What if Kevin Nash had joined Evolution in 2003?

[CM Steel]

Evolution: One of the most dominant heel factions of all-time. Spawning from the WWE hall of famers the Four Horsemen. With Ric Flair as one of the founding members of both the Four Horsemen and Evolution. The Nature Boy was the key to both groups success. In the beginning for Evolution they were plagued injuries with both Randy Orton & Batista being out at two different times. Batista was out during Triple H's feud with Bill Goldberg for the world heavyweight championship on the RAW brand. But after Goldberg had defeated the Game Triple H for the WHC, Triple H put a $12,000 bounty on Goldberg's head. For anybody who took out Bill Goldberg they would receive the bounty cash reward...as well as a spot in Evolution.

There were rumors in the WWE creative that they were going with Kevin Nash as the guy who takes out Goldberg and collects the $12,000 as well as a membership in Evolution along side with one of his best friends Triple H. But they switched geers with Batista returning from his bicep injury being the one who takes out Bill Goldberg with a steel chair and collects the bounty money from Triple H. But he was already a member of Evolution before his bicep injury even happened. So there goes one open spot onto the Evolution stable right there!

Kevin Nash was in the final stages wrestling in the WWE full-time as a wrestler. And was finishing up his in-ring career in the WWE (as we thought) before joining the newly founded TNA-NWA Wrestling. But what if Kevin Nash had joined Evolution in 2003? Could have it have gone longer then it already did back during that era in wrestling?

 

[AegonTargaryen]

As full of excitement and potentiality as this idea/what if.. may seem, Kevin Nash already had already been a part of both the NWO, and The Clique. Not long ago in 2002, there was a glimpse of a possible DX-Reunion which ended with a HHH heel turn, and the return of the washed-ups who were,in one way or another, one of the factors which brought WCW to ruin- The NWO triumvirate of Nash, Hall and Hogan. They all got what they deserved because their time was done. Hall was a drunken mess and barely performed at the level he once did back in the 90s. Hogan was an old man and got his big return, big match with the Rock , one more WWE championship run. Kevin Nash was just..Kevin Nash.

IMO, there would be no point in having Kevin Nash as a part of Evolution. Evolution was a new faction, not a group of Rebels like DX, not NWO, and certainly not the clique. Evolution had no place for any "old guys" like Sean Waltman, Shawn Michaels or Kevin Nash. The only man they needed to glue the carrier of the Raw brand-HHH with the literal future of the business-Batista and Orton- was Ric Flair. It was just perfect. It's highly unlikely that Kevin Nash would have made Evolution any more awesome and entertaining than it already was with Flair, Orton, Batista and HHH.

I know you never asked "would you like Kevin to have joined evolution" but I already dissented on that one. But "had he joined" ? Sooner or later, HHH, Flair and Orton/Batista would've turned on him or vice versa because of how symbolic the WHC was for Kevni Nash and how much he would've wanted to win back the big gold for which he'd numerously faced Goldberg, Sting and Hogan alike. In fact, they already played all of that out, only with Shawn Michaels' involvement much more and not Evolution, as both Orton and Batista were not really the focus in Evolution in Mid-2003. One way or another , Kevin Nash would've only served as another Ex-WCW guy who lost to the "WWE guy" - HHH.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

They teased Triple H and Kevin Nash being aligned a couple times in WWE. The nWo offered Triple H a spot in 2002 before it got scrapped. Also Nash's return in 2011 when he screwed Punk out of the title and it was believed that Nash and HHH were working together.
It would have just seemed like a nWo or DX rehash when you have the members of the Klique together. I don't think it would have been believable having Nash aligned Ric Flair. Flair and The Horsemen had a lengthy feud with nWo in WCW and I don't think it would make sense to align them.
As much as I a am Kevin Nash fan I can see why they didn't want to invest him too much at that stage of his career. He was injury prone and past his prime and wasn't as over as he was in 90s.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Meh, I don't think that Nash would've brought all that much to the table. The members making up Evolution, in my opinion, provided just the right sort of balance pertaining to what the faction was always about. Both Ric Flair and Triple H had been members of memorable, innovative factions with Flair as the legend representing the "past" while Triple H was the big star representing the "present". Randy Orton and Batista were new, fresh faces that had yet to really make their mark in wrestling; they hadn't been part of big factions and had their whole careers ahead of them. Orton was essentially the golden boy, an example of what all future stars should aspire to be, at least by Evolution's standards. Batista was the big bruiser, the powerhouse, the enforcer of the group; just a big ol' 320 pound beast who dominated anyone in his path. He & Orton represented the "future" of WWE, hence the Evolution motif.

