07-17-2002, 08:00 PM
These are what certain wrestlers said about Austin.
These did NOT make it into the new WWF magazine.
Lita: “I wasn't shocked at all that Steve left. I think everyone could see it coming. He'd alienated himself from people in the dressing room. He said time and time again that he wasn't happy with the way things were going creatively. He was constantly trying to change stuff that he didn't approve of. Whether he was right or wrong, we all knew about it."
Chris Jericho: “For the last couple of months, for whatever reason, he hasn’t been happy. He wasn’t happy with what they were doing with his character and certain things that were happening with the company. This is something that was clearly bubbling for a long time.”
Triple H: “Steve hasn’t seemed to be happy for a long time. He’d not been himself for a long time. And I guess that all came to a head.”
Kevin Nash: “I think the biggest thing with Steve is this: He's been carrying that wagon for six years now. When ratings go down, they just go to the whip and they just run him and run him and run him. I think he's burned out. A lot of people have said some pretty harsh things about how he walked out, but I just think he's burned out. I think he has the right to go home, and if it takes him six months to clear his head, then we'll all be better for it.”
X-Pac: “I think it’s a real shame. From the company’s point of view, to leave them scrambling, you can’t help but understand that. At the same time, I understand Steve’s frustrations. I’ve had many of the same frustrations. I have faith that with everybody’s help, we’ll be able to turn it around and give everybody a show to watch again.”
Big Show: “My heart goes out to the guy. You don’t ever want to see someone that talented and that good of a guy having problems like this. Life is hard enough without letting s**t like this get in the way.”
Shawn Michaels: “I’ve made similar – not the exact same – decisions. You do what you think is right for you at the time. For me, I look back and I can say they weren’t the right decisions. But sometimes your emotions get the better of you – and again, I say this for me – my emotions did get the better of me and I made bad decisions in that respect.”
Bradshaw: “We fly a lot together, and I knew he wasn’t happy with a lot of things. (He thought) there was a little too much humor going on. Wrestling is about two guys wanting to fight and then going out there and fighting. He disagreed with creative decisions that were being made.”
Coach: “From my perspective, it’s a sad situation when you’ve got a guy who is one of the biggest superstars of all time not wanting to give back to the business. He was created at one point. You have to help create other stars. When someone doesn’t want to do that, it’s sad. Especially a guy like Steve, who everybody likes, and who works his tail off in the ring. And then to be selfish – we’re all here working for the same goal. That’s the bottom line. We would all love to make millions of dollars.”
William Regal: “I just hope he sorts himself out. Sometimes life gets hard and you just can’t handle it for a while. Then there’s only two things you can do – you can either sink or swim. Hopefully he starts swimming soon.”
X-Pac: “He’s a top drawing card. A lot of guys may not realize that when they’re getting their paychecks, but a lot of that has to do with being on matches that Steve was the main event of.”
Bradshaw: “Steve’s a real good friend of mine. I found it very odd that he would leave like that. I don’t want to talk bad, because I have absolutely no ill feelings, but that’s not the proper way to do business. He had the entire show written about him that Monday. It’s your prerogative to leave, to ask for more money, to bitch, to complain, whatever. But when you do (what Steve did), then you screw everybody that’s employed in this company, by walking out in a way that’s not very professional. I hate to say anything bad about it because I don’t know his take on the story, but Steve has always looked down on people who walk out in that manner. He must have felt something pretty drastic was necessary.”
Hulk Hogan: “One of my biggest disappointments is that if he doesn’t get back with WWE, I think there are some WrestleMania moments that the fans will miss. I think Hulk Hogan vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin could be one of the biggest moments ever in wrestling. On a business level, I wish he decides to regroup and get back with WWE.”
Chris Jericho: “It’s sad. I looked up to Steve first as a mentor, and then as a confidant. We had similar views on almost everything. It’s so much fun working with him.”
Hulk Hogan: “I want to see him back. I got to drink beer with him one night (in the ring after a match), and it was probably 10 times as much fun as posing for 20 minutes. I wish that was my gimmick.”
Remember – these are some of the quotes that DIDN’T make the issue! The story itself features even more explosive soundbites from your favorite superstars, in addition to a huge breakdown of the Stone Cold story, as it happened!
