Kevin Nash or Diesel?

[CM Steel]

"Big Sexy" Kevin Nash has been in the wrestling business for over 25 years. After stints as gimmicky charactor's such as the great Oz, and Vinnie Vegas in WCW. Kevin Nash found his nitch in the then-WWF as "big daddy cool" Diesel, the bodyguard of "the heartbreak kid" Shawn Michaels. But after Shawn & Diesel broke-up. Diesel's stock started to rise as a big star and as a WWF champion. Diesel was the new generation era Hulk Hogan, after Hulk Hogan went to Hollywood and then to WCW.

This week reigning WWE champion CM Punk broke "Diesel's" record in days of holding the WWF/E title at number 9 in WWE history. After Diesels last heel run with the WWF. Kevin Nash went to WCW with Scott Hall for more money. And started a wrestling revolution as part of the NEW World Order with Hall & Hogan. As the nWo grew, so did Kevin Nash as a politic king backstage in WCW. Being named a booker in WCW and as the guy who broke Bill Goldberg's winning streak in WCW.

Kevin Nash won the WCW championship a few times just like how Nash won the WWF world title back in the day. But since WCW went out of business, Kevin Nash came back to the WWE with the founding members of the nWo Hogan & Hall. But after only a year and a half back in the WWE. Kevin Nash left the company again to wrestle down south (TNA). Kevin Nash has floated back in the WWE though (thanx to his buddy Triple H). But who will you remember more in depth as a wrestling persona, Kevin Nash or Diesel?

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

It has to be his WCW run under his real name for me. Kevin Nash had a meteoric rise to the top in WWF as Diesel after breaking up with Shawn Michaels, and had a great title run but he definitely had his most success in Duba See Dubya as a founding member of the nWo.

His initial entry to the company as the associate of Scott Hall really did catapult him to the top of the company straight away, and he remained a main event level talent til the company shut down. Nash, Hall and Hogan were the 3 guys in probably the most important storyline in WCW (and arguably in wrestling- along with Austin v McMahon) history, which far outweighs anything he did as Diesel in the then-struggling WWF.

Nash did use his influence backstage to keep himself where he did, but he accomplished alot more during his WCW run that he did in WWF. He was there longer, won alot more gold and was a huge part of the most dominant faction that organisation had ever seen.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

Big Daddy Cool all day every day. I mean the nWo stuff was cool and I was a big fan at first but after the first year or so it got old and went to shit. I loved everything Diesel did once he hit his streak in the WWF. Teaming with and feuding with HBK, winning all the major titles in a one year span, his look, everything about him was awesome to me. His match against Undertaker at Wrestlemania was Takers first really good match at WM I think.

 

[HBsam31]

Personally I am a fan of "Big Sexy". His initial debut in WCW changed the face of wrestling, and I was always a fan of the outsiders. I honestly was never a fan of Diesel and always rooted for HBK or whoever his opponent was at the time. I liked most everything Nash did in WCW including the Wolfpac, and I think despite his success in WWE his biggest success came in WCW.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I like Diesel more, he put on much better matches in the WWF with guys like HBK, Taker and Bret (Bret vs. Diesel is one of my favourite rivalries) and I enjoyed his 1 year WWF Championship reign...but the obvious answer here is Kevin Nash. The nWo is one of the biggest angles ever and had a huge impact on the business, just that alone beats whatever he did in the WWF, but Nash has also done so much more successful things in the WCW. He became a much more estabilished name there than he did in the WWF.

 

[justtxyank]

Diesel had better matches but his character got toned down by Vince when he became champion. Something I'll never understand. It wasn't until he lost his title that he became a badass again. If he had been allowed to be that character throughout his run as Diesel it would be no contest.

In WCW his runs with the Outsiders were gold. As a singles wrestler he was spotty for me, because too often he moved into the goofy big man where he took nothing seriously, no selling going to jail, laughing at opponents, etc.

Still, I'll take his WCW run merely for the Outsiders team and the nWo as a whole.

 

[safeco1999]

Diesel without a doubt. He was a believable character, looking like a big trucker always fixing his gloves and being an intimidating bodyguard.

He gained enough popularity in his run as Diesel that all those fans tuned in to WCW when he went there, including myself.

