10 Most Notorious Stone Cold Steve Austin Urban Legends

3. He Refused To Put Over Triple H For WWE Title At SummerSlam 1999

Story: Austin was the WWE Champion going into SummerSlam 1999 with Governor Jesse Ventura serving as the special referee in his home state of Minnesota. Triple H was the top challenger that was receiving the first main event push of his career. It seemed like they would meet for the WWE Title. The plans changed when Mankind was added to the match to make it a triple threat. Mankind was a face like Austin was. Most people assumed that it would lead to Triple H winning by beating Mankind so that he could face Austin in rematches after. Instead, Mankind won by pinning Austin. Apparently they had to change plans because somebody didn't want Ventura raising the hand of a heel in the state where the people of Minnesota elected him as their Governor. It made sense although there are also people that think Austin refused to put Triple H over, so that's why they added Mankind to it. Triple H won the WWE Title the next day from Mankind. Why People Believe It: Austin really didn't put over a lot of people when he was a top guy. That was partly because he was booked so strong, but he also had a rep for being stubborn about stuff like that. The Jeff Jarrett point mentioned earlier was from the same year. Should We Believe It: No. It was likely a McMahon decision just based on Ventura being the Governor of Minnesota and they'd rather have him raise the hand of a victorious babyface instead of a heel. The fact that Austin worked with Triple H two months later (and lost to him) shows he was willing to work with the guy.