Steve Austin Reveals First Thoughts Of The Rock And Triple H, Relationships With Them Now
Recently on The Steve Austin Show, 'Global Icon And National Treasure' Steve Austin talked about meeting fellow 'Attitude Era' tentpoles, Triple H and The Rock, for the first time. Also, Austin shared his immediate impressions of Triple H and The Rock and went on to discuss his current relationships with the two future WWE Hall Of Famers.
Austin recalled meeting Triple H way before their WWE days, back when Steve was stunning and 'The Game' was terrorizing WCW. According to Austin, the two hit it off right away, but they did not run in the same circles.
"I met Triple H when he first came into WCW." Austin rememebred "and here he came in, good looking dude, good worker, even back then. He wasn't too long out of Killer Kowalski's school. I think he'd probably been working. He worked several matches because he was already very polished even when he came into WCW. We hit it off right off the bat. Same sense of humor. I was a little bit older than him, but I hadn't been in the business too much longer, if any. So, man, we introduced ourselves, to each other and I knew he had a bright future in the business. And I don't know what he thought about me. We always hit it off. Same sense of humor, same taste in music. He was a huge bodybuilding, powerlifting fan, always hit the gym. He wasn't a drinker – I respected that. Good dude, great sense of humor, low-key, one of the boys. So that's how I met Triple H and we hit it off from day one. And, to this day, whenever we see each other, it's like old times. We didn't run in the same crowds. We didn't travel together. He had his crew and I had mine or I was traveling solo at the time. But nothing but good things."
On the subject of meeting The Rock, Austin said he was always got along with The Rock and knew he had potential, though it was clear the Rocky Maivia gimmick was not working for the third generation talent.
"I remember when The Rock came in, Rock, man, you knew this guy had potential when you saw him." Austin continued, "he was a good looking guy. You just knew the gimmick wasn't right at first. And then, he ended up changing his gimmick around. He joined the Nation and then turned into The Rock. And then, me and Rock started working together. I was always cool with The Rock. I knew he had potential. I think everybody did. He had the right frame, the right look, really smart, charismatic, so you saw a lot of potential in him as he came in, but the gimmick wasn't right. But, boy, when he turned into The Rock and joined the Nation and started turning heel. I mean, the people rejected him first as a baby, but they took to him as a heel and he had some serious, serious heat. And then, of course, when he turned baby, he was mega over."
Additionally, Austin went on to talk about his strong chemistry with Triple H and The Rock. 'The Bionic Redneck' noted that though he remains friends with both Triple H and The Rock, they are not in regular contact at this time.
"Myself and The Rock have probably worked with Triple H many, many times, but I probably worked with The Rock more times and the chemistry with both guys in the ring, the three stages of hell match that I had with Triple H in Las Vegas [Nevada]." Austin reflected, "it was a hell of a match. We worked so many matches and I was really getting hot when I was working with Triple H. Rock was really getting hot when he was working with me, so we kind of? and of course, when I was gone, the feud those two guys had while I was getting my neck surgery was awesome. But I hit it off with both guys instantly. I remain great friends with each of them. We don't call or text each other, but whenever we're in the same room, it's like nothing ever changed, no time has ever passed and we start shooting the breeze and picking it up from where we left off. And nothing but respect."
Oh hell yeah! If you use any of the quotations that appear in this article, please credit The Steve Austin Show with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: The Steve Austin Show