WWE stars "tarnish their brand" and should learn from Steve Austin, veteran says (Exclusive)
Stone Cold Steve Austin is widely viewed as one of the greatest WWE Superstars ever. Vince Russo, the company's head writer in the late 1990s, believes current wrestlers are too afraid to have backstage conversations like The Texas Rattlesnake.
Austin became a household name during WWE's popular Attitude Era thanks to his anti-authority character and connection with fans. Behind the scenes, the Hall of Famer always had a keen interest in his opponents and storyline developments.
Russo spoke to host Dr. Chris Featherstone on the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing With Russo. The veteran writer recalled how Austin requested changes to scripts if he disliked something he was told to do. Nowadays, he does not think talents have the courage to speak up.
"Bro, the thing with Austin was, bro, every week when I gave him the material, it was under the microscope, every single week, and you know a lot of these athletes today, they're just doing whatever they're told, and that really tarnishes their brand," Russo said. [9:00 – 9:21]
Watch the video above to hear more from Russo on the similarities between modern-day basketball players and wrestlers.
Steve Austin's WrestleMania 41 status
In 2022, Steve Austin defeated Kevin Owens in an impromptu match at WrestleMania 38. Before the event, the WWE icon had not wrestled since losing to The Rock at WrestleMania 19 in 2003.
WrestleMania 41 will take place in Las Vegas on April 19-20. In an interview on Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez, Austin confirmed he will be in town for the two-night event. However, he has not spoken to anyone from WWE about appearing on the show.
Austin underwent knee replacement surgery in late 2024 and expects the recovery process to last around a year.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing With Russo and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.