Kevin Nash has given his take on the incident involving Rick Steiner & Gisele Shaw that took place at WrestleCon 2023 during WrestleMania 39 weekend.
As many of you know by now, Rick Steiner went on a homophobic and transphobic rant against Gisele Shaw at the annual convention. Just several weeks ago, WrestleCon invited Steiner back for its upcoming Detroit convention. That offer was later rescinded when Rick refused to issue a public apology for his comments. The company received a ton of backlash when they announced that they had invited the WWE Hall of Famer back.
Speaking on the latest edition of his “Kliq This” podcast, the former Diesel admitted that Rick Steiner was in the wrong with his comments. Despite this, he doesn’t blame WrestleCon for initially inviting Steiner back.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On WrestleCon initially inviting Steiner back: “I just don’t think … it just wasn’t thought out. I don’t think there was any malice in it. I just…they just [went] ‘Hey, can Rick come?’ ‘Yeah, sure.’ Because there was an attempt … I can see why it happened. I’m not saying in any form or fashion that it was — I wouldn’t have even tried to open the door, with it happening at a WrestleCon where he was kicked out of, and then turn around and come back to WrestleCon? I wouldn’t have done it. But Tony is like a really sweet human being, and he’s the kind of person that believes that everyone should be given a second chance. That’s who Tony Hunter is.”
On being conflicted about the whole incident: “I have people that are involved in her [Shaw’s] life. I have several friends that care deeply about that human being. I am in no way f**king [defending Rick]. I just think … there’s a scene in Against All Odds, and f**king James Woods and Jeff Bridges, they’ve been fighting over Rachel Ward this whole f**king movie. And she just looks at Jeff Bridges at one point goes ‘Can it just for one f**king time not be life and death?’
“Both these guys are pulling at her. And it’s just … I feel that way sometimes. Can a human being make a mistake? I’ve known f**king [Rick] Steiner for 30 years. He is a decent man. He doesn’t … I don’t know what f**king set that off. I don’t know why it happened. It was wrong. But you could name 50 other people … when I heard that, I said ‘Robbie? What?’ It was such a horrible f**king venue. That didn’t help, man.”
On what he would have done if he was there: “If I was in the convention, on the convention floor, I would’ve known f**king 30 minutes after the s**t went down, tops. And I would’ve personally f**king walked over there … and that would’ve made a difference in that whole situation. When it first went down, me walking over there and pulling him aside would’ve been night and day of how all of this played off.”
