-- WWE tapes SmackDown tonight in Austin, Texas at the Frank Erwin center. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane headlines. The match is a no DQ match, and if Bryan loses, he is out of the Royal Rumble match.
-- WWE also tapes Main Event tonight, but that will no longer air on the WWE Network due to a contractual issue with Sky TV in the UK.
-- Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins and Big Show is tonight’s dark match.
Jim Ross spoke with The Mirror promoting the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 show. Check out the highlights:
On Jeff Jarrett contacting him to work GFW: “Jeff made the inroads, he and my business manager worked out the deal, it was a win-win for both of us, so I said ‘I’m in.’ I’m excited about it. I’ve been in this business for 40 years, so when you get a chance to do something new after being around that long, it’s pretty motivating. I look at this as a new adventure, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
On if he’ll do more shows: “I don’t know if I’ll do any more, I don’t know that I want to do any more. If there’s anything after that it’ll be a bonus. But I’m going to do this show, I’m preparing to do this show, like it’s my last major pay-per-view lead play-by-play.”
On his preparation for the show: “I’m not going to phone anything in. I’m going to be prepared. It may not be as smooth as with the WWE guys, because a lot of those guys, in one period in time, I hired, so obviously I knew them well. These are guys I’ve never watched wrestle in person ever. I’m going to let my instincts take over. I think it has the chance to be a good broadcast. People say, ‘Do you know what’s going to happen in the matches?’ Well, yeah, generally, but the less I know the better my performance is.”
On his WWE departure: “I had 21 years there – it wasn’t like I had a brief little run and everything was over. I had a great run in WWE, I went into the Hall of Fame, there were a lot more good days than bad ones. Was it the ideal way to exit? Probably not. I assumed a level of responsibility in that SummerSlam symposium, I was driving the train and the train got off the tracks, so the decision was made that it wasn’t a good thing and I moved on.”
On if he would go back to WWE: “There’s an old expression in wrestling that says ‘never say never’, when you are in my stage of my life, where I’ve been so blessed with this career, I’m not going to tell you that I’d never go [back] but it’d strictly depend on my role and how much time away from home it would demand. I leave the door open. Would I say definitively no, I would never work for WWE again? Absolutely not. It would necessitate me to give it some thought and it would depend on what the job description was and what they wanted me to do. I’m 62, I’ll be 63 in January, I have to be conscious of jobs.”
On the presence of social media in wrestling: “Social media has become a member of the family, whether you want them to move in or not, they’re there. With WWE or any wrestling organisation, you didn’t want to reveal the outcomes of things … it’s like people that review a movie, they’ll do a review with a thumbs up or thumbs down, but I’ve never read a movie review that revealed the end of the movie. In the wrestling world, the spoilers are a big deal, people love to get the news ahead of time, they rush to their computer to get the scoop, and then they give away the ending of the movie. I don’t find that to be the least bit entertaining or necessary information for me. I’d rather not know the ending of the movie until I see it.”
On if TNA has tried to lure him over since he left WWE: “No. They know I don’t have any desire to get back in the weekly grind of that. Dixie and no-one else has asked about me coming back full-time and that’s why this opportunity [with GFW] was so fit really – it was a one-time deal, a one-off. I like knowing I don’t have any pressure on me beyond that, I can focus on this one big event, really try to nail it without any pressure that I’ve got to do something tomorrow, or next week, or next month.”
On John Cena: “Since we signed John Cena, no-one has outworked John Cena. John Cena’s work ethic is beyond reproach. It’s been phenomenal to see what he does and he’s made himself a brand. John was willing to do things that had not been done, he was willing to take a chance – his wrestling attire was non-traditional, he was a Caucasian rapper and that was unique for wrestling, that was bold. Vince made a good point, Cena did all he could to become the guy. Has anyone else since John Cena...
Steve Austin addressed the news of CM Punk signing to the UFC on the latest episode of the Steve Austin Show. Austin said that he had considered trying to be the go-between to get Punk to talk with Vince McMahon, similar to how Jim Ross was that person between Austin and Vince, but that it obviously won’t happen now.
