Transcript
The following program is a podcast, Wine.com Production from Hollywood, California, by way of the Broken Skull Ranch. This is the Steve Austin show. Give me a hell. Yeah, yeah. Now here's Steve Austin. All right, everybody wanted a big stone cold podcast coming to you from the main streets of Anaheim, California. Normally operate out of three 16 Gimmick Street, but I'm waiting here for the Big Show. He is my guest tonight while I buy a little time for the big show to get here. I want to throw out a couple of shout outs. First, want to throw out two is two Daniel Bryan. Well, I'll tell you what. Last week that promo at the end of the show riding off into the sunset. I'm going to be real honest with you. I am known as the toughest S.O.B. to ever lace up a pair of boots in the squared circle at the WWE. And that promo left me with a tear in my eye that trickled down my cheek. Daniel Bryan, you had a hellacious career. I enjoyed all of your work. You earned my respect, and I'm so proud of everything that you were able to accomplish. So sorry to see you go. I've been down that road before to swig a beer. I'll catch you down the road. I'm proud of you, and I want to throw a shout out to Bret Hart, one of my toughest opponents, one of the people that I have the utmost respect for, and a very close friend who just went through prostate cancer surgery. Bret. I left your voicemail. I said, I love you. And I mean that I know I speak for the entire WWE universe that wishes you all the best and to stay strong and to please continue your fight and to get better. And we'll see you down the road. Hey, man, I could sit here and talk all day long and I will. I'm waiting on a big show. I got a hell of a kick out of watching that last little segment there. I was compelled to get out of my chair, run to the ring, stomp a mud hole in the white families a*s and walk it dry. But since I was all mixed up left here to my own devices and sipping on a cold beverage, I chose to wait for the big show. I continue to wait for this man. He's the largest athlete in the world. So what am I going to do? Run out there and drag his a*s in or sit here and wait. I'm going to sit here and wait for the big show to come in and start my conversation. I feel him coming nearer, I smell him coming here. Come on, bring your big a*s in, I'm waiting on you. Jiminy Cricket on a popsicle stick table. Left camera, right? I got to do. I don't run over the stern pervert. When did you blow up your slamming? Oh dude, you shouldn't have, but I'm glad you did. Hey, little speech here. I'd rather have a slam me than a Grammy. Check us out. I want to thank the WWE Universe for voting me for what I get the best damned original show on the network. Nothing haircut allows is a long time ago. I want to thank the WWE Universe for bestowing this wonderful honor upon me. I appreciate it very much, and I'll tell you what I'm just talking about Daniel Bryan promo last week or whatever I tried, I do too. I mean, everybody knows I cry a lot, but you know, that was really emotional deal for everyone. Well, speaking of crying, a lot also know what what that dude you brought me. Oh my Matt, thank you all. And Broken Skull IPA from El Segundo Brewing Co. right here in Los Angeles, California. My gift to you. My love to drink this now. But you better talk to Mr. VK.com about that. I don't have any for one man on it, but you can do whatever you want. You £450 seven feet tall. I'm just going to open up for you. Is that that cold steel knife you got there? That is a cold steel knife. That thing will come out very, very soon. Yeah, I'm a big fan. You know, I follow you on Twitter. Hey, dude, you got y'all. You get your a*s handed to you. You're locked up. I was thinking they went into luthiers mode to the biggest athletes on planet Earth. Y'all, lock it up. I dug it. He is, you know, he's doing really well. I think, you know, has a long way to go. But you know, if he keeps his head right, he's going to be a player. He's catching it, though. Yeah, it's a little bit better every day. He doesn't make the same mistake twice. So, you know, it's not easy being in that position. You know, it's you've got gotta bring a game, dude. I was in a battle at a time where if you ask, I'm not here to sit and I'm thinking about doing a run and impromptu at the glass run. I know I saw you throw up and say, we thought I did. That's the worst clay history. The best one. Right? Let me. That's a that's a pretty damn good. That's good. That's a tasty beverage. Yes, that is a change of Pulp Fiction. How are you feeling right now other than being blown up because I actually blew up running down the hall to get here? I was finding the match. I blew up on the 100 yard dash to get here. But you just came from a tour of Germany, and I want to get to a couple of stories. You know, working together in Germany. I'm always up for thirty seven hours for finally got some sleep. So why don't you go to sleep? I sleep on a plane. Is it too big? It just doesn't work anymore. I'm just some genius at the airline companies. I make business class seats and I figure if we make them smaller and cover them in leather, we can put more in there and then we can sell another high price. However, I just don't fit. Dude, you can't sleep on an airplane. No, it doesn't happen. Can't do it in this cla*s. I'll talk to you when we get off camera after going through Germany, going through here tonight. Got a Great House here tonight, and it's like the old days when you're on time everyone used to. So there's no cops on our show. OK, but let's don't talk about being let's talk about you. After all these years in the business, you got, what, twenty years? Twenty twenty years? Is this still fun for you? Absolutely. That's why I do it. I mean, you know, it's I've done everything I can do at my stage as a giant, as a performer. I've done. I've had championships. I've won them all. I've been fortunate enough to compete against the greatest names this business has ever seen and some of the future greats. And I I have fun every day. I go to work, but you love it like you still did. I mean, I love the business has changed. Talk to me about how. Talk to me about just how the in-ring product has changed. Well, the in reproductive stage, the one thing that kills me about our business has changed, and I know you probably agree with me on this. I miss the old tag teams when a babyface can make a comeback on two heels at the same time, not drop back drop closing clothesline line hip toss. It does, yeah, baby face waiting in the corner all night to get that hot tag. And when he got that hot tag, everybody in the building got their a*s work. I think because we've tried to modify our product and quote, give the referee credibility, which, in my opinion, who cares with referees got credibility on our heels should be healed. Babyface should be babyfaces. Let the baby face make a comeback. Everybody's happy, you know, but now you get a lot of situations where the comebacks aren't like they used to be because they can't be executed like that. That's what I miss a lot about it. I am a little hot about it. That's the difference. But here's the thing now. Now our business is very nice and polite. It's very polite. OK, well, how polite is this? Because I sent out a tweet. I'm Steve Austin based on my Twitter account. I follow you, you know? Yeah. Do you guys? I guess. I don't think you replied to my direct message. No, I didn't swig a beer. Oh, so my question is. Said a lot of an e-mail, a tweet out from people, so many questions to ask you, I got enough myself and you and I have done this before. I could talk to you all night long. But what? I try to talk to you backstage, you don't even what like you and I'm like, No big show we were. We got to save