10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Nov 22)

6. McMahon's Apology Letter To Steve Austin About Universal Soldier

Universal Soldier The Return Goldberg
TriStar Pictures

Yes, we're fully aware that Steve Austin isn't pictured in the movie poster above. That's Bill Goldberg behind Michael Jai White and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Things could have been extremely different had Vince McMahon not got the wrong end of the stick and fed Austin some false info.

It turns out that producers at TriStar (including Van Damme himself) wanted 'Stone Cold' to play the role of rugged super-soldier Romeo in the film. Unfortunately for them, McMahon believed the wage was $55,000 when it was in fact closer to $250,000.

In the end, WCW's leading babyface got the gig in Universal Soldier: The Return, Austin missed out on a lucrative pay day for a few minutes of screen time, and he wasn't exactly happy about it.

Knowing he'd made quite the error, McMahon penned a letter of apology to Austin for the miscommunication, though Bruce did also say agent Barry Bloom may have been trying to 'ruffle Steve's feathers'. Whatever the case, it's true Austin was the first choice.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.