“I think he [Punk] rolls with some [UFC] guys and it’s a very big passion of his,” Austin said. “I wish him all the luck in the world, and I know they’ll do a hell of a big buyrate…Match him up with someone his skill level, it’s hard to gauge what his skill level is though.”
He added, “I talked about maybe bridging the gap with CM Punk and Vince, and then he goes and does the deal with UFC. It would appear to me that they’re way further apart than I thought they were. I knew things were bad and I hadn’t talked to CM Punk, so it’s going to be interesting.”
In an interview with My San Antonio, Hulk Hogan spoke about his desire to tag with and wrestle Steve Austin. Here are highlights:
Also read: Hulk Hogan Says He's A Bigger Legend Than Steve Austin - Disagrees With His Recent CommentsOn Steve Austin: “I’ve been chasing that guy for 25 years. Stone Cold Steve Austin. I would have liked to have tagged with him. And then turn on him right in the middle of it, and then he would have had to wrestle me.”
On his most memorable moment: “My favorite one of all time has to be Andre; the one who changed the game for all of us.”
On Kamala: “He was a little scary, you know, until I got to know him. Once the paint was off and I got to know the Big Jim that owned a barbeque pit in Missouri, I wasn’t worried anymore.”
The following are highlights of WWE Hall Of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin talking about wrestlers facing physical issues with fans inside and outside of the ring during his appearance on the Bro Bible podcast.
On how wrestlers would handle fans jumping into the ring during his days in the business:
Also read: ?Hulk Hogan Caught In Yet Another Lie - Is This Guy Serious?!, Austin Feud, & More"It’s a whole different ballgame these days. In the old days, if a fan stepped into the squared circle, he was considered fair game. Normally, the heel took care of the business at hand, because the babyface was the guy the crowd was supposed to be cheering for but both guys in the ring would have to access the risk. Back in the old days, when wrestlers had genuine heat with fans, you never knew what guys were walking into the ring with."
On wrestlers having to deal with fights outside of the ring:
"As a Hollywood Blonde, Brian Pillman and I had some pretty good heat, but it was well past the time in our industry where you had to worry about a fan trying something on the way back to the dressing room. I’ve heard stories of guys having to fight their way back to the locker room and getting stuck with knives or people try to cut them back when wrestling was quote, unquote real.
I’ve never personally had any altercations with fans in an arena or out in public. The worst I’d get was maybe some drunk guy at a bar wanted to arm wrestle but I’d usually just defuse the situation with a “hey man let me buy you a beer” and things would blow over.
Thankfully, but almost regretfully, none of those old “drunk guy at a bar” ever transcended into an altercation with me just because a wrestler always wants one old war story to tell."
-- Jim Ross's new Ross Report podcast features an interview with ESPN's Michelle Beadle, which you can check out at this link.
-- Steve Austin's latest podcast has an interview up with Vader, which you can check out here.
Also read: Podcast News: Steve Austin, Jim Ross & Chris Jericho Guest's Revealed-- Chris Jericho's latest podcast features TNA's Bully Ray, which you can check out at this link.
-- Roddy Piper's latest podcast features an interview with Sean Stone and Adam Kokesh, which you can check out here.
Time is running out.
If "Stone Cold" Steve Austin doesn't return within the next year or two for a mega-main event at WrestleMania 31 or WrestleMania 32, it seems unlikely that it will ever happen. Rule number one in the world of professional wrestling is "never say never," but if "The Rattlesnake" isn't lured back for a big money WrestleMania match soon, just based on his abilities diminishing with age alone, he physically won't be able to. At that point, you can pretty much throw wrestling's number one rule out the window and definitively say "Steve Austin will never wrestle again."
When Paul Heyman appeared on "The Steve Austin Show," which is my favorite PodcastOne.com weekly wrestling show, he managed to get the WWE Hall Of Famer to admit that a match against Brock Lesnar could potentially be interesting enough to get him to make a return to the ring. After hearing that, every once in a while I'll ponder about who the best person would be to compete with "Stone Cold" if he were willing to return, and was only willing to work one match.
