Steve Takes Your Calls PART TWO! - SAS CLASSIC

Summary

The Steve Austin Show – Steve Takes Your Calls PART TWO! - SAS CLASSIC

Date: May 7, 2026
Host: Steve Austin
Format: Listener Call-In

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Episode Overview

In this classic episode of The Steve Austin Show, pro wrestling legend Steve Austin broadcasts from the set of his show, Broken Skull Challenge, in Agua Dulce, CA. Taking a break from his hectic filming schedule, Steve opens up the phone lines for a wide-ranging, unscripted Q&A with fans. The discussion covers everything from advice on breaking into wrestling, stories from Steve's career, his thoughts on current wrestling and pop culture topics, and plenty of trademark Austin humor and storytelling.

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Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. Broken Skull Challenge & Life Updates

Timestamps: 01:59–06:36

• Steve talks about filming the latest season of Broken Skull Challenge, describing it as the "craziest goddamn season" so far – full of "triumphs, tragedy, success, failure, crazy decisions, and epic performances."
• Extreme conditions on set: “When you’re out here on a mountain in the desert, it’s like working in a sandblaster, man. The sun’s beating down on you, winds blowing sand, grit and shit on you.” (03:55)
• Grateful for athletes and crew: "Tough ass people. I had a blast filming this season." (04:35)

2. Steve’s Truck Repair Saga

Timestamps: 06:36–16:38

• Austin recounts his ongoing battle with his beloved 2003 pickup truck, plagued by mechanical problems.
• Humorous reaction to a $1,600 repair bill for "spark plugs, wires and some bullshit sensors":

  “Who you got working on my truck? Ted Fowler 361. His fucking price is higher than giraffe pussy. $1,600.” (10:47)

• Debates the logic of repairing vs. buying new, venting in classic Steve style.
• On negotiating:

  “Well, goddamn right, I’d like the price to be a lot lower! … Fuck, I’d love for you to see if you can get the price down.” (11:35)

• Considers getting an SUV for the dogs, complains about trying to park his truck in LA:

  "When I can’t park a truck in an underground parking lot, there’s a fucking problem. And it ain’t with me — it’s the size of that truck. Because Los Angeles is built for a compact or mid sized car." (15:04)

• Comedy on breathing:

  “They always tell you, breathe, breathe, breathe. ... I’ve been alive 52 years. Ain’t nobody never had to remind me.” (15:51)

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Listener Q&A Highlights

1. Breaking Into Wrestling: Advice for Aspiring Pros

Timestamps: 19:33–25:14

• A 19-year-old former football player asks Steve about becoming a wrestler.
• Steve emphasizes conditioning:

  "You don’t want to start working on your cardio when you get into business. That damn ring will kill you. … In-ring conditioning is of paramount importance.” (20:11–21:13)

• Importance of reputable training camps and learning psychology, mechanics, and basics of the business.
• On idols: The caller admires Luke Harper and Samoa Joe. Steve praises both and suggests OVW/Rip Rogers as a great trainer.

  “Find someone who’ll teach you right from wrong and teach you the right way, the first way, the first time.” (24:44)

2. Most Underrated WWE Match

Timestamps: 25:26–27:10

• Steve’s pick: His Madison Square Garden match with Bret Hart ("’96 or ’97"), which he calls "an underrated classic."

  “We told a good story … it was a really good match, but underrated.” (26:52)

3. Staying Fit Post-Wrestling

Timestamps: 27:20–28:29

• Staying in shape: Lifting weights 5–7 days/week, re-incorporating cardio, and trying not to drink "too much beer."

  “Just trying to be consistent and try to just keep grinding, because you have to keep grinding at it or you’ll just fall off.” (27:45)

4. Thoughts on Brock Lesnar’s Title Run

Timestamps: 28:31–31:16

• On if Brock Lesnar should hold the Universal title until WrestleMania:

  “I’m fine with it. Brock’s a former UFC champion… biggest, most legit guy in the business right now. Hell of a worker. … I can believe that whoever’s time it is next will come when Brock is through holding onto that belt according to storyline.” (28:51–30:11)

• On Finn Balor:

  “I’m looking for big things out of this kid… a superstar.” (29:35)

• On Roman Reigns:

  “Roman’s going to be just fine whether he has that belt or not.” (30:18)

5. Early WCW Days & The Dangerous Alliance

Timestamps: 31:20–33:36

• Working with legends like Bobby Eaton, Arn Anderson, Rick Rude, and Sting.

  "Everybody that I talked to had so much experience... So hell, I picked the brains of all of them and learned from every single one of them. So it was absolutely awesome, to answer your question, a wealth of knowledge and I was a knowledge seeker." (31:53)

6. First Encounter and Working With Sting

Timestamps: 33:36–35:21

• Describes his first introduction to Sting and how meaningful it was to work with him.

  "He was super over and … very fun to work with." (35:12)

• Anecdote about screwing up a match call but praising Sting’s star power.

7. The Iconic Supermarket Brawl With Booker T

Timestamps: 46:10–48:41

• Filming the segment at a real supermarket, and why it was so memorable:

  “Price check on a jackass still gets people tweeting me damn near every day about that because it was so iconic.” (47:35)

• High praise for Booker T’s performance and attitude:

  “He was very giving. Let me do all the stuff to him. It was amazing.”

8. Dream WrestleMania Opponents: Austin vs. CM Punk

Timestamps: 37:46–40:56

• On the match that never happened:

  “When you bring up CM Punk ... the promos I could have had with that guy, the matches I could have with that guy, it would have been like a walk in the park and it would have been so fun.” (38:14)

• Reminiscing about their unscripted WWE 2K13 promo and its tension:

  “If you watch that back, you can feel the tension coming through that damn television screen.” (39:12)

9. Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James

Timestamps: 41:27–43:28

• Steve’s choice:

  "For me, just because Jordan has that mystique, I just got to go Michael Jordan… both guys are phenomenal." (41:54–42:59)

10. Music Preferences & Pantera Memories

Timestamps: 49:14–51:57

• Boston’s debut album has a special place in Steve’s heart, calling it "timeless."
• On Pantera:

  “Favorite song would be Cowboys From Hell and then Cemetery Gates.” (51:57)

11. Matt Riddle & New School Talent

Timestamps: 52:09–53:45

• Caller asks if Matt Riddle could be the next Rob Van Dam.
• Steve admits he hasn’t seen enough of Riddle’s work but recognizes his MMA credentials and Twitter buzz.

12. The Business of Beer & Passing On the Gimmick

Timestamps: 54:00–58:44

• On bringing out a “light” version of his Broken Skull IPA:

  “As a businessman, it would be a smart idea … There is a tremendous market for a light beer.” (55:01–56:32)

• On passing the beer-drinking or Stunner gimmick to another wrestler:

  "But then they might always kind of be looming underneath that branch of Stone Cold Steve Austin, rather than being their own thing… But I would be down with passing the Stunner along to someone who deserved it." (57:39–58:30)

13. Old School Heels and Modern Characters

Timestamps: 59:10–64:43

• Steve’s appreciation for New Japan’s Marty Scurll and especially Kenny Omega:

  "He jumps off the page at you. And all of a sudden he starts talking like, 'Hey man, this guy’s a little different.' … He is a great entertainer, a great wrestler. That’s what you have to be. You have to be both of those. And he is." (64:10–64:31)

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Notable Quotes & Classic Steve Austin Moments

• “Who you got working on my truck? Ted Fowler 361. His fucking price is higher than giraffe pussy.” (10:47)
• On LA parking: “When I can’t park a truck in an underground parking lot, there’s a fucking problem. And it ain’t with me — it’s the size of that truck.” (15:04)
• On Booker T brawl: “Price check on a jackass still gets people tweeting me damn near every day about that because it was so iconic.” (47:35)
• On dreaming about facing CM Punk: “The promos I could have had with that guy, the matches I could have with that guy, it would have been like a walk in the park and it would have been so fun.” (38:14)
• On old school vs. new school: “He just had that kind of larger than life where … he jumps off the page at you.” (64:10)

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Listener Questions Overview

Topics Covered:

• How to start a wrestling career & choosing a school
• Steve’s most underrated matches
• Staying healthy and fit post-wrestling
• Thoughts on Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor
• Working with Bobby Eaton, Sting, and the Dangerous Alliance
• Dream “one more match” opponent
• Wrestling’s best heels today, especially in New Japan
• The business of beer and the legacy of Steve's gimmicks
• Comparing basketball legends
• Musical influences—classic rock and metal

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Conclusion & Closing Remarks

Timestamp: 64:54–66:49

• Shout-outs to sponsors and merchandise (Broken Skull IPA, Broken Skull knives, Pro Wrestling Tees)
• Promise of more great episodes ahead as Broken Skull Challenge filming wraps up
• “Until next time, my name is Steve Austin, and I will catch your ass down the road.” (66:47)

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Summary

This episode is peak Steve Austin—authentic, funny, unfiltered, and full of crowd-pleasing stories. From blue-collar advice and wrestling wisdom to tales of backstage camaraderie and epic brawls (in-ring and in supermarkets), Steve remains the ultimate "working man" podcast host. Whether you’re a wrestling superfan or just enjoy no-nonsense talk radio, this installment delivers laughs, insight, and a look behind the curtain at the man behind "Stone Cold."

