In an interview with Sports Illustrated, WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin commented on not being at the WrestleMania 31 pay-per-view, his relationship with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, Daniel Bryan’s injuries and more. Austin also noted that he will have a major announcement to make within the next two to four weeks.
Highlights of the interview are below:
On his major announcement: “I have a couple of things that will be announced within the next 2 to 4 weeks, when you hear those, you’ll say, that’s why he couldn’t talk about those, I get it, but they’re really good, it will be a major press announcement.”
On not appearing at the WrestleMania 31 PPV: “There was no creative for me at WrestleMania 31. Now, with WrestleMania 32 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. 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.”
On his relationship with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon: “Lately, there has 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. So many things get said only because people want to throw the names Steve Austin and Vince McMahon out there, so others will think it to be true, but I’m here to tell you, it’s not true, there are some great things coming up.”
On Daniel Bryan’s injuries: “That’s the sad thing, Daniel Bryan’s issues are ongoing and well-documented. He went out there at Fast Lane, put his body on the line and carried Roman Reigns to a hell of a god-damn match, son of a gun, he worked so hard to get to the top. His cruiserweight, Japan style takes a very strong toll on the body. Chronically, as far as age, he’s only 33, he should be in the prime of his career, these are your money-making years, the time when you’re really good, but his body is crapping out on him. When I got dropped on my head, I was a little more of a scientific wrestler, then I turned into more of a brawler, that really suited the Stone Cold persona. I needed to change what I was doing, but I was 6’1″, 255 and had the leewat to do that, so with Daniel being a smaller guy, he’s got to work smarter, he doesn’t need to take all those crazy bumps. Believe me, the crowd wants this guy around, they know that every time he goes in the ring, he’s putting his health on the line, this is the point in his career where he needs to work smarter rather than harder.”
The interview is available in full at this link.
