During the "Summer of Punk" in 2011, Kevin Nash returned to WWE and cost CM Punk the WWE Championship. The plan had been for the Second City Saint to battle the former nWo member, only for their Night of Champions match to be abruptly changed.
Triple H ultimately replaced Nash and defeated Punk in a No Disqualification match. For years, it's been argued that The Game was out to bury the Best in the World, especially as things got personal between them on the mic.
Talking on his podcast, Nash revealed that there was indeed a specific, off-script moment from Punk that infuriated the man now in charge of WWE creative.
"When I was supposed to wrestle CM Punk after I cost him the belt, he said something that pissed off Paul about something with him and Stephanie," the WWE Hall of Famer said. "And it wasn’t on script, and it pissed Paul off, and Paul came back and basically said, 'You’re not wrestling Punk. I am. I’m beating that motherf**ker.' He was that hot."
"Paul isn’t a bitch. It was like, 'Oh, okay, mother[frick]er.' Basically, like, 'Oh, okay, Kliq rules.' Like, 'You want to pull them out, measure them. Here we go. Suck on that,'" Nash continued. "I know how [frick]ing much Paul cares for him now, and to bring him back and everything that happened, and Paul to entrust Phil with everything that he’s done, and vice versa for each other."
"So that’s what people don’t understand, that aren’t in the business, is you can have that kind of [frick]ing heat with somebody 10 years ago, four years ago, three years ago," he added. "But, when you got to make money and make music together, [frick]ing how quickly that dissolves."
Things between Triple H and Punk have improved, and they have got on extremely well since the Best in the World's return to WWE at the end of 2023. Last summer, the current World Heavyweight Champion said this about their current dynamic:
"Between me and Triple H, there is so much more of an understanding. I’ve advanced in my life to a point where I have the perspective I didn’t have before. For him likewise has advanced in life to where he has experiences and knowledge he didn’t have before."
"Me and him, I think we were both on the main roster, and were talented guys. It was more adversarial because we were competition. Now we’re not and are on the same page and want to help the next generation and kind of guide them the right way with their creativity showing through but also producing them."
You can hear more from Nash in the player below.