Kevin Nash says the nWo’s 2002 WWE return was not dead on arrival with the fans, but it may have been doomed backstage from the start.
During an appearance on Inside The Ropes, Nash looked back on the original nWo trio coming into WWE and claimed the locker room turned against them once they immediately got hot again. Nash was asked about the nWo’s WWE arrival in 2002 and the famous early interaction with The Rock. Instead of focusing on one promo, Nash explained that WWE brought the group back at a time when some people believed the act had lost its magic after WCW’s chaotic final days.
“No, it was just one of those things that I mean, we were the nWo and basically because WCW turned it so chaotic at the end. They — and we had all split up and everything else — they thought that if you got, you know, the original Beatles back together again that it wouldn’t work.”
Nash said the feeling was that the shine was gone from the nWo, especially after the way WCW fell apart and the group had been split into different versions before the company closed.
“That magic was gone, that luster was gone.”
That changed fast once Nash, Scott Hall, and Hulk Hogan appeared again in the black and white. Nash said the reaction at No Way Out in Milwaukee proved the group still had serious juice with the audience. According to Nash, the nWo also became a merchandise monster right away. That is where he believes the problems started behind the scenes.
“And then the minute they brought those three characters back out with those black and white shirts on in Milwaukee for No Way Out, the place went crazy.”
“We were the number one selling shirt and every guy in that locker room went, ‘Kill them.’ And that’s what happened.”
That is a pretty brutal read from Nash, because WWE’s version of the nWo did not last long compared to the group’s WCW run. Hogan was quickly shifted back into a babyface role after the massive reaction he received against The Rock at WrestleMania 18, while Hall and Nash’s runs were cut short for different reasons.
Nash’s version paints the nWo’s WWE run as something that still had fan interest and merchandise power, but not enough political room to survive in a locker room full of WWE stars who did not want WCW’s biggest act taking over again. Whether fans loved or hated the WWE version of the nWo, Nash clearly believes the group still had plenty of value when they walked back through the curtain.
What do you think about Kevin Nash saying the WWE locker room wanted the nWo killed off in 2002? Did WWE cut the group down too fast, or was the nWo already past its prime by then? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below.