Transcript

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[Steve Austin]

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[Caller or Fan]

Un

[Steve Austin]

all right, everybody.

Welcome to Steve Austin Show. I'm coming to you from the toughest show on television, the set of the Broken Skull Challenge out here in Agua Dulce, California. We're filming this show for CMT and the season premiere will be September 26th. That is a Tuesday at 10pm 9 Central only on CMT. Mark it down on your calendar, set it on your iPhone. Reminder, reminder, reminder. And also make sure you set your dvr. This has been the craziest goddamn season I've ever seen in my life. I've been doing this for five seasons. This is the damnedest one I've seen. The storylines. I don't even call them storylines because shit Happens and it turns into a story. We don't create storylines out here. We have challenges. And the athletes, the best athletes in the United States of America come out and shit happens in epic fashions. There's been triumphs, tragedy, success, failure, crazy decisions, epic performances, global meltdowns, man, anything and everything you can think of. It has happened out here this season. And I ain't going to sit here and talk about it too much because you just got to tune in September 26th and you'll see what I'm talking about. But I'll tell you one thing, and like I keep saying, the key word to describe this season, intense. That is what it is from start to finish. Holy smokes.

Wait till you see some of the

shit that happens on this. Hell, wait till you see the damn trailer to this season. Some of the shit that happens out here. Again, before I get into the business of the podcast, I want to say thank you very much to all the athletes who came out this year and had the guts to. To come out of whatever the world they compete in and just throw all cost into the wind where anything can go out here. And this is the roughest, toughest damn show on television, bar none. Thanks to everybody that came out, both the men and the women. And I got to give a quick shout out because we got two more days of filming out here before we're done. Thanks to the crew, we got the toughest damn crew in show business. When you're out here on a mountain in the desert, it's like working in a sandblaster, man. The sun's beating down on you, winds blowing sand, grit and shit on you. Holy shit. The environment's enough to make most people say, nah, man, I'll tap out and go home. Shout out to everybody that participated on this show, from the athletes who came from around the United States of America to our damn crew. Tough ass people. I had a blast filming this season.

Son of a bitch.

Again, the big word here is intense. That's what this show is like for me as a host, man, to be ready for anything and everything that can happen every single moment while we're rolling cameras. It's absolutely phenomenal. Anyway, I don't want to ramble about that shit too much. Let me take care of a couple of pieces of business and I want to tell you my truck repair story. I told you guys I was going to be shopping for a new truck. I went and drove a Toyota the other day. I'll pick that story up. I gotta tell you guys about this new Damn Podcast One app. It's now available for download at the App Store or Google Play. And there ain't another podcast app like this one anywhere. And that's because the new Podcast one app is loaded with some cool features that let you do a lot more than just listen to your favorite shows. You can access behind the scenes photos articles and connect with other fans of the shows you like. And you can watch over a thousand 360 virtual reality videos. And you can actually watch some of your favorite shows in virtual reality. It's like you're sitting right in the same room with them. So get to the App Store or Google Play and download the new Podcast One app now. Amen. Today I'm finally finishing up all the phone calls we took a couple of months ago. And before we get to those phone calls, I want to give a special shout out to Stacy and Brett for helping me take all those phone calls. There was no topic, it was just a free for all. I can't remember shit because I've been hit in the head with so many steel chairs. It was Stacy's idea and they put forth the time and effort to go to the studio and we fielded those calls and the phone lines were lighting up. So thanks for everybody calling and thanks to Stacy and Brett for helping me get those damn things done. Hey man, I'm coming to you from the Broken Skull challenge compound out here in Agua Dulce. It's been hotter than hell. Weather's been damn good almost, you know, all the way through filming. We had a torrential downpour one day.

It came out of nowhere. Fuck.

We were ready for an astronomical heat wave to sweep across the west coast region. And all of a sudden we're thinking it's going to be hotter than shit. And we get bombarded with with a shit pile of rain in a short amount of time. Damn near washed everything away. Anyway, everything was good. I had my life jacket on. I'm ribbing you. I can swim. Didn't need a life jacket. I got a Kawasaki mule. We can drive that thing through anything. But anyway, story I want to tell you guys before we get into the phone calls about my pickup truck. If you remember my pickup truck story from when I left the Broken Skull Ranch. Upon selling it, I hooked up to my 6x12 utility trailer. It was empty. And I drove the 1500 miles from Tilden back to Marina del Rey, California. My check engine light was on way back then. I called my mechanic in Tilden, Neil Merchant. I said, hey dude. I said, my check Engine light is on. Do you think I'll be okay to make it back to California? He said, yeah, Steve, you know, it could be a O2 sensor or something like that, but you should be solid. I took his advice, and he was right. I made it all the way back to Los Angeles, no problem. Other than the fact that that 5.3 motor from 2003 is weaker than a kitten. Nonetheless. I love my fucking truck.

But when I was coming out here,

the broken skull challenge, five weeks ago, I loaded a bunch of shit in my truck. My air assault bike, all my stuff, my bow, my target batteries for my motorcycles. Shit, I broke out my bow and my target. I ain't had a chance to even put a damn arrow in my bow, knock it, pull it back, and fling it towards the target because I ain't had time. The two batteries I got for my dirt bike and my scooter, I ain't even put them some bitches in yet because I ain't had time to fuck with none of it. That's how busy the schedule is out here. That's how under the gun we are. With time, we're filming the toughest damn show on television. Period. End of story. I'll go on with the damn story.

So anyway, as I loaded my truck

up to come out here, I noticed, man, my check engine light started flashing intermittently, and there was a rough idle. Once I started my truck up, it was running like shit. And one time when I stopped to gas it up out here, I was like, man, I'm about three miles from my house. Maybe I should just turn around, get the bronco, and just come back out there and that, because this truck is running like shit. I said, fuck it, because I'm so add ready to get out here. I said, fuck it. I'll take a chance. Well, the truck made it out here, and it made it back to the house. And then I told my wife, Kristen, I said, you know what? We got to put this fucking truck in the shop. I got to find out what's wrong with it. So we took it to a GMC dealership and dropped it off. The guy says, hey, man, what's wrong with this thing? Well, I went through the whole list. When I got my oil changed, the people over there at the 10 minute oil change, whatever the fuck it's called, told me that I had a gasket leak.

And I think it was under the

valve cover or they had gasket. Anyway, there was a lot of oil pouring out of the damn thing. And I also Had a front left hub that was leaking. So I needed to get that checked out. And along with obviously the motor missing and at rough idle and not running worth of shit, I need to get that addressed. So I took it in there, told the guy all those things that I'll give you a call tomorrow. So he calls me the next day. He says, man, you're looking at an EGR sensor, O2 sensors. All your spark plugs need to come out, need to be replaced, and we

need to put a new wire and we need to put new wires on

it and some other shit. And he goes, with parts and labor. He said, that's going to be sixteen hundred dollars.

Sixteen hundred dollars.

God damn.

That ain't even for the hub.

That ain't for the goddamn valve cover

gasket or the head gasket, whatever the hell it is. That's for basically a spark plug, wires

and some bullshit sensors and a couple of other things.

