Any time somebody holds the WWE Title for 358 days (seven days short of one year) like Diesel did through most of 1995, it means that Vince McMahon has a lot of faith in that guy. The mid-90s was a period where Vince was looking for that huge star to replace Hulk Hogan as the biggest draw in the company. He thought it might be Kevin Nash, who was better known as Diesel, but he was very wrong about that. Diesel had a long WWE Title reign that didn't go well. Numbers were down across the board. The PPV buyrates were at all time low numbers (or close to it), ratings were poor with WCW Nitro also starting up in 1995 and house show attendance was also below what WWE would consider average. It also didn't help that unless Diesel was out there with Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart he usually had bad matches. The company was losing money. If it continued for another year or two that could have been it. Why did Diesel get the big push? He's a near 7 footer and 300 pounds. Vince loves the big guys. What's sad about it is that Vince invested all that time and money in this guy, yet a few months after he lost the WWE Title he ended up jumping to WCW for more money. The ironic thing about that is that while he was a poor draw in WWE, he was a difference maker in WCW largely because he was a WWE guy. If Vince didn't back Diesel the way he did, he really wouldn't have meant anything to WCW.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
