AEW analyst and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross discussed his pitch to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon on signing “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to a WWE contract in 1995-1996, along with how Austin was paired up with “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase as part of his “Ringmaster” gimmick. You can check out some highlights below:
Jim Ross on his pitch to Vince McMahon to sign Steve Austin: “I think the reputation Steve had was that he was too outspoken. I just positioned it like this to Vince. If we have a great talent here, which I truly believe we have the potential of having a great talent in Steve. He’s 30 years old or something like that. I said he’s a huge diamond in the rough. To me, if I were in your position, I would do all I could to learn how to communicate with Steve and earn his trust because I think in the long run, it’s gonna pay off dividends. And we got lucky it did. It was just a matter of Steve fitting in socially. That’s not to say he wasn’t personable and fun to talk to. He only lets you in so far.”
On the decision to pair Austin with Ted DiBiase: “We were hoping that two talented guys merged together would create magic. Ted DiBiase has a great mind for the business. He’s loaded with integrity and character and had come back in the game with a chance to pick up some real nice paydays. So, I think we were all pulling for both guys and hoping their team would gel. Steve always respected the hell out of DiBiase and would probably tell you today that Ted was one of his favorite talents of all time. Steve grew up watching Mid-South Westling out of the station there in South Texas. He was a Mid-South guy. He was a mark for DiBiase like a lot of us were. When Steve and I would go on a trip and shoot the shit, a lot of that was talking about Mid-South even though we were both in WWE. He was a big fan of that.
On the reason behind splitting the duo: “[Steve] was not having any fun. He got a little taste of success and accolades and promo time and bookings and TV exposure, but he wasn’t having any fun. That was a smart move by Vince to move Ted somewhere else and let Austin go on his own. That’s why we were having those conversations about him being a babyface that he cussed me out about.”