Sixteen hundred dollars. I said, God damn. Damn. I said, who you got working on my truck? Ted Fowler. 361. His fucking price is higher than giraffe pussy. $1,600. I know. Motor's running like shit. I get it. I told the guy without fucking missing

a beat, I said, well, God damn. I said, you gonna include a new motor with that?

And he goes, no, no, no, we're

not replacing the engine. It's the spark plug wires and plugs and all the other stuff. I said, damn, dude, I'm just ribbing you.

I'm not. I'm not being serious. I know you're not going to replace my motor. I said, I'm asking you about the $1,600 because that sounds like a shit

pile of money to do that kind of repair. And he goes, well, you want me

to see if I can get the price a little bit cheaper for you? And I'm thinking, hello, McFly. Well, goddamn right, I'd like the price to be a lot lower than you just quoted me. Fuck, I'd like to pay as little

as possible if you tell me, hey, Steve, we can get your truck. Gonna take some new plugs and wires. It'll cost you about $300.

Fuck, I'd jump over the moon because I was so goddamn happy. Yeah, I'd love for you to see

if you can get the price down.

Fuck, it's not like I'm buying a new vehicle here.

And I'm negotiating the price of a new car. We're talking about a repair. He goes, well, the guy who quoted me five Hours of labor on the motor and he starts running through the list. I said, hey dude, I. I said, I know you got bills to pay. I know everybody's got to get paid.

Everybody's got to make their money.

But yeah, if you can help me out a little bit, I'd appreciate it. Fuck. I thought my wife was going to have to do CPR compressions on my chest because my heart damn near skipped a beat when my cheap ass heard $1,600. I looked at my wife and said, well, goddamn.

I said, fuck, I might as well

buy a new truck that's $1,600 without even covering the hub or the goddamn leak.

Son of a bitch.

Then it asked, well, you want me to see if I can get the sub? It's a little bit lower.

Yeah, yeah, motherfucker, yeah.

Fuck, I'd love to have it done for free. Sixteen hundred dollars for spark plugs, some wires. Boy, I tell you what, it's got to be every goddamn sensor on top

of that damn motor.

I want to get an itemized price check on everything and a price check on a jackass. Shit, I'm the jackass on this thing. What would have happened if had I just taken it to just a regular mechanic? I wonder if they'd have tried to pull the damn wool over my eyes. Or maybe if I walked in, they said, hey man, shit, that's Stone Cold Steve Austin's pickup, man, we're gonna charge the shit out of him. I don't know what the strategy was, but you thought about getting my attention and opening up my eyes. Motherfucker. Good thing I don't spend no money. Cause I'm about to spend a shitload on repairs. I tell you what, I am not impressed with the 5.3 motor. The old 5.3 motor. I just got finished driving a current 5.3 motor that has 355 horsepower. That's a strong motor and that's an outstanding motor. So the old one that I got when I'm just zipping around town on flat surface, that some bitch is fine. It'll haul ass.

It's got a shift kit in it.

I got headers and exhaust system on it. I took the supercharger off. Just going down flat pavement, just hauling the couch here or there, whatever. That truck is fine. Just don't try to load it up with the trailer. Put a big ass mule on it and expect to go climb up a big ass mountain. Don't ask it to do that. But I love my pickup and I told My wife. Well, fuck, if we're going to get the sunbish fixed, I said she might as well just keep it. You know, I only use it every now and then. So maybe I'll look at trying to get a bigger suv since we need something to haul the dogs around, maybe that would be a better option. It's not like I drive my pickup every day out here in Los Angeles. And if you've heard my podcast before, trying to park that cab and a half, long bed pickup and underground parking in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, all them bullshit places out here that I got to go to. Shit, you might as well be driving a freight train. You got a valet park every goddamn

thing you get over here.

Unless you got, you know, outdoor parking and then you can navigate.

But still, it's tight. It's tight. I see work trucks all the time.

If you live in Los Angeles, say God damn, Steve. It can't be that bad.

No, motherfucker, I'm one of the best drivers in the world. It can't be that bad. When I can't park a truck in

an underground parking lot, there's a fucking problem. And it ain't with me. It's the size of that truck. Because Los Angeles is built for a

compact or a mid sized car.

End of story. Bottom line, period. So that's my goddamn truck repair story.

I tell you what, once they fix

that goddamn truck, it's got 80,000 miles

on it right now. I've already set a goal. I'm going to try to put 200,000 miles on it.

Unless, you know, I get the new car bugged down the line, I don't think I will, as cheap as I am. But motherfucker, maybe I'll get an suv, something to haul the dogs around. Let me decompress for a second. Let me take a. They always tell you, breathe, breathe, breathe. In, out, don't forget to breathe. I'm listening to these motherfuckers like, goddamn,

I've been alive 52 years.

Ain't nobody never had to remind me. Breathe. It's just one of those natural instincts

that comes naturally to me to stay alive. I fucking breathe this time.

I'm forcing myself. Inhale, exhale. Through the nose. Through the nose. I don't know why it's through the nose, but my goddamn noses are still stopped up. Right now I got these deviated septums that are broke to shit, got all sand blown in them.

I can't even use my nose right now. Fuck, if I had a big old

line of nevermind I ain't going there.

Fuck it. You in for a hell of a show. I'm glad to have you here. I appreciate you listening to the show. I appreciate you hitting the download button. Fuck, if you'd subscribe to this pile of shit, I'd appreciate that too.

This is a Steve Austin show unleashed.

I got a one man clusterfuck going here fast and furious. I got a $1,600 truck bill on

my menu and that ain't including the

gasket and the fucking hub. I'm probably looking at driving that bitch out of there. Probably to the tune of upwards of $2,500. That's me. Just guessing.

I'll give you the story when I pay to some bitch. And I'll probably have to put it

on a payment plan.

Fuck, I'll put it on layaway, motherfuckers.

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Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

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[Steve Austin]

How we doing Steve?

[Caller]

First of all, I just want to say thanks for, you know, taking this question and I just want to say I really appreciate everything you've done for the pro wrestling business and making pro wrestling cool for forever, you know what I mean? But my question for you is, I'm a 19 year old former football player in high school. Six one, about 290. I'm really thinking about breaking into the professional wrestling business. Is there any advice you can give me for that? Also, would you recommend that I get into shape? You know, work on my cardio before starting training or just let the trainer

[Steve Austin]

with me in the shape, oh dude, you don't want to start working on your cardio when you get into business. That damn ring will kill you. You will blow up so fast. Let's go back to the basics. Did you graduate high school yet?

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

Okay, that's good. I always recommend everybody at least graduate high school. Man, you gotta find a good place that will train you, that's local, I don't know in the Chicago area of the wrestling background or the landscape of who's training out there. But you gotta find you a good camp, a reputable camp that can help you learn the business or get your foot in the door or you know, send WWE some tape and try to get recognized and go down there to NXT, down there to the Performance center at 61 and 2 90. Former football player. What position you play? D line. O line?

[Caller]

Yeah.

D line.

D line.

[Steve Austin]

Okay, how's that? 290 in shape?

[Caller]

Just about, yeah. Pretty whipped in shape. Yeah. I'm in football shape, but I hear a lot about in ring shape is nothing like it, you know what I mean?

[Steve Austin]

Man, you take football and multiply it times 10 and I say that and you think, oh man, you're kidding me. I'm not. Everything is sped up, the adrenaline's firing, testosterone is firing. You're in front of a live crowd and when you go on a flurry of punches or kicks, or you're trying to work a body part to try to sell for a guy, you will blow up quick. So ring conditioning is of paramount importance. Here's the thing. When someone pays 20 bucks to see you rustle cash, they don't want to see you out there huffing and puffing. And trying to catch your breath. They want to see you out there beating the hell out of the bad guy or if you are the bad guy, torturing the good guy so he can make his comeback on you. They didn't pay to see you or me back in the day. Lay there because we're breathing hard because we're not in shape and we're gassed out in ring shape is of real importance. When I first came to the wwf, way back in the day, I came out of ECW and I just had my right tricep reattached so I was not in ring condition. I started wrestling a two month program with a guy named Savio Vega. Savio Vega was an old school worker from Puerto Rico. I was working heel or bad guy and he was the baby face or good guy. Well, I had to shine him up and then I had to get some heat on him. During the heat I was too tired to beat him up so I laid in a rear chin lock so I could catch my breath and then I had to flip, flop and fly for his comeback for the finish. So I was in such bad shape after two months of working with Savio Vega. Two months, it wasn't overnight. I was in the best ring shape of my life and that would propel me to the work style that I adapted to after being dropped on my head. They're in the wwf but man, you got to be in shape because if you're not, you will not last long. Have you done any looking around in the Chicago area of reputable schools to train?

