WWE Hall Of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase recently did an interview with The Mirror and offered his thoughts on fellow Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin. DiBiase talked about working with Austin during his early days, making him the Million Dollar Champion on an episode of Monday Night RAW:
“I did make ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin the Million Dollar Champion on Raw. You know I saw the talent in Steve and I remember telling him – because a lot of people were telling him ‘You need to do more’ – I remember telling him, ‘Don’t do anything different, because what you do is believable, it’s real.’ And I said ‘That’s what I’ve always tried to sell is real.’ I said ‘It will take you a little longer, but once you’re over, you’re over.’ Well nobody knew just how over he would get! It was unbelievable.”
DiBiase then discussed his role in helping cultivate Austin into the mega-star he’s known as today in the professional wrestling industry. He compared it to the film industry when an up-and-comer is paired with an A-list guy to help elevate his stock:
“Yeah, well, I was just that rub. It’s kind of like in the movies, they see a potential great young actor and they put him in a movie as a co-star to an A-list guy and that helps elevate them. That’s what they did with Steve and I happened to be an A-list guy at the time. So I was just the right guy at the right place, at the right time.”
Austin’s career of course began to take off after the innovation of his “Stone Cold” gimmick. DiBiase explained how “The Texas Rattlesnake” really exceeded everyone in WWE’s expectations with the character:
“I think he exceeded everybody’s expectations, I really do. What’s funny is you know everybody is talking about how we’re now a PG program. I think that’s great, because I’m a minister now and I have been for a long time, so I was not a big fan of the Attitude Era. There were some things they did that were very funny and that was great, but I was never a fan of the sleazy stuff. What’s funny is, I was part of a panel, Steve and I, and they said ‘Ted, you have been quoted as saying that you would never allow your son’s hero to be a beer guzzling, swearing, finger-flipping wrestler’. I said ‘exactly, I still believe that today’. Steve was sitting by me and he looked at me and said ‘That’s the same thing my mother said!'”
You can read DiBiase’s full interview with The Mirror by clicking this link here.
– Following his epic return to WWE on RAW 25 earlier this week, WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin took to Twitter to comment on his return. Here’s what he had to say:
– One name that missed RAW 25 is Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan, who has since been distanced from WWE since his racist comments in a leaked sex tape came to light several years ago. Hogan took to Twitter and said it was hard to sit at home and not be a part of it, but enjoyed watching what he called a ‘great show’:
Very hard sitting at home and not being at #Raw25 with all my friends but really enjoyed seeing it all. My how great the show was HH
– WWE Monday Night RAW General Manager and WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle took to Instagram to post a photo of himself, WWE Champion AJ Styles, and SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon. The trio were on set of WWE Network’s “Table For 3” and Angle said that it will be an ‘intriguing’ episode as they discuss their matches together, their families, untold stories, and even TNA Wrestling:
“Very intriguing “Table for 3” coming soon on the WWE Network. AJ Styles, Shane McMahon and Yours’ truly….. We talk about our matches together, our families, unheard stories and even TNA Wrestling. Must see. #itsttrue#AJ#Shane#Angle”
– Speaking of Shane, he took a couple of Stone Cold Stunners from WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin on the opening segment of RAW 25 last night. He took to Twitter to comment on the incident:
– As noted, WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin opened Monday’s RAW 25 special by delivering Stunners to Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon in the opening segment. Austin talks to Mike Rome in this new RAW Fallout video.
Austin says Vince tried to proclaim that he didn’t need anyone’s help while Austin was a big part of the Attitude Era and Vince knows that, and that’s the bottom line. Austin goes on about how it feels good to be here after being out in Los Angeles for a few years. Austin says he showed up, he raised hell and gave a few Stunners for a few time. Austin says he enjoyed talking to the Superstars who are following down the path that he set and the guys that blazed a path before him. Austin says it feels like a big ass family reunion and he’s proud, and happy to be a part of it, to deliver a can of Whoop Ass for the city to watch. Austin then rips into Rome for not having more questions ready for him. Austin calls Rome a chump and tells him to go back and do his homework. Austin wants proper interview time next time he’s back and says Rome is just out of league. Austin calls Rome a piece of trash and rips him a few more times before ending the interview.
– Michael Cole announced 15,990 fans in attendance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Monday’s RAW 25th Anniversary special. WWE did not announce an attendance number for the Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom.
– There were two WWE 205 Live dark matches for fans inside the Manhattan Center during the RAW 25 special. The matches aired during commercial breaks of matches at the Barclays Center. The first match saw Mustafa Ali defeat Lince Dorado in around 2 minutes. The second match saw Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa go at it with Tony Nese and Drew Gulak until they brawled into the backstage area. They later brawled back out into the ringside area during another commercial break as fans chanted “bullshit” and “refund” at them. The finish saw Tozawa pin Gulak.
There were several upset fans at the Manhattan Center due to the lack of matches while most of the action went on at the Barclays Center. WWE Hall of Famers Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler also suffered from the downtime as they were caught snoozing, seen below:
WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin returned to TV on tonight’s RAW 25th Anniversary show for the opening segment with Vince McMahon, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon and RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon.
Austin hit a Stone Cold Stunner on Shane before ending the segment with a Stunner to Vince. Austin also celebrated with several beers.
