Steve Austin is one of the best-known names in professional wrestling after taking the world of WWE by storm during its Attitude Era.
Long before he was Stone Cold in WWE, however, Steve Austin was an up-and-coming young prospect in World Championship Wrestling. After signing with the company in 1991, Austin found much success, winning the WCW World Television Championship shortly after his debut as well as going on to become WCW United States Champion, WCW Tag Team Champion, and NWA Tag Team Champion alongside his partner Brian Pillman.
Though he seemed to be on the rise, a knee injury took him out of action in 1994, and after returning in 1995, he failed to reach the same heights. Steve Austin was fired from the company in 1995, famously receiving a FedEx from Eric Bischoff. He signed with ECW shortly thereafter for a brief stint before joining WWE later that year.
Arn Anderson Compared Steve Austin’s Early Work To Ivan Koloff
Speaking on the latest episode of ARN, WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson recalled his first impressions of Austin when he came to WCW, likening his work to that of Ivan Koloff.
“When I first started seeing Steve work, I put him in the Ivan Koloff class. Those of us that know Ivan Koloff, and really [were] around when he was working, and could be in arenas and watch him work house shows… he’s a machine. He’s an animal. He never quit coming forward.
“If you’re working with him, same with Steve, if you were gonna have a competitive match with Steve, you better be prepared to fight him, and meet him halfway. Because he was just gonna keep coming, and he was a machine, as well. Until you gave him a reason to sell for you, brother, he was all about getting himself over, and offense.”
Continuing, Anderson praised Austin for his cardio in the ring, saying performers had to be on their top game in order to go toe to toe with him.
“In those days, that’s how a heel got over. Even though you might get outwrestled, or outflanked, or outpunched, man, you just kept coming. You were looking for one opening. If you could find one opening, you were gonna kick the door down. That was what Austin was exemplifying already. He was a cardio machine. Having a big gas tank in those days. His pace was really fast, so you better be in shape if you’re gonna work fifteen minutes with Austin because, man, he was a go-getter.”
h/t eWrestlingNews