Black Widow
02-14-2008, 04:43 PM
With Jeannie Clark, the Kliq, Michael Hayes, Paul Heyman, Eric Bischoff, Jake the Snake Roberts and Jim Ross in his life, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the patented Stone Cold Stunner became reality, creating lots of memories.
With Stone Cold Steve Austin's Life & Legacy, his latest DVD produced by WWE Home Videos, some of those memorable moments are captured on one offering for his fans.
This marks the latest Stone Cold-style DVD under WWE Home Videos, joining Cause Stone Cold Said So (1997), Austin 3:16 Uncensored (1998), Austin vs. McMahon: The Whole True Story (1999), Hell Yeah: Stone Cold's Saga Continues (2000), Stone Cold Steve Austin: Lord Of The Ring (2001), Stone Cold Steve Austin: What? (2002) and The Stone Cold Truth (2004).
''There are five or six of me on DVD already which covers a lot, but this one fills the gaps,'' Austin said during a conference call. ``It could have had some music, and there should have been more extras on it, but I'm happy with it.''
Austin is not only happy with the latest DVD but also his current lifestyle outdoors and making movies. He loves the wrestling business, but he has no plans of returning to the ring.
''I feel real good right now,'' he said. ``I have an active life, hunting and fishing. I'm making movies.
``Physically, I feel fine, and my past injuries don't effect me filming movies. I can do what I need to do in the movies, and it doesn't hold me back at all.''
Austin starred in the action-flick The Condemned, through WWE Films. He has two more movies to make for WWE Films, signing a three-movie deal in 2005, but the writers' strike put those plans on hold.
''I don't like to talk about it much, until I know it is happening,'' he said. ``With The Condemned, I didn't believe it, until I was in Australia, shooting the movie.''
Last year at WrestleMania 23, Austin served as special guest referee for the much-hyped Battle of the Billionaires Hair vs. Hair matchup between Vince McMahon's Umaga and Donald Trump's Bobby Lashley.
''There was a pitch thrown at me for WrestleMania [24 in Orlando], but I turned it down,'' he said. ``I'd like to go to the Hall of Fame and see the guys get inducted. They got enough talent in WWE that they don't need me for WrestleMania, and it's not my desire to go back into the ring.
``If I really needed the money, I'd go back in the ring, but I've been conservative with my money and invested wisely. I have fond memories of the business, and I love the business, but I don't miss it.''
Austin did not totally rule out involvement in WrestleMania 24, but it is unlikely.
''I'm always interested, if they have an idea, a good idea,'' he said. ``I love the company. It doesn't have to be grandiose.''
• Evolution of Stone Cold Steve Austin
Austin married Clark who helped him create the name Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The Kliq (Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, HBK, Triple H) broke character during Nash and Hall's final WWE show at Madison Square Garden by hugging in the ring. With Hall and Nash leaving to start the nWo angle in WCW and HBK the champ in WWE, Triple H, who was to win the King of the Ring, was punished for the unscripted move. WWE hierarchy notified Austin he would be winning King of the Ring.
Austin battled the Bible-holding Jake the Snake Roberts in the finals of King of the Ring. After beating Roberts to win the honor, Austin coined the phrase `Austin 3:16.'
Hayes taught Austin the Stone Cold Stunner.
Heyman, who managed Austin in WCW, invited Austin to ECW, after WCW released him stemming from his injury on a Japanese tour for WCW. Bischoff did not think Austin was marketable. Heyman gave Austin a platform to prove Bischoff wrong by showing his skills in the ring and on mic. That led to a contract with WWE.
Ross, the vice president of talent relations for WWE at the time, signed Austin to the WWE contract.
• Austin's favorite -- Ric Flair
``His body of work compiled, all the world championships, he is the greatest traveling champion ever. He could work with any talent level and have a 5-star match. He was the man in the sport. Hogan was more of an entertainment type. Flair is the real deal.''
• Sharkboy's imitation of Stone Cold Steve Austin on TNA
``I've heard about it. It doesn't anger me. If a guy is able to make a living on a rip-off, a spoof, making fun of me, whatever. I'm still with WWE. More power to him.''
• Jim Ross knows Austin better than Austin
``In my 15 years, I remember more of the other guys stuff. Being with Jim Ross, he knows a lot, and when I'm with him, the memories flood back.''
• Wish list
Austin wanted the chance to wrestle Andre the Giant, Harley Race, Jack Brisco and Dusty Rhodes.
