The Road to Recovery following his 21st surgery starts and stops in Birmingham, Ala., or so it seems. Kevin Nash suffered a torn left quad muscle on the July 8th Raw. His surgery was performed the following day by Dr. James Andrews and Nash’s rehab is done under the watchful eye of doctors and physical trainers at the nearby Health South Rehabilitation Center. And he stays at a hotel about five minutes away.
Nash will be back in the ring, his twice-a-day rehab sessions – each lasting up to two hours – are a clear sign that the former World Champion hasn’t wrestled his last match. In fact, Nash already has his return-goal: Royal Rumble 2003, at nothing less than 100 percent.
Nash, with the use of crutches, hops into rehab for some intense sessions … with his normal off-beat humor mixed in, of course. He starts with 20 minutes of icing and a few cell phone calls, though service inside is "touchy," at best, he said. His first call this Monday morning was to WWE Headquarters, to send birthday wishes. Nash uses a wireless cord, attached to his Nokia phone. He sits below a framed, signed poster of Triple-H. Why? "I call it, The Hunter bed," Nash said.
Nash’s rehab includes electric stimulation, squats, machine work, work with ankle weights and more. "Welcome to my world," he said. "But the leg feels good today." It eventually bends to 100 degrees – and Nash is quite pleased. The doctors are, too.
Lunch is a pair of chicken burritos at Moe’s, where he’s asked to sign several autographs – and of course obliges. After the second training session, Nash drives home, er, to his hotel, the first time he’s driving himself since the injury.
In his first sit-down interview following the injury, Nash spoke with former WCW Magazine editor Ross Forman. Nash talked about his rehab, his return and Eric Bischoff, among other things.
You’ve had 21 surgeries, including 14 on your knees, but have said this was most painful. Rehab is nothing new to Kevin Nash.
"My job now is to come back as soon as possible, but at 100 percent. They’re counting on me coming back and it’s my job to come back. There’s no way I’d let an injury stop my career. When Kevin Nash stops, it’s not going to because of an injury; I’ve come back from every injury in the past. Injuries are nothing but an inconvenience and time-consuming. Rehab is just a state of mind. You have to know in your heart and mind that you’re going to come back, and, stay positive.
"This is a real slow progress rehab because of the nature of the surgery; I know that."
It’s been rumored that you will retire and never wrestle again. Is that true?
"Absolutely not. For all those people who believe I’m lazy, it’s just that, when you’ve had surgically-repaired limbs to the point where I have you’re not as mobile as you once were. How lazy am I? Just ask the guys at the Health South Rehab Center. Or ask the guys who train with me in the gym. I always wonder what kind of pro wrestler I would have been if I hadn’t had 13 knee operations before my first match."
You had to be crushed going down in your first match after bicep surgery, especially since you weren’t expecting to work that Raw. You even had to Delta Dash your wrestling gear to Philadelphia for the match.
"People might say that to blow a quad on the first night back after a three-month bicep injury has got to drive you crazy. Well, I always say, ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ Maybe the reason here is to determine how much I want to continue this as my career. Well, being in Birmingham, away from my family and basically living a spartan existance, shows my dedication. Thank God I’ve got Hunter, so when I hit a wall (in the rehab), I can always call him and he can tell me what to expect, when, how, etc. It’s nice to have a barometer to guide/gauge where I’m at.
"That said, I’m in good spirits. A month after the surgery I was driving."
It’s been a tough 2002, huh?
"Kevin Nash has been pretty injury-prone over the past year of so, so it may be time to wake up Diesel, see if he can have a healthier run. Since it looks like I’m coming back this time by myself, I may be back as Big Daddy Cool. Maybe not with black hair, though."
Tell me about The Moment it happened, and what stands out to you.
"Every time I run that moment through my eyes, I see Bubba Ray Dudley.
"As I was coming across the ring to hit Bubba on the apron, we locked eyes. Then all of a sudden I went down. I know he must have seen that look in my face as if saying, ‘Damn.’ And down I went. I don’t know what he was thinking at that moment, but he came over and I said to him, ‘Man, I’m hurt.’ And he then just covered me up; he made sure no one landed on me. Bubba and I don’t really know each other that well, but it was just one of those moments, like I was looking in his eyes before I died.
"Tommy Dreamer was really super with and for me, especially that night; he packed my bag for me. And, like Bubba, I don’t know Tommy too, too well. My Kliq also was there for me that night, and so many others. There are so many great guys in that locker room; people don’t understand that. Arn Anderson, Ric Flair and about 80 percent of wrestlers called me after the injury to see how I was/am doing. That’s nice.
When might you return to the ring?
"My goal is to come back for the Royal Rumble. That’s what I’m shoot for. It’s an easy story-line fix. Condition-wise, I just hope I’d be at the late end of the draw, perhaps 29 or 30.
"You have to set goals and all successful athletes, and all successful people as a whole, set goals. That’s what I’ve done … to be 100 percent, in better shape than I was or ever was before. And I don’t see myself not obtaining that goal.
"After that, I’d like to be involved in a major angle at WrestleMania. In a perfect world, I’d like to be doing something with Hunter – with or against him. I’d also like Shawn involved; I thought we had some magic when we were back together.
Rock also is someone I’d like to work with, and also, Hulk. There are others, too; there’s a lot of great talent in that locker room."
What about Eric Bischoff’s arrival in the WWE?
"It’s great that he’s back. I was really hoping he could have come in when we came in. Eric does a good job. He gives them another person to weave the story lines around. It’s great seeing him on TV. I knew he’d contribute, and he is. That said, it was strange seeing him on WWE TV for the first time. It wa almost surreal the first time. To see him and Vince hug, that was strange."
Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff always have had a unique relationship, wouldn’t you say?!
"Vince is the top of the mountain, and anytime anyone can go up against Vince – and have success, like Eric did – it’s a huge feather in your cap. And, in retrospect, I think Vince realizes that, that he’s the benchmark and always will be. Same for his company; it’s always been The Show. Even when we were in Atlanta and doing well, we always thought that (the WWF) was The Show. We knew The Show would always rebound, and it will again. Wrestling is down right now, but it’ll fire back up."
What would you say in a "Dear Fans:" letter?
"I know there are a lot of people in this industry who do not like me. They can have their opinion. At the same time, there are a lot of people who do like me. And for those people, that’s one of the reasons I’m trying to come back. I have a great, loyal fan-base; they mean an awful lot to me.