[Caller]

I found two actually, but I visited and I visited both of them. The first one I found was this really beat up, dingy place. And you know, I hear a lot of stories about it. It doesn't really matter how beat up the places, you know, it's really the training. But I sat and watched the training. I wasn't really feeling how they were doing it and it was really unorganized and everything. Another one I found was actually really good. Is run through. I don't know if you familiar with Steve Boss, but is run through, run by him and he does an incredible job. I really like what I saw right now. That situation was just really getting the money together, you know what I mean?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah.

[Caller]

Oh, I liked what I saw from him. Everything looked really professional. It was, it was a pretty good thing. And then he had a gang of talented kids in there, man. Like a gang of talented guys, like guys who were only a few weeks in who look like pros. At least it Threw my eyes, you know, I'm pretty sure they need a lot more work, but he. It looked.

It looked really good.

[Steve Austin]

Well, let me ask you a question. You watch WWE every Monday or Tuesday?

[Caller]

I do.

[Steve Austin]

If you see somebody who do you think you would emulate your style?

[Caller]

After I would say more. More. So Luke Harper, I think. I think Luke Harper is a pretty good, good, you know, as far as the size, build, everything like that goes as well as the way he works. I really admire a big guy that could really move around. I think I'm pretty agile for my size and, you know, I see a lot of that in Harper. Another guy I like is Samoa Joe. I think that guy's pretty.

[Steve Austin]

You know, Luke Harper's a great. Luke Harper is a great talent and Samoa Joe is one of my favorite workers in the business right now and has been for quite some time. Can flat out work his ass off. Find someone. If you can't find no one in Chicago, check out down there in Evansville. Ovw Rip Rogers. You talk about a hell of a damn trainer. He's trained some great ones, but find someone who teach you right from wrong and teach you the right way, the first way, the first time. And best of luck to you.

[Caller]

Appreciate it, Steve. Pleasure talking to you, man.

[Steve Austin]

Hey, pleasure talking to you. Find you a reputable trainer and someone who will teach you some knowledge in the ring, mechanics, psychology, and you get yourself in shape and the ring will get you in shape as well. Good luck to you. Let's go to Neil in Dallas.

[Caller]

Oh, my God. Hey, Steve, I'm one of your biggest fans ever, man.

[Steve Austin]

I appreciate that and I appreciate you calling in the show.

[Caller]

Yeah, I wanted to, I wanted to ask you, in your opinion, what do you think is your most underrated match in wwe? One that you think was really good, but maybe just for whatever reason, didn't receive a lot of publicity or doesn't get talked about too much, man, it's

[Steve Austin]

really making me go over the memory banks and it's hard to just pull one out that I thought was so great, but no one else did. It goes to show that I take a real realistic look at the body of work that I turned in and I don't remember half of the body of work I turned in. But if you go back to that match in about. It's an underrated match, but everyone knows it was a good, solid older school match. Was the match I had with Bret the Hitman Hart in Madison Square Garden. I'm guessing that was 96 or 97 that match, it was more of a scientific match. We weren't in the middle of a feud and Brett was making his comeback from a knee surgery or had some technique done to his knee and he needed an opponent to come back to. He hand picked Stone Cold Steve Austin. I'm just very thankful that he picked me to have that match with because I thought we really tore the place up that night. We told a good story. And as far as a match, I would say it was a really good match, but underrated. An underrated classic, definitely.

[Caller]

And I just wanted to say, can you give a quick shout out to my friend Jeremy, who is also a big fan of yours?

[Steve Austin]

Hey, Jeremy, it's the stone cold Steve Austin. I appreciate all the support over the years and that's the bottom line because I said so.

[Caller]

Thank you so much, Steve. This has been a dream come true to talk to you on the phone like this.

[Steve Austin]

Thanks for calling in. I appreciate it. Let's go to Houston. Hey, Ryan, how are you?

[Caller]

Hi. First of all, I want to thank you for being a great inspiration in my life. Second, I'm your biggest fan. Like, literally, I have everything of you. Blankets, cookie jars, everything. And thank you for that, for everything. My question is, how do you stay fit throughout the years now that you're making movies and not in wrestling anymore?

[Steve Austin]

Well, I'll tell you, I'm trying to get back in better shape. I just try to lift weights five or six days a week. Sometimes I lift seven days a week and then sometimes something will come up and I miss. Normally I'll do cardio. I kind of stopped doing that for a while. I just got my cardio back in. Whether it's 30, 45 or 60 minutes a day. Just working out, just doing regular type workouts. Nothing special, nothing overly scientific, just trying to be consistent with what I'm doing. Trying not to drink too much beer and just trying to be consistent and try to just keep grinding because you have to keep grinding at it or you'll just fall off. I appreciate you calling into the show.

[Caller]

Pleasure talking to you. Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it.

[Steve Austin]

Let's go to Matthew. Hey, Matthew, how are you doing?

[Caller]

Good, Steve.

[Steve Austin]

How are you, man? I'm just answering phone calls and taking questions and spitting out answers. You got something for me tonight?

[Caller]

Yeah, I was wanting to know. I know you probably don't read into rumors much, but the rumor is Brock's holding the Universal championship until Wrestlemania. What are your thoughts on that?

[Steve Austin]

Man, if Brock's holding the universal title till WrestleMania, I'm fine with it. Brock's a former UFC champion. He's the biggest, most legit guy in the business right now. He's a hell of a damn performer, hell of a damn worker. He's a genetic freak. He's a looming, charismatic presence. Paul Heyman is phenomenal. I think it's great if he holds onto that belt till WrestleMania. What do you think?

[Caller]

It depends on who they book him with until leading up to WrestleMania. Some people like Finn, maybe Bray, I feel like they might deserve it. I know Finn never got his rematch from getting injured, so that kind of sticks in my crawl a little bit, man.

[Steve Austin]

It was too bad when he went down with that injury when he got that buckle bomb. But injuries happen, you know, that's not. That's not on Brock deserving. I'm looking forward to Finn Balor. I'm looking for big things out of this kid. Good looking guy, hell of a damn worker, good charisma. He's going to be a superstar. He's got some ways to go, but nobody's going to. Like you said, if he's holding on that belt. I like the storyline because it's credible. I can believe that whoever's time it is next will come when Brock is through holding onto that belt according to storyline.

[Caller]

Do you think it'd be Roman that beats him at WrestleMania? Then Roman takes over. It's kind of like the Brock John Cena of the next gen, man.

[Steve Austin]

I have no idea. But that's the thing. I consider and try to book it, but I just like to watch it. And so I watch all the pay per views and I don't get a chance to watch the product on a weekly basis. So you probably know more about the ongoing storylines than I do. But if it's his time, it'll be his time. He's still finding his way and getting his feet under him, so to speak. In the business, storylines hot and cold and stuff like that. But Roman Reigns is going to be just fine whether he has that belt or not. But we'll see what happens if we get to WrestleMania. The good thing about being in the business for as long as I was to be out of the business, I just get a chance to watch it and enjoy it and I get a lot of damn entertainment just watching the Internet go ballistic over booking decisions. I like to just watch the shit on TV for what it is and not think about booking anyway. That's my two cents. But hey, Matthew, I appreciate you calling the show.

[Caller]

All right.

Thanks, Steve. I appreciate it.

[Steve Austin]

Take care, man. Let's go to Lubbock. Jimmy.

[Caller]

What's going on? Steve?

[Steve Austin]

Oh man, just sitting here talking to you. What's on your mind?

[Caller]

Well, first I'd like to say it's nice to be talking to a global, international and national treasure.

[Steve Austin]

You mess it up, it's global icon, international treasure. We gotta get this shit right.

