Top WWE star recalls Steve Austin babysitting him as a child

Steve Austin made his name in WCW between 1991 and 1995 before becoming the Stone Cold character in WWE. During a recent conversation with Stephanie McMahon, Cody Rhodes recalled how The Texas Rattlesnake used to babysit him.

Cody's late father Dusty Rhodes was a WCW booker and on-screen talent in the 1990s. As a child, the current Undisputed WWE Champion often attended events at the Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, Georgia.

Speaking on the ESPN show Stephanie's Places, Rhodes told McMahon that Austin looked out for him when his father was busy:

"Babysat me in this building, and was a legit real babysitter, in terms of my dad had to go out and do a meeting, 'Hey, will you watch him?' And most of the guys at that age really didn't feel any need to watch me, but he actually would kinda check in, 'Hey, you all right, kid? All right,' and then pop back out."

Known as Stunning Steve Austin in World Champion Wrestling, the WWE icon won the United States and World Television Championships as a singles competitor. He also held the WCW as well as NWA tag titles with Brian Pillman during his time with the promotion.

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Cody Rhodes on Steve Austin's progression from WCW to WWE

In 1995, Austin joined WWE after being let go by WCW. He debuted as a wrestling technician character before transforming into the anti-authority Stone Cold persona.

While Cody Rhodes had no idea how successful Austin would become, he always knew the 60-year-old would succeed in WWE:

"I thought years later watching him, Stone Cold Steve Austin, romping, stomping, doing everything, changing the industry, if you were in this building, you knew Stunning Steve Austin was awesome. He was outstanding. And I feel like if you saw him, you weren't surprised [by Austin's WWE success]. Maybe the character and everything, you've never seen anything like that."

In 2022, Austin told Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter how a match between Stunning Steve and Stone Cold would have played out.

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Please credit Stephanie's Places and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.