WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently interviewed Sean Waltman on his podcast, The Steve Austin Show. “The Texas Rattlesnake” and “X-Pac” talked about several professional wrestling topics.

One such topic was the long-discussed comparisons between WWE’s current main roster and NXT line-up. In recent years, most NXT TakeOver events tend to outdo their successors, whose show goes down the next night. Austin offered his thoughts on the differences between WWE’s main roster and NXT:

“The thing I like about the NXT thing is it’s almost like [Waltman] said, the main roster is almost trying to cover or cater to everybody. And to me, the NXT thing is more… they are both under the same umbrella, it’s WWE, it’s sports entertainment.

“It ain’t pro wrestling anymore. Now, it’s sports entertainment officially, but in my mind, it’s still pro wrestling. And to me, NXT, yeah, it’s kind of like a throwback, and it’s all modern stuff, great lighting, great production values, everything else, but the storylines are very easy to understand and very simple.

“And, I mean, the announcers aren’t trying to go overboard trying to explain whatever’s going on.” Austin added, “sometimes when I watch the main roster stuff, it’s like they’re trying to play to so many people that the storylines get kind of convoluted.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Ask any professional wrestling fan who’s the best of all time, you’ll get several different answers. Instantly names such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, John Cena, and Bret Hart come to mind. The debate could go on forever, but Steve Austin is very sure in his answer.

In fact, he says “anybody that actually knows the business” will agree that the greatest of all time (GOAT) is – “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Flair is a two-time WWE Hall Of Famer and a 16-time World Champion.

A fan on Twitter posted a GIF of Flair and Angle together in the ring. The fan tagged Austin in the Tweet, and “The Texas Rattlesnake” responded. He said “Flair is the GOAT. And that’s the bottom line.”:

Flair is the GOAT. And that’s the bottom line. @WWE RT @DeVon_FNMfan2K8: @PWGifs @steveaustinBSR @RicFlairNatrBoy Looks like Steve Austin thinks Flair is #1!!!

— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) September 7, 2018

One fan attempted to battle Austin on his claim. He suggested that the GOAT is, in fact, Andre The Giant. The fan argued that, had it not been for Andre’s contributions to the business, there would be no Ric Flair. Austin says there is no comparison and Andre just simply was not in Flair’s league.

No comparison, bro. Andre was a great star. Important for the business. Anybody that actually knows the business knows Flair is the GOAT. That is all.

— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) September 7, 2018

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin took to his podcast recently to discuss his opinion on the rumoured Wrestlemania 35 match between Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey.

When contemplating Charlotte Flair’s character work as a compelling heel, Austin first juxtaposed her with her father, Ric:

“I loved [Ric] Flair as a heel. He’s the greatest [pro] wrestler of all time, but his heel work was outstanding. His baby work, eh, he’s still Ric Flair, but I like Ric Flair as a heel,” he observed.

“For me, Charlotte is a defined heel. We know she’s a heel. We’re pushing her as a heel. We’re booking her as a heel. Yeah, to me, she has a defined role. She’s totally confident in either one, but I think she’s more comfortable as a heel,” Austin said, before continuing, “And that’s not from me talking to her. That’s from me guessing that she’s more comfortable as a heel, but she’s going to do whatever they [the WWE] ask of her.”

With that in mind, Austin’s thoughts then turned to the rumoured match up that could take place next April.

“Boy, that has the potential to be a hell of a main event, but then you’ve got two babies. Would you go two babies or would you make sure Charlotte’s a heel because Ronda needs to be the baby?”

RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey (Photo: Scott Lesh)

Austin’s insight on this is timely, given the recent debate over the current Smackdown feud between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, who many have compared to “Stone Cold” in her recent antihero/heel turn.

Thanks to WrestlingInc.com for the transcription.

So, if the match were to go down at Mania, who would you prefer to go in as the face/heel of their showdown? Charlotte Flair or Ronda Rousey?

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to comment on several professional wrestling topics.

Austin commented on the current feud between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch on SmackDown Live. Lynch turned heel at SummerSlam, attacking Flair after she defeated her for the SDL Women’s Title.

Despite the heel turn, WWE fans are still cheering Lynch and sometimes booing Flair. After seeing the fans’ reactions, WWE seems to be changing their course and not presenting Lynch as an all-out heel.

In Austin’s point of view, he thinks Lynch should be whatever the people want her to be:

“I loved [Ric] Flair as a heel. He’s the greatest [pro] wrestler of all time, but his heel work was outstanding. His baby work, eh, he’s still Ric Flair, but I like Ric Flair as a heel. Charlotte I like as a heel.

“Becky I like either way. But, man, when she knocked the hell out of Charlotte, that crowd came unglued when they turned her heel, but it was the biggest babyface reaction of the night. People came unglued, so where does she go?

“I just think let her be whatever the people want her to be. To me, for her, she doesn’t need to be a heel or a baby – she just needs to be Becky Lynch.

“And this is truly one of those cases where they say, Roman Reigns, no matter how the people want to take him, they can take him as a heel or baby, but he’s just going to be Roman.

“To me, I just think let’s take that out of the equation. Whatever they’re going to do with him, they’re going to do, with him beating Brock [Lesnar], but Becky ought to just be Becky because there’s money in Becky being Becky.

“Let the people decide. As long as she’s being true to herself, she’s going to fly as high and as far as they want her to.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently reviewed SummerSlam on his podcast, The Steve Austin Show.

One of the key moments from SummerSlam was Becky Lynch’s heel turn. Initially Lynch was to face Carmella for the SmackDown Live Women’s Title in a Singles match. However, upon Charlotte Flair’s return from surgery, she was inserted into the match.

Flair wound up winning the Triple Threat bout and the SDL Women’s Title. After the match, Lynch attacked her now-former friend after becoming fed up. Austin seemed amazed by the reaction Brooklyn had to the moment:

“All the women, damn good.” Austin said, “Carmella, probably the least experienced in the ring, for sure the least experienced, great character though.

“Anyway, they’re telling their story and all-of-a-sudden, the finish goes down, and then, at the end of the match… I want to talk about this, just the psychology and people’s reaction there in Brooklyn, New York, whatever you want to call it.