"Diesel" is where it began and you saw the thunderous ovation at the Royal Rumble when Diesel made his return a couple years ago. The fans would not pop that much if it were plain old Kevin Nash, who unintentionally, has been trotting the gimmick of "washed up old has-been" for the last 12 years.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

Without "Diesel" there is no "Big Sexy" character. His whole WCW run was based on him being an outsider - here was Diesel at WCW out of character. That's it. It's really remarkable in its simplicity, but there really isn't much more to "Big Sexy" than that. Diesel was a great character. He was physically intimidating and there was the long period of time where he didn't say a word, while he was HBK's bodyguard. HBK really sold Diesel as being a big fucking deal - he would play the chickenshit heel and when wrestlers finally had enough, here was Diesel. The investment that HBK and WWFE made in Diesel made him a more interesting and deeper character as he turned on HBK and eventually won the title. But what depth did he have in WCW? Beyond The Outsiders and the biggest heel turn in history with Hogan, there was nothing majorly positive throughout his time. The focus wasn't on 'Kevin Nash' as a character, the focus was on Kevin Nash, the backstage cutthroat jackass.

For me, it's Big Daddy Cool all the way. Without that initial character and the success behind him, he would've been another big nobody in an industry full of them.

EDIT: Also, there's something uneasy about a middle aged man telling teens and young men to call him "Big Sexy". How nobody saw any problem with this is beyond me.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Without "Diesel" there is no "Big Sexy" character. His whole WCW run was based on him being an outsider - here was Diesel at WCW out of character. That's it. It's really remarkable in its simplicity, but there really isn't much more to "Big Sexy" than that. Diesel was a great character. He was physically intimidating and there was the long period of time where he didn't say a word, while he was HBK's bodyguard. HBK really sold Diesel as being a big fucking deal - he would play the chickenshit heel and when wrestlers finally had enough, here was Diesel. The investment that HBK and WWFE made in Diesel made him a more interesting and deeper character as he turned on HBK and eventually won the title. But what depth did he have in WCW?

EDIT: Also, there's something uneasy about a middle aged man telling teens and young men to call him "Big Sexy". How nobody saw any problem with this is beyond me.

Nash did display depth in his WCW Run in 98 when he turned face, feuding with Hogan & Bischoff's version of the NwO (and their apparent lack of appreciation for his importance to the success of the group) and his "I know the pressure" promo comparing his year long undefeated streak as WWE Champ to Goldberg's streak heading into their historic Starrcade bout was among his best all time. Realistically Nash excelled at playing himself, either as a bouncer-bodyguard type trying to get into wrestling (essentially his real life outside WWE before Diesel) or as an opportunistic Outsider scamming the system for his own gain (WCW vs NwO, essentially what he was bolting WWE for a big $$ payday in WCW).

As for the innapropriateness of a 40 something portraying himself as Big Sexy to teenagers & kids I agree, but remember over in WWE we had two middle aged guys telling toilet jokes and making juvenile remarks about body parts, bodilly functions, and sex (DX), a reincarnated dead person trying to form a Ministry Of Darkness (Undertaker), and near 40yr old drinking beer and flipping people off for fun (Austin). It was a commercially successful time but it was not a time of age appropriate or common sense behavior by wrestling stars.

 

[Just Do It]

Heel Diesel of 96 was basically the Kevin nash character we all know and love. Watching Face Diesel of 1995 - he is cringing at times and very forced. He was better in late 95 when he started finding his stride, and when he was a tweener in late late 95. But you can't go wrong with hilarious at times, dangerous at others - WCW 1998 Nash.

 

[fenderjapan]

Nash is best remembered as Nash...he made real waves in WCW which you cannot say about his run in WWF. Yes he was a champ and yes he had prominent matches as Diesel but he didn't do anything as memorable as he did in WCW. Kevin is lucky that he was able to rebrand himself as his own name without losing street cred. Something about "Mr. Anderson" and "Kip James" just doesn't cut the mustard. Personally I'm not a big Nash fan altogether but he had an undeniable influence both in and out of the ring in WCW.

 

[Just Do It]

Nash is best remembered as Nash...he made real waves in WCW which you cannot say about his run in WWF. Yes he was a champ and yes he had prominent matches as Diesel but he didn't do anything as memorable as he did in WCW. Kevin is lucky that he was able to rebrand himself as his own name without losing street cred. Something about "Mr. Anderson" and "Kip James" just doesn't cut the mustard. Personally I'm not a big Nash fan altogether but he had an undeniable influence both in and out of the ring in WCW.

That's because TNA can't package anything, let alone be capable of branding it. If those guys were in WCW, those names would stick and they'd be over.