• Brotherly advice
``Don't pretend to be anything. When I was Stunning Steve Austin, I was comfortable being that guy. I wasn't a big star. When I turned into Stone Cold Steve Austin, let it all hang out. I'm usually a quiet guy, but that was turned up volume 10.
``There are so many wrestling trying to be someone they're not. The promos are written for them, and they don't believe what they're reading. I can tell when it's not coming from their gut or heart or their brain.''
• House advice
``Most of my really great matches were house show matches. Ricky Steamboat was one of the greatest guys I've ever gotten in the ring with, 30-minute matches. They were great.''
• WWE 101
``I learned more of the show business part of the business in WWE, changing from The Ringmaster to Stone Cold Steve Austin.''
• Austin's legacy starting the Attitude Era
``I don't want to be remembered as the guy who comes in as Stone Cold Steve Austin, says something and then gives a Stone Cold Stunner. I want to be remembered as the guy who turned that black-n-white area of wrestling into a gray area. Is he a bad guy or a good guy? You don't know. Fans just cheer you.''
• Working with others
``The antagonist was Vince McMahon, the employee vs. the boss. Everyone wants to do things to their boss. He allowed me to do them to him and have so much fun in the ring.
``It was all a learning and training ground for me. I never in a million years figured it would get that big. I put my pants on like anyone else. I never let it get out of perspective for me. I enjoyed the solo aspect of it.''
• Flyin with Brian
``I loved working with Brian Pillman, one of my best friends ever. He had that terrible car accident. Tag teams are great, a lot of fun, but if you want to make a lot of money, you have to be a solo act.''
• Fans still cheer for Stone Cold
``That's a result of 10 years in WWE. You busted your butt, did everything you could, go to the enth degree. It's a result of all that hard work. I can't be that old Stone Cold anymore, but the the whole way down the ramp to the ring, I'm saying thank you very much to the fans. That's the truth. I can't really say it when I'm going to the ring because that's not Stone Cold, but I'm thinking it. I wish I can give people more now, but I can't.''
• Getting psyched
``Bottle of water, I pour it on me. I don't use oil. It makes it too slippery, and I don't like the way it feels. As soon as that glass breaks, I forget everything else. If I'm having a bad day or a good day, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm there to do a job.''
• Remember when
``Some of things I've seen on the video from me in WCW, I was really brutal then.''
• Watching Brock Lesnar compete in UFC
``It was a wonderful night of fights. I met [UFC President] Dana White. He is extremely nice guy. The Lesnar fight was an outstanding fight. I think Brock would have won, if they didn't stop it. He did very well against a former world champion [Frank Mir].''
• Leave Kennedy alone
``I saw back in the day, Ken Kennedy vs. Batista on TV. Batista is a good, big man, but he can be ornery and off at times. They had a really good match. I called Ken up out of the blue and said that was a heck of a match. We started being friends. He was a big fan of Stone Cold. He would call me and present me with ideas and questions. I give him my thoughts.
``I think there are too many voices, too many people in his head right now with WWE [too many chefs stirring the pot]. He's gonna be a big star. They just need to let him alone and let him do his thing.''
• Superstar DVD
``The Superstar Billy Graham DVD was one of the better ones. You had a lot of comments from WWE personalities talking about him. I liked that.''
• Who's better
``I had one of the best runs in wrestling, and that's all I care about. I don't think about who was better, Hogan or me.''
• Thank you Eric
``If Eric Bischoff hadn't fired me from WCW, I wouldn't have had an opportunity with WWE.''
• Turning it on
``If it wasn't for that incident at Madison Square Garden with the Kliq, I wouldn't have won King of the Ring and would have been on my back losing to someone, and Triple H would have been King of the Ring. I happened to be ready, when it happened.''
• Future
``I would like to do a hunting show on TV.''
• The new Stone Cold Steve Austin's Life & Legacy DVD is in stores nationwide and at the WWE website.
• The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels kicks off WWE Magazine's show-stopping spring preview special. As the Road to WrestleMania begins, find out who's in and who's in big trouble.
Check out the superstars and predictions. With superfan poll results, incredible in-ring action and in-depth rankings, the spring preview is the perfect guide to superstars on the rise.
• Order the WWE No Way Out live webcast now through 11 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 17 at WWE's website and receive a free John Cena dog tag.
