''I don’t care if you believe me or not''- Former champion rejected gimmick before it was given to Steve Austin

Before Steve Austin became Stone Cold Steve Austin during the Attitude Era in WWE, he shot to fame as The Ringmaster. However, former WWE Superstar Bryan Clark, better known as Adam Bomb, revealed that he was offered the Ringmaster gimmick before Steve Austin.

Clark said he was offered the gimmick in 1993, and was given a choice between the Adam Bomb character and the Ringmaster character. He chose the Adam Bomb persona as he felt that he could do more with it.

Speaking on the Two Man Power Trip podcast, Clark talked about his experiences in WWE and how his decision to let go of The Ringmaster gimmick eventually led to Steve Austin getting a major push in the company:

''They pitched a couple things to me and Adam Bomb was the one that I chose, but they also pitched me ‘The Ringmaster’ gimmick. They sent me two choices and I picked Adam Bomb. If I look, I could probably find it somewhere. People are like, ‘That’s b.s’ Look, they trademarked it in ’93. Check the trademarks. I don’t care if you believe me or not.''

The former WCW Tag Team Champion also talked about how much effort he put into the Adam Bomb gimmick. He revealed that he was the one who came up with the red-eye and red tongue. Clark admitted that while WWE had come up with the name, all the details about the character were developed by him.

Steve Austin as The Ringmaster

While his Stone Cold persona is what led to Austin becoming one of the biggest stars in WWE, his first taste of success came as The Ringmaster in WWE. Austin 'won' the Million Dollar Championship and had the iconic Ted DiBiase as his manager.

The persona was short-lived and only lasted for a year before Austin demanded a new character, and the rest, as they say, is history.