PWTorch.com - WCW FLASHBACK: Steve Austin Career Cross-Roads 20 yrs. ago this week - Newswire Timeline of Austin's final year in WCW, including Austin nearly the Fourth Horseman?

Torch Flashbacks
WCW FLASHBACK: Steve Austin Career Cross-Roads 20 yrs. ago this week - Newswire Timeline of Austin's final year in WCW, including Austin nearly the Fourth Horseman?

May 11, 2015 - 2:50:36 AM

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Twenty years ago this week, Steve Austin was at a cross-roads in his WCW career. Austin walked out of a WCW TV taping in the midst of a program with Ultimate Warrior rip-off The Renegade, but returned to do business in exchange for the promise of being re-united with Brian Pillman to re-form the Hollywood Blondes.

However, the Blondes did not re-form and Pillman eventually joined the Four Horsemen one month after Austin was released in September 1995. In-between May and September 1995, WCW tossed around ideas for additional Horsemen members, creating an opening for Austin, who was considered with Alex Wright, Paul Orndorff, and Lex Luger, who was in WWF at the time.

WCW management decided not to include Wright in the group and Orndorff got into a backstage fight with Vader. But, Austin was injured mid-way through the year and was not included in the Horsemen re-boot.

Around the time of the very first WCW Nitro in September 1995, Austin was released. The fourth slot in the Horsemen then went to Chris Benoit, who talked about his big step forward in a 1995 Torch Talk with PWTorch editor Wade Keller, which is available in the 1995 Newsletter Back-Issues for VIP members.

The following is a timeline of events from May 1995 to September 1995 documenting Steve Austin's final year in WCW that took him from WCW to ECW and eventually to WWF/E to begin the hottest box office run of the past 20 years...

- May 13 PWTorch Newsletter - WCW Newswire: AUSTIN WALKS OUT ON TAPINGS. At the WCW Worldwide tapings in Orlando, Fla. at DisneyWorld, Steve Austin asked to do a job to Renegade to help put Renegade over as a superstar babyface. Austin, who had recently done a job to Sting on TBS, refused, arguing that until WCW shows a good-faith effort in building something for him, he would not cooperate with the company squashing him. Backstage observers say after a discussion with Ric Flair that stayed remarkably cordial, albeit tense, Austin packed his bags and left. Basically Flair asked Austin, "Is that your final decision?" and Austin said yes and packed his bags.

All weekend everyone assumed Austin had quit the promotion and would have to sit out two or three months as his no-compete clause was in effect, if for no other reason for Flair's authority as booker to not appear compromised in front of other wrestlers. Instead, after a meeting with Eric Bischoff on Monday at CNN Center in Atlanta, Austin remains with the company.

Austin wrestled a few squashes at the tapings before walking out (debuting the face-first piledriver as his latest finisher). Those will air as planned and he will be going to New Japan as part of the WCW-New Japan relationship later this month. He is not, however, in good standing with booker Ric Flair.

- May 20 PWTorch Newsletter - WCW Newswire: May 10 in Atlanta, Ga. at Center Stage, footage for WCW Saturday Night was taped for the May 13, 20, and 27 broadcasts. Renegade beat Steve Austin. Austin may have put on his best one-man performance in a year. Renegade scored the clean pinfall with a top rope splash.

Steve Austin, who just a week earlier was believed to be through with WCW, agreed with WCW management this past week that if they showed they had legitimate plans to use him as something other than a jobber to get others over, he would gladly do a job to help Renegade establish himself. In exchange for the job, Austin will be reunited with Brian Pillman down the line to reform the Hollywood Blonds.

The Blonds were broken up by Dusty Rhodes when Rhodes was booker for no apparent reason. Since then, Austin has had a mid-level singles push and Pillman has had a nonsensical, inconsistent singles push under rotating "Flyin' Brian" and "California Brian" monikers.

- May 27 PWTorch Newsletter - WCW Newswire: Steve Austin and Brian Pillman will reunite as The Hollywood Blondes in six weeks. Austin will be in Japan for three weeks followed by Pillman for three weeks, thus the delay in reforming the team.

- June 10 PWTorch Newsletter - WCW Newswire: PILLMAN ARRESTED IN CINCINNATI. In a story that was all over the local news and next day's newspapers in Cincinnati, Brian Pillman was arrested on DUI and drug possession charges Tuesday night in an area known as the Main Street District. Besides the DUI charges, police found a small unidentified blue pill in a bag in his car. Pillman spent the night in jail and was released the next day on bond.

Thursday Pillman's attorney filed a written motion by Pillman of not guilty. The drug possession charge has been dropped as it turns out it was a prescription pain killer. Pillman showed the prescription bottle to authorities to get the charge dropped. The DUI charge stands and his court date is set for Aug. 3 in Hamilton County District Court.

Pillman spent the previous week struggling through personal matters unrelated to wrestling so the arrest capped off a bad week for him. Pillman was given reassurances by Eric Bischoff that this incident would have no bearing on his position with WCW or the plans for him to re-team with Steve Austin as the heel "Hollywood Blondes" tag team.

