Steve Austin not happy

[hinkey1]

Steve Austin made a speech to the talent at Summerslam that turned alot of heads. Austin said that he thought the wrestlers dress like slobs in public, and need to conduct themselves in a more professional manner. Austin also said that the company has no superstars, and its time for someone to step up and become one, reports the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He also went on to say that he only made a measly $200,000 in his first year in the company (said in front of wrestlers that make between $50,000 and $75,000).

WOW!!
If this is true I"m proud of Stone Cold. However, does this mean he isn't calling John Cena a superstar, or HHH?? I highly doubt that. I believe the point he is making is that there aren't any NEW superstars being made now that the people really get behind.
I personally think CM Punk will change that soon now that he's champion. But good for Stone Cold!

 

[BooCocky]

I don't believe he has the rights to say about the way people dress in public, there job is to be sports entertainers, they dont have to come to work everyday in a suit and tie, there job is to put on a show every night.

Austin saying about the superstar is actually valid, he was in an era of the Rock Mick Foley, HHH in his prime, Michaels in his Prime, Jericho was there, they had solid tag divisions and so on. They were able to pick up the slack for wrestlers that actually couldn't wrestle. This day and age there really isnt any main eventers, Yes, there is Cena, Undertaker,Michaels, Mysterio but that is about it. Yes there are some future stars of the future like MVP, Kennedy, Punk, and possibly Morrison, but they cant put on a show like the attitude era was capable of doing. Stone Cold stepping to the plate and taking swings about the company is the smart thing to do, maybe it will light a fire and someone will become the next superstar.

I also agree with Austin about the Measly $ 200,000 dollars in that business that really isnt a lot because with no insurance i believe so if they get injured, that isnt cheap. They are on the road all year so you know that isnt cheap. I guess he was just making the statement that WWE wrestlers are under