Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Steve Austin Battles Ice Storm

Source: ProWrestling.net

Dutch Mantel's latest blog features a road story regarding an ice storm that he and Steve Austin battled while traveling to a show in the early '90s. "I knew that there was no way the matches would be held that night," Mantel recalled.

"But, like the idiots we were, we continued the journey since we were very close to the Mid South Coliseum. As we pulled into an iced over backstage parking lot, we saw the King, Jerry Lawler was getting into his car. He told us that the matches had been canceled. No s**t? Really? I didn't see any of the other guys in the parking lot or their cars so it seemed as though some of those guys had more sense than Steve and I did and decided not to come.

"We were pissed off. Steve and I were cussing up a storm. The trip had already turned into a trip from hell and it didn't seem to be getting any better. We had driven 230 miles only to be told that the matches were off due to a situation that they had known about hours earlier. Hell, an idiot savant could have told them that.

"Thinking back on it now, I'm sure Lawler was the one who originally said that the Memphis area would be fine and the matches were a go. It was fine for Lawler, who lived in Memphis, because he only had about 20 minutes to his house. But for those of us who lived in Nashville, it was a major mistake. I didn't know who I was working for. A wrestling company or the US Mail Service?" To read the full blog, visit TheWorldAccordingToDutch.com.

Powell's POV: Yes, the duo made it to the show, but they still had to travel back home...in an ice storm...with a bad defroster. Although he was an early mentor to Austin, he admitted that he learned something from the student. Anyone who is familiar with the "Stone Cold" character won't be too surprised by what that lesson was, but it's a another fun, crazy story from Dutch.

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