The format of the returning WWE Tough Enough reality show is going to be completely revamped compared to past seasons.
There will be training and in-house footage shot during the week, which will air on the Tuesday show. So when you watch an episode, the training and drama in the house we see will be from the previous week, very similar to The Ultimate Fighter season that they tried to do semi-live, as well as the UFC Primetime and “Embedded” specials which they try to keep up-to-date.
The television show will air each Tuesday, with footage shot during the week as well as a live show in front of a studio audience.
While Chris Jericho is scheduled to be the host of the show, it’s said that he will have somewhat of a “Ryan Seacrest role,” and won’t be hosting the show in the style that WWE had “Stone Cold” Steve Austin do several years ago.
As far as the rest of the cast, Hulk Hogan, Paige and Daniel Bryan will serve as panelists, mentors and judges, while Booker T, Billy Gunn and Lita will serve as the actual trainers for the contestants. Each week on the show there will be a judges vote and an audience vote to decide who goes home.
WWE has reportedly gone out of their way to recruit certain people to be cast members on the show, including Tessa Blanchard, daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Tully Blanchard. It’s also said that they badly wanted Moose on the show.
Apparently WWE is telling people that they are recruiting to be on the program that they will be guaranteed a spot on the show, however the actual winner of the season will not be pre-determined and will be completely legitimate based on the fan voting.
Steve Austin and WWE are officially back in business together, with his “Stone Cold Podcast” returning to the WWE Network on June 1st with special guest Paul Heyman.
The show will air on the night after the free month of May ends, as historically, the two most-watched shows in WWE Network history, aside from live pay-per-view events, were Austin’s two podcasts with Vince McMahon and Triple H.
Apparently Austin and WWE working together again came as a result of whatever issue Vince McMahon had being mended somehow.
One of the other reasons Austin is coming back is because of the busy schedule of Chris Jericho. Between hosting Tough Enough, doing house shows and touring with Fozzy, Jericho won’t be available to do podcasts on the WWE Network as often as might be necessary.
After Heyman, Austin’s next three guests on the WWE Network podcast will be Sting, The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan.
Last night, WWE announced that Paul Heyman will be Steve Austin’s guest on the next installment of the Stone Cold Podcast, which airs live on the WWE Network on June 1st immediately following RAW.
WWE sent out a press release today touting the Stone Cold Podcast, revealing that The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan and Sting will also be sitting in the hot seat in the coming months.
WWE’s upcoming book about The Undertaker is scheduled for a November 3rd release, so Monday, November 2nd could very well be the day the Texas Rattlesnake and The Dead Man go face to face one more time.
Here’s the official word:
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin will host Stone Cold Podcast, Live!, a no-holds-barred, in-your-face monthly interview series beginning Monday, June 1 at 11 p.m. ET on the award-winning WWE Network, with special guest Paul Heyman.
Each month immediately following Monday Night Raw, which airs on USA Network, the WWE Hall of Famer will sit down with the biggest names in WWE including Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Sting and other celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment for an exclusive interview on WWE Network.
“If you’re ready for the Stone Cold Podcast, give me a ‘Hell Yeah!’,” said “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
WWE announced live during the WWE Payback “Kickoff Show,” and again during the pay-per-view itself, that the “Steve Austin Show” podcast will soon be returning to the WWE Network.
On Sunday, WWE announced that Austin’s live WWE Network podcast will return on Monday, June 1st, immediately after WWE RAW, with special guest Paul Heyman.
