Legend explains why he asked for his release before Steve Austin's WWE return

Stone Cold Steve Austin's WWE return in 2007 indirectly led to The Sandman requesting his release from the company.

The ECW icon famously used to drink beer during his ring entrance. Similarly, Austin also drank beer as part of his wrestling gimmick, usually after competing in a match. In 2007, The Texas Rattlesnake returned to WWE at SummerSlam to participate in a beer-drinking contest with MVP.

In an interview with WSI, The Sandman revealed that John Laurinaitis told him to stop drinking beer on television a week before SummerSlam. The wrestling legend disliked the former executive's order and immediately asked to leave WWE:

"I remember when they brought him back, they took the beer away from me when they did that SummerSlam," The Sandman said. "The week before, I go into Johnny Ace's office. He goes, 'We don't want you drinking beer anymore.' I said, 'All right, I want my release.' He goes, 'No, don't worry, you'll be fine, you'll still get the same pop going out there.' I said, 'This is because Austin's coming in next week?' He's like, '[Shrugs] Well, yeah.'" [1:18 – 1:43]

The Sandman is widely regarded as one of the greatest ECW stars of all time. He holds the record for the highest number of World Heavyweight Championship wins (five) in the promotion's history.

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What happened after Steve Austin's return?

Two months after SummerSlam, Steve Austin refereed the World Heavyweight Championship match between Batista and The Undertaker at Cyber Sunday.

The WWE Hall of Famer also confronted Maria Kanellis and Santino Marella on the November 5, 2007, episode of RAW. The incident led to Austin spraying both superstars with beer.

The Sandman was handed his release from WWE on September 12, 2007, a month after he asked to leave the company.

Do you think The Sandman should have been allowed to continue drinking beer when Steve Austin returned? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Please credit WSI and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.