“Charlotte goes over. She’s happy, obviously. Becky and her are close friends. They hug, and then, just that big ass right hand, slap. And then, more devastation from Becky Lynch and she blows the roof off the place. She’s turning heel and gets a babyface reaction.”

In Austin’s estimation, he believes Charlotte Flair is a far better heel. He also prefers Lynch as a babyface. Austin questions whether or not fans will accept Lynch as a heel:

“I’m a fan of all the women in this match, but I love Charlotte as a heel.” Austin admitted, “Becky, she’s a better babyface than heel, but she’s that fiery individual that people just really love, so I’m wondering if they’ll take her as a heel.

“And I thought Charlotte was very effective in the sell job, kind of sitting there on her ass. I don’t know, awestruck, or dumbfounded, or just devastated of what happened to her. So I thought her selling on the backend of that was very strong and very effective.”

Discussion: What do you make of Austin’s comments about Lynch’s heel turn? Sound off in the comments section!

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

The latest episode of Eric Bischoff’s popular 83 Weeks podcast features a wild story involving Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan.

This week’s episode focuses on “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s 1995. Savage had joined WCW in December ’94 and the company was undergoing a dramatic transformation. WCW was signing former WWF talent left and right. Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Bobby Heenan, Gene Okerlund, Brutus Beefcake, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Big Bossman, Earthquake and others completely changed the face of the promotion. Hogan had a lot of allies to work with, which left WCW mainstays like “Stunning” Steve out in the cold.

Bischoff told co-host Conrad Thompson that towards the end of Austin’s run with the promotion, Austin pitched an idea that’s almost too ‘out there’ to believe.

At the time, Hogan was the most powerful force in WCW. Austin knew the only way to stay relevant was to get on board. While introducing the story, Bischoff joked “Steve, if you don’t remember this, I’m sorry.”

Bischoff said that Austin pulled him aside backstage at a TV taping to discuss his role. Seeing the writing on the wall, Austin said he wanted to work with Hogan. When Bischoff asked what he had in mind, Austin proposed, “We find out that I’m his long lost brother.”

Bischoff mentioned that Hogan and Austin had the same male pattern baldness at the time, so why not. Bischoff admits the idea sounds ridiculous, but thinks it could have been a phenomenal angle if they planned the whole thing out and made it compelling.

Bischoff made it clear that he gives Austin a lot of credit for the ‘elevator’ pitch. Even though it didn’t come to fruition, Austin wasn’t sitting around complaining. He took the initiative to improve his position with the company and came up with a creative way to advance himself.

“Steve Hogan” wasn’t meant to be, but you could say things turned out alright for Austin in the end. Bischoff ended the story by saying, “Steve, I’m f*cken sorry bro, I will buy the beer next time, I promise.”

You can listen to Eric Bischoff’s story about Steve Austin pitching the “Hogan’s Brother” angle around the 1-hour 36-minute mark below or at Stitcher.com:

They don’t make managers in professional wrestling anymore like they used to. Back in the day the pro wrestling world featured managers such as Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, Paul Heyman, Jim Cornette and Paul Bearer.

Of course only one of those men, Paul Heyman, is still an active manager today. This was something WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin discussed on the latest episode of his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, with MLW’s Court Bauer.

“The Texas Rattlesnake” noted that you don’t really see managers anymore in professional wrestling. Austin argued that they are the “salt and pepper” to a great Superstar:

“You just don’t see [managers] anymore,” said Austin. “To me, they were the salt and pepper on a great steak. Such colorful, flamboyant personalities, either that mouthpiece, or that dressing, or whatever it needs to be to enhance that talent further, or be the crutch, or be an addition to, and just make that person a superstar.

“The way I grew up watching wrestling when I was seven or eight years old, and going through the territories, and having my share of managers. Whether I liked them or not, or wanted them to be with me, I learned a lot from them. To me, they’re part of the landscape that is pro wrestling.”

You can listen to Austin on The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

– WWE has launched a new line of T-shirts that are specifically designed to enhance a women’s figure.

Calling it the “Curvy Collection,” WWE’s new Curvy Fit Women’s T-shirts are “softly shaped to complement a plus-sized woman’s curves – making it perfect for lounging around the house or wearing out on the town.”

The line features Nia Jax, Ronda Rousey, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, AJ Styles, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton.

Jax reacted to the news with the following:

I’m beyond happy that this is now a thing!! I’m glad we are including all shapes and sizes ??? https://t.co/GpdHyAlji4

— Lina Fanene (@LinaFanene) July 11, 2018

Video via Nia Jax's Instagram story #CurvyTees #NotLikeMost pic.twitter.com/4yUp0IiftW

— Savelina-Fanene.Com | Fansite (@SavelinaFCom) July 12, 2018

– Former WWE star Chris Nowinski was backstage at Raw on Monday at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. In this Instagram post, he mentions catching up with Natalya.

https://instagram.com/p/BlDZ6njAX8F/

– Tucker Knight is now on Instagram @tuckerknightwwe. The official Instagram account of WWE NXT is following Knight, thus confirming its legitimacy.

https://instagram.com/p/Bk00Ce-ln2t/

• What’s the connection between Lars Sullivan and Brock Lesnar?

Former WWE Superstar Al Snow recently did an interview with Hannibal TV to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During the interview, Snow commented on WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin and what he has done for the business.

Snow told Hannibal TV that he believes “The Texas Rattlesnake” really revitalized professional wrestling when he was hot in the late ’90s:

H/T 411 Mania for the transcriptions

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin was recently a guest on former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory, to talk about his professional wrestling career. Austin first discussed not wanting to have the ECW World Title immediately thrusted on him upon his run with the promotion back in 1995:

“I was a very good mechanic in the ring, but I wasn’t a superstar yet, although we would call myself ‘Superstar’ Steve Austin there in ECW. I said, ‘Man everyone is going to be expecting me to take the title. Let me chase it, let me earn it.’ I wanted to get over to that ECW crowd or where ever it is from a television standpoint.