it. I did that with Triple H. I talked to him way too long before I talked to him in Denver. And all of a sudden, you know, I'd like, dude, why would we burn everything out? One of the questions that people sent in to me was Big Show, Please retire. That's not the response. I thought going to get mad about that. What do you think when you hear that? I think that is most of the people that do that are in arrears of people trying to have fun to be a part of the show. Some of those who take it seriously really do understand what our products are about because they don't understand what I'm actually doing for our product, what I actually do for the younger talent. I get the tweets to all stubs. Oh, you're killing off younger talent. Hey, dumb a*s. I've maybe won eight matches in the past two years. How the hell am I killing off all the talent? I don't do anything, but I try. I've had more turns to NASCAR. Why? If I have more turns in NASCAR, OK, we got a babyface. We need to get over. OK, who can do it? So can do it. Oh, well, you know what? We're running out of babyfaces. They're injured. Well, show's been around for a long time, he smiles. He likes the kids. He's a good guy, shows a babyface. He knows how to sell. I am universally able to switch back and forth. I've got tenure. I've been here a while, but I also help the younger guys as far as in-ring timing develop for their characters, developing their presence in the ring and knowing how to, you know, get along this business. And it's not a good day. It's easy to have a great attitude in this business. When you're winning matches every night, you're working on top, having a good attitude and stance itself in this business when you don't win matches and you're not working on top. That's the true test of your passion, how much you love it, because if you're passionate about it, you're still coming to work having fun every day. It's not real, but how? How many more years you think you've got to take in a perfect world barring injuries because anything could happen, you know, two two years because I would like people to start sending those emails like, Hey, please retire, ask him this, that whatever come up with like, Hey man, because last time I checked, they still sending those gimmicks. They sent an email called Bills and they'll pay his bills. They're going to build with the electricity bill. They're going to turn over this duo saying, Oh, pay the bill, then they go to the car, they're going to take it health. Then his wife's going to be mad. And there are times where he got our time blues daddy. That's it has done. And the WWE should not do it. It's like, Hey, you watch kicking a*s and say, Hey, I'll computer just took your place, daddy swig a beer for that. That's what that's what I'm trying to get, dude. Let's move on. Let's let's let's get into some serious stuff. Oh no, I'm not going to retire anytime soon. Burn injuries. I love what I do every day. And I think if you took an honest consensus poll of all the guys I work with, they're very happy to have me here. All right. Here's the thing I've known you first time we met, we met in 1995. You just come back from Japan. You told your tricep OK, I said, How do you and tell me to piss off? But that was right before going to get them into. You're a nice guy. But anyway, my point is when we started hitting it off, I mean, we talked about what we drank beer together. We've done everything together, we talk wrestling. We talked about life, but I never once to say, Hey, dude, what's it like to be a giant of a guy? What's it like to be a giant? I want to take this time now to let you share your story about do. When you're five years old, you weighed 100 pounds. Yeah, I broke a hundred pounds at five years old that it was very hard for me because, like most people, associate weight with health. So I remember being upset. Five years old, I weighed 100 pounds. I think I was almost five foot tall. I think it was like four, 11 or almost five foot tall. And you could see my ribs. I had a square head square shows. Well, there. Asked me at three, right? So that's a I was cute, wasn't I? Wow. Yeah, yeah, that little kid set the carpet in the living room. When you're five years old, there's a smart ALEC name when you're 100 pounds, I mean, like, people are already like, Well, the problem was growing up as other parents when I got bigger were afraid to let me play with their kids. I mean, at 12, I was 16 to 20. So if you're outside and we're playing touch football and it looks like the the town mongoloid is out there with your kids, you're risking your kids next, you know, I'm staying out in the field, Obama said the college dude out there playing with the nine year old was that big pedophile doing out there. Get him away from kid. No, I was the same. OK, but going through your childhood at nine years, that's 13 years old. That's six seven to thirty five. Clean, clean, clean, clean eating chicken breast every day. At nine years old, you were diagnosed with acromegaly. Yes, OK. For the fans out there, define what that means is otherwise known as gigantism. It's. A tumor on the pituitary gland that and the pituitary gland is located. If you were to do the geometry on, if you went straight through the nose and straight through the ear canal where those points intersect under the front lobe of your brain is a pituitary gland pocket. Pituitary gland runs a lot of your hormonal functions on testosterone, estrogen, tear ducts and days of moisture. It's a very important gland growth hormone. Also, that tumor can affect your growth hormone and make you secrete too much like normal growth hormone for a young man, a teenager growing his zero to five, whatever the term is, mg or whatever it is, mine was at 91 ninety one. So I was, you know, just growing like a weed eating. And I think that to me as a senior in high school and the guy on the left right there in the middle is actually six four. He's a former army guy and the guy with a crew cut his six one and the guy in the other end is like six one, six two. So those that's a football team. OK, but let me ask you this at nine years of age. Doctor says, Hey dude, you got accurate. I didn't know we're no OK. But also you get this news dropped on you. I got the news dropped on me when I was like 19 years old in college. Oh, 19 19. I got to know your facts right? They figured I developed the tumor at nine. OK, but I didn't know about it till I was 19. Oh yeah. So for me, I was, Oh no stone. I had, you know, I had God given athletic ability, God given strength, you know, I mean, hey, I remember being nine years old and it's funny. You always going to remember what you wish for because you just might get it right. I remember hanging on the old, remember the metal clothesline poles, the T ones. I remember hanging on one of my ninth birthday, praying to God that I would be seven feet tall and big and strong. And, you know, because that's what do you know, you're watching He-Man cartoons, that's what you want to be. And this is what I got. I can't fit in airplane seats and I my head every time I turn on the Steve Austin show on the Steve Austin show. Steve Austin, unleash unleashed magic. You want to punish guys in the business. Thank you, sir. Did you? I'm pretty funny guy myself. I'd like to think, but I kind of developed my sense of humor because dude, I was a super shy kid. Really? Oh, dude. Well, growing up in my I do, my sister would have to order my food at Dairy Queen because I was too embarrassed to talk to the later the dude on the phone. So I think it's kind of the way I developed my sense of humor, and I'm just guessing your self-deprecating style I'm thinking you did to disarm people or intimidate people. So I intimidate because I mean, I've always had that. Oh, that that