Jeanie Clarke, Steve Austin’s one-time valet and ex-wife, appeared on In Your Head Wrestling Radio to talk about her time in the world of professional wrestling and struggle with drug addiction. Highlights from this candid interview are as follows:
Her recollections of the day Gino Hernandez passed away
“Oh man, I was there when that happened…I saw Gino the very day he died. He and I lived next door to each other in the same condo in Dallas called Lovers Lane; we were neighbors…I saw him in the parking lot maybe the latter part of the afternoon. He’d just gone out and he bought this peach pie and I said “Oh that looks good”… and he said “Yeah, yeah; well pop over in the morning and have a slice.”…He was going out that night and early in the morning, very early, I saw his Porsche and I noticed it was parked like the wheels were sort of turned funny…The latter part of the day, he hadn’t come out of his condo, and I actually knocked on his door and I looked in the window and I saw the peach pie sitting on his table but I didn’t see him. I left, and then the latter part of the night I knew he hadn’t moved his car because of the way the wheels were. I thought, hmmm, I wonder if he’s OK, and I went back and knocked on his door again and again I thought well he’s in, he’s not gone out, and the peach pie is still on the table. I said to my friend Vicki, “Something’s wrong; Gino he’s not left his apartment, he doesn’t seem in his apartment, it’s just really strange.” Then he didn’t show up at his match that night, and I knew something was wrong…He died. I saw them bring his body out and everything; it was just awful. I had to live right next door to where he died; it was so heartbreakingly sad because he was just such a good character and so funny…When all this happened with Gino, Chris (Adams) was in England and I had to phone him and tell him Gino had died. It was just surreal really, it’s just so sad.”
Is it true that she came up with the nickname “Stone Cold” for Steve Austin?
“Yes, I did, over a cup of tea…Basically, the concept was Steve’s, because Steve and I were just sitting watching TV, flicking channels, and this show came on called “The Iceman” about a killer, a hit man type guy. Steve just said, “I want a character like that”, meaning someone cold, and he called Vince (McMahon) and he said this is the character he wanted. The office, they were just sending all these faxes of these temperature-based names like Fang McFrost…they were so hokey. I remember Brian Pillman and Steve in hysterics over these names, but none of them worked for Steve. One day he was just kind of pensive, a little bit worried-looking, and I just said, “Drink your tea before it gets stone cold” and I went, “There it is, Stone Cold.” He got a big smile on his face, and he liked it, so that’s how it started, over that cup of tea.”
Why things started to go with her marriage to Steve Austin, and her subsequent struggles with drug addiction
“Well, a lot of it was my fault…I got really comfortable in Atlanta, and I had a lot of friends, so when Steve was gone a lot I was always doing stuff and going out for dinner with my friends and shopping and taking the kids to McDonald’s or something and stuff. Then Steve picked out Boerne, Texas, which is quite rural, which is what Steve likes, and I didn’t have any friends. So when he went on the road, I was very lonely, and I developed really bad addiction problems, which I’m going to just be honest about. I started with pain killers and sleepers, and you know how it is. He had a lot of pressure on him then because he was now Stone Cold so he had lots of T-shirts to do, and it just wasn’t good for him or me because he was under a lot of pressure and I was out of it really taking too many pills.”
“I was in rehab for six months, a long time…I have been clean for two years…I can just say that addiction is a very crafty thing because you can start off just taking a little bit, and in the beginning you do feel good, and as the tolerance grows then you still have something a little bit stronger and then you snowball out of control, your whole life goes out of control, and that’s what happened to me.”
Did your experience with addiction give you a better understanding of why so many wrestlers fall into substance abuse problems?
“Yes, absolutely; muscle relaxers and that because you’re really sore, and then you don’t get much sleep because you might have a flight that leaves at 6 A.M. and you have to get up at 3 to get to the airport to be at the airport two hours before the flight. You don’t get out of the arena until Midnight sometimes, so you’re getting two or three hours sleep and then the only feasible thing you can think of is sleep on the plane, but it’s easier just to take something to go to sleep, and then something to bring you back up to go to the gym. It’s just a cycle with the schedule being really difficult.”
Do you have a good relationship with Steve Austin today?
“Yeah, I do. We’re very amicable…As a matter of fact, after I was in rehab for six months I called Steve up and I said you know, I can actually see my part in it now because when you’re using you think everything else is everybody else’s fault and you get really secretive about how much you’re taking…You have another side to you that you don’t want anyone to know about your addiction or how bad it’s getting, so I did say to him this was my part in it and he appreciated that…I talked to him a couple of months ago and he was glad I was still clean.”
Other topics discussed included:
* Who was her favorite person to work with in WCCW?
* How did she and Steve Austin end up in WCW?
* Who in WCW came up with the name “Lady Blossom” and how did she feel about it?
* Why wasn’t her character allowed to talk more in WCW?
* What was her favorite time or role in professional wrestling?
With all the things you can criticize WWE for these days, the company should be commended on doing an excellent job in elevating their secondary championships.
