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It's no secret that former WWE Champions Kevin Nash and CM Punk, to this very day, are at loggerheads with one another over several real-life differences they've had in the past.
While Nash strongly criticized Punk for the latter's infamous "Pipebomb" promo which The Straight Edge Superstar cut live on the June 27th, 2011 episode of Monday Night RAW; Punk returned fire by alleging that Nash and other part-time Superstars were unfairly taking away a majority of the spotlight from the younger, full-time talents.
Regardless of whether you happen to have sided with Nash or Punk in their real-life rivalry with one another, it's indeed the undisputed truth that the two WWE icons aren't likely to exchange Christmas cards anytime soon!
On that note, although most hardcore professional wrestling fans generally sing praises of Punk, whilst proclaiming Nash to be evil as though he were the Devil himself; I -- a lifelong nWo and Outsiders fan -- hereby present to you the biggest reasons why Kevin Nash is better than CM Punk...(*Note to the reader: The following discussion may get heated, at times, and I'd like to hereby request the reader to kindly bear with us and go through the facts noted in this article before sounding off in the comments)
#10 Overcoming adversity
Kevin Nash is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, a peculiar case in the world of sports and entertainment -- a man who despite being strong, has unfortunately fallen victim to the injury bug. However, despite suffering a career-ending knee injury while playing for the Giessen 46ers as part of the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany, Nash hit the gym with vengeance and rehabbed himself back to top form.
Moreover, instead of risking re-injuring his knee, the big man enlisted in the armed forces, and worked under the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) -- often times abbreviated as the CID -- and quickly rose to the rank of a "Specialist" in the armed forces. One ought to note that his work as part of the CID team was primarily during his time in Giessen, Germany and that he successfully served for not one but two years at a high-security NATO facility, and that was the time when he received the promotion, earning the honours of being anointed a Specialist.
The aforementioned facts bring something really significant to light, that being Nash's mental fortitude and discipline. Despite going through the mental trauma of his basketball career having tragically ended when he was just around 22 years of age, the man went on to physically, mentally and spiritually rebuild himself and find tremendous success in the military...
#9 Larger than life
Building on the point we discussed in the previous page, I'd like to clarify that by no means do we intend to say that CM Punk hasn't faced adversity in his life -- Instead, our aim is to shut down claims that Nash was 'handed' everything to him just because of his size and look!
Expounding upon that very point, it's undeniable that the 6'10" 300+ pound giant's larger-than-life stature did play a role in his rise to the top. Regardless, Nash was and is considerably different than most other big men in the world of professional wrestling -- especially due to the fact that Nash was one of the rare giants in the business who had been blessed with a ton of natural charisma.
On the other hand, while CM Punk's fans claim that he was charismatic in his own right, the 6'1" man who was billed at around 220 pounds or so during his WWE days and now cuts weight to make 170 pounds in the Welterweight division as an MMA fighter, wasn't exactly a larger-than-life character during his time atop the WWE throne...
#8 Legitimate athletic credentials
Alright, this one may perhaps strike a nerve with most CM Punk loyalists. However, you'd be remiss to deny the fact that Kevin Nash is vastly more qualified than Punk in the realm of legitimate athletic credentials.
Nash played as a centre for the Tennessee Volunteers basketball team and played as part of the team for 3 consecutive years (1977-80) before a much-talked-about altercation with his team's head coach Don DeVoe hindered his run with the team. Nash was also involved in several fights on campus in his college days, and subsequently didn't play on the team for a 4th year, instead choosing to try his luck in the European basketball circuit.
On the contrary, CM Punk only chose to engage in legitimate sporting competition relatively late in his life, after quitting the WWE and retiring from professional wrestling in 2014. Phil "CM Punk" Brooks made his MMA debut in the UFC organization in 2016, and had yet another match in 2018, losing both his MMA fights decisively! Whereas Nash found great success in his basketball career before the unfortunate knee injury forced him to retire...
#7 A true solider
As noted previously, after the unfortunate knee injury forced the man to retire from the sport of basketball, Kevin Nash joined the 202nd Military Police Company back in the day in Giessen, Germany -- becoming a part of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) -- often times abbreviated as the CID, particularly when discussed by the general public.
