This year’s WWE WrestleMania will be in the Texas Rattlesnake’s home town. Whether Stone Cold Steve Austin will appear there is still up in the air. Though Austin has had many memories at the main event for wrestling.
Nine years ago, Vince McMahon and Donald Trump sorta squared off in the “Battle of the Billionaires” at WrestleMania 23, a match that featured their handpicked representatives – Bobby Lashley and Umaga, respectively – fighting to protect the most famous manes in the business.
Autin recently spoke with Men’s Journal and here are some highlights from that interview, including how he and McMahon convinced Trump to take a stunner.
On watching the current product:
“I try to. They made a three-hour Raw, but two hours is about my time limit. I ain’t got that kind of attention span. The roster has been decimated with injuries. the temperature of the product has changed. I like pure pro-wrestling, when it’s serious in its orientation and presentation — like it’s a legit sport with Jim Ross calling the action. Sometimes they kind of make it a little more lighthearted and too sugarcoated for me.
It also just felt more spontaneous back in the day. With the Monday Night Wars, it was almost a pay-per-view every single Monday between the two factions because they were trying to throw everything but the kitchen sink to win the ratings war. Even if you take the Monday Night Wars out of it and just look at the product, it was presented as UFC is presented, except as professional wrestling. I thought the in-ring work was a little better. I think today’s generation are better athletes, but I think the work inside the ring was a little better at the time. Specifically, it was better in the mid-’80s when Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, the Four Horsemen, and all those guys were in their prime. That’s the era that I enjoyed so much. If I think of pro-wrestling, of that gold belt? It’s real to me.”
On giving the Stone Cold Stunner on Donald Trump:
“I’ll say this: I showed up in Detroit for that, and Vince had talked to me a little bit earlier in the day and said “Hey, I’m going to go see if Donald will take a Stone Cold Stunner.” I was right there when he asked him. He goes, “Hey, Donald, I was wondering if in the end, do you mind taking Steve’s finisher?” We had to explain to him what a Stone Cold Stunner was, and Donald’s right-hand guy — I don’t remember his name, but everybody that high up has a right-hand guy or a posse or whatever — was giving him a million reasons why not to take the stunner, and what could go wrong, [how] it’s not going to look good. Donald and Vince had a relationship — I believe they’re friends — and Donald said, “Sure Vince, I’ll take it.” I briefly explained to him in literally five seconds how to take it. We went to the ring, we did the match, and at the end we did the Stunner, and it wasn’t the greatest Stunner in the world, but I give Donald Trump a lot of credit and respect for doing something like that that he didn’t have to do. But to answer your question: I had no idea back then so many years ago that he would be a candidate to be President of the United States.”
On the the idea for Broken Skull Challenge:
“CMT called me because I hosted one season of Tough Enough for WWE on the USA Network, and that went real well. CMT called my agents and said, “Hey, we got this show that we’d like Steve to do called Redneck Island.” We signed on to do that because I was intrigued by the idea. Along with that, I said “OK, I’ll do this show, but we’d like to pitch you another show.”
I like heavy-duty hardcore competition. [Originally] it was probably not quite as serious as it ended up being currently, because I was thinking maybe they want some competition but something a little light-hearted. To CMT’s credit, they said, “Why don’t we make this all about hardcore competition?” It was great that CMT had that vision. When they said that, I was putting my hands together and saying, “Thank you, this is exactly what I wanted.”
Austin retired from in-ring competition at the end of WrestleMania XIX, but continued to make memorable WWE appearances, usually at the expense of the McMahon. WWE crowds were never as long as when that glass shattered, and “Stone Cold” made his way to the ring, either in his leather boots, a Zamboni, or a beer truck.
At the end, his in-ring accomplishments were many: six WWE Championships, two Intercontinental Championships, a record three Royal Rumble victories and Triple Crown Champion credentials. His 2009 induction to the WWE Hall of Fame was a “no-brainer.”
Would you like to see Stone Cold at WrestleMania? Sound off below in the comments section.
Photo Credit: Source
Steve Austin Recalls Vince McMahon Convincing Donald Trump To Take The Stunner
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