[1999-03-14-WCW-Uncensored] Kevin Nash vs Rey Misterio Jr

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Last few minutes. Nash gets a decisive win, lest anyone have some idea that Rey can play with the big boys, effectively sending Rey back to the cruiserweight division. Nash has some pretty smart offense to take advantage of the size difference.

[Tim Evans]

Heenan trying to say Luger didn't trip Rey and then Tony yelling at him was sad. I don't know how long the match was before this but it looked like a squash.

[soup23]

The Giant Killer gimmick is over. Sigh. WCW has been all over this disc and while it has been fascinating at times, it also has been depressing to watch.

[PeteF3]

The previous week's Observer is fascinating if depressing reading, as Dave declares an end to the Monday Night Wars and says that WCW will never right the ship again, comparing the morale of the 1999 locker room the morale of the locker room in the similarly decaying company of 1988, where the remaining roster was still motivated to go out and put on the best shows that they could, leading to the legendary year of 1989 after the company was saved. But this time there was no light at the end of the tunnel, from either a financial or artistic standpoint. The result of this match is further proof. Sorry to waste your time with the Rey push and hope of change, everyone. Everything's back to normal now and the last four weeks of TV were a waste of your time.

[DMJ]

Hot take: This match is actually better proof that WCW had fucked up the potential of Kevin Nash more than it is proof that they fucked up the potential of Rey Mysterio.

 

Nash was so over as a babyface that lying down for Hogan in January, screwing Rey out of his mask at SuperBrawl, and hanging with Luger couldn't get him heel heat. Now, you can say that Nash himself is to blame for it, but I'd also put some blame on the WCW bookers/agents/whoever-the-hell-was-in-charge-at this point because they shouldn't have been letting Nash go out there and continue to cut "Wolfpack in the House!" promos before his match. The point is, Nash was easily the number 2 babyface on the roster - even after he ostensibly turned heel months earlier.

 

At points in this match, when Mysterio scores offense, a large segment of the audience boos the underdog! When Nash calls for the powerbomb at the end (after Luger trips up Rey, which got heat), the audience goes back to rooting for Nash too! The guy was popular, selling loads of merch, and even had a little bit of an "easy out" after Starrcade to remain a babyface by claiming he didn't want Hall's help. You can book a WCW in 99' built around Goldberg and Nash as top babyfaces and while I don't think it would've necessarily ever kept up with WWE's rising popularity, its amazing WCW thought the better option was to put Hogan and Flair back in the main event instead (and I know the buyrate was good for SuperBrawl, but you could run Hogan/Flair without the belt and get the same result anyway).

 

As for Rey, I think you book this same feud against a guy who the fans actually disliked - like Luger, like Giant (if he had stayed in WCW), like Scott Steiner - and it works much better. You don't get quite same Giant Killer aspect of it, but Luger or Steiner would have looked comparatively monstrous.

[Mrzfn]

Nash was so over as a babyface that lying down for Hogan in January, screwing Rey out of his mask at SuperBrawl, and hanging with Luger couldn't get him heel heat. Now, you can say that Nash himself is to blame for it, but I'd also put some blame on the WCW bookers/agents/whoever-the-hell-was-in-charge-at this point because they shouldn't have been letting Nash go out there and continue to cut "Wolfpack in the House!" promos before his match.

 

Pretty sure Nash was head booker at this point, so you'd have to divide the blame between Nash and... also Nash.