Oh hell yeah, Vince McMahon is a big Stone Cold Steve Austin fan. Jim Ross has speculated that Vince liked Austin so much because at heart he was a redneck himself. Vince was raised in a North Carolina trailer park, regularly getting beaten by his step father with belts and wrenches. It explains a lot of McMahon's toughness. He saw much of himself in Austin. The Rattlesnake was overwhelmingly hungry for success, constantly putting himself in front of Vince to talk creative ideas. A lot of the time Vince agreed with Austin, and the pair increasingly started working together both off screen and on screen. The result was the legendary Austin vs McMahon feud of the Attitude Era. Ratings went through the roof, merchandise sales went through the roof and Vince's appreciation of Austin went through the roof the talented wrestler and talker made McMahon a billionaire. The relationship was rocked in 2002 when Austin walked out of WWE over creative differences, with McMahon describing him as "the most demanding star I've ever worked with." However, Austin was back a year later, and the relationship has endured ever since. The Rattlesnake remains in a very privileged position with the WWE, able to ask McMahon for anything, and was described by Vince at his Hall of Fame induction as "the greatest superstar ever." For his creative dynamism and huge success, Steve Austin will always be firmly in Vince's mind as his most important wrestler of all time.
