BOSTON – Jan. 19, 2003 – Although he did it long before doors opened for fans, Kevin Nash stepped in a wrestling ring today for the first time since having surgery on his birthday, July 9, to repair a torn quadriceps in his left leg.

The former WWE Champion ran the ropes, locked up and tangled lightly with his fellow Superstars this afternoon.

“It’s a real different feel – the bounce and the give and the way the canvas moves,” he said. “I was just kind of getting used to that whole feeling again. When you lock up, (my injured leg) is the front leg on a lockup. I just kind of took the first baby step. I’m basically going on (Triple H’s) lead. He said the first day he got out there, he just kind of moved around a little bit.

“At this point, it’s almost 90 percent psychological and 10 percent physical. Physically I’m probably capable of (wrestling). It’s just getting over the trauma of the injury, because it happened so freakishly, doing absolutely nothing. It’d be one thing to go through a table and get hurt; it’s another thing just to plant a foot. It’s the same thing Hunter did. It’s just something as stupid as planting. I’m doing everything I can possibly do, training-wise, to make sure my body’s ready. I’m not putting any poison into my system, and I’m taking care of my body better than I have since I’ve been in the business. It’s just … psychological.”

“Big Sexy” said he weighed himself this morning, and tipped the scales at a svelte 298 pounds – the lightest he’s been in 15 years. Last time we saw him on WWE television, he was 327.

“When I got hurt, one of the things I thought would be important … would be to lose as much weight as possible to put as little stress about possible (on my knee) as I recover,” he said. “Of course, as it gets stronger, I can always put additional size on. But I’ve been steadily below 300 pounds for close to a month.”

Last week, Nash visited the office of Dr. James Andrews, who performed the operation on his quad. Nash said he underwent an examination that tested the torque that his leg could put out.

“It tested out higher than they thought it was test out, which was good,” he said.

Andrews said Nash would be ready to return in eight to 10 weeks, just in time for WrestleMania XIX, which is exactly 10 weeks from today.

“It’s perfect for me!” he said with a laugh. “I’m going to come in a lean, mean fighting machine.”

Nash said he’s going to try to find a building near his home in Orlando, Fla., big enough to hold a wrestling ring, so he can have one shipped there and continue his training. He also said he’ll be at No Way Out next month in Montreal, and, of course, he’ll be at WrestleMania. “But I’ll be in gear for that one,” he said.