As we noted before, during a recent episode of Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast, Roberts shared an old, unheard interview of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Below are some more highlights from the interview where Austin talks about abruptly leaving WWE and later making peace with the company:

‘Walking out’ of WWE in 2002:

“When I look back, I was running so hard and the level of intensity was so hot and I was just white-hot in the business and I made a knee-jerk reaction to, they wanted me to do a job in Atlanta [Georgia] in a really non-publicized match with Brock and I thought that was real piss-poor business and it was, I’ve always been willing to do business, when it was time to do business, but that wasn’t business. When you have a guy, and I never blow smoke up my own ass, but when you have a guy like me that draws big money, you don’t just job him out on a bulls–t Monday night TV, so I got to jazz up the language because that was something I was very passionate about and it really comes from my heart and my guts. That being said, I shouldn’t’ve got on an airplane and taken my ball and went home as they said. But hindsight being 20/20, yeah, I should’ve [gone] to the arena. I should’ve talked to Vince and said, ‘I’m not doing it,’ but just stayed with the company.”

How he would have handled the situation differently today:

“I would have handled the situation much differently today and it would’ve been great had I handled it differently back then. I lost a lot of money. They lost a lot of momentum. We all lost a lot of money and the crowd lost a part of the product that they loved to watch.”

Jim Ross helping him in making peace with the company:

“That was a year out of my life and because of the personality type that I am, had it not been for Jim Ross sending me a card in the mail, saying, ‘hey, if you ever want to talk, I’m here.’ And I picked up my phone and we talked for two hours and he put me back in touch with Vince and me and Vince buried the hatchet. Had it not been for Jim Ross, I had already basically told the company to go f–k themselves without saying that. I was just not going to have anything to do with them.”

Another ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin:

“I would love to see another ‘Stone Cold’ come around and I hope to see it. I really do because I would love to see my records smashed and watch what this new cat does and how he does it. But with that being said, it’s going to be tough to do, but I’m looking forward to it.”

You can check out some more highlights from Steve Austin’s interview including his comments on why he stopped wrestling here.

Quotes via WrestlingInc

During the latest episode of Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast, Sam Roberts shared an old interview from 2010 with none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin. In the never-heard-before interview, Austin discussed a number of wrestling related topics. Below are some of the highlights from it:

Why he stopped wrestling:

“The reason I got out of professional wrestling was because my body said, ‘hey Steve, you’ve had enough.’ And, like I tell everybody, and it’s also true, I could get a couple of more years out of my body. I could, but why? I had a very physical, aggressive style; I took hard, fast, quick bumps; the piledriver in ’96 or ’97, whatever it was, took its toll. Now, I’m 100% as far as doing normal human being stuff, but it was time for me to ride off into the sunset and preserve my health. And I want to live an active life for 10 to 20, 30 more years doing the stuff that I do, riding my dirt bikes, four-wheelers, and the outdoor stuff that I love to do for a long, long time. And it was just time.”

If Hulk Hogan is ruining his legacy by competing past his prime:

“That’s interesting. I get asked the question, ‘is he ruining his legacy?’ and I think I always respected what that guy did with his career, an unbelievable box office draw and a charismatic performer that so many people grew up [watching] and idolized. A lot of respect [for] him and that as far as what he did. I don’t like to talk too much about what are these guys doing still in the ring. That’s a personal decision. I made mine to get out and I live with that decision. I’m cool with it and I’m sure he’s cool with what he’s doing if he’s still doing it.”

The relationship between him and Hogan:

“Me and Terry [Hogan’s shoot first name] don’t trade phone calls. We’re not the best of friends. We’re not enemies. People say what they want to say or try to stir up animosity. I don’t hold anything against the guy. At the end of the day, we’re two of the guys. We’re pro wrestlers. We have a lot of things in common, [and] a lot of things that aren’t in common. But he does what he does and I think it is what it is. That’s all I can say.”

Quotes via WrestlingInc

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 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.

Many people have shown their displeasure with the finish of the match between Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman at No Mercy mainly because of the fact that Braun was built as a strong force before the PPV and fans did not expect him to lose after just one F5.

