The Rock was allegedly made to 'bury' suspended superstar on television because of Vince McMahon - Reports
Vince McMahon and The Rock have some of the most iconic catchphrases in WWE history. One of The Brahma Bull's most famous lines, “took his ball and went home,” was a dig at Stone Cold after walking out of the company following a disagreement with Vince McMahon. The company had told Jim Ross, Michael Cole and The Rock to 'bury' Austin on-screen.
As reported earlier, Stone Cold had refused to lose to Brock Lesnar on an episode of RAW. The six-time WWE Champion simply walked out refusing to do business. The company suspended him, and they tried to bury him on-air. Even though he returned later, he never regained his popularity because of the manner in which the company had maligned him.
As per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Rock was explicitly told to insult Austin on air. The two men had been long-time rivals and are credited with the massive success of the Attitude Era. However, with Austin suspended, The Brahma Bull had to tow the company line.
''Nobody was buried as badly as Austin, who was the biggest star the company had as far as winning the wrestling war a few years earlier, including Jim Ross, Austin’s best friend in the company at the time, and Dwayne Johnson both being told to bury him and doing so, including Johnson using the famed “took his ball and went home” line on television,'' said Meltzer.
He’s still got it. Here’s to @steveaustinBSR on #Austin316Day! https://t.co/OiaIRr0XjM
Vince McMahon tried to re-establish Stone Cold's reputation later
The report also revealed that once Stone Cold was back, McMahon was advertised to face him at house shows. The idea was to rebuild the glory days of Austin and burn the bridges between the two men. However, McMahon backed out of those matches:
''Vince McMahon himself at one point was booked on house shows to do angles with Steve Austin to try to rebuild gates that had fallen. ''
3. 1998
Favorite Characters: Stone Cold, Vince McMahon, Undertaker, Kane, Mankind, The Rock and Paul Bearer
Favorite Storyline: Stone Cold vs Vince McMahon
Favorite Match: Mankind vs Undertaker at KOTR
Favorite Moment: Mankind thrown of Cell
Overall Rating: 9.4/10 https://t.co/g6MCP0oNA9
However, due to multiple reasons like travel, his other duties, personal reasons and no major change in ticket sales, he backed out of the matches and stopped going despite being advertised.