Kevin Nash: OVERRATED OR UNDERRATED?

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Overrated.

I've never sat down and watched any of his stuff in his first WWE run. I saw his Mania match with Taker and that's it. Can't honestly say i enjoyed that match personally, but that's not ALL Nash's fault obviously.

I never watched WCW but i've seen enough retrospective documentaries to realise that the nWo stable was all about Hogan and Hogan only, once he was revealed as the 3rd man, so you can toot on about him being in that all you like.

People probably sat at home thinking 'Oooooo, Ex-WWF guys on Nitro, wow!' and then it evolved into 'HOGAN'S TURNED HEEL!!!!! WTF's GOING ON?' I doubt anyone ever tuned in to watch Nash specifically. And if they did, everything he did was in conjunction with Hall anyway, so it's a two man package, not just Nash and Nash only.

Then he comes back to the 'E' and spends more time injured than actually active on the roster, with a fairly lame World Title angle with HHH (the one time i actually sat at home and thought to myself 'I hope HHH wins this'), and after that..... fuck man, i don't even remember when or why he left, THAT's how little impact Kevin Nash's actions have on me....

And now he's in TNA moaning about younger guys running their mouths as if he's never done it.

I've never found him entertaining in anyway shape or form. If someone came along and said 'Kevin Nash is a wrestling legend' i'd have to agree with them. There's no doubt about that. It's a fact. If someone came along and said 'Kevin Nash is a truly amazing wrestler with bucketloads of talent' i'd recommend a lobotomy.

I'd never sit down and watch a Kevin Nash match, unless his opponent was someone truly stellar, much like i would never sit and watch a Hogan match other than WM18 v The Rock, because i know Rocky's golden.

 

[Optimist Prime]

Overrated.

I've never sat down and watched any of his stuff in his first WWE run. I saw his Mania match with Taker and that's it. Can't honestly say i enjoyed that match personally, but that's not ALL Nash's fault obviously.

I never watched WCW but i've seen enough retrospective documentaries to realise that the nWo stable was all about Hogan and Hogan only, once he was revealed as the 3rd man, so you can toot on about him being in that all you like.

People probably sat at home thinking 'Oooooo, Ex-WWF guys on Nitro, wow!' and then it evolved into 'HOGAN'S TURNED HEEL!!!!! WTF's GOING ON?' I doubt anyone ever tuned in to watch Nash specifically. And if they did, everything he did was in conjunction with Hall anyway, so it's a two man package, not just Nash and Nash only.

Then he comes back to the 'E' and spends more time injured than actually active on the roster, with a fairly lame World Title angle with HHH (the one time i actually sat at home and thought to myself 'I hope HHH wins this'), and after that..... fuck man, i don't even remember when or why he left, THAT's how little impact Kevin Nash's actions have on me....

And now he's in TNA moaning about younger guys running their mouths as if he's never done it.

I've never found him entertaining in anyway shape or form. If someone came along and said 'Kevin Nash is a wrestling legend' i'd have to agree with them. There's no doubt about that. It's a fact. If someone came along and said 'Kevin Nash is a truly amazing wrestler with bucketloads of talent' i'd recommend a lobotomy.

I'd never sit down and watch a Kevin Nash match, unless his opponent was someone truly stellar, much like i would never sit and watch a Hogan match other than WM18 v The Rock, because i know Rocky's golden.

Your second to last paragraph completely contradicts everything else you've said.

You agree that he's a wrestling legend although you feel he's overrated? Are you insinuating that wrestling legends shouldn't get praise or respect for anything?

Nobody is saying Kevin Nash was an amazing wrestler, the guy is nearly 7'0" tall. But he revolutionized the big man personality for future wrestlers to come. Before Nash, the "big guys" had no personality at all and generally were all the same (with the exception of Andre, even though he was a pioneer in his own right).

Nash didn't hold back anybody from doing anything. He made suggestions and from everything I've been seeing...those suggestions were extremely accurate. Rey Mysterio Jr. flip flopping around with the World Title is ridiculous. Chris Benoit was one of the most boring wrestlers on the planet. His personality was boring, his outfit was boring, and his gimmick was boring. I don't care if he can give a head butt from the top rope or give a cross faced buffalo chickenwing...or even the fact that his teeth were decaying right before our eyes. Among several other reasons.

