10 Rare Times Wrestlers Were Self-Aware
2. Kevin Nash
The delightfully mischievous Kevin Nash didn't rile up the hardcore wrestling fanbase involuntarily through bare-faced politicking, though he engaged in much of that. He did it because he wanted to; Kevin Nash, handsome towering megastar of the mid 1990s, was one of the first sh*tposting pro wrestlers.
Years and years before the irony scene spewed out bizarre inter-generational dynamics and the relic pro wrestler playing against type as a punchline, Kevin Nash lent his expertise to Alex Shelley in a fondly remembered, quietly innovative run under the Paparazzi Productions banner. This meta patter made perfect use of Nash's excellent deadpan comedic timing and easygoing disposition. He only ever gave a sh*t about money, so what did he give a sh*t about sending up his bomb of a run as Diesel?
He put over the Diesel run as something Jim Londos could but dream of, claiming to Shelley that 29,000 crammed into MSG to watch him take down Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship.
When Shelley pointed out the practical issues of such a boast, Nash, adopting the mystical tone of the old carny fantasists, said MSG did hold over 20,000 "that night," as if the building had expanded to accommodate his presence.