Austin Ranks #3 on WWE's "Top 50 Superstars of All Time" + Commentary

Austin ranked #3 on "WWE's Top 50 Superstars of All Time". Congrats! Austin, along with JR commented on the list.




Jim Ross had to say:

"Hogan & Rock not being in top 10 n wwe top 50 dvd shocked me. Is shock 2 strong a word? Everyones entitled 2 their opinion.”

Ross later realized that The Rock was listed in the top 10, at #5, and corrected himself: “My bad on Rock’s lofty rtg on wwe’s top 50 dvd. Hulk should have been higher but argument can b made 4 others too. I liked the dvd. Buy it.”

Hulk Hogan was ranked #23 on WWE’s list.

The List
1. Shawn Michaels
2. The Undertaker
3. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin
4. Bret Hart
5. The Rock
6. Harley Race
7. Ricky Steamboat
8. Andre the Giant
9. Rey Mysterio
10. Roddy Piper
11. Eddie Guerrero
12. Triple H
13. Gorgeous George
14. Randy Savage
15. Curt Hennig
16. John Cena
17. Ric Flair
18. Dusty Rhodes
19. Edge
20. Jerry Lawler
21. Lou Thesz
22. Terry Funk
23. Hulk Hogan
24. Bruno Sammartino
25. Chris Jericho
26. Ted DiBiase
27. Fabulous Moolah
28. Freddie Blassie
29. Randy Orton
30. Pat Patterson
31. The Iron Sheik
32. Jimmy Snuka
33. Mick Foley
34. Kurt Angle
35. Buddy Rogers
36. Gorilla Monsoon
37. Junkyard Dog
38. Billy Graham
39. Jake Roberts
40. Big Show
41. Jack Brisco
42. Sgt. Slaughter
43. Kane
44. Nick Bockwinkel
45. Jeff Hardy
46. Dory Funk Jr.
47. Bob Backlund
48. Rick Rude
49. Batista
50. Killer Kowalski

You can order the DVD from WWEShop.com or Amazon.com.

WWE Too PG for Steve Austin?

Source: LFPress.com

Any thoughts of a WWE comeback by Stone Cold Steve Austin will have to be put on hold.

Austin is doing just fine on a movie career, with his latest, Hunt to Kill, out on direct-to-DVD and getting good reviews.

Plus the current WWE environment may not exactly be Austin's cup of tea.

"It's a PG business these days," says Austin, who shot down rumblings he would appear on RAW on Dec. 27. "And the Stone Cold character is close to being an R-rated act. I was edgy and I had a lot of fun doing it."

He says injuries played a big role in his early departure from wrestling.

"When I was in WWE, I had my neck fused and I could see the end. When I retired, I didn't do anything for four years. I just stayed in Texas and hunted and fished. One day I woke up and said to myself, 'Dude, it's time to do something.' So I moved to L.A. It wasn't my goal in life to be an actor.

"I had a delayed start. If I hadn't had so many injuries, I'd probably still be in wrestling.

"As for returning (to the ring), I'm not interested. I always say never say never, but the thing is, man, I'm pretty much done."

But now he's an actor and he's committed to getting better, just like he did as a wrestler when he rose up to become an icon. He's done movies like The Longest Yard, Damage and The Expendables. And he's got his sights set on doing plenty more.

"I was a great in-ring performer. I was one of the best ticket sellers in the business. So if I could duplicate that success ...

"I'm a tough critic on myself, but I'll tell you what, I watched (Hunt to Kill) three weeks ago and it's really good. "My skin is thick enough that along with the good things, I can take the bad, too.

"I'm still figuring things out, but I'm a little more relaxed and the experience factor is starting to kick in. I'm a sponge. After working with Sly (Sylvester Stallone) for three months on The Expendables, I learned a lot from him.

"I'd love to try a romantic comedy. Most days, I'm laughing my ass off, so a comedy would be good."

In Hunt to Kill, Austin plays U.S. Border Patrol agent Jim Rhodes, struggling to raise his rebellious daughter in the mountains of Montana. When a crew of trigger-happy fugitives take Rhodes and his daughter hostage, you can bet that Austin lays down a big can of whoopass.

Austin says he grew up loving action movies.

"Back in the day, it was Sly, Arnold (Schwarzenegger), Steve McQueen in Bullit. There was Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I remember watching Rocky and I ran home, got up the next day, drank some eggs and ran down the road."