I don't really see what Kevin Nash would've added to things as the roles of "past" and "present" were more than adequately filled with Flair and Trips. Sure, it would've been kinda cool to see him there, but he would've been like a 5th wheel on a car: It would grab attention, but has no real purpose.

 

[Xpyred013]

If Nash had been in Evolution, between the four of them there would have been four blown quads, a shoulder injury and torn triceps. Evolution would have devolved before even beginning.

 

[THE CEREBRAL Viper 1986]

nash being inserted in evolution back in 03 wouldn't have done much for the group as a whole i mean you already had flair and triple h as the experience of the group if flair wasn't gonna be a part of the long term plans for evolution then i could have seen nash in evolution plus from what i hear jindrak was supposed to be in batista's spot so in closing i think it would have been interesting to see jindrak in evolution but had nash been inserted in evolution it would have killed any potential

 

[FlairFan2003]

Evolution was very strongly rooted in the past...present...future concept, which was unique, and a great way to utilize heel HHH (one of the last big stars left from the late 90s resurgence) as well promote Orton & Batista, the "future" of the industry as it was. Flair (the greatest champ of all time) elevating Trips (best champ today) to his level while together they taught the other two the ropes and molded them into the top stars of the future. Truly a unique concept that wouldnt have worked with a lesser performer in any of the roles.

Nash was still a regular wrestler at the time, very effective as a heel or face, but he was coming up on 15yrs in wrestling. He wasnt "the future" by any means. He had a nice run as WWE Champ, and at least one good run with a couple of WCW Titles, The NwO was huge, Starrcade 98 was huge, but he didnt have near the career of Flair, with 16 World Titles, Championship wins over legends like Race, Steamboat, Hogan, Savage, Rhodes, Sting, Flair held the World Title every year from 1981-96 and again in 99 & 00, Nash couldnt fill or come close to that role. He could have challenged Trips as "The Now" I suppose, but the dynamic is thrown off with two guys in that role plus only 1 can be champ. Yes, you could have put them all in one group but it wouldnt have fit the original idea of Evolution. In terms of entertainment value Flair & HHH are great promo guys so the group didnt need Nash's mic skills. At the time, the roster was thin in Main Event caliber fan faves who could legitimately challenge Evolution. Nash was better served in that role as a nemesis for the group.

Of course tearing his quad and basically seeing his in ring career end doesnt help matters but even without the injury he was more useful to WWE as an opponent for Evolution, not a member.

 

[whoopin' ass]

Because of their past, probably best he didn't join them. If he had, it would have gotten more dx/nWo/kliq references and probably changed into a new version of that eventually. As is, it was still close enough to the Horsemen that older fans would see that but newer fans wouldn't but with the nWo being still pretty recent in people's memories, Nash joining might have caused issues.

 

[thebarber]

I have NEVER heard of Nash being aligned with Evolution and storyline wise made no sense as they feuded in 2003. Evolution was always about evolving, pushing new younger guys and Nash was the antithiest of this.
Nash putting guys like Jericho over on his way out in 2003 was the best way to use Nash back then, his considerable time off in 2002-2003 with injuries meant he could not be heavily involved in major angles as it was. He couldnt even be right for Wrestlemania 18.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Meh, I don't think that Nash would've brought all that much to the table. The members making up Evolution, in my opinion, provided just the right sort of balance pertaining to what the faction was always about. Both Ric Flair and Triple H had been members of memorable, innovative factions with Flair as the legend representing the "past" while Triple H was the big star representing the "present". Randy Orton and Batista were new, fresh faces that had yet to really make their mark in wrestling; they hadn't been part of big factions and had their whole careers ahead of them. Orton was essentially the golden boy, an example of what all future stars should aspire to be, at least by Evolution's standards. Batista was the big bruiser, the powerhouse, the enforcer of the group; just a big ol' 320 pound beast who dominated anyone in his path. He & Orton represented the "future" of WWE, hence the Evolution motif.

I don't really see what Kevin Nash would've added to things as the roles of "past" and "present" were more than adequately filled with Flair and Trips. Sure, it would've been kinda cool to see him there, but he would've been like a 5th wheel on a car: It would grab attention, but has no real purpose.

Exactly right, Evolution already had the perfect set up with Ric Flair as the "Past", Triple H as the "Current" with Orton and Batista representing the "Future". Kevin Nash was still a big star at the time, but there really wasn't any need for him to join Evolution.

He wouldn't have added anything to the faction, the wrestlers in the group already had all the bases covered. Triple H was constantly around the World Title picture, Randy Orton had a long reign with the Intercontinental Championship, while Batista and the Nature Boy competed as a tag team for a period. Where would Nash have fitted in? He would have been like a spare part, unfortunately.