10 Times WWE Got Babyfaces Wrong

2. Diesel

Diesel Kevin Nash
WWE.com

After years of playing awful (Oz) or mediocre (Vinnie Vegas) gimmicks in WCW, Kevin Nash found his calling as the menacing Diesel. As Shawn Michaels' bodyguard, he was able to stand at ringside, watch and learn from a master between the ropes. Steadily, Diesel improved and caught Vince McMahon's eye.

God-given size was truthfully why, but Nash worked hard to be taken seriously as a monster heel who crushed all in his path and made the most of opportunities; his run in the 1994 Royal Rumble turned more heads than McMahon's. Later that year, Vince decided it was time to give Diesel the strap and try him out as his new babyface sensation.

Then, he confusingly decided to lean on Nash's college basketball history.

During interviews, Diesel suddenly started talking about how he'd been pretty handy on the courts in college. You won't be surprised to learn that outing him as someone who was OK at ball but not quite good enough for the NBA didn't earn the new champ any praise. In fact, it stripped away any cool points he had with fans who'd turned him face in the first place.

Advertisement
In this post: 
The Rock
 
Posted On: 
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.