Bruce Prichard Recalls Steve Austin Trying to Get Back in the Ring After 1997 Neck Injury

– On the latest Something to Wrestle, Bruce Prichard recalled Steve Austin wanting to get back in the ring after the injury caused by Owen Hart’s botched piledriver at SummerSlam 1997. Austin had broken his neck in the infamous botched spot and suffered temporary paralysis. Doctors told him he should retire, but he got a second opinion and was trying to get into the ring.

Highlights from the discussion, and the full podcast, are below:

On Austin wanting to get back in the ring: “I think that you saw both sides of Steve during that, because there was a part of Steve that was realizing everything that was taking place from the standpoint of, his star was as bright as it could possibly be during this period. But you also had Steve Williams, the man behind Steve Austin, who was thinking about paralysis, and was thinking about long-term effects of this injury. So Steve was both sides. He was wanting to get back because he knew what lay in front of him. And at the same time, he wanted to make sure that he was healthy enough to get back. So it was — you were getting both sides, and both sides a lot.”

On Austin seeking medical advice and trying to get cleared: “So first of all, you go to a doctor, the doctor tells you, ‘You’ll never wrestle again.’ And a lot of times, that is a very conservative [diagnosis] and probably what most normal, not a sports doctor would tell you. Because they look at these injuries and for all I know, they may be right. I’m not a doctor. But then you go to someone who’s seen these injuries before, and seen people kick out. And they say ‘Well no, if you do this and you do that, you could add X number of years to your career.’ So there’s always that search for the fix. ‘How can I make this work?’ And Steve was dealing with that on a daily basis.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Something to Wrestle with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.