"Don't let anybody talk down to you" - WWE Legend shares advice Steve Austin gave him (Exclusive)
Gerald Brisco received some words of advice from Stone Cold Steve Austin after they worked together in WWE.
Brisco performed alongside Pat Patterson as Vince McMahon’s on-screen “stooges” in the late 1990s. Austin initially had reservations about feuding with the veteran duo, especially as they had been retired from in-ring competition since 1985. However, he quickly realized he had nothing to worry about.
Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Riju Dasgupta, Brisco recalled how The Texas Rattlesnake had major praise for himself and Patterson.
“He’d come up after a night where we did something, we did all good, he said, ‘Hey, man, you guys are as good as anybody on this roster. Don’t let anybody talk down to you,’” Brisco said. “We were well into our 50s. Look at all the competition there with Stone Cold: Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, we’ll go on and on… Triple H, all those guys trying to get to the top. The Rock...” [9:48-10:22]
Steve Austin faced Brisco and Patterson in a two-on-one handicap match in the main event of RAW on May 18, 1998. He also went one-on-one with McMahon in a steel cage match at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre on February 14, 1999.
Brisco knew those in-ring battles were not going to rival the other matches on the card, but he still thought everyone was successful in their roles.
“Stone Cold, working with three old-looking men when the other guys were working with guys they could go out and have these star matches every night,” Brisco said. “We could have heat matches but they weren’t particularly high-rated matches. They weren’t expecting [good matches] but they did the job, they got Steve over. He had to work his a** off.” [10:23-10:44]
Watch the video above to hear Brisco’s stories about feuding with Austin, traveling with Patterson, and much more.
Gerald Brisco’s thoughts on his segments with Steve Austin
OTD in 1998: Vince McMahon stacked the deck against Stone Cold Steve Austin by having him defend the WWF Championship against Goldust in a match that featured Vince’s stooge, Gerald Brisco as the special guest referee. The match ended in a no contest after Dude Love interfered. https://t.co/WtRPwqul7X
As one of McMahon’s most trusted associates, Gerald Brisco served as the special guest referee in two televised matches involving Austin in 1998. He also joined forces with Patterson to face other superstars, including Chyna, Kane, and The Mean Street Posse.
At the time, Brisco was aware that he and Patterson needed to step up their game to match the level of WWE’s full-time performers.
“All the guys would tell us, ‘We’re gonna work with you guys the same way that we would work with a regular opponent on the roster regardless of your age,’” Brisco said. “So it was up to us to pick up our game every night… They had to pick up their game to carry us through all this stuff, but they had to improve their stuff. They had to be on the ball and basically carry three old men out there. And, man, nobody did it better than that damn Stone Cold Steve Austin.” [10:23-11:15]
Brisco also spoke in the interview about his memories of teaching McMahon how to wrestle before his WWE debut.
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