The following are highlights of WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
talking about wrestlers facing physical issues with fans inside and outside of
the ring during his appearance on the Bro Bible
podcast.
On how wrestlers would handle fans jumping into the ring during his
days in the business:
“It’s a whole different ballgame these days. In the old days, if a fan
stepped into the squared circle, he was considered fair game. Normally, the heel
took care of the business at hand, because the babyface was the guy the crowd
was supposed to be cheering for but both guys in the ring would have to access
the risk. Back in the old days, when wrestlers had genuine heat with fans, you
never knew what guys were walking into the ring with.”
On wrestlers having to deal with fights outside of the
ring:
“As a Hollywood Blonde, Brian Pillman and I had some pretty good heat, but it
was well past the time in our industry where you had to worry about a fan trying
something on the way back to the dressing room. I’ve heard stories of guys
having to fight their way back to the locker room and getting stuck with knives
or people try to cut them back when wrestling was quote, unquote real.
I’ve never personally had any altercations with fans in an arena or out in
public. The worst I’d get was maybe some drunk guy at a bar wanted to arm
wrestle but I’d usually just defuse the situation with a “hey man let me buy you
a beer” and things would blow over.
Thankfully, but almost regretfully, none of those old “drunk guy at a bar”
ever transcended into an altercation with me just because a wrestler always
wants one old war story to tell.”
