Steve Austin Was Scolded By Vince McMahon For Costing Him $15,000

Steve Austin got on the wrong side of Vince McMahon.

In the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, Steve Austin’s popularity meant he was essentially a license to print money. Of course, WWE has enjoyed boom periods before and since, but there are very few stars who have reached the same rarified air as Austin at his peak.

And as it turned out, making WWE so much money certainly came in handy for slightly different reasons.

During an interview with Sports Illustrated’s TakeDown, Austin recalled going overtime during a taping, something he thought wasn’t an issue. However, Vince McMahon didn’t agree, later telling off the star for costing him $15,000.

“One time we were somewhere and I think it was after a PPV or Monday Night Raw taping. And man, I stayed out there forever. And finally, Kevin Dunn gets on the live mic and says, ‘Steve, we gotta go home.’

And I think he said that to me once or twice and then Vince confronted me backstage. I think it was the next week. And he goes, ‘you know, you cost me I think it was like $15,000 or something like that, in overtime for the people who worked at the building.’ And he says, ‘God dang it, you cost me like 15 grand going over time like you did.’”

Austin added that he lost track of time because he was having such a good time, something that wasn’t uncommon during that period of his career.

“And you know, we had such a deep stacked roster and I know the guys were having just as much fun as I was. So, I hope they remember good things about their runs as much as I do about mine. We did it all together, but Stone Cold was a big part of it,”

Steve Austin Recovering From Surgery

During the same interview, Steve Austin admitted he’s only operating at 30% as he continues his recovery from knee surgery. The WWE legend had knee replacement surgery in early January in an effort to remove the pain he’s been suffering with for several years.

Austin said he delayed getting surgery, but he’s glad he got the issue fixed as he’s finally pain-free.

Meanwhile, it’s been announced that Steve Austin will be appearing at WWE World at the Las Vegas Convention Center on April 19 and 20. The news has only added to speculation that Austin will appear at WrestleMania itself despite his current physical limitations.