"The only mistake I made" - Ex-WWE star wishes he spoke to Vince McMahon like Stone Cold Steve Austin
Maxx Payne believes he would have succeeded in WWE if he had spoken to Vince McMahon in a similar way to Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Payne appeared in WWE as Man Mountain Rock between February 1995 and October 1995 after previously working for WCW. Austin later debuted in WWE as The Ringmaster in January 1996 before drastically changing his character in March 1996.
Speaking on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Payne reflected on how Austin told McMahon that his Ringmaster gimmick was not working. In hindsight, he thinks he should have addressed the same concerns about his Man Mountain Rock persona:
“The only mistake I made in the WWF [WWE] was not doing exactly what Stone Cold did and said, ‘F*** you, I ain’t gonna do that stupid gimmick. I’m gonna be who I am,’ and Vince said, ‘Okay [to Steve Austin].’ Looking back in retrospect, I wished I would have done the same,” Payne said. [46:20-46:35]
The former WCW star also said in the interview that he wanted to wear all-black and continue to work as Maxx Payne in WWE. However, McMahon felt he looked too similar to The Undertaker and asked him to wear tie-dye clothing instead.
Why did Stone Cold Steve Austin change his gimmick?
@steveaustinBSR's WWE debut as The Ringmaster on #WWERaw, 1/8/1996
Mr. @WWENetwork himself 26 years later #BrokenSkullSessions 
⬅️ @steveaustinBSR's WWE debut as The Ringmaster on #WWERaw, 1/8/1996
➡️ Mr. @WWENetwork himself 26 years later #BrokenSkullSessions
Oh. Hell. Yeah. https://t.co/6OMvkwBv5m
Steve Austin’s Ringmaster gimmick was based around him being one of the most talented in-ring technicians in wrestling. The character did not connect with WWE fans the way Vince McMahon had hoped, prompting Austin to speak up.
McMahon explained in a Meeting Stone Cold documentary on the WWE Network how Austin approached him about changing his persona.
“Steve came to me and said, ‘Vince, I’m just not The Ringmaster.’ ‘Well, okay, who are you?’ So Steve came to me and said, ‘I’m Stone Cold.’ Neither one of us really knew what Stone Cold was. ‘Let’s try this, let’s try that.’ So it was the beginning of a new character,” McMahon said.
According to Fightful Select, WWE has approached Austin about coming out of retirement at WrestleMania 38. The Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez also reported that a match between the 57-year-old and Kevin Owens has been discussed.
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