Throughout the 1990s, Kevin Nash made his mark on the world of professional wrestling as one of the biggest names in both WWE and eventually in WCW. However, he probably wouldn’t have achieved WWE Hall of Fame status without a gimmick that would change his fortunes for the better. The “Diesel” gimmick was Kevin Nash’s train to stardom, completely changing the trajectory of his wrestling career and catapulting him to not only main event status, but legendary status as well. When Nash joined WWE in 1993, they made a wonderful creative decision by turning him into Diesel.
Kevin Nash’s first year as Diesel was a huge success
In the early 1990s, Kevin Nash worked for WCW, and his size was something that stood out instantly, giving him a bit of an edge over everyone else. He was still a rookie in WCW and didn’t do much despite several attempts to repackage him. Under the roles of “Steel”, “Oz” and “Vinnie Vegas”, WCW just couldn’t do anything with Nash. His lack of success in WCW led him to make a change, appearing in WWE.
WWE struck gold on Nash’s first attempt, giving him the “Big Daddy Cool Diesel” gimmick, in which he was an arrogant biker-type character, who retained an air of arrogance and coolness wherever he went, despite being a heel. He was also set up to be Shawn Michaels’ bodyguard, and the pair became a fantastic act at the time. Michaels’ cocky demeanor played nicely on Nash, especially since he was so much smaller and was using Nash to his advantage.
As well as being a great character, with Nash giving a wonderful performance as Diesel, his casting was also great. When it came to singles matches, Nash was not pinned or submitted for over a year, which made him feel like a dominant force. In addition, he put in an excellent performance at the 1994 Royal Rumble, eliminating seven men from the match. He would go undefeated in singles action from there, leading to Intercontinental Championship glory. During this time, he and Michaels would also win the WWE Tag Team Titles. WWE engaged Nash, with him wrapped in gold after just one year in the promotion.
Diesel’s popularity led him to win the WWE Championship
Over time, Nash’s coolness, coupled with Michaels’ dislike, led to a very natural face change for Nash. A few months after his first loss to Razor Ramon for the IC title, he turned on Michaels due to the pair losing a few matches, chasing him out of the arena with a huge backlash. Nash looked like a star under the Diesel persona after spending only a short time with the company, with Vince McMahon seeing him as a prime candidate to fill the superior void left by Hulk Hogan.
Nash would go on to win the WWE Championship out of the blue, defeating Bob Backlund in seconds to capture the gold, which was a huge upset. He would later find himself feuding with Shawn Michaels, a natural progression given his bad blood. Michaels would go on to win the Royal Rumble before fighting Nash at WrestleMania 11. The pair had the match of the night and managed to successfully pull off a smaller heel vs. larger babyface dynamic in excellent fashion.
Due to Diesel’s gimmick, Kevin Nash was a definite star in professional wrestling.
After WrestleMania, things started to go a bit downhill, as general interest in the WWE product was on the decline, and Diesel’s long title reign was failing to gain audiences. Feuds against the likes of British Bulldog, King Mabel and Sycho Sid were nothing special, with several poor main events taking place throughout 1995. At Survivor Series 1995, Nash would drop the WWE title to Bret Hart, finally taking the weight of the company off his shoulders after a year-long reign as WWE Champion.
Despite some terrible bookings and poor fights, Nash’s time as Diesel had made him a definite star and a recognizable name, especially after a dominant time as champion. The next year he would see him fight The Undertaker and then face Michaels again, before his contract with WWE came to an end, which would lead him to come to WCW. When he arrived, even under the name Kevin Nash, he was a star due to his time as Diesel, which no doubt helped his and Scott Hall’s drawing power when they became “The Outsiders” in WCW, before helping form the group. iconic nWo faction alongside Hulk Hogan. Through a great performance early on, as well as winning big and winning gold, “Diesel” became a big name.