Kevin's Forum
by Kevin Nash
May 15, 2001
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LUNCH WITH THE ROCK … CHYNA IN PLAYBOY, AGAIN?
… WCW’s FUTURE
I’m back!
 Yep,
after a short vacation from the computer world, I’m back here on the Web. As usual,
I’ve got a lot of views, on a lot of different subjects. From the sale of WCW to the
WWF, to my buddy Scott Hall, to my recent doings. With so much free time these days, I
will continue to update this site regularly, so keep checking back … if only because
you never know exactly when I will be back or what the heck I’ll be talking about. It
could be Vince McMahon one day, the NBA playoffs the next. Who knows, just keep reading.
Let’s start with a quick update on where I’ve
been – and what I’ve been doing -- since losing that Loser Leaves WCW Match
against Scott Steiner at SuperBrawl in February. Shortly after the Steiner match, I met
with a nutritionalist and set up a new diet. I’ve been training hard, including a lot
of cardio work. I’m trying to lose some body-fat … and have been pretty
successful. I’ve also been spending a lot of time with my son, Tristen, and just
relaxing, letting my body heal. One thing you have to realize about this business is,
after 11 or 12 years, however long I’ve been doing this, the only time you have any
down-time is when you’re hurt. And then, it’s not really downtime; you’re
just rehabbing so you come back as soon as possible. And, we all come back sooner than we
need to.
I think Ed Ferrara said it best … Basically it’s
nice to just sit around and de-compress.
Basically that’s what we’re all doing right now.
It’s been, without a doubt, the most brutal two years of my life, just from the
standpoint of no leadership, no management, no direction. To me, WCW has been like a
person on a respirator … and finally, someone took ‘em off the respirator. I
hated to see the company go under, but as far as I’m concerned, it was a brutal work
environment, starting with being lied to by Turner executives. They knew the company was
for sale, particularly because one of my friends (Eric Bischoff) was trying to buy it. But
they still had meetings and said it was not for sale. The more I saw at the time and the
more I learn now, the more I realize how poorly run the company was.
People have asked me if I am, or was, surprised WCW went
under. Well, all I can say is, no. Let’s look at the facts. Vince McMahon does a deal
with Viacom – and all of a sudden he’s using MTV music and basically has
complete cooperation. WCW, on the other hand, was a Time-Warner company, which also owns
Warner Brothers Records, HBO and all these other companies, but there’s no
cooperation whatsoever between the companies. I did an episode of the TV show NIKKI on WB,
but there’s no cross-promotion. It was just such a brutal work environment. It was
like every department was working against each other. There was no synergy. Just brutal,
absolutely brutal. Trying to understand Time-Warner is like trying to understand the
Jamaican drug-lord’s dialogue in the film ‘Belly.’
When the deal was announced in mid-March, I knew
immediately what my position was. I was one of the few fortunate ones who was not going to
be effected. I knew my money wasn’t going to be effected at all; I had a guaranteed
contract. I knew, when they sold it, that I was going to have a near-11-month paid
vacation. It’s horrible for those who didn’t have any stability in their
contracts though.
The only chance the guys have now is, to start a union.
Now, if the guys don’t become unionized, they will get screwed.
Vince McMahon is now the only game in town … at least
on this side of the ocean. There are other avenues, there always are. But if you want or
need U.S. TV exposure, Vince is the only place that you can get it.
Everyone’s asking, "Will someone else start up
another wrestling promotion?" Well, all I can say is, I don’t know if
there’s a cable TV company that wants wrestling. Without TV, there’s no reason
to do anything.
What about Hulk Hogan? Is he, as rumors persist, going to
start a new promotion? Well, Hulk’s one of The Boys. He’s not gonna start up
with his money. He’s worked too hard to make it. And does Hulk really want that
headache of the day-to-day operation of a wrestling company? That’s a rough venture.
If anything, I think some of the top guys will get together and run some tours. Who knows,
maybe we’ll run Australia, the Middle East, the Far East, Europe, who knows where
else. Vince really isn’t doing much overseas. Why should he go to Paris and run a
show when he can sell out arenas 10 minutes from his back yard. Obviously the hot markets
are still there, but Vince doesn’t need to run them.