“Those people in that sh**hole arena, that ECW arena, it was a dump. When I say that, I mean that as a compliment. It was just this raw crazy atmosphere with a lot of guys working their asses off to build that place up and doing a hell of a job and all those great promos. So I just didn’t want to waltz in there and get handed a belt. I wanted to earn it through the boys in the company and earn the fans respect.”

“The Texas Rattlesnake” then talked about working with Vince McMahon and “The Chairman Of The Board’s” stance on creative:

“At a very early stage I wasn’t afraid to ask. Don’t get me wrong, me and Vince got to be very very good friends, but as you know, talking to Vince or developing a relationship with Vince is a very intimidating thing when you first walk in there. I knew after seven and a half years that I needed to take care of my ass so I had the wherewithal to talk with Vince McMahon and establish a relationship with him and offer my thoughts and ask questions to the man himself.

“Like I told him, my response to him was, ‘Vince, you got guys here 6’10, 7 feet tall, 300 to 330 pounds,’ I said, ‘I’m 6’2, 250, black trunks, black boots. If you take my personality, from me, I can’t compete. If you give me my personality, I can compete with anyone you got.’ And he says, ‘Okay Steve.’ And then he stopped editing me and that’s when we starting flying. You got to control your destiny. You can’t just hang it up and say, ‘Hey, creative ain’t got nothing for me.'”

Finally, Austin told the story of coming up with the “3:16” gimmick and his “that’s the bottom line” catchphrase:

“I wrestled Marc Mero, it was one of the first matches of the pay-per-view and I know I was going to work twice. I was going to work with Marc Mero and I was going to beat him and in the process he did this little whirligig behind
me where he’s basically going to hook his feet underneath my arms and do a rollup, but his toe caught me right in the mouth and busted the hell out of my lip. So I finished the match, but I needed to go to the hospital to get some stitches. We went to the hospital, they stitched me up in record time.

“They bring me back to the pay-per-view, I got all these stitches in my top lip. Vader really pummeled Jake and softened him up for me and worked his ribs and so they didn’t want me to bust all my stitches up, so it was going to be kind of a short match and then I was going to cut the promo. I show up backstage in an ambulance, I get out and there’s Dok Hendrix and Michael Hayes and he goes, ‘Steve, I just want to let you know, while you were gone, Jake cut a religious-based promo on you.’

“Back in the old days, when people were kicking a field goal for an extra point, they’d always hold up the John 3:16 signs in the endzone. Austin 3:16 popped in my head and I said, ‘Holy cow, I think I got one here.’ And that’s all I had was Austin 3:16 says, ‘I just whopped your ass.’ I’ll never forget, I got through with Jake, I beat him and there was PSAs waiting for me and I dropped that promo.

“I was a heel at the time, so if you go back and watch it, it didn’t elicit a huge reaction, although it did elicit a reaction. While I was still up there doing the promo with him, Vince was trying to wrap up the promo, he was on RF mic doing commentary feeding television and the house. I said, ‘I need a button on this promo.’ So that’s when I crapped out, ‘And that’s the bottom line cause Stone Cold said so.'”

You can listen to Austin on Chasing Glory by clicking this link here.

Steve Austin has opened up on some of his favorite rising Superstars as well as dealing with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

The WWE Hall of Famer recently appeared on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia to talk about various topics. When asked about some of his favorite Superstars that are currently in the WWE, Austin noted that he always preaches that you need to learn how to work, but its intensity, it’s a mean streak as a heel or babyface, and its fire. He pointed out that he likes Ronda Rousey, Bayley, and Sasha Banks.

“Ronda Rousey has that fire to no end, she has that intensity to no end. Bailey, this absolute sweetheart, I love Bayley. All of a sudden she shows this damn fire and this mean streak. Her and Sasha have such great chemistry and I love Sasha as a heel more. I love both those women.”

Throughout the years, Austin has always shown respect to Vince McMahon even though they may not see eye to eye on everything including creative. Austin discussed this in this interview and brought up the fact that since he was young, he was never afraid to ask a question.

He mentioned that he and Vince got to be very very good friends but that Vince is a very intimidating person when you first walk in there to talk.

“Like I told him, my response to him was, “Vince, you got guys here 6’10, 7 feet tall, 300 to 330 pounds,” I said, “I’m 6’2, 250, black trunks, black boots. If you take my personality, from me, I can’t compete. If you give me my personality, I can compete with anyone you got.” And he says, “Okay Steve.” And then he stopped editing me and that’s when we starting flying.”

Austin added that wrestlers have to control their destiny and that you can’t have the mindset to sit back and say that creative has nothing for you.

Austin also talked about the story of how he came up with Austin 3:16, staying humble, why he didn’t want the ECW Championship in the beginning and more. You can listen to the entire podcast here.

What are your thoughts on Austin’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin was recently a guest on IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During their conversation, Austin shared the inspiration behind his famous “Shattered Glass” WWE theme.

Austin’s theme is one of the most iconic entrance songs in the history of professional wrestling. When fans hear the shattered glass at the top of the cue, it sends a buzz throughout the arena that will likely never be matched.

“The Texas Rattlesnake” revealed which song inspired his WWE theme, and also gave Jim Johnston a ton of credit:

“I went down to the studio and back in the day you know Chris I was pretty hands-on you gotta be. So I walked in there and I had a CD and I hand it to Jim Johnston and go, ‘it’s called Bulls On Parade by Rage Against The Machine’ and I played it.

“He got it, and so I don’t think my entrance music sounds anything like it but it was inspired by that and man I tell ya what the way he came up with that glass breaking I don’t know how he came up with that idea when he looped in that siren, I don’t know how or why he put that in a stroke of genius or luck or whatever it was that happened, magic?

“Sometimes things just happen the way they do. When I pitched him that song and we listened to it together and he came up with that and I give him all the credit in the world. I inspired him with their song… my idea, but his total creation [it’s] a fluke dude because you’ve been around and you’ve seen reactions when that glass breaks.

“Yeah I had to get over to get those reactions. It’s just the perfect music for the perfect setup for the perfect pop for any kind of dire situation or circumstance — goddamn that’s when we need Stone Cold. So, music is important.”

