[1996-10-27-WWF-Superstars] Brian Pillman interviews Steve Austin

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Great segment that's pretty well known as Austin "Pillmanizes" Pillman's ankle. Austin was obviously the hottest star in the WWF by this point. His heat isn't through the roof just yet, but it's obvious he has something special.

[Zenjo]

Stone Cold was so cool that watching it now I always wonder why the fans weren't cheering for him yet. If you ever want to 'break' someone's ankle in wrestling then this is the way to go.

[PeteF3]

Austin now has the glass-breaking entrance, and his reinvention is pretty much complete. Incredible segment, naturally, that incidentally shows how far Pillman has fallen in addition to how far Austin has risen. Pillman, the guy who a few months ago seemed to lapping the entire rest of the business in terms of being cutting-edge, comes off as completely emasculated and impotent now--yeah, it's the injury and yeah, it's the WWF setting...but Austin just completely leaves him in the dust as a "loose cannon"--partly because while Pillman always seemed crazy and liable to do anything at any time, he still rarely come off as DANGEROUS. Austin took his template and added that element of danger to it, and the rest is history.

 

Gerald Brisco takes an incredible bump here--not the last time we'll see Austin abuse him. Sadly we miss out on Austin blocking the ambulance with his car and then heaving his keys all the way across the parking garage. The WWF at this time were starting to become masters of booking hot angles, typically involving Austin, and *then* going, "Okay, now what can we add to it?" We'll see this again on Monday night and we'll see an all-timer, also involving an ambulance, in a few months.

[Exposer]

Amazing segment. Pillman interviews Austin about Bret accepting his challenge for Survivor Series. Austin doesn't take kind to Pillman's celebration of that announcement on RAW & he points out footage of Pillman shaking Bret's hand at the entrance. Austin lights into Pillman & says he carried him in his back pocket during the Hollywood Blondes run. Austin goes back to Bret & says he'll beat his ass. I loved Pillman mocking Austin by putting over Bret's "Best there is..." nickname. This infuriates Austin who famously "Pillmanizes" Pillman's ankle. Great beat down & attack from Austin. Gerald Brisco takes a tremendous bump to the floor during all of this. Great segment that really puts Austin over as someone with a light fuse who does what he wants, when he wants.

[soup23]

Awesome segment that happened on Superstars of all things. Austin really does turn this around on PIllman and it helps advance the Bret angle while still being a stand alone moment between two guys with a ton of history. The brutality of the attack on the ankle felt visceral and unique for WWF programming even with the added edge that had been happening lately. This isn't your daddy's Saturday morning Rock N Wrestling.

[tim]

Man this is a VICIOUS beating Austin lays out. One of the better looking beatdowns you'll see in wrestling, Austin was just savage. Cool to see a fully developed Stone Cold still as a clear heel. He'd become an anti-hero pretty quickly but seeing him as a full on villain is a cool dimension of the character and you really never see again, as Austin's character in his 2001 heel turn is quite different. Brisco's bump is also nuts.