The Real Reason Kevin Nash Left The WWE
If you're a longtime wrestling fan reading this in 2019, the story of Kevin Nash's exit from the WWF might seem like ancient news. In fact, somewhere out there, a geriatric wrestling fan is probably complaining that they heard this tale as a baby from their grandfather who fought in the Crusades. But for reasons that definitely exist, this story should be revisited. One of the biggest reasons is that when Kevin Nash along with Scott Hall jumped ship from Vince McMahon's promotion to cause a scripted commotion at WCW, it kicked off possibly the greatest real-life feud in sports entertainment history.
A tale as old as time
On May 27, 1996 — about two years before Google was founded and a few years after the invention of the telephone — Scott Hall famously invaded WCW Nitro. Up to that point he'd been known to wrestling audiences as Razor Ramon, who was more or less the WWF's less murderous version of Tony Montana. He still had his trademark toothpick sticking out of his mouth, but as Cageside Seats describes, he had left Vince McMahon' company. Only, no one in the audience knew that. Hall called out billionaire Ted Turner and mocked the Macho Man, hiding the fact that was now working for Turner and with the Macho Man.
With the wrestling world now on edge, the master of the Razor's Edge hinted that he didn't come alone. He was joined by fellow hellraiser Kevin Nash two weeks later. The duo would call themselves the outsiders but become company insiders, teaming up with Hulk Hogan to form the New World Order. They would seek to be the three horsemen of the WWF apocalypse. But why did Nash tag along? As Bleacher Report points out, the wrestler formerly known as "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel had wrestled in WCW before with a bunch of uncool gimmicks, including Oz — as in the charlatan from The Wizard of Oz, except stupid. Why go back to that?
A New World Offer
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Kevin Nash explained that the WCW made an offer he couldn't refuse. At a time when his WWF character would be dropping the championship belt to Bret Hart, and Nash was asked to let Mike Tyson drop him for charity, World Championship Wrestling promised a world of perks. Nash would only have to work 180 days a year, which must have sounded like a vacation compared to the 300 days he worked for McMahon. Plus, he would earn $850,000 a year minimum. His wife was pregnant so opting for extra time and money made all the sense and cents in the world.