Stone Cold Steve Austin appeared on the Baby Huey & Bimbo Jimbo on 107.7 The Bone to promote the season premiere of Broken Skull Challenge and supported the comments of the fans unhappy with the main event.

Austin revealed that he hasn’t seen the match yet but said that if Brock really beat Braun with a single F5 then he agrees that it wasn’t a good call:

“They have built Braun to be The Monster Among Men, and to me maybe you got to have something, a couple of F-5s or something to put a chink in the armor before the F-5 to keep Braun Strowman The Monster Among Men down for a three count. I have not seen the match, but from what you guys are telling me I would probably would tend to agree.”

He also talked about the mix reaction John Cena and Roman Reigns get from the crowd and said that it doesn’t mean that the heel-face dynamic in the wrestling business has taken a shift:

“I think it’s just the way those people take those characters. I think heels and faces are still heels and faces…Here’s the thing everybody loves and respects John Cena whether they are hating on him or loving him. That guy has had an unbelievable career. Roman because I think people think that he was shoved down their throat for so long have a tendency to want to boo him. He’s got a ways to go he’s still learning and developing, but Cena you look at the career that guy’s had, it’s been flat out amazing. People appreciate and respect that guy I don’t care what they say.”

You can listen to the full interview of Stone Cold Steve Austin here.

– Mae Young Classic finalist Shayna Baszler was backstage during last night’s (Thurs. September 14, 2017) NXT TV tapings at Full Sail University. She was not working the tapings and there is no confirmation on whether or not she has signed with the company. There has been a ton of speculation on her status with the WWE since Triple H took to Twitter to welcome her and tournament winner Kairi Sane to the WWE prior to the finals.

– WWE Superstar Sasha Banks was featured on the latest episode of Champs Sports’ “Her Take,” in an interview filmed at the WWE Performance Center In Florida. During the interview Banks did a segment in which she has to choose between two things. “The Legit Boss” picked WWE NXT over RAW, Chyna over Sable, and Stone Cold Steve Austin over The Rock. Banks explained her pick of Austin over Rock, saying that “The Texas Rattlesnake” once DM’d her on Twitter to congratulate her on one of her matches. Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0rKR9klFKs&feature=youtu.be

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 Wrap at 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.”

H/T EWrestlingNews for the transcriptions

Former ECW World Heavyweight Champion and ECW Original Mikey Whipwreck recently did an interview with The Two Man Power Trip Of Wresting podcast to talk about his professional wrestling career. During the interview, Whipwreck discussed winning the ECW Title, working with WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin during his stint with ECW, and what he thought of Paul Heyman after ECW closed up shop. Here are the highlights:

Winning the ECW World Title back in 1995:

“That is one of those this is not going to happen things. The TV title (okay very good), with Cactus Jack (a mark out moment for me) but now the World Champion part I thought there is no way. I said to myself this is where it would end because right now after I win this thing than the people are going to turn on me and hate my f*cking guts.

“I wouldn’t say they hated my guts but the win I had over Steve Austin was the beginning of the change and the frustration for me. It got to a now what? Because where do I go from there? I had this character that I could only evolve to a certain point so it was there that I started to get frustrated at that point. I almost thought where do I go now?”

Working with Stone Cold Steve Austin during his brief run with ECW:

“I wrestled Mysterio the night before and I beat him and I thought that since I beat Rey now I’ll lose to Steve the next night and when I saw Steve that afternoon he told me that he was putting me over. I thought it was a f*cking rib. I asked Paul about it and he said that it was Steve’s idea to put me over because for him to beat me doesn’t do anything and we can’t put the belt on him so he wants to put me over. For me it was a huge holy sh*t moment. He was so great to deal with. He didn’t call anything but the finish.

“The next month we did the three-way with Sandman and Austin and that was cluster f*ck central. I hated that match. I hated calling it, I hated doing it, I don’t even think I’ve watched it since but I still hate it now. I don’t even know if it was any good or not it was just a frustrating match to call and it didn’t seem to work.”

