WWE Hall of Famer JBL says he “beyond hated” Steve Austin’s “What” promos
While speaking on the Something To Wrestle podcast, WWE Hall of Famer John Layfield discussed the development of Steve Austin’s “What” catchphrase in 2001. Here is what JBL had to say…
“Bill [DeMott] was there for Steve’s ‘What’ promo. So, Bill may have a bigger impact in the wrestling world than I did because he’s the one that created both Goldberg, the undefeated streak, and Stone Cold’s ‘what.’ So, I think kudos to Bill DeMott for 25 years today creating another superstar. Way to go. Way to make these kids over.
I mean, beyond hated it. Look, I hated this ‘What’ promo. This was terrible. Terrible. Oh my God, it ruined shows.
I don’t think he had any idea how bad it would get. But when you’re cutting a promo and everybody’s just—they’re trying to hijack the show, you got to be really good.
I used to really enjoy this because—and I do those promos every single night on the road—people would always try to hijack the show with ‘What’ or something else, and I’d always take pride in the fact that I can get them to turn on me and forget it. I had a pretty good success rate, but man, it took some work. A lot of guys never could.”