Speaking on the latest episode of his eponymous podcast, “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson recalled his first impressions of a young Steve Austin when the latter was coming up through the ranks of WCW. Arn likened Austin to Ivan Koloff, another heel who was known for his style and cardio conditioning.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
Austin being a nonstop worker like Koloff: “When I first started seeing Steve work, I put him in the Ivan Koloff class. Those of us that know Ivan Koloff, and really [were] around when he was working, and could be in arenas and watch him work house shows… he’s a machine. He’s an animal. He never quit coming forward. If you’re working with him, same with Steve, if you were gonna have a competitive match with Steve, you better be prepared to fight him, and meet him halfway. Because he was just gonna keep coming, and he was a machine, as well. Until you gave him a reason to sell for you, brother, he was all about getting himself over, and offense.”
How Austin had tremendous cardio in the ring: “In those days, that’s how a heel got over. Even though you might get outwrestled, or outflanked, or outpunched, man, you just kept coming. You were looking for one opening. If you could find one opening, you were gonna kick the door down. That was what Austin was exemplifying already. He was a cardio machine. Having a big gas tank in those days. His pace was really fast, so you better be in shape if you’re gonna work fifteen minutes with Austin because, man, he was a go-getter.”