What he thought of Paul Heyman after ECW closed its doors:

“I am sure that Paul did not want the thing to go out of business. I am sure that Paul did not want to be a cog in the wheel working for Vince. It is (one of those) if he could have kept it going he would but I just think the time came that he couldn’t do it anymore and that was just it. It is not like he was getting rich but nobody else was. He owed everybody money and the way he did it was kind of sh*tty because he could have given everybody the heads up that look guys this is it and it’s done but everybody kind of found out for sure when he showed up on RAW. That was kind of the beginning of the end there.”

Listen to Whipwreck’s full interview on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling here.

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?

The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin put on one of the most storied rivalries in the WWE’s Attitude Era. One of the most entertaining aspects of Rock and Austin’s rivalry was how much “The Brahma Bull” would over-sell the Stone Cold Stunner. There are plenty of compilation videos online showing all the various over-sells Rock did while being stunned, often flipping and bouncing off the ropes, nearly doing a cartwheel, and wiggling around on the mat like a fish out of water.

Recently, Hannibal Buress took to his podcast to talk about how much The Rock would over-sell when being stunned with his friend Tony Trimm. You can check that clip out here:

https://twitter.com/hannibalburess/status/890609537325031425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwnerd.com%2Frock-reveals-reason-exaggerated-sells-stone-cold-stunner%2F

Rock took to Twitter to respond to Hannibal, revealing that he and Austin would actually bet cases of beer to see how crazy he could get while selling the stunner:

My dude. Appreciate it HB. Me and @steveaustinBSR used to bet cases of beer on how crazy I could get with my "sell" of his famous Stunner.?? https://t.co/VtTmqI1jkW

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) July 27, 2017

Discussion: What’s your favorite Rock-Austin stunner?

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin and Jim Ross recently took to Austin’s podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to do a bit of fantasy booking within the WWE. One such fantasy match-up that Ross brought up was a program between former WWE Champion AJ Styles and former NXT champ Shinsuke Nakamura:

“I think Shinsuke Nakamura, we haven’t seen his best yet and I think AJ Styles may be as good of a worker as I’ve seen in years. He may be the best worker in the world right now.” Ross recalled, “you felt something in the crowd at [WWE Money In The Bank] with Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ.

“The fans that’ve followed their career know they’ve got a great history. And they’ve, I’ve seen it, had one of the best matches I’ve ever seen with Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ. We haven’t seen that yet in Shinsuke, but that WrestleMania match would be a great wrestling match.”

Austin also liked the idea, dubbing Styles the best worker in the world and believes he could bring out the best in Nakamura:

“I know that Styles is going to bring the best out of Shinsuke because I don’t think, from what I’ve seen, we’ve seen Shinsuke’s best in [WWE].” Austin added, “I’m sure he will get the best of of that guy. I’m sure they’re great friends from way back or whatever the deal is. But from what I know of AJ, if Shinsuke’s going to really work his ass off, it’s going to be with Styles.”

“The Texas Rattlesnake” then expressed his disappointment for the way WWE has been booking Nakamura as of late, claiming they’ve been using him as just  “another Joe Blow”:

“You bring him over and he’s going 30-minute broadways with half the damn roster. Debuted down there in WrestleMania 32, NXT, with Sami Zayn, hell of a match. Hell of a match! A lot of credit to Sami Zayn and Shinsuke, but here’s ‘The King Of Strong Style’ and all-of-a-sudden, he comes in and he’s working Dolph [Ziggler] and it took him a long time to finish off Dolph for ‘The King Of Strong Style’.

“Do you understand where I’m going with this gimmick? That’s booking though. What is the plan? You’ve got this guy who’s one of those talents that just don’t come around every single day. He’s special. He comes in and you treat him like he’s another Joe Blow.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions 

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?”

