Kevin Nash Says The ‘Oz’ Gimmick Was Popular In Japan
Kevin Nash says that his infamous Oz gimmick was popular in Japan.
Nash appeared on a recent episode of Bischoff on Wrestling. He revealed how surprised he was when he arrived at New Japan Pro Wrestling as Oz.
“I’m one of those guys that can say what I want to honestly about the character but the part of the story I never tell is how WCW went ahead and sent Oz to New Japan. My first night over there I’m going to wrestle Hashimoto in the Osaka Dome. So they bring us down during the daytime. They kind of walk me through this entrance and I’m on like a platform that’s going to rise through some smoke. I am going to the ring first and the night of they hit these green lasers and the smoke machine. Slowly with these lasers bouncing off everywhere, the smoke machine and this kind of cool techno music. They slowly raise me and the tip of my dunce hat comes out and as I come up I hear them all saying, ‘Oz-a! Oz-a! Oz-a!’ I’m like, ‘What are they saying?’ Finally I realized they are saying, ‘Oz! Oz! Oz!’ ‘Oh my God! This thing is over here!’ It was!,” said Nash.
The strange green wizard was not very popular in WCW. During his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Nash would tag team with Jushin Thunder Liger. He would only use the character for a short time. Oz was apart of a series of characters used by Nash before he left WCW for WWE.
“Remember when we were in that bar in Osaka and they had Liger’s mask and the Oz mask in that glass case?” said Nash to Bischoff. “We were drinking in that bar and you said, ‘You want it?’ I said, ‘No! Oh God no! Let’s just leave it there! If somebody has this thing next to a Liger mask leave it,’” said Nash.
Nash also spoke with Bischoff about growing up in Detroit, playing basketball and how he got into wrestling.
The podcast is available on audioBoom.
