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Dutch Mantell revealed an incredible story about Steve Austin and The Undertaker from their pre-WWE days during the latest episode of Smack Talk.
Steve Austin and The Undertaker wrestled in a tag team match for Memphis-based company United States Wrestling Association (USWA) in 1990.
Dutch Mantell was also a part of the bout as he teamed up with a young Austin to face the alliance of The Punisher (The Undertaker) and The Soultaker. Mantell recalled Steve Austin confronting The Undertaker backstage before the match and challenging him to an actual grappling contest.
Austin vowed to "stretch" The Undertaker out, implying that The Texas Rattlesnake wanted to execute a takedown and keep his opponent down on the mat:
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"I do remember the match now because I think Steve Austin talked about it on his podcast one time because I think Steve is a smartass, and he doesn't care. And they were both from Texas, I don't know if they knew each other before, they may have. I think they had worked a little bit for the Dallas promotion, but I think Austin got him backstage, he said, 'Hey, big boy. I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to stretch you.' And 'stretch you' means, 'I'm going to take you down and tie you up,' and Mark just looked at him and said, 'Okay.'"
Dutch Mantell stated that The Undertaker eventually got the better of Steve Austin in the match. Interestingly enough, The Undertaker managed to keep Austin grounded until Dutch Mantell urged the deadman to release the hold.
The former WWE manager said that Austin and Taker got back up and finished the match, which unfortunately wasn't too well-received as the WWE legends were quite green at the time:
"They went to the ring, and I'd heard him say that, and I said, 'I don't want these two to get in here, I mean the match is crappy enough without these two guys trying to display their damn amateur skills.' So they go into the ring, and people were so quiet you could almost hear the vendor upstairs saying 'popcorn, coke!' They locked up, and they took each other down, and I think Undertaker wrapped him up and just held him there for a while. Finally, I said, 'Mark, let him up.' I said, 'I'm begging you, let him up.' They got up, and they were both grinning like 17-year-old kids, and then we finished the match. The match didn't go long. But if it went seven minutes, that was six minutes too long."
Why are The Undertaker and Steve Austin in the news again before WrestleMania 38?
As announced recently by WWE, Mark Calaway will be the headline inductee in the Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
The honor has been a long time coming for The Phenom, and as expected, the entire wrestling world has reacted positively to the latest entrant into the WWE Hall of Fame.
On the other hand, Steve Austin is already a Hall of Famer and is reportedly set to come out of retirement for his first match in over 19 years. Reports suggest that WWE is pushing for a marquee match featuring the returning Steve Austin against a top superstar.
This year's WrestleMania season feels extra special for obvious reasons, and as always, stay tuned to Sportskeeda Wrestling for all the updates leading up to the mega show in April.
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