What’s the story?
Most wrestling promotions have historically all been based around one top guy. At the peak of the Attitude Era, WWE had two men leading the charge at the helm of the company. One of them was Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the other was The Rock. Bruce Prichard, a mainstay of WWE for many years, revealed the backstage tension between the two men, in his exclusive podcast entitled ‘Something to Wrestle’. We bring you highlights as reported by The Sun.
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In case you didn’t know
Bruce Prichard is a wrestling legend, both on and off screen. Currently employed with Impact Wrestling as the top authority figure, he is perhaps best known for playing Brother Love, The Undertaker’s first manager. A close confidante of Vince McMahon, Prichard was part of his inner circle and stayed behind the scenes at WWE, through the peaks and troughs. A master storyteller, his podcast is a treasure trove of professional wrestling trivia that can leave every fan enchanted.
The heart of the matter
The iconic rivalry that defined an era in wrestling and gave us three Wrestlemania main events (15.17 and 19) stemmed from real life tension between the two men. Prichard’s testimony shed light on the animosity between these two sports-entertainment legends:
‘They were competitive. Here’s Austin – your top dog – and you’ve got a young kid nipping at his heels. Man, they’re going to be competitive.'
Prichard went on to discuss how the best indication of a person getting ‘over’ was when other superstars would complain about him. Austin once told Prichard that lifting one's eyebrows and a couple of cute sayings wouldn't get someone over. However, it did in The Rock’s case for sure.
This real life backstage competitiveness translated into the most memorable professional wrestling feud in history.
What's next?
Stay tuned to Bruce Prichard’s podcast for more exclusive stories from the glory days of WWE. The former Brother Love also appears to have a fondness for CM Punk and tells several tales about the Straight Edge Superstars tenure in WWE.
Author’s take
It is a well-known fact that there was a lot of real life heat in the Attitude Era locker room. The heat between Triple H and The Rock has also been very well chronicled. Maybe the fact that superstars get along with one another is the reason that today’s product feels lacklustre. Wrestling is based on a foundation of the truth, and therefore backstage animosity translates very well to on-stage angles.
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