Steve Austin’s new show on AEW, “Stone Cold Takes on America” debuts Sunday April 30th at 10PM EST on The A&E Network. Austin appeared on “INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet” to promote the show.
Steve Austin talking about what he learned on the show:
“I got a chance to do a lot of things that when I was focused on my wrestling career, and I’ve been gone quite a while and I just stayed in that mindset adventure, but it’s a lot of things that I would have wanted to delve into on a personal level and to try these things and do different things and be a fish out of water.If you’re on the fence about trying stuff or you’re looking for something else to do, don’t be afraid or don’t be hesitant to go do it. Just get the backbone up and then go out there and try some different things. That’s the best thing I can say. I’m not a guy who’s so philosophic about life, who can articulate just the meaning of life and say, ‘Here’s some advice’, but you’re not here for a long time. Life can be rough, so enjoy the moments you can and chase your dreams and passions. If you’re on the fence about something, get off the bench and go do it.”
On who he feels takes the best stunner:
“Well, you have those different athletic presentations from Scott Hall, Shane took a good one, but I always go to the Rock. The Rock would always take that extra effort to careen around the ring in a way oversold fashion, but it just meant so much when he did that because the big matches that we had, whether it was 15, 17, or 19, those moments meant so much. I’d go to the Rock, and here’s the thing that people don’t understand when you give The Rock a stunner. He was so jacked and just so hard, when he’s bouncing around the ring, sometimes he’d flop off the ropes and end up landing back on me and it’s like, ‘Jesus, you’re killing me.’ So giving The Rock a stunner can be painful just when he flops back on you, but that’s the name I’m gonna give you.”
If it surprises him that the “What” chant is still around 20 years after he said it:
“It really does, but I mean it’s a testament to, I don’t know how impacted people were of that. That started off as me leaving a voice message on Christian’s phone. I was working heel at the time and I said, ‘Hey man, this a really good way to F with people and get under their skin because you know, if you tell me something, I just say. ‘What’, and throw it back at you. it’s irritating, and that’s what it was designed to be. Then I turned it into something that worked for me as a babyface as far as a way to mock a situation. With cadence and delivery, people can escape it as far as talent doing a promo. It’s flattering to see that still around, but you know, I’ve had so many people cuss me out about inventing it. We ended up putting it on a T-Shirt for God’s sake and it sold a ton. So I’m thankful for the word, but if it disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn’t complain, but I’m honored that it’s still here.”
Click below to watch the interview.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. Also, be sure to subscribe to “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” on your mobile device by clicking here if you have an iOS device or here on your Android device.
