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Stone Cold Steve Austin was known as The Ringmaster after joining WWE in 1995. One of his first scheduled opponents, Duke The Dumpster Droese, recently revealed how his former co-worker reacted when he refused to compete in their match.
In 1994, Droese was hired by WWE after using a fake identification to meet Vince McMahon at a convention. Despite making a good first impression on the then-WWE boss, he often struggled to receive regular television time.
Droese said on the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast that he wanted to make a point about his inconsistent booking by refusing to face Austin. He also recalled how The Texas Rattlesnake did not have a problem with his decision:
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"He goes, 'Man, if anybody understands, I do,' because he just came from that s**t show at WCW, and we became really good friends after that," Droese stated. [40:37 – 40:45]
Later in his career, Steve Austin famously refused to face Brock Lesnar on RAW in 2002. At the time, he was frustrated with his creative direction and felt the match needed more storyline build-up.
How Duke Droese told Steve Austin about their canceled match
Before the event, Steve Austin approached Duke Droese backstage after finding out they were going to face each other.
Droese responded by clarifying that he could not go through with the bout due to his issues with WWE management:
"He goes, 'I hear we're working together tonight.' I said, 'No, brother, we're not going to.' He goes, 'No?' I said, 'No, man, listen, and this has nothing to do with you, but I'm at a point right now where my contract's about up and they've been killing me lately, and I picked this moment to take a stand, and I just want you to know it has nothing to do with you personally. It was just this was the moment I had to do it.'" [40:15 – 40:37]
After refusing to face Austin, Droese worked with Triple H for several months before leaving WWE in late 1996.
Do you think wrestlers should ever refuse to face an opponent? Let us know in the comments section.
Please credit the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
