Kevin Nash has disputed Bruce Prichard’s claim that he was booed out of the building at WrestleMania 11 in 1995, saying the account does not match his own memory, does not match what his wife and sister reported from their seats in the crowd, and is the kind of statement that costs a person credibility.
The match in question took place on April 2, 1995 at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. Nash, performing as Diesel, was the reigning WWF Champion and successfully defended the title against Shawn Michaels in front of 16,035 fans. Pamela Anderson accompanied Nash to the ring while Jenny McCarthy accompanied Michaels. Lawrence Taylor versus Bam Bam Bigelow was the event’s final match.
Speaking on the Kliq This podcast with Sean Oliver, Nash said he came across Prichard’s claim while watching a Shawn Michaels documentary and immediately took issue with it.
“He says that after WrestleMania 11, in the building that night, that even though Shawn lost they cheered Shawn and they booed me out of the building. I was at the event. I was holding Jenny McCarthy’s hand in one of my hands and Pam Anderson’s hand in the other, standing looking at hard camera. I just don’t recall being booed out of the building.”
He said both his wife and his sister were in the Hartford Civic Center that night, and he questioned Prichard directly about his account of the crowd.
“My wife was at that event with my sister, and so I asked her after I saw the documentary.”
Nash said his frustration with Prichard goes beyond this single claim, noting he has never understood what his problem is with him.
“I don’t know what I ever did to Bruce Prichard, but I don’t know what his problem is. You kind of lose credibility when you just talk out the side of your ass. If you’re the office boy, then just that’s fine, I get it, but I have to say that I didn’t get booed out of the building.”
Sean Oliver noted during the conversation that every major WWE event from that era exists on video and that the crowd reaction at WrestleMania 11 is verifiable.
Nash also addressed the broader question of whether he is capable of recognizing when he has genuinely been unpopular with a crowd, pointing to a clear example on the other side of the ledger. He referenced his match against Goldberg at WCW Starrcade 1998, where he acknowledged the audience was squarely against him.
“The pop I got when I came out to wrestle Goldberg in that match at Starrcade, they were definitely booing. Definitely didn’t pop when he got beat.”
The contrast was Nash’s way of saying he is not delusional about crowd reactions. He knows when he has been booed, and his recollection of WrestleMania 11 does not fit that description.
Nash also said the broader Kliq reputation for being difficult has been attached to situations where he was not even present. He noted that many stories attributed to the Kliq from 1997 onward came from a time when three of the five members had already left WWE for WCW.
“There are so many stories that come out and the person says, ‘Yeah, 97, I was gonna beat all of the Kliq’s ass.’ I’m thinking I wasn’t there. Three of the five guys were in Atlanta.”
