Kevin Nash isn’t backing down from The Undertaker’s criticism of WWE’s infamous 1996 Madison Square Garden Curtain Call. In fact, Nash believes Undertaker’s problem with the moment may come down to jealousy because he wasn’t part of it.
The controversy started after The Undertaker discussed the Curtain Call during a Q&A edition of Six Feet Under. Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall broke character and embraced inside the ring after Hall and Nash’s final WWE match before leaving for WCW. Undertaker admitted it was probably a good thing he wasn’t inside Madison Square Garden that night.
“I wasn’t there, and it was probably a good thing that I wasn’t.”
The Deadman said the public embrace went against everything he believed about protecting professional wrestling at the time. While he understood that the four men were close friends who had traveled together for years, he felt they placed their friendship ahead of WWE.
“It goes against everything that I believe about the business, especially at the time that it happened. I thought it was selfish. I get it.”
Undertaker continued by explaining that he understood why the group wanted to share the moment, but still believed they made the night about themselves.
“These guys were all best friends, and they’d been through a lot together and traveled up and down the roads together.”
“I get where they were coming from, but I just thought that they put themselves ahead of the business for that time period.”
He acknowledged that the same incident would barely cause a reaction in today’s wrestling environment, where fans regularly see wrestlers breaking character and interacting publicly outside of television.
“I think in today’s product, it is what it is. If it happened today, then it’s just like, ‘Oh, well.’”
“Back then, it was a different era. I just looked at it as a selfish move. That’s business.”
Undertaker made it clear that he doesn’t carry a personal grudge against anyone involved, but he still strongly disagreed with the decision when it happened.
“I don’t care. I don’t hold any personal grudges about it. It happened, we’ve moved on, business has boomed, and it is what it is.”
“But at the time, no, I didn’t care for it at all.”
Nash has now fired back during an appearance on the Kliq This podcast. Sean Oliver brought up Undertaker’s comments and questioned why the Curtain Call was treated like such a major betrayal when wrestling fans already knew the business was scripted. Oliver compared the incident to seeing Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers embracing outside of Rocky, arguing that the actors being friendly wouldn’t suddenly ruin the movie. He also pointed out that wrestling newsletters and early internet coverage already existed in 1996, meaning plenty of fans knew Nash and Hall were leaving WWE.
Nash rejected Undertaker’s claim that the Curtain Call was selfish because the group had asked Vince McMahon for permission before doing it. He also said they weren’t trying to make themselves look stronger or damage anyone’s character.
“Even for Mark to say it was a selfish move. We went and asked Vince. It wasn’t selfish. It wasn’t to get ourselves over. I didn’t kip up and not sell the superkick.”
Nash then took things further by suggesting Undertaker’s criticism could be rooted in jealousy because the Curtain Call became one of the most memorable moments in wrestling history.
“If you really watch it and watch it for what it’s worth, I take it more as jealousy that you didn’t do it, you know, because it became a moment.”
Nash believes the Curtain Call didn’t hurt professional wrestling. Instead, he argued that it helped predict where the business was headed, with real-life relationships and backstage situations eventually becoming part of what fans saw on television. The moment also followed Nash and Hall to WCW, where the line between reality and storyline became a major part of the New World Order’s success.
Nearly three decades later, The Undertaker still believes The Kliq put themselves ahead of WWE that night. Nash sees it completely differently and now believes jealousy may be one of the reasons the moment still bothers him.
Do you think Kevin Nash is right that The Undertaker is jealous he wasn’t part of the Curtain Call, or did The Kliq disrespect the wrestling business? Let us know what you think in the comments.