that factor. I want to take a look. They take a breath. I stand back. I'm actually a very nice person. I'm not a mean person. I like people like kids. I love animals. I developed a self-deprecating sense of humor and a quick wit and a personality to show that people, Hey, I'm not going to tell your head off and eat out of your skull. I'm a nice person. It's OK. You don't have to chase me on time with pitchforks and torches. I'm really a nice person, you know? So I mean, that's funny. You shot you the most direct, in-your-face son of a b***h I've ever met in my life. You were. I can't. That blows my you went to college a football scholarship, then. Yeah, see. Well, well, let's go back to you. But you played basketball in Wichita State? Yeah. Now three deep, though, that's what I mean. But I'm thinking now, dude, but they recruited you and you played there. Yeah, yeah. It was after your basketball career that you decided to have the surgery on a pituitary. No, I actually found out my sophomore year in my sophomore year in college at Wichita State, I played one year at northern Oklahoma Junior College in Taqwa, went to Wichita State and it was just probably one of the worst years of my life. Wow. I mean, oh, you're start off bad. I lost my grandfather in the summer before I started school, and my grandpa and I were really close and found I had this tumor that was really bad. So I had to have that surgery, which put me behind going into pre-season and trying to get ready to play. And so I struggled a little bit learning their offense and getting together. And the coach had a lot of faith at the time. The coach they hired was Coach Cohen, who was recruiting me at high school. As your coach, I want to play for. I mean, I turned down Indiana. I turned down a lot of D1 schools to go play for this coach because I liked coach coaching a lot. He just when I had my surgery, he was there in Minnesota on his own dime just to make sure I came out of the operating room. All right. You know, and I just he was a good man, which just had different ideas for the program, and they let him go halfway through the season. So here's a guy who spent three years where the, you know, this guy is going to help make you the player you want to be. Now he's gone. They let him finish out the season. But you know, this guy's devastated. He's finishing our job and he knows I'm out of a job. My father had gotten his cancer come back and it got real bad and I quit playing at Wichita State. I left Wichita State and it was just a. Really rough time. But you got my dad there. How about that that was a it was right towards the end. There he was. He was pretty sick. There wasn't all the bad times going along with the changes in your body after the surgery, but it could have been. I mean, I haven't seen that picture in years, Jesus. Wow. But you had a little shot there. It was in a real low spot. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I don't know where he found that picture. That's good. I had I was there. I was living in the house that an an grandmother had passed away and it was a home built in World War Two for factory workers. And it was one step in the kitchen, one step in the bedroom, very small house. I had a couch that was a sleeper, but I had the slippers. I had crushed cardboard boxes and the cushions on top of it. I was working at a nightclub. I quit playing basketball. I didn't have any money in my bedroom. Remember my head on the wall? I could tap the wall in the bedroom. I had six dollars, but I did see the six dollars to Monday to put gas in the car to drive for another job opportunity. So I'm sitting the house and I'm cleaning a 357 Ruger for friend of mine. He hadn't shot it in a while and I was I was cleaning it. He said, Give me 20 bucks to blow, blew it and stuff, you know, give me all the stuff to do it. I remember it was a really low point, and I cleaned it and everything I spun this cylinder pulled the hammer back and put it in my head and pull the trigger that said, OK, now I'm dead. What would I have missed out on? And I had to do it for a mental reset, you know, because everything just was so dark and I'm not a dark person. And a few weeks after that, I met this guy and he introduced me my smile. Although I meant that, first of all, nobody ever do that. Well, how how did how did that affect you? You kicked out. It was. It was an immediate slap in the face for me. I mean, there was any rounds in the weapon. It was a it was a completely theoretical. You know what I'm saying? Yes, I do. Exactly. And I kicked out. I got out. I I got a job opportunity. That job opportunity actually was. I worked for a guy named Jimmy Stroger, who owned Just Go Karaoke, who became a really good friend of mine, who bought out all the running centers, karaoke equipment. And that Monday was me putting gas in my car to drive to the warehouse to, hey, I'll help load trucks for cash if you need any help. And he gave me 50 bucks a day to load these tractor trailer trucks, which was plenty of money for me. It's food on the table. And then I worked for him for four days. We became best friends and I moved to Chicago, and he's the one that became my mouthpiece. Like, he tried to give me a tryout with the bears and then wound up talking to WCW for me. So then how did you get in the business? I got in the business through a crazy turn of events. Danny Bonaduce, out of Chicago, was running a morning drive radio station, and he would have contestants come in and sing on the air. So it's kind of like American Idol before American Idol because some people were fantastic and some people were god awful. And then people were calling in, Well, my buddy was the one running the karaoke equipment. So Danny had a charity basketball game at the Chicago Wolves CVA Halftime with Hulk Hogan and Mr. T against Danny Bonaduce and his secret partner with Danny knew that I played ball at Wichita State and knew that I was trying to get the business because back then there wasn't schools and developmental centers. It was you had to know supporters territory. Somebody had to put in a good word for you and then you get in the door. And it was. It was. That's how I met. That's how I got started. I met Hogan in Chicago. So what Hogan tell you? I mean, do they teach you? Can you take a look at I did the worst thing I could have ever done any wrestlers. I did an impersonation straight off the bat, which could have gone one or two ways. It could have went really good or really bad. Right? Yeah. So you got a good Hulk Hogan person to tell you something, brother. I've been to the top of the mountain, dude. So what are you going to do? One of the largest pythons in the world? Run wild on you, brother. So I did that. And he just looked at me and then I'm thinking, Oh, I just s**t the bed. Yeah, yeah, I killed it all. I'm done. Yeah. Wow. OK. Back to answering phones. Hello, this is Jessica. He's got dollar signs in his. That's what he says. He goes, Kid, you got a dollar sign on your forehead. And I said, Well, please show it to me because I is broke. God, please help me, please. OK, so who trained you? I was trained, even though he'll deny to the day he dies for obvious reasons. But I was trained by four boys and Terry Taylor. I tell everybody at hurricanes. Don't don't tell people they're trying to kill him again. But again, they don't tell people. I train for the greatest in-ring journals of all time. I give a go kill him. Like, I don't want anybody to know that to do with. OK, here's you've got two very technically sound scientific guys who wrestle and do what you're training process because I understand they had some interesting drills to bring up your cardio. I think there was. The funny thing is, is the one thing that was always important in this business stress. We