With that being said, I decided to use that idea for my latest eWrestlingNews.com "Top Ten" editorial. We'll call this one, "Top Ten Superstars Steve Austin Should Return To Wrestle." We will take a look at ten-through-six of the countdown, concluding with the top five on Sunday. Let's take a look at who made the bottom-half of my top ten.
...and we're off!
10. Vince McMahon
I highly doubt this one happens for one very specific reason -- Austin has made it clear that he has no interest in returning for a match unless he's able to compete at a certain level. This is why he has turned down offers in the past for a "dream match" against Hulk Hogan at a few different WrestleMania events.
As long as we're looking at things from a hypothetical point of view, however, I feel that the resurgence of the Austin-McMahon feud, which was arguably the most successful and entertaining in history, would be a fun nostalgia program leading into a WrestleMania pay-per-view. The culmination in the match itself would surely be lacking, but in some ways, could be more beneficial to Austin, as I don't believe anyone would go into an Austin vs. McMahon match expecting a "catch-as-catch-can" classic.
Imagine the promos. Imagine the video packages mixing past clips with whatever current segments they would shoot during the build up. Imagine the history between these two being brought back and new chapters being added. It could be a very fun program to watch play out -- and at the same time -- wouldn't effect current up-and-comers, as neither guy is an active regular competitor.
9. Cesaro
If the in-ring performance is as important to "The Rattlesnake" as he says it is, a match against "The King of Swing" could be great for Austin, as it would pretty much be guaranteed to be an excellent match.
In a million years I can't see Austin laying down for the Cesaro Swing, but that's besides the point. I mean hell, there was a solid chunk of time where Austin refused to lay down for The Rock's "People's Elbow" spot because he thought it was a goofy comedy move and not something that belonged in a real pro wrestling match.
Even if Austin refused to do the job in a match against Cesaro, much like any up-and-comers currently on the roster, just getting the chance to rub shoulders with arguably the most successful Superstar in wrestling history would certainly be a great "rub" and would be incredibly beneficial to anyone who would be lucky enough to be on the opposite end of the ring against him.
8. Triple H
These two have history. They are from the same era. Austin got over at a monster level based on his character, one that defied authority.
Did you catch that?
The word "authority." It's not just a bad pun, given the fact that Triple H is the leader of a current little "faction" (if you want to call it that) known as The Authority, it was legitimately the key ingredient in turning "Stone Cold" into a huge box office success story.
The Austin vs. McMahon rivalry and the fact that Austin beat his bosses ass on a regular basis, is something that could be played out in a seamless fashion with WWE's modern story lines. Austin vs. Triple H. Good old "Stone Cold" back to buck tradition, defy authority, or in this case -- The Authority, all leading to one final showdown between "The Rattlesnake" and "The Game." There is definitely some potential there.
7. Bray Wyatt
Much like the case made for Cesaro above, if WWE wants to use Austin to give a rub to someone they plan on having a bright future in the company, there are few...
In addition to USA Today (as Ryan noted earlier), Stone Cold Steve Austin is getting major media coverage in other major media outlets such as People Magazine's website, MSNBC, the Washington Post, and Deadspin for his comments on his podcast on same sex marriage. You can listen to Austin's comments from his podcast below. Warning: NSFW language.
Author link: Current WWE Diva's topless movie scene
-- USA Today picked up Steve Austin coming out in support of gay marriage on his podcast. You can checkout the article at this link.
-- WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross posted the following on Twitter, discussing his new project for FOX Sports…
Birthdate: 10/26/1978 (age 36) Height: 6'2" Weight: 218 Ib He was titled in the WWE as "the longest-reigni... 
Birthdate: 08/24/1945 (age 69) Height: 6'2" Weight: 248 Ib Vince McMahon is credited with being the greate... 
Birthdate: 12/18/1964 (age 49) Height: 6'2" Weight: 252 Ib Steve Austin gained significant mainstream popu... 
Birthdate: 12/18/1964 (age 49) Height: 6'2" Weight: 252 Ib Steve Austin gained significant mainstream popu... Did narration today for @FOXSports1 TV feature that's airing Monday night on the boxing son of the late Tommy Morrison. More details soon.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) April 23, 2014
