Why Steve Austin Demanded WWE Change His WrestleMania X8 Finish
You won't believe the original plan...
Steve Austin was p*ssed at how WWE were handling his character in 2002, and Jim Ross can see why.
The AEW announcer said on the latest episode of his 'Grilling JR' podcast that Steve wasn't exactly receptive to the promotion's original plans for WrestleMania X8. There, on an event he'd headlined just 12 months before, Austin was set to lose to Scott Hall.
JR wasn't having any of it, and he was quick to tell Vince McMahon that it was a "bad idea". The boss listened, and then revealed he'd already decided to change tact and go with an Austin win anyway. The thing is, nobody had told 'Stone Cold'.
He turned up in Toronto for the show thinking he was doing the honours. Then, a visibly dishevelled Hall arrived and Austin decided to speak up. The nWo man had been out drinking the night before, and the company weren't happy. Their annoyance couldn't match Austin's frustration.
Ross said Austin demanded that the finish get changed. McMahon, who wanted to placate one of his top stars, pretended that he'd do things Steve's way even though he'd already put a pen through Hall's name.
Politics, politics, politics.