A sold-out crowd of more than 700 people crammed into the cozy New Green Room in Dundalk Saturday night for the Maryland Championship Wrestling show, and most of them were there for one reason.

Here’s a hint: It wasn’t to see the inexperienced referee who officiated the MCW cruiserweight title match.

Obviously, it was to get an up close and personal look at Kevin Nash. The former WWE and WCW world champion and current TNA star wrestled in a six-man tag match and also took pictures with fans and signed autographs at the event. Both in and out of the ring, Nash seemed to enjoy being at the show and interacting with fans.

So what was Nash like backstage? If you’re expecting to hear that he was aloof or standoffish, you’re going to be disappointed. Not surprisingly, Nash was the center of attention in the back, and he was as pleasant there as he was in front of the fans. Whether it was sitting down for an interview with me, taping a public service announcement, signing memorabilia or posing for pictures with the MCW crew and winners of our trivia contest, he did so without complaint.

The video interview that I did with Nash should be up in the next few days. He talked about walking out of the Impact taping several weeks ago, his story line with Samoa Joe, the overall creative direction of TNA and more.

In the ring, Nash – who teamed with Corporal Punishment (MCW owner Dan McDevitt) and Adam Flash against The Bruiser and The Ghetto Mafia – delivered some of his signature moves and got the biggest pop of the night when he delivered a jackknife powerbomb to MCW referee Chris Clow for his questionable officiating.

Other notes on the show:

I’ve only known Clow for a short time, but he is the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back. And I mean that literally. There were no extra referee shirts there, so Clow let me borrow his for the one match I officiated. Luckily for me, Clow doesn’t sweat that much. Unfortunately for him, I do, and he had to work another match after mine. …

I was impressed with Eric Cobian, a powerhouse who squashed Steve Desire in 47 seconds. This guy looks as if he could be Batista’s younger brother. In fact, he told me that he often gets mistaken for the WWE superstar. Coincidentally, Cobian and Batista were both trained by Afa Anoai at the Wild Samoan wrestling school in Allentown, Pa., and the two briefly crossed paths there.

Cobian, who has been on the independent scene off and on since 2000 (he stepped away for a few years due to a family situation), said TNA has shown some interest in him. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him wrestling on television for somebody in the future. …

Next to Nash, it was four newcomers who attracted the most attention backstage. It probably had something to do with the fact that they were young women in bikinis. I didn’t catch their names, but they were on hand to participate in a bikini contest. Before the show, they all posed for pictures with Nash. As gracious with his time as he was with everyone, Nash seemed to be especially accommodating with them. …

I refereed the MCW cruiserweight title match between champion Josh Daniels and Rhett Titus, which had the unenviable task of following the bikini contest. Both guys worked hard and they had a good, physical match, yet some fans felt the need to start a “boring” chant. I believe that fans have the right to express themselves, but fans at independent shows often seem to revel in being disrespectful. I just don’t get that. …

Speaking of fans expressing themselves, McDevitt got on the mic after the six-man tag match and blasted those who posted on MCW’s message board that Nash wouldn’t draw. …

The one drawback to being backstage is that I end up missing a lot of the show. I’m especially disappointed that I didn’t get to see the match that pitted Joey Matthews and Christian York against Derek Frazier and Ruckus. I guess I’ll have to wait for the DVD. …

Matthews (formerly known as MNM’s Joey Mercury in WWE) cut a heel promo ripping on Baltimore and declaring that he and York are going to WWE in December. Keep in mind that heels usually don’t tell the truth.