Major AEW star says The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin were his 'least favorite people' growing up
The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin are two of the most important figures in wrestling history, with both men still being heralded as all-time greats. However, one of AEW's top stars wasn't the biggest fan of either man during their time at the top.
The "Great One" and the "Texas Rattlesnake" still have their fingerprints all over the modern day WWE product. Both The Rock and Steve Austin are rumored to be involved in next year's WrestleMania 39 event in Los Angeles, California.
Both men could deliver on the microphone, with them being considered two of the best promos in wrestling history. But it was their WrestleMania trilogy between 1999 and 2003 that cemented them as all-time great in-ring performers.
In what order do you rank the @steveaustinBSR vs. @TheRock #WrestleMania trilogy? ⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/PnvcAJ2ZG1
With all that said, why wasn't AEW star Bryan Danielson a fan of either of them growing up? Speaking in an interview with 6ABC.com to promote AEW Dynamite, the "American Dragon" explained that because he was more drawn to pure wrestlers, he thought The Rock and Austin talked too much.
"So that’s one of the things that drew me to it because as a fan, when I was in high school everybody loved The Rock and (‘Stone Cold’) Steve Austin. They were my least favorite people because all they did was talk. I like the ‘wrestler’ wrestlers.” (H/T NoDQ.com)
Danielson used this point as a way to compare the current landscape of WWE and AEW. He stated that wrestling fans will be more drawn to watching Dynamite than either RAW or SmackDown because there is more in-ring action.
"If you were to do a comparison just watching the shows, you’ll see that there’s a lot more wrestling in the two hours of Dynamite than there is even in a three-hour WWE RAW. Sometimes there’s more wrestling on an AEW Dynamite show than there is in RAW and SmackDown combined." (H/T NoDQ.com)
Fans forget that Bryan Danielson was in WWE during The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin's prime
The Attitude Era of WWE is credited by many as the peak of wrestling's popularity, thanks in large part to the success of both The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. But did you know that Bryan Danielson was in and around the action during this famed time period?
During his early years as a wrestler, the "American Dragon" worked a number of dark matches for WWE, as well as matches for shows like Jakked and Sunday Night Heat.
One of these matches took place on December 12th, 2000, when Bryan took on long-time friend Brian Kendrick in a dark match before the taping of Sunday Night Heat was set to begin.
On the same night, the episode of SmackDown that aired on December 14th, 2000, was taped. The main event of the show was The Rock and Steve Austin teaming up to take on Kurt Angle and Bryan Danielson's mentor, William Regal.
Did you know Bryan Danielson was around during the Attitude Era? Let us know in the comments section down below!