ECW! “SuperStar” Steve Austin Debuts After I was fired by Eric Bischoff, just about the time that my tricep was getting well enough for me to think about doing some things, Paul E. Dangerously (or Paul Heyman)—the guy who had managed me in WCW—called me up out of the blue. He was running ECW, Extreme Championship Wrestling, a small but popular group in Philadelphia. It had a cult-type following that loved ECW’s violent and hardcore style. I always got along well with Paul, even though he’s one of the best, world-class BSers I ever ran across. He’s a guy who’s my age, or maybe a little older, but he’s been in the business forever and knows a lot about it. I respect a lot of his opinions. I just wouldn’t want him doing my taxes or answering my phone. Anyway, he called me and said, “Hey, man, why don’t you come up here and work for us?” I said, “Paul, my arm’s still messed up. I can’t wrestle just yet.” He said, “That doesn’t matter. Come on up and we can cut some promos.