An interesting point we spoke about earlier, regarding Nash's rise to the rank of "Specialist" during the 2-year period he served at a high-security NATO facility -- especially for those unaware of how the military police and affiliated organizations function -- is that the aforesaid promotion is only accorded to personnel who display excellent work-ethic, discipline and a deep understanding of how the armed forces work.
Believe it or not, the easy-going, cool and stylish nWo founder is, in fact, a legitimately dangerous man in real-life! Well, fortunately, Nash is one of the good guys, whose work at that time in the armed forces mainly comprised investigating felonies and crimes of serious nature that violated the US Code, particularly crimes committed by members of the United States Armed Forces. Now, while I'm sure Punk too is a model citizen in the beautiful country that is the USA, Nash is one step forward in that regard, as he has worked tirelessly to protect and serve the Stars and Stripes...
#6 Storylines and promos rather than spot-fests
I may very well come across like a broken cassette here, however, this point simply cannot be stressed upon enough. Storylines, characters, promos and the entertainment side of professional wrestling are in fact as, or perhaps even more, important than the in-ring wrestling action.
Granted that CM Punk delivered the Pipebomb, which is hailed by his fans as one of the very best promos of all time, Kevin Nash cut his teeth with some of the greatest characters in wrestling history such as Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Ric Flair. With that in mind, it isn't too surprising that Nash cut promos way better than Punk's Pipebomb, that too on a weekly basis -- first as a part of The Outsiders with Hall and then as an nWo member with Hall, Hogan, Konnan and several other legendary characters!
Furthermore, instead of engaging in spot-fests like several performers of the current era are guilty of doing, Nash made his moves count and ensured that he focused on the promos and storylines too -- Instead of just engaging in a "Superkick Party" and making a mockery of the great art that is professional wrestling...
#5 It's not personal -- It's strictly business
Funnily enough, although most may credit the famous line -- It's not personal; it's strictly business -- to the classic movies from The Godfather franchise; a rather shining example of the same in recent memory is when UFC megastar Conor McGregor mouthed a similar phrase to his arch-rival Khabib Nurmagomedov during their UFC Lightweight Title fight!
It's only business. Kevin Nash is a man of business, and a true master at the art of not allowing his personal differences with a business associate or rival get in the way of his work. Nash worked for several pro-wrestling organizations including WCW (1990-93 and 1996-2001), WWE (1993-96, 2002-04 and from 2011 to the present day), as well as Impact Wrestling (2004-11).
Despite having several creative differences as well as legitimate personal rivalries with fellow industry veterans such as Chris Jericho, Goldberg and a few others; Nash has always been a consummate professional -- working with whoever is put in front of him. On the other hand, CM Punk who had for long complained about part-timers being given prominent spots at WrestleMania, eventually went on to fight on the PPV section of UFC 203 and UFC 225, thereby taking up the spot which could've easily seen a better-trained fighter be featured in it.
Honestly speaking, Nash knows how to brush aside personal differences so as to get the job done, whereas Punk is yet to go of the grudge he holds against the WWE...
#4 A "real" fighter
Despite having trained with former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis, current UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley as well as Ben Askren (a highly accomplished amateur wrestler who is currently undefeated and previously held the Welterweight title in both ONE FC and Bellator) -- all under the tutelage of widely respected former kickboxer and world-class coach Duke Roufus at Roufusport -- CM Punk failed to win even a single MMA fight.
Although Mickey Gall may have been too tough a challenge for Punk, the man known as Mike Jackson whom Punk lost to decisively at UFC 225, is regarded by many as a regional-level MMA fighter. Regardless of which, Jackson managed to control, mock and dominate Punk in the Octagon; besides also quite literally slapping him around with ease over the course of 3 rounds. On an edition of the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE Podcast), veteran UFC commentator Joe Rogan strongly asserted that Punk has "no athletic talent".
