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Jim Ross recently gave his thoughts on a character Stone Cold Steve Austin portrayed in WWE shortly after his in-ring retirement.
In 2003, Austin performed as an on-screen General Manager before becoming the RAW Sheriff. The character was more comedic than previous versions of The Texas Rattlesnake's WWE personas.
Ross, a WWE commentator and executive at the time, said on his Grilling JR podcast that the RAW Sheriff act did not click at all and it was a weak television character.
"He didn't wanna just b***h about everything but, quite honestly, the RAW Sheriff was weak, a weak TV persona, and it didn't work for me as a fan, and I was as big a Steve Austin fan as there was, and still am, but it just didn't seem like it fit arguably the greatest box-office attraction in the company's history," said Ross. [43:20 – 43:39]
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Austin's time as an authority figure is best remembered for his rivalry with fellow General Manager Eric Bischoff. The RAW Sheriff gimmick ended in 2004 after he refereed Goldberg's win over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 20.
Why Jim Ross disliked Steve Austin's character
At the height of his popularity, Steve Austin excelled as an anti-authority rebel who stood up to his villainous boss Vince McMahon at every opportunity.
Jim Ross believes the RAW Sheriff character did not suit Austin because it only focused on the light-hearted side of his personality and that was not his USP.
"I was never a big fan of the RAW Sheriff because, all of a sudden, it's all about comedy, and if one thing that Austin wasn't, he had a sense of humor and he made you laugh from time to time, but Steve's calling card, what brought him to the dance, was drama, violence, aggression. All those things," stated Ross. [42:53 – 43:13]
In the same podcast episode, Ross also speculated on why Austin did not appear at WrestleMania XL.
Do you have any memories of Steve Austin as the RAW Sheriff? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Grilling JR and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use Jim Ross' quotes from this article.