You can listen to Austin on Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzxLEA-B6Xk

H/T IWNerd for the transcriptions

It was announced earlier this week that former WCW and WWE star Big Van Vader sadly passed away due to complications from pneumonia.

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to share some of his thoughts on Vader. Austin used to team up with Vader in WCW and would compete against him in WWE.

Austin noted that the first time he ever saw the Big Van Vader gimmick was over in Japan:

“He [came] walking to the ring, and that guy was as big as a house to began with,” said Austin. “Just the intimidation factor. And then he’d set that thing on the floor, on the ground, and he’d start whistling and point at it, and of course that’d blow the steam, whatever that was that they blow out of there, it was incredible.”

Austin then revealed that the Big Van Vader gimmick was meant for someone else aside from Leon White.

“I think, if memory serves me correct, I think they originally wanted to give that gimmick to the Ultimate Warrior who I think passed it up,” said Austin.

Despite the original idea, Austin feels that no other person would have served it justice, and it “ended up with the right man at the right time, because I don’t think anybody else could have pulled that gimmick like Leon did with his work style, with his athleticism. It was a parallel along with the first time I saw the Road Warriors.”

You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcribed quotes

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was working against the late former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on an episode of SmackDown on May 31, 2001.

Austin said he loved performing in front of Canadian crowds, but didn’t enjoy the trip crossing the border up north:

“I always dug Canada. Like I said, it’s a great wrestling place. The biggest problem was crossing over the border and Canada is very strict at the border and they should be. And they go through everything. They makes sure that the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed. And when the boys start coming through, due to the fact that a lot of times back in the 80s, early 80s, probably 70s, guys were carrying a lot of stuff over there. There were always stories of The Iron Sheik and how he’d have weed on him or something like that with him and he’d put it in someone else’s bag.

“The precedent had already been set. A lot of times, guys came through and they’d be carrying some stuff. There was this, that, and the other. You can probably guess what it might have been. But that was one of the biggest pains in the ass about going to Canada because you knew you’d get pulled over and you’re going to sit in a room for an hour, two, or three. They were going to go through all of your stuff and shake everything out. And 99 times out of 100, they didn’t have s–t, but every here and there, someone would have something.

“That’s why they always kept checking the boys when they came into the country, so great on Customs part – they did a very thorough job. But when you’re one of the guys and you’re just passing through there, and you’ve got nothing in your bag, and you get pulled over, that’s a pain in the ass because you’re always on a schedule, trying to hit the gym, you’re trying to hit a tanning bed, you’re trying for something to eat. You might check into your hotel room.

“It might be one of those deals where you go straight to the building and you’ve got a long road trip after that. But that was always a pain in the ass when you had to go pass through Customs on the way there.” Austin added, “coming and going across the border was a pain in the ass. Getting the directions in French was not fun. The crowds were always great.”

Austin talked about the great match he and Benoit had on SmackDown. He revealed that Benoit told him to disregard the go-home cue and he would take the heat for it backstage. Austin was underwhelmed with the match he and Benoit had the night before on RAW:

“I had a great match with Chris Benoit in Edmonton one night and I believe it was on the SmackDown show.” Austin continued, “and we had worked the previous night on RAW and they only gave us a certain amount of minutes and I wasn’t very happy with that match because we didn’t have enough time to build a proper story.

“I’ll never forget when we rolled into Edmonton that night. It was SmackDown and we were going to work together again. And I told Chris before we went out there, I said, ‘dude,’ I said, ‘I don’t care how much time they give us – we’re going to go home when it’s time to go home. And it’s all on me. I’ll take the heat, so if they give us the go home cue, disregard it.’ And we really ripped it up that night.”

During the match Austin came up with a spot where Benoit would hit him with 10 German Suplexes. Austin noted he wasn’t in any pain from his injured neck taking the moves, but said storyline-wise it made sense for Benoit to attack the injured area:

“I said, ‘hey man, we’re going to go as long as we need to go’ and it was Chris’s hometown, I believe. I think it was Edmonton. We had worked the night before. [We] didn’t have the match I wanted to have because I knew how much Chris could go and I respected him. And so, I said, ‘hey man, I don’t see you making a traditional comeback on me.

“I see this being something where you just grab me from behind and let’s go 10 German suplexes, 10 in a row, because I just don’t see a regular comeback. I see 10 German suplexes and here comes Vince [McMahon] coming down and I barely escape with the belt.’ And Chris thought about that for a minute and he goes, ‘I like that.’ And so, that’s what we went out and did. So it wasn’t in the moment.

“It was something that I called, I planned, I ran across Chris, and he dug it. And we did it.” Austin added, “I called the suplexes and I wasn’t in any pain. And the pain in referring to is because I was returning from my neck fusion and I’d figured all the bumps that I had taken leading up to that match that I would be fine taking those bumps.

“And it would be a great ploy, a great strategy, for Chris to use to focus on my weakness, or perceived weakness, which could be construed as my neck because of the fusion, because of the surgery. And I was working heel at the time, so he’s giving it back to me and then some. So it made sense for that in his comeback.”

After the match Austin claims Benoit paid him one of the biggest compliments of his career by telling him he had gotten him over:

“I’ll never forget after that match, I’ve said it on the podcast before, it was one of the highest complements I’d ever been paid by an opponent.” Austin remembered, “we always shake hands after the matches. And, man, that was Chris’s hometown, man. And we got off the headbutt off the top turnbuckle, me throwing the belt up, him getting a little bit of color from that accidentally.

“It was a real solid match. And he goes, ‘man, thanks.’ He goes, ‘you really got me over’ and he got it. He knew what I was trying to do and it was my job to do was to get him over. He was already over to a degree, but I got him more over than he was after the match than he was before the match, and he recognized that. And he told me that and I’ll never forget that complement.

“And I wish things hadn’t gone the way they had for Chris as far as down the road, but, man, the Chris Benoit that I knew was a badass worker, great dude, cool as hell, and so I remember that match vividly. Out of all the things I’ve forgotten, I remember that match.”

