10 Most Shocking Stone Cold Steve Austin Controversies

9. The Ringmaster

If you listen to Stone Cold's podcast, you'll know he's the first to admit that he wasn't brought into be a star. Austin was working once a week for ECW, but desperately needed a steadier gig. When the call from WWF came in to be The Ringmaster, he was hesitant about the future of the gimmick, but couldn't afford to say no.

So I'm sitting there listening to spiel, and it sounds like sh*t. Ringmaster? Sucks ass. And it ain't gonna be on the top of a marquee, it ain't gonna be something good to put on a t-shirt, but the bottom line was I had bills to pay, I got mouths to feed. So I said "All right Vince, sounds good. I'll be up there.

In his words, he was brought in to be "mechanic" someone who can get a good match out of just about anyone, but he was never meant to be more than that. He was even given a manager in the form of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, and apparently was given the order by Vince McMahon to never speak. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0hrPgKz7XQ While there have been many missed opportunities in wrestling, it's shocking to think that Vince McMahon once thought that Steve Austin wasn't good enough to even cut a promo.