Matt Hardy has paid tribute to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s legacy, saying WWE’s entire direction changed because of the character and the man behind it, and crediting Austin’s rivalry with Mr. McMahon as one of the most important in wrestling history.
Speaking on the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy reflected on Austin’s rise during the Attitude Era and what made him connect with audiences on a level that few performers in wrestling history have matched.
“WWE does not end up taking the direction it does if you do not have Stone Cold Steve Austin, that character and the human being that played him, come into WWE at the time and create that crazy, hot feud and program with the evil Mr. McMahon character,” Hardy said.
Hardy described Austin’s appeal in simple terms rooted in universal experience. “People would always want to hear Stone Cold pop every single night, just to see how the crowd would react to him, how rabid they would be,” Hardy said. “They had never seen a character like this, an anti-hero that was so edgy. At the end of the day, they kind of simplify it to the degree of, like, everybody’s boss at some point has pissed them off. And to be able to go and kick your boss’s ass is everyone’s dream. Stone Cold was living that week in and week out.”
Hardy also addressed the significance of Austin’s neck injury in 1997 and what it did for his career, noting that the forced adjustment in his working style ultimately strengthened his connection with fans.
“Sometimes you have to get a very serious injury, or get hurt, to smarten up the way you work,” Hardy said. “He changed things, he kept it simple, and he really leaned into the character. He was Stone Cold Steve Austin, this badass brawler. They did not necessarily give a shit if he went out there and put on a five-star wrestling classic. They just wanted to see him perform and whip ass and stun people.”
On the Mr. McMahon character and the rivalry it produced, Hardy said it fundamentally altered what was possible in professional wrestling.
“It set up one of the most amazing rivalries to ever take place in wrestling, and it changed the course of the business in many ways,” Hardy said. “You could see someone that was not a legit wrestler working with a legit wrestler and drawing big money. They pulled it off.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