got to have cardio, get out of cardio, get to have cardio. It's pretty tough when you see somebody like Jack Briscoe or Harley Race Smoke or Marlboro Light and go out there, do an hour, it's like, how much cardio do you need? Well, let me let me let me jump in because people don't pay there to watch you lay on us on a mat in the squared circle and huff and puff because you out of shape. No. Continue what exactly they would blow me sky high every day. I would literally. Those guys rode me so hard that I how do you explain, but they literally rode you? Well, yeah, yeah. I would get the drill broadly and try to choke me out until I turn it around on one. And then as soon as I turn around, the other one was there. So they were constantly in and out and I couldn't get off my feet. I had to fight from from my back up to my feet, up to my knees if I got up to my knees and got them down. Then the other guy was on me, right? And it was like that for an hour straight hour and a half straight, which is good because they were taking breaks in between. I'm seeing stars. I mean, I went to pee one time and the snot came out, so it was like I was so dehydrated and blow it up that, you know? Was great for me, but that was really gross analogy, but that's what happened. But what tribulation, Terry? You know, training, you carry piercing. Yeah, for me, there were also in your ear giving you advice advice and I think they saw dollar signs on you. Well, the one thing I'm thankful for Terry Taylor was very kind to me. And so was on honor because I kind of had the right attitude. I didn't come in like, Oh, I'm Holt's, boy, I'm going to do this. I came in wanting to learn I was a fan of the business before I got into it. I have my favorites. Arn Anderson, to me, is the greatest heel of all time. I loved the cut promos, ring technician like nobody's business, and I'm happy to say that now he's one of my dearest friends and mentors. But those two guys actually said, Hey man, maybe you shouldn't go up to the WCW main roster right at your contract because you can pay good dough to go to the training camp. They said, Hey, I'll ask to w w e. Yeah, yeah, that was the thing. Like, Hunter was going up to WWE before he had had his little run there and knew that, you know, the the place wasn't run the way it should be run. And he had a lot more experience than I did. He'd done his different territories and what he'd done, and I was just like, Well, I mean, you know, I don't know. I'm learning. I mean, this is more money than I've ever seen in my life. I mean, it does. If I finish out my contract here, which I'll tell you a little story, that was the best decision I ever made because I got a phone call after Halloween havoc from Jim Ross. After I did the Halloween helmet match with with with Hulk, my phone rang at home. And that's after Terry maybe wear the title through the airport in Detroit to let everybody know there's new champ. They tell you that. No, but tell me about the call you got from Jim Ross. Jim Ross called me and offered me double what WCW was paying me. How long were you into that contract? Eight months to they out? Well, going out without breaching it. But he called and asked me. I said, Jim, I said, because he knows a lot of same people. I know and he's being aggressive business man. But I also think Jim was future booking on counting my character, right? And I said, I really I said, I really want to honor the contract. So I kind of gave him my word. But when this contract ends, I'll be happy to talk with. If you still want to talk to me, then right, which was in our business, the greatest business decision I ever do, because if you screw somebody else on a contract, you'll screw anybody. So that showed me that, OK, this kid gives his word its integrity. It's good. So it didn't hurt me. But how influential was Hulk Hogan and your decision as well? You make a good money, but I mean, he's got a big influence on your whole career in your life. He was he was a mainstay at the time, all the time, especially when, you know, like about a year and a half before WWE, WCW really started to go like, he's a guy that he could see the way the wind's blowing because he's been around a long time. He says If you want to be a star, go to New York vestment man or make you a star. And you know, that's the word for going to WWE. You go to New York, Vince will make you a star. Let's let's let's get back to that a little bit later, because was it not your very first match that you beat Hulk Hogan for the world heavyweight champ? Joining me on the mat originally in my match was scheduled for you. Believe this was a one match deal? If I did good that keep me, if I didn't get rid of me. The main opponent for Hogan, he was there. Their big deal there. Yeah. And they figured if we can give them a Pay-Per-View, get him a buy, get him a bar rate. That's good. And if the kid turns out good, if not, you know, we'll look at his contract giving him. I was lucky enough to do well enough, and Hogan want to make a statement. And he told me tonight, he says, I'm going to do something unheard of. He said, You're going to walk out of here tonight with the world heavyweight championship, and I'm going to put you on the map. OK, let me ask you about getting put on the map because everybody gets in this business, because if you're a singles wrestler, you want to be the world heavyweight champion, right? All of a sudden you are right. OK, with that comes pressure and responsibility and the performance aspect of it. So hey, it's great. Your first match. You made the immortal Hulk Hogan to become the world champion, and all of a sudden you got the gold. Did you think from here on out, it's going to be easy? Hey, I won the World Championship on my first go. I mean, what the hell did you think? Because again, you're talking about putting asses in seats if you were to put a piece of coal up my a*s or a major diamond? I was terrified out of my mind. I was so wound up on not knowing what to do with myself. So you were marked out. You were. You were truly petrified. I was truly petrified because I knew what this business about. I knew what that championship signified. I knew the responsibility was put on me, but I had no idea how to handle it because I had no idea what to expect. It's like somebody giving you a gun and telling you to go, do this. You know what this weapon represents? You know what you can do with it, right? But you have no idea what to do with it. And that's what that championship is. That Championship is a weapon to pull tickets in. To fill the seats with us is to draw money for your fellow coworkers, and they're looking to you right to do that, OK? That being said, how did that championship win go over in the locker room? Because here comes a new dude. He's a giant now as a champion. I think it was fine with the guys that were established, and you got to understand I was the youngest guy there by 12 years than anybody, you know? I mean, I think Sting was. Maybe thirty four when I was twenty three. OK, so he was the closest guy Mike was and Alex, right? But all those guys were Season and Arn and Rick and all those guys were pulling for me. They weren't until they all wanted macho randy. All of them were pulling for me because they saw that I potentially saw that I was a crazy athlete and they weren't against it because their pay wasn't affected. Whether five people showed up, whether it got sold out, because that was that Turner deal. It wasn't the Shark Tank. The WWE was right. I mean, when I first got that title from from Hogan, it's his brother. Now you got to let everybody know there's a new champion tomorrow. When you go to the airport, you got to wear the title to the airport. So you did. Oh my god, you have you bought that hook, line and