Below are photos and videos from tonight’s segment, which opened the show from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn:
– Following yesterday’s WWE TV tapings in Laredo, Texas the dark match main event was a KFC Colonel Rumble match between WWE Champion AJ Styles and Rusev. Styles picked up the win by hitting Rusev with a Stone Cold Stunner. Footage from the match is likely to be used in an upcoming KFC commercial. Here’s the finish:
– WWE posted the following video of Bayley trying to impress her Mixed Match Challenge partner, Elias, with her guitar skills. Elias wasn’t impressed to say the least. Elias and Bayley will be taking on the team of Rusev and Lana in week five of the tournament:
Fans of anything, in general, can be pretty nuts, but WWE fans can take things to a whole other level sometimes. Take this guy for example: an obvious Steve Austin fan Tweeted out the following picture of his sketched forehead with the “Stone Cold” logo before getting the image tattooed on his face:
WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was the latest guest on the Ring Rust Radio podcast. The Texas Rattlesnake spoke in-depth about Season 5 of his ‘Broken Skull Challenge’ reality competition show, how the competitors’ athleticism compares to that of WWE Superstars, which current WWE Superstars he enjoys watching, Neville’s WWE status, where Kurt Angle ranks on the list of all-time great pro wrestlers and much more.
Here are the highlights they sent in:
Ring Rust Radio: This is the fifth season of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge, which last year averaged more than four million weekly viewers. What can fans who have never seen the program expect when tuning in?
Steve Austin: It’s just bad-ass competition. It’s very simple, very basic, very strenuous, very hard and in a tough environment. Basically, we film this on top of a mountain in the desert right outside Los Angeles. Everything we are using from boulders to barrels to logs, there’s no scientific nothing out there. It’s bracket-style competition. Eight athletes come out each week through three rounds of competition and you either win or you lose. If you win, you go on, and if you lose, you go home.
At the end of the day, out of eight competitors, one will be left standing. That competitor will come back the next day and run my obstacle course and it’s called the Skull Buster. It’s a half mile course with ten obstacles standing in your way. If you can beat a bench-mark time, you get $10,000 and remain there until someone can dethrone you. It is a very simple formula to understand. If you have never seen it before, you can tune in and understand exactly what is going down. What is going down is extreme, hardcore, physical competition. There ain’t no reality, the only reality out there is you either are going to win or lose, it is a challenge show.
Ring Rust Radio: Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge has built quite a fanbase since its debut. Did you expect the show to take off the way it has and how many more seasons do you think you have in you?
Steve Austin: Man, I love doing the show. I love being outdoors, I love competition and I love to be able to help motivate people to push their bodies and their minds to the absolute limit. I am never bored out there and I am having a great time. I’m not out there trash talking or cutting promos like I did in the wrestling business. I am out there trying to motivate some of the best athletes in the United States of America; there is a big difference there.
So, it’s fun being around such driven people that are pushing themselves so hard. I was hoping, and in anything you do you want to have some confidence and want to believe in yourself, but at the end of the day it’s up to the people who watch and if the product is good enough. So far, it has been and I would love to keep doing this for as long as we can. As long as we can keep making this thing challenging for the athletes so that they want to come out and get their challenges met and see how tough they really are. If people are still interested in the show, I would love to keep doing it for a long time.
Ring Rust Radio: It obviously takes an incredible athlete to be able to conquer the Broken Skull Challenge. From your perspective as the host of the show and a WWE Hall of Famer, how do the top Broken Skull Challenge competitors compare to WWE Superstars in terms of their athleticism?
Steve Austin: In many ways, the athleticism, because this people are training specifically for these tasks and what I am asking them to do. Whether they are coming from the world of Cross Fit, Spartan Race, obstacle course racing, they are training specifically for these types of events. We will shake it up so they never know what we are throwing at them.
The guys and gals in the squared circle these days, and I’ll speak of WWE because that’s where I spent the bulk of my career and that’s where I am from and who I am basically with, man those athletes there are off the charts from the generation that I came up. They are outstanding athletes in their own rights. They are extremely tough athletes in their own right. Living that road schedule, getting in that ring every single night, pushing their bodies to the limit in the ring, and then stepping into the gym to stay in tune with what they do.
They aren’t training to come out and do what I do, but if you put the athletes from the Broken Skull into a squared circle and have a match, they wouldn’t be able to do it. The athleticism I would say is equal, but both parties are training for uniquely and specifically different endeavors.
Ring Rust Radio: For the Steve Austin Show on Podcast One, you have to watch the WWE product as much as you can. Who are some of the current Superstars that get Stone Cold excited when they show up on TV?
Steve Austin: You know what, I watch as much as I can. I DVR the show just to fast-forward through the commercials. It’s hard to watch because three hours of Raw every Monday and then two hours of SmackDown, but because I am still involved with the business, I try to watch as much as I can. Brock Lesnar is an absolute beast. I enjoy watching him and seeing what AJ Styles is up to next. Waiting to see if Finn Balor will continue to find his way. Waiting to see what they will end up doing with Shinsuke Nakamura and give him a green light push with that great background he brings from New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
With the women’s division, their athleticism is just off the charts now. They have been main eventing Monday Night Raw, SmackDown and pay-per-views. I like the entire product and it has changed a lot since I have been gone. It’s sped up a lot since I have been gone. It’s a different world. So, when I watch with the old school mentality that I have, I have to try to lose myself in it and suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride.
