War of the words, Nash and Ouellet
Montreal showdown ...
Nash: 'If (Ouellet) wants to go, I'll be happy to fight'
By TIM BAINES, SUN MEDIA
Sort through the wrestlespeak and carney-like promotion and you still get the feeling there'll be fireworks tonight in Montreal when Kevin Nash and Carl Ouellet stand in the same ring. It's a grudge match headlining an International Wrestling Syndicate card (at the Medley, 1170 St-Denis, starting at 9 p.m.), but with so much more than the usual bluster and hot air when the good guy and bad guy jaw back and forth. This is real.
The two don't much like each other, dating back 14 years to a 1995 Montreal house show when Ouellet (then Jean-Pierre Lafitte) refused to job for Nash (who was known as Diesel). Ouellet claims Nash ruined his WWE (WWF at the time) career.
"I never got along good with Kevin or The Kliq," he says. "(When I told them I wouldn't lose) Kevin says to me, 'You don't want to lose against me tonight, do you?'
"I said, 'I'm not losing against you or anybody tonight.' If it's going to be a job, I'm packing my bags and going home."
The match finish was changed. And over the years, the animosity has simmered.
Nash says if Ouellet wants a fight, it's on.
"I don't know if they think they're bringing the lamb to slaughter," says Nash. "My hair may have grey in it, but I can put some dye in it and look 35.
"If (Ouellet) wants to go, I'll be happy to fight. I've been a bouncer in some pretty rough places. I'm not flying up to Montreal walking with my hands down.
"I grew up in the south side of Detroit. When I was eight, my dad died. So I've been taking care of myself since I was a kid. And I'm a bit of a hothead on top of that."
Nash says he hasn't talked to Ouellet.
"I gave (the IWS) a price that was 25% above what I normally charge and it's not cheap to fly somebody first-class from Orlando to Montreal," says Nash. "They said 'Yes, let's do it.' I guess somebody's got an axe to grind."
So what happened over the course of two nights -- in Montreal and Quebec City -- so long ago?
"I was the WWF champion, he was told to do something, something to further the prestige of my Diesel character. He refused to do it," says Nash. "The next night (in Quebec City), he did a leg drop (off the top rope) and his entire rear end landed on the side of my head. I figured it was on, so I field-goal-kicked him between the legs."
Several stiff shots ensued and the two were later separated backstage.
NOT COMING TO LOSE
"I'm not coming up to Montreal to lose," says Nash, who's happy to be in TNA.
"I came very close to going (back to WWE) last October," he says. "I consider Vince a friend. The first time he looked at me, he saw something other than Oz or Vinnie Vegas. I sat down with (TNA boss) Dixie Carter and she said there was no way she could match WWE financially, but she could offer a better standard of life.
"From my garage to Universal Studios (where TNA TV shows and many pay-per-views originate from) is 64 miles. I can drive to almost every event and be home at night, in my own bed.
"I've got a son, Tristen, in the seventh grade. He's 6-foot-5 and turns 13 in June. It's more important for me to be Kevin Nash the father than Kevin Nash the wrestler."
Nash, who turns 50 in July, says he's feeling good.
"It's amazing, I feel better at 50 than I did at 40," he says. "Most of my career, I was at 330 lbs. I'm at 297 now.
"Samoa Joe and I nearly beat each other to death with kendo sticks. I raised my hands with the Kliq sign and people cheered. How do you give that up? Admiration is the drug that makes us want to continue."
TIM.BAINES@SUNMEDIA.CA
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