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to talk about a number of professional wrestling topics. “The Texas Rattlesnake” discussed Roman Reigns and praised his in-ring work, as well as explaining why WWE shouldn’t turn “The Big Dog” heel anytime soon. He also offered his thoughts on Big Cass turning heel on his longtime tag team partner Enzo Amore. You can check out the highlights here below:

Roman Reigns’ storylines being ‘on and off’:

“I think he [has] got a great physique, a good looking guy, a pretty damn good worker. Storylines have been kind of on and off, hot/cold. Roman Reigns in and of himself, I think he has ‘star’ written all over him. He has still got to find his way. He still has to climb his way up the ladder. He’s built to take the road. He’s always in shape. He doesn’t get gassed out in his matches. There’s a lot to like about the guy, so when they came out as The Shield, those three guys, him, Seth [Rollins], and Dean Ambrose, when they came out as The Shield, they were really hot as heels.

“And all of a sudden, they split them up. And Roman, I don’t know, came out of that… All of those guys had to find their way and Vince [McMahon] kind of picked him to be the babyface and because of the response he was getting when he hit the ring. He really draws your attention. If they get his storylines straightened out, I think the kid’s going to be fine. I just think they need to keep running him like they’re running him. He’s doing [well] in the ring. I loved his matches with AJ.”

Why Reigns shouldn’t turn heel:

“I think you keep him on the road that he’s on and you don’t turn him heel just for the sake of turning him heel to make the fans happy because you’re not pushing him anymore because if you’re going to turn him heel, you’re going to push him even harder. Then, if you were tired of him to begin with because he was overpushed to begin with, in your opinion, then you’re not going to like him as a heel either.

“So if he keeps going down the road in the fashion that he is, but then turns, in an organic fashion, heel, when the time is right, or just stays down the road, the kid is going to be just fine.” Austin added, “he still has things to learn in the ring. He still has to work at getting to the top level, but he’s a top guy, in my opinion.”

Comparing Reigns’ fan reaction to John Cena’s:

“Look at John Cena. Now, he [has] been on top for over 10 years and has had a [pro wrestling] career that is absolutely phenomenal, but he still sometimes has those divided chants. But, nonetheless, there’s electricity in the air and everybody is engaged. And he has been able to have such a strong mindset to not get in his head and mess with him. That’s the confidence of John Cena. I think that Roman Reigns has the same type of confidence and self-belief that he is going to weather those bad chants and he’ll end up getting over.”

“He’s starting to loosen up and show some personality and I like it. And so I’m looking forward to see Roman keep developing. To me, here’s a guy who’s starting to get some confidence behind him.” Austin continued, “whatever role Roman’s in, he’s really settling into a groove here. I have here Braun [Strowman] is really over as a baby. Roman continues to get over. I’m really looking forward to this match.”

Big Cass’ singles run:

“All he has to do is good, solid work. Don’t fly like a cruiserweight. Don’t worry about taking the big bumps. Just work logic. Be mean. Be vicious. Sell when it’s your time to sell. Don’t turn into super coward mode. Don’t oversell. Just sell. And learn. And sometimes when you’re working a guy that’s smaller than you, register and if they get you into sell mode, then you sell, but be vicious in your heat. Good luck to Big Cass. Good luck to both of them.”

Austin said, “right now, in this heel vein that he’s going, maybe even heel Barry Windham. But I liked Barry better as a baby. I don’t want to say Bruiser [Brody] because anybody could study Bruiser because of just the generality of what he did was awesome.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin is very impressed with what Kenny Omega has been doing over in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Austin took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to throw a ton of praise Omega’s way and stated that he believes he could be ‘THE’ guy in the WWE. “The Texas Rattlesnake” then called for Omega to get a ‘green-light push’ if he were to be brought in by WWE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkK4uRjo2Qk

“I think he could be the next big thing in the United States, I think he could be THE guy. First of all if that is what he wanted to do. If WWE brought him in and gave him everything that he needed or pushed him in the way that he needed to be pushed. If it was a green-light push and everything was all systems go on making Kenny Omega the guy, he could be the guy”

“What I mean by green light push is all systems go, all the doors are open. He is not in a box. Don’t prevent him from getting over. Whatever he wants to do, let him go out there and do. The way that it has worked in Japan”

H/T IWNerd for the transcriptions

Former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian took to their podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, and touched on the importance of young talent asking veteran workers for advice as much as possible. Both men noted how they received advice from the likes of The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin, however, it was Christian’s story about advice he received from Austin that stole the show.

