Former WCW Champion Says 'There Is No Attitude Era' Without Him

Kevin Nash knows that he was a primary reason pro wrestling got a whole lot of "attitude" in the late 1990s. The two-time WWE Hall Of Famer had his special "Year-End Awards" on his "Kliq This Podcast," and with co-host Sean Oliver, he decided to field some listener questions to ring in the occasion. One inquired with curiosity as to whether or not Nash's Diesel persona would have still worked in the notorious Attitude Era if "Big Daddy Cool" had stuck around up in Stamford. Nash simply saw the question as a moot point and gave a rather direct answer.

"If I don't go to WCW, there is no Attitude Era," he stated.

Nash and the late Scott Hall were indeed the two catalysts for a major shift in pro wrestling at the time. The Outsiders jumping ship to WCW opened the door for Hulk Hogan to turn heel and form the New World Order. The immense popularity of the faction, along with a blurring of the lines between wrestling and reality, led WCW to dominate the television ratings going head-to-head with WWE. Starting in June 1996, "WCW Monday Nitro" beat "WWE Raw" for 83 consecutive weeks; as a result, it forced WWE to up its game. From the rise of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock to the creation of controversial factions like D-Generation X and the Nation Of Domination, Vince McMahon and WWE were eventually able to return to the top of the wrestling food chain, winning the Monday Night War and purchasing the WCW competition in 2001.

Nash will later come back to a much different WWE down the line, still appearing as Diesel from time to time.