If you flashback to around this time last year, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was virtually ‘on ice,’ only being defended on major pay-per-view events due to the champion at the time — Brock Lesnar — working under a special, limited-date contract.
Now, at the time, you could make sense of it, and even Vince McMahon himself did when asked about the topic during his interview on the short-lived “Steve Austin Show” live WWE Network podcast, as he pointed to the fact that having Lesnar defend the biggest title in the company on an infrequent basis made World Title matches feel that much more important.
Fast forward to the present day, and when it comes to championships in WWE — all systems are “go.”
First and foremost, we finally have a fighting WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Sure, the storyline surrounding Seth Rollins, the current world champion, is that he chickens away from ‘the big fight.’ At the end of the day, however, the bell eventually rings, the referee raises the golden belt up high, and two or more competitors end up vying for the richest prize in all of sports entertainment.
Now, move down one level to the two secondary championships. For the longest time, the WWE United States Championship and the WWE Intercontinental Championship, for all intents and purposes, were viewed as a total joke by the WWE Universe — and rightfully so.
Not anymore.
WWE came up with a great idea heading into WrestleMania 31 this year — put more significance behind their secondary titles. First, slap the U.S. title belt around John Cena’s waist. In a bit of irony, it was Cena who really launched his career off of his first U.S. title run, so in a story-telling fashion, his story comes full circle.
So, basically, WWE decided that now that they want to elevate some new blood into the top spots in the company, they decided to put one of their secondary titles — in this case the U.S. title — on arguably the biggest star in the company today.
On the flip side of the coin, when it comes to the WWE Intercontinental Championship, WWE decided to put that belt on the most popular wrestler in terms of the fans — the leader of the “Yes! Movement,” Daniel Bryan.
And that brings us to Monday’s WWE Payback ‘go-home’ edition of RAW.
After being unable to defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bad News Barrett at the recent WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view as originally scheduled, WWE played the waiting game to find out how the latest round of the Daniel Bryan injury-bug would work out. As it turns out, whatever Bryan is going through is serious enough that WWE felt they had no choice but to have him surrender the Intercontinental Title on live television, much like they had him do shortly after he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXX last year.
The idea behind his forefitting of the title last night was where the plan regarding secondary titles in WWE remains in tact. The reason given by Bryan, delivered in a passionate way I should add, was that the WWE Universe deserves a fighting champion. A top contender who deserves the right to bust his ass day-in and day-out, city-to-city, state-to-state, country-to-country and even continent-to-continent, all for the right to try and earn what is now once again slowly being viewed as a title of importance. One of value. One worth fighting to obtain.
Where WWE goes next with the Intercontinental Championship in particular remains to be seen in terms of how far they are willing to go to try and elevate the perceived importance of the title.
Basically put, the company can go one of two ways, as I see it. You can follow the mandate that they have been following since this year’s WrestleMania, which is find the most over performer with the fans, give him the I-C title, and try and get the belt over that way, so that in the future, the belt can make the man, as opposed to the current formula, where the man makes the belt.
Their second option is to try and do the opposite. Put the title on an up-and-comer who has the goods to deliver, but just needs something to put him over the edge so he is viewed as a bigger deal than he already is. Names like Neville and Sami Zayn come to mind.
Zayn, depending on his injury, would make a great impact on the main roster by giving U.S. Champion John Cena all he could handle — with an injury no-less, in his first high-profile match on RAW since having his run as NXT Champion in WWE’s developmental system, and then go on to win the next high-profile match he is in and become the brand new WWE Intercontinental Champion.
– Part two of WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s interview with TNA President Dixie Carter is available on the latest edition of his “Steve Austin Show” podcast. Check out the interview to hear Dixie talk about her newest employee – Smashing Pumpkins front man and new TNA creative team member Billy Corgan, as well as her past of being put through a table by Bully Ray. Also new on the latest Austin podcast is a state of the pro wrestling union from “Stone Cold” and Jim Ross. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Although he didn’t work an actual match or appear on the show, former WWE Superstar Jimmy Wang Yang was indeed backstage at Monday’s WWE Payback “go-home” edition of RAW. Yang brought some of his V.I.P. contest winners to the show on his Redneck Party Bus and let them meet some of the WWE Superstars and WWE Divas backstage. Yang noted that while his return to RAW didn’t result in a match, maybe he’ll get a shot to show off his in-ring skills at a future NXT show. Yang tweeted the following:
Return to Raw didn't have a match but maybe NXT time.