JR Blog's: Austin & The Rock in WWE PG Era

I missed this JR blog entry from November 2, 2010:

Great talents such as Steve Austin and the Rock would have been ultra successful today in the PG land of WWE as they were in TV14 days during the Attitude Era. Prime time players are able to adapt to their audience and the rules of engagement. For anyone to think that the Attitude Era alone made Austin and Rock stars is naive and misguided. Can you imagine the buzz that the 'Texas Rattlesnake' and the 'Great One' would create if they were performing in WWE today? No one would notice the TV program rating I can assure you. Same goes for Shawn Michaels, among others, who had/have 'it' no matter the generation. Some e-mailers are over thinking this matter but over thinking things in the world of pro wrestling isn't a revelation nowadays either. How would you like to have any one of the three, aforementioned men booked at WM27?

Video: Raw 900th Episode Celebration

WWE RAW is having it's 900th episode celebration one week from Monday. Austin is featured in the clip below:

Austin On TNA Opposing WWE on Monday Nights, Says: "Just Brutal"

Source: PWTorch.com

WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin called TNA's attempt to oppose WWE on Monday nights "just brutal" in an interview with IGN.com. Austin is promoting the release of his new movie, "The Stranger," out on DVD today.

Asked by Matt Fowler of IGN.com what he thought of TNA's brief run on Mondays, Austin replied, "Oh, that was brutal. Just brutal. I've always wished TNA all the luck in the world. I mean, they'll never be able to compete on a level platform with the WWE but I still just want the company to do well because I have a lot of friends over there."

Austin added that he believes TNA needs to find their niche as a different type of wrestling product compared to what WWE is offering.

"I think they need to differentiate the product even more from what the WWE is because they'll never be able to compete with that," Austin said. "But, that being said, they've got some interesting storylines and some interesting talent over there. It's an alternative."

Austin also tried to define his current working relationship with WWE two months removed from guest-hosting Raw. He said he doesn't catch the product as much as he would like to.

"Technically I'm still with the company. I'm totally independent but technically I'm still with the company and have a great relationship with them," Austin said. "I'm trying to focus on the things that I've got going (so) I really don't get to watch that much TV at all. ... I don't watch the WWE as much as I'd like to, but I don't really watch TV in general."

At the end of the interview, Austin is passionate and candid talking about wrestling from the 1980s that he grew up on, calling it "some good s---." He said he watches that on tape more than current wrestling on TV.

"These days, in my garage I have two cardio machines and a flat screen TV. I still watch wrestling. I love it. I'll always love it. I'm still hooked on it, I'm just not in it anymore," Austin said.

You can read the interview with IGN.com in the post below!

WWE Magazine - Shaving Grace

A scan from WWE Magazine... "THE SHAVING GRACE" featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vince McMahon, & Randy Orton.






Thanks to my affiliate, RandyOrton.co.cc!

Paul Hayman Blogs on Austin & WWE Writers, and Dinner with Austin & Brock Lesnar

Source: TheSun.com, PWTorch.com, and Paul Hayman's Offical Blog

Paul Hayman Blogs on Dinner with Austin & Lesnar

Paul Heyman, the former WWE creative team writer and ECW owner, published a new blog on Crave Online recapping a recent dinner meeting with Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar in New York City and their respective desires to pursue opportunities beyond their WWE careers.

In classic Heyman fashion, the former ECW hypemeister said at the end of his blog that Austin, Lesnar, and he have tried to leave the wrestling business behind, but there's always a door open.

"Despite the fact all three of us, in some way, have done our best to leave it all behind, go into other ventures, pursue other dreams ... old instincts die hard.

There I was, watching Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar trade barbs, share some laughs, enjoy a dinner amongst friends. And sometime during that night, I thought to myself, "Man, what a WrestleMania main event THIS could be!!!

Oh well.

Maybe in another lifetime, right Vince?"

---

Austin & WWE Writers

PAUL HEYMAN has revealed just how bad relations once were between Stone Cold Steve Austin and the WWE writing team.
The legendary wrestling manager claims things got so bad in 2002 that "Steve hated the WWE writing team, and he made no bones about it", leading him to quit the federation.

The former ECW boss made the revelation following a recent night out with Austin and UFC champion Brock Lesnar.

The meeting between the trio led Heyman to recall how Stone Cold walked out of the WWE rather than lose a scheduled match to then-rising star Lesnar.