But all in all, the fact that you never saw Nash initially when he was in WWF as Diesel and especially since you never watched WCW when wrestling was in it's prime makes it extremely hard to take anything you write seriously at all because you've admitted to never seeing him...and have probably just done research and based your opinions on those of other people who probably have personal vendettas or bias towards him for whatever reason.

Not to mention, the best part about WM18 was when Hogan (heel) was getting the loudest ovation and pops ever while The Rock (face of the company) was getting booed with every move that he made. Now THAT is something else

 

[Big Sexy]

Definitely underrated. I actually can't understand how someone could say he's overrated when virtually no one ever talks about how good he was. All anyone ever focuses on is him as a person or as a booker. All of that stuff is not only speculation but also completely irrelevant to how he was as an entertainer.

Kevin Nash was never meant to be some technical mastermind in the ring, but for his size and for what he was out there to do, he did it well. When it came to mic skills he was very solid and got better and better as his career went on. He was entertaining in basically every role he played outside of a couple shitty characters he had in WCW during the early 90's. He had a nice run as WWF champion for about a year in the mid 90's. Then he moved to WCW and was part of one of the biggest angles in wrestling history. Nash was an entertaining guy who contributed everywhere he went.

 

[byrnside]

Kevin Nash was, when I was younger, a favorite wrestler of mine. I loved him as HBK's bodyguard Diesel, and I loved the original nWo. About the time the nWo Wolfpack came around I started losing interest in him. I'll admit I marked out when the nWo reappeared years later in the WWE. But after some thought, that all really goes back to the booking. Of course the nWo/WWE angle was short lived, and for a number of reasons flopped, that if I'm not mistaken had little to do with Nash. Personally, I don't think he was over or under rated. In his prime he won some titles and deserved them. I was a little disappointed when he won all three of the WWF's major titles inside of a year [at the time Bret Hart was my favorite wrestler.] He was good on the mic and, in his prime, was captivating in the ring. Take into account I'm leaving the political side of the business out of this.

 

[The Brain]

As Diesel he is underrated. Whenever someone criticizes Diesel in the WWF it’s inevitable they bring up his match with Mabel at SummerSlam 95. I agree that was a bad match; especially for the main event at the second biggest show of the year. However, that match does not define Diesel’s time in the WWF. He had a great rivalry with both Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. He wrestled the Undertaker at WrestleMania. He won the triple crown in one year when the triple crown was still extremely rare. He then went to reign as world champion for a full year. Only Cena has done that since. His title reign included a successful defense at mania which at that point was something only Hogan had accomplished. Nash is often criticized for his run as Diesel, but in my opinion this was the best time of his career so I would say Diesel is underrated.

I never watched WCW but i've seen enough retrospective documentaries to realise that the nWo stable was all about Hogan and Hogan only, once he was revealed as the 3rd man, so you can toot on about him being in that all you like.

People probably sat at home thinking 'Oooooo, Ex-WWF guys on Nitro, wow!' and then it evolved into 'HOGAN'S TURNED HEEL!!!!! WTF's GOING ON?' I doubt anyone ever tuned in to watch Nash specifically. And if they did, everything he did was in conjunction with Hall anyway, so it's a two man package, not just Nash and Nash only.

I agree with this and this is why I think Nash is overrated when it comes to his time in WCW. When Hall and Nash first showed up on Nitro there was actually some confusion as people speculated they were still working for the WWF and invading WCW. It didn’t take long for the “smart fans” to figure out what was going on as they realized it was just an angle to bring them in. If Hogan had not turned heel and joined the group the Outsiders angle would have fizzled after a few months and Nash would have just blended into WCW probably feuding with the Dungeon of Doom. Nash receives too much credit for the nwo. I agree he played a big role, but not as big as everyone seems to think. Hogan was the key to the whole angle.

So I won’t vote on the poll because I say Diesel is underrated in the WWF while Kevin Nash is overrated in WCW.

