As well as being an accomplished in-ring performer with World Championships captured in both WWE and WCW, Kevin Nash has also enjoyed a successful film career. ‘Big Daddy Cool’ made his acting debut in 1991’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, Nash has since appeared in several productions, both major and minor.
In 2004, Nash starred in The Punisher, where he portrayed the role of ‘The Russian’. This involved a scene where Kevin Nash‘s character was to fight with Frank Castle, played by Thomas Jane. The scene saw The Russian murdered, but it didn’t come without almost life-threatening issues for the two-time WWE Hall of Famer.
Kevin Nash Almost Died While Filming The Punisher
The incident saw Thomas Jane accidentally stab Kevin Nash in the collarbone with a blade, following a stunt coordinator failing to swap out the real blade for a fake one. Speaking on The Rick Eisen Show, Jane discussed the horrific ordeal, managing to make amends with a calm Nash over alcohol:
“That was a bad day. I gotta tell you, when I was swinging around, and grabbing the prop knife, and he’s there, and I plunge it into his chest…and it stabs him, and it goes in. And I’m looking at the knife, I’m looking at him. Kevin, he’s just looking down at me, and there’s a knife sticking out of his chest…Yeah, that was rough.
And you know what made it worse? He was so nice about it. You’re like, ‘Oh my god, this guy’s going to knock me across the room.’ Just out of a reflex. He just sat there, looked at the knife, looked at me, and shook his head. I sent him a couple cases of beer, if I remember right.”
Having last wrestled for WWE in the 2014 Royal Rumble match, Kevin Nash remained semi-active on the independent circuit until wrestling his last match for Big Time Wrestling in August 2018. He captured the BTW Heavyweight Championship in a Gauntlet match that also included ex-WWE Superstars Darren Young and James Ellsworth.