Steve Austin has been the subject of more internet chatter than usual lately, as his partly real, mostly fictional feud with Vince McMahon seems to have heated up again. Austin wasn’t at WrestleMania this year, he’s no longer doing live podcasts for the WWE Network, and he won’t be hosting Tough Enough. What could be going on behind the scenes?
Well, Sports Illustrated recently posted a new, lengthy interview with Austin. Like Stone Cold himself, the interview is a bit unpredictable, jumping from subject to subject, but it does contain plenty of interesting nuggets. For starters, Austin again addressed the rumors he and Vince we’re feuding and dug a little into his relationship with the chairman…
“Lately there’s been a lot of speculation regarding all this heat, bad blood, and animosity between myself and Vince and it couldn’t be any further from the truth. I have an outstanding relationship with Vince and the WWE right now. There were a few trademark issues, but that was just a minor thing that got resolved in a very amicable conversation I had with their lawyers.
At times [Vince has] been like a father figure, a brother, a mentor, a best friend, and an enemy. That was a short window of time when I say enemy, but we were at odds every now and again. This is a high-stakes business that is extremely personal.”
“Very amicable conversation with lawyers” seems like an oxymoron to me, but it sounds like whatever dispute Austin and WWE have might be behind them. So, if they’re on good terms again, does that mean Austin will be at next year’s WrestleMania? It certainly sounds like it.
“With WrestleMania XXXII coming up in Texas, I would be pretty damn sure I’m going to be there. It’s my home state and it just makes more sense.”
Austin also addressed the fact that he wasn’t at this year’s Mania and had some critiques for the big show…
“There was no creative for me at WrestleMania XXXI. As much as I love the business and I love my fans, I don’t want to be at every WrestleMania. I was really happy to watch it in my house. I wanted to see Sting and Triple H wrestle, and I was excited for all my buddies in DX and the NWO, but I want the younger generation of wrestlers to experience it and have all the time dedicated to them. That’s the future. Some of the segments that weren’t wrestling went on too long. I love The Rock, but his segment was too long. That was time that could have been given to a talent to make or not make an impact. That’s their proving ground.”
I’d usually agree that younger guys should be given more time, but that wasn’t The Rock’s segment, that was Ronda Rousey’s.
If you have the time, the rest of the SI interview is definitely worth a read, as Austin tells some interesting stories from his childhood, his falling out with WWE in the early-2000s, and more.