Looking back to that time, Heyman blogged: "Steve appeared on the WWE's very own internet program, Byte This, and ripped into the writing team.

"Jim Ross, then head of Talent Relations and Steve's best friend, tried to broker a peace, but the situation was spiralling too fast.

"Austin was sour on the WWE product.

"He was not happy with the lack of upward mobility afforded to the characters on Raw, therefore depriving him of new, fresh, quality opponents.

"The nWo had come in, but fizzled out quickly. Hulk Hogan, a true dream match if there ever was one, was already a babyface, and was losing steam once the standing ovations following his WrestleMania match with The Rock had worn thin.

"And the 'end all, be all,' Vince McMahon, with whom the buck always stopped, just wasn't making the same amount of time for Steve as he used to.

"Steve was one p****d off hombre.

"Vince wasn't all smiles at the time, either.

"One Friday afternoon, he tore into the Raw team as if they ate his last protein bar. Where's the new, must-see matchups?

"Where's the fresh blood in the main event? Why aren't you exploiting your resources? What's so 'raw' about Raw nowadays?

"It was a brutal ass chewing. I'm not saying the Raw didn't deserve it, but they got it, that's for sure.

"The original plan for Raw changed throughout the weekend. Vince didn't like anything [writers] Brian Gewirtz and Ed Koskey were pitching. And then, on late Sunday night, a totally revised show was sent out via email.

"The main event for Monday Night Raw, live from Atlanta, Georgia, would be the number one star on the show, Stone Cold Steve Austin, against the 2000 NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, 'The Next Big Thing' Brock Lesnar.

"The s***, as they say, was about to hit the fan.

"Steve Austin walked out of the arena in Atlanta, Georgia before Vince McMahon arrived.

"It was the greatest insult Austin could hurl at the Chairman of the Board.

"Vince loves confrontation. He got in a two second physical altercation with Bret Hart and used it as the catalyst to create the 'Mr McMahon' character. Imagine if he 'tossed furniture' with Stone Cold Steve Austin!

"Steve didn't give Vince the satisfaction of hearing 'f*** off' or 'I don't like it'.

"Steve was done. He had enough. In his mind, the company's plans for him were revealed not in the fact that Lesnar was set to win the match, but in the lack of foresight to want to do the match in the first place!

"To Steve, this was the last straw. How could he, with a clear conscience, perform on a nightly basis with a surgically repaired neck and a brutal travel schedule, when he had zero reason to believe the company he had busted his ass for was going to continue their phenomenal ride of success?

"Austin v Lesnar wasn't the issue. Austin v Lesnar, with zero build-up, placed in the main event slot of just another Monday night...a Monday night, mind you, with no competition breathing down WWE's neck any more...scheduled last minute over the weekend so the Raw writing team could get Vince off their backs.

"THAT was the issue!

"So Steve went home. Brock never took it personally.

"Truth be told, eight years later, Brock thought Austin v Lesnar with no build-up was a dumb idea, too."

Austin Talks of Coming Back to WWE to Face The Rock & Hogan

Source: WrestleHeat.com

In an interview with WWE Magazine’s special 2010 WrestleMania 26 Almanac, WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin says he still has no interest in fighting Hulk Hogan, despite WWE’s repeated attempts to make the match happen at the past few WrestleManias.

“After I retired, for two or three years, they asked me, ‘Do you want to wrestle Hogan this year? Do you want to wrestle Hogan? And the answer is: No, I don’t. “I don’t care to wrestleHulk Hogan. I don’t think it would live up to fans’s expectations.”

Austin says his match with Dwayne “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson at WrestleMania 19 in 2003 was his “retirement match.” Austin isn’t looking for one last rematch, because he doesn’t think it could be as good as their past classics.

“That was my last match, and I’m not looking for a re-match. I don’t it would be as good as what we’ve done before because we’ve both been out of the ring for some time. Could it be done? Of course. But there’s no use talking about it. … I definitely do not have any interest in delivering anything that would be second-best to what I’ve done before.”

When asked about his favorite WrestleMania match, Austin his WrestleMania 17 main event match against The Rock, but admits that turning heel and aligning himself with Mr. McMahon that night was a bad idea looking back.

“Looking back, it wasn’t the best thing we ever did,” Austin said. “Now, if I could go back, as soon as that match ended, when Vince walked up to me, I would have shaken his hand and said, ‘Watch the Stunner,’ and dropped him right there in the middle of the ring. That’s hindsight being 20/20!”

