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[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images_of_kevin_nash.png]]

->''"This is where the big boys play, huh? Look at the adjective: 'play!'. We ain't here to play."''
-->--'''Nash''' on his debut on ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro''

Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American retired {{professional wrestl|ing}}er and actor.

Like most wrestling stars to come out of the nineties, Nash cut his teeth in Wrestling/{{WCW}} as a {{jobber}} under the names Master Blaster, Oz, and Vinnie Vegas. After 3 years of this, he was scooped up by Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and signed a contract with [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]], where he was given the gimmick of Diesel, a long-haired cocky biker thug.[[note]]Albeit his entrance music were ''truck'' engine noises along with loud horns.[[/note]] He started out as Michaels' [[TheDragon bodyguard]], and in 1994, Nash won all three titles comprising the WWF Triple Crown (Intercontinental, Tag Team,[[note]]With Michaels[[/note]] and WWF Championships, in that order), before leaving for WCW in 1996.

In WCW, Nash joined his friend Wrestling/ScottHall in becoming "The Outsiders", which would evolve into the wildly-successful [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] angle after being joined by Wrestling/HulkHogan. The group dominated the ratings for two years and rocketed WCW into becoming the world's most profitable wrestling company, with Nash becoming a four-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and a nine-time world tag team champion. But in 1999 it all started to go wrong: Nash becoming booker for the company coincided with it hatching the most ridiculous and {{camp}} storylines wrestling had yet seen (until Wrestling/VinceRusso came along), which all seemed to be designed to push Nash, Hall, and their [[{{Nepotism}} small circle of friends]] into the spotlight at the expense of homegrown talent.

After the company was bought up by WWE, Nash waited out his contract and was rehired by them alongside Hall and Hogan in 2002, until he was finally released in 2003. He would go to [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] in 2004 and, after Hogan followed suit in 2010, attempted to [[FleetingDemographicRule reboot the nWo angle]]. Nash remained with the company until 2011, and has made semi-regular appearances on WWE programming ever since. He is a two-time inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame, first as an individual in 2015, and with the nWo in 2020. His last wrestling match at the Big Time Wrestling Heavyweight Championship happened on August 10, 2018, before he announced his retirement via Twitter on January 5, 2020.

Nash was a member of Wrestling/TheKliq, an influential backstage group that included Michaels, Hall, Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/SeanWaltman.

Nash is also an actor. He has appeared in roles such as Super-Shredder in ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze'', The Russian in ''Film/{{The Punisher|2004}}'', a bodyguard in ''Film/JohnWick'', Bass Armstrong (himself a Hogan [[TheAhnold parody]]) in ''Film/DOADeadOrAlive'' and Gus in ''Film/{{Dog|2022}}''. You may know him best as [[TheStoner Tarzan]] from ''Film/MagicMike''.

----
!!"Look at the adjective: Trope"

