Hindsight is always 20/20, and had WCW known then that Steve Austin would’ve almost single handedly saved the WWE and turned the Monday Night Wars around, this day in wrestling history wouldn’t exist.
Instead, they fired Austin through a Fed Ex package while he was out with an injured triceps he suffered in Japan on September 15, 1995.
While he had a solid mid card run as “Stunning” Steve Austin, his injury seemed to derail his career in WCW and this fact has been dropped in Eric Bischoff’s lap as one of his biggest mistakes.
There’s a reason
In many ways it was, but a few years ago, Bischoff explained by he fired him.
According to Sportskeeda.com, Bischoff said on his podcast Bischoff on Wrestling Overrun, that he fired Austin due to his attitude and always being injured.
“I fired Steve because he was perennially injured and he had a bad attitude and he blew me off on the phone. It had nothing to do with whether or not I thought he could make money. But that made good narrative.”
Which story is true is anyone’s guess, but it led to Austin becoming one of the biggest stars in wrestling history.
Birth of the Attitude Era
While the WWE looked for talent to turn things around and signed Austin later in 1995, it took a while for Austin to find his footing and it took WWE Creative giving up and letting him do his thing.
The birth of Austin 3:16 was a historic moment, and Austin added some of the best matches in history to his legacy.
His and Bret Hart’s matches were instant classics and created some of the most awesome moments in wrestling history.
While his rise wasn’t foreseen by many, Austin took advantage of his opportunities and helped turn the tide and is credited with being the one to save WWE.
It was a great time where wrestlers could go from one company to another and fans bounced between their shows regularly as it pushed he creative boundaries in and out of the ring.
This day in wrestling history is one that’ll always end up causing Eric Bischoff to catch some flak for releasing Austin, but it’s one we’d never change.
In his eight year career in the WWE, Austin had tons of memorable moments. What’s your favorite Austin match or segment? Let us know in the comments below.
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