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Former WWE writer Vince Russo has opened up on why The Undertaker vs Stone Cold Steve Austin from SummerSlam 1998 didn't resonate with fans.
Russo was a guest on the latest edition of SK Wrestling's Off the SKript with Dr. Chris Featherstone where the pair went into detail about Russo's creative relationship with Vince McMahon.
Russo explained that, on the majority of creative ideas he produced, McMahon would agree as he had faith in the writer and former WWE magazine editor. However, the SummerSlam 1998 match between The Undertaker and Steve Austin was not one of these occassions, and Russo actually ended up yelling at McMahon over the issue.
"He went against us so few times I can actually remember them. One of the big ones… I’ll never forget it… because I yelled at him. I was, like, YELLING at him. This was SummerSlam... Taker and Austin. And, bro, what happened was Taker and Austin were such good friends, that they wanted to have a babyface match. Bro, I’m a New York guy. This was Madison Square Garden, and I’m like “Vince, no! The people in New York, the Garden, they don’t want a babyface match. They want these guys killing each other! That’s what they want.” But bro, in that case… those two were the senior, senior guys, and it’s what they really wanted. I knew Vince was going to give in to it… I’ll never forget, that match went over like a fart in church. And after the match, Taker and Austin were like, what just happened? They didn’t want a babyface match. That’s not what they wanted at that time. And those guys kinda let their friendship get in the way. And bro, I don’t blame Vince at all for letting those guys do what they wanna do, but I knew that was not what the people wanted." Said Russo.
The Undertaker and Steve Austin are both retired
While they may have shared some epic encounters in their prime, The Undertaker and Steve Austin have both since retired from active competition.
The Undertaker officially retired at Survivor Series last year after an astonishing 30 year career. Steve Austin, on the other hand, wrestled his last match at WrestleMania XIX against The Rock, but never formally retired from the ring. However, he did recently reveal he considers himself to be retired. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.
You can watch the full clip between Vince Russo and Dr. Chris Featherstone here:
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