* AbortedArc:
** The Mystery of the White Hummer. It was originally pitched as a way to get Carmen Electra (a friend of Nash) or Wrestling/{{Sable}} over, but negotiations with both fell through, and the story was left unresolved for years.
--->'''[[WebVideo/OSWReview Jay Hunter]]:''' ''Maybe'' it was Hogan! ''Maybe'' it was Wrestling/{{Sting}}! And eventually: [-Stop asking.-]\\
'''V1:''' Sorry. The name... sticks out ''quite'' a bit. '''CARMEN ELECTRA?'''\\
'''OOC:''' W-what... why was ''she'' tryin' to kill Kevin Nash?\\
'''Jay:''' Why you gotta hassle me about this, man?
** His match with Wrestling/CMPunk was canceled due to Nash not being able to be cleared to compete due to taking cardiovascular medication and the risk of being off it for an extended period.
* AchillesHeel: Nash has become infamous for his susceptibility to tear his quads.
* AffablyEvil: Nash turned on Sting four times in 1999-2000 alone, and then did it again in 2009. Each time they went back to being buddies again thanks to Nash's general affability.
* AscendedMeme: On at least one occasion, Nash has ''faked'' tearing his quad in order to make his opponent(s) drop their guard.
* TheAtoner: Nash expressed some regrets for his misdeeds in WCW, which led to him working with a couple of young guys at TNA like Chris Sabin or Alex Shelley. Partially averted, because he kept lambasting guys like Wrestling/ChrisJericho, though. (And he regularly took the piss out of ''Impact'', much like in his ''Nitro'' days.) Ultimately this was confirmed as part of his character in TNA upon his exit from the company, serving as his reason for refusing to go along with the Immortal conspiracy (though his biggest motive for opposing them came when Hogan axed his Wolfpac buddies).
* AssKicksYou: He was a 'massive' victim of this. During a match against King Mabel Kevin Nash was having lower back problems and asked Mabel to take it easy on his back. What happens during the match? Mabel (who was near 500 pounds mind you) proceeds to while Kevin is laying face down simply do a butt first ground pound on Kevin's back and sat on Kevin's back for a minute. Kevin could be heard screaming in pain for a good while after this.
* BeardOfEvil: He's had a beard his entire wrestling career, and he also had that beard during the initial runaway success of the villainous nWo.
* BashBrothers: With all members of Wrestling/TheKliq at different times, but ''especially'' with Wrestling/ScottHall. His turn on Wrestling/JeffJarrett came after Jarrett ''accidentally'' struck Hall, and he had heat with Wrestling/SamoaJoe both on and off-screen because Joe lost his top in a WorkedShoot after Hall no-showed their tag match at a TNA pay-per-view.
* TheBigGuy:
** He sees himself as one. When asked about the Wrestling/TheNexus, specifically after they attacked Wrestling/TheUndertaker to help Kane bury him alive, Nash described Wrestling/WadeBarrett performing the Wasteland looking like a boy trying to hold up a man and boasted [[WorkedShoot that he'd beat the piss out of him and take his girlfriend.]]
** Scott Hall explained that he would usually start the match when they would team together because he firmly believed you had to "showcase the big man" and make Nash's tag in a big deal.
* BodyguardBetrayal: Originally Wrestling/ShawnMichaels's loyal biker bodyguard in 1994, he hit him with a steel chair in 1996 during a house show at Madison Square Garden as part of a HeelFaceTurn.
* DeadpanSnarker. Almost always, in and out of character.
* DentedIron: No surprise for a wrestler his size. He looks good, still pretty ripped and since his face hasn't aged much since his WCW days could actually pass for a lot younger when he colors his hair, but he's still carrying plenty of injuries and has trouble being on his feet for long periods of time.
* DidntSeeThatComing: He Jackknifed Wrestling/CMPunk at [=SummerSlam=] 2011.
* DumbMuscle: While his partnership with Wrestling/SamoaJoe was supposed to be about Kevin Nash curing Joe of his affliction with this trope, Kevin Nash more often than proved himself to be the dumb muscle.
* FingerPokeOfDoom: The recipient of said poke, which he sold like he was hit by a finisher.
* FinishingMove:
** As Diesel and his real name, the Jackknife Powerbomb (a release powerbomb).
** As Oz, he used the Emerald City Slam (a sidewalk slam) and the Emerald City Twister (a spinning crucifix toss)
** As Vinnie Vegas, he used Snake Eyes (throwing your opponent face first into a turnbuckle.) It remains a staple move for big wrestlers.
* TheGambler: You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away... from a terrible gimmick. He [[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/jobbers/jobber-of-the-week-the-gambler/ wasn't the first WCW wrestler]] to wear the Gambler's mantle, even if his name was Vinnie Vegas.
