WWE Raw: Kevin Nash Deserves Praise for His 2011 WWE Return

Let's take a trip back to January...

The WWE was building up their Royal Rumble event. Fans were trying to predict the outcome to the 40-man match. The Universe was ready for a great show with a memorable winner to lead us into WrestleMania XXVII.

Sadly, WWE was not only focused on the eventual victor, but a few surprise entrants coming back to the company as well. Booker T returned during the Rumble match in a wonderful moment, and he still is on Smackdown every week doing commentary. You add in a few matches, and most fans would agree he is being "booked" perfectly in 2011.

On the flip side of the coin, WWE shocked the WWE Universe by bringing out Kevin Nash (Diesel) in a surprise appearance. It was one of the bigger crowd reactions of the year, and fans were instantly interested in what his role would be going forward.

Yes, it was 2011. Yes, Nash was older than many of the "youth movement" wrestlers. Yes, he has been banged up for a long time. However, none of that mattered.

Kevin Nash could always be a great asset to a wrestling company—when used in small doses. That is exactly what happened during the past year, and I enjoyed it.

Throughout the past 12 months, he had one memorable appearance in January and one great match in December. He started the year hot, and he ended his year at exactly the right time.

In between, he cost CM Punk the WWE title in shocking fashion at WWE SummerSlam. In turn, he helped Alberto Del Rio win that gold.

He cut a few nice promos on WWE Raw. Considering he had been out of the spotlight for eight years, that was an impressive feat. He stumbled early but found his footing soon after.

Not only that, but he brought the "nWo" music back to WWE! Who didn't enjoy that song? Who didn't cheer every time Nash came down the ramp with that tune blaring? I know I did. It was the right amount of "shout out to the past" without going back in time.

Finally, his feud with Triple H was a very good feud. Say what you want, but the two did exactly what this business should be about. I will explain.

Nash was the bad guy (heel). Triple H was a good guy (face). The heel always hit his opponents from behind, and he ha no qualities to like about him. Again, that is what makes him the heel.

The face, Triple H, tried to understand him. He tried to help him out. He tried, but Nash wanted no part of what he had to say. Once again, you felt sorry for Triple H.

The heat was on Nash the entire feud...until it came time for the face to get revenge. Perfect storytelling. The bad guy does bad things. The good guy comes in and gets rid of the bad guy. It is that simple.

Now that the year is over, I can look back and applaud Kevin Nash! Did he put on "five-star classics" that really mean nothing? No. Did he jump off the top rope and flip around for no reason? No.

Kevin Nash didn't do any of that.

He didn't need to.

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