After Stone Cold Steve Austin famously walked out of WWE and took an eight month hiatus due to creative frustrations, the first match upon his return was not what fans were expecting, as he fought former WCW promoter Eric Bischoff at No Way Out 2003. The contest only lasted four minutes, with Austin delivering three Stunners to Bischoff following a one-sided beatdown from the opening bell, but “Easy E” knew he was in for a painful defeat before the six-time world champion returned to the squared circle.
“It was exciting. I wasn’t really worried about the in-ring part of it too much because I knew what was going to happen before Steve even agreed to do it. It wasn’t like I was going to go out and have a twelve minute match with Steve Austin, right? … Bruce Prichard, my buddy, he’s the first one that brought it to me. It seems like it must have come up in a production or a creative meeting or something,” he stated in an interview with “Complex.” “Nowhere in that conversation did I imagine myself having any offense because I’ve had those types of matches before. I had enough heat at the time. All people wanted to do is see me get my ass kicked. They didn’t want to see what I could do. They just wanted to see the other guy kick my ass.”
Bischoff also spoke about the eight years of backstory between Austin and himself ahead of No Way Out, as he reflected on firing “The Rattlesnake” from WCW, a move that sparked friction between both men for years. Additionally, before signing with WWE, Austin would enjoy a short stint in ECW, where he purposely buried Bischoff on TV.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Complex” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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