“Captain Charisma” spoke about his respect for Austin and how “The Texas Rattlesnake” used to stay late at shows and watch every match on the card. One night Christian asked Austin to watch his match and give him some pointers on how he could improve, and the critique the WWE Hall Of Famer provided Christian with was priceless:

“I remember asking him specifically “Hey, can you watch my match tonight? I’m trying to get better as a singles performer.” And Steve doesn’t pull punches, he’s a straight shooter. I came back from the match… and Steve is a friend of mine. I thought he’d be like “Hey, this is a buddy”, the crowd was reacting, match was good, got reactions.

“I’ll never forget it… I walked back and said “What did you think?” He looked me straight in the eyes and said “Why don’t you learn how to f**king sell?” Then he walked away. I was like “Whoa. Hold on a second here. What?” I went back and watched a bunch of my matches and realized “He’s right. I don’t sell enough”

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.”

H/T Wrestling Inc for the transcriptions

Mojo Rawley has received quite a bit of a singles push during the absence of his tag team partner, Zack Ryder, from the ring. Rawley won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33 earlier this year, after receiving some assistance from New England Patriots’ Tight End Rob Gronkowski. He was even given a one-on-one match against WWE Champion Jinder Mahal on SmackDown Live, which he ultimately lost. Rawley has also been given the opportunity to show off his skills on the microphone on WWE TV – and those skills haven’t gone unnoticed.

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to praise the “Hype Bros” member’s recent performance on the mic, and raved about the former football star’s charisma:

“Just as far as the charisma of this guy, he’s got something…he’s got a real ease with words and I thought the way he presented them came off as organic as hell”

“For those people that are trying to cut a promo, watch how easy this guy pulls this thing off. It is not like he has been around the horn for a million years either and he’s only going to get better. I thought it was a really solid interview by the kid backstage”

H/T IWNerd for the transcriptions

Former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian recently took to their podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to talk about some of the best and worst gimmicks in WWE history. Some superstars brought up included The Undertaker, Kane, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and more. Here are the highlights:

Edge on Kane’s string of failed personas:

“There’s a guy, okay, Isaac Yankem, then, new Diesel, and just, he’s too good to deny. And then, thankfully, finally, they realized, ‘okay, let’s do something with him.'” Edge said, “how thankful do you think he [has] got to be after trying to make all of those gimmicks work and then [to hear], ‘okay, you’re going to be The Undertaker’s brother, Kane’?”

Christian on Kane being too good to be held back by failed gimmicks:

“He probably did everything he could to make those other [gimmicks] work, right? So it’s one of those ones where you get out what you put in. And he might not necessarily like those ones, but he always did the best with what he had. And plus, he just looked so unique. He had the size. He was good, still is good, that eventually something was going to work out for him.”

Edge on Undertaker becoming the new Andre The Gian with his gimmick:

“On paper, does The Undertaker [gimmick] sound like something that will go on to be undefeated at WrestleMania for like 22 years, and be the tentpole holding up the company at certain times, and kind of the measuring stick within the [pro] wrestling industry, more or less, the new Andre The Giant?” Edge added, “it sounds like the shelf life isn’t going to be that long.”

Christian on nobody else being able to pull off the Undertaker gimmick:

“The thing is too, I honestly believe if it was on anybody but The Undertaker, it wouldn’t’ve worked. It would’ve had that shelf life, but because he personified it and he embraced it and he became The Undertaker. You just had to look at him. He had everything down, the movements, he had the entrance, and when he did his entrance, people still when they hear that gong, they stand up. It has become this revered character. He’s also one of the most revered guys in the locker room. But I don’t think it would have had much lasting power if it had been anybody but him doing it. I don’t think anybody could do the character the way that he has done it.”

