10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Big Boss Man
5. How One Spot Derailed His Push
...and here it is.
Unfortunately, Boss Man missed his cue to hit Steve Austin with a steel chair during a match between Austin and Mankind at the 1998 Survivor Series. Gerald Brisco, who was ringside with Vince McMahon and others, had to step in and do it instead, but it looked “awful” (his words). McMahon was not happy with Ray, and neither was a certain 'Rattlesnake'.
VICE aired audio from an Austin interview in 2020. He admits that he tore Traylor a new one when he returned back behind the curtain. After that, McMahon lost faith in Boss Man. He’d only missed his cue because he'd been going over his match with The Undertaker and forgot all about it. That was a mistake he'd never recover from, at least in terms of his character creatively.
Lacy recalls her dad “being really upset with himself”. McMahon moved on from thoughts of an Austin vs. Boss Man feud after that. They were toast. Instead of jousting with the biggest star in the biz, Ray received a slight reprieve when he was placed in a rivalry against Undertaker, but that produced one of WWE's most shocking (and regrettable) angles ever. The word "regrettable" would come to summarise Boss Man's year in 1999.
Somehow, VICE managed to avoid having Jim Cornette rip Vince Russo to shreds when appearing for interview footage. Maybe he did and they just chose not to air it. Nobody needs another reminder of how little regard both men have for one another, because this wasn't their story.