"For some reason, people think Paul [Paul Levesque aka Triple H] told me I couldn't go. My thing was, I am the WWE guy, but when this thing first came out and came to fruition, I got contacted by Steve [Steve Borden aka Sting]. He was telling me what he wanted me to do and in that same breath he said, 'What can you do physicality-wise?' If anybody wants to know why Kevin Nash was at home, that's why. He asked me what I could do physicality-wise," said Nash.
Asked if he was going to be involved in the match, Nash replied, "That's the way I took it. The easiest thing to do...once you get there, then you have to tell everybody else, Steamboat and everyone else involved in this thing, 'I'm not doing it. I'm not doing anything.' On top of that, you have people going through glass. Whether it's rigged glass or not, I talked to a friend of mine that said the shards of that glass, whether it was candy-coated safety or whatever, cut people that were in the crowd. I think it was the one where Sting hit with his ass. All you need is someone to get some kind of injury, and I've been in the ring before when people have gotten injured. I promise you, they're going to sue AEW. They're going to sue AEW and all the independent contractors involved in the match. It was just easier for me...I was at Ric Flair's retirement match, but I didn't go to the match because I was worried for Ric's health. The last thing I wanted to do was see something happen to one of my friends. It was the same thing with this. The last thing I want to do is be in person and watch one of my friends get hurt. I'll just stay at home."
Nash continued, reiterating that he could have gone to the match but simply did not want to go.
"I could have gone. I didn't go because I didn't want to go. I don't want to sit in a fucking arena with 18,000 fucking wrestling fans. I don't care if it's the Sting seating area. I still have to get in and out of the building. I don't want to go. Nobody is coming to see me at Sting's retirement match. Therefore, I don't need to be there," he said.
Asked about potentially getting physical in the match and worrying about other people in the ring, Nash said, "Number one, I'm going to be in the ring with the Young Bucks. They're both athletic as fuck, and I'm in pretty damn good shape. There's no fucking way if I'm getting involved that I'm not powerbombing those two fuckers. Period. I'm going to powerbomb them both. Now, whose night is it? (It's Sting's). So, why am I doing anything? Why am I powerbombing two guys he's going to beat later? Why am I involved? You take all that out of the equation if I'm sitting on my couch in Florida. It had nothing to do with Triple H. It had nothing to do with me being a WWE guy. It had everything to do with I know what's right for me, I know what's right for the match, I know what's right for the evening. I did exactly what I thought was right, which is stay the fuck at home."
This whole thing has reminded me of when I was a teen and didnโt want to do something. Except eventually I created a codeword I could say and my dad would jump in and say I was grounded so I didnโt have to come up with excuses or say I didnโt want to do the thing.
The memes about AEW pulling a TNA and forcefully announcing Nash as All Elite made all this better.