During his post-WrestleMania media scrum with Denise Salcedo WWE superstar Cody Rhodes shared a fun story of running into Stone Cold Steve Austin at a 2017 NJPW event in Long Beach, where the American Nightmare had wrestled top NJPW talent, Kazuchika Okada. Check out Rhodes’ story from their interaction, which included the Rattlesnake giving him some sound advice afterwards.
Recalls Steve Austin being at the NJPW Long Beach show where he wrestled Okada:
“I have a cool Stone Cold story. The New Japan Long Beach show, I wrestled [Kazuchika] Okada. It was really fun and he’s a tremendous storyteller. I was excited and I always try to get some space afterwards. I went out to the parking lot and [Steve Austin] had come to watch the show and sit on the truck with one of his friends who was producing the show. I didn’t know that. There were whispers that Steve Austin was there. He started walking with us to the parking lot, it’s Steve Austin, not like ‘Steve Austin,’ it’s the same guy walking to the ring at [WrestleMania 38].”
How Austin gave him some advice after the show:
“He came up to me in the parking lot and he was telling me about some holds I could do differently and he was giving me some really sincere, genuine advice for wrestling’s most prolific money maker. You had to stop being a fan and listen to what he’s saying. So, I’m listening, and all this press and media slowly coming. Right as they got closer, he patted me on the shoulder, turned around, and walked off into the darkness. There was no car, no hotel. It was like Batman. It was legit like Batman. There were people like, ‘Where did he go?’ He was gone. I don’t know if he turned the corner and sprinted. It was a really special thing. We got to have that moment again [at Mania]. He said, ‘that was the match you needed to have. Hearing that from the guy going on last, yup, thank you.”
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)