Ring Rust Radio: There’s been a lot of rumors and speculation recently surrounding Neville about him walking out on WWE due to creative differences and/or unhappiness regarding his pay. Having been in a similar situation before yourself, what advice would you give Neville if he has, in fact, decided to leave WWE?
Steve Austin: Well, my situation when I walked out, I wasn’t on board with the direction creative wanted to go. I was working my ass off and I just was not happy with that decision. So, I could have made a better decision with how I handled it. Just walking away like I did was a bad idea. I don’t know specifically what Neville’s business deal is or what his contract is or the circumstances under which he left. I know that any time you walk away from something and you don’t have that meeting or that one-on-one time with Vince or Paul or whoever it may be, but that’s the most prudent decision to make.
By the same token, I can respect the guy that has enough balls to walk away just because he had a gut feeling like I did. I just wish him all the best in the world. In my opinion, he is an outstanding talent, he was really coming around with his gimmick and character, and he was a guy that I really liked watching. I’m sure a lot of people in the WWE Universe fell the same way. Hopefully he gets past this and whether he goes back to WWE or goes somewhere else, I hope he continues to have a successful career and have fun. At the end of the day, pro-wrestling, to be able to get paid to do that, it’s a fun job but it is a business and you need to get paid accordingly. I want the kid to have a great career, make his money and go on to the next phase of his life when it’s time to do that.
Ring Rust Radio: Recently we lost one of the greatest wrestling personalities ever, Bobby The Brain Heenan. What was your relationship like with Heenan and what are your thoughts on the legendary commentator and manager?
Steve Austin: I barely knew Bobby because he was a generation and half before me. I was a huge fan because I was watching WWF back in the day. Watching his commentary with Gorilla Monsoon, his interactions with Vince or whoever it was, that guy was absolute gold on the microphone, a premier entertainer. If he had to put on the tights to wrestle or put on that weasel outfit, the guy knew how to entertain people. If he hadn’t gotten into the pro-wrestling business, he would have been a stand-up comedian or something, Bobby was going to be successful in whatever he did because that’s how talented he was.
A lot of times, when you are on the road and sitting around at the show, one of our agents was Blackjack Lanza. Blackjack is in the Hall of Fame and he is a great story teller. He and Bobby used to travel together back in the day. A bunch of guys and myself would be gathered around Blackjack while he is telling Bobby Heenan stories. Whether they were at the bar doing this or that, the shenanigans they got involved in, so I felt like I knew Bobby a lot more than I did just because I heard so many stories from Blackjack. The guy was a premiere, Grade A, awesome performer. I loved it, I didn’t know him, but I loved it.
Ring Rust Radio: One of your peers, Kurt Angle, made his in-ring return to WWE on Sunday at TLC, wrestling in his first match for the company in 11 years. As someone who worked with Kurt on numerous occasions, where do you place him among the all-time greats, and what would you like to see WWE do with him now that he’s back in the fold as a wrestler?
Steve Austin: I don’t know what I want them to do with him because I don’t know Kurt’s physical capacity with what he can do in the squared circle from a performers stand point. As far as I would rank him as an all-time great, with what he can do in the ring and character standpoint, let’s talk about his in-ring work: off the charts. When this guy came in, I know he won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, he comes in to the company and I see this raw talent. He is having these fast-paced wrestling matches, and I was like, holy smokes, this guy is catching onto this like no one I have ever seen in my life. So as a performer, so far ahead of his time and probably the fastest guy in the history of the business to pick it up at the level he picked it up at and just lights out. It didn’t matter who he was getting in the ring with, anybody who got in the ring with him they got a chance to steal the show. His work ethic and desire to be the best was among the highest I have ever known in the history of that business. As a character and persona, some of the backstage stuff we were doing because he was injured and I had three broken bones in my lower back, that comedy stuff we did was mostly adlibbed. The guy was a once in a generation talent. I love him as a person and I love his work in the ring. He was an absolute, true warrior and a bad ass in that ring. Not everybody can keep up with him.
Ring Rust Radio: You have been adamant that you will not return to in-ring competition, but when you see contemporaries like Kurt Angle, Shane McMahon and others making an impact on the product today, do you ever get that itch to be in front of the WWE Universe again?
Steve Austin: No, man. I got a fire in my belly for the business because I love pro-wrestling. I have zero desire to ever try to get back in the ring. I have so many great memories and I look back on those times fondly. It’s the young guy’s time to shine and I am enjoying seeing what they are coming up with. I like seeing the old school guys like myself still in there and doing their thing. When people decide to step away from the ring like I did or the guys that decide to step back in, it’s on a case-by-case, person-by-person basis. Some guys just like to hang on for as long as they can.
For a while there, I didn’t understand why guys would do that. When I really thought about it, it’s because they love being in that god-dang ring so much that they just can’t get away from it. I had that neck injury and I needed to get out of the business so I did. I can understand that mindset now. I am done, I am happy being done, I wish I could of stayed in the ring a little bit longer, I rode off into the sunset a little bit sooner rather than I would of like, but it is what it is. I have come to terms with that and I have moved down the road. I am still a fan of the business and watching the men and women do what they do in the business and on Raw and SmackDown and the pay-per-views on the network.
