Former WWE Creative Director Reveals Vince McMahon Wanted to Kill the Stone Cold Character in 1996

WWE veteran Stone Cold Steve Austin rose to superstardom after ditching The Ringmaster gimmick in favor of a ruthless anti-authority character in 1996. It was on this day, 30 years ago, when Austin delivered the iconic 3:16 promo that paved the way for him becoming the poster boy of The Attitude Era and the most influential figure during the Monday Night Wars. His rivalry with Vince McMahon played a pivotal role in WWE winning that ratings war with WCW.

However, as crazy as it sounds, former WWE boss Vince McMahon allegedly held a meeting in 1996 to kill the Stone Cold character. Former WWE creative director David Sahadi revealed the same during the latest edition of the Busted Open podcast. Sahadi revealed that the meeting took place at a time when fans were beginning to embrace and relate to Austin’s authority-defying persona. (quotes via WrestlingNews.co)

According to Sahadi, the entire room went silent when Vince McMahon pitched the idea:

“Stone Cold is starting to come on the ascension, and the fans are cheering him. Vince said, ‘Give the fans the finger; they’ll hate you.’ And no, they gave the finger back. It’s like their way of saying, ‘We love this guy.’ And who wouldn’t love Stone Cold? This blue-collar guy that drinks beer and can tell his boss to flip off. I said nothing because I was in shock. Nobody spoke. It was just silence. And people are thinking, ‘This is a really bad idea.’”

Kevin Dunn reportedly pushed back at Vince McMahon’s idea

“To Kevin Dunn’s credit, because I do take a shot at him toward the end of the book, to Kevin Dunn’s credit, he said, ‘Vince, the crowd is loving this. Let’s just let the crowd take us where they want us to go. Let’s not try to force something on them.’”

Did the meeting take place after Steve Austin’s iconic 3:16 promo?

Sahadi confirmed that Austin hadn’t yet delivered the game-changing 3:16 promo but admitted that the meeting happened right around the same period. He also credits Michael Hayes for coming up with the “Austin 3:16” line.

“That Stone Cold character nearly was killed before it reached its apex. Where would the Attitude Era have been without Stone Cold Steve Austin?”

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