Plus, get five video classics free. Watch the excitement on your computer in the bigger, better, faster 750K stream. Receive the dog tag approximately three weeks after the live event.
miamiherald.com
With Stone Cold Steve Austin's Life & Legacy, his latest DVD produced by WWE Home Videos, some of those memorable moments are captured on one offering for his fans.
This marks the latest Stone Cold-style DVD under WWE Home Videos, joining Cause Stone Cold Said So (1997), Austin 3:16 Uncensored (1998), Austin vs. McMahon: The Whole True Story (1999), Hell Yeah: Stone Cold's Saga Continues (2000), Stone Cold Steve Austin: Lord Of The Ring (2001), Stone Cold Steve Austin: What? (2002) and The Stone Cold Truth (2004).
''There are five or six of me on DVD already which covers a lot, but this one fills the gaps,'' Austin said during a conference call. ``It could have had some music, and there should have been more extras on it, but I'm happy with it.''
Austin is not only happy with the latest DVD but also his current lifestyle outdoors and making movies. He loves the wrestling business, but he has no plans of returning to the ring.
''I feel real good right now,'' he said. ``I have an active life, hunting and fishing. I'm making movies.
``Physically, I feel fine, and my past injuries don't effect me filming movies. I can do what I need to do in the movies, and it doesn't hold me back at all.''
Austin starred in the action-flick The Condemned, through WWE Films. He has two more movies to make for WWE Films, signing a three-movie deal in 2005, but the writers' strike put those plans on hold.
''I don't like to talk about it much, until I know it is happening,'' he said. ``With The Condemned, I didn't believe it, until I was in Australia, shooting the movie.''
Last year at WrestleMania 23, Austin served as special guest referee for the much-hyped Battle of the Billionaires Hair vs. Hair matchup between Vince McMahon's Umaga and Donald Trump's Bobby Lashley.
''There was a pitch thrown at me for WrestleMania [24 in Orlando], but I turned it down,'' he said. ``I'd like to go to the Hall of Fame and see the guys get inducted. They got enough talent in WWE that they don't need me for WrestleMania, and it's not my desire to go back into the ring.
``If I really needed the money, I'd go back in the ring, but I've been conservative with my money and invested wisely. I have fond memories of the business, and I love the business, but I don't miss it.''
Austin did not totally rule out involvement in WrestleMania 24, but it is unlikely.
''I'm always interested, if they have an idea, a good idea,'' he said. ``I love the company. It doesn't have to be grandiose.''
• Evolution of Stone Cold Steve Austin
Austin married Clark who helped him create the name Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The Kliq (Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, HBK, Triple H) broke character during Nash and Hall's final WWE show at Madison Square Garden by hugging in the ring. With Hall and Nash leaving to start the nWo angle in WCW and HBK the champ in WWE, Triple H, who was to win the King of the Ring, was punished for the unscripted move. WWE hierarchy notified Austin he would be winning King of the Ring.
Austin battled the Bible-holding Jake the Snake Roberts in the finals of King of the Ring. After beating Roberts to win the honor, Austin coined the phrase `Austin 3:16.'
Hayes taught Austin the Stone Cold Stunner.
Heyman, who managed Austin in WCW, invited Austin to ECW, after WCW released him stemming from his injury on a Japanese tour for WCW. Bischoff did not think Austin was marketable. Heyman gave Austin a platform to prove Bischoff wrong by showing his skills in the ring and on mic. That led to a contract with WWE.
Ross, the vice president of talent relations for WWE at the time, signed Austin to the WWE contract.
• Austin's favorite -- Ric Flair
``His body of work compiled, all the world championships, he is the greatest traveling champion ever. He could work with any talent level and have a 5-star match. He was the man in the sport. Hogan was more of an entertainment type. Flair is the real deal.''
• Sharkboy's imitation of Stone Cold Steve Austin on TNA
``I've heard about it. It doesn't anger me. If a guy is able to make a living on a rip-off, a spoof, making fun of me, whatever. I'm still with WWE. More power to him.''
• Jim Ross knows Austin better than Austin
``In my 15 years, I remember more of the other guys stuff. Being with Jim Ross, he knows a lot, and when I'm with him, the memories flood back.''
• Wish list
Austin wanted the chance to wrestle Andre the Giant, Harley Race, Jack Brisco and Dusty Rhodes.