Al Snow recently sat down with Harry Kettle of CLICKON Sports to discuss everything pro wrestling; here are the main highlights from the interview:
Al discussed his simplistic view on gimmicks within sports entertainment and selling a character or persona to an audience:
“If they cannot describe you to their friends and family in a sentence or less, then you’re no good. You’re not gonna be successful, or as successful as you can possibly be. If you’re not able to do that, no matter how talented an individual may be, male or female. Steve Austin was always a beer drinking, ass kicking redneck. You have to deliver on what you’re selling to the audience.”
Thankfully for him, Al Snow’s character was very easy to describe in just one word: insane.
“I was involved in a lot of interesting storylines and things like that, and a large part of that was because my character was insane. I was free because of my insanity to do absolutely anything. A lot of guys say Al Snow was a comedy wrestler, but I wasn’t a comedy wrestler. I didn’t do any of it for comedy, I did it to be entertaining.”
However he contrasts the beauty of being free with his view on the possibility of missed opportunities:
“Sometimes you’re in the forest so deep that you can’t see the trees. You don’t even see the opportunities that are there until you get further out, and then you realise ‘oh that was an opportunity’ or ‘oh I blew that one’. As far as regrets though, I never regret being a professional wrestler. I’ve lived an amazing life, and the only regret is that at some point it’ll have to come to an end. That’ll be hard.”
One opportunity that he didn’t miss was the chance to work as a trainer and to help those around him become successful. For those who are unaware of who he’s helped, here’s what he had to say about training some WWE greats:
“Steve Austin came and spent several days with me at one point when I had my school in Ohio to kind of get the ring rust off. Glenn Jacobs [Kane], D’Lo Brown, CM Punk spent time with me, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Fox, Cody Rhodes, and I can go on and on. I had a hand with some of these guys either from the ground up or later on, so I’ve had quite a lot of wrestlers who are enjoying some level of success in professional wrestling that I played a factor in.”
Al expanded upon his professional training with how perceives his personal success.
“It’s a big thrill for me to watch my students succeed on any level. I’m just so proud of them, and I really believe and have determined that whatever legacy I leave behind in wrestling is going to probably be my training. I’ve been blessed to have been an in-ring performer for going on 36 years, and in that time I’ve made a lot of mistakes, so that gives me a wealth of experience that I can pass on. They can understand where I made my mistakes, and I can help to prevent them from making it themselves.”
In the final high-light, he offers a piece of advice on permission versus forgiveness.
“You’d be surprised at how much control a performer actually has once they step foot in the ring. Something may work, or not work, but that’s on you. The phrase that’s used the most is ‘always ask for forgiveness, never ask for permission’. If you ask for forgiveness, then you take your chances. You may have to come back and say you screwed up, but at least you took your shot.”
Catch the whole interview with CLICKON Sports here:
As we’ve previously reported, WWE wants to add a Special Guest Referee to WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and WWE Champion Jinder Mahal’s singles match at Survivor Series next month. Original rumors had John Cena leading the line of contenders for the position, setting up a possible Cena vs. Mahal match down the road. According to a recent report from Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, two much bigger names could be in the running as well.
Vince McMahon is reportedly also considering WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock for the Guest Referee role. There are currently no updates on the conversations between WWE and The Rock or Austin. The issue with The Rock, of course, would be his schedule given how busy he is with various projects, as well as how much he’d have to be paid.
If either Rock or Austin take the job it’s very unlikely a program with Lesnar comes out of the match, however, the Observer notes that there is great intrigue in a possible Lesnar vs. Austin feud. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…
Former Ring of Honor World Television Champion Marty Scurll recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to talk about various topics. Here are the highlights:
Wanting Steve Austin to appear with him at Wrestle Kingdom 12 next year:
“I actually have a different wrestling legend in mind for my Wrestle Kingdom entrance,” said Scurll. “One that I have met on a podcast. One who likes to drink a little beer, raise a little hell. Put up the middle finger. But I don’t want to ruin any surprises. My lips are sealed.”
His next major goal: “More important than headlining the show is shocking the world,” said Scurll. “Giving the people something they would never forget. There’s always talk about Conor McGregor getting involved in wrestling, so why not ROH? Put him in the ring against ‘The Villain’ at Final Battle. Maybe have my pal ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin in my corner. These are the kind of things I want to do for this business. The possibilities for the future captivate me. There’s so much good stuff to come.”
Former World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), World Wrestling Council (WWC), and USWA Memphis star Eric Embry recently did an interview with The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast to talk about a number of professional wrestling topics. Embry discussed how Paul Bearer helped him get over in WCCW, helping out a young Mick Foley in his professional wrestling career, his longtime heat with Jerry Lawler, and helping Stone Cold Steve Austin get his first big break in wrestling. Here are the highlights:
Percy Pringle (Paul Bearer) helping him get over in WCCW:
“He (Percy) played a very instrumental part in my mind of getting me over in Dallas and along with Cactus Jack (Mick Foley) and Gary Young, Iceman Parsons and whatever talent I had to work with in Dallas. I’m not sure what the word would be but it is not that the people were tired of the Von Erichs because the Von Erichs were like Gods in Dallas but no one wrestling fan had ever seen anyone surpass a Von Erich to the top and past the Von Erichs and I was the first.
“It just clicked and Percy as a baby face manager played a big part but all those guys did and I couldn’t have done it without the talent they had and they got me over like a big dog there and still to this day am so thankful for the fans of World Class.”
