On the latest Edition of The Steve Austin Show Unleashed, Stone Cold gives his take on the state of promos in the wrestling business.
Austin is known for his intense interview style, which he credits to his time working with Brian Pillman in WCW, and his brief stint in ECW.
“I was forced to keep up with him or get left behind,” Austin said. “Through my stop in ECW, everyone in that dressing room could cut a promo, so it was sink or swim.”
Austin feels that that intensity, and a certain authenticity is missing from today’s mainstream wrestling product.
“I think there’s some micromanaging on WWE on the main roster,” Austin said. “Before I had my neck injury, a promo was you go out there with some bullet points.”
Austin pinpoints a shift in WWE’s philosophy right around the time he returned from that neck injury in 2000.
“When I came back from my neck surgery, that’s when they started doing this scripted type thing,” he said. “I was able to pull that off, but I never quite felt the same about what I was doing.”
“Sometimes less is more. And I can see in someone’s eyes when they’re trying to remember something,” Austin said. “One promo sells tickets. The other one’s kinda like, eh.”
Austin also tells a funny story about rooming with Rick Rude, and discusses his favorite country music artists.
You can listen to the full Steve Austin Show Unleashed episode below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S2r52IXisE]
Do you agree with Austin’s take on promos?
