Steve Austin has recently revealed who he believes is the most underrated pro wrestler of all time – pointing at WWE Hall of Famer Barry Windham.
‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ recently appeared on an episode of ‘Talk is Jericho’. Notably, this marks the first time a WWE contracted talent has been featured on the show, hosted by Chris Jericho, since Jericho’s exit from WWE and subsequent debut for AEW.
During the course of their conversation, Austin recalled his WCW days, competing for the US and Television Championships. Discussing his feud with Barry Windham, Austin would name the Four Horsemen legend as one of the most underrated performers to step inside the squared circle:
“Barry Windham and I had some knock down drag out singles on TV for that television title and US Title. I always loved being in the ring with him. Barry Windham is one of the most underrated guys in the history of the business. When you just watched him get in the ring, just from a dead stride he would step from the ground all the way onto the apron just like a gazelle. He was so graceful for being such a big guy, and always just so giving to me.
Dude, I don’t know how many times I used to throw a left hand clothesline the way Chris Adams taught me back in the day, I would switch to a right hand clothesline, which felt more natural. I still have scars on my thumb from hitting him in his teeth because of a misplaced clothesline. He never snubbed me back, he never said sh*t after the match, he never got mad at me, I apologised profusely to him.”
During this time, ‘Stunning’ Steve Austin was a part of The Dangerous Alliance. The stable, which consisted of the like of Rick Rude, Bobby Eaton, Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko would feud with a re-formed version of The Four Horsemen, featuring Windham. During this time, Austin and Windham would face each other numerous times, including a 2 out of 3 falls match for the WCW World Television Championship in May 1992.
A former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Barry Windham would step away from full time in-ring action in the mid 2000’s. He would go on to work as a producer for WWE, and was inducted into the companies Hall of Fame as part of The Four Horsemen in 2012.
Credit for Interview: Talk is Jericho