• Brotherly advice
``Don't pretend to be anything. When I was Stunning Steve Austin, I was comfortable being that guy. I wasn't a big star. When I turned into Stone Cold Steve Austin, let it all hang out. I'm usually a quiet guy, but that was turned up volume 10.
``There are so many wrestling trying to be someone they're not. The promos are written for them, and they don't believe what they're reading. I can tell when it's not coming from their gut or heart or their brain.''
• House advice
``Most of my really great matches were house show matches. Ricky Steamboat was one of the greatest guys I've ever gotten in the ring with, 30-minute matches. They were great.''
• WWE 101
``I learned more of the show business part of the business in WWE, changing from The Ringmaster to Stone Cold Steve Austin.''
• Austin's legacy starting the Attitude Era
``I don't want to be remembered as the guy who comes in as Stone Cold Steve Austin, says something and then gives a Stone Cold Stunner. I want to be remembered as the guy who turned that black-n-white area of wrestling into a gray area. Is he a bad guy or a good guy? You don't know. Fans just cheer you.''
• Working with others
``The antagonist was Vince McMahon, the employee vs. the boss. Everyone wants to do things to their boss. He allowed me to do them to him and have so much fun in the ring.
``It was all a learning and training ground for me. I never in a million years figured it would get that big. I put my pants on like anyone else. I never let it get out of perspective for me. I enjoyed the solo aspect of it.''
• Flyin with Brian
``I loved working with Brian Pillman, one of my best friends ever. He had that terrible car accident. Tag teams are great, a lot of fun, but if you want to make a lot of money, you have to be a solo act.''
• Fans still cheer for Stone Cold
``That's a result of 10 years in WWE. You busted your butt, did everything you could, go to the enth degree. It's a result of all that hard work. I can't be that old Stone Cold anymore, but the the whole way down the ramp to the ring, I'm saying thank you very much to the fans. That's the truth. I can't really say it when I'm going to the ring because that's not Stone Cold, but I'm thinking it. I wish I can give people more now, but I can't.''
• Getting psyched
``Bottle of water, I pour it on me. I don't use oil. It makes it too slippery, and I don't like the way it feels. As soon as that glass breaks, I forget everything else. If I'm having a bad day or a good day, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm there to do a job.''
• Remember when
``Some of things I've seen on the video from me in WCW, I was really brutal then.''
• Watching Brock Lesnar compete in UFC
``It was a wonderful night of fights. I met [UFC President] Dana White. He is extremely nice guy. The Lesnar fight was an outstanding fight. I think Brock would have won, if they didn't stop it. He did very well against a former world champion [Frank Mir].''
• Leave Kennedy alone
``I saw back in the day, Ken Kennedy vs. Batista on TV. Batista is a good, big man, but he can be ornery and off at times. They had a really good match. I called Ken up out of the blue and said that was a heck of a match. We started being friends. He was a big fan of Stone Cold. He would call me and present me with ideas and questions. I give him my thoughts.
``I think there are too many voices, too many people in his head right now with WWE [too many chefs stirring the pot]. He's gonna be a big star. They just need to let him alone and let him do his thing.''
• Superstar DVD
``The Superstar Billy Graham DVD was one of the better ones. You had a lot of comments from WWE personalities talking about him. I liked that.''
• Who's better
``I had one of the best runs in wrestling, and that's all I care about. I don't think about who was better, Hogan or me.''
• Thank you Eric
``If Eric Bischoff hadn't fired me from WCW, I wouldn't have had an opportunity with WWE.''
• Turning it on
``If it wasn't for that incident at Madison Square Garden with the Kliq, I wouldn't have won King of the Ring and would have been on my back losing to someone, and Triple H would have been King of the Ring. I happened to be ready, when it happened.''
• Future
``I would like to do a hunting show on TV.''
• The new Stone Cold Steve Austin's Life & Legacy DVD is in stores nationwide and at the WWE website.
• The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels kicks off WWE Magazine's show-stopping spring preview special. As the Road to WrestleMania begins, find out who's in and who's in big trouble.
Check out the superstars and predictions. With superfan poll results, incredible in-ring action and in-depth rankings, the spring preview is the perfect guide to superstars on the rise.
• Order the WWE No Way Out live webcast now through 11 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 17 at WWE's website and receive a free John Cena dog tag.
Plus, get five video classics free. Watch the excitement on your computer in the bigger, better, faster 750K stream. Receive the dog tag approximately three weeks after the live event.
miamiherald.com