[Caller]

My bad. I'm sorry. You got me a little flustered here. I've been watching you since 91 and you and Bobby Eaton were my favorites when I was watching wcw. So. Well, besides Sting. That's kind of what leads me to my question. I was curious what it was like being thrown into the Dangerous alliance and working with Sting.

[Steve Austin]

Man, going into the Dangerous alliance was awesome because basically everybody that was in that thing was in a hall of fame. Bobby Eaton hadn't gone in yet, but he should go in as part of the Midnight Express. I was telling someone earlier when I won that TV title off Bobby Eaton in what, 91, hell it damn near hurt my feelings because I had so much respect for the guy. But I wasn't going to say no to taking a belt, but hell, I couldn't lace that guy's boots at the time. So Bob Eaton's phenomenal. Larry Zabisco, phenomenal. Rick Rue, phenomenal. Arn Anderson, Medusa. Hell, she's in the hall of Fame. To me, I was the youngest guy in that group, youngest guy in the business. Everybody that I talked to had so much experiences was at a different level. So hell, I picked the brains of all of them and learned from every single one of them. So it was absolutely awesome, to answer your question, a wealth of knowledge and I was a knowledge seeker.

[Caller]

I definitely loved your work in the ring back then. I loved it when you were stone cold as well. I think a lot of people don't give you enough credit for some of your earlier stuff that you did, especially in wcw. And I mean, like I said, I've always been a huge fan. Even as a six year old I recognized your in ring work and thing with Bobby Eaton. He's probably my favorite besides Hennager Savage.

[Steve Austin]

Man, I tell you what, Savage is off the charts. His intensity, his execution, his commitment to go out there and have outstanding matches. Bobby Eaton and I only got to work with Macho man one time. I did a job for him in Orlando one time and they weren't doing anything with me and I really don't remember the match, but he was flat out awesome. From what I remember in his USWA days, throughout his whole career, especially his Peak in wwf?

[Caller]

Absolutely. So you have any memories of working with Sting?

[Steve Austin]

Here's my first memory of Sting. I was down there in the USWA trying to run hard in my angle with Chris Adams. And Matt Bourne, who was no longer with us, approached me and said, hey, hey, Steve. WCW is doing a television taping at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. I think we ought to go down there and see if we can meet some people. Well, I wanted to go to wcw. I wanted to go to the next level. So I said, okay, let's go. We rode down there in a car all the way from Dallas to Atlanta, Georgia. And we get there, we go to the back, center stage. They got a TV taping. Nobody's ever heard of me. Everybody's heard of Matt. He's been around, he's a veteran. I just walk around. Hell, I've been in the business about a year, year and a half. Hell, I figure, you know, hell, I'm a pro wrestler. So introduced myself to everybody backstage. There's Sting. And I go to introduce myself to him and say, hey man, I'm Steve Austin. And he kind of looks at me, you know, that looked like, what in the hell are you doing back in our dressing room? And as he just kind of shakes my hand and nods his head. And I was thinking, well, that was kind of weird. He wasn't happy to see me, man. He didn't know who the hell I was. He was fixing to go out there at that time, Sting was on fire, man. When he went out to Center Stage, that guy would light that building up. Those neon green tights of spiked hair, good looking guy with the face paint on. I didn't think for two seconds that when I first got there I'd end up working with the guy. So working with him was a blast. He was so over. You could almost never mess up a match. Although one match I called at an outdoor show, I screwed up bad. Called a shitty match, but Sting was super over and it was very fun to work with.

[Caller]

Bled all over the place of War Games, brother.

[Steve Austin]

War Games was a fun match and I'll tell you about that next time you call into the show.

[Caller]

All right? Appreciate you taking the time, brother.

[Steve Austin]

Hey, man, thanks for calling in.

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[Vrbo Announcer]

This. This is Steve Austin unleashed.

[Steve Austin]

Let's go to Fontana. Hey, Freddy, how are you?

[Caller]

Pretty good, Steve.

[Steve Austin]

How are you, man? Having a damn day in paradise over here with these headphones on. Talking to you. What's on your mind?

[Caller]

Not much, man. If I could put you over real quick and also had a question for you, if you don't mind, sir.

[Steve Austin]

You got it.

[Caller]

Yeah, man, I was 13 years old and I turned on the television and

there you were, man.

You're saving Stephanie McMahon from the Undertaker, about to have this unholy marriage on tv. And that's, that's, that's what it was for me, man, that you. I was just a stone cold mark from here to. I mean, I'm 30 years old and I've been supporting you ever since.

[Steve Austin]

Hey, man, it was some good, good times back in the days. And when I got out of business, I would like to stuck around a little bit longer than I did. But I'll tell you what, when I look back, I had so many good times and good memories.

It was an absolute blast.

I appreciate your support. What do you want to ask me about? What can I answer for you?

[Caller]

Absolutely, sir. So I actually your last match was with the Rock. I was just wondering. I don't see too much of intensity that can match you with the current superstars I saw in CM Punk, you know, your level of aggression and intensity in the ring, I don't see. You don't see it too often these days. I thought I also see it in Kevin Owens. But I was just wondering if you could have one more run or at least one more match. Who would it be. My guess is it would have been CM Punk, but it could have changed at this point.

That's.

I was just wondering about that.

[Steve Austin]

Oh man, there's so many guys out there that I wish I could have tied up with earlier. Someone asked me from almost any area or any region and I said, you know, Hulk Hogan was on that list. But when you bring up CM Punk, God dang, the promos that I could have had with that guy, the matches I could have with that guy, it would have been like a walk in the park and it would have been so fun. I'll tell you something, Freddie. When we filmed the 2k television spot, shit, I guess it was about three or four years ago now, I can't remember what 2k game it was, but Jim Ross was sitting between us.

[Caller]

2K13.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, see him? Punk was in one chair, I was in the other. You know, I'd been out of business for a pretty good while and they started saying, you know, basically how we're going to do this and hey, man, that was unscripted, Freddie. Jim asked the questions, he had his questions written down. But you know, it kind of reminded me of that old setup between myself and the Rock before we hooked it up in Houston at WrestleMania 17.

[Caller]

Absolutely.

[Steve Austin]

It was damn near shoots. And when I got into kind of, I don't want to say character, but I live my life as Steve Austin now have for a long ass time. So I told Punk, I said, hey man, I said, I can't be no retired Steve Austin guy. I said, I gotta be stone cold. I said, I'm gonna be bringing it. And so I brought it. And you could feel the tension in that room. And if you watch that back, you can feel the tension coming through that damn television screen or computer screen, whatever you're watching it on. And Punk was right there with me. I don't know what he was expecting out of me and I don't know what I was expecting out of him. It was a one take deal. We didn't do it again. So what you got is what they shot in one take. And that's the kind of pro that CM Punk is. That's how fun it was. And you can feel that damn energy coming to the screen. Hell, I get excited just talking about it. So yeah, I would have loved to have a match with CM Punk. It ain't never going to happen. And CM Punk is, you know, he's still young enough to get in the ring, so we'll see what happens from there. But an awesome wrestler and A tremendous promo in CM Punk.

[Caller]

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I've seen that video a hundred times.

It was.

It really was like when you and the Rock were, you know, sitting alongside with Junior right before 17. It was just that intense. And I would have. It could have fooled me, man. I thought that was a promo leading into a WrestleMania bout between two of you.

[Steve Austin]

Well, and it was a shame because, I mean, they actually had to, you know, like CM Punk said, I think just, you know, in the video game you can see this matchup because we had to, you know, kind of like, hey man, this ain't really going to happen. There. There's some tension here between the two of us, but this shit is just going to happen on the video game. Me and Stone Cold ain't going to lock horns. So kind of had to put that disclaimer in there. But hey, we. We felt it. And hey, Freddie, I appreciate you calling in the show and thanks for hanging on the hold.

[Caller]

Absolutely, sir. Thank you for taking my time and I wish you all the best and thank you for all the memories and the time you gave to us at Stone Cold. And we'll definitely never forget it. And there will be another Stone Cold, man.

[Steve Austin]

Hey, man, I had a blast. I appreciate the support and that's the bottom line. Amen. Let's go with Joshua in Virginia.

[Caller]

How's it going, Steve?

[Steve Austin]

Hell, man.

