Kevin Nash Will Be Inducted into 2015 WWE Hall of Fame

Kevin Nash helped change the face of wrestling forever as a founding member of the New World Order. Now, his status in sports entertainment will be immortalized forever as the latest member of the WWE Hall of Fame.

"I've been called just about everything, but this is the first time I'll be called a Hall of Famer. It's nice," Nash told James Montgomery of Rolling Stone. "It's been a long 25 years, but this business has been great to me. Without wrestling, there's no way I'd be where I am today. I'd probably own a strip club someplace."  

Nash, 55, underwent a number of character incarnations early in his career before striking gold as Diesel in WWE. Joining the company in 1993, he quickly became one of the company's most integral stars, both as a tag team performer and in singles competition. Closely aligned with friend Shawn Michaels for much of his early WWE run, he captured the Intercontinental and WWE (then WWF) Championships during his run.

However, it's Nash's run in WCW that took him from star to transformative figure. Joining Ted Turner's company, alongside Scott Hall, Nash formed the tag team The Outsiders—a stable that eventually morphed into the NWO when Hulk Hogan joined. The NWO is largely credited with lighting a fire under the sports-entertainment world, spearheading WCW's charge in the Monday Night Wars.

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

He's also seen as being part of what brought WCW's popularity to a downfall, most notably due to his participation in the Fingerpoke of Doom. As a member of the powerful backstage group The Kliq, Nash also took criticism for wielding too much backstage power.

"When people write articles about why I should or shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame, inevitably they always mention something about all of that," Nash told Montgomery. "To be honest, I think the thing I'm most proud of is that I always viewed this as a business, and without me doing some of those things, this business wouldn't be as lucrative for some of the guys as it is today."

Nash joins Randy Savage, Alundra Blayze, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Bushwhackers, Larry Zbyszko and Tatsumi Fujinami in the 2015 class. The class will be formally inducted next Saturday as part of WrestleMania weekend.

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