TNA sent out this press release today.
FORMER TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER KEVIN NASH CHALLENGES CITY OF MEMPHIS TO ‘MAKE A FREE THROW’
Former Vols center and current Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling superstar Kevin Nash challenges entire city of Memphis to a free-throw contest at TNA’s “Slammiversary” pay-per-view event June 8 at the Desoto County Civic Center to benefit military charity “Project Package”
Memphis , Tenn. , (May 21, 2008) – A routine guest appearance by Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling superstar Kevin Nash on WXMX 98.1-FM’s “Chris Jarman Midday Show” Wednesday ended with a basketball challenge to the entire city of Memphis.
Nash, a former University of Tennessee center who went on to become a feature film star and multi-time world champion of professional wrestling, engaged in some friendly banter with Jarman, a diehard University of Memphis fan. Tennessee defeated Memphis 66-62 at the FedEx Forum on February 23.
After Jarman claimed that officiating allowed ” Tennessee to walk up and down Beale Street all night long,” Nash claimed that he could not only “outshoot anyone playing for Memphis , but anyone in the city” as well. Free throws plagued Memphis both in its sole loss of the regular season against the Volunteers and the Tigers’ 75-68 loss to Kansas in the NCAA Championship.
“I’m coming down to Memphis , and frankly I’ve got some time to kill. So how about you guys find me someone from Memphis , and we’ll shoot it out before ‘Slammiversary’ at the Desoto County Civic Center on June 8?” Nash said.
Jarman, on behalf of the Memphis Tiger fan base, stated on-air he would contact numerous former Tigers and fans across the city to find someone who could answer Nash’s challenge. In addition, Jarman added a stipulation that the loser would make a “big donation” to “Project Package,” a Southaven , Mississippi-based charity that collects donations to create care packages for military servicemen and women from the Mid-South region.
Nash played center at Tennessee for three seasons during 1978-’80, averaging 5.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 85 games. Heavily recruited out of high school in Michigan , Nash finished second to Magic Johnson for Michigan ‘s “Mr. Basketball” title. Under head coach Don DeVoe, the Volunteers reached the NCAA Tournament in the 1979 and 1980 seasons, both seasons in which Nash played as a starter. Following a controversial meeting with DeVoe after the ’80 season, Nash left Tennessee after a rumored physical confrontation with DeVoe.
Despite being listed as a career 45.7 percent free throw shooter for the Vols, Nash said he was confident he could out-shoot anyone associated with the Memphis program.
“I’m living down here in Florida now, and Shaq (Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neil) has a house near mine. So it’s almost unfair that I’ve got such a great coach for free throw shooting. I only hit about half of my free throws in college, but that’s still about 30 percent better than anyone at (the University of) Memphis ,” Nash said.
Nash has appeared in a number of feature films throughout his career, most recently in the Adam Sandler remake of “The Longest Yard” in 2005 and opposite Thomas Jane and John Travolta in Marvel Comics’ “The Punisher” in 2004.
The biggest professional wrestling event of the summer, “Slammiversary 2008” will be held live at the DeSoto County Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi at 7 p.m. CT Sunday, June 8, airing worldwide exclusively on pay-per-view.
Joining Nash at “Slammiversary” will be Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, “The Icon” Sting, and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Samoa Joe, who will defend his title in the exclusive “King of the Mountain” concept match. Samoa Joe and four other TNA superstars will battle to become the first man to score a pinfall and then hang the TNA title belt from a ladder above the ring to win the match.
Qualifying matches for the “King of the Mountain” main event being Thursday night on “TNA iMPACT” at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV.
Also scheduled to appear at “Slammiversary” are Booker T, Team 3D, “The Instant Classic” Christian Cage, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, TNA World Tag Team Champions The Latin American Xchange, Gail Kim, Awesome Kong, ODB, “The War Machine” Rhino, Scott Steiner, X-Division Champion “Maple Leaf Muscle” Petey Williams and more.
Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased at the DeSoto County Civic Center Box Office ( 4560 Venture Drive , Southaven , Miss. ), all Ticketmaster outlets, online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling (662) 470-2131.
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