Another day at the office. How are you doing?

[Caller]

All right. I have a few beers.

[Steve Austin]

Hey, man, I'm not having any beers right now. I got a glass of water in front of me. But when I get to the house, I think I'm a pour a shot of whiskey.

[Caller]

Sounds good to me.

[Steve Austin]

What do you want to talk about tonight?

[Caller]

I was curious if you're into basketball or not.

[Steve Austin]

Basketball is like baseball season to me. There's so many games and I'm so short on attention span. I wait for the playoffs. Now football from jump street. I watched the whole season. What did you. What did you want to ask me about? About LeBron James.

[Caller]

Yes. I was going to ask who would you take, LeBron James or Michael Jordan?

[Steve Austin]

Hell, I'd take one of each.

[Caller]

One of each.

[Steve Austin]

They don't fuck playing.

Oh, man.

I mean in their prime because. Because Michael Jordan came up and. Well, it's still my era, but I grew up on Michael Jordan. And I'll never forget we were at Cleveland gund arena when LeBron had just gotten drafted and he was a rookie and he was sitting on the front row in the crowd while we were there at Gund Arena. And I came out and I was pretty hot at the time. And now all these years has gone by, and of course, he ascended right to the top, just like everybody thought he would. I think he's one of those once in a lifetime performers. Same with Michael Jordan. Because I was such a kid back in the day when Jordan was around, I looked up to him, no pun intended. Because he's taller than me. Both guys are taller than me, but I was a younger guy back then. I appreciate what LeBron's doing and bringing to the game. He's unbelievable. But for me, just because Jordan has that mystique, I just got to go. I got to go. Michael Jordan just off the mystique. But both guys are phenomenal.

[Caller]

That's understandable. Like I said, I was, you know, I grew up. I didn't get a chance to watch Jordan. You know, I've enjoyed LeBron's career, so that's kind of why, you know, I guess I'm kind of biased, but.

[Steve Austin]

So, hey, man, either way, you pick, you win. But it's just. And that's purely subjective. Yeah, Michael's got six titles right now, but, you know, titles are titles and performance is performance, and both guys are awesome. So, hey, that's about as in depth as basketball as I can go. I appreciate you calling in. Josh will have a cold beer for me.

[Caller]

Yes, sir. Thanks, Steve.

[Steve Austin]

Thank you, man. Hey, man, let's go to Zachary in Houston. Hey, Zachary, how are you?

[Caller]

Good, and you?

[Steve Austin]

Hell, man, I'm doing good. What's on your mind?

[Caller]

So I was curious to know, since you sold Broken Skull Ranch, will this show be still taking place in Texas somewhere?

[Steve Austin]

No. Here's the thing. I've always told everybody this people, a lot of people think that the Broken Skull Challenge is filmed at the Broken Skull Ranch in South Texas. Now, we actually considered that when I pitched CMT the idea for the show, but logistics come into play. And when you're at the Broken Skull Ranch, it's in the middle of nowhere in South Texas, so it would have been hard to get the athletes there. You wouldn't have been able to find, you know, the 80, 90 people who work on the set every single day. It was undoable, actually. It could have been done, but it cost a lot more to do it. We filmed that show in Agua Dulce, California, which is 50 miles out of Los Angeles. And so I've always told people that's where we filmed the show. And they say, hey, man, I was wondering, because that didn't look like South Texas. Now, it doesn't look like South Texas, but it's the best location for this show. Just because it's tough. That organic setting, we're on a mountain range in the middle of the desert. It's hotter than hell 95% of the time. And it just fits the nature of that show. We are basic, simple. There is nothing fancy out there. Thank God there's an air conditioning system when you go in your trailer. But I'm looking for the best athletes in the world to come out. We start filming that show again in July. And I'm looking forward to getting season five underway and giving you some badass television. Because I think this is going to be the changes that we've made so far. I think it'll blow your mind.

[Caller]

Yeah. Because that's what my dad and I would watch all the time, is just broken skull rants. And we were like, oh, wow, that was in Texas. But now that you said it's in California, it's like, oh, interesting.

[Steve Austin]

You know, everything is easy from a film standpoint, so it works. Fly into lax, get those people here. You got people coming from all over the United States of America. Put them through their physical, run them through the ringer. Hell, those athletes come out to the Broken Skull Challenge have already been through the ringer before. I put them through three rounds of competition and. And give them the right to fight for that skull buster. So swig of protein to all them athletes. I'm looking forward to seeing you this season of the Broken Skull Challenge. In my estimation, the toughest, baddest, coolest show on television. And that's the bottom line. Hey, man, I appreciate you calling in.

[Caller]

Not a problem. Thank you.

[Steve Austin]

Take care, man. Let's go to Tyler up there in Ottawa. He's been waiting a long time. Hey, Tyler, calling in from Canada. I appreciate you waiting all this time. How are you?

[Caller]

I'm very good. How are you doing? Steve Austin.

[Steve Austin]

Outstanding. What's on your mind tonight?

[Caller]

You know what? I want to know how you feel about that Booker T. Fight in that supermarket way back when.

[Steve Austin]

God dang, man. I think we filmed that in Fresno, California, at the Green Frog supermarket. Holy shit, man. When they hit me with that idea, I was like, God dang, man, this is crazy. I think I met Booker T. For the first time down in wcw. We've been friends ever since we met. Got along great and had great matches together. And so when they dropped that storyline

on us, Booker's like.

He's one of those kind of guys, Booker. Boy, when he lights up. He can electrify an entire arena. And just the things that we did. He was very giving. Let me do all the stuff to him. It was amazing. It was like, you're doing this one single time, you don't get any redos. You can't get Booker cleaned up. Once we start, we ain't stopping all that stuff. I kind of walked through the supermarket, you know, with Booker T. I also walked through the supermarket without Booker T. And we just kind of, like talked a little bit because I didn't want to do. I didn't want to do anything that, you know, that he didn't want to do because, you know, he's giving me his body and I'm hitting him with all these groceries and stuff like that. It was a real fun day. I didn't expect that. Whoever came up with that idea at the time was, it was a great idea. And when you can go, you tell great stories in the ring and entertain people with great matches. I'm a fan that likes to watch the in ring action, but I also want to see that good shit out there, you know, like in a supermarket or a vignette that I can believe in, and that we pull that off like a total shoot. And that price check on a jackass still gets people tweeting me damn near every day about that because it was so iconic. But me and Booker, we always had good chemistry in the ring when we worked, and we always had good chemistry anytime we did anything out of the ring. So I got to take my hat off to Booker T. Because he was a bigger part of it as I was.

[Caller]

Awesome. I just got to say one thing my dad had asked me to say. He said, how did. How did Booker T. Like that flower shower when you dumped that flower all

[Steve Austin]

over him, man, I'm telling you again, that's one shot. You can't redo it. And we're live and just write the tape. So it was cool, man. It was an absolute blast. And hell, he had to take a hell of a shower after that day at the office. Damn near ripped his britches off of him. But we kept it PG style, but we was very aggressive. Hey, Tyler, thanks for calling in, man.

[Caller]

Steve, it's a pleasure, man. I can't believe it. It's an honor. And take care.

[Steve Austin]

Appreciate it, man. Take care. Yeah. Let's go to Cameron in Bakersfield. How about you, Cameron? You got your ears on?

[Caller]

Sure do, man.

[Steve Austin]

What's happening?

[Caller]

Not much, dude. What about you?

[Steve Austin]

Just sitting here in the studio and your name was on the list. I said, hey, man. Let's talk to Cameron in Bakersfield, California, home of Buck Owens.

[Caller]

So you're a country fan here, huh?

[Steve Austin]

Dude, I'm country. I'm heavy metal, old school, R and B, Motown stuff. I'm a little bit of everything. I'm not real current, though.

[Caller]

Well, that's actually my question is, I want to know what your favorite band is.

