He soon began a brief feud against World Television Champion "Stunning" Steve Austin. At The Great American Bash, News and Bobby Eaton defeated Austin and his partner Terry Taylor in a scaffold match. During a house show on June 21, News inadvertently injured Dave Sheldon, who was performing under the ring name the Angel of Death. The injury came about when News botched his Broken Record finishing move during their match, as he splashed Sheldon's knees instead of his torso, which sidelined Sheldon for almost an entire year in order to recover. As a result, News was taken off television, his feud with Austin was dropped, and he was used solely at house shows and sporadically at pay-per-views. Despite this, News faced Austin in a match for the World Television Title at Clash of the Champions XVII on November 19, but was unsuccessful in winning the title.