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

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

A lot of people were surprised with the way the match between Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman at SummerSlam was handled and there were many who weren’t happy with Owens getting squashed by the Monster Among Men.

During the recent episode of his Steve Austin Show, WWE Legend Stone Cold Steve Austin shared his thoughts on the former Universal Champion getting “steamrolled” by the Money In The Bank contract holder.

Austin claimed that he is a big fan of both the men and said that he hopes that Kevin will be able to claw his way back up after this defeat and get back where he was.

Continuing on the topic, the Texas Rattle Snake revealed that he wasn’t a fan of how the match rolled out and he doesn’t think that Owens needed to get “steamrolled” because he’s a top guy.

The former World Champion also talked about the Universal Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, saying that he loved the physicality of the bout.

According to him, the whole part where Strowman got beat up by Brock Lesnar and then Lesnar threw his briefcase onto the ramp was great, and WWE made the most out of the situation they could.

What did you think about Kevin Owens’ match against Braun Strowman at the SummerSlam PPV? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

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

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.

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

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 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

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.

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:

Had a blast at RAW 25! Swig of beer to everybody that tuned in! Cheers!#mondaynightraw @WWE pic.twitter.com/vuEbrZ5wvU

— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) January 24, 2018

– 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

— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) January 23, 2018

– 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”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeREZ2qBSCM/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_legacy

– 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:

Privileged to share the ring with you @SteveAustinBSR and proud to be a part of #Raw25. pic.twitter.com/mOt1FqCmM4

— Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) January 23, 2018

– 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:

@AJStylesOrg does a stone cold stunner and he takes the win ? pic.twitter.com/EGCTUMxC9y

— brenda ? (@beckyspuns) January 17, 2018

– 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:

Don't worry, @itsBayleyWWE… You'll get there.

All you have to do is WALK with @IAmEliasWWE! #WWEMMC pic.twitter.com/MydPq951u6

— WWE (@WWE) January 17, 2018

‘The Boss’ Sasha Banks recently joined Stone Cold Steve Austin for The Steve Austin Show. During the show, both these stars talked about Banks’ gimmick and more. Below are some highlights from the podcast:

Steve Austin on Banks’ gimmick:

“I love the ‘Legit Boss’ gimmick, It’s one of my favorite gimmicks going. She plays it to a T. She’s working babyface now. Quite frankly, I just love her as a heel because of that swagger that she has. I love Sasha Banks ‘The Legit Boss’ as a heel because that’s when I feel [she is] on full-on [her] persona, [her] character, [her] system.”

Sasha on feeling more like herself as a heel:

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately because usually I just say, ‘both’ just to give that bland answer. But I do enjoy working heel it’s I feel more comfortable. I feel more free. I feel like I’m being more myself because I can really be like, ‘yeah, I’m the s–t.’ Do you know what I mean? Which I feel like it’s hard to be as a babyface, but in today’s day and age, I feel like today’s babyfaces are really the heels in our heels are now the babyfaces because that’s what our fans are cheering now. The fans are cheering the heels and booing the babyfaces because they want to see people kick ass. They want to see them saying stuff and doing stuff in more of a gritty way than being all, ‘yeah, I’m going to kick your butt because I’m a good guy!’ Ugh! It drives me [insane]… Exactly, everyone plays by the rules! It drives me insane. I hate it.”

Banks on how it’s hard to be a babyface:

“It’s very hard [being a babyface] and I’m still learning to be a babyface every day and the only… I don’t want to say the ‘only’, but the number one reason I love it is the kids. I love seeing little kids dressed up as you. Yeah.”

Sasha on if Snoop Dogg helped her in development of her character:

“No, I stole his ‘boss’ persona. He’s my cousin, but we’re not very close. People always think we’re like best friends or cousins-cousins and grew up together and went to each other’s houses to hang out, but no. I didn’t meet this guy until maybe I was 12 [years old] and he came to Iowa for a concert and anytime he came around we would always go to the concert and this and that. And he told me he loved wrestling and I told him that I love wrestling and that was our bond. And anytime he went to [a WWE event], like one time he hosted RAW, or if I was he was hosting WrestleMania or doing the Divas match, I was like, ‘please bring me with you’ and every time he did. And that was our bond, the love of wrestling and we always talk about wrestling and I told him I wanted to be a wrestler when I grow up and he told me, ‘hey, if that’s your dream, go get it,’ so it’s so crazy that he did that, was it WrestleMania 32, he did that entrance and I was like, ‘how is this possible? It’s so cool! What a dream come true of having a legend in the rap game coming out and doing your entrance? That’s your family member too, so that’s awesome.’

H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcribed quotes

We noted before how Dunkin’ Donuts Center was advertising The WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar for the December 18th episode of Monday Night Raw.

Now WWE has confirmed that the Beast will be returning to their Programming during next week’s episode of the Red Branded Show via the following tweet:

NEXT WEEK: #UniversalChampion @BrockLesnar RETURNS to #RAW with @HeymanHustle, as we are about to learn who his challenger will be at @WWE #RoyalRumble! pic.twitter.com/jcCchh6eoC

— WWE (@WWE) December 12, 2017

As seen in the main event of this week’s Raw, the #1 contenders match between Kane and Braun Strowman ended in a double count out and currently; it’s not known who will challenge Lesnar for his title at Royal Rumble.

– Stone Cold Steve Austin commented on the match between Roman Reigns and Cesaro during last night’s episode of Raw via the following tweet and praised both the stars:

Cesaro and Roman just ripped it up. Real good match. #WWE @WWE

— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) December 12, 2017

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:

Forgive me father for I know not what I do. #OhHellYeah #StoneCold #SteveAustin #Austin316 @SteveAustinBSR pic.twitter.com/gZuBg33U0b

— I Am The One Who Knocks (@NerdxFerguson) December 3, 2017

Austin did his best to try and get the fan not to go through with the tattoo, simply writing “Don’t do it”:

Don’t do it.

— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) December 3, 2017

No word yet on if the fan actually went through with it.

It looks like former WBA, WBO, IBO, and lineal heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury wants a piece of “The Rattlesnake.” Metro.uk reports that Fury told The Gazette in a recent interview that he’s gunning for a match with WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 34 next year.

Fury has promised to fight three times inside the boxing ring next year, but has a long road ahead of him in regards to getting back into fighting shape, and is currently without a boxing license. He hasn’t competed inside the squared circle since November of 2015, but it looks like he’d like a crack at the professional wrestling against Austin: