Steve Austin was on top of the wrestling world during The Attitude Era, and WWE programming had a reputation for being unpredictable.
When it came to Austin’s segments, you never knew what he was going to do or say, and that’s what people seemed to like about him.
The WWE Hall of Famer recently spoke to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, and he talked about WWE making the transition to scripted promos.
Austin noted that things started to change after the demise of WCW, and more corporate sponsors started coming in.
He said that when he took time off for his neck injury in 2000, WWE was handing Superstars scripts when he returned.
The Rattlesnake said he tried to work within the system, but it just didn’t fit him.
“I worked with the system. One time, I was working a program with Vince and he wanted to go over the promo with me. I’m sitting there, I’d come back from my neck injury, and I was like [in a monotone voice], ‘Okay Vince, I’m going to rip you to shreds.’ He got mad and goes, ‘DAMNIT STEVE! Give me your A promo!’ I said, ‘I’m going to give you my A promo out there.’ I’m not a rehearsal guy. I’ll read the bullet points, I’ll get a couple of them in there, but then we’re gonna fly.”
Scripted promos seem to be a point of contention for many modern Superstars, and Jon Moxley recently said on Talk Is Jericho that the WWE system made him hate doing promos.
Do you think WWE should give their Superstars more freedom when it comes to promos? Sound off in the comments below.
H/T Fightful