These did NOT make it into the new WWF magazine.
Lita: “I wasn't shocked at all that Steve left. I think everyone could see it coming. He'd alienated himself from people in the dressing room. He said time and time again that he wasn't happy with the way things were going creatively. He was constantly trying to change stuff that he didn't approve of. Whether he was right or wrong, we all knew about it."
Chris Jericho: “For the last couple of months, for whatever reason, he hasn’t been happy. He wasn’t happy with what they were doing with his character and certain things that were happening with the company. This is something that was clearly bubbling for a long time.”
Triple H: “Steve hasn’t seemed to be happy for a long time. He’d not been himself for a long time. And I guess that all came to a head.”
Kevin Nash: “I think the biggest thing with Steve is this: He's been carrying that wagon for six years now. When ratings go down, they just go to the whip and they just run him and run him and run him. I think he's burned out. A lot of people have said some pretty harsh things about how he walked out, but I just think he's burned out. I think he has the right to go home, and if it takes him six months to clear his head, then we'll all be better for it.”
X-Pac: “I think it’s a real shame. From the company’s point of view, to leave them scrambling, you can’t help but understand that. At the same time, I understand Steve’s frustrations. I’ve had many of the same frustrations. I have faith that with everybody’s help, we’ll be able to turn it around and give everybody a show to watch again.”
Big Show: “My heart goes out to the guy. You don’t ever want to see someone that talented and that good of a guy having problems like this. Life is hard enough without letting s**t like this get in the way.”
Shawn Michaels: “I’ve made similar – not the exact same – decisions. You do what you think is right for you at the time. For me, I look back and I can say they weren’t the right decisions. But sometimes your emotions get the better of you – and again, I say this for me – my emotions did get the better of me and I made bad decisions in that respect.”
Bradshaw: “We fly a lot together, and I knew he wasn’t happy with a lot of things. (He thought) there was a little too much humor going on. Wrestling is about two guys wanting to fight and then going out there and fighting. He disagreed with creative decisions that were being made.”
Coach: “From my perspective, it’s a sad situation when you’ve got a guy who is one of the biggest superstars of all time not wanting to give back to the business. He was created at one point. You have to help create other stars. When someone doesn’t want to do that, it’s sad. Especially a guy like Steve, who everybody likes, and who works his tail off in the ring. And then to be selfish – we’re all here working for the same goal. That’s the bottom line. We would all love to make millions of dollars.”
William Regal: “I just hope he sorts himself out. Sometimes life gets hard and you just can’t handle it for a while. Then there’s only two things you can do – you can either sink or swim. Hopefully he starts swimming soon.”
X-Pac: “He’s a top drawing card. A lot of guys may not realize that when they’re getting their paychecks, but a lot of that has to do with being on matches that Steve was the main event of.”
Bradshaw: “Steve’s a real good friend of mine. I found it very odd that he would leave like that. I don’t want to talk bad, because I have absolutely no ill feelings, but that’s not the proper way to do business. He had the entire show written about him that Monday. It’s your prerogative to leave, to ask for more money, to bitch, to complain, whatever. But when you do (what Steve did), then you screw everybody that’s employed in this company, by walking out in a way that’s not very professional. I hate to say anything bad about it because I don’t know his take on the story, but Steve has always looked down on people who walk out in that manner. He must have felt something pretty drastic was necessary.”
Hulk Hogan: “One of my biggest disappointments is that if he doesn’t get back with WWE, I think there are some WrestleMania moments that the fans will miss. I think Hulk Hogan vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin could be one of the biggest moments ever in wrestling. On a business level, I wish he decides to regroup and get back with WWE.”
Chris Jericho: “It’s sad. I looked up to Steve first as a mentor, and then as a confidant. We had similar views on almost everything. It’s so much fun working with him.”
Hulk Hogan: “I want to see him back. I got to drink beer with him one night (in the ring after a match), and it was probably 10 times as much fun as posing for 20 minutes. I wish that was my gimmick.”
Remember – these are some of the quotes that DIDN’T make the issue! The story itself features even more explosive soundbites from your favorite superstars, in addition to a huge breakdown of the Stone Cold story, as it happened!