In 1996 there was the unforgettable Monday Night Wars. A major battle waged between two of the biggest wrestling companies of all time; Vince McMahon’s WWE and Eric Bischoffs WCW. Both men had their soldiers and when two of those soldiers jumped from one side to the other it completely changed the face of the war and even helped win the battle for a substantial amount of time. RF VIDEO sat down with one of those soldiers in his very first shoot interview that has teeth. You can call him what you want; Master Blaster, Oz, Vinnie Vegas, or Diesel, but we will call him BIG SEXY KEVIN NASH!!!!
This exclusive interview started off talking about Kevin’s early start in WCW and how he was trained by Jody Hamilton. Kev went into all his crappy gimmicks and talked about which booker gave each particularly bad character. He talked about being very green and getting a push early on in WCW. You’ll hear how Shawn Michaels wanted Big Sexy in the WWE months before Kevin came there and how Nash ended up getting out of his WCW contract. In a perfect Nash story, Big Sexy actually used the WCW office fax machine to fax the WWE!
Kevin discussed what it was like to work side by side with HBK as his bodyguard and how he learned from that experience along with how Nash became friends with Shawn and Scott Hall. We talk about how Nash broke away from Shawn to get his first singles push and what it was like for him to win the title from Bob Backland in the fabled Madison Square Garden. We know you want to hear about how the party scene was back then on the road and Kevin was not scared to tell us all about it. His road stories are some of the funniest we have ever captured on video, including a van ride with X-pac, Hall, HHH (who was sober), Nash, and HBK that almost landed them all in jail. You have to Nash telling the story of all of them washing down somas with alcohol and then going into a diner as the drugs were kicking into effect. A diner with 20 cops in it!
Nash talked about all of his major programs in the WWE and, of course, his matches Hall, Backlund, HBK, Bret Hart and Jeff Jarrett. Who could forget about all of the locker room antics of the Cliq? Well, Kevin talked about everything that was rumored to have went down in the locker room when he was there. Did they really tell Vince they were going on strike? Why did the Cliq have heat with Shane Douglas? Did they hate Chris Candido? What happened backstage when Pierre Ouelette refused to job to Nash in Canada? What about the curtain call in MSG, how did that all come about? Did Nash see tension with HBK and Bret Hart, and what were his thoughts on Survivor Series? You’ll get answers to all those questions straight from a guy who pulls no punches!
Kevin went into great detail on why he quit the WWE and went to WCW as one half of the Outsiders with Scott Hall. Nash took us step by step of why he had a break down with WWE and how he landed his role in WCW as a key player in the New World Order gimmick. You will hear first hand about the meeting with Eric Bischoff at his house. Everything about the NWO was talked about including all of the backstage politics that went on with Hogan. We talk about the locker room fights with Roddy Piper, the in ring shoot with the Nasty Boys, and much more! Was there heat between Hall, Nash and Hogan? We talk about all the key members of the NWO and of course the even crazier drug stories. How out of control was Scott Hall? Kevin painted a clear picture of how out of hand the backstage environment got while Nitro was winning the ratings war.
Kevin gave us the skinny on all of the feuds he had in WCW, including his match with Bill Goldberg and what went wrong. Who can forget the infamous one finger pin with Hogan and we found out why that was booked the way it was. How frustrating was it to work with Hogan who had creative control of his own character? Nash talked about his friendship with DDP and the storyline that followed which helped to elevate Page. What did Kevin think of the way Bret Hart was used and how would he have booked the Hitman? Kevin talked about Kevin Sullivan’s booking of WCW and of course answers his critics complaints about his very own booking of the company. Nash saw the Russo and Bischoff dynamic off camera feud and gave us his side of the story. Nash really went into depth on what led to the downfall of WCW. Kevin explained how and when he found out WCW was bought by McMahon and how he sat out for a year. Just great stuff as he talked about how he was offered a buy out of his contract and basically told WWE to stuff it.
Nash than took us on his journey back to the WWE and why the NWO never worked in “New York.” He talked about what happened the day at WrestleMania and how the booking for his match, and Scott Hall’s, was completely changed. What did Nash think of Vince this time around? What was it like working with the Rock? Which guys wanted the NWO killed off and why? He talked about his injury that pretty much ended his WWE run and everything that happened behind the scenes during that time. We got Kevin to openly talk about HHH rise to power. You will know by the end of these shoot that we left no rock unturned.
