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Stone Cold Steve Austin is widely viewed as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. In a recent podcast episode, Hacksaw Jim Duggan claimed his fellow WWE legend once had an issue working with him.
On September 18, 1994, Austin was awarded the United States Championship at WCW Fall Brawl after Ricky Steamboat vacated the title due to injury. Moments later, Duggan defeated the new champion in an impromptu 35-second match to capture the title.
Almost 30 years on, Duggan said on Everybody's Got A Pod that Austin was reluctant to face him due to his age:
"That match was supposed to go much, much longer when he dropped the belt. He didn't wanna drop the belt. He didn't wanna work with me. A lot of guys didn't wanna work with me. I was an old-timer." [0:51 – 1:02]
Duggan was 40 years old at the time of the title change. Austin, by contrast, was only 29 and still making his name as one of wrestling's top up-and-coming stars.
Jim Duggan claims Steve Austin wanted to "get the hell out of there"
The short match featured a big body drop from Jim Duggan, followed by a quick pinfall to pick up the win. Steve Austin attempted to kick out but he was unable to move under the weight of his opponent's body.
Duggan admits he was not the most athletic wrestler in those days, but he thought his USA-themed gimmick helped get fans on his side:
"Back then, yeah, I may not do a whole lot of [in-ring] work, but everybody in the place is standing up chanting 'USA! USA!' because it's coming from the heart. But, anyway, Stone Cold, he didn't wanna do the job, so he faked an injury that he hurt his knee. He didn't want me to shine at all. He just wanted to get the match over and get the hell out of there." [1:15 – 1:51]
Duggan added that former WCW World Television Champion Alex Wright also had issues working with him at the time.
Do you have any favorite Steve Austin memories from his WCW career? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Everybody's Got A Pod and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
