WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle who is a six times World champion in WWE and also a six times TNA Heavyweight Champion of the World recently talked about his match against Stone Cold Steve Austin from The Unforgiven pay per view event of 2001.
Kurt Angle revealed that Vince McMahon told Kevin Dunn to avoid shots on Stone Cold Steve Austin’s lower body since he already had injury issues. Kevin Dunn was a director of WWE back then. Most of the fans keep forgetting about the origin of the injury issues of Austin. It was Survivor Series 1997, the event which was mostly famous for the Montreal screwjob.
Kurt Angle Reveals Vince McMahon Protective About Steve Austin Before Unforgiven 2001
Everybody after that night was talking about the Montreal screwjob and the departure of “The Hitman” Bret Hart. But on the same night Stone Cold Steve Austin faced Owen Hart for the WWE Intercontinental Championship and he picked up an injury, the original injury that destroyed his career.
About his match against Kurt Angle for the WWE championship at Unforgiven 2001 pay per view event, Austin dropped the title to Angle and it was shockingly a submission victory for an Angle. Angle once told that he won the match because of the 9/11 incident, else he might not have been offered the Championship run. It was indeed one of the most important victories of Angle’s career.
Kurt Angle who is a six times World champion in WWE recently revealed that Vince McMahon told the director Kevin Dunn to avoid shots on Stone Cold Steve Austin’s lower body since he already had injury issues. He said;
“Well, I knew he was struggling with his knees, and, you know, his neck, he never really sold it,” Angle began by saying. “Even after the surgery, he came back, he was 100% and he was going hard. But what happened with him, and the reason why he retired, is his back started to go to.
“He was really playing with fire because when he’d get up on the second rope to pose, his legs would twitch, really hard. It was noticeable on camera so Vince McMahon was telling Kevin Dunn, the producer, a don’t film, don’t show shots of Austin’s lower body. Just of his upper body because his back was starting to go too and he was gonna have to have surgery again.
“He went to the doctor and that’s what the doctor said. The doctor actually said I can fix you and Austin was like — I think Austin just got a little worried that this injury was going to get worse and worse and even if he had surgery it was gonna be bad. So, he actually walked out of the doctor’s office and didn’t even answer him. He just left because he didn’t believe he needed surgery. I think he just thought he was done.”
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription