# @wrestlingnewsco on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DV84bzGAL0k
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/60245178-wrestlingnewsco-instagram
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- **Posted:** 2026-03-16T16:01:32.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Wrestling News - WWE, AEW (@wrestlingnewsco) — https://gondola.cc/wrestlingnewsco

## Caption

Vince McMahon held a meeting at Titan Towers in 1996 where he proposed killing the Stone Cold Steve Austin character and reverting him back to the Ringmaster gimmick, according to former WWE creative director David Sahadi.

Sahadi revealed the story on Busted Open Radio. He said the meeting took place as fans were beginning to embrace Austin's anti-authority persona. McMahon wanted to turn him back into a character "wearing powder blue shorts" with "stubbly hair," undoing everything that was connecting with the audience.

"Stone Cold is starting to come on the ascension, and the fans are cheering him," Sahadi said. "Vince said, 'Give the fans the finger, they'll hate you.' And no, they gave the finger back. It's like their way of saying, 'We love this guy.' And who wouldn't love Stone Cold? This blue collar guy that drinks beer and can tell his boss to flip off."

Sahadi said when McMahon proposed the change, the room went silent. "I said nothing because I was in shock. Nobody spoke. It was just silence. And people are thinking, 'This is a really bad idea.'"

Sahadi credited Kevin Dunn with speaking up and pushing back against the idea. "To Kevin Dunn's credit, he said, 'Vince, the crowd is loving this. Let's just let the crowd take us where they want us to go. Let's not try to force something on them.'"

Sahadi said Austin had not yet delivered the "Austin 3:16" line at the time of the meeting but it was right around that period. He noted he heard the line was given to Austin by Michael Hayes, though he could not confirm that firsthand.

"That Stone Cold character nearly was killed before it reached its apex. Where would the Attitude Era have been without Stone Cold Steve Austin?"
The story comes from Sahadi's new book, Backstage Pass: Tales from Beyond the Squared Circle, available now on Amazon.

#StoneCold #SteveAustin #VinceMcMahon #WWE #AttitudeEra

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## Tags

stonecold, steveaustin, attitudeera, vincemcmahon, wwe

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