If some promotion was to barnstorm like the Harlem
Globetrotters have done for years, I think it would be very lucrative.
The WWF picked up the contracts of 24 WCW wrestlers. They
took all the young guys and most of them are pretty green; they’re gonna need some
seasoning. Plus, the time-slot that has been rumored (starting at about 11 p.m. on Friday
or Saturday) is not going to be very good. I don’t know how much exposure you’re
going to get from 11-1 a.m. But, if anyone can make the thing work, it’s Vince, with
his production and his ability to promote.
So what was the downfall of WCW? To me, when Bill Busch
came in, that’s when this place went down the tubes. Then, you had people who
didn’t even have a clue how to run a wrestling business, and yet they were running a
wrestling business. It’s like me going out and operating on one of your loved ones.
What the hell, I’ve watched The Operating Channel before.
THE LA THING
I went out to Los Angeles in late-April to read for a
movie. I also had other meetings with producers, directors, writers, creative people from
different film-makers and studios. In all, I had about 14 meetings over six days. I came
home May 4.
One day in L.A., I went to lunch at The Firehouse with The
Rock after seeing him at the Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach. In fact, we had lunch the
afternoon his new movie premiered in Los Angeles. It was nice talking with him. I had met
him before; I knew him when he broke into the business and I saw him about two years ago
in Phoenix, but this really was the first time I had a chance to sit down and talk to him.
He’s a really nice guy. It’s amazing that, even with all his success, he’s
stayed level-headed. I think he’s a great figurehead for the business. He’s
articulate, he’s talented, he’s charismatic; he’s everything you could want
from a spokesman for the business. We talked more about his film work than wrestling,
though.
Also in L.A., I ran into Chyna late one night at
Jerry’s Deli in Marina Del Ray. We talked for about two hours. I hadn’t talked
to her in a while, so that was nice. I probably hadn’t seen her in over a year. I had
heard through the grapevine that she was going to do another Playboy spread, so I asked
her about it. She said she didn’t know if she was going to get clearance.
I also one night in L.A. had sushi with Barry Blaustein,
who made Beyond The Mat. I had met him a few times in the past, but this was the
first time we had spent quality time together. He’s a nice guy.
The overall L.A. trip was good, worthwhile, but hectic. To
me, going to LA is like playing golf … it takes a couple of shots to put it in the
hole.
SCOTT HALL
On May 5th, I drove with Scott Hall to Dotham,
Ala., where he was working for Dusty Rhodes’ promotion. Scott actually flew to
Atlanta that morning, arriving at about 10 a.m. We had breakfast at Waffle House, then
drove the Benz down to Dotham. We arrived in town at about 5:30, and had dinner. At the
show, I talked to Dusty for a while, which I always enjoy, and did an interview for a
Japanese publication. Plus, I hung out with Larry Zbyszko and laughed a lot. It was good
to be back in the locker room, shooting the shit with The Boys.
Scott is doing well. He hasn’t been drinking and
really enjoys working in Japan. He’s getting over huge, over there. It’s been a
real positive thing for him. He kind of went over to see if he wanted to wrestle anymore
– and he’s basically fallen back in love with the sport. He’s always had a
real fondness for wrestling in Japan; he always dug that the most. The situation is real
good for him. He likes sushi and the Japanese culture, plus, he likes to read too, so he
hangs out by himself and reads a lot.
Scott is lean and looks great. We were sitting around at my
house and I was wearing a tank-top. He said, ‘Kev, this is the best you’ve ever
looked.’ I said, ‘Ditto.’ He then said, ‘Man, we’re in our 40s
and look better than we did five years ago.’ I told him, ‘Yeah … it’s
amazing what happens, how your body changes when you knock out 30 daily beers.’
Well, that’s it for now. I’ll be back again soon
with more news and views.
In closing, am I the only one who watches a lot of country
music videos because the ladies are hot … and I don’t even like country music.
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