The first opponent in the professional wrestling career of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has died. Long before Austin donned “The Texas Rattlesnake” persona that helped him become a megastar, he had his first match against Frogman Leblanc back in 1989. The match took place under the World Class Championship Wrestling banner, and Austin emerged victorious.
An obituary revealed that Leblanc died on Jan. 3. The Thibodaux native was a babyface during his time in WCCW. Leblanc even made appearances for WCW as an enhancement talent. Not only did Leblanc share the ring with Austin in WCCW, but he also had a match with Sting in WCW. He also shared the ring with Japanese wrestling legend The Great Muta.
Leblanc entered the wrestling business at the age of 35. During a 2020 interview with “In Your Head Wrestling,” Leblanc revealed he sent a workout video to UWF and was invited to the training center. Leblanc said he sent the video after watching an ad for the training center during a Mid-South Wrestling show.
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Steve Austin Reflects on Match With Frogman Leblanc
In his autobiography, “The Stone Cold Truth,” Austin looked back at his debut match with Leblanc. Austin admitted that he was nervous entering the match, and he had to rely on referee Tony Falk to remind him about certain spots in the match. Austin also said that during this time, he didn’t understand the nuances of the wrestling business.
In the aforementioned shoot interview with “In Your Head Wrestling,” Leblanc confirmed that both he and Falk had to guide the rookie Austin throughout the match. Leblanc had experience by the time he locked up with the man who would later be known as “Stone Cold.” He said that his initial thought on Austin was that he had a good look and potential with his athleticism.
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