Jim Ross Reveals That Kevin Nash Had Backstage Heat For WWE Title Win Over Bob Backlund

WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash won the WWE Championship on November 26, 1994, defeating Bob Backlund in eight seconds during a WWE house show in Madison Square Garden just three days after Backlund had won the title. Nash, wrestling as Diesel, had only been in WWE for a little over a year, and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross revealed that Nash squashing Backlund, a veteran who previously had held the WWE Title for nearly six years, did not sit well with some of his peers.

"That got some heat on Kevin by some of the guys in the locker room because Backlund was a legendary figure, long, long-time champion, very popular guy," Ross said on the "Grilling JR" podcast. "Beating Bobby in the Garden, where he had had some of his greatest successes was a shocker, especially amplified when Bob did the favor in eight seconds. So a lot of the talents didn't understand that."

Nash would go on to hold the WWE Championship for nearly a year before losing the title to Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1995. Despite being at the top of the mountain in WWE, Nash would become a bigger star in WCW when he, Scott Hall, and Hulk Hogan formed the NWO.

"I don't think Diesel was that over," Ross said. "He was the most over [at that point] than he had ever been in his career. But, I didn't think that the transition from Diesel to Kevin Nash was anything but good."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Grilling JR" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.