WWE legend reveals he personally told higher-ups about Stone Cold Steve Austin's potential (Exclusive)
WWE legend Ricky Steamboat recently revealed that he personally went into the WCW office and told them about Stone Cold Steve Austin's potential as a top star.
One of the earliest feuds of The Texas Rattlesnake's career, which put him on the map in WCW, was against Steamboat. The two had quite a few singles matches against each other, which were a fine display of Stone Cold's talents.
In a chat with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Bill Apter, Ricky Steamboat revealed that following one of their matches in 1994, he went back to the office and put over Austin as someone who had tons of potential. The WWE veteran added that from a sharp mind to in-ring work to personality, Austin possessed every tool.
Steamboat added that while he retired soon after, he was pleased to see Stone Cold Steve Austin fulfilling his potential by becoming a mega draw in WWE.
"My very last match, I was working for WCW at the time in 1994, was with Steve Austin in Roanoke, Virginia, okay, and it was for the United States Championship. That's when I hurt my back. Prior to that, I went into the office and said, 'This kid Austin, he's got it.' He's got the "it" thing. You know, he knows what he's doing. He knows how to work. He's got great timing, and all his mechanics,'" Steamboat said.
He added:
"So I thought then that he had it. And, when I hurt my back and I decided to go out and it was 20 years, and I decided to go out of the business, the next thing I knew, he was in WWE, and he became Stone Cold, and then the rest is history. But I knew when we were working with the other company that this kid's got it." [3:56 - 5:02]
Check out the full video below:
WWE legend Booker T jokingly challenged Stone Cold Steve Austin to a rematch recently
One of the most memorable moments of both Booker T and Stone Cold Steve Austin's WWE careers was their grocery store fight in 2001. On a recent episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, the NXT broadcaster recalled the segment and went on to jokingly challenge The Texas Rattlesnake to another grocery store match.
"You know what? I'm throwing out a challenge right now. To Steve Austin, if you got the guts, meet me in Bakersfield tomorrow night in the Green Frog. Meet me and we're gonna do it all over again, if you got the guts [laughs]," Booker T said.
Austin came out of retirement to compete at the Night 1 of WrestleMania 38 against Kevin Owens. However, despite fans wanting to see more of him, the WWE Hall of Famer has stayed away from in-ring competition.
What's your favorite moment of Stone Cold Steve Austin's career? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the exclusive YouTube video if you use quotes from the first half of this article.