- July 1 PWTorch Newsletter - WCW Newswire: Steve Austin suffered a tricep injury in Japan while teaming with Arn Anderson that required surgery this past weekend including two screws being put into his arm. His tricep was hanging by a thread by the time he got to surgery. That puts him out of action for two to three months while he once again goes through rehab. Originally Austin & Brian Pillman were scheduled for a run at the tag team titles.

- July 28 PWTorch Newsletter - WCW Newswire: Plans to reunite Steve Austin & Brian Pillman as The Hollywood Blonds has been dropped since (head booker) Kevin Sullivan doesn't particularly like the gimmick.

- August 19 PWTorch Newsletter - WCW Newswire: There are several ideas for the fourth Horsemen. Paul Orndorff wants to be the fourth Horseman and he's a member of the booking committee. Flair wants Alex Wright to be the fourth Horsemen because he's a big fan of Wright and wants youth on the team. There is also a belief that it would be perfect use of Steve Austin to make him the fourth Horseman. If the Lex Luger speculation turns out to be true, he could even end up being the fourth Horseman. That would give the Horsemen some instant credibility in terms of having a threat to Hogan for down the line.

- September 2 PWTorch Newsletter - WCW Newswire: It appears Paul Orndorff is now in line to get his wish and became the fourth Horseman (with Flair, Anderson, and Pillman) when they reform the Four Horsemen. Steve Austin is still injured and they don't want to turn Wright, so Orndorff is the only other candidate.

- September 9 PWTorch Newsletter - WCW Newswire: VADER SUSPENDED AFTER FIGHT. Vader has been suspended by WCW indefinitely after a locker room brawl after the Wednesday, August 30 TV tapings in Atlanta. According to locker room reports, Vader showed up at the taping late and then when it was time for his interview segment hyping WarGames, he was busy doing something else and didn't respond to his name being called. Assistant booker Paul Orndorff finally responded by saying according some accounts (which others deny), "Hey, fat ass, get your gear on and get out there for your interview." Vader blew his top and is alleged to have punched Orndorff knocking him to the ground.

Orndorff, who has a reputation for being a tough guy, although not to the degree that Vader does, fought back and got the decisive upperhand. Vader apparently tried to go for big knockout blows, but Orndorff just overwhelmed Vader, sending him to the floor and followed up with a barrage of kicks. Less than five minutes later, Vader recovered and went after Orndorff again. Vader again came out on the losing end. Vader was bruised and bloodied and Orndorff was virtually unscathed, except for some swelling around his right eye and some bruises.

The fight took place in front of everyone backstage. After the fight ended, Vader was ordered to go home until he could return and act like a professional.

- September 23 PWTorch Newsletter - WCW Newswire: AUSTIN RELEASED FROM WCW.

WCW released Steve Austin from his contract late last week. Eric Bischoff told Austin that given his hefty contract (over $200,000) and the time he has been incapacitated with injuries (including the majority of the last year), they were going to exercise their option and release him. Apparently there is a stipulation in the contract that either gives WCW an out once every three months or the ability to terminate the contract due to extended incapacity. Austin's contract was good through early next year.

Austin had a roller coaster stay in WCW. He had reigns as U.S. Hvt. and World Tag Team Champion, was managed by Paul E. Dangerously as the cornerstone of the Dangerous Alliance and later by Col. Parker as a singles wrestler plus he formed an acclaimed heel team as the Hollywood Blondes with Brian Pillman. Austin had been out of action with knee and tricep injuries most of this year. He was rehabilitating his tricep injury suffered on a New Japan card he was assigned by WCW to wrestle on.

WCW terminated Rick Steamboat before his contract expired (just a few weeks in his case) due to being out with an injury suffered on the job.

There are some indications from WCW that they may have thought Austin was milking his injuries for more time off. When he returned from his previous injury he was carrying noticeable extra weight around his mid-section and then within weeks suffered another injury.

Austin immediately becomes wrestling's hottest free agent with three likely destinations: The WWF, ECW, or All Japan. The WWF has expressed interest in Austin before and considers him a major potential star. ECW's Paul Heyman worked with Austin in WCW as part of the Dangerous Alliance and would love to work with him again. Heyman has said he patterned Shane Douglas's push as "The Franchise" after what he would have done with Austin had Austin been available. If ECW were able to obtain Austin's services, he would inevitably be among their stars and perhaps their heavyweight champion.

With the aging of Stan Hansen and the problems with Steve Williams, Austin may be a solid fit for All Japan, which may be in the market for an American star who could fill such a main event slot. Given Austin's working ability, he would probably fit such a slot well, although he would need time to get his working endurance to an All Japan level and work out inevitable ring rust that results from such a long time off.

Austin and Brian Pillman were grouped together when people talked about talent that was being overlooked by WCW and talent that as a result was getting disenchanted and frustrated with their lack of push. WCW saw Austin as a talent without a marketable character or gimmick. After six months with the WWF or ECW, WCW may end up coveting Austin after he is given a solid character, as it seems while the WWF only wants to sign big names if they can change their name and gimmick, WCW tends to primarily go after established names and gimmicks.

In recent weeks Austin had not been a WCW recluse as he was backstage at several television tapings in the Atlanta area.

- October 29, 1995 - Halloween Havoc: Brian Pillman turned on Sting to join Flair and Anderson reforming the Four Horsemen. The group then added Chris Benoit as the fourth member.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]