Helping out a young Mick Foley in his pro wrestling career:
“Mick was great. I had flew into Memphis for a Memphis TV on a Saturday and I was watching the matches and was already booking in Dallas already and I saw Cactus and Gary Young and they had been beat, I went to Lawler and said what are you doing with them and he told me that they had been there for awhile and he wasn’t doing anything with them so I just asked him if I could have them in Dallas.
“Mick was the riskiest bump taker in the history of our business that I am aware of. He would take the craziest bumps in the Sportatorium from the ring onto the hard concrete floor and it was unreal. I would beg him and say please when he’d try to call that spot and I’d say there is no way in hell I am going to do that with you. But during the match he would talk me into it and I’d be so afraid that he was going to cripple himself while he was working with me which would be because either way but if he was working with me I’d feel that I would have let it happen. But as far as calling spots with Cactus you just didn’t have to. Cactus would just follow you and you didn’t have to lay out each move like with the people you had to and did.
“In his book Cactus put in there that his last match in Dallas (Loser Leaves) he was disappointed because we went like five or six seconds and for me at the time it was the best way to book him because it wouldn’t hurt him losing on our TV because that would look like a fluke. That hurt my feelings so bad when I read that. A few years later I made contact with Cactus and we cleared all that up because if Cactus had come to me that night and said he didn’t feel comfortable doing this we would have changed it and done whatever he wanted to do that is how much respect I had for that guy. My feelings are not hurt anymore and I talk to him periodically and he is a super great guy. ”
His longtime heat with WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler:
“It’s not a secret in the wrestling business that Jerry Lawler and I do not get along well. We work with each other; we make money with each other and had super matches with each other. Personally, I do not like him at all and personally, he does not like me. That was part of my deal to take the book in Memphis where Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett and I would understand that I do not work for him and that is why I did not work Memphis before then and Memphis was my home territory since I am from Kentucky.
“I always avoided that and I only worked there one time and stayed there maybe two or three weeks because of the personality clash. As a a talent Jerry Lawler is one of the best professional wrestlers performance wise that ever laced up a pair of boots. He was that good.
“I am not dogging him. His feelings towards me are the same and I like I’ve said, we would work together and have very stiff matches but we couldn’t have a conversation like you and I are having right now.”
If it’s hard to work with someone he doesn’t like or if that’s just the respect he has for the business:
“I have the utmost respect for him as a performer and as a wrestler because he was that good. But our personalities just clashed but like I’ve said he is one of the best that ever laced up a pair of boots cut and dry, bar none and that almost hurt me to say that but not really.”
Helping Steve Austin get his first big break in wrestling:
“Chris Adams wanted to start a school. Chris was a money making son of a gun and he wasn’t afraid to work and he came to me with this idea to start a school at the Sportatorium and I thought it was a cool idea so the next time Jerry Jarrett came in I hooked those two guys up so they could discuss the business agreement for it.
“We did Channel 11 TV on Saturday morning that played in Ft. Worth and Dallas on Saturday night so at one of those TV tapings, Chris came up to me and said he had this guy he wanted me to look at in his school. I went up to the Crow’s nest in the Sportatorium and watched Steve in the school for two-three minuets (not long) but Steve had what everybody calls the “it factor.”
“After he had been in the school for two or three months I had kept asking Adams when can we start using that Austin guy? Chris kept saying he wasn’t ready yet but Chris was also milking him for that money Steve was paying him every week. Finally I told Chris that it is real simple and it is either he talks to Steve and you hook him up with me to come to work or I go to Steve and talk to him and offer him a job. He understood and we met with Steve and Steve started working. Austin and Cactus Jack both have thanked me for getting them on the radar and putting them on the map because I was the first person that had enough confidence in them to put them out there and put them on TV. Now I had no idea that Austin would go as far as he went but I knew he would be special.”
Listen to Embry’s full interview on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast here.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross spoke to ESPN to promote his book Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling. Here are some of the highlights:
Bringing The Rock and Steve Austin into WWE:
“They are two of my signees. They’re two guys I had a very strong personal relationship with. And you know I just thought the world of both those guys. They were what we needed to revitalize the talent relations department. They were components of what we needed to re-jump-start the competitive feeling you get often times when you have a locker room that’s dotted with overachievers and ex-mainstream athletes. It’s all because of that group of guys and gals that we assembled, that we put in that team environment, that had great skills and we were able to, maybe not 100 percent of the time, but more often than not, give them the opportunity to fully express their creative abilities. And those are still being felt. Randy Orton’s still a key member, John Cena, those guys are two of my last guys.”
Making his WWE debut at WrestleMania 9 in 1993: “That’s not the greatest feeling to have when you’re getting ready to do your first assignment. It’s only going to be a live show with no net, and the biggest event of the year. So, that was a little unsettling, but you persevere, man, you work through it. Poor me. I’m going to broadcast WrestleMania IX. I’m a wrestling fan. It’s taken me 19 years to get here. And I’m going to b—h and moan that I didn’t get the Chamber of Commerce welcome wagon welcome? You kidding? The first night was an adventure, commentating alongside “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Bobby Heenan, but Ross pushed forward and did his job as well as he could do it, toga and all. Things could have gone sideways in a hurry if the iciness from the rest of the boys continued, but Ross found a pair of key allies in one of the most recognizable commentary teams in wrestling history.” You can read the entire interview here.
