Steve Austin: "Rock Has Earned The Ability To Come And Go As He Wants"

Steve Austin was a guest on The LAW this past Sunday night chatting about his latest movie Recoil. Here are some highlights (transcribed by Chris Maffei), you can check out the full interview by clicking here.

His progress as an actor: "I think I'm coming along. I watched a movie I just finished with Steven Seagal while I was filming this past movie (Recoil), and I see myself listening more, I'm a little bit more relaxed, so it's coming around. It's just like anything; when you're first doing something, repetition is the key to being good, and working with people that are better than you. I think I'm starting to pick up some of the nuances. I still need to work on character development, but I'm feeling better about it. It's hard for me to watch myself on film. It was hard for me to watch myself in the ring, and I basically had a Ph. D in that world, the world of professional wrestling. I set my goals and my standards high, and I've yet to reach it, but I will."

Talent Having Problems with The Rock returning: "My thoughts on that are, you earn what you get in this business. Rock has earned the ability to come and go as he wants, because the business still needs him, it can still use him, and it can elevate the profile with having such a mainstream guy there. I don't know about the promos between John (Cena) and Rock. I think some of them have gotten kind of personal, you wonder how much of it's a work and how much of it's a shoot. At the end of the day, it's a worked business. Again, I think it's a good thing for Rock to be involved with this. He's earned his right to come and go and do whatever he wants."

Current talent being vocal to creative: "(CM) Punk was a guy, and is a guy who, man, that guy flew by the seat of his pants. He was pissed off, he vented, he cuts great promos. He worked himself out of a bad situation into a great situation. He knew when it was time to pick his spot, when he contract was gonna be up. That guy's been around the horn a few times, and he's been kicked around a little bit. He saw how the other guys were being treated, and he needed, and deserved, and earned the right to be treated in that same fashion. Guys, you gotta pick your spot, but you gotta be vocal. It is a very interesting machine these days. They need voices to question them. They need voices to inspire them, or fuel them, to rethink some of the things that they're doing and make it a better product."

Returning under the right circumstances: "There's nothing up in the air for me. If there's something that presents itself as a business opportunity, then I have an open ear to listen to it. It would have to be right for myself, my opponent, and obviously the company. I'm not lobbying for another match. There's always talk. People ask, 'am I capable of having another match?' Yeah. If I was in a bad situation, I would get back in the ring full time if I had to, but I don't have to. I'm happy doing what I'm doing."

Catch The LAW every Sunday night at 11pm EST with Dan Lovranski, Jason Agnew and John Pollock on TSN 1050 Toronto and online at liveaudiowrestling.com.