[Steve Austin]

Man, I tell you what, when I work out every single day at my little gym in my backyard, it's a straight up shoot. I keep my radio. I don't listen to radio on Pandora radio, and I pay, so I ain't got to listen to the commercials. So it cost me, what, 3.99amonth, and it's worth it. And I have my Pandora radio set to slaughter. And on Slaughter Radio, they're playing Iron Maiden, they're playing Boston, they're playing Van Halen, they're playing Tesla, Megadeth, Metallica. So that's the kind of stuff that I'm into. One of the songs, one of the bands that was playing the last few days is Boston. And when you ask me to name my favorite band, I can't give you a favorite because there's too many of them that I love and enjoy. Although Stevie Ray Vaughan is my favorite guitarist. Boston, when that first album came out more than a feeling 30 years ago, man, that thing just blew my doors off. Then the Don't Look Back album after that, and what was the third stage, I think after that, and then it kind of started fading out a little bit. But that first album by Boston, for me, is so damn timeless. It's still outstanding today. And every song on that album resonates with me. And I get joy out of it. And that was Jesus Christ, over 40 years ago. So that's the impact that that that band has had on me. So I'm going Boston.

[Caller]

Okay. Well, that's amazing that an album can make you feel like that, even after

this long, you know, it's crazy.

[Steve Austin]

Okay, give me your favorite.

[Caller]

My favorite. One of my favorites lately is. And you might know them because you're from Texas, but do you like Pantera?

[Steve Austin]

Oh, man. Yeah. You kidding me? Yeah, I'm way down with Pantera, you know, no pun intended. I saw. I couldn't believe when Dime got Shot years ago. That was just unbelievable. I saw Fen Anselmo when he was touring with Superjoint way back in the day when Glenn Danzig was the headline here in Los Angeles. It was about 13 years ago when I first came to LA. And it was a damn good concert. I can't remember who else was on the bill, but I got to hang backstage and talk with Danzig for about an hour, hour and a half, and the guy went out of his way to be accommodating. It was such a nice, intelligent guy. I had a fucking blast. So, anyway, the Phil wasn't sounding very good at that point. A super joint, but as Pantera. Holy shit. Those guys were fierce. Yeah, big time Pantera fan. Favorite song would be Cowboys From Hell and then Cemetery Gates.

[Caller]

Those are. Those are amazing songs, dude.

[Steve Austin]

I appreciate you calling in.

[Caller]

Hey, I appreciate you taking the time

to talk to me, man. I really do.

[Steve Austin]

Take care, Cameron. Let's go to Phoenix, Arizona. Christian. Hey, Christian.

How are you doing?

[Caller]

Good.

[Steve Austin]

What's on your mind tonight?

[Caller]

I was wondering if you've ever heard of Matt Riddle, and if so, what do you think of him?

[Steve Austin]

Man, I haven't seen enough, but, yes, I've heard of him.

[Caller]

I don't know how much you've seen of him. I don't know if you've seen enough to gauge this yourself, but I think that if used correctly, he could be the next Rob Van Dam. You agree with that?

[Steve Austin]

Man, I haven't seen enough of him to form that opinion, and that's just being straight up. I could sit here and shake my head and say, yes, but I haven't enough of the guy.

[Caller]

Well, he's pretty unique. He's like kind of an MMA crossover. He started in the ufc. He got what many consider to be the best knockout ever on Ultimate Fighter. He just got a lot of accolades, and he's just adding to it more and more. He's. His stock's rising like crazy, so.

[Steve Austin]

I don't know, man. I've heard the same good things about him. I know, you know, he was that same knockout that you speak of, but I just. I haven't been able to watch enough of the business in general. Not. Not just Matt Riddle. I haven't hardly seen anything other than W. Pay per views, so it's just a hard question for me to give you a totally honest answer, because I just haven't seen enough of the kid, along with hardly anybody else. Hey, man, I'm sorry I'm not up to speed enough to give you a better answer on that. But I'll tell you what, I'll do some homework. I watch. I have seen a lot of stuff on Twitter about the guy. I know that he does possess a lot of potential, from what I've heard. I just haven't seen the guy actually work, and I've only seen one fight. So I'll do my homework, and I'll see if I can get you an answer on a future podcast, okay? All right, man. Take care. Let's go to Jeremy in North Carolina.

[Caller or Fan]

Hey, how you doing?

[Steve Austin]

Hell, man, I'm doing all right. What about you?

[Caller or Fan]

I'm just sitting around, kind of surprised

[Caller]

I got a chance to talk to you.

[Caller or Fan]

You've always been one of my favorite heroes.

[Steve Austin]

Hey, man, I appreciate your patience being on hold. What do you want to talk about today?

[Caller or Fan]

I was just wondering if y' all was there, if y' all was thinking about coming out. You know, how you got the Broken Skull Beard ipa, if y' all was coming out with a light flavor.

[Steve Austin]

You know, when you say light beer to a craft beer brewer, they kind of look at you like, you know, because for a lot of the craft people, well, they're about the craft. But for an IPA type beer to beer maker to think about a light beer, it's a little bit of a switch for them. Here's the thing. I'm an IPA drinker, and that's my taste right now. And I drank light beer for 30 years. And then finally I came out to California, and I started hearing about all these damn craft beers. I said, man, what is all this about? I said, I got to give them a try. So anyway, I started messing around. I started drinking those pale ales. I said, you know, hey, man, this is some pretty good stuff. I enjoy this, and it's a little bit better beer than a light beer. And again, I've been drinking this shit for 30 years. So then I started messing with those IPAs. I was like, man, that's a little

much on those hops.

I don't know about that. I went back to the pale ales, and then a pale ale didn't have enough hops in it. So I just said, man, that IPA is for me. And I've been drinking IPAs ever since. But here's the thing. IPA is what I drink, but I will drink light beer still, as long as it's got a taste to it. And if you do the arithmetic, light beers across the board are the number one selling beers in the United States of America. So as a businessman. Yeah, as a businessman, it would be a smart idea to come out with a light beer, because here's a story for you within a story, within an answer. I was down at Christmas at the Broken Skull Ranch a couple of years ago, and I had my Broken Skull ipa With me.

My little sister was down there with

my nephew and my niece, and I was in there drinking with Ted Fowler 361. And she said, is that your beer? I said, yeah. And she was a bud, light drinker, still is. And let me finish the story. She took a swig of that beer and she looked at me and she had this look on her face and she didn't want to hurt my feelings, but that beer was not for her. And I picked her up. I immediately said, hey. I said, don't worry about it. I said, it took me a year and a half, two years to get to this IPA flavor. You drink light beer, so this is out of your league right now. Or not out of your league, but out of your wheelhouse. So she was cool with it. And she's not an IPA fan and not everybody is, but I see a tremendous market for a light beer.

[Caller or Fan]

Yeah, I mean, I'm a beer drinker myself. I like full flavored. But just listening to your show, I tried a couple IPAs down here in North Carolina, but some of them are like too strong hops or just, I don't know, maybe this ain't a good brand. I don't know.

[Steve Austin]

Everything is subjective. Like I think my beer is a badass beer and it is, but beer is subjective. You and me can be sitting there drinking two full flavored beers and whatever you think is bad, I might think is great and vice versa. So, you know, it's really a subjective thing when it all comes down to it. Proof is in the numbers. You know, if people sell a lot of stuff, it's probably got to be good or people want to be associated with that brand as well. Proof is in the pudding or proof is in the beer. And that's the bottom line. But it's all subjective, man. You said you had one more question for me. What is it?

[Caller or Fan]

I've never really heard somebody ask you this question about wrestling, about your former career. Have you ever had the thought of maybe just going back, not to get in the ring, but kind of finding

[Caller]

a way to pass over the beer

[Caller or Fan]

drinking gimmick to someone that deserves it?

[Steve Austin]

Man, I tell you what, that would be a hell of an endorsement and it would be cool to do that and I would be fine with someone doing that. But then they might always kind of be looming underneath that branch of Stone Cold Steve Austin rather than being their own thing or making it their own thing and doing their own thing. So it could either boost somebody or you might saddle them with something that they couldn't really get over. So I don't know. That's a real good question. But I would be down with passing the Stunner along to someone who deserved it. I'm not going to use it anymore. They could use it. Then again, Stone Cold Steve Austin is always going to come to mind anytime you use that thing. Probably for the next foreseeable future. But that would be cool.

[Caller or Fan]

Just like the RKO with Randy Orton uses with Diamond Dallas base.

[Steve Austin]

Absolutely. Randy Orton has done great things with the rko and probably someone could with the Stunner. So, yeah, I'd be down with it, man. All they got to do is give me a call.

