Vince McMahon Didn’t Think Steve Austin Had The Mic Skills To Be Alone

Everyone knows “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as one of the best talkers of the Attitude Era. But, on a recent episode of “Something To Wrestle With” Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson addressed why Vince McMahon paired him with a manager during the beginning of his WWE run.

Apparently, Vince McMahon didn’t have much faith in Steve Austin’s mic abilities. Therefore, he was paired with “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. Ted was supposed to be Austin’s mouthpiece because to put it simply: Vince didn’t think people would want to listen to Steve Austin’s voice.

“Steve did not have a reputation for being a talker by any stretch of the imagination,” Bruce Prichard said. “Steve didn’t talk in WCW. He did with Pillman, they did promos. But, he did not get to shine until Paul Heyman gave him that opportunity and stuck a microphone in front of him at ECW and let Steve’s true personality shine through.”

“Vince to the contrary was of the opinion that no one would want to listen to that Southern Texas draw accent,” Bruce continued. “And [Vince believed] that Steve did not have the gift of gab and felt that he was dull and would not be able to cut a promo. So yeah, [Ted DiBiase] was put with Steve to be the mouthpiece and to be able to cut the promos and add some color to Steve Austin… The Ringmaster.”

It’s a good thing Vince McMahon finally figured out how valuable of an asset Steve Austin’s mic skills were. Without his legendary Attitude Era segments, the WWE wouldn’t be the same as it is today.

If you use any portion of the quotes in this article, please credit “Something To Wrestle With” with a H/T to Still Real To Us for the transcription.