The latest guest on WWE’s The Bump was Hall of Famer Bret Hart, who spoke about a number of different pro-wrestling related topics, which included “The Hitman” sharing a story about telling chairman Vince McMahon about Stone Cold Steve Austin, a move that would drastically change the WWE’s history. Highlights from the interview are below.
Recalls asking Vince McMahon why he Steve Austin hadn’t been signed:
Well, the truth of it is, and I’ve said this a few times, is that I thought Steve was somebody to be reckoned with before he ever got to WWE. I saw him — He was in WCW and I think he even went to ECW for a time, and I remember when he jumped from WCW and he ended up in ECW, I actually remember going into Vince’s office and going, ‘Why didn’t they get this guy? Why didn’t somebody grab him and bring him in here? He’s too good a guy to end up in — He’s working ECW. Why don’t we look into getting him.’
How Austin was signed shortly after their conversation:
I remember having this conversation with Vince about how I thought he’d be really good for me to wrestle and work with and a week later he was sitting in the dressing room. They went out and got him and I don’t know what they did to get him from ECW or get him out of that contract or if he was free to go, but that’s when he started.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)