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently made an appearance on former WWE Superstar Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac 12360. During the interview “The Texas Rattlesnake” discussed Ric Flair’s health, his reaction to the Roman Reigns and John Cena segment on RAW, his thoughts on The Fashion Police, if he’s planning on attending PWG Battle of LA, and how he can’t find Ring Of Honor (ROH) on TV.
Here are some highlights of what Austin said about:
Ric Flair’s health:
“I talked to him yesterday, on the phone, and he’s laughing. He’s got a ways to go and I will elaborate no further about that.”
Roman Reigns and John Cena’s segment on RAW:
“Anytime you go out to the ring and you didn’t learn something new, you probably missed an opportunity. I don’t care how good you are, you can always get better. So, if Roman learned something from that and he can capitalize on it and gain and improve in the future, props to him.”
The Fashion Police:
“Fandango and Tyler Breeze together… and all of a sudden they put the Fashion Files out and I am like, when I watch Raw those guys, they crack me up. I’ll rewind their s–t, I don’t know how many times.”
If he’ll attend PWG Battle of LA:
“We just got finished filming (Broken Skull Challenge) so I might undertake one evening of that. Because I’ve been wanting to check out that scene because I’ve heard how cool the atmosphere is and everybody buys in.”
Not being able to find ROH on TV:
“I just never know what channel it’s on or how to watch it. I would DVR it because when I was filming (Broken Skull Challenge) I had a satellite and a big TV in my trailer.”
Former WWE Champion and WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently made an appearance on the Off The Board with Jimmy Traina podcast to promote the upcoming season of Broken Skull Challenge. “The Texas Rattlesnake” talked about Roman Reigns and if he thinks “The Big Dog” would’ve been successful in the Attitude Era, and if he himself believes he would be successful in today’s WWE landscape. The highlights can be found below:
His thoughts on Roman Reigns:
“I think Roman is a star and I think WWE needs to continue to go down the path they’re going with him. They don’t need to flip him heel just arbitrarily to make the fans happy… I think Roman is a star. Now with that being said, is there still room for him to learn and grow? Oh, hell yeah. By leaps and bounds. He’s nowhere near where he will be in three or four years. But at this point in his career, with a few not-so-great booking ideas, but also a learning curve on his part, he is where he’s at and he’s a top guy on that roster and he’s still gonna keep improving and he has to because he’s not a seasoned veteran.
“You put that guy in that line up during the Attitude Era, with that roster of Hall of Famers, guys that have yet to be in the Hall of Fame, holy smokes, I think the guy could’ve been lights out because the competition was so hot, heavy, and fierce. It was sink or swim. You got a bunch of guys out there with knives and you get in the way and they will cut you, so, I think he would’ve thrived in the Attitude Era and right now, just with his looks, his size, his physicality, he’s gonna be just fine and he’s gonna be a big star.”
If he would be a star in the WWE today:
“I’m thankful I came along in the wrestling business when I did because it was the last of the wild, wild west and the last of just going out there and trying to do something to get over and, God dang it, I had a blast.”
You can check out Austin’s full interview on Off The Board with Jimmy Traina here:
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently spoke to The Wrap and discussed a variety of professional wrestling topics. “The Texas Rattlesnake” explained why he isn’t interested in an in-ring return with WWE, and how he feels about some of today’s WWE Superstars using the Stunner. Here’s what he had to say:
Why he isn’t interested in an in-ring return:
“It’s just really because I’ve been there and I did it on the very highest level,” Austin said. “When I had to ride off into the sunset — that was a tough pill for me to swallow. It took me a long time to come to grips with that.”
“After all these years, I’ve got the business out of my system from, you know, participating in it and being in the grind,” Austin continued. “I still absolutely love the business, but I’m away from it.”
How he feels about Superstars using the Stunner today:
“There’s different ways to go about it,” Austin said. “Sometimes people will check with other guys.”
“I’m down with anybody using the Stunner,” he said. “I would prefer that it be used as a finisher, and not as the current routine with the DDT, where it’s basically one of the lamest false-finishes in the business after being one of the most devastating finishers in the history of the business.”
You can read Austin’s full interview with The Wrapat this link.
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to answer some fan questions. Austin discussed if his podcast would return to the WWE Network, writing his own book a few years back, and writing the foreword to Jim Ross’ upcoming book. You can check out the highlights here below:
If the Stone Cold podcast would return to the WWE Network:
“Man, I don’t know. I don’t know. That’s a good question. We signed up for 12 of those, we did 12, and then we stopped. So we’ll see if talks continue and sign that thing back up or not. But we fulfilled them, then we stopped.”
Writing his first book a few years ago:
“When WWE wanted me to write that first book, I said, ‘Man, I don’t want to do it.’ But then after I left the company for six, eight months, whatever it was when I walked out, took my ball and went home, I got back in with them. We buried the hatchet. I figured, ‘Okay, I’ll go ahead and write a book.’ That’s how that book was born. I never did really want to write a book, so when it came to the actual writing process, I’ve sat down with Dennis Brent. I’ve sat down with Jim Ross, longtime friend. I flew to Oklahoma, stayed at his house. Jim and Dennis did a hell of a job writing that book, but it was such a painful process.”