Edge on Taker switching over to “The American Badass” gimmick to refresh “The Deadman” persona:

“I mean, probably. I think one of the keys to longevity in [pro] wrestling, especially if you are going to remain the same character is the fact that you have to change it sometimes. Otherwise, it gets stagnant. It can still be a lighter shade or a darker shade, but The Undertaker went through many different phases like that. It was the Ministry [Of Darkness] Undertaker for a little while, which got even darker. And then, I think it just came a point where he had to switch it up.

“I also think that the reason it switched up is that he actually wanted to wrestle more because, as The Undertaker in the first kind of incarnation of it, the character kind of pigeonholed how much he could actually wrestle and he’s a guy who can really work. So while he was working the gimmick initially, you couldn’t go out and have the type of matches he could actually have, so I think ‘The American Bad Ass’ was a way to segue into being able to get in there with Kurt Angle and have amazing matches, technical matches too.” Edge professed, “you had to have that segue to have The Undertaker that we have now.”

Christian on “The Ringmaster” gimmick not fitting Steve Austin’s look:

“I not really sure if it was a gimmick or really just a name, but the name didn’t fit the look. Do you know what I mean? He had the bald head, huge legs, well-built. He was full-steam ahead when he was in the ring. Yeah, [Austin wore green trunks as ‘The Ringmaster’ because he was with ‘The Million Dollar Man’, right? But, like I said, I don’t think the name fit the character [or] what he looked like. Do you know what I mean? And I think, to his credit, that he was not only good enough, but had the guts, I guess, to take the reins and change it into ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and make it the way he wanted it to be and like [Edge] said, become the biggest draw in the history of the company.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

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.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

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.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcribed quotes

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 his return to the company. You can check out highlights from their conversation here:

Nobody but Mark Calaway could’ve been able to portray ‘The Undertaker’ character:

“It’s iconic. No, I don’t [think anyone else could have pulled off The Undertaker gimmick]. It also gets into Mark’s temperament as a human being. That’s who he is. He is Cool Hand Luke. He is the king of the locker room. He is that. Everything is measured and reserved. That’s how he works. His punches are thrown for a reason, not just to throw punches in bunches, but thrown for specific reasons and things like that. Moves are not wasted, so that is who he is as an individual.”

Getting heat from The Undertaker’s mom:

“I got heat for that from his mom! Oh my God! I got heat from that. It happened. I did. I tatered the hell out of him. But that was the week before, the go-home WrestleMania in Brooklyn [New York] and something went awry. We were throwing hands and we were outside. I went to hit him with the monitor or something and it was stuck, so, all of a sudden, he sits up and I’m like, ‘well, he’s a big dude.’ I was like, ‘what am I going to do?’ So I panicked a little bit. I didn’t quite get my range, so I wasn’t completely looking at him and I went ‘whack!’ And I stuck it out there and I felt it. It went, ‘thunk!’ I went, ‘oh my God!’ I saw his eyes roll back into his head for a minute. He looked at me, and as soon as I saw that trickle of blood come down, I went, ‘I’m dead.’ So what do I do? I quickly get on him and whack, whack, whack. ‘I may as well get them in now and give him a couple of extra!'”

“Oh, he crushed me. He crushed me. In the beginning of that match with Taker, we’re doing stuff and we’re throwing hands. When we’re throwing, we already had the deal that we’re going to go. We’re starting to throw and we’re tagging. And then, one thing, he hit me and I just went into my own little world for a second, protect mechanism a little bit and then I leg-kick him. It went, ‘whack,’ and, and all of a sudden, he looked at me and he goes, ‘ouch’ and I saw it and he was hot. At some point he had grounded me and I was gassed, so I’m like, ‘let me catch my breath for a minute,’ so I’m laying in the fetal position totally relaxing because I know he’s about to go do something else. I got maybe 20 seconds to catch my breath. I’m taking big breaths in. My eyes are closed and my face’s flat on the canvas and he bear paw’s me, ‘whack!’, wide open jaw. All of a sudden, I’ve got those gold glitters when you get hit hard.”

