Nathan Jones

[CM Steel]

Nathan Jones was suppose to be this big stand out while he wrestled in OVW in 2002. But by the time he made his overly hyped debut in the WWE in 2003 he was greener than a ninja turtle. He was Mr. Botch! He would fuck up almost at every taping across the country. The Undertaker tried to mentor Jones and help the guy out by Taker can do so much. But some how Nathan Jones made his way onto the Wrestlemania 19 card in Seattle, Washington. He was to tag with the Undertaker in a big (no pun intended) tag team match against the Big Show & A-Train. But at the last minute the WWE made the decision to write Nathan Jones off of the card. By having him get attack by the F.B.I. in the restroom at the arena on Sunday Night Heat.

After that they wrote Nathan Jones off of WWE TV once again with a leg injury by the F.B.I. on Smackdown. Before bringing Jones back on Smackdown as a heel tagging with Matt Morgan as one of the newest "Paul Heyman Guys". Many people in the wrestling world saw Nathan Jones as the original Ryback. Because he was batshit crazy backstage in the WWE. Punching himself in the face to get prepared for a match. He even went as far as to "joking" that he had a bomb in his shoe at the Orlando International Airport which was not smart in post-9/11 america. And when the WWE went to Nathan Jones old stomping ground in the down under for a international WWE tour. Nathan Jones did not return with the WWE on their flight back to the USA.

Nathan Jones had a role in the film "The Condemmed" with Stone Cold Steve Austin. But really if Nathan Jones wasn't such a weirdo. What could have been of him?

 

[TootsieBear]

Man! I remember Nathan Jones in the WWE. Despite him having a great build; he wasn't a great performer in the ring. I cannot believe how terrible his debut match was against Bill Bill Demott. Even the likes of the Undertaker and Paul Heyman couldn't even make him a draw. But boy was he big!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRN1BZs20jI

 

[Dmbfantomas]

He was the clumsiest son of a bitch I've ever seen. I saw a video of him falling on his ass doing his little kick a few times. He had an amazing look, but that was literally it. If Undertaker can't help you, you're screwed.

 

[OYDK]

Pfft what a flop man. The guy gets his first real angle at Mania with Taker and the Big Show and he just couldn't step up and meet expectations. He looked GREEN and I'm saying, just started training green, which is weird because he came out of FCW.. Big, scary dude, but ultimately wasn't cut out to be a wrestler and didn't have the work ethic to make it anyway.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

He was kinda green, sure, but he hadn't been wrestling very long so he probably would've been able to clear up some of his in ring snafus had he stuck with it. I was under the impression he didn't feel like traveling, something easy to believe considering he had those long, scrawny giraffe legs. He wrestled a couple of post-WWE shows and probably realized no one but the Almighty McMahons could afford to pay him "walkin around" money and bagged the whole thing. Shit, I'd have moved along, too.

My fondest memory of Nathan Jones was reading a dirt sheet report about how he was apparently lactating and he was gonna get that fixed. That article has really stuck with me through the years. Milk, milk, lemonade...

 

[MrMojoRisin]

The guy had a great look, but god he was horrible. Next to no athleticism, and even had he stuck with it, I don't know if I ever see him becoming anything better than passable in the ring.

They took him out of that WM tag match, because they couldn't trust that he wouldn't mess up like he'd been doing his entire time in the company. It's funny that you mention the botches around the country. I was at a Smackdown taping when he first debuted (can't remember how long he'd been around at this point), but the setup was that Big Show and Albert had caught Undertaker alone in the ring, laid a beating on him, and Jones was supposed to run in and do the save. Simple enough and something we see all the time. Well, they do the run in, then Jones leaves the ring and walks to the back, Taker, Show and Albert all return to their positions before Jones ran in... and after a minute they did it again. Weirdest thing I'd ever seen at a wrestling show. They had to do a second take on this guys run in!

From what I remember now, I don't recall seeing him do too much on live shows like RAW, and that a lot of his work would come on the taped shows like Smackdown... where they could do retakes if he messed up. Putting him in that WM tag match was a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The guy had a great look, but god he was horrible.

Yes, to that. It's not as if he had no experience before his stint in WWE; he had wrestled for a year or two somewhere else in addition to putting in time at Ohio Valley Wrestling.....yet he still had nothing to offer. Despite that, big time wrestling was calling him; the WWE plainly wanted this guy to succeed and tried to make it happen. Even so, he quit because he didn't like the traveling and other aspects of the life of a professional wrestler.

Ironic, isn't it? We see so many hungry guys who would kill for the chance to wrestle in the major leagues.....would work their tails off to get a shot....and here's a guy having his path to the top paved by WWE, yet doesn't want it.

Of course, a couple of years afterward, didn't he try a comeback with some small wrestling federation? Apparently, he found that pro wrestling wasn't such a bad way to make a living after all.....especially for a guy with his size and build.

By then, though, I guess it was too late for Nathan Jones.

 

[TDFG]

I don't know why WWE hired him, he was a terrible wrestler & also a bit of a nutcase.

I remember Magnus Samuelsson broke his arm at WSM.

 

[Pedigree1]

Nathan reminds me of the type of guy that has everything handed to him doesn't appreciate it,and when its taken away he suddenly appreciates it.. Nathan was a big boy,no doubt about that... A complete psycho,built like a brick shit house,but no ability what so ever. He messed up even the simplest moves,was greener than the green latern.

Nathan could have been a decent wrestler,had he had the discipline to actually learn the craft.. But he hated the travel and obviously the work that it took.. his heart was never in it. But then several years passed i guess he found his heart,but too little too late

 

[Captain Trips]

I really wanted Nathan Jones to work. I really did. I thought he had a great look & with his criminal past he seemed like a real threat. He was a scary looking man who was genuinely a little unbalanced.

But like most said he wasn't into it. He It seemed like it was just a job for him. A paycheck. He didn't wanna travel & deal with the WWE schedule. I could be wrong but I believe WWE traveled to Australia for a tour & since he was already home he just quit.

 

[Loveless]

The guy was basically Brock Lesnar without the talent. A legitimately scary, crazy bastard but one of the worst in-ring performers I've ever seen in the WWE.

 

[MMA Mark]

That guy is what I imagine Bane would look like in real life. If I could go back in time the first thing I'd do is steal the TDKR mask design and give it to WWE for Jones. It's easy to say with more training that he could have improved in the ring, but who knows.