We closed the THREE HOUR shoot with Nash’s thoughts on the current scene in wrestling. Kevin talked about TNA and working with all the X division guys. Big Sexy gave us his opinion on the independent scene along with current crop of WWE headliners including John Cena and Batista. This was one of RF VIDEO’s best shoots to date and we felt Kevin was open about every question we tossed his way, no matter how controversial. This is a must watch for any serious shoot interview fan!
How did you get in the business
What was Jody Hamilton’s training like
What was the hardest thing to pick up in training
How did you wind up in WCW
Memories of the Master Blasters
Thoughts on Ric Flair as a booker
Who came up with Oz
Did you think it was stupid when it was proposed to you
How did you wind up with the Vinnie Vegas gimmick
Thoughts on being paired with Dallas Page
Was Page ribbed a lot back then
Is it true that you knew you were going to the WWF a year before you had gone
Thoughts on Jim Herd
When Ric Flair left for the WWF and took the belt with him, did you take it personal since it was clearly a shot at trying to put the company out of the business by him or did it not bother you
Memories of Harley Race
Memories of teaming with Scott Levy
Any good road stories
How did you wind up in the WWF
Initial memories of Vince
What were you promised by Vince when you started as far as direction, titles, etc
At this point did you think to yourself, that you really made it
Whos idea was it to stick you with Shawn
What do you remember about the night the Bruise Brothers went after Shawn
Any good road stories
Memories of your series with Scott Hall
Did you like the babyface turn or did you think you had more money left as a heel with Shawn
Memories of matches with Sid
Memories of the quick match with Backlund
Was Backlund hard to work with in rematches
What happened between you and Pierre in Canada
Did you feel a lot of pressure when you were champ
Memories of your first big series with Bret Hart
Some say Bret is overrated and others completely disagree who have worked with him, what do you think
Memories of your first Wrestlemania against
Could you sense that there was a change of direction in the company in that now more athletic guys were getting pushed as compared to big monster heels, and muscle babyfaces
How did Vince change during his trial
Were you or any of the boys ever worried that he would go to jail
Did Vince change after the trial
Man Mountain Rock has been shopping a home video he taped on the road back then of the boys doing drugs, sleeping with rats, etc, what are your thoughts on that
Do you think that the art of doing a job and helping get someone over is lost today and misunderstood
Memories of your matches with Jeff Jarrett
In your mind, when was the Clique truly formed
Memories of when Bill Watts came into the WWE
Going into your match at Wrestlemania matches vs. Shawn, how far did you and Shawn want to push the limits
Do you think Bret felt threatened at that time watching you guys
Memories and thoughts on Lex Luger in WWF
At what point do you think the Clique gained power
Is it true that the Clique threatened to strike and Vince had to go on the road
What happened between the clique and Shane Douglas,
Did the Clique bury him to the office
You have said Rick Rude was a great mentor to you, can you talk about what you learned from him
Why were you guys so hard on Chris Candido
Is it true that you came into the offices one night and found out as champion you werent making the same money as Taker and Bret
What do you remember about the night at King of the Ring Hogan wouldn’t put Bret over
Memories of the Good Friends Bitter Enemies match
Are you surprised at how legendary that match has become
Do you think it was the best match you have ever had
You said something on the commentary of a DVD about the guys today not understanding the psychology to pull that off, can you expand on that
The farewell to the Clique, do you think in retrospect it was fair to the rest of the boys
How did the agents react
Did Vince call you after that
Memories and thoughts when the Ultimate Warrior returned
How did the whole jump to WCW come about
What was Vince’s reaction
Did you approach Kevin
Who came up with the NWO
Was Hogan originally part of the plan
How did the other boys react to you two when you guys came into WCW
What happened between Scott and Jerry Saggs in a match where he said you guys worked overly stiff with him
Did Roddy Piper try and fight you guys after a match at a Nitro
How upset were Arn and the rest of the Horseman after your Horsemen imitation
Why was it so hard to get Sean Waltman on TV in WCW
Were you surprised that the angle with DDP got over as much as it did
Were you guys more or less booking and using Eric Bischoff as a pawn during that time
Memories of matches with the Giant
What happened the night you didn’t show up for your match with the Giant in which you were supposed to put him over
When do you think Scotts alcohol abuse started to get out of control
Did anyone say anything to you about it
What were the politics like in WCW
Were there any struggles between you, Scott and Hogan for power and creative control
