On the latest episode of his “The Snake Pit” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts discussed the 1996 WWE King of the Ring tournament, where he put over “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in the finals.
Although Austin would later go on to become one of the biggest main eventers in the history of WWE, Roberts revealed that McMahon saw The Texas Rattlesnake as a mid-carder at the time.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On seeing Austin as a big star early on and his ringmaster gimmick: “Yeah. Even my father told me that Steve Austin had what it took to be a big star. And I said, really? Then I started watching him and when I watched him, I was blown away, said, this fucking guy’s got it, man. My God, they gotta do something about this ringmaster sh**. If they had kept him with Ringmaster, he would’ve never been to Steve Austin.
On pitching Austin to Vince McMahon while in creative: “Absolutely. After I watched him for a while, I went to Vince and I said, ‘This is your next super superstar.’ And he said, ‘Are you kidding? I don’t see him as anything other than mid-card.’ That’s exactly what he said, ‘Mid-card at best’… He was ready. Primed, ready, set, go.”
On giving Austin advice: “I was pushing anything to have Steve doing. Steve was calling me, if not nightly, every other night and asking me, ‘What about this?’ and ‘What about that?’ And, ‘What should I have done? What could I have done?’ Different things, he was wanting to learn. He was wanting to know what could get him over the hump. And I’d give him everything that I could. Everything that I could… I’m guiding him through the territory, trying to help him out.”
On whether Austin would’ve reached the heights he did without the 3:16 promo: “Oh God, yeah. It’s his work that got him over. Not that f**king interview. I mean, the interview was sweet and everything man, but if you don’t back it up with the work in the ring, you’re history. Steve was a f**king a machine. He was a well-oiled machine brother. And he could go and he went.”
On who was a bigger star – Austin or Hulk Hogan: “Austin based on popularity and what he can do in the ring.”