On the contrary, Kevin Nash was the go-to guy in a confrontation or a melee scenario all through his time in WCW and WWE in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now, granted that knocking a drunk bar patron out is considered to be easier than winning a professional MMA fight, however, a bar fight or street fight scenario is undoubtedly riskier -- not only because of the potential of being attacked by multiple assailants but also due to weapons (guns, knives, etc) being used.
Be it in his altercation with Don DeVoe, his fights on the college campus, or in the altercations on the road where he protected his fellow wrestlers; Nash is someone whom none of the troublemakers messed with. Add to that his training and experience in the armed forces, and you have a "real fighter" who just so happens to be much more dangerous than a man about 20 years his junior...
#3 Guaranteed contracts
One of the key professional wrestling personalities who share a ton of credit with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall in this realm is former WCW President Eric Bischoff. When Hall parted ways with the WWE in mid-1996, Nash followed suit -- with Hall & Nash making a huge impact in WCW programming, on the 10th of June, 1996, as "The Outsiders".
I'd like to hark back to the time when CM Punk was fresh off his "Pipebomb" promo which transpired on the June 27th, 2011 episode of Monday Night RAW. Following which, on the August 15th, 2011 episode of RAW, Punk engaged in a war of words with Nash -- a promo in which the man, formerly known as "Diesel", absolutely destroyed Punk!
After Punk made a few comments about his younger sister stating how she thought Nash was dead -- with Punk thereby throwing shade at Nash's age (Kevin was around 52 years old at the time) -- "Big Daddy Cool" fired back at Punk, stating that if it weren't for Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, wrestlers like Punk wouldn't have the luxury of guaranteed contracts.
In simple terms, Hall and Nash jumping ship from WWE to WCW, shook up the industry, as both WWE and WCW then began offering their respective stars guaranteed contracts. Well, although CM Punk loyalists may claim that he shook up the business, the numbers prove that it was indeed Kevin Nash who revolutionized professional wrestling in 1996, 3 years before Punk made his debut in 1999...
#2 Mainstream success
It was at WrestleMania XI that then WWE Champion Diesel aka Kevin Nash defended his title against Shawn Michaels in a star-studded affair -- as the former was escorted to the ring by Hollywood icon Pamela Anderson, whereas Michaels was accompanied by Sid and popular actress Jenny McCarthy.
The appearances by the aforementioned wildly-popular actresses garnered the WWE a considerable amount of mainstream media coverage at the time, as did Nash's celebration with the ladies after he successfully defended his WWE Championship by defeating The Heart Break Kid. It was around this time that Nash was one of the most recognizable faces, representing professional wrestling in mainstream popular culture.
While CM Punk has featured in his fair share of movies, his resume pales in comparison to that of Nash. Kevin Nash has starred in several movies and TV shows in prominent roles -- including The Punisher (2004), Magic Mike (2012), Magic Mike XXL (2015), Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1997), Detroiters (2017) and Living the Dream (2017). It's also noteworthy that Nash's acting chops have earned a greater degree of critical acclaim than that of Punk's work in the acting dominion.
Furthermore, most of Punk's mainstream fame is often attributed to him serving as an example of someone trying and failing to make it in the beautiful yet dangerous sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)...
#1 Not afraid to lose
They say you're not a true winner until you've learnt how to lose. Well, Kevin Nash knows a thing or two about losing, and a lot more about winning!
Nash has always possessed a business-like approach to professional wrestling and is respected by most of his peers for putting over other performers. In other words, Nash didn't make a fuss if he found himself booked to lose to someone.
In fact, during his speech at the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, Diesel's good friend Shawn Michaels -- who inducted Nash into the Hall of Fame -- strongly emphasized that one of Nash's best qualities was that he treated the WWE and pro-wrestling as a business entity. Nash didn't care if he won or lost -- all he cared about was entertaining the fans and raking in millions of dollars at the box office -- a win-win situation for everyone.
Nash presently makes sporadic appearances in the WWE as well as the indie circuit -- currently holding the Big Time Wrestling Heavyweight Championship -- and unlike certain other performers who were known to get way too emotional over losing to a fellow performer in the ring, Nash has always been a thorough professional.
Which reason do you feel is the most significant in making Kevin Nash better than CM Punk? Sound off in the comments!