sinker? I was so proud. And then what made it worse is is all the guys like Steiner's and all those on the b***hes? Yeah. Hey, champ, Jim Duggan. Hey, champ. Thumbs up, Ronda. Hey, champ. And I'm walking through just proud as a peac**k walk through the metal detector. I take it all laid on the belt. I'm strapping it back on the other side of the mill. Everybody's calling me champ. I can't even stand comes over. We have the blond crew cut and the razor shades back then, you know? Yeah, he was cool. He comes over and goes, What are you doing? I said, We're going to change it up to him and we're the champs. Everybody knows the new champion just put the belt the way you look like a damn idiot. He walked off. I was like, Oh, they're making fun of me. That's who gave you the heads up sting. Let me get a shot right here to this camera here. Every network out there that's watching this podcast, I'm talking with a big show that's straight up giambrone ville. You don't wear your championship. What do you Hitler baby through their airport? And so he took you. Take it literally. I took it. Literally, yes, I thought he was serious because I thought, you know, everyone would want. I mean, I'm the champion. I'm proud of it. And I might have been a little bit more civil, right? Maybe, you know, possibly this is the Steve Austin show. Steve asked Steve Austin, unleash unleashed terror the world around. How long did you have the Belgian first go round? I think a week or did you lose this electricity? It was taken away from me due to the fact that I didn't really pen Hulk Hogan at How do we have? I'm really helped beat him up with the Yeti and then stole it. So the title was put in contention for the World War three three Ring 60 Man Battle Royal Mayhem. All right, so what year was this? Ninety five. October ninety five. We're not above and we're above the start getting cranked up into the Monday night wars. Yeah, that started. That started a little bit. I think when I think Luger in October had come to Minnesota for Monday night, Nitro, the first Nitro Lex Luger, showed up in Minnesota at the mall. That was the first Nitro on October one. I don't remember the specific date on it, but I remember then we went to Halloween havoc and then we had that whole. I was involved with the dungeon of Doom stuff, the run in with Hogan and Savage, and the Monday Night Wars really started picking up after that. So you left WCW what year I left WCW in? Ninety nine, I think February, ninety nine. So you were there when when it was on, the gloves were off. Oh yeah, it was hot and heavy. Oh you guys the, you know, Triple H number outside with the tank? Yeah. How did that go over? What did you think about that? I thought it was hysterical. I'm one to the you got to give people credit. We're going to go out and say hi to Hunter, but I couldn't because I got heat for it. And I remember bill shoppers right around the time I was going to challenge Vince to a fight. Yeah, and I remember Terry telling me outside, he says all he wants to do that Vince is crazy. That's what turns eyeball out, you know? Yeah, right. This to the fight. Like what is going on here? What I went down and did that that was so because they were very agile. I was busy doing my thing, but that was totally off the charts. And dude, it was a physical thing. My point is you were there when WW at his peak, when WCW was kicking a*s. And then you come over here to Darby when we're kicking her a*s. But you were in the mix the whole time on both sides as a, you know, we're doing the best business, the most lucrative piece of business in the history of pro wrestling slash sports entertainment. What changed it was hauling a*s coming in WCW. They shook up Monday Night Raw and changed the whole thing. Big was that because enormous that shook up the whole business the whole way the boys were paid. Well, it changed the whole way the boys are paid. It changed how business was done. It changed the heel babyface relationship. I mean, I remember Scott Hall the first thing when he first introduced himself, I don't know. Scott's a smartass, right? He comes up to me and he goes, Hey, man, Scott Hall, nice to meet you. I may see you took your chin on my finish. But I went, I looked at him. I said, What the f did you just say to me? Yeah, yeah, no, this is. I'm just joking, but I was like, You're a tough guy mode. He goes, You know, what are you talking to? You know, and then I saw how they went. And it's funny as I saw the locker room change, too, because WCW was very easy when I first started there. Everybody played Jim and everybody played chess or dominoes. It was easy. Everybody playing gin and dominoes during the Monday night wars. No, until Scott. Kevin, you OK? Then when they got there, guys are panicking and doing push ups and going to jam a little bit more and getting serious about their angles. And nobody wants to be a babyface to work against them because all in there, we're cooler. They talk better on the mic. They were more real. And a lot of the gimmick guys couldn't deal with it. They didn't know how to deal without. If you don't put my gimmick over, how the hell do I survive, right? You know, it's kind of like that time in the garden. Was you in rock? And I came in last in the Madison Square Garden. I'm so excited to be a triple threat with U2 and U2 jackasses. Look at me, Rob. I just go there and I go that. That's all I got, guys. That's kind of messed up. That was a couple of me, another couple of million dollars. You weren't new to the business that time, but you're new to me and I want to be a part of it. I wanna go back that. What was the difference between the way the two companies were run during the Monday night wars? Because you got here during both of those complete liquid on me? No, sir, I will not. I'm not a was it? Was it just like just a completely different chaos over there? And WCW wasn't chaos, but there really wasn't any one charge. Hogan had any control over his contract. All, and that's one of the same thing they had said every nation. So they were crushing it. They would bring in Rodman and Bret Hart and all these other guys. And Goldberg got a better contract so that these guys make all this money. And Scott and Kevin were such smart businessmen, their contracts kept escalating. And then they didn't want to do as much as they needed to. So the attitude got very, very morale. Bad morale got terrible and went from a very fun place to work to everybody was like a bunch of vicious dogs in the corner sniping at each other. You come over to WWE when you're doing that. One thing I saw was that everybody here was very professional, but everybody here was so hungry to have the best match on the card. And that's I think that was the most intimidating thing that I had ever seen because I've been there, obviously over three years, I was a little bit established as a giant. I was at the right place at the right time, negotiated a very good contract for myself, which also got me some heat up here, which is I totally understand it. Who's this new signing? This coming in? Tremendous business, though? Yeah, try to take my spot, my pay day. You know, f him. I don't know him. He's going out there. He's got to prove it to me, you know? And I just realized how just in telling you you were so intense back then and so good at what you did in the ring, you know, it's and I don't know it. I think for me, it was on sparring to see somebody and see you and taker and hunter and rock and you guys operate at that tempo every night and dare each other to be better there. I dare you to have a better, better reaction than I did. I dare you to have a better match than I did. It was overwhelming. I always figured that WWE it was out at the time was the big leagues. Even when I, you know, whatever