WWE Attitude Era Star Was Set To Feud With Steve Austin, Why Did Plans Change?

A notable name from the WWE Attitude Era has stated that they were originally planned to be part of a rivalry with Steve Austin following on from the Hall of Famer’s victory in 1998.

The Austin Era began at WrestleMania 14 when The Texas Rattlesnake pinned Shawn Michaels to capture his first World Championship. Following the victory, Austin put the title on the line against Triple H, Vince McMahon and Dude Love among others. However, there was another name set to challenge Austin, but these plans were scrapped.

To promote his new autobiography, former Intercontinental Champion Marc Mero recently appeared on The Two Man Power Trip podcast. Mero first spoke about the memorable angle where he was powerbombed by Sable and how it cut out the planned Austin program:

“There were no surprises; it was just something we planned on doing. And my thought was, people said, ‘Well how would you let a girl beat you up? You ruined your career.’ Remember, I’m making guaranteed money, and why not build her up where she’s making huge money with merchandise and opportunities outside of the WWE, and different guest spots on all these different shows that she was doing; [it was] an incredible time for us. But it did create quite the stir in the locker room and cut out a program that I was supposed to have with Steve Austin,”

Continuing, Mero added that he was the next rivalry for Austin but plans were changed:

“I was the next feud for Steve at the time. I was wrestling and we had a main event match at the Los Angeles Forum. And I remember getting to the arena and I noticed it was changed. Like, I wasn’t wrestling Steve. And I was like, ‘What happened?’ Never thinking it was because Sable powerbombed me. And his thought was that ‘If a girl can beat him up, why would I want to wrestle him?’ You know? And I get it. So it changed the whole thing.”

In a recent episode of his podcast, Jim Ross stated that Steve Austin refused to work with Marc Mero one on one so a tag team match was made instead as a compromise.

Steve Austin Will Be In Town For WrestleMania 41

Away from WWE TV for 3 years following his return match at WrestleMania 41, many are hoping to see an Austin return take place in Las Vegas as part of WrestleMania weekend. Ahead of the show, Steve Austin has been announced for an appearance at a WWE event.

In a new interview, a WWE Hall of Famer spoke about making a return to the company.

Marc Mero’s autobiography Badd To Good: The Inspiring Story of a Wrestling Wildman, is available to purchase here.

H/t to Fightful.