Buff Bagwell On Why Steve Austin Was Fired From WCW
In an appearance on the Who The Fook Are These Guys?! podcast, WCW legend Buff Bagwell talked about Steve Austin and why he was let go of WCW. Austin, who first gained national exposure in WCW, famously was fired via Fed-Ex by the promotion before going on to become a megastar for the WWE. According to Buff Bagwell however, there was little choice for WCW at the time, due to Austin suffering numerous injuries.
"Steve was hurt for us a lot. He really was," Bagwell said. "He tore his bicep. And when you're hurt with pro wrestling, the deal is, we're live TV. This is live. So if you got hurt, it's kind of hard to put you in the thing and keep you going, because you're doing us no good.
"The main thing that made me successful and a lot of guys' success was, besides my broken neck, I wasn't hurt for 11 years. I never missed a match in 11 years. But still, that was his thing. Injuries, they happen. But Eric felt like that was a problem."
Austin wasn't the only former WCW star to go on to do big things in WWE, with the likes of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Triple H, and Mick Foley prospering after their WCW runs, though Hall and Nash would eventually return to the promotion. In Buff Bagwell's eyes, the chance to take WCW talent and turn them into stars for his own brand was something WWE owner and chairman Vince McMahon loved doing.
"Here's the thing, McMahon loved taking guys like Steve Austin and showing WCW, 'look, I took one of your guys and look what I've fu**ing done with him,'" Bagwell said. "'He's a fu**ing star. You let him go, I turned him into Stone Cold. You let Vinnie Vegas go, Kevin Nash, and now he's Diesel, making millions.'
"He got off on taking talent we'd give up and turn them into big talent, to show us what we had fu**ed up on. He loved doing that, he loved it. So if you ever came from us, you went to him and he became the man to push you through the roof."
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