The Steve Austin Show — “Rip Rogers PART TWO – SAS CLASSIC”

PodcastOne | December 18, 2025

Episode Overview

In the second installment of his sprawling, no-holds-barred interview with Rip Rogers, Steve Austin dives deep into wrestling psychology, road stories, the gritty reality of learning the craft, and golden era anecdotes about legends like Billy Robinson, Randy Savage, and Andre the Giant. The episode is thick with wrestling wisdom, laugh-out-loud stories, and candid advice for wrestlers new and old, all delivered with Austin’s signature irreverence and Rip’s grizzled candor.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Wrestling Psychology & Getting Over

• Reaction vs. Being “Over”

  • Not all crowd reactions mean a wrestler is truly “over”; being truly “over” means sustained drawing power and main-eventing.
  • Rip Rogers: “Reaction does not mean you’re over. When you’re over, they put you in the main event and you draw.” (13:21)
  • Austin and Rip both emphasize: a “pop” from the crowd is important but not the end goal; overexposure and sameness dampen drawing power.

• Embracing the Grind

  • Comparing becoming a pro wrestler to becoming a doctor—years of repetition and learning from veterans is key.
  • Old territory wrestlers would get 340 matches/year; today, indie wrestlers might only get 8/month, mostly with the same-level opponents.

• Playing to Strengths / Making Weaknesses Strengths

  • Don’t copy legends—create your own style and character.
  • Rip: “If you can’t throw a punch, become the world’s greatest practicer of punchers.” (17:28)
  • WWE is seeking new stars and new gimmicks, not the next Stone Cold, Hogan, or Piper. (20:41)

2. Crafting and Practicing the Basics

• On Throwing a Good Punch

  • Most wrestlers avoid competent practice; Rip details how to practice working punches if no partner is around (e.g., on a towel rack or shower curtain).
  • Long punches are harder to make look good; less is more.
  • Protect the look and feel of what happens “in the ring”—make every move mean something.

• In-Ring Logic & Selling

  • Don’t do an eye-gouge, then a high spot (“you kill your own shit”). If you work an injury, sell it.
  • Overly choreographed, “too perfect” high spots kill the realism:
    • Rip: “When high spots are too perfect, they look phony as hell.” (46:13)
  • Less is more; older wrestlers’ work often looks more real because it’s less exaggerated.
  • High Spots should be organic—“a contest, reaction to your opponent,” not obviously pre-planned sequence.

3. Stories from the Road & Old School Tales

• Working with Legends:

  • Working with Billy Robinson in Detroit: Robinson could “do whatever he wanted with most Americans” due to his catch wrestling skill.
  • Gene Anderson “ribbing” Rip in the ring; “If someone’s too snug, first time’s an accident, second time’s a trend—and I’ll hit back.” (26:35)
  • Referees are unsung ring generals—can help save a bad match or ruin a good one (Ronnie West, Nick Patrick, Fonzie praised). (40:39)

• Old School Wrestling Territories:

  • Touring Germany—wrestlers living on training, boredom leads to bad habits (“Regal said I sounded like a drug addict” on pain pills). (28:38)
  • Booking Puerto Rico—insane brawls, “Bring your own weapons” matches, chicken wire to prevent fans from throwing projectiles, fans not “smartened up.” (35:28)

• Traveling with Andre the Giant:

  • Driving Andre in a van with mattresses because he couldn’t fit in the seats; Andre “drank beer and ripped farts.”
  • Rip: “He was so larger than life, right? I’m sitting there going, I can’t believe this. I’m here driving Andre the Giant around. Holy shit.” (43:28)
  • Andre got 10% of the house and always drew big crowds in small towns.

4. Mentorship and Competition

• Relationship with the Poffo Family & Randy Savage
  • Rip lived with Randy during a bodybuilding phase; the relationship was highly competitive in everything from cards to sprints.
  • Rip: “No, I go out and beat [Randy] and he’d get mad... He’d tackle me, threaten me, spit on me, you name it.” (31:01)
  • Savage was “always in character,” except when mourning his dog.
  • Second generation wrestlers have advantages (Austin notes as well).

5. Fitness, Obsession, and Diet

• Rip’s Training Philosophy
  • Obsessive approach: trained every body part every day for nine years, driven by physique goals rather than strength alone.
  • Extreme diet: 150 days on nothing but milk, orange juice, and chicken broth; lost 63 pounds in five months.
  • Rip: “Everything’s mental. If you can lock that mental side into anything, you can be a success.” (34:27)
• Drug and Partying Culture
  • Rip avoided alcohol and drugs except occasional pain pills (“free pain pills if I could get them”).
  • Learned what not to do after hearing himself act “like a drug addict” on tape.