Writing the foreword to Jim Ross’ upcoming book:
“[Ross] asked me to write the foreword for him and so I did and it took me about four months and Jim was calling me about every week asking me if I had done that foreword. Writing a foreword for one of my best friends was painful and I’m glad I did it because I love Jim Ross, but for me to write another book, I quite simply don’t have the attention span or the desire to writing anything else that I’ve done.”
If you ask “The Texas Rattlesnake,” current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega could very well be “the next big thing” in WWE.
A few weeks ago, WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently welcomed longtime friend and fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross to his “Steve Austin Show” podcast for an interview. During the discussion, the two spoke about the New Japan Pro Wrestling standout performer potentially joining WWE.
“Hands down, he is one of the best in the world, if not the best in the world, in my opinion,” Austin said of Omega. “If he came to the WWE, if he had any interest in doing so, I think that guy could be the next big thing. I don’t know if it’s going to happen. I said he has the potential to be, if he was given the platform, just not be put in a box.”
Austin continued, “He may never go to New York, but just when I look out there, Jim, and I ask, who could be the next big draw, he’s at the top of my list. May it happen or will it happen? Maybe it will and maybe it won’t, but that’s what I think his potential is. I see so much in this kid and that’s why I’m so high on him.”
The WWE legend turned podcast host also put over Omega’s charisma when discussing the possibility of a run in the big leagues for the international superstar.
“I was watching an interview Triple H did an [the interview and] said, ‘what’s the one thing you’re looking for most in a person that he’s interviewing with to bring into the company?’ And the number one thing he said was ‘charisma,’ and, man, when I’ve seen this kid, and I’ve never met him, but I saw some of his interviews over there in Japan,” said Austin. “He speaks fluent Japanese. And, boy, all of a sudden, he started lighting up in the Japanese language. And then, he’s speaking in English. He was like a lightning bolt on that microphone.
“A lot of charisma, a lot of presence, and bigger than life personality. And he can go like a son of a b—h in the ring, so he has got all that. He has been in the business 15 years or better, so he knows all that. He knows how to get over. He can get over if the company’s really behind him and given that platform. I think he’s a guy that’s hungry enough to be on board and say, ‘hey, I want to be number one.’”
Check out the complete episode of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast at PodcastOne.com.
Ex-wife of WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jeanie Clarke, recently did an interview with The Dirty Sheets podcast to promote her new book, “Through The Shattered Glass.” During the interview, Clarke revealed how Austin truly felt about the late Owen Hart, who died following an accidental fall at WWE’s Over The Edge pay-per-view (PPV) in 1999.
Clarke claimed that Austin refused to attend Hart’s funeral due to the fact that he was never able to forgive him for injuring his neck during one of their matches. To make matters worse, Hart never apologized for the injury which didn’t sit well with “The Texas Rattlesnake.” Clarke also claimed Austin believed Hart may have injured him on purpose. Despite her recent book, Clarke and Austin are reportedly on good terms with one another.
Discussion: Are you buying any of Clarke’s claims about Austin’s feelings towards Hart?
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin has released another episode of his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, in which he and Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch discussed this past week’s episode of Monday Night RAW. Austin and Keller discussed the storyline between RAW General Manager Kurt Angle and now-former SmackDown Live brand member Jason Jordan, as it was revealed that Jordan is Angle’s long-lost son.
Here’s what Austin had to say about the program between Angle and Jordan:
“I like the fact that they are shooting a hell of a big angle. They got a lot of negative response but hey man it was a big-time response seemingly from everybody”
“Big time angle, lot of rub for the kid. He’s a good-looking guy, read about him when I was coming over here to talk to you on the podcast. Outstanding credentials as an amateur. Could possibly have a bright future ahead of him and if it is done off the back of this angle, more power to the kid, good luck to him”
“Is this leading to a betrayal of Kurt’s trust or somebody trying to set him up to oust him from his position? And will it result in Kurt Angle returning to the ring to wrestle at a big-time Pay-Per-View?”
Prior to last week’s episode of Monday Night RAW, there were a ton of rumors going around suggesting WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin would be returning to the show given that it was being held in Los Angeles, where he currently resides. The WWE has printing out Los Angeles 3:16 shirts for the event, sparking speculation Austin was returning.
Austin did not appear on the show, instead leaving the attraction of the night duties to The Ball Family. Austin took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to react to last week’s rumors and clear it all up:
“There has been word on the street, on my Twitter account, on all the sheets, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin has indeed been spotted at the Staples Center,” said Austin. “Well I can vouch for you or I can clarify that right now; if somebody thought they spotted me, they was wrong.”
“I’m at 316 gimmick street in Marina del Rey. Staples Center is about 20 miles from my house, I ain’t nowhere in sight, I ain’t wearing camo, you can’t see me, because I ain’t there,” said Austin. “I’m here at the house laying down an open for this damn podcast.”
As noted earlier, WWE is selling a “Los Angeles 3:16” t-shirt head of tonight’s RAW from the Staples Center, fueling speculation that we might see an appearance from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
WWE has been selling “[City Name] 3:16” shirts at a few recent live events and there was no sign of Austin, so the LA 3:16 shirts weren’t necessarily a sign that Austin would be in attendance for RAW.
Twitter user @SeanHBlake is at the Staples Center watching the Superstars arrive for tonight and wouldn’t you know, Austin arrived at the around around 12:30pm local time. There’s no guarantee that Austin will appear on television. He lives locally and might just be visiting backstage. But the Texas Rattlesnake will be in the house tonight for Monday Night RAW.
