Kevin Nash reflects on working with Triple H and CM Punk during his 2011 run with WWE.
In 2011, Nash became an on-screen ally of Triple H’s. CM Punk “walked out” on WWE after winning the title at Money In The Bank, leaving John Cena to win a new title in Punk’s brief absence. At that year’s SummerSlam, Punk defeated Cena to unify the WWE Championship, in a match where Triple H was the special guest referee. Kevin Nash then attacked Punk from behind and hit a Jacknife Powerbomb on the champion. That attack led to Alberto Del Rio cashing in his Money In The Bank contract and ending the show with the title.
The angle was supposed to lead to a match between Nash and Punk at Night of Champions that year, with the contest even having a graphic made for it. However, on the latest edition of his Kliq This podcast, Nash explained why that match never happened and how Punk got under Triple H’s skin.
“It’s funny now that Vince has taken a backseat to this whole thing, that I see Paul, he owns it now. Like, he has ownership of that company as far as, when they say he’s creative. His demeanor, he is in completely control of that situation. There has never been anybody of his talent in the ring…he was with us and we were all ruthless and we were all very driven for our success. It’s such a different Paul now. When I was supposed to wrestle Punk, he got under Triple H’s skin so bad. Paul just came up to me and said, ‘I’m going to beat him. You’re not going to wrestle him. I’m beating him.’ Cool. That’s why me and Punk never wrestled. He made the call, ‘I gotta beat this fucker.’”
-Kevin Nash
Triple H is, infamously, one of the most prominent politicians in WWE history. That “ruthless” nature Nash mentions led to him keeping his spot near the top of the company for over ten years. The Night of Champions match became CM Punk vs. Triple H, and Triple H beat him. Punk later mentioned that WWE offered him a match against Triple H at WrestleMania 30. However, he left in early 2014, before anything was official. The pair did not get along for years, though with Punk’s recent return to the fold, fences appear to have been mended.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription.