– “The Lunatic Fringe” Dean Ambrose Chris Jericho’s guest on this week’s Talk is Jericho podcast, which you can listen to over at PodcastOne.com.
– Former WWE writer Court Bauer of MLW Radio is Steve Austin’s guest on this week’s Steve Austin Show: Unleashed at PodcastOne.com.
– Former WWE, WCW and TNA writer Vince Russo is back with his latest blog. In his latest online piece, Russo takes aim at Sami Zayn, ranting and raving about why he feels Zayn will not “equal ratings.”
“RAW is a television show and Sami Zayn is NOT a television star—nor—will he be anytime soon. Sami is an exceptional wrestler on a wrestling show, and the only people who care about him are those die hard wrestling fans who are looking for 5-star matches that the massive don’t give a !@#$% about.
That’s why as champion Seth Rollins isn’t drawing no matter how hard they push him. Seth Rollins is a great wrestler, who only appeals to those purists who watch RAW for quality matches. The casual masses don’t care about that. What they care about are characters and storylines that ENTERTAIN them like the other TELEVISION shows they watch.
RAW wasn’t a GREAT show because Sami Zayn was on it—and the numbers clearly back that up.”
Russo admits Zayn is one of the best wrestlers on WWE’s roster, but “wrestling doesn’t draw.”
One item that wasn’t included in our previous report was a tease Austin made regarding a “major press announcement” he has planned for the future.
“I have a couple of things that will be announced within the next two-to-four weeks,” said Austin. “When you hear those, you’ll say, ‘That’s why he couldn’t talk about those, I get it.’ But they’re really good. It will be a major press announcement.”
Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard blog has published a new interview with WWE legend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Austin told a story about the booking of his memorable WrestleMania 30 opening segment with Hulk Hogan and The Rock and why he was left thinking the situation was “bullshit” after WWE didn’t deliver on what they pitched him.
He also explained why he wasn’t at WrestleMania 31, his thoughts on legends taking the spotlight at WrestleMania and his plans for next year’s huge show from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“There was no creative for me at WrestleMania XXXI,” said Austin. “Now with WrestleMania XXXII coming up in Texas, I would be pretty damn sure I’m going to be there. It’s my home state and it just makes more sense.
“As much as I love the business and I love my fans, I don’t want to be at every WrestleMania. I was really happy to watch it in my house. I wanted to see Sting and Triple H wrestle, and I was excited for all my buddies in DX and the NWO, but I want the younger generation of wrestlers to experience it and have all the time dedicated to them. That’s the future. Some of the segments that weren’t wrestling went on too long. I love The Rock, but his segment was too long. That was time that could have been given to a talent to make or not make an impact. That’s their proving ground.”
To read more about Austin’s relationship with his parents, Vince McMahon acting as a second father to him and more, check out SI.com/extra-mustard.
– On this week’s edition of “The Steve Austin — Unleashed” podcast, which is available right now, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin shares his thoughts on the most effective use of the DDT inside the squared circle, his thoughts on Dolph Ziggler, NXT and Neville, Daniel Bryan’s injury issues and more.
Austin praised Neville’s match against Dolph Ziggler on RAW – but urged both men to sell more. Austin loved the DDT spot where Ziggler planted Neville, but didn’t like that Neville didn’t sell it for the rest of the match.
Regarding Daniel Bryan, Austin said that it might be time for Bryan to adjust his ring style and put more consideration into his longterm health. Austin mentioned that after he was injured by Owen Hart at SummerSlam 97, he transitioned from more of a technical wrestler to a brawler.
You can listen to the latest “Unleashed” episode at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE United States Champion John Cena talks about the WWE crew heading to Germany for the latest stop on the current WWE European tour. Cena tweeted the following:
After a wonderful and unpredictable few days in London. Now it is time for strong coffee and strong beer @WWEUniverse in Germany here we go!
– In the latest edition of the WWE Inbox web-series, WWE Superstars and WWE Divas reveal some of their “hidden talents.” You can check out the video below.
Although Steve Austin claimed during a recent podcast that the rumors regarding issues between he and WWE were untrue, PWInsider.com is reporting that there are still ongoing issues between both sides.