You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb9aA6advHo

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin decided to take some time to reflect.

On a recent edition of his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, (transcript via wrestlinginc.com), the WWE Legend gave his take on his first thoughts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Triple H.

Starting out with The Rock, Austin noted that once he saw the former WWE Champion, he knew that he had potential.

Although Rock had to go through some hurdles at first with his gimmick in the sports entertainment company, he changed it all around and become the character that fans around the world came to love.

“I remember when The Rock came in, Rock, man, you knew this guy had potential when you saw him.” Austin continued, “he was a good looking guy. You just knew the gimmick wasn’t right at first. And then, he ended up changing his gimmick around. He joined the Nation and then turned into The Rock. And then, me and Rock started working together. I was always cool with The Rock. I knew he had potential. I think everybody did. He had the right frame, the right look, really smart, charismatic, so you saw a lot of potential in him as he came in, but the gimmick wasn’t right. But, boy, when he turned into The Rock and joined the Nation and started turning heel. I mean, the people rejected him first as a baby, but they took to him as a heel and he had some serious, serious heat. And then, of course, when he turned baby, he was mega over.”

Switching gears to “The Game,” Austin first met him in WCW and they hit it off right out of the gate due to their mutual interests.

“I met Triple H when he first came into WCW.” Austin remembered “and here he came in, good looking dude, good worker, even back then. He wasn’t too long out of Killer Kowalski’s school. I think he’d probably been working. He worked several matches because he was already very polished even when he came into WCW. We hit it off right off the bat. Same sense of humor. I was a little bit older than him, but I hadn’t been in the business too much longer, if any. So, man, we introduced ourselves, to each other and I knew he had a bright future in the business. And I don’t know what he thought about me.

Austin continued by stating, We always hit it off. Same sense of humor, same taste in music. He was a huge bodybuilding, powerlifting fan, always hit the gym. He wasn’t a drinker – I respected that. Good dude, great sense of humor, low-key, one of the boys. So that’s how I met Triple H and we hit it off from day one. And, to this day, whenever we see each other, it’s like old times. We didn’t run in the same crowds. We didn’t travel together. He had his crew and I had mine or I was traveling solo at the time. But nothing but good things.”

What are your thoughts on Austin’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below.

Stone Cold Steve Austin may have played the biggest badass in WWE TV history, but behind-the-scenes, he’s regarded as one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.

So imagine the shock backstage several years ago when Austin lost his cool and yelled at the Big Boss Man backstage for missing his spot in an angle they were supposed to run. Boss Man was supposed to hit the ring and assault Austin with a steel chair.

Instead, Boss Man was nowhere to be found and old-timer Jerry Brisco made his way to the ring to do the job. Brisco comes from a generation that doesn’t hit hard with objects such as steel chairs, and Austin was disappointed with the presentation of the segment.

On the latest episode of his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, the WWE Hall Of Famer described what exactly happened when he lost his cool backstage for one of a very few times:

“The hottest I ever got in professional wrestling was when we was working the Keel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and we was working an angle and I don’t remember who I was working with; but, Big Boss Man was supposed to run out there and hit me with a chair to cause me to lose the match. We get in the spot. It’s at the end of the match.

“There’s no Big Boss Man. He’s nowhere to be found. That big bastard’s supposed to run out there and cause me to lose the match so we can get off and start working an angle together, so here comes Jerry Brisco. Jerry Brisco was one of the great shooters out of Oklahoma State.

“Those old school guys weren’t really good with chairs because they didn’t really use chairs in their generation and they didn’t sling ’em like we would sling ’em in the Attitude Era…so he comes out there and hits me with this weak ass chair shot. I got to go down. I get beat. I really wanted him to kill me with that chair so I look better; but, anyway as I’m getting to the back, I’m like, ‘Where is he?’ Here comes Ray [Big Boss Man].

“He had been in the back talking to Undertaker while the match was going on. I guess Undertaker was in the main event or had already wrestled and man, I lit into Big Boss Man. It was the loudest cuss job I’d probably ever done in the history of the business and I never ever lose my cool like that, never in a million years….

“I really uncorked on Ray [Big Boss Man] because I was really upset he wasn’t there. Not only did he mess up the match…but that nullified our angle that we were supposed to work and I was looking forward to working with Ray [Big Boss Man]. He was such a great guy and a great big man.”

You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlJA1X-9tqc

H/T WrestleZone for the transcriptions

WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin has discussed the problem with a chant he helped make famous.

One of the signatures of Austin’s entrance was him talking as he walked down the ramp and as a result of being a great talker, he came up with the word that started a chant that is still around today.

During a recent episode of The Steve Austin Show (transcript courtesy of Wrestling Inc), the WWE Hall of Famer talked about the problem with the ‘What’ chant.

“I never knew the ‘What?’ chant would stick around as long as it’s stuck around,” said Austin. He later continued, “it can really mess with a guys’ or girls’ rhythm, what they are really trying to say. Sometimes they can get flustered. Sometimes that ‘What?’ chant could really be overwhelming, and you think people aren’t paying attention to what you’re saying, and sometimes on a really strong, heart-felt promo is happening, they’ll start with that ‘What?’ chant.

Austin continued by stating, “The audience is missing out what the wrestler’s saying, so sometimes you gotta time that ‘What?’ chant when there’s some bulls–t going on and you gotta be able to listen to a real deal promo so you know what’s going on in the story. I feel for ya, and I feel for when they’re trying to cut a good promo. It interrupts your rhythm, plain and simple.”

What are your thoughts on this chant? Sound off in the comment section below.

For years now, Steve Austin has been regarded as one of the biggest stars in the history of the sports entertainment company.

If you recall, Austin came up with the line around the time of the Alliance angle and kept using it a few years after that. Even though he doesn’t appear on WWE television as frequently as he used to, the fans kept the chant going.

There’s no doubt that Braun Strowman is one of the hottest properties in WWE today. The Monster Among Men has connected with the WWE Universe like WWE wished Roman Reigns would have. He’s got it all – the look, the physique, the shocking feats of strength, the promo ability – he’s even got a catchphrase (‘get these hands’) that’s moving a lot of merchandise.

