Kevin Nash has a polarizing reputation in the wrestling industry due to his immense power during the peak of his run. The backstage power of the Kliq made Nash an important figure in WWE and that only grew when he went to WCW. Nash became an even bigger star as a member of the New World Order faction. The main takeaways from Nash’s backstage influence were that he was beloved for his charming personality, but he was also criticized for abusing his power.

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We will look at both the talents that benefited and got hurt from working with Nash. The wrestlers that looked good against the big men came off quite legit. Meanwhile, any wrestlers that looked foolish from working with Nash would see their careers worse for it. Find out just how things worked out for these talents with five wrestlers that Kevin Nash made look legit along with five that he made look like a joke.

10 Legit: Bret Hart

The long WWE Championship reign of Kevin Nash as Diesel cemented him as a dominant face. Bret Hart was among the only wrestlers to look strong against him during this title reign. The two faced off at the 1995 Royal Rumble for the title in a match that ended in a draw.

Bret, however, would defeat Diesel in his second chance at the Survivor Series event in 1995. The match was an instant classic with Hart taking a rare table bump before coming back to score the win. Hart having such a strong win and ending a dominant title reign of Diesel just made him a bigger star.

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9 Joke: Bob Backlund

Diesel’s WWE Championship reign started in shocking fashion on a Madison Square Garden house show. Bob Backlund was coming off a controversial win over Bret Hart to start his second reign as WWE Champion defending against Diesel on a non-televised event.

Diesel beat Backlund within a matter of seconds by hitting the Powerbomb. Fans were shocked since a major title never would change hands on such a small event. Diesel not only pulled off a huge win but squashed Backlund along the way ending his last run in the main event picture.

8 Legit: Chris Jericho

The return of Kevin Nash to WWE in the early 2000s saw him only having a few storylines due to injuries putting him on the shelf multiple times. Chris Jericho would enter a feud with Nash around the summer of 2004.

The storyline would see both men putting their hair on the line in a Hair vs Hair match. Jericho pulled off the win and had the huge moment of cutting Nash’s hair off. This was done due to Nash needing a new look for a movie role, but it made Jericho look stronger by being the one to get rid of his hair.

7 Joke: Wrath

Bryan Clark was known as Adam Bomb in WWE and Wrath in WCW during two lackluster runs. Both promotions had higher expectations due to his great look. Clark did gain some momentum in WCW under the new Wrath character with an unbeaten streak.

A wrestler having such a dominant run usually would at least enter the main event picture or lose it in a big PPV match. Wrath, however, saw his momentum end in a random Nitro match against Kevin Nash. The win of Nash helped him on the road to a Starrcade 1998 showdown with Goldberg, but Clark held a grudge for many years since that killed his last chance at singles success.

6 Legit: Diamond Dallas Page

Diamond Dallas Page was one of the closest friends of Kevin Nash in WCW. The praise from Nash and other important wrestlers convinced WCW to push Page harder when the fans started to rally behind him. Nash and other members of the New World Order sold for DDP when he refused to join the group.

The rare instance of a WCW wrestler looking strong against the nWo helped Page become a hot commodity. Nash and DDP worked together in a bigger singles feud for the WCW Championship in 1999. They even teamed together towards the end as the Insiders tag team. Page always looked strong when teaming with or facing Nash.

5 Joke: Rey Mysterio

The moments of Rey Mysterio interacting with Kevin Nash in WCW never went well for the smaller man. Nash had an outstanding moment in the early stages of the New World Order when he threw Mysterio into a trailer like a lawn dart.

The two entered an underdog vs big man feud in 1999. Nash squashed Mysterio on a few occasions and defeated him in a match with Rey’s mask on the line. The moment of Mysterio's unmasking was a low point for his WCW career. Rey did score an upsetting win over Nash, but he was buried shortly after in a rematch.

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4 Legit: Shawn Michaels

The close friendship between Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels led to their careers being linked together in the mid-90s. Diesel was the bodyguard of Michaels, but he won the WWE Championship first when turning face to receive the bigger push.

Michaels finally won the title in 1996 and his first PPV defense against Diesel in a No DQ match. This was arguably the best performance of Nash’s career as he made Michaels look like a million bucks. Both men used various weapons with Michaels pulling off the win over the bigger man.

3 Joke: Mabel

Mabel as King of the Ring

The 1995 King of the Ring win for Mabel would see him adopt the moniker of King Mabel. WWE gave him the biggest opportunity of his career main eventing the second biggest show of the year. Mabel challenged Diesel for the WWE Championship at Summerslam 1995.

The match was viewed as a huge disappointment with Diesel retaining. Mabel was viewed as not capable of handling the main event spot and never had another chance in the role. Nash didn’t intentionally make him look bad, but both men played a role in the match flopping.

2 Legit: The Undertaker

One of the final programs for Diesel in WWE before Kevin Nash left for WCW featured him facing fellow big man The Undertaker. This was the first major program between the two main eventers over 7 feet tall heading into WrestleMania 12.

Undertaker looked strong in all their segments together and pulled off the win to continue his undefeated WrestleMania win streak. The win cemented Undertaker as the top big man in WWE by defeating his biggest competition as Nash left shortly after to end his WWE stint.

1 Joke: The Giant

The Giant was a big man that Kevin Nash did not make look good during their time feuding in WCW. This angle was booked to present another attraction of the two best big men in the company. The Giant represented WCW against Nash representing the New World Order.

All their matches would see Nash come off looking like the better and stronger wrestler. Giant would have a few good moments on Nitro, but the big matches always saw Nash come out on top. Following their 1998 feud, Nash moved into the main event picture while Giant was a secondary name until his departure for WWE.

NEXT: 10 WCW Feuds That Dragged On For Too Long