• WWF Legend Was Initially Hesitant About Vince McMahon Bringing In Mike Tyson In 1998
On an episode of WWE’s The Bump, Old School WWF Legend Stone Cold Steve Austin was interviewed about several different topics, such as his matches with Savio Vega, wrestling Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 and doing business with Mike Tyson in 1998.
Below are the highlights:
On Savio Vega:
“I love Savio Vega! When I first came in, the company didn’t really have any plans for me, I was coming back from a tricep reattachment injury.
So, when I came to WWF, I had a lot of ring rust. Savio Vega is old school.
After two or three months working every night with Savio Vega, he got me in the best shape of my career.
If we were in the beginning or in the middle of the card, you had to work your a$$ off to follow that match because very few people could.
I have nothing but the highest of regards and respect for Savio Vega, and I loved working with him.”
On WrestleMania 13:
“Well, I started realizing that I started to resonate with the crowd a few months earlier, or a year earlier, give or take.
We had worked the exact same building at the Rosemont Horizon, which is my favorite building to work in, it was a tag match, and every time I got into the ring, man, people started coming alive.
I thought we were on to something.
So, I go out there, and I rock the house with Bret, and it’s like anytime you’re doing something, you do it to elicit a response.
The way the Rosemont Horizon is constructed is it has a wooden ceiling.
The crowd there is so wild that if you have 18,000 people there and they sell out, you’ll get an immediate response because of the acoustics of that building.
We knew we had those people hooked from start to finish; they were in on that ride. When I got out there, there was a mixed reaction.
You always want your dance partner to be as over as possible. Bret was red hot.
He was kind of at that pivotal area because, on one hand, he was that beloved babyface, and on the other hand, he kind of started piss and moaning to a degree, which all set out that play for the double turn.
So, electricity that night in front of that wonderful crowd.”
On Mike Tyson:
“I’ll never forget, I had a conversation with Vince, and he said, ‘Hey man, I’m thinking of bringing Mike Tyson in to be part of this thing’.
At the time, we were busting our a$$, and I said, ‘Hey man, do we need Mike Tyson?’ he chuckled. He goes, ‘Oh, GD, Steve. Tyson could bring more eyes to the product’.
I said, ‘Cool, man. If you think it’ll work, bring him in.’ Mike Tyson was phenomenal!
He brought mainstream media to our product. Vince is one of the greatest promoters of all time; he was right.
Mike and I hit it off right away. We didn’t sit there and have BS sessions every time we did something together.
But Mike was a historian and fan of the business, and he knew a lot more about the business than most of the guys in the locker room.
I wondered at WrestleMania 14 if the moment would be too big for him; would he handle the pressure?
Hell, Mike is ready for any big moment. I was glad to do business with him.”
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• ON THIS DAY IN WCW HISTORY (February 10, 1997) – WCW MONDAY NITRO
On this day in 1997, Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling aired another LIVE episode of their weekly TV show ‘WCW MONDAY NITRO’.
It was broadcasted from the Jacksonville Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida and featured matches & storyline segments on the road to the ‘WCW SuperBrawl VII’ PPV.
The card can be found here:
– Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero
– Konnan vs. Bobby Eaton
– The Giant vs. Ron Powers
– The Steiner Brothers vs. High Voltage
– The Outsiders vs. The Extreme
– Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Steve Regal
– Kevin Sullivan vs. Maverick Wild
– Hugh Morrus vs. Alex Wright
– Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. & Jeff Jarrett
