Steve Austin Talks Being Backstage At RAW, What Cena Wants, Rey's Rumble Booking, Daniel Bryan
WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin talked about being backstage at RAW last Monday night on The Steve Austin Show. Austin noted that he has been wanting to feature more WWE talent on his podcast and that he likes talking to people face to face so he went to the show to conduct interviews for his podcast.
Austin noted that he recorded interviews with John Cena, Dutch Mantel (Zeb Colter), The Big Show and William Regal.
Austin first put over Regal, and noted that he lost a recent interview that he conducted with him. He talked about hitting it off with Regal "from day one," and that it was great reconnecting with him and getting to interview him again.
He said that he hasn't seen Dutch in many years, although they have spoken on the phone a few times. He talked about riding with Dutch early in his career, and said that the interview with him would be up soon.
Austin said that he interviewed Cena next, who is "stringing together one of the greatest runs in the history of the professional wrestling business." He said that Cena has been on top for a long time for a reason, and that he is looking for dance partners looking to up their game. He talked about Cena's busy schedule, and how he had been interviewing Cena for 15 minutes before realizing that he had the pause button on. He restarted the conversation, and said that it was a hell of a chat.
After Cena, Austin went on The Big Show's tour bus and noted that it was a "nice ass bus." He said that he didn't see Show at first, but smelled something funky and realized that Show was in the bathroom. He said that the interview with Show was cut a little short because Show had to go out for the segment with Betty White on RAW.
Austin told backstage stories about meeting The Road Dogg, his old drinking buddy Lilian Garcia, The Brooklyn Brawler, Harvey Wippleman, Kevin Dunn, his old travelling partner Billy Gunn, Dolph Ziggler, Batista and Mark Henry. He saw Stephanie McMahon, who looked "like a million bucks" and gave her a hug, but didn't see Triple H.
He said that Vince McMahon grabbed him from behind and joked that he should have given him the Stunner. Austin then said that he gave McMahon a big hug but that they didn't get to talk too much. He later noted that Vince seemed pre-occupied and that "he has a lot going on" with WrestleMania and the Network launch.
Austin then ran into Rey Mysterio, and joked about how he was booked to be #30 in The Royal Rumble, when everyone was expecting Daniel Bryan. He jokingly asked Rey who he had heat with to get that spot, and said that he would have flown down to be in the Rumble to protect Rey. "Don't f-ck Rey over like that, he's a god damn babyface!," Austin joked. He talked about the booking error with putting Rey in at #30, and said that it would have been an opportune spot for a hot heel like Wade Barrett.
Austin also ran into Dean Ambrose, and later Seth Rollins. Austin gave Rollins crap for falling over the barricade on RAW a few weeks ago, and noted that he's been there. He didn't get to meet Roman Reigns, though. He also ran into Bray Wyatt, and said that he was a fan of Bray's when he was Husky Harris. He's glad that the "Husky Harris" backfired because it had shades of the Ringmaster, and it allowed them to re-think things and get him something that works. He saw Erick Rowan too, and wanted to meet Luke Harper because he had some constructive advice for him, but he didn't see him.
He talked about seeing Cameron, who was the first person eliminated on the season of Tough Enough that he hosted. He recalled telling her that she has a place in the business because she's intelligent and attractive, and he was right.
Austin noted that it was an "interesting atmosphere," and that some people are walking around on eggshells. He said that there's a high degree of professionalism, but people seem a little scared to take chances because WWE is the only game in town. He hopes that people start taking more chances "within reason," and if they don't have a character that works, to talk to Vince and try to come up with something different. He said that Vince is a businessman and will take the time to listen to people if they have a good idea.
Austin noted that he saw Daniel Bryan at the end, and said to keep pushing him and "do the right thing."
The show is – as always – a great listen. You can listen to the full episode here, Austin's comments about visiting RAW begin at the 16:25 mark. Just a note that it's on the "Unleashed!" version of the podcast, which contains some strong language.
Source: The Steve Austin Show