Former WWE Superstar Kane recently appeared on The Doug Collins Podcast. The Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee discussed several topics during the interview, including what it was like to be in WWF at the time when Stone Cold Steve Austin was flourishing and the Attitude Era had begun.
“I was there when Austin took off” Kane began. “That was kind of an accident, I don’t think that anyone ever expected that he would achieve what he did.
“You look at Rock and you could tell early on that Vince [McMahon] thought that Dwayne had whatever it took to go all the way, right? When you think professional wrestler and you watch Steve, he’s an old-school professional wrestler, right?
Kane on Steve Austin getting over
“That’s not necessarily a recipe for success with the way that Vince was taking things” Kane continued. “But Steve was able to take it and he was the right person at the right time and had the right character at the right time, and was able to tap into that, ‘everybody hates their boss and wants to give their boss a Stone Cold Stunner,’ and he did it.
“Of course, a lot of that is down to Vince too” Kane added, praising the WWE Chairman. “He played the antagonist and did really well. But, nevertheless, that whole thing, I don’t think anybody would have ever predicted in 1996 or whatever that within a couple of years Stone Cold Steve Austin would be right where Hulk Hogan was, or is, as one of the true icons of the sport.
“We all knew that Dwayne was going to do tremendous things, just because he’s naturally talented and so gifted” Kane concluded.
