WWE pays superstars on the number of merchandise they sell, and during the Attitude Era, Stone Cold Steve Austin was the hottest star. However, Austin felt despite selling such a high volume of t-shirts, he did not always receive the proper royalty for it. And thus, confronted Vince McMahon about it.

While McMahon and Austin shared a heated rivalry on screen, the executive and the superstar were close in real life. Both often stood by each other during their need and showed their support. Recently, during an interview with Sports Illustrated, Austin revealed how he once approached Vince McMahon for an increase in the percentage of his royal cheques.

How did Stone Cold Steve Austin’s confrontation about his royalty cheques with Vince McMahon go?

Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Steve Austin opened up on several issues, including his low royalty percentage, and how it saw a sudden jump in numbers. He claimed that after seeing his t-shirts everywhere, and not getting the deserved pay, he decided to confront the boss.

However, once confronted, McMahon would make major changes to the deal, and bring in a new sort of deal, known as the ‘Austin Deal’. Steve Austin said, “You know, after I started getting hot and I created that promo and man, all of a sudden I came out with that shirt and those shirts were everywhere. And I went and had a conversation with Vince. I said, ‘Vince, hey man, I’ve seen a lot of t-shirts out there, and I noticed my royalty check doesn’t reflect that.'”

Post this conversation, Vince McMahon would offer Austin a suitable number that would please them both. And once the time for the next royalty payment came, Austin was stunned to look at it. He said, “I mean, he came up with a number. He goes, ‘what do you think about that?’ and I said, ‘I like it’ and so it was a fair deal, and that became known as the Austin deal.”

Austin continued, ” I looked at the amount and it was an amount that he wanted to hand deliver that. But based on the amount of t-shirts that sold with the percentage that was a special moment.” 

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Steve Austin had come a long way from being The Ringmaster in WCW to The Rattlesnake in WWE and being one of the key figures in WWE’s complete transformation.

Steve Austin was filled with joy as he experienced his major popularity

Speaking in the same interview with Sports Illustrated, Austin claimed that when he received the royalty paycheck, he was filled with joy. He claimed that he was satisfied with the numbers because, during his stint in WCW, he was told he would never become a star.

However, his time in WWE changed everything. Austin said, ” I really prided myself for I’ve been able to sell merchandises because when WCW didn’t see me as ever being a star, I figured like, ‘Hey man! I never sure was the chosen one but through working my a** off and trying to find my identity, I finally did. I became the marketable entity.”

Stone Cold Steve Austin would become one of the major figures during WWE’s Attitude Era and help defeat WCW during the Monday Night Wars.

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Do you think Steve Austin deserved the major royalties he received from WWE? Let us know in the comments.