After WrestleMania 31 week, WWE had their lawyers send a “cease and desist” letter to ProWrestlingTees.com regarding merchandise they sell for Austin in his official store on their website. It appears as though a lot of the Austin merchandise items have been removed from the website.
On Twitter, a fan asked “Stone Cold” about one of the shirts being unavailable and Austin replied with the following:
@MilyVanilly @ProWrestlingTs They will be back. Stay tuned.
– With Monday’s edition of WWE RAW being a taped show from the O2 Arena in London, England, WWE did a lot of edits in post-production before the show went on the air. One of the more blatant edits was when a graphic was shown on the big screen for the Cesaro vs. Randy Orton match. In the building, Cesaro’s picture for a huge reaction but on the televised version of the show, Orton was the one who got the big pop while Cesaro barely got any reaction.
– Mark and Chris Bell are the guests on the latest edition of WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Lilian Garcia noted on social media that she is rehabbing hard to return from the knee operation she recently underwent. The longtime WWE ring announcer tweeted the following photo of her knee getting worked on in rehab.
– WWE was unhappy with this year’s Hall Of Fame induction ceremony running too long. WWE is already working on plans for next year’s ceremony, with the goal being to keep the event to three hours as originally planned.
– Chris Jericho noted last week that his WWE Network podcast with John Cena was the third most-watched live special in WWE Network history. For those curious, the first and second most-watched live specials were Steve Austin’s podcasts with Vince McMahon and Triple H.
– The April 4th NXT live event in Orlando, Florida drew approximately 350 fans. The event was sold out in advance with 250 to 300 tickets sold, and then they had a number of fans standing for the show. NXT actually had to turn fans away that night.
We can now confirm the fact that the new season of WWE Tough Enough will have a more current and up-to-date feel with the new episodes that are scheduled to begin airing in June. Originally, WWE wanted to tape Tough Enough two months in advance, however the decision was made to tape the shows and air them within a few days of the taping.
Additionally, it’s now confirmed that the show will feature a lot of live elements. Fan voting is said to be a possibility, however live segments on USA Network, social media and the WWE Network are expected as well.
Although it’s been rumored that Chris Jericho will be replacing Steve Austin as the host of the show, Jericho himself stated this past week that he’s had no discussions about being part of the new Tough Enough. Then again, Jericho has a history of throwing fans off his scent when he has something planned, so you never know.
WrestleMania 32 is still a year away, but WWE is already teasing some huge matches for the event. WWE.com has published an “Editor’s Choice” feature, looking at 8 predictions for the show.
While these matches are just speculation at this point, if even half of these come to fruition, WrestleMania 32 is shaping up to be one of the biggest shows in WWE history.
“Everything’s bigger in Texas, including our predictions for WWE WrestleMania 32. One year before The Show of Shows descends upon the Lone Star State, we peer into our crystal ball to forecast what ?#?WrestleMania? moments might go down!”
‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin will compete in one more match
Ronda Rousey will compete inside a WWE ring
The former Shield members will battle in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Mr. McMahon will battle Jerry Jones in Battle of the Billionaires 2
Sting vs. The Undertaker
An NXT Diva will defend the WWE Divas Championship
Kalisto will win The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
The Tag Team Championships will be defended in a one-night-only tournament
Comment below and tell us which of these you think will actually happen.
WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has addressed several rumors about his relationship with WWE in the latest “Steve Austin Show” at PodcastOne.com. There have been a lot of reports regarding Austin’s status with the company, why he didn’t appear at WrestleMania weekend, the reason he’s not involved in the new season of Tough Enough and more. Here’s what he said:
– He was never supposed to be on The Undertaker’s flight to WrestleMania weekend. He’s not even sure exactly where Taker lives these days, but at no point was Austin supposed to travel with him.
– There were no creative discussions for him to participate at WrestleMania. He didn’t turn down any ideas, he just wasn’t booked to be there. He watched the entire event from home.
– He denies that he has heat with WWE for turning down Tough Enough. He had been in talks with WWE for quite some time to be one of the coaches for the show. They were supposed to start filming in February and March. Because it’s such a big production, things got delayed. By the time WWE was ready to start filming, he had already committed to CMT for a new season of Broken Skull Challenge. Participating in Tough Enough would have been an “absolute blast” because that was his first TV hosting gig. It was a scheduling conflict and nothing more.