point it was when Hogan and them went down there. I mean, still in my eyes, WWE was still in the big show, no pun intended. Why did you did you think, OK, my run here is over. It's time to go to the big leagues or is? The grass is greener on the other side. Why did you decide after your successor? Hey, pull up stakes and go do something new? I listen to what Terry told me. I had about a year and a half left and he told me I think it was on my birthday like a year and is a seasoned veteran. I watch a guy going back on his bill, watch days, a hell of a name and and he helped me as well too and mentored Triple H. So it just sounded nice. He said. He said if you want to be a star, he said this place, so this place is going to eat itself alive in a couple of years. And he knew it like four or five years before it closed down. Wright said What you need is as if you want to be a star. You go to New York and you learn how to be a star. This will make you a star. I got a story for you. Do you remember your debut in the WWE with you? Yes. Yes. Valentine's Day massacre? Yes. Where you were 100 pounds and I tried to study through the cage. Now get this. I'm working with vets, right? And you come up to the bottom of the mat, come through and do. Here's the thing. You throw me this foot is what? You should watch it now on the fly for you. Oh, there it is. But what? He throws me so hard to shoot. Dude, I was going to hand those bulbs up for you. A little bit like rock, but you literally shoved me so hard. I mean, dude is like a bird watcher. This is why I win the match here. I like to think this. You can see this out. Watch his watch as much exposition. OK, to cut it off, and I'll give you the one that was all in character. My point is and we saw the size of the dude, give me this camera right here. Dude, it's like working with the frickin grizzly bear. This son of a gun grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and threw me in that damn cage. I was going to work for you and give you the big shell like rock to take my daughter, but you threw me with such force. What's funny is Vince told me this thing or else you wouldn't sell it. Was it did I have a reputation for not selling the Vince Thomas look, you've got to go out there and manhandled the hammer. He won't sell it. Got you, manhandled me down there, kill me, broke my neck. I didn't break your neck. No, but I mean, I was trying to. I'm trying to get your star to protect you. I want to show the stone-Cold character was strong. Well, I'll tell you what you and I got about son of a gun. I don't know. I know the last time I made you hot is when I pulled your trunks up that store in a minute. I want, I want to know because I was doing my own thing at the time I was lone wolf. But what was your you were always dressed like some electrical closet somewhere, bro. You were. But that is your transition like to the WWE locker room because I know you weren't really well received. It was brutal. I mean, Hunter was a good friend of mine, but I had too much heat for him to even say hi to. He kind of say hi to me when no one is around. Taker was cool to me, but Taker took me under his wing was was cool and also he was very hard on me and very direct, which I think correct in what way direction like right there. He's probably cussing me out because I did something wrong or I'm about to do something wrong. He used to wait for me when I came back from my matches, and sometimes I try to go side, rant and ditch him and he'd be there waiting on me. He'd have that crooked finger one with a torn tendon, and he'd do that and he'd pull on the goatee. And it was either the way I sold. I didn't keep my head up or the way I felt, or I didn't open myself up, make myself bigger, or I need to work on my cardio or whatever it was. He poured so much knowledge on me that, quite frankly, dude, I didn't deserve it. I didn't. But I'm so blessed and thankful that he gave me that time, and I was smart enough to learn from it. But I can remember being in a rental car and thinking, My God, if I drove my car off a bridge, I don't think anybody give a s**t. They absolutely hate me up there speaking to hate me. I didn't hate you, but I hate it when you put your business. You were never, ever, ever mean to me, but you were business. But one time you pulled my trucks up my a*s. When was working, it was it was going to let me go. No, no, I'm going to preface this story. You're not going to paint yourself as a good guy. I'm working with him for two weeks in Europe. There you go for a week in Germany, a week in UK, right? So I'm working with him so that I can sit there and try to to be a big man to get ready for Brock. I think those are getting ready for Brock. You're supposed to help bring you up to speed and every night he beats ever living crap out of me for 15, 16 minutes straight hits me with the stunner goes home. I don't get nothing. Nothing got a thumbs up in the corner. Give me the freaking boots. He doesn't give me s**t. Nothing. So what happened? We get the TV in London. We're doing the dark match advertised dark main event, and Vince comes over to Steve and he says, And meanwhile, I got fit. Finlay and Johnny and Laura night is kicking the crap out of me every afternoon, telling me I need to fire up and fix kicking me pretty hard. So you're dying. You got to fire up, you got to fire up. Steve's not going to respect you if you don't fire up and he's kicking me so hard, I'm ready to kick a*s. What happened? So Vince comes up to you and says, You know, go Steve, this ain't the trunk. Sure. Yeah, this is it. I'm telling the whole story. OK, come on, man. You don't match beginning middle of May. OK? All right. So Vince says to Steve, he says, You know, Steve, tonight, maybe you could slip big show over and get them going. And Steve Austin does this. Spits in his cut goes, God damn, Vince. These people get a lot of f**king minds, they stone cold Steve Austin here. A few starters drink a few beers that embarrassed him. Do a job to the damn big joke. I'm standing right there and I didn't talk behind your back better. No, I'm like, Does he think this is real? I'm sorry. What's wrong with this, dude? I mean, does he have that little respect for me? So the ventures like let me talk to him now. Meanwhile, Vince goes over in the bleachers to talk with Steve, who's draw more people than any by selling more merch, killing pay per view buys. And then there's me who still hasn't got his act together yet, so I see Vince doing this and Steve doing this. And then about 30 seconds later, they're both laughing and hugging. I know the writing on the wall Vince comes over, goes well, Steve's got a point. So tonight I want you to give him a hell of a match. You've got to get aggressive in there. You've got to get aggressive. And now my feelings are hurt. So I'm a little sour. I'm like, I don't know what this guy doesn't call anything for me. I mean, he's a veteran. He's supposed to call spots for me. What am I? What am I supposed to do? Just just take over? So we get in the match, bump Steve out to the floor. I go out to the floor to get him to throw him back to the ring. On this time I did. I hold his trunks up as the white buttocks stands, but he doesn't tan nude. Here's the thing when you're the hottest babyface in the world, you have your cool and you've got a couple of leg braces on. And I got to, like you said, a lily white a*s. When you're young MetroCard off my ass, you kill my gimmick off. I got to protect my gimmick. Yeah. So anyway, so you pull my trunks up my the ring. I slide in the ring after he stands up and goes, Bam, bam, bam. Right here off the tongue, it's your big son of a b***h. And I straight up shoot. I lost it. I grabbed him by the face, picked him up, ran him across the corner of the