WWE brass seems to be so high on him, rewarding his work with prominent positioning on big cards and a recent Greatest Royal Rumble victory.  Another larger than life athlete, the Big Show, has been a mentor of sorts to Braun Strowman and is concerned he could fall victim to pitfall he experienced in his own career.

Big Show was a recent guest on the Steve Austin Show podcast and cautioned that Strowman needs to be careful not to rely on comedy too heavily. “I think with Braun, he’s got the unique ability to do some things that are entertaining and fun, but let’s not overdo it,” Show said.

“That happened a lot with me in WWE in the beginning that because I can do impersonations because I had comedic timing, we would do too much of it and by the time we were done, ‘Okay, we’ve lost The Giant gimmick. Okay, let’s turn him heel, he’ll kill everybody, and we’ll start over again, so now we can start drawing money with him.’”

WWE’s brand of comedy is very hit-or-miss (to put it kindly) and Big Show is right that Strowman should be careful not to let his character get too goofy. He’s got the potential to be a main event player for years to come – let’s just hope we don’t meet Braun’s sisters any time soon.

Big Show has been out of action since undergoing hip surgery last September. He told Austin that he was training for an in-ring return at the Greatest Royal Rumble, but experienced health complications that have delayed that plan.

You can listen to the full episode of Big Show on the Steve Austin Show podcast over at PodcastOne.com.

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to talk about working with fellow Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14. Austin said to the best of his recollection, he can’t remember shaking Michaels’ hand after the match:

“Proper etiquette is if you work a match with somebody, whether you’re working heel, baby, it doesn’t matter, new to the territory or been around, you always thank the guy you work with.” Austin explained, “that’s just what you do.

“Whether you knocked it out of the park or whether you s–t the bed, you always go thank the person that you worked with. So there wasn’t any animosity between me and Shawn. Me and Shawn we always cool. He just wasn’t in a good place and we just didn’t know if he was going to get in the ring.

“And there were a couple of stories about The Undertaker taping up his hands and stuff like that. Shawn was late to a few things, but there was never any heat between me and Shawn. Man, as long as I’ve known Shawn, we’ve never had heat. He was just in a bad place in that time in his life.

“He had a bad back and he wasn’t thrilled about dropping the [world] title, but he certainly did and he was a complete pro about it. But I do not remember getting a chance to shake his hand or talk about the match.”

The Texas Rattlesnake said that he always got along well with Michaels whenever they’d work together. In fact, Michaels would let Austin call some of their matches, something The Heartbreak Kid didn’t do too often back then:

“I had worked with Shawn at house shows many times before that and we had absolutely ripped the roof off of these places having these matches, just calling it on the spot, calling it on the fly. Shawn was always cool with me calling the matches because 90% of the time, he was calling his own matches because that’s how Shawn worked.

“And I was used to calling my matches, so he was like, ‘dude, you want to call the match?’ It gives him a night off. You’re talking about hands down probably the best worker in the history of the business, and he’s going to let you call a match, so he can take the night off and just do his part, he’s down for it.

“I don’t remember shaking his hand after that match.” Austin added, “but never any heat, but that’s what you do. You shake people’s hand after. You’re trusting this person with your life, basically.”

Austin also shut down any rumors that he had heat with Shawn after what happened at the WrestleMania 14 press conference:

“Anyway, he shows up at the press conference that was for me, and Mike Tyson, and Vince [McMahon], or whoever it was, to answer questions.” Austin recalled, “and Shawn left, but Shawn was totally cool after that. And Shawn is probably one of the people I keep in contact with most.

“I mean, we don’t call each other everyday, obviously, but I give him a call every three to four months just to see how he’s doing, what’s going on, how the ranch is doing or if he’s able to get out and enjoy the woods anymore now that he’s down there working in Orlando [Florida] at the [WWE] Performance Center. And he’s doing really well and he’s happy. But I keep in contact or regular contact just to shoot the breeze with one of the guys and he’s one of my all-time favorites.

“I really think from bell-to-bell, Shawn Michaels was probably the best to ever do it in the business of professional wrestling. That’s my opinion. When it comes to well-rounded, athletic, storytelling, psychology, everything, performance, Shawn is the guy.”

You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin is always looking to give back to the pro wrestling business.

One of those ways of helping out is to give advice to the younger stars who work for sports entertainment company that he helped grow into the promotion that the WWE is today.

During a recent edition of this podcast, he gave advice to Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, and Shinsuke Nakamura.

In regards to Rollins, who in the middle of a great run as the Intercontinental Champion, Austin wants to see more brawling out of Rollins rather than high spots but also would like to see him save those big flying moves for his comebacks as a babyface.  

“Sometimes he relies on high spot type sequences for his comeback. Sometimes I want to see him use a few more right hands or a little bit just straight up offense rather than high spots. I’m not telling him to be A.J. [Styles]; but, sometimes as that baby face, you’ve got to use good old fashioned knuckles or feet or just strikes, stomps, whatever it takes. If you can keep working his way around it, more power to him; but, sometimes when you are using those high spots as comebacks, it’s like I really want to see Miz have his ass handed to him a little bit more.”

Switching gears to the “Monster of Among Men,” the WWE Hall of Famer sent a friendly warning to the big man in terms of how he works inside of the squared circle.

“He can work. I’ve been a fan for a couple of years now; but, you’ve got to be careful with what you do with Braun Strowman….dude, you’re Alpha. If you don’t get out there and work and act like Alpha every time you get into the ring, you play Beta or second to anybody, you’re going to start losing your mystique or power. I think Braun’s gotta be careful about that and I don’t want to see Braun Strowman do anything funny….with respect to booking Braun, they’re calling him Monster Among Men, Come Get These Hands and all this other stuff. He’s a little like Stone Cold and a lot like Braun Strowman. I don’t need to see a 6’8? 330 pound guy make me laugh, make me smile, bring any warmth to my body – I want to see him go out there and destroy and crush people because he’s capable of doing it and because his desire for the gold belt is so great that’s what drives him…he’s been a competitor his whole life…Braun Strowman, as well as he’s done over the last few years still has a ways to go and he’s not bullet proof. If you start puffing that kid up, you’re gonna diminish him.”

