Which WWE Wrestler Refused To Lose To Steve Austin?
You'll never guess this one...
It would've taken a brave man to look Vince McMahon in the eye and say, 'I'm not losing to Steve Austin' during the height of his 'Stone Cold' run.
Things were a little different back in 1995-1996.
Former WWE star Duke 'The Dumpster' Droese revealed to Spencer Love and The Win Column Sports Network that he once told McMahon and Jim Ross he wouldn't put the future golden boy over. Droese was more concerned with where his own career was going than anyone else's, and he was intrigued by an article Vince Russo had penned for the old WWF Magazine.
Had Russo's pitch come true, Duke would've turned heel (before feuding with Triple H in early-'96) and sided with heel manager Ted DiBiase. To this day, Droese isn't sure who cancelled that or turned it down, but he does know that he wasn't willing to play ball and lose to Austin if the company weren't going to give him something meaningful to do.
Less than a year later, 'The Dumpster' was out of the promotion and Austin was rising up the ranks towards superstardom. How quickly things change - Droese probably wouldn't have had the chance to wrestle Austin at all by 1997.