Jim Ross believes WWE made the right call by having Steve Austin win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, saying Austin had already begun separating himself from the rest of the roster before delivering the iconic “Austin 3:16” promo.
Speaking on Grilling JR, Ross discussed WWE’s decision to pivot away from Triple H following the Curtain Call incident and why Austin quickly became the obvious choice to win the tournament.
“You look at the roster, Conrad, and you say, ‘Who can we help the most by them facilitating a King of the Ring win, right? Who needs it the most? Who needs that impetus to step forward?’
To me, Steve was the obvious answer.
He was starting to build momentum. He was turning heads. People were starting to pay attention to him.
He had found his own character. He was refining it.
His work was solid as hell, believable.
So, to me, Steve… there was probably going to be other guys as candidates, no doubt, but I think Steve was the obvious candidate, and it was the right thing to do to put him over.”
Ross also addressed the legendary “Austin 3:16” promo that followed Austin’s victory over Jake “The Snake” Roberts, revealing one of the most memorable lines wasn’t scripted.
“The shirt. The shirt. He sold a lot of those 3:16 shirts and, ironically, they’re still selling. Ain’t that funny?
When it hits, it hits.
It was so monumental on so many fronts.
Michael Hayes’ facial expression was priceless because he had no idea that line was coming, right?
It wasn’t scripted. Austin didn’t do scripts.
So, it was good. It was really good.
Austin was anointed at that point in time.
You heard the crowd respond when he said he was going to be the next champion, and that’s great market research.
So, it was a very successful tournament in that respect.”
Ross then revealed WWE wasted no time rewarding Austin after realizing they had found the company’s next breakout star.
“Immediately.
What’s there to think about?
We had all of our answers.
We had our guy.
It worked out fine.
It was time.
Keep your talent happy.
Here’s our guy that was going to be our ‘it’ guy for what we thought was years to come.
We didn’t wait until the contract ended. We didn’t wait until this recycled or that recycled. We went right for it.
He was appreciative of it because he got the respect from the office that he had been looking for in every company that he ever worked for.
Just respect me for what I do.
He got that respect.
We wanted to make sure he knew he was appreciated, and we sure as hell wanted to keep him happy.”
Looking back, Ross believes the King of the Ring victory and Austin’s unforgettable post-match interview became one of the defining moments in WWE history.
“Probably based on where Austin took it, right?
The merch he sold…
I remember he had one year where he made $13 million.
He was making over a million dollars a month.
So, I suggest strongly that it was the right thing to do.
It was pivotal in the growth of the brand leading into the Attitude Era, and I would dare say to the company going public as well.”
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the Grilling JR podcast with a h/t to WrestlingHeadlines.com for the transcription.