Finally, Austin addressed Nakamura, who has been a program with WWE Champion AJ Styles for the title over the past month or so. The WWE Legend wouldn’t make many changes to Nakamura’s character but does think that WWE officials should lay off doing comedy segments with him.

“I wouldn’t do a whole lot with Shinsuke; but, I’d knock off the comedy because I don’t think he needs that to be entertaining. If Renee [Young] asks him a question, if he just sits there and looks at the camera, because he’s not gonna answer the camera – to me after a period of silence, you just fade out and go to the next match. Then you let Michael Cole and those guys pick it up and, ‘Hey man I think this guy is going to talk when he wants to and not talk when he doesn’t want to.’ That way you can get off of him, leave something to talk about, still be entertaining and not put him in a comedic light because as The King of Strong Style, that’s a statement.”

Thanks to Michael McClead of WrestleZone.com for the quotes

What are your thoughts on Austin’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below.

You can add the name of WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin to the list of people still talking about WWE’s decision for who Braun Strowman’s tag team partner was at WrestleMania 34 earlier this month in New Orleans.

At the show, Strowman and a kid that was picked out of the crowd defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the Raw Tag Team Titles. This marks the first time that Strowman has held the title in his career. It was later revealed that Strowman and Nicholas had to vacate the titles due to Nicholas being a fourth-grade student.

Austin expressed his thoughts on a recent episode of The Steve Austin Show.

“Braun Strowman is over like rover, a lot of potential, a lot of momentum, a lot of great storylines for him,” said Austin. “But the fact that he goes out there in the crowd and picks some kid, it’s almost like a disservice to Cesaro and Sheamus who’ve been working their a**es off. Two physical specimens, have really gotten some chemistry together as a team. Not to be taken lightly. Braun’s a big guy, but you know, Cesaro’s one of the strongest guys in the locker room. Sheamus is a brute.

“They can’t monetize this person who was picked from the crowd. And, I don’t know, I wasn’t really down with it, and that’s with respect to a d**n good tag team like The Bar. And then Strowman picks someone [from the crowd], I just, man you’re walking a fine line with him, because you have this brute force killer who’s legitimately one of the biggest, strongest men in the world. It didn’t do much for me.”

As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw in Hartford, CT at the XL Center on the USA Network, Bray Wyatt, and Matt Hardy beat The Revival to earn shot at the vacant Raw Tag Team Titles.

Wyatt and Hardy will now challenge The Bar for the titles at the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event.

What are your thoughts on Austin’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.

(H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcribed quotes)

This past weekend in New Orleans former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey made her in-ring WWE debut at WrestleMania 34. The Rowdy One teamed up with Kurt Angle to pick up a win over Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in Mixed Tag Team action.

Despite fans’ initial expectations, Rousey actually did very well for herself inside the ring and wound up picking up the win for her team after locking in an armbar on McMahon. WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to grade Rousey’s performance.

The Texas Rattlesnake said he “absolutely loved” the match and found it very entertaining:

“This was such an entertaining match and I was really wondering how Ronda would handle the moment. Some people have questioned some of her interview skills, and she’s not used to being on an RF mic in front of 20,000 people in these arenas. Mostly it’s trash-talk, and soundbites, and stuff like that and a shoot aspect, and not following storyline stuff, I was wondering, ‘would the moment be too great for her?’ And this match was so damn entertaining.

“There were so many twists and turns, and submission-type moves, and right when you thought, ‘well, here’s the finish,’ they extended it – that wasn’t the finish. And the crowd bought into this. It started off a tad slow. People were wondering, I think, just like I did, but boom! They set the hook there, mister. And, damn near from the bell, it was on. That crowd, everybody there was into that match.”

Austin then broke down Rousey’s body language during the performance, specifically noting how The Rowdy One was smiling from ear to ear when she made her way to the ring:

“When she came out smiling, she looked like a million bucks.” Austin recalled, “I liked the plaid skirt and she came out. She had her gear on and then it was time. She got her game face on at the point, but I know where that came from. I’ll guarantee you that was straight out of the old man. ‘Go out there and smile’ because we know she’s a badass. We know she [has] got that mean mug face when it’s time to go out there and do business.

“And there were plenty of opportunities, and that did happen during the course of the match, but it felt a little weird to me, too, but, I think that he wanted her to smile just to be accessible, maybe to calm the nerves or maybe she’s more free when she’s focused, that laser-focus that she has. But I didn’t expect her to smile.

“But it was her first big performance in front of 78,000 people. Some people were knocking her on it. I could go either way on it, but I do know that when the bell rang, I was watching her body language and hang onto that tag rope.”

With all that being said, taking into account Rousey’s overall performance on The Grandest Stage Of Them All, Austin gave Rousey an A+ – and offered the same grade to the match as well:

“Obviously, they put a lot of time into this, she’s obviously a very talented person, and you had three hands in there with Kurt, Steph, and Triple H being able to go out there and help along with the referee,” Austin explained. “So all of the pieces were set in place for this thing to be, and this thing was built to make all of them shine, but specifically Ronda and help get her over.

“And yeah, this one, I thought they knocked a grand slam, the bases were loaded, and they knocked it out of the park. And so, we’ll see what happens in the future when she starts moving into single’s endeavors, tag team endeavors. Yeah, this was great and they pulled it off. So she still has work to do, but as far as her performance goes, I give her an A+. And I give the match an A+ because that’s how entertained I was by it.”

You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions 

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin has released a new episode of his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, in which he breaks down this past weekend’s WrestleMania 34 event. One match in particular Austin discussed was Undertaker’s squash match over John Cena.

Austin explained that WWE didn’t advertise the match so that it could be viewed as a bonus for fans at the event:

“It was a little shocking to me with Cena calling him out for so long.” Austin explained, “basically, it was an unadvertised match. I mean, Cena’s trying to call out [Undertaker] and I kept thinking, ‘there’s no way, no way that he’s going to get an acceptance on the day-of,’ so, yeah, it was teased and they paid off the tease, but it wasn’t really advertised. So nonetheless, the crowd felt like they got a bonus, but in that bonus was a very short match and Cena got squashed.”

