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| I'll never forget the split screen interviews those two did. Looking back on it after seeing Austin's paranoid comedic character gives it a whole new dimension as some of the things he said to Bret and some of the facial expressions he put on while Bret was speaking were so funny. I too was a Bret mark from the early nineties but was smart enough to the kayfabe at this point that I just went along with it and booed him. The stuff that Austin was doing and saying around that time was just too awesome to take Bret's side. |
I actually secretly liked Stone Cold Steve Austin. lol. He's probably my greatest guilty pleasure ever. I mean, I was a teenager with anger, hormones and rebellion issues just like any other kid that age. lol. So I could relate to Stone Cold, and I liked that Austin didn't give a damn what anyone thought of him, and was so bad, he could make any other bad-ass heel like Vader or Farooq look weak, and I liked that he told power-tripping guys like Sgt. Slaughter and Vince McMahon what they could go do....
.....Yet, I also hated Stone Cold Steve Austin. lol. He was such a great bad guy, and sometimes I enjoyed seeing Austin deal with an authority figure like Sgt. Slaughter who WOULDN'T take his crap. And honestly, even knowing all that I know now, I still would have cheered for Bret, and booed Austin. I liked that Bret was a true good guy, and hero with class, whereas Stone Cold sometimes would remind me of an overgrown school-yard bully who sometimes would hurt and bully the weak, and that teed me off, and I liked that Bret....a protector of the weak, never showed any fear when dealing with Austin, and would fight for the honor of all that is good.
But then when Stone Cold feuded with guys who were more evil then him, I saw Austin as the lesser of two evils, and I liked that whatever bad guy Stone Cold dealt with was finally getting a taste of their own pills cause you knew with Austin, he'd never "do the right thing" or have any class, or show mercy, and would fight fire with fire with any heel he feuded with, and I loved that. Stone Cold Steve Austin spraying down The Rock and Vince McMahon with beer is a perfect example. No classic babyface wrestler would ever have done that. He would have waited for the match to seek revenge, but not Stone Cold Steve Austin! lol.
It was a love/hate relationship with Stone Cold in 1997. He was fun to boo and hate, but there was a part of me that wanted to wear the Austin 3:16 t-shirt and hold an Austin 3:16 sign. But there was no way I could betray to the Hart Foundation. The most I did was buy the Cause Stone Cold Said So video, and that was mainly because I wanted to see the Pillman gun incident which I had missed. And the Hart Foundation mark in me saw it as merely studying the hyenas and their behavior. Nothing more. lol. But there was no way I could actually wear his shirt!
I'm a Texan, and I'm very proud of that, and I liked that Stone Cold Steve Austin represented Texas. During the very brief Austin/HBK feud in June of 97', I was totally on Austin's side. And once Austin ended his very memorable feud with the Harts, I became a fan of his for life, and cheered for him through out his career no matter who he feuded with.
I especially liked heel Steve Austin in 2001, and I finally bought an Austin 3:16 shirt, only it was the red and black one.But even now, my inner-teen will NEVER allow me to buy an original Austin 3:16 t-shirt.