Olympic gold medalist, turned professional wrestler, turned actor (which is kind of the same thing as a professional wrestler), Kurt Angle made a recent claim that Steve Austin was scared to work with him and fellow wrestler Chris Benoit.

But Austin, better known as “Stone Cold,” wasn’t scared of getting pummeled by Angle, he feared the technique that Angle and Benoit used -- or lack thereof. Their seemingly reckless technique could seriously injure Austin or any of the other members of the roster.

On his podcast The Kurt Angle Show, Angle referenced a specific steel cage match between Benoit and himself that Stone Cold took interest in. The match was highlighted by a dangerous German suplex maneuver: “The German spot? The German spot was the most dangerous spot we did in that match. It might not look like it, but that’s the toughest one to take, off the top rope, backward. There’s a great chance you’re going to land on your head; probably 99% of the time, you’re going to land on your head. So, it’s one of those taking-the-chance moves that you do that you don’t know if you’re going to get injured or not, but Chris and I had to prove a point that night (to Austin).”

Their roll of the dice didn’t have the effect on Austin they were hoping for: “We were upcoming talent,” said Angle. “Austin was out there watching the match. We were trying to impress Austin. I think we went way too far because we actually scared him away. We were trying to show him that we wanted to work with him, and he’s like, ‘These guys are crazy bastards, I’m not going to work with them.’ You know, he even told me that later down the line, and we just threw everything in the kitchen sink into that match.”

Stone Cold’s fears didn’t last long. He eventually locked up with Angle and Benoit in the squared circle and reminded both that Austin 3:16 says, “I just whooped your ass.”

Chris Benoit

Stone Cold Stunner! Angle Says Austin Was Scared