[Caller or Fan]

That's just something that's crossed my mind. I've never really heard somebody ask you that.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, I tell you what. I know Willie Mack's using it over there in Lucha Underground. I hear about it on Twitter a lot. I think it's awesome that he's using it and it's been effective for him. And he's a talented performer, so he's able to carry that gimmick and stay with his gimmick and do both. So props to Willie Mack for using it over in Lucha Underground. I appreciate you calling, Jeremy.

[Caller]

All right.

[Caller or Fan]

I don't take too much time.

[Steve Austin]

Thank you, man. Take care of yourself. Let's go to Juan in El Paso.

[Caller]

Hey, man, I can't believe it's Stone Cold Steve Austin, man.

[Steve Austin]

You got me.

What's happening?

[Caller]

Oh, not much, man. Thanks for taking my call. And thanks for taking everybody's calls, man. That's really cool of you to do something like this.

[Steve Austin]

Hey, man, I appreciate you guys listen to the show. We got a chance to come over here and open up the phone lines, and it's got. Dang. I appreciate you guys listening. So here we are talking. And let me ask you a question. How old are you?

[Caller]

I'm 37.

[Steve Austin]

You still living in El Paso? I gotta say, man, I used to drive back and forth from Los Angeles to the Broken Skull Ranch, and from the Broken Skull Ranch, Los Angeles, and that stretch from El Paso. It's about when you get on the front side of El Paso to the backside. It's about 26 miles across. Holy smokes. What is up with the drivers over there?

[Caller]

Oh, I know. That's it. I was like, man, because we were stationed in Italy for a couple years, too, and I thought those guys were bad. And then coming back here to El Paso, I was like, man, it's insane. Like, even driving home, hey, man, sometimes

[Steve Austin]

I drive through El Paso, I'll be talking. I got my headset on my cell phone. And when I get to El Paso, I just tell people I said, hey man, I'm hanging up. I'm gonna have my hands at 10 and 2. I got my seatbelt on. I don't want any damn distractions. These son bitches in El Paso. And I love El Paso and I love wrestling there. Yeah, and Austin's a close second to El Paso as far as bad drivers in Texas. And I was born in Austin, but God dang. And people can drive over there and ain't got a loop around the city. But anyway, enough about traffic and bullshit. Let's talk about what you want to talk about. You got any wrestling questions for me?

[Caller]

Yeah, actually. Well, I just did want to say one thing too. Speaking of about wrestling in El Paso, we. I had actually seen you back when you were still studying Steve and WCW came through. That was like, that was actually my first house show that I went to. We even got to like kind of meet you. Well, you were just kind of still walking like through the. It was like after the show. But it was cool because you kind of stayed in character. We were like, oh, it's sunny Steve. And you were just like doing like a nod, kind of like, hey, I was a TV title back then.

[Steve Austin]

I still had the TV title. I'll tell you what, I just. Someone emailed me that match the other day and I watched it back and it's like when I won that television title off Bobby Eaton there at center stage in Atlanta, Georgia. I think I'd had about a year and a half, two years tops in the business and Bobby is one of my favorite workers of all time. I was happy that I got a chance to win that title, but I was not in Bobby's league as far as work in the ring. So it was a blessing to win that belt. It was a blessing that they had, you know, some hope in me at that young stage of my career when I came in with that long hair and that aggressive attitude. But make no mistake about it, I wasn't in Bob Eaton's league. But what kind of question you got for me?

[Caller]

I was going to like speaking of that, how you like how I was saying you were kind of in heel character still. My question is, who do you think today? I guess maybe WWE or even if you want to speak on other federations. But who do you think has that like breakout heel potential of like the real heel, like the old school heel like you and Brian Kendrick were talking about?

[Steve Austin]

Man, as far as old school heels go, I mean, that's going to be hard to do in today's landscape. So, you know, I don't really. I don't really see that as far as WWE goes. And I don't get a chance to watch the other places, with all due respect. I'll tell you what do you do you get a chance to watch any New Japan stuff?

[Caller]

Oh, yeah, I actually subscribe to the New Japan and it's. I'm really liking Marty Scroll. That dude's got like a. The whole Bullet Club, like, they have that.

[Steve Austin]

They got that swagger.

[Caller]

A lot of fans, they got that swagger. Yeah, that swagger, man.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. We say Marty Scurl. I was gonna say him, but also the guy I was gonna say is Kenny Omega. Now, he's not an old school heel, that dude is.

He's.

And I won't call him New School either because he's a veteran, but he's just edgy. He can work his ass off.

He lays his shit in, everything looks good.

His psychology is off the charts. That's a guy that, when I watch that guy, I'm like, hey, man, when is this guy having another high profile match? Because I want to watch it. He's really a guy that I've had my eye on and I don't watch enough New Japan. But when that guy has a high profile match, I will watch it because

he is that good.

And he's also fluent in Japanese. So when you listen to his promos, he goes in and starts speaking in Japanese. It blew my mind because he lives there, so it's smart on his part, but it makes him such a well rounded, believable guy. And he starts talking that shit in Japanese. I'm like, holy smoke, this guy's lights out. I think he could be the next big star in the United States if he ever decides to come here.

[Caller]

Yeah, I got to see him actually live one time for ROH. It was WrestleMania when they were in Phoenix and we got to see Kenny Omega wrestle live. And yeah, just like. And he had that, I don't know, look at me, everybody else, you talk to him or whatever, but he just had that kind of larger than life where you're kind of like, he jumps

[Steve Austin]

off the page at you. He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he jumps off the page at you. And all of a sudden he starts talking like, hey man, this guy's a little different. And I mean that by like, you know that this guy's a star and so, I don't know. I just think the guy's just a great entertainer. He's a great wrestler. That's what you have to be. You have to be both of those. And he is.

And he just.

He just crosses over to the next level. But hey, Juan, I appreciate you calling into the show, man.

[Caller]

Yeah. Hey, thanks for taking my call, man. I really appreciate it. And keep doing what you're doing. I always enjoy the podcast. So.

[Steve Austin]

Hey, man, if you ever head back through El Paso, hands a tenant, too. Put your seatbelt on and head on a swivel.

[Caller]

Oh, yeah, for sure.

[Steve Austin]

Oh, hell yeah. See you later. All right, everybody. Give me the go home Q.

It's time to wrap up his podcast and ride off in the sunset. Before I do that, I want to thank everybody for sending in them phone calls and shit. I ain't got a video of the week for you. I'm out here hustling trying to scratch up a finish the last two days of filming. But I'll have something for your ass on Tuesday. You guaranteed that. Hey, man, a couple quick shout outs. Pro Wrestling Tease.com SteveAulsden has all the shirts that I will be wearing on this season of Broken Skull challenge. And we just started filming and we're about to complete season five new shirts. Right around the corner I got the best damn IPA on the planet. It's called Broken Skull ipa. You can find Broken Skull IPA at Whole Foods and Total Wines. If you live in California. If you go to a Whole Foods or Total Wines and they don't care it, ask the manager why they don't and get it. If you ain't in Cali, check inside the cellar.com and see if they ship to your state. Hey man, if you're looking to get a badass knife and you're looking for the cold steel Broken Skull knife or

the new working man knife, you can

get them at my new Amazon store. Amazon has the best price on both knives. Just go to Amazon.com shop steveaustin I want to say one more thank you to all the fine sponsors of the Sponsors Steve Austin show. That's how I'm able to do this podcast for you twice a week for free. And you can find all my [e-mail]

just click on the killer deals button

at the top of the page and then click on the Steve Austin show banner. Hey folks, this has been five weeks of grueling filming out here while I try to continue this podcast. I thank you for bearing with me

while I was in the filming process.

I'm looking forward to cranking out some badass shows for you here starting next Tuesday. I don't know who my goddamn guest's gonna be. I'll dig into woodwork and find somebody. If you want to follow me on social media, you can find me on Twitter and Instagram. Evaustin, bsr.

Folks, until next time, my name is

Steve Austin, and I will catch your ass down the road.

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[Steve Austin]

We're coming at you with everything we got.

[Caller]

This is the mindset.

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[Steve Austin]

Free.

[Caller]

This is

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