* GameBreakingInjury: Kevin Nash's Powerbomb against the 500-pound Giant at Souled Out 1998. Sure, he managed to Powerbomb the Giant before at Superbrawl VII a year before, although Nash hurt his back in the process (the Giant was fine). However, the Souled Out execution gone horribly wrong and injured both men: Kevin's back got injured and caused the execution to land on the Giant's head/neck. Fans thought that the coffee spill to the Giant's face was unnecessary and may have caused the Giant's body to be slippery when gripped for the powerbomb preparation. Had it been left with just a low blow, the execution would have been done right.
* TheGiant: His wrestling style. He is one of the best examples of it actually, when directly compared to frequent partner Scott Hall or the interim Diesel, Wrestling/{{Kane}}.
* GlassCannon: Big, deals out lots of punishment, ''extremely'' injury prone. How injury prone? After suffering a bicep injury that took nearly ten weeks to recover, he made his return in a tag team match and within ''twelve seconds'' of ring action, managed to tear his quad and was put on the shelf for the next nine months.
-->'''Wrestling/ChrisJericho:''' ''[on the June 27, 2005 ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]]'']'' Nash would tear a hamstring just picking up the phone..
* GrammarNazi: Inverted. He either didn't know or didn't care that ''play'' is a verb, not an adjective.
* HeightInsult: He made up the term "vanilla midgets" for short-sized wrestlers. According to him, only big-height wrestlers are allowed to become draws and deserve pushes and championships. This glass ceiling was one of the reasons many wrestlers of the Cruiserweight division such as Wrestling/ChrisJericho and Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr jumped ship to the WWE[[note]]Well, no, Rey Mysterio didn't jump ship to WWE because of Nash, mainly because he never jumped ship to the WWE ''at all''. He made his WCW debut in 1996 and was under contract with WCW until the day it died, not only wrestling on the very last WCW show (which Nash himself refused to appear on, despite also being under contract), but winning a title that night. He wasn't even in the group of WCW guys that were part of the Invasion angle, Rey wouldn't show up in the WWE until the following year, at which point the ship had already been at the bottom of the ocean for about 15 months[[/note]].
* HesBack:
** Made his triumphant return to the WWE at the Royal Rumble 2011.
** After dropping off the radar since his 2011 Rumble appearance, he returned to cheap shot CM Punk at [=SummerSlam=] after retaining the WWE Championship, allowing Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio to cash in his Wrestling/MoneyInTheBank briefcase and win the title.
** He had another Rumble moment in 2014, where he came out to the old nWo music that got him a nice pop from the crowd.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Scott Hall, until Hall's passing in 2022. Say whatever you like about Hall and Nash as wrestlers, but as [[http://kevinnash.tumblr.com/post/4798817459/remember-wrestlers-are-people-just-like-you this blog post shows]], they mean a hell of a lot to each other.
* HostileShowTakeover:
** As one-third of "The Outsiders", ex-WWE stars who quickly turned WCW into their playground.
** As part of the Main Event Mafia, he, Wrestling/BookerT and Wrestling/ScottSteiner hijacked an episode of ''TNA Impact!''. While Steiner took the job of ring announcer, Nash and Booker became [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown "Chet Lemmon" and "Black Snow"]] on commentary, taking the piss out of the entire company during their tenure.
* IMeantToDoThat: His infamous botch attempting to jackknife powerbomb The Giant, was played up as this. In reality, Nash's back gave out on him mid move. However, after the Giant accused him of doing it on purpose, Nash held a PSA where he, confirmed exactly that's what happened then laughed about it.
* InformedAbility: As Diesel, Vince [=McMahon=] sold him as a powerhouse who couldn't be touched. This certainly didn't translate in practice as WWF Champion, however, as he became the lowest-drawing WWF Champion of all time.
* ItWillNeverCatchOn:
** Inverted. While working as a booker in WCW, Nash thought actual ''wrestling'' was becoming passe, and resolved to prove it by having the first hour of ''Nitro'' contain all pre-taped segments and absolutely no matches. The end result was a 2.9 hourly rating -- the only time ratings would dip below 3 during the Monday Night Wars -- and he was shortly yanked from WCW Creative.[[note]]To make it worse, there actually ''were'' matches put on for the live audience. They were even taped. They just had the segments edited in over top of them during the live broadcast.[[/note]]
** Nash once referred to Benoit, Guerrero, Wrestling/PerrySaturn, and Wrestling/DeanMalenko as the "Vanilla Midgets", due to their short stature (by pro wrestling standards) and introvert personalities. As head booker in WCW, Nash also felt that WCW's Cruserweights, like Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio Jr., would never be considered credible Main Eventers. While it's arguable that Saturn and Malenko were indeed [[AlwaysSecondBest not really as memorable]] during their time in WWE and so have somewhat faded into obscurity over time, all of the rest of the above named went on to win world championships in WWE.
* TheJuggernaut: In WCW, he trounced [[Wrestling/BigShow The Giant]], and broke Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}'s undefeated streak. In TNA, he pinned Wrestling/AJStyles clean, and it took Wrestling/MickFoley giving his all to dethrone him.