– Complex published this video of Ric Flair going sneaker shopping Joe La Puma at Stadium Goods in NYC. The Nature Boy talks about partying with Michael Jordan and LeBron James being the greatest athlete of all time.
– WWE is selling new “Los Angeles 3:16” t-shirts ahead of tonight’s RAW from the Staples Center, leading to speculation that we will see an appearance from WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
While Steve Austin is often in the Los Angeles area, WWE has sold “[City Name] 3:16” t-shirts at several recent live events, so it’s not necessarily an indication that he’ll be at RAW.
WWE Hall Of Famer and former WWE Champ Stone Cold Steve Austin took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to comment on Jinder Mahal winning the WWE Championship from Randy Orton at Backlash this past weekend. Austin says he’s a huge fan of “The Maharaja” gimmick and sees money in the former 3MB member’s future:
“He’s got a great look, a great body.” Austin continued, “oh dude, [the ‘Maharaja’ nickname] has cool factor written all over it. Plus, if you play that with arrogance, it works for you. But, dude, down the road, I think that it spells money. I think the kid [has] got a great look. Like [Helms] said, he’s got the great facials. And [Helms] know[s], dude, you’ve got to bring a few things to the table, whether it’s appearance or size, looks, handsome, ugly, are you a flat-out bad ass worker, just unbelievable talker? This kid has bits and pieces of the things [one needs to be successful]. And all of these things can be graded on a scale of one to 10 on what you’re bringing to the table. But, at first, one of the big things you’ve got to bring, dude, for Vince to get in that big spot, size helps and it just does.”
WWE SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to talk about a variety of topics. You can check out the highlights here:
Vince’s reaction to Steve walking out on the WWE back in 2002 after refusing to job for Brock Lesnar:
“[Austin was] the guy that was drawing the houses and everything was built around [Austin]. So when you have that much equity at stake and you have your number one player in there and that’s the one who draws money all of a sudden say, ‘I’m out,’ well, it’s very devastating, obviously, to everyone else underneath and everyone felt it, just like, ‘wow’, so [Austin] specifically, you let a lot of people down.”
“Vince was hurt professionally and personally because you guys had been building a good relationship. If you guys did have a disagreement, you’d settle it quickly and talk about it. But at the end of the day when it got down to ‘alright, this is the vision we’re going with when I said we’d paint the room blue, well, you didn’t want to paint the room blue at that time, so you took your paint and went somewhere else.’ So that was a big blow personally as well because, again, it’s the machine and we all put effort into building ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, and the company, and everything else around it. And when that cog leaves, it’s like, ‘oh wow! Jeez, that didn’t feel good!’ It didn’t make any of us feel good. [Austin] let us down, man.”
Shane’s brutal match with Kurt Angle at King Of The Ring 2001:
“It’s safety glass, yeah.” McMahon added, “by the third time, I said, ‘you Olympic wuss’ or something along those lines. ‘I can’t believe you can’t even throw me through it.'”
“I wasn’t concussed or anything, so I was straight up. I mean, I was hurting.” McMahon added, “Kurt was calling for a suplex and I called it off. It was in the middle aisle. It was just cement. He says, ‘no suplex, suplex.’ I was like, ‘no, Kurt.’ He says, ‘go, go.’ And he did something to me and I didn’t have much of a choice. I’m like, ‘alright, suplex.’ So as we did it, he hit and he went, ‘oh my God!’ He cracked his tailbone.”
“Vince almost came out about three times during that match. He was going to call it off. I had no idea. Chioda was the ref. Chioda was usually always my ref because we go back in the day, like I said. And it takes three, not just two. It takes three. In the IFB, I guess Vince is talking, saying something. Chioda’s talking to me, but I think he’s just saying gibberish because, again, I got whacked in the head a couple of times. So anyways, Vince thinks that I’m shooing him off, that I’m disobeying an order, that I’m ignoring the order from Chioda, but I never got the order because I would never disobey him. So [the] gorilla [position] was silent. Vince was going ballistic. I mean, throwing stuff.”
Vince being outraged cause he thought Shane was disobeying his orders during the match:
“[Vince] was fuming and he said something very nice to me. He put the match over and that’ll stay private. And he said, ‘but don’t you ever blanking do that ever again.’ He was so hot. We were supposed to ride together, but he got his own car. I was like, ‘wow, I had heat’ because he was nervous, so it was two things: being a father and seeing your son go through a train wreck and waiving him off, which really made him hot, in front of everybody, because he was giving the order in front of everybody, so he thought I was disobeying on top of all that and everyone around knows I was disobeying.”
Being backstage after the match:
“Kurt and I come back through [the curtain] and it was one of the first-ever standing ovations because that wasn’t given back in the day. And I’m not saying that to brag. I’m saying it because of how appreciative I was and how appreciate the fans were that we put ourselves through that. And it was like, ‘oh my God, that was awesome.’ We get through gorilla, [and] it’s like a morgue. I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on here.’ So Kurt and I keep going. I mean, it was silent. My dad was nowhere to be seen. He was so fuming. As we get through the back, there was a whole line of guys, all the boys were applauding.” McMahon remembered, “as I turn around the corner on my way to the trainer’s room before we go to the hospital, and then, here comes Marissa, just eyes bawling. She has no idea because I didn’t tell her anything. That’s the one I got huge heat for.”