Former WWE star says he had the beer gimmick before Stone Cold Steve Austin (Exclusive)

Steve Austin famously drank beer as part of his on-screen character after reinventing himself as Stone Cold in WWE. In an exclusive interview, The Sandman recently gave his thoughts on the wrestling icon using a similar gimmick to the one he portrayed in ECW.

The Sandman established himself as one of ECW's most popular stars between 1992 and 2001. The five-time World Heavyweight Champion was known for smoking cigarettes and drinking beer on his way to the ring. He also used a Singapore cane as his signature weapon.

Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, The Sandman addressed whether Austin's gimmick belonged to him first:

"Of course, I'd been doing it for years. His last two matches were with me and Mikey Whipwreck before he signed with Vince [McMahon]. He got to Vince and then started doing it [beer gimmick] later. I didn't care. People think I would get mad at that. I wasn't mad at all about it. It would be like me getting mad at anybody carrying a Singapore cane to the ring right now." [4:45 – 5:09]

The Sandman also appeared in WWE between 2005 and 2007 as part of the company's revamped ECW brand. Watch the video above to hear his thoughts on how ECW's die-hard fans became a big part of the promotion's shows.

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Did The Sandman enjoy working with Steve Austin?

Shortly before joining WWE in 1995, Steve Austin competed in two ECW matches. One of those bouts occurred at ECW December to Dismember, where The Sandman defeated Austin and then-champion Mikey Whipwreck to capture the ECW world title.

Almost three decades on, The Sandman only has good memories of sharing the ring with The Texas Rattlesnake:

"I don't know, he was a worker to me. Just a regular dude. He was easy to work with. We did a Three Stooges [comedy] spot, just stupid s**t, you know what I mean? That's the kind of s**t I like to do, so he was cool." [5:23 – 5:39]

Austin's only other televised ECW match took place at November to Remember 1995. He unsuccessfully challenged Whipwreck for the ECW world title.

What did you make of Steve Austin using a similar gimmick to The Sandman? Let us know in the comments section below.

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