Wrestling veteran Bill Apter says Stone Cold Steve Austin choosing to be silent about matter involving WWE (Exclusive)
Wrestling veteran Bill Apter stated that Stone Cold Steve Austin wasn't too keen on talking about a major matter involving WWE, more specifically, his iconic NO DQ Submission Match against Bret Hart in 1997.
On the latest edition of The Wrestling Time Machine, host Mac Davis asked Bill Apter and Teddy Long about the newly introduced WWE Immortal Moment wing, which will see iconic matches being inducted into the Hall of Fame for the first time.
With Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart from WrestleMania 13 being the first such match, Bill Apter told Mac Davis that he thought the idea was great. However, he noted that The Rattlesnake was "reluctant" to talk about the match "for some reason."
"Great idea, why not? They do it in boxing, the UFC. But I can tell you something. From what I've heard first-hand, I know Bret Hart has been talking about it on the internet. Stone Cold Steve Austin is reluctant to talk about it for some reason. He's quoted as saying, 'I want to keep quiet on this!''' he said. [5:41-6:07]
You can watch the full video below:
The full context of Stone Cold Steve Austin's comment
Without context, the comment that Bill Apter made sounds vague. It might come across as Stone Cold Steve Austin not wanting to talk about the Hall of Fame induction, but in reality, it had more to do with the issues surrounding the iconic WrestleMania 13 match nearly three decades ago.
During a recent signing with American Icon Autographs, Stone Cold broke his silence on the Hall of Fame induction, stating that there were a few behind-the-scenes issues he didn't want to talk about.
"Yes and no. It was a hell of a match, and we knew it at the time. I think it was good that it was in Chicago because Chicago is kind of a stronghold for me, but it would’ve worked anywhere with the fact that it happened with Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. There’s a couple behind-the-scenes stories I don’t want to talk about, but it was a hell of a match, and it’s cool for people to still remember it da*n near 30 years later,'' he said. [H/T: Fightful]
The Rattlesnake went on to credit fans, stating that he wouldn't be there if it weren't for them. He said it was "cool" to have that match as the first to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. One can only speculate what these behind-the-scenes issues were, but it wasn't uncommon back in the day to have backstage clashes surrounding various matters of a major match.
For example, just one year later, at WrestleMania 14, Stone Cold was set to have his crowning moment against Shawn Michaels. Due to HBK's backstage reputation, The Undertaker had to go right up to him to ensure that he followed the instructions given to him and drop the WWE Title rather than pulling off any last-minute backstage political maneuvers.
However, based on how much Stone Cold Steve Austin has praised Bret Hart for propelling his career, the issues may not have anything directly to do with The Hitman.
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