10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (June 8)

3. Col. Robert Parker Advised Steve Austin Against Leaving WCW

Steve Austin was raking in a few hundred grand per year towards the end of his WCW run in the mid-90s. It was a stable gig before he suffered a knee injury and was promptly fired by Eric Bischoff. According to Col. Robert Parker, who managed Austin, the wrestler wanted out of the company before then anyway.

It was something that Parker strongly advised against.

Whilst chatting with Wrestling Epicenter for a new interview, the cigar-smoking manager said he couldn't believe his ears when Austin confided in him that he'd like to quit WCW and work for the WWF. To Parker, there were no guarantees that Austin would become a success elsewhere, and he was making good money where he was. Against Parker's wishes that he didn't "burn bridges" before or after leaving, Austin cut scathing promos on Bischoff and WCW in ECW before moving to the WWF. By the time Parker also started working in the WWF as Tennessee Lee in 1998, he could see that his prior advice looked foolish.

His old friend was now making millions.