turnbuckle, bent them over and I went, You son of a b***h. I was so mad. He looks at me. He goes, Hey, your kid, way to fire up. So. So then it clicked everything. He came out to it. I know so that I cut him off. I beat the crap out of him. I threw him slung and hammered him. Finally, I don't know where boom he hits me with the stunner. I'm like, OK, well, that's the Spanish game's over. He goes to cover me. He goes, Kick out, OK. I kicked out on to get up. I got up. Bam, he hit me with another stunner. Covers me. Get out, get up. You hit me with seven stunners, and every time you hit me with a stunner, it got louder and louder and you sold. Every time you hit me with one, you had that look of, I'm shooting this guy point blank with a forty four magnum. What is it going to take to drop him? And then everybody in that place was screaming, Is this the one that's going to do it? And when they hit three, it's still to this day one of the loudest three counts I've ever remember getting beat by. But it taught me a lot that one match changed my entire career, psychology wise, because I'm a damn giant, I don't have to wait for somebody to give me anything. I sell as much as I want to, as much as I need to and change it when I have to. OK, that being said, and that's a great story, and this pretty much is your story. You changed my entire career that one night, but over the course of your buttocks over the course of your career and now we've got ten minutes left. Oh gosh, dude. One of the people, one of the questions that people emailed into me. Damn big show. And you, you alluded to it early on in the podcast. You flipped over 30 times in your career and how many times I know it was over 30. Wow. So I mean, it's like. And you said it, you know, I think it's to facilitate whatever needs to be done right. But what are your thoughts when you hear that number of how many times you flipped? I think on one hand, it makes me a little sad because I think my character deserves a little bit more integrity one way or the other. But on the other hand, it also makes me understand that I'm a very valuable hand to the company, and I'm very valuable when there's a situation they need done and they need somebody they can depend on whether it's work with Floyd Mayweather, whether it's to get this guy over this new baby face over to do a house show somewhere that the baby face got hurt. And we don't have a baby face that we can't let you go in and be one. I feel those roles. All right. And your 17 years as you've been here? And inevitably, what is your real deal assessment of how you've been booked? Horrible. Well, talk to me about the horrible, absolutely horrendous. I think the problem is is I'm a I'm a I'm a victim of my own success because in our business, they're always trying to find the best, their best fix they can as fast as they can. And I'm not I wasn't like you or Sean or some of the other guys that would put you back to a wall. And if something wasn't right, you'd say, Hey, kiss my ass, I'm not doing it right. I was never. I've always been a team player, and I've always looked at like Vince McMahon gives me a whole lot of money and a hell of a contract and Vince from. And asked me to go out and put on a diaper and ask for baby new year for some weird commercial, I'll do it. You think you've got the most out of your career with the potential and the size that you brought to the game? God, that's such a tough thing, because that's what ifs. That's what ifs. And I think, you know what, if I mean, who knows, I could be done with those what ifs and something else could have happened even worse. I just, you know, Steve, I can't screw all that s**t. What could have been what it should have been? I'm damn thankful for everything I've done, man. I've got to work with some of the greatest people in the business, and I really, really, really can't say that I to rates. I mean, I wish I could sell more merch like you. That would be cool. No, but but on one hand, and we look at you, look at how big of an influence Hogan was and basically getting in the business right, driving a world title to you been an influence on your career and on your life. But to maybe if you would have and this is that if you if you would have taken a page out of his book where, you know, he was very adamant about what was going to go on with his career and this business. I don't know, Steve, I don't think. Honestly, I don't think there's no regrets. No, I have no regrets because I'm not that smart of a guy. I'm really I'm not saying that the guys that are able to make those decisions have a lot of vision in this business. You had a lot of vision. You were way ahead on merchandise, you were way ahead on your terms, selling merchandise. But I don't I wouldn't necessarily say that I had vision. I played it as it came, and all of a sudden I started getting a little bit rowdy and people started coming. And then I had to have that talk with Vince, but it wasn't like I was the smartest guy in the history of the business. I got lucky and then things started happening. I mean, the king of the ring and all that stuff. So don't paint me as a visionary who's got to look at that. Yeah, but still, I beg to disagree because you had your finger on the pulse of what people wanted. You had your finger in that pie and you directed that when you got the opportunity. That's not. That's not something that I would do. I mean, I'm not I'm not trying to knock myself or be funny. I don't have that kind of vision. I'm the guy that goes out there and works hard every night to put on the best match that I can. That's who I am thinking of the best match that you can. I want to talk real quickly about Floyd Mayweather because dude all shot an angle. All of a sudden that dude started to lighten you up. Right? That was a shoot. Yeah. You know, it's funny. He's such a great business man. People don't understand that kid is amazing, understands yard promotion, understands the art of heel babyface. And we're doing that angle because originally that was supposed to be me and him against Batista and Rey, right? But since he got hurt, Rey got hurt. But the punches, dude, I'm talking about the break my nose. He's one of the great who told him to break your nose. He's one of the greatest fighters of all time. If he didn't break my nose and get blood, we were dead in the annual red makes green. But I thought that makes three. But I thought you madder than a hornet. When I was, I told him to run because I hate you, but I thought you meant for two hours mad break my nose. But I heard you had to be held back by, you know, to try to kill the train had to call me down and say him to Ben. There are other people who responded. This is all work here, this is all work, work, work, work, work. This is fun. This is where I got my mom jeans on and I hate was so big day. I'd lost a lot of weight to Houston. Oh oh. Well. Right now, I come over this wall, this is full blown suit. And he. Somebody else's story that's full blown. Yep, there ain't no there's no. Yeah, that's full blown. You can when your nose gets broken, you know the little modules aren't going out of flips and you know, it's not. I don't like me like that. That's not that's not a good working guy. Was it fun to work with a guy, though? The match time? It was awesome. Other than that, his grandma was pretty upset at me for chopping his babies or baby coming into the company here now sitting with me. How has your relationship changed or developed with the head guy in charge of McMahon? Because everybody here, if anybody's list, everybody's watching anybody's dinner and Florida goes into training camp, you've got to establish a relationship with Vince McMahon, and sometimes it's a very hard thing to do. Yeah, you have to earn it. What was the process