Update on Austin's WWE/TNA Status

Source: InsidePulse.com: Wrestling

Hulk Hogan coming to TNA has made every available free agent in wrestling come up in talks of who would appear on the January 4th edition of Impact going live with Raw.

One megastar who has been on the sidelines is Stone Cold Steve Austin, who has made few WWE TV appearances in recent years. There has been speculation that if his longtime friend Jim Ross were somehow ousted from WWE and end up in TNA, that Austin could conceivably do the same.

This is apparently not possible, as Austin is under what’s described as a “high money” contract with WWE with no particular role attached. The thinking from the WWE camp is that if they pay Austin, even just to sit at home and collect merchandise royalties, it is worth the investment.

Stone Cold Steve Austin - Lord of the Ring

2000 A&E biography on Steve Austin, Stone Cold Steve Austin - Lord of the Ring



If you can't watch it, click here.

Enjoy!

Eric Bischoff Defends Firing Steve Austin Before WWE Fame

Source: PWTorch.com

Wade Keller: You mentioned Steve Austin earlier. I think that's a good example where there's two sides to stories. The anti-Bischoff side got a lot of publicity while you were busy running the company. In your book you gave your side of a lot of things. I did the "Torch Talk" with Steve Austin after he left WCW, right before he signed with the WWF, and he said he couldn't believe you fired him over the phone or didn't bring him into the office and was very upset. You provided a pretty compelling second side to it, which is him telling his wife when you called, "Tell him I'm not home." And you overheard that. I think a lot of people sympathized with your decision to pull the trigger on him at that point because he wasn't, in your mind, in any position to be that unprofessional. That acknowledged, that there were two sides to it, do you think look back and think you still should have maybe recognized what a lot of people had been writing for a couple of years, what a lot of his colleagues thought for a couple of years, which is he could be the next big thing. Because I think in your book you probably understated how many people recognized him in that year before he was fired by you - a lot of people were saying "he has it, he has that It Factor." He's not quite focused on what he's going to become to be a top star, but he's headed that direction. When you look back do you think maybe you should have seen that a little more?

Eric Bischoff: I don't know who all those people were, Wade? Nobody was coming to me with that point of view. Nobody pulled me aside and said, "Hey, Eric, I think you're making a mistake. I think this guy has that It-Factor. I think he could be the Next Big Thing. Maybe people that were reading your sheets and your audience were saying that.

Keller: It was a limited number of people, but it was definitely being written about. But also, I really think colleagues, other wrestlers were saying that. I thought it was pretty commonly thought that he was among the top draft picks if you were planning three-to-five years down the road.

Bischoff: Like I said, I didn't look to the Torch or the Wrestling Observer to kind of base my futures decisions on, number one. Number two, if there were any of his colleagues or Dusty Rhodes or whoever it was that was around me at the time, certainly none of those people pulled me aside and said, "Look, I think you're underestimating this guy or undervaluing him." I think, again, going back. Now we're going back 15 years, not 10, but I had always liked "Stunning" Steve. I always got along with him. We weren't beer drinking buddies or any of that kind of stuff; we hadn't gone hunting and fishing together. But we were friendly and got along great. We got along great when I was an announcer at WCW. We're probably more alike than we are not in terms of people. We're both pretty direct, we both like to hunt and fish, we both like to drink beer. We're kind of both rednecks. I'm standing on my deck looking out at the Rocky Mountains right now because I like to be here to hunt and fish. There's not a lot of chemistry differences between Steve and I. So we got along fine, but going back 15 years ago, this was a guy who, he and Brian Pillman were great as The Hollywood Blondes, a great tag team. But Steve was struggling with injuries. He had some pretty severe injuries at the time. His character, we kept trying a few different things and he kept experimenting and nothing was really clicking. After I fired him, he went to WWE and it took a while to find anything that clicked. Anybody that tells me they had this crystal ball and knew that Steve Austin was going to become Stone Cold in 1997 or 1998 after I fired him in nineteen-ninety-whatever, they're full of sh--. It's easy to look back and say, "Aw, I told you so!" But this is a guy that had been in the business for a long time, he had struggled with a lot of different characters, he had reached a good level of success, but he wasn't knocking super-stardom's door in WCW or in WWE until after the Nitro era opened the door for him to become an entirely different character than he had ever been before.


More of the interview tomorrow from PWTorch.com!