"I love doing this but I want to get paid" - Kevin Nash on dilemma he faced in WWE

Kevin Nash has explained his thought process behind leaving WWE to join WCW in 1996.

Performing as Diesel, Nash debuted in WWE as Shawn Michaels’ bodyguard in 1993. He won the WWE Championship 18 months later and held the title for 358 days.

The latest episode of the WWE Network show WWE Untold focused on Michaels and Nash’s on-screen alliance and rivalry between 1993 and 1996. Nash recalled how, unlike Michaels, he was more motivated by money than being a major star in the wrestling business:

“I was a grown man,” Nash said. “I was 34, 35 years old [thinking] this is great, I love doing this, you know, but I want to get paid. I want to have several million dollars, I want to have security, I want to live the American dream. It just was at that point, Shawn wanted to be a wrestler, I wanted to be wealthy.”

.@RealKevinNash and @ShawnMichaels reveal what led to the formation of Two Dudes with Attitudes in this excerpt from #WWEUntold, out now on @peacocktv in the U.S. and WWE Network elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/gx6REM1bTU
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) May 2, 2021

Kevin Nash said Shawn Michaels was legitimately annoyed when he and Scott Hall joined WCW in 1996. Michaels felt he could have had longer storylines with Hall and Nash if both men had stayed.

Kevin Nash credited Shawn Michaels with his success

Shawn Michaels is viewed as one of WWE's all-time greats

Shawn Michaels was responsible for WWE hiring Kevin Nash in 1993. The Heartbreak Kid saw the 320-pound star perform as Vinnie Vegas in WCW and recommended him to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

Nash praised Michaels’ ability as an in-ring competitor and gave him credit for helping kick-start his wrestling career:

“There’s never been anybody that’s done sports entertainment, pro wrestling, grappling, catch, whatever you wanna call it, there’s nobody that was close to Shawn Michaels,” Nash added, “If Shawn Michaels doesn’t pick me out of all the other guys, Shawn Michaels doesn’t come into my life, then all these fruits that I have are probably not gonna be there.”

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Watch #WWEUntold: Two Dudes With Attitudes on demand on @peacockTV! @ShawnMichaels @RealKevinNash pic.twitter.com/CBavbfRXfV
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) May 5, 2021

Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels are both two-time WWE Hall of Famers. Nash was part of the 2015 (individual) and 2020 (nWo) Hall of Fame classes, while Michaels was inducted in 2011 (individual) and 2019 (D-Generation X).

Please credit WWE Untold and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.