like you? I got five minutes. For me, it was very hard in the beginning. He had a lot of explicit expectations of me. I didn't deliver. That's one thing Vince always says. I give people opportunities and then it's up to you to make it or not. Continue on because you made it. I mean, I got a second chance because of you and Brock Lesnar. Because Brock, they asked Brock, we want to work with him. Brock wanted to work with me. So when I started doing the angles of Brock, Brock put me back on the map. By then, my attitude was different. My my cardio was different the way I took care of myself. Your dealings with the man himself, as far as the cloud facility, he could take you serious and say, Hey, this guy can depend on a guy that will the same thing. He told me when I was doing all this struggling. What was the one thing you told me because I have a good match here then, is a crappy match and a good match. And you told me every time you have a good match, try to have another one and build a consistency. And that's as hard. That's that's as hard as you got to work. Be consistent. And that's the difference. I remember you giving me that talk and I got consistent and then I got time to spend on events and Vince got to learn that I'm not what other people said it was. He got to know me as an individual, and since 2003, him and I have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan every year at Christmas to visit the troops. So to me, he's he's been like a dad that I lost and a lot of ways which he pisses me off like a dad would. He challenges me like a father would. And, you know, and he takes care of me getting into the go home here. You've been in a couple of movies, so go ahead. But a couple of Adam Sandler, you're hilarious and trying to maybe in two years once you leave this place, if you decide to leave it at that time going into an audition, I mean, how competitive is that? Because on one hand, you think, Hey man, it'd be great because I'm a seven figure out ways for 50 pounds. But then on the other side of that, it's not like everybody needs a seven figure. There's four hundred fifty pounds. Well, they can write, you're in the script. This is this thing, right? You're out of it right now. You've got to be able to deliver the lines. And the biggest thing is is trying to impress casting directors in a short amount of time with a cold read that, Hey, I did this part this way if you want to call read, but I take direction very well. If you tell me what you want, I can give it to you. Have you found this when you go into a room that people are so intimidated, intimidated by you? It's like, Dude, I won't tell this guy nothing. Because again, earlier today you guys might buy my head off. Yeah, please help me and I was told, please help me with any criticism because I may not get this part. But whatever your help may help me get another one. And I'm doing a lot of cold reads now just basically for that experience to learn. Once I do, they suck so bad things about a call. Read, How do you want to be remembered once you decide to walk off into the sunset and WWE? Yes, and somebody that love the business, the love, the guys I worked with and appreciate it. Everything that I ever done. I'm just thankful, man. I mean, I don't care about big accolades or Hall of Fame or any of that gratuitous s**t. I just want the respect to the guys that I worked with, respect for my boss and I know what I've been able to do in my heart and I'm very happy with it was just business. Everything that you expected it to be, or it's been ten times more than that. It's so overwhelmingly more than anything you could ever imagine. I never knew what I was getting into when I got into this business and after doing it, I can't imagine what my life would have been or even meaningful had I not been in this business. The friends I have, the experiences I have. I mean, I'm a small town kid from South Carolina and I've had my hands on the Great Pyramids in Egypt. I mean, great walls of China, London, Japan, Australia, South Africa. I've traveled the entire world and got paid to do a fantastic job that I absolutely love. I mean, that's that's a dream come true. What is your greatest achievement in your mind and your career? My greatest achievement here within the company respected my peers, really respected my peers. I respect now from the guys that they used to come here that used to ride my a*s really hard. Like JBL and guys like that, they had a hard on for me and they should have because of my I didn't have my s**t together to now that respect me and shake my hand that you can see in their eyes. They respect my work and the ability they had to have the respect from the younger guys and help them along. That means the world to me because I've been on. Both sides of the coin, I've been the guy that had all of it, I've been from the penthouse to the outhouse. You know, I've dined with kings and queens and I slept in the alley near pork and beans. So to run that full spectrum my career and be able to turn it around and make it positive and and leave out of here from the respect, that's I'm fantastic with that. A quick piece of advice to anybody down there in the next and trying to get in the business and learn the ropes no pun intended. Quick piece of advice. Stay versatile. Stay hungry. Stay attentive. And your future is not defined yet. Be open to new things. I think that's the one thing that a lot of people don't understand up here is not your gimmick. Or how do you walk to the ring? How do you pose? You've got to have your in-ring skills. You've got to have your fundamentals. And you've got to have adaptability to change and mold and grow and advance. Man gives you an opportunity to make the most of it because sometimes they don't come twice and give me this camera. I always lay your stuff in, Hey, wrap it and this guy is savvy because I had to beat the hell out of here. You look at those numbers look like this. Thank you, everybody for joining us here in Anaheim, California, here on The WB Network, on the StoneCo podcast. I've had a great player hook it up with my old buddy, The Big Show. And again, once again, I appreciate everybody listening and we'll go ride off into the sunset. And Greg and Steve Roberts go largely by company, by the way, and that's the bottom line. Mark Stone, Cold, said, So I'm not still on camera market. They don't know. This has been a podcast, one production download new episodes of the Steve Austin show every Tuesday at PodcastOne dot com that's podcast on. Dive into true crime on Pluto TV's. Unravel the mysteries with forensic files and 48 hours investigate crimes with Dateline 24, seven and Unsolved Mysteries with thousands of free crime movies and TV shows, Pluto TV is the true home of crime. Download the Pluto TV app on all your favorite devices and start streaming. True crime on live channels and on demand Pluto TV. Stream Now. Pay Never. What's up, guys on Brendan Schaub? If you love everything mixed martial arts, I'm talking UFC breakdowns. UFC picks one. Championship picks Bellator NFLX, you name it. Your boy breaks it all down. Tune into the sharp show available every Monday wherever you listen to your podcasts. The sharp show. Enjoy. Yo, what's good? It's a boy. Big Brother Jake, a.k.a. Jake Warner like everyman name. Check it out. I host a show called The Big Brother Jake podcast, and I'm taking my talents to the biggest and badass platform on the planet. That's my baby PodcastOne. My show is unique. It's I talk about everything life, sports, entertainment being a single dad, juggling several jobs. So I'm a hot mess, but it's damn energy. Subscribe and review now on Apple Podcasts and listen on PodcastOne or wherever you get your podcasts.
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