"They were letting their friendship get in the way of business" - WWE veteran on Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker (Exclusive)

Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker had many memorable battles in WWE, and surprisingly enough, not all of them got the desired fan reactions.

Vince Russo opened up on one such match between Austin and The Deadman from SummerSlam 1998, which took place at the iconic Madison Square Garden.

Russo, who was an influential member of WWE's writing team at the time, had an argument with Vince McMahon over the creative direction for the said SummerSlam clash.

Vince Russo recalled that both competitors wanted to have a babyface match, and he was against the idea as such bouts don't often get over with a live audience.

"I got into an argument with Vince one time, and I'm talking about a screaming match in a Limo when he was sitting right in front. He is sitting in the front; I'm in the back. And that was, bro if you can remember, SummerSlam at Madison Square Garden, Taker vs. Austin. It was the highway to hell, I think? But bro, Taker and Austin wanted to go into that match; they wanted to have a babyface match because they were friends. They were friends, and they were letting their friendship get in the way of business," said Russo. [27:40 - 28:25]

The former WWE writer added that as Steve Austin and The Undertaker were top superstars, Vince McMahon didn't oppose their wishes and was willing to book a pure babyface match.

While such a contest would have worked in other arenas, Vince Russo explained how fans attending MSG shows wanted to see an intense showdown between the two opponents.

"So, they wanted to have a babyface match. Now, of course, bro, they were the top guys. So, Vince wanted to appease them and make them happy," stated Russo. "So, Vince was going along with this. And what I was looking at was, bro, this is the Madison Square Garden. This is New York City. They don't want to see a babyface match between these two. They want to see these guys kill each other." [28:26 - 28:53]

Steve Austin and The Undertaker might not have been happy with the response to their WWE SummerSlam match

Steve Austin and The Undertaker closed out SummerSlam 1998 in a No Disqualification match for the world championship, and it was The Texas Rattlesnake who emerged victorious after the 20-minute main event.

Vince Russo claimed that The Undertaker and Steve Austin would not have been pleased with how fans received the match at Madison Square Garden:

"If you go back and look, and both 'Taker and Steve will say it to this day, they did not get the response they wanted in that match," added the former WWE writer. "Bro, anywhere else other than New York, it might have been cool. But for that audience, bro, they did not want a babyface match between these two." [28:55 - 29:19]

Steve Austin and The Undertaker are amongst the most outstanding in-ring workers as they put together some absolute classics during their time in WWE. Which was your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.

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