– As for his Steve Austin Podcast on the WWE Network, Austin said the reason another installment hasn’t been booked is because the two sides couldn’t agree on a deal. There is no truth to the reports that Vince McMahon was unhappy with the questions he asked during their interview. There was an offer on the table but they couldn’t get a deal done. He’s on great terms with WWE and is completely open to working with the company again.
There is no animosity from any standpoint between him and WWE.
– Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle site has published exclusive photos of the Bella Twins from WrestleMania weekend.
– According to new business data released by WWE, February’s Fastlane pay-per-view did 43,000 buys (27,000 domestic, 16,000 international).
– Recent WWE signee Uhaa Nation was one of several talents who began training at the WWE Performance Center on Monday.
– “Stone Cold” Steve Austin announced on Twitter that he’ll be addressing the rumors regarding his relationship with WWE on Tuesday’s Steve Austin Show podcast at PodcastOne.com.
– Steve Austin is the guest on the latest edition of Jim Cornette’s “The Cornette Experience” podcast. You can download the show right now by clicking here.
– Austin is also one of the guests, along with “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and comedian Will Sasso, on this week’s edition of Roddy Piper’s “Piper’s Pit” podcast. That show is available right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Lana posted the following in-character tweet on her official Twitter account, warning John Cena about Rusev:
Regarding issues between Steve Austin and Vince McMahon, they are said to be directly related to the live Austin podcast interview with Triple H that aired on the WWE Network back in February.
McMahon was not happy with some of the questions Austin had for Triple H during the interview, and while this has yet to be confirmed, the belief is that the questions about Chyna going into the WWE Hall Of Fame some day were the ones that really bothered him.
When WWE decided they wanted to bring a podcast to the WWE Network as part of their new programming lineup, McMahon wanted a different host and he chose Chris Jericho. It’s already believed that Jericho’s first podcast, which will feature an interview with WWE United States Champion John Cena, will be much more “company-friendly.”
– Sami Zayn returned to the ring at last night’s NXT live event in Tampa, FL. He defeated Baron Corbin, who worked as a heel. A fan who attended the show said that Zayn looked great.
– Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge has officially been renewed for another season, which kicks off August 2nd. CMT announced today:
“Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge (Aug. 2): The ultimate badass competition show returns with host Steve Austin as he brings eight elite athletes to his Broken Skull Ranch to test their strength, stamina and endurance. Each episode sees contestants go head-to-head until the last man or woman standing earns the right to take on the toughest obstacle course in America, the “Skullbuster,” for a chance to win $10,000 in cold, hard cash.”
– Playboy has published an article about a writer who attended WrestleMania 31 under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
– There was some talk during WrestleMania 31 weekend of Leon “Vader” White possibly moving to Florida to help out with up-and-coming NXT talents at the WWE Performance Center. There has also been some talk within WWE of having Goldust work with the NXT guys as well.
– WWE has confirmed the departure of NXT star CJ Parker. They wrote the following on their official website today:
“WWE has come to terms on the release of NXT Superstar CJ Parker, as of today, April 3, 2015. WWE wishes CJ Parker the best in all his future endeavors.”
– CMT announced that WWE Hall Of Famer Steve Austin’s “Broken Skull Challenge” reality show has been picked up for a new season. New episodes of the show are scheduled to premiere on August 2nd. CMT wrote the following:
“Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge (Aug. 2): The ultimate badass competition show returns with host Steve Austin as he brings eight elite athletes to his Broken Skull Ranch to test their strength, stamina and endurance. Each episode sees contestants go head-to-head until the last man or woman standing earns the right to take on the toughest obstacle course in America, the “Skullbuster,” for a chance to win $10,000 in cold, hard cash.”
WWE was said to be shocked when Steve Austin didn’t show up for WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara, California this past weekend, as he was scheduled to arrive from Texas on the same flight as The Undertaker, and they even had someone waiting at the airport to pick him up.
WWE was apparently still under the impression that Austin would show up at some point, as they had a room with his name on it backstage at Levi’s Stadium until mid-week.
The issue appears to be between Austin and Vince McMahon, and is a big enough issue that one source said they’ve never seen McMahon so angry before, which is saying a lot.