The former WWE Champion believes that the match would’ve been a lot more effective had The Leader Of The Cenation gotten in a bit more offense against Taker:

“I’ve got nothing but respect for both guys,” Austin prefaced. “Undertaker has been around forever. He has had one of the best runs in the history of the [pro wrestling] business, so has John Cena.

“And, man, had it been a 15-minute bing, bang, boom kind of thing, I don’t know that that’s what they needed, but it just seems like maybe if Cena got in just a little bit more offense into that Tombstone, then, do the favors, maybe it would have been a little bit more effective.”

With all that being said, Austin said he respects Cena, arguably the greatest WWE Superstar of all time, for accepting the match and his willingness to lose the way he did at WrestleMania:

“It was what it was and I don’t know how Undertaker’s feeling on a physical level.” Austin continued, “he looked phenomenal and he’s one of the toughest guys, I think, in the business.

“But Cena’s probably moving on to do other things with movies, and series, and endorsements, and stuff like that. But he continues to be an ambassador for the company, and [has] a great attitude, and it not afraid to put somebody over. I respect him for that.”

You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Ex-WCW feature producer Neal Pruitt has released another episode of his podcast, Neal Pruitt’s Secrets of WCW Nitro, and talked about several WCW related topics. One such topic covered WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin’s time with the company. Pruitt talked about Austin’s issues with bing nervous during interviews:

“I don’t think anybody ever wants to really expose their weaknesses, but when you do expose your weaknesses to someone that’s willing to help you, you can really excel. Not that I had anything to do with it…but [Austin] did tell us he had an issue with speaking [upon his arrival to WCW]. [He said] it was something he really needed to work on.

“Having been in the interview room for so long, [I know] that what really freaks people out is… it’s just not natural to look in the camera lens instead of somebody’s face. So it’s already a weird thing to do, and the intimidation factor creeps in for whatever reason. [Often] when the light goes on the camera, the personality goes off.

“I knew Stone Cold was uncomfortable with that – looking right in the camera. So I told him, ‘if you’re nervous about looking in the camera, don’t even look in the camera. These people don’t deserve your gaze’. So if you watch some of his earlier stuff when he had hair and he was on WCW Saturday Night, you’ll see that he’s not looking at the camera at all.

“He worked at his talent at talking, [and] so did Cactus Jack. When they would ride down the road together, they would never turn the radio on. They would just [practice their promos]. That’s how dedicated these people were at becoming professionals at what they did. And I really admire that, because I know that’s what it takes. It doesn’t come naturally to most people, but if you work at it, you can get it.”

Pruitt also tackled the rumors that WCW fed in “Goldberg” chants to their programming when he made his entrance:

“Sometimes some of it would be recorded, and we would mix that in to get the people excited. It didn’t happen all that much as far as the live shows went, but I know I would enhance some of the pay-per-view events.

“When I did the show for Deep South Wrestling – that’s where people like Luke Gallows, Kofi Kingston, MVP, Jack Swagger, The Miz and lots of [other] guys at WWE [came from] – I would always super-enhance the audio, as far as when the show aired on TV. I had a ‘roar’ track that I used underneath [the crowd noise], that I think really enhanced the show.”

You can listen to Neal Pruitt’s Secrets of WCW Nitro by clicking this link here.

Chris Jericho recently took to his podcast, Talk Is Jericho, and discussed several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was the hilarious story of how “Y2J” first met Stone Cold Steve Austin. This came during a time where Jericho worked in WCW and found himself sharing a plane with several WWE guys:

“I met [Austin] on a plane one time and [Austin] gave me the greatest line of all time. No, [Austin was not rude]. It was a great line! I was walking on the plane. It was one of those rare moments when you would see WWE and WCW on the same plane.

“And [Austin] walked by me and [Austin] said, ‘hey’. I only knew Steve Austin. I was like, ‘hey,’ he was like, ‘hey, there’s a gay guy on the plane.’ I said, ‘really?’ He goes, ‘yeah, give me a kiss and I’ll tell you who it is.'”

Later on Jericho would make the switch over to WWE and would join the ranks of Austin, The Rock, and Triple H. He found out right away that new heels weren’t allowed to call out guys such as Undertaker, Rock, or Austin in promos:

“I came in as a heel, so I had no problem. I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to talk s–t about The Undertaker in a promo or talk bad about Steve Austin in a promo! That’s what heels do to babyfaces! Right? But I learned very quickly that that’s not what heels do when they first come in.

“I had no idea! Nobody ever taught me that in WCW. They didn’t even tell me how to bump and feed a comeback. I had been in WCW for three years and I had no idea what that even meant as crazy as it sounds right now.”

Jericho also discussed changing the way people saw him, coming from WCW as one of the main guys in the Cruiserweight Division:

“I knew I can’t win with [Triple H] and DX, and Rocky was always cool and [Austin] was in and out. [Austin was] always on your own, but [he was] always cool to me. But what I did was I worked really hard always, but I knew if I could get over with the bullpen, with the mid level guys, that would bleed up to the top.

“Bob Holly, those type of guys, JBL, Bradshaw at the time, working with those types, Rikishi, having great matches night after night, after night, with those guys, where I was programmed, word gets around, ‘hey, that guy’s not an asshole. You guys are talking s–t about him, but he’s really good and he’s a really good guy.’ That really helped to alleviate some of the tension that was there.”

“Y2J” also revealed that the original inspiration for “The Highlight Reel” came from Gene Okerlund:

“My initial idea was learning from one of the greatest, I don’t know what you would call him, backstage interviewers, was Gene Okerlund who could lead you through a backstage promo even if you didn’t know what you were doing. Right?

“My idea when I started the Highlight Reel was I wanted to be the Gene Okerlund, have guys that didn’t get promo time, and let me do an improv promo. Let’s see what they’ve got. Of course, that did not fly with Vince. He wanted an actual promo segment with top level guys.”

You can listen to Jericho’s full episode of Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.