Notes On Steve Austin, Plus Victoria Overlooked?, More Notes
The upcoming May issue of the WWE Magazine will feature Stone Cold Steve Austin. He delivers the dish on Hollywood, beer and his new movie The Condemned.
Steve Austin claims that Hollywood has ignored professional wrestling as a potential launching platform and that it will be surprised by the box-office performance of The Condemned, which opened up over the weekend. Austin, who stars in the film, told Thursday's San Francisco Chronicle: "I come with a built-in, hard-core audience. ... That's one thing Hollywood doesn't understand here. Wrestling isn't just a couple guys beating each other up. ... It's bigger than that. It's a violent Broadway show, with a worldwide audience fan base. There are hardcore wrestling fans who will come out to see us, and then there are hardcore Stone Cold fans." Austin told the Chronicle that Hollywood executives have frequently questioned whether his stardom in the wrestling ring could translate onto the screen. "I hold [ticket sales] records that won't ever be broken, pay-per-view, arenas. ... I got fans worldwide. ... Guys who go to the top in this business aren't stupid. Dummies don't make lots of money."
Victoria has posted up a new blog on her MySpace page. She says that a relative diagnosed with terminal cancer passed away while she was on WWE's drawn-out European tour. However, her family didn't want to notify her and upset her while she was in a different continent. She made plans to fly straight from Europe to Vegas after the tour, where the ill relative lived, but he passed away before she could say goodbye to him. Victoria said, "I am devastated that I didn't get to say goodbye to someone who was so important to me. I don't want condolences. That is not why I'm mentioning this. I would like to somehow make something positive out of this. But it also makes me look at my lifestyle and my occupation." Victoria then talks about her current place in wrestling. "I love to wrestle. I LOVE to wrestle. Nothing I have ever done in my life comes close to stepping out in front of 20,000 fans, live on national TV, and giving my all in a match that brings fans to their feet. Nothing comes close. So I give everything I have to this business. You have to. That's what this business is. I have made that choice. You give everything, and it takes everything. I have worked to be the best wrestler that I can be. And I am still working. But this work takes a toll on your body, and on your personal life. And like everyone who works anywhere, sometimes you feel like you work hard, and you get overlooked. I worry that this may be the legacy of Victoria. But I know this business. That's what it is. I take the bad with the good. I know this business, and I have made that choice," Voctoria said.
There is no truth to the rumors of Rikishi supposedly signing on with WWE.