Thoughts on Hogan
Do you think Hogan used you guys, you guys used him or neither
What do you think should have been done differently in WCW to avoid the collapse when Vince eventually overtook WCW in the ratings, etc
Do you think Eric Bischoff was in over his head
Did it become frustrating when the NWO kept expanding
What lead to you goin on TV and campaigning for Scotts return
A lot of people say people like yourself, and Scott gave Goldberg bad advice in WCW, how do you respond
Were you surprised when Bret Hart came to WCW
Did you and Scott play any politics with him behind the scenes to try and hold him back
Is it true that you tried to make Hogan a commissioner at one point
How did Bret change when he came into WCW
Memories of matches with Sting
Is it true in WCW you and Scott were under double secret probation
Memories of matches with Booker T
What were your thoughts on when Russo came in and Eric was demoted
Thoughts on Russo
People say they had no idea who was in charge in WCW, is that accurate
Your thoughts on Kevin Sullivan as booker during the time Russo was sent home
Memories of wrestling Terry Funk from this time
Thoughts on Tank Abbott
In an interview you once said that Scott and yourself were just big dicks in regards to the NWO vs. Wolfpac feud, can you expand on that
Did anyone ever fear that Tank would just start shooting in the middle of a match
Thoughts on Lex Luger
A lot of people think your booking was a big part of what killed WCW, how do you respond
How do you respond when people say you beat Goldberg too early
At one point in WCW you had a falling out with Hogan, was it over frustration of him abusing his power
In retrospect, do you think the one finger finish with Hogan was a good idea
In Eric Bischoff’s book he calls you Big Lazy, what are your thoughts
Thoughts on your series of matches with Scott Steiner
Do you think what went down at the Bash between Jarrett, Hogan, and Russo was a big work
At any point did you think to yourself, from a business standpoint that things were spinning out of control in WCW
When you heard WCW was up for sale, how shocked were you
Did any of the boys ever think about pulling their money together and buying it other than Bischoff
How did you find out that Vince bought WCW
Did you watch the final Nitro
Did they ask you to come
How did your contract situation work out
Did Vince try and buy you out early or try and get you to start with him
Do you think you would have been a part of WCW if Bischoff bought it
Were you surprised that Vince didn’t keep it alive as a separate entity
How did you wind up back in the WWE
After the three of you appeared on TV together for the first time, did you guys know that Hogan was not going to work as a heel
How did Vince treat you this time around
How did the WWE boys react to you guys
Thoughts on the Rock
Is it true that Austin didn’t work with any of you guys
What happened the night you tore your quadricep
If you had not injured yourself, what do you think Vince would have done with the NWO
Thoughts on your series with HHH
How did Vince and the WWE change from the last time you saw him
Is it true that you were offered an office position there and turned it down
Memories of matches with Chris Jericho
Are you surprised at the success of HHH
Thoughts on matches with the Rock
Are you surprised at Shawn’s returns since retiring
How close was Shawn to ever coming to WCW and joining the NWO
How come you did wind up leaving the WWE
Were there ever any talks to bring back the NWO to feud with DX
Do you regret any of the things you have done in your past
Is it hard to be so talented and one of the biggest stars of the last decade and not be able to catch a break currently
Do you still have it in you to be a big draw
Have the times passed you by
Can the NWO still work today
What made the NWO work in your mind and why hasnt it been able to be duplicated
How did you wind up in TNA
Who’s idea was it to feud with the X Division
How do you answer people who say you have done nothing but hurt the credibility of the X guys
How come you never had your final blow off match in the feud with Sabin
Your thoughts on the X guys
Can TNA compete with the WWE
Your thoughts on Dusty’s booking run in TNA
Thoughts on Samoa Joe
Thoughts on Kurt Angle
Favorite and least favorite opponents
Advice for young guys
Best ribs you ever saw
Road stories from all areas
Thoughts on the lack of kayfabe today in wrestling
Is there anyone you didn’t get a chance to work with that you wished you would have
Did you ever feel pressured to take steroids
Honkytonk Man has called you out a lot online, have you ever heard his promos about you
What do you think is the biggest misconception about you and your booking
What was your favorite time in your career
What is your favorite moment in your career
What do you think is wrong with the business today
Can the business boom once again like the 80s and 90s
Would you like to go into the WWF Hall of Fame
Any thoughts on writing a book
Are you surprised Hogan and Flair still wrestle
Thoughts on newsletters and the internet
Thoughts on John Cena and Batista who are the flagship wrestlers today
Would you want to write a book