10 Biggest Promotion Killers In Wrestling History

3. Kevin Nash

Kevin Nash Goldberg
WWE.com

The death of WCW wasn't a one-man kamikaze mission - it was a gang killing.

One of the men responsible was Kevin Nash. Nash assumed control of the booking pencil in 1998. The promotion, by that point, was bereft of ideas. Supplanted by the rampant WWF, it was thought (optimistically) that Nash, whose cool aura had in part elevated the league beyond the Dungeon of Doom dreck which had mired it in 1995, could use his counter-cultural philosophy to rejuvenate the company.

Red flags were raised almost immediately. Nash didn't just win World War 3's sixty man, three ring battle royal - he decimated the field after taking a prolonged and very noticeable breather. His victory in the match granted him the opportunity to end Goldberg's undefeated streak - and Nash, mad with power, took it.

Wrestling is all about the follow up. As easy as it is to admonish Nash in retrospect, he remained a hugely popular and deceptively mobile act in 1998. There were few other men capable of ending something which could not go on forever - but WCW never followed it up by allowing Goldberg a conclusive, redemptive victory. Nash's heel heat was instead transferred to Hulk Hogan in the infamous January 4 'Fingerpoke of Doom' angle.

The Goldberg character never truly recovered; because he represented the absolute last embers of WCW's fading creative flame, it is not coincidental that the company never truly recovered either.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!