“Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently spoke with ESPN’s Peter Rosenberg and reflected on his history with WWE WrestleMania. The Texas Rattlesnake discussed his trilogy of matches with The Rock at the Showcase of the Immortals and also previewed WWE WrestleMania 36. Here are some highlights.
On WrestleMania 36 being held despite COVID-19 concerns:
Austin: “You know, I didn’t know what to think. A couple of weeks ago, I was down in Tampa at the Performance Center, you know, working in front of that empty building. And, you know, that’s Vince’s mentality. [The] show must go on. You know, way back in Kansas City, Owen fell to his death, the show went on, so, you know, that’s his mentality. And God rest his soul but you know, it’s tough.”
On his first WrestleMania match with The Rock:
Austin: “Well, [WrestleMania] 15 was a good match, and of course me and The Rock had instant chemistry. We both loved working with each other and got along like gangbusters, you know, in the ring, out of the ring, you know, everywhere. So 15 was really cool and for Jim Ross to call that match, but, you know, I was mad at 15 because I was going through a h— of a divorce, forgot my d— ring vest and so I had to walk to the ring in a T-shirt. And you never want to walk to the ring in a t-shirt when it’s WrestleMania, and you wanna look like a million bucks in full gimmick. You know, you’re not trying to sell a t-shirt, you’re trying to put on a show.”
On his second WrestleMania match with The Rock:
Austin: “Now, [WrestleMania] 17 was great because at the Houston Astrodome, you know I’ve seen rodeos there, I’ve been to all kinds of sporting events there as a kid because I grew up 100 miles from that building. And so to go there and do that great buildup with The Rock and, you know, Jim Ross, we did that sit-down conversation in the locker room, that pre-match package, that build package they put together has never been duplicated with that Limp Bizkit song, it was just off the charts to set an attendance record at WrestleMania and take the crowd on that ride, and, remember, 17 was a h— of a show, and the Dudleys, the Hardys, Edge and Christian, those guys got off in like a TLC match or a ladder match, whatever it was, it was just a lights-out match. And to be the main and to be able to go out there and have that kind of match between two of the hottest guys that were on planet Earth in the wrestling business was really, really cool.”
The full interview is available below:
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