6. Personal Struggles & GoFundMe

• Current Hardships
  • Rip discusses teaching at OVW and recent transportation struggles, leading to a GoFundMe (“Rip Rogers Raw Deal”):
    • “I’ve been sort of fucking carless... So it’s hard to get by.” (57:16)
• Financial Philosophy
  • Raised frugally, lived on $85 out of $130/week, “never into possessions”—just needed a car and a fork.

7. Life Lessons, Longevity, and the “Wrestler’s Prime"

• Austin on Hitting Your Prime
  • Wrestlers truly “get it” in their mid-30s; unfortunately, that’s when injuries also pile up.
    • Austin: “I think guys really come into their prime, into their mid-30s... Then the injuries start happening.” (52:54)
  • Rip was wrestling up to age 48, training hard until hit by a car.

Memorable Quotes

• Steve Austin (15:35):
  “If you’re over, you’ve got great business in the arena. If you’re over, the pay per views are out the ass and the television ratings are up. If you’re not over, they’re all down. Right now, nobody’s over, right?”
• Rip Rogers (20:41):
  “WWE is not looking for a copy of HBK, Taker, Jake, Stone Cold, the Rock, Savage, Hogan, Piper, etc. They’re looking for new stars and new gimmicks.”
• Steve Austin (22:14):
  “Don’t put everybody in a box. Just look for whatever the next good thing is or the next great guy and gravitate towards them.”
• Rip Rogers (34:27):
  “If you can lock that mental side into anything, you can be a success... Everything’s mental.”
• Rip (31:01):
  “Bench press, curls, no matter what it was, then you beat me, and I was too stupid to put him over. Hell, I go out and beat the son of a bitch and he’d get mad.”
• Rip (43:28):
  “He [Andre the Giant] was so larger than life, right? I’m sitting there going, I can’t believe this. I’m here driving Andre the Giant around. Holy shit.”
• Rip (46:13):
  “When high spots are too perfect, they look phony as hell. A spot is supposed to be reaction to your opponent. Treat it as a contest, and it’s better.”

Useful Timestamps

• [13:03] — “Let’s talk about your Twitter account a little bit” — Start of in-depth Rip wisdom/Q&A from Austin
• [17:18] — How to practice a working punch, making weaknesses strengths
• [20:41] — WWE looks for originality, not copies of older stars
• [23:54] — Detroit, Billy Robinson tales, working for the Sheik
• [28:38] — Youthful road stories, drugs, bodybuilding competitions, training obsessively
• [31:01] — Living with Randy Savage, “everything was a competition”
• [35:28] — Booking and wrestling in Puerto Rico, chaotic matches
• [40:39] — The importance of referees, old school ref stories
• [42:47] — Driving Andre the Giant, road stories, drawing power
• [46:13] — Logic in match sequences, “don’t kill your own shit,” realism in high spots
• [52:03] — Wrestling prime, aging, getting “it” at 35-40
• [57:16] — Rip’s GoFundMe, frugal wrestling life philosophy
• [61:00] — Daily/weekly grind of teaching at OVW

Standout Moments

• Andre the Giant anecdotes (42:47): Rip’s marvel at driving the legend, sleeping on van mattresses, larger-than-life personality.
• Originality in Wrestling (20:41, 22:14): “Be something new.” Both hosts decry audiences and companies looking for “the next” version of an old star.
• Mental toughness lessons (34:27, throughout): Rip’s philosophies on diet, exercise, and wrestling all come down to “mental side” and obsession.
• Randy Savage stories (31:01, 32:33): From bodybuilding duels to Savage’s rare moments out of character.
• Practical tips (15:35, 17:18, 17:51): Nuggets on practicing punches, selling injuries, building fundamentals, learning from vets.
• Gritty stories of working Puerto Rico & Detroit: Real violence, fear, improvisation.

Tone & Language

The conversation is raw, explicit, and steeped in the working-class, blue-collar wrestling tradition. Both men use strong language, locker room humor, and direct, no-nonsense wisdom learned from decades in and around the squared circle. It’s equal parts instruction manual, oral history, and therapy session for wrestling veterans.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

If you’re a fan of wrestling’s old school philosophy—where character, fundamentals, and gritty realism always trumped flash and flips—this episode is required listening. It’s a heartfelt, hilarious, and sometimes sobering masterclass on what makes pro wrestling work, why originality matters, and why mental strength is just as crucial as physical. The stories of wrestling’s wild past, told by two legends, serve as both a guidebook for aspiring professionals and a nostalgia trip for longtime fans.

Follow Rip Rogers:
Twitter @hustler2754
GoFundMe: “Rip Rogers Raw Deal”

Next episode teasers:

• Part two with Zoltan Bathory (Five Finger Death Punch)
• More “badass shirts” at BrokenSkullRanch.com