 

[TheAssassin]

Overall, he's definetely underrated. His time in WWF as Diesel he could actually put on some damn good matches. He had some great ones with Shawn Michaels as well as The Underrtaker. Throughout his career he's always cut pretty good promos, much better than a lot of other guys. His run in WCW was amazing too. His matches certaintly weren't the best, but people definetely paid to see him and the nWo for those years.

 

[Optimist Prime]

I agree with this and this is why I think Nash is overrated when it comes to his time in WCW. When Hall and Nash first showed up on Nitro there was actually some confusion as people speculated they were still working for the WWF and invading WCW. It didn’t take long for the “smart fans” to figure out what was going on as they realized it was just an angle to bring them in. If Hogan had not turned heel and joined the group the Outsiders angle would have fizzled after a few months and Nash would have just blended into WCW probably feuding with the Dungeon of Doom. Nash receives too much credit for the nwo. I agree he played a big role, but not as big as everyone seems to think. Hogan was the key to the whole angle.

So I won’t vote on the poll because I say Diesel is underrated in the WWF while Kevin Nash is overrated in WCW.

Yeah but you can say that with literally anything. Had WCW not fired Steve Austin, he wouldn't have ever gone to WWF and become successful so he's apparently overrated. If The Undertaker's character came out 5 years ago instead of 20 years ago he wouldn't have had nearly the same legendary career so he's apparently overrated. There are always going to be mitigating circumstances surrounding the instances that have happened that aren't intimately attributed to the person involved. It's just the way it is...but it is those who take advantage of those circumstances...in addition to contributing to what they have to offer...THAT (in my opinion) is what separates the greats from the rest.

People can complain that Nash used politics to get where he is and this and that...but how do you think he was able to do that? Because he's not an idiot and because he has a gift in his personality that allowed him to do that. If others had the gift, they would have done it too...but since they don't...they'll complain about it and pretend that it's not jealousy...and that if Nash was an idiot and wasn't able to speak - they and the other wrestlers would have been able to move up in the company. Nobody ever wants to take responsibility for anything anymore. Sorry, odds are you probably couldn't have and shouldn't have. If all you can do is complain and not take action...that isn't Nash's fault nor problem. It's a business...just like any other business. You play the game and you make it big. You snooze? You lose. Happens everywhere. Big wig CEO's of companies who have degrees from ivy league colleges do this to one another...why is it so difficult to understand that professional wrestlers do it too? I'm not condoning it...but it is what it is. You can complain about it all you want...but it happens everywhere...and the ones who succeed are never the ones who sit back and complain and point fingers at other people. The ones who succeed are always the ones who take action. Just the way it is.

 

[DDPandNWOfan]

Underrated. He's one of the most interesting talkers in wrestling history. There are only a handful of other wrestlers that can grab my attention like Nash can on a mic. He's always had a strong presence and a badass look. He was never the best in the ring but I don't give a damn. When you're that big all you need is a strong finisher. A man his size doesn't need submissions and wrist locks to beat his opponent.

 

[nWo/wcw4life]

He's generally rated correctly. The guy was part of the biggest angle in wrestling history hands down. To say it was just Hogan is ridiculous, I remember having a friend visit Orlando and tell me he saw Razor and Diesel on WCW but under different names, I started watching right after that. He was a multiple world champ, and solid gold on the mic. His ring work was not classic, but no worse than Paul Wight, Sid or other prominent big men of the day. Also, Nash could flat out draw back in the day, if WCW had handled things better feuds between him and Goldberg, Hogan, Hart, and DDP coulda made millions. I feel he gets the level of respect he rightfully deserves.

 

[8thwotwATG]

I have never been a big fan of Mr. Nash, but I would never deny that he has his supporters. He's always been pretty effective on the stick, but as an in ring performer, my opinion is that he was only really good when he was in the ring with someone who could work with anyone; ala Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels. Of course now he can't put on a decent match w/anyone anymore,due to his knees(good move retiring Kev,long overdue.). Overall I'd say he was rated correctly,for the most part. A decent big man w/ VERY limited inring tools and good on the stick.