* MilesGloriosus: Just check out [[http://gfycat.com/RadiantAshamedFish Nash's entrance]] to the match where the Fingerpoke of Doom happened. Some say the pyros are still going off to this day. At one point, Nash looks back and is like, "...Jesus, ''still?''"
** Also, his ring introduction (read by Michael Buffer) during that same entrance. "He is from Detroit, Michigan; but his accomplishments in professional sports make him a citizen of the world!" is just one of the many gems.
* NoSell: After he infamously got a hit by a Hummer, he showed up at the next PPV no worse for wear. (He never even "lost consciousness" in the crash.)
* NothingPersonal: Nash and Hall have been friends for most of their professional lives, but he had no qualms about squashing Hall and making a mockery of his alcoholism in '99. Perhaps Hall thought he deserved it and was thankful to Nash for keeping him on payroll, but the viewing audience found it pretty tasteless. Kicking a man while he's down? Even Ed Ferrera would give it a rethink.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Sure he's a DentedIron but looking at him appearance-wise, it seems the only thing that gives away his age's currently his silver hair.
* OneManArmy: Kevin Nash vs. the New Blood. Yes, you read that right. When's the last time you saw someone get over ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HY_intJPQ4 an entire freaking company?]]''
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: His son and only child Tristen, died at 26 years old on October 20, 2022.
* PartsUnknown (as Master Blaster Steele): "The Steele Mines"; (as Oz): "Emerald City"
* ThePornomancer: Big Sexy isn't a gimmick; it's a lifestyle. He's the kind of man who can fornicate with women just by glancing at them.
* PowerStable:
** (in WCW as Vinnie Vegas): The Diamond Exchange (led by Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage and also including Scott Hall as the Diamond Studd and [[Wrestling/{{Raven}} Scott "Raven" Levy as Scotty Flamingo]].)
** (in WCW AsHimself): The Wrestling/NewWorldOrder, as the second ever member, after Hall; and The Millionaires' Club, with Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/RicFlair, Wrestling/{{Sting}}, Diamond Dallas Page, [[Wrestling/SidEudy Sid Vicious]], Wrestling/LexLuger, Wrestling/MissElizabeth, [[Characters/WCWFemaleTalent Kimberly Page]] and [=Kronik=].
** (in WWE): The revived nWo.
** (in TNA): The Kings of Wrestling, with Hall and Wrestling/JeffJarrett; and The Band, with Hall, Waltman and Eric Young.
** (in Wrestling/JuggaloChampionshipWrestling) The jWo.
* PutOnABus: Following his loss to Triple H at TLC.
* RedBaron:
** After beating The Giant, he dubbed himself "Big Sexy, [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable The Giant Killer]]". Later shortened to just "Big Sexy".
** As Diesel, he's "Big Daddy Cool".
** Was also called "Silver Fox" for a short time in TNA.
* RingOldies: Even with head full of gray hair, Kevin Nash was still out in the ring, {{squash|Match}}ing [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling No Limit]], a tag team who were on their way into the IGWP tag title scene, on ''TNA Impact!''.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: From the looks of things, he spent more time studying the politics of wrestling from HBK and Hunter than how to put on good matches.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem:
** Had a clause in his contract (known as a Favored Nations clause in sports) making him the highest-paid guy in WCW[[note]]Not named Hulk Hogan[[/note]]. If they started paying somebody else more, Nash's salary would automatically go up to equal it.
** While there is a lot of blame to go around for the death of WCW, Nash created an atmosphere which ensured guys such as Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, and Wrestling/ChrisBenoit would never be elevated, while Nash and his buddies could have all the TV time and championships they desired. This finally led to the hot talent taking their business to Wrestling/{{WWE}}. It didn't end up too badly for them: they might have made a name for themselves in WCW and ECW, but it was in WWE that they really became stars. He eventually got called out for it by Wrestling/CMPunk, among other people. WWE itself however was guilty of a similar thing a few years later, when it abandoned its own cruiserweight and hardcore divisions in favour of the 'big guys' Vince was a fan of (which Nash had been one of in the 90s).
* SelfDeprecation:
** [[https://gfycat.com/WetImmaculateArcticwolf Big Sexy comin' outta the closet, ooh yeah!]] (There was an obsession with drag in both promotions at the time.)
** While on ''Thunder'' commentary, Nash mocked the fans who said he didn't know how to book the show, boasting that he knows enough to book himself into a retirement angle so he doesn't have to take any bumps and still make big money.
** When [[Wrestling/{{Christian}} Christian Cage]] was stomping around backstage demanding for people to partner with him against the Angle Alliance, Kevin Nash said he was too busy to help. When Christian inquired what was eating up his time Nash replied it was being paid to do nothing.
** Surprisingly does this A LOT in shoot interviews. He is very aware of his limited wrestling talent and his reputation and pokes fun of himself quite often.
* SexSells: While he was in charge of ''TNA Impact!'', he forced Wrestling/TheBeautifulPeople into a MudWrestling match with each other, figuring it would draw a large rating.
* SilverFox: TNA ran a competition to give women the chance to be Kevin Nash's valet. This bit him in the ass in WCW when Sting/Savage baited him into a road accident with a [[HoneyTrap limo filled with women]].
-->'''Nash:''' ''[to Wrestling/{{Daffney|Unger}} in TNA]'' Y'know, Wrestling/{{Tazz}} says you're "zombie hot", but I think you're just hot. ''[gets sacked by Abyss]''
* SirSwearsALot: Big Kev uses the word "fuck" the way most of us say "uh" or "and".
* SmallNameBigEgo: Nash has historically done just about anything he could to get out of {{jobb|er}}ing cleanly whenever possible. This unwillingness to put other wrestlers over has not always been well-received. In fact, during the Outsiders' various [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-t.html WCW World Tag Team Championship]] reigns, they imposed what they called "Wolfpac Rules," which allowed other nWo members (including Wrestling/RandySavage and [[Wrestling/XPac Syxx [Sean Waltman]]], the latter being considered a third champion) to sub for one of them, usually Nash, in title defenses.
* SmugSnake:
** Nash is to the "Wrestling/AttitudeEra" what Wrestling/RicFlair and [[Wrestling/CurtHennig Mr. Perfect]] were to the "Rock n' Wrestling" era: the codifier for "cool heel". He's a member of the Kliq, it comes with the territory.
** As ''Nitro''[='s=] heel announcer, his gimmick was, 'I got better things to do than be calling ''[[WhoWouldWantToWatchUs this!]]''[='=]
* SpanishAnnouncersTable: Responsible for the UrExample, when he threw Wrestling/BretHart through it at the 1995 ''Survivor Series''.
* SpiritualSuccessor: It's been said many times by many people that Wrestling/RomanReigns is Diesel all over again, except without the ItsAllAboutMe Executive Meddling {{Jerkass}}[=/=]TheBully qualities.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Oh yes, and as a booker for WCW he made himself look pretty good at the expense of other guys. While it's true that a lot of them were middling talents, the same could be said for Bret Hart when he was starting out.
* SquashMatch: The last time the WWE Title changed hands at a non-televised event, Nash as Diesel was the squasher with a simple boot and jackknife to Bob Backlund to win in 8 seconds at MSG.
* TackyTuxedo: One of the failed experiments... complete with over-gelled hair and a leisure suit. [[http://41.media.tumblr.com/84fd3b73044d30dae8c6dd7157ee8c9f/tumblr_n0fywiYF5C1sg99p0o1_500.png Dear God, it's horrible.]]
* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: His departure from TNA in late 2010 was not exactly amicable.[[note]]Then again, find a departure from TNA that ''was'' amicable...[[/note]]
* TallDarkAndSnarky: It could be said Kevin Nash has been far more celebrated for the promos he cuts than any of the wrestling matches he's had. People would tune into ''Impact'' just to hear him talk.
-->'''Audience to Nitro girls:''' SHOW YOUR TITS\\
'''Nash:''' I would, but the air's too cold.
* TraumaticHaircut: Had his famously long hair cut off after being knocked out in a match by Wrestling/ChrisJericho. Behind the scenes, he was required to cut his hair for his role in ''Film/{{The Punisher|2004}}''. He kept the short hair for a while in TNA, but eventually grew it back. He cut it short again after his program with Triple H ended and has kept it that way.
* TrueCompanions: Considers Wrestling/TheKliq to be his buddies for life, both in and out of {{Kayfabe}}.
* VitriolicBestBuds:
** With Shawn Michaels. Even though they are best of friends, Nash will readily admit that Michaels could be insufferable at times.
** With Wrestling/BretHart. While "best buds" may be an overstatement, they became very complimentary of each other and seem to consider each other friends. However, back when they were both wrestling, they had a lot of public creative differences, including one where Bret refused to take Nash's Jackknife Powerbomb during their match in a non-ending for fear that it would "look like he could've lost". It proved the last straw for an already disgruntled Nash who ended up leaving the company shortly after.
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