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Steve Austin is widely viewed as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time. In a recent interview, Duke 'The Dumpster' Droese gave his take on why he did not want to lose against the WWE icon.
Droese worked for WWE between 1994 and 1996. On one occasion, the 55-year-old was supposed to suffer a defeat against Austin's new persona, The Ringmaster. However, he told WWE creative team member Bruce Prichard that he did not like the booking idea and wanted to leave.
On Monte and The Pharaoh, Droese said two-time WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart advised him to stand his ground:
"I was kinda riding with Bret Hart at the time and I was sitting next to him in the locker room, and he just looked at me and goes, 'I'd refuse to do it.' And I went, 'I can do that?' He goes, 'I would.' So I went and talked to Bruce Prichard. I said, 'Look, I don't know what you guys want me to do, but you guys are killing me, so I think maybe I need to leave or something.'" [1:11:33 – 1:12:00]
Prichard spoke to WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon, who agreed to give Droese a new one-year contract. The former WWE star's booking did not improve, prompting him to leave the company midway through 1996.
Duke Droese's relationship with Stone Cold Steve Austin
Shortly after Duke Droese refused to lose, Steve Austin reinvented himself as Stone Cold and went on to become one of WWE's top stars.
More than two decades on, Droese remains in contact with the Hall of Famer:
"We still laugh about that to this day. I always rib him. I go, 'I wouldn't do a job for you when you first came in!' One of the stellar moves in my illustrious career is not putting over the greatest pro wrestler arguably of all time." [1:13:31 – 1:13:46]
Although he refused to lose against Austin's The Ringmaster character, Droese agreed to suffer losses against Austin's Stone Cold persona. The Texas Rattlesnake defeated Droese at several untelevised live events in June 1996.
What do you make of Duke Droese refusing to lose against Steve Austin? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Monte and the Pharaoh and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
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