Why Kevin Nash Had To Retire From Wrestling, Explained
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Kevin Nash was without doubt one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling during the Attitude Era. He had one of the most interesting careers in the business, whether it be his early struggles in WCW to becoming a top guy in the WWE, and finally changing the industry forever upon jumping back to WCW. He would go on to have other spells in WWE and TNA has well, but is now retired from the ring for good.
In many ways, it feels like Nash's legacy in wrestling is downplayed at times because he was never really 'The Guy' despite being near the top for a long time. Without him, wrestling would look very different though.
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Kevin Nash's Early Struggles In WCW
Nash debuted in WCW as one half of the tag team, The Master Blasters, sporting an orange mohawk and playing the character Steel. The team was given a big push early on, but it would not last long and never reached great heights. After the disbandment of the team, Nash would be rebranded as The Master Blaster for a while, with very little success.
WCW would then re-brand Nash once again and this time around, he became Oz, a character based on The Wizard of Oz. He was pushed, but everybody should have known that the character was doomed for failure. The big question is - who thought this was a good idea?
Nash's terrible run in WCW would continue as he was repackaged once more, this time as Vinnie Vegas. And after another failed run, he would depart the company.
Kevin Nash Became A Main Event Star In WWE
His failed run in WCW did not stop WWE from signing Nash, and it was clear from the very beginning that they had big plans for him. In WWE he was repackaged as 'Diesel', was made the bodyguard of Shawn Michaels, and as a result, became one of the featured performers straight off the bat.
As expected, he was turned babyface down the line, when his partnership with Michaels broke up, and he would eventually go on to become the WWE Champion in late 1994, completing an incredible turnaround in his wrestling career.
He would go on to have nearly a year-long run as the WWE Champion but unfortunately, was arguably the worst drawing world champion in the history of the company. It was a surprise that Vince McMahon kept the belt on him for so long.
The run in the WWE did turn Kevin Nash from a struggling wrestler to a main event star though, and when he jumped back to WCW in 1996, he was brought in as one of the centerpieces of Nitro.
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Kevin Nash Changed The Business With The NWO
Nash would unite with Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall in WCW to form the New World Order, a group that would go on to change wrestling forever. It also started the Monday Night Wars, which would go on for almost five years between WWE and WCW, before McMahon bought out his rival in 2001.
Nash would have a legendary run in WCW over these five years. He won five world titles and was part of some of the most memorable moments in wrestling history.
His run as a main event attraction in wrestling would come to an end with the sale of WCW. He would go on to have a short and pretty forgettable run in WWE in the early 2000s, before moving to TNA for almost 7 years, where he surprisingly never became world champion despite being one of their most recognizable names.
Why Kevin Nash Had To Retire From Wrestling
Nash is someone who had his injury problems even before stepping foot in a wrestling ring. He would suffer an ACL injury in 1981 while playing professional basketball in Europe, and it ended his career. He also revealed in a tweet that he had destroyed his knee in 1986 and basically worked 29 years on one leg.
He would suffer multiple injuries through the course of his wrestling career as well, mostly to his knees. The most memorable of them was when he tore his quad in the middle of a match on Raw.
Nash would only go on to make sporadic appearances in the latter part of his career, but has been retired from the ring for a number of years. He underwent a knee replacement surgery after his retirement and seems to be in much better shape now.
