldn't have been medically cleared to wrestle. People are still "hurr durr Chris Benoit," so it logically follows that they'd take the extra precautions to see that nothing messed up ever happens.

 

[UFOcalling]

It's great that Nash took some of the heat off of WWE creative with this explanation, but it seems a bit odd to me. I wonder why the WWE would have Nash appear on TV at all without first making sure he was 100% clear to wrestle. The other thing that baffles me is why he was cleared to wrestle for the Royal Rumble in 2011? ...wouldn't you think that they would have caught this "problem" with his meds back then? Did Nash work the Rumble when he wasn't cleared to do so?

Maybe the explanation is that Nash didn't start taking these meds until after the Rumble...but even then, you'd think that Nash would have had to notify the WWE concerning any prescription medication(s) he was taking (or about to start taking). You'd think, at least, that would have been the responsible thing to do. I dunno, this all seems pretty confusing to me.

 

[GameOver]

then that begs the question if he was unfit to wrestle, how did they not know b4hand and thus not even bother with the storyline in first place.

and he did still wrestle Triple H later and it was a disaster so battling CM Punk IMO would've been a total bust, least Triple H is better at the slower slugfest type of matches so they could just pull it off.

 

[Wrestlemania 20-0]

Kevin Nash and Punk are the record in WWE history in triple crown champion,240 days for Kevin and 204 for Punk.
It's an reason because Nash want to fight Punk,jealousy for this record.

 

[Merkin353]

Simply put it WAS the WWEs fault this storyline bombed... They should have known Nash was on this medication & not gave the green light on the story... They forced it & it blew up in their face... It also degraded Punks push & confused most watching... Just so HHH could go over Punk in the end...

 

[Pedigree1]

First of all i had no idea Nash pops died so young at 36 of a heart attack. That in itself is scary to think about. Now the whole angle why the match never materialized makes alot of sense now!! Thank you Kevin for clearing this up and having the kudos for being truthful.

Now IMO creative is not completely off the hook on this one!! With HHH explaining to us awhile back that nash had some sort of medical issue now this makes sense. The match could have still happened IMO at raw a few weeks later but then again thats my opinion. But Punk did say he wasn't mad at Nash for doing that to him so the feud ehhh really i dont miss that it never happened.

Good thread and thank you kevin for clearing the air

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I love how WWE then just let the blame fall of creative doing a terrible job of screwing the angle up. Vince has too much pride to say "hey, things happened and thats why we couldn't do it the way we wanted to".

I kinda had a feeling something happened behind the scenes to make the angle go as dumb as it did.

Kudos to Nash for coming out and telling us that it wasn't creatives fault...that it wasn't ANYONE'S fault.

When the fuck did the WWE blame anyone? I think you mean to say "I love how the ******s on here blame the creative team when these are human being an often times things come up. They run a show 24/7 and things happen. They do a pretty good job when you think of all the variables they deal with".

Seriously dude, where do you get the idea that WWE ever came out and blamed anyone? Please show me the source.

I like that Nash came out with this. He's really smart, he understands business and THE business as they call it.

 

[iwinulose]

lol what? i swear when this was happening everyone was bitching about Nash!? now everyone say's they wish the angle had played out and that Nash and punk had of had their match? well fuck logic i suppose...... i'm personally glad that punk didn't step into the ring with a dinosaur (Nash)........... i mean, that would have put punk at great risk of injury plus Nash can't actually wrestle even a half decent match. Nash vs HHH was even a bad idea, i mean at least HHH can carry someone through a match but still..... Hopefully Nash doesn't come back any time soon (or ever) like unless they put him in the HOF.......

And on one final note kudos to the wwe for testing so thoroughly, i mean what is Nash would have had a heart attack or something in the middle of the ring!? Linda wouldn't like that...............

 

[iwinulose]

When the fuck did the WWE blame anyone? I think you mean to say "I love how the ******s on here blame the creative team when these are human being an often times things come up. They run a show 24/7 and things happen. They do a pretty good job when you think of all the variables they deal with".

Seriously dude, where do you get the idea that WWE ever came out and blamed anyone? Please show me the source.

I like that Nash came out with this. He's really smart, he understands business and THE business as they call it.

what about survivor series just last year when the miz was blamed for a low draw rate? how quickly we forget that. But apparently the miz hurt the draw rate!? Despite the rock being on the card yet nope it's all the miz's fault.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Okay, so that's the reason this particular program fell apart....at least, apparently, since we never really know whether celebrities are telling the truth in their public announcements. At least his explanation seems plausible.

But does any of it have to do with why Nash is no longer with the company? Is it true that he isn't? I don't understand the whole thing; I thought a Legends contract was essentially "forever." That Nash spent all those months after his intro at the Royal Rumble being totally inactive fortified the notion he was on a lifetime contract as a legend that required very little of him.

If that's so, why is he not working for WWE now? Did this Plavix business make him angry? Did it piss off the company? Or was Nash's employment always planned as a short-term measure with tons of down-time right at the beginning?

It would be good to know, now that Nash is apparently sending out feelers to TNA about working there.

What gives?

 

[Mark Gallows]

Okay, so that's the reason this particular program fell apart....at least, apparently, since we never really know whether celebrities are telling the truth in their public announcements. At least his explanation seems plausible.

But does any of it have to do with why Nash is no longer with the company? Is it true that he isn't? I don't understand the whole thing; I thought a Legends contract was essentially "forever." That Nash spent all those months after his intro at the Royal Rumble being totally inactive fortified the notion he was on a lifetime contract as a legend that required very little of him.

If that's so, why is he not working for WWE now? Did this Plavix business make him angry? Did it piss off the company? Or was Nash's employment always planned as a short-term measure with tons of down-time right at the beginning?

It would be good to know, now that Nash is apparently sending out feelers to TNA about working there.

What gives?

A Legend's contract is more of a merchandising/licensing agreement than the kind of contract Punk/Truth/etc have. Honky Tonk Man is on a legend's contract, so they can use him for games etc but he's not going to be appearing on TV any time soon (I wouldn't think). Probably the same deal for Nash.

What you guys are forgetting, if you're on a blood thinner like that and you get a cut you'll bleed out alot faster than someone not on Plavicks, the blood also takes alot longer to coagulate, even a small cut on something like that is real dangerous. My guess would be he was allowed to do the Rumble because it was a short appearance and he could be protected, his match with Punk would've had alot more variables, and imo, Nash would've had to have taken alot more bumps in that match to make Punk going over belivable.

 

[The Third Man]

I was hoping they would do something like that at the time and am glad the plans were changed due to a medical issue rather than creative bungling.

Still, you would think the biggest wrestling organization on the planet would make sure stuff like that is clear BEFORE they actually start the angle on TV. It led to a very underwhelming conclusion, to say the least.