Making his WrestleMania 32 entrance with his sons:

“I asked them maybe five minutes before they came out. I said, ‘do you guys want to come out with me?’ And they were like, ‘really?’ and I was like, ‘oh yeah.’ So when they came out, they just took to it like water out there. Like, I couldn’t believe it. Like, my two older boys, specifically. I was like, ‘look at these little guys!'”

Jumping off Hell In A Cell at WrestleMania and warning his wife:

“Well, I made the mistake once of doing something and not smartening her up and I was in the doghouse forever. So now I smarten her up on the potential of things like that happening. She knew, she knew. She was just like, ‘be careful.'”

Taking big bumps: 

“Straight up, I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to nail this thing.’ That’s it. So I get up there. Here we go and jump off.” McMahon continued, “oh my God, stiff. I cracked two ribs on my right side. Yeah, at least two because it was sore for about [eight or nine weeks] ribs suck to heal.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcribed quotes

-Nia Jax was very happy that she has an official action figure. Jax pointed out how figure was anatomically correct and that she was a fan of it.

I’m blown away that I actually have an official action figure! I absolutely LOVE that it is anatomically correct! Shows off all my curves. Yes, I have curves & yes I am an athlete & YES I am beautiful! Growing up playing with barbies it was hard to relate to the stick skinny dolls that I played with. Now I am a curvy action figure that young girls who are #NotLikeMost can play & relate to! #PowerOfBeingYou #NotLikeMostGirls #JaxJungle #Curvy #LoveYourself

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSBnmK4jr0x/?taken-by=niajaxwwe&hl=en

• Steve Austin posted a video on his Instagram account of an alligator at the Broken Skull Ranch. Austin referred to the alligator as Al E. Gator.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSCxg9xlSxT/?taken-by=steveaustinbsr

The WWE recently posted an article and listed 5 people that could replace Mick Foley as Raw GM. Foley was fired from the position on this past week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. Here are the names included on the list.

Eric Bischoff

Bischoff has already played the role of Raw GM before. It didn’t end well for him, as he was fired and thrown into the back of a garbage truck. Eric Bischoff will be inducting Diamond Dallas Page into the WWE Hall of Fame during Wrestlemania weekend. Bischoff returning to weekly television as the Raw GM is pretty unlikely.

 Stone Cold Steve Austin

Stone Cold and Vince McMahon have quite the history. While it would be entertaining to see Austin, Stephanie McMahon Triple H have a power struggle on Raw every week, it most likely will not happen. Austin has a very successful podcast and hosts a reality show. Austin has been Co-General Manager with Eric Bischoff and even played the role of CEO for a brief period of time.

Jim Cornette

There is absolutely no chance in hell that this would ever happen. It is borderline miraculous that Jim Cornette is even a part of Wrestlemania weekend this year. Cornette also hosts a very successful podcast, in which he often mercilessly bashes the WWE product and the performers involved in the company. I think this would easily be the most entertaining Raw GM but this would never happen. Jim Cornette will inducting the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express into the WWE Hall of Fame. Cornette has often bashed the WWE Hall of Fame in the past and claimed that the WWE Hall of Fame is just another marketing creation by Vince McMahon. It will no doubt be must-see television when Cornette inducts the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express during Wrestlemania 33 weekend.

Edge

This one is intriguing. Edge would be an interesting Raw GM and would certainly challenge Triple H and Stephanie McMahon on their shenanigans. I can’t imagine that Edge would want to return to the weekly travel grind that is professional wrestling to play a fictional general manager. However, if he was to be the next Raw GM I think it would be a solid choice. Edge & Christian also have a podcast that launched today. Their first guest was WWE Universal Champion Goldberg and you can check that out by clicking here.

Kurt Angle

Out of all the names on this list, this one seems the most likely. Angle has made it known that he wants to wrestle again in the WWE and is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during Wrestlemania weekend. Behind the scenes, Angle and the WWE have had a rocky relationship over the years. The WWE might be hesitant to have Angle return to the ring right away and would want to make sure he is 100% healthy if they chose to do so. Angle as the Raw GM makes perfect sense because it introduces Angle back to the WWE Universe and allows the WWE to build a storyline that hopefully will lead to the in-ring send-off that Angle deserves.