Jake The Snake Roberts says Vince McMahon told him Stone Cold Steve Austin was "not a main-eventer"
Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the greats of pro wrestling, who changed the face of WWE during the Attitude Era. The Texas Rattlesnake had a dream run in WWE and had fantastic feuds with the likes of The Rock and Vince McMahon.
But, things could've gone differently for him if WWE Chairman Vince McMahon had stuck to his first impression of Austin.
WWE Hall of Famer Jake The Snake Roberts spoke about Stone Cold Steve Austin and revealed that he thought that Austin would be a big Superstar in the company. He told Vince McMahon that Austin would be a huge star but the WWE Chairman thought otherwise.
Vince McMahon believed Stone Cold Steve Austin wouldn't be a success in WWE
In a recent interview with Premier Live TV, Roberts said that he felt Stone Cold Steve Austin had the "it" factor that eventually made him a big star. He told McMahon about it, but the WWE Chairman thought that Austin would never be a main eventer.
"When Steve Austin came to WWF, I was helping write television, and I watched him, and I said, ‘This motherf*cker got it, man. He’s got that ‘it’ factor and he don’t even know he’s got it.’ I’m starting to scoot him into places. Sort of as an afterthought so nobody was watching. Well then one day I told Vince [McMahon], I said, ‘That guy right there is gonna be your next super, superstar.’ ‘You kidding me Jake?’ He said, ‘That guy, he’ll never make it past fifth, sixth match. He’s not a main-eventer.’ I said, ‘The f*ck he ain’t.’ He said, ‘Do you think so?’ I said, ‘Yeah I think so,’ and we tried the thing and I guess it might’ve worked huh?” (H/T Post Wrestling)
McMahon was wrong in his assessment of Stone Cold Steve Austin who went on to be the face of the Attitude Era and helped bring in millions and millions of viewers each week to WWE shows. The WWE Chairman was Austin's biggest nemesis on-screen and their rivalry is still talked about to this day.