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The latest edition of WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross' Grilling JR podcast focused on the iconic 1996 WWE King of the Ring, which served as the launching pad that propelled Steve Austin to superstardom.
Stone Cold Steve Austin won the tournament and cut his historic 3:16 promo that evening. However, the Texas Rattlesnake faced several challenges throughout the event.
Austin faced Marc Mero in the semi-final and unfortunately suffered a busted lip during one of the spots. While recapping the match, Jim Ross revealed that Steve Austin never liked working with Marc Mero.
JR also added that he was surprised that the superstars were given 17 minutes to work with, and it ended up being a solid bout. The veteran announcer praised Mero for elevating Steve Austin at WWE King of the Ring.
Though Austin suffered a nasty cut, the bloody visual made him look like a true badass, which was essentially what his character was all about.
"I remember that Austin didn't like working with Mero. I was surprised it [the semi-final match] went 17 minutes. I thought they had a very good match. Marc Mero tried his hardest to facilitate Austin's elevation. The busted lip was just a stroke of misfortune, but at the end of the day, it was a great visual," Jim Ross recalled.
Injury couldn't hold the WWE Legend down
Jim Ross said that anyone who knew Austin was confident of seeing the legend return for the Tournament finals. After his semi-final match, Steve Austin was taken to a local medical facility where he received several stitches while the show continued.
Austin returned to compete in the finals, where he beat Jake 'The Snake' Roberts to become the WWE King of the Ring.
"Anybody that knew Austin knew the fact that he was going to win the King of the Ring. He would go get sowed up, stitched up, but it wasn't going to be over. Well, luckily enough, the medical facility... they got him in, sewed him up, sent him back across the street, and there he was. So, I don't know; it was just a really good opener. But nothing was going to deny Austin that right. Busted lip or not, 16 stitches or not, he knew he'd be back," JR added.
Jim Ross would also agree with host Conrad Thompson's assessment that the match against Austin was Mero's best effort in the WWE.
"I can't recall one; I agree with you," Jim Ross stated.
Steve Austin might not have liked wrestling against Marc Mero, but both men still managed to deliver that night. As history would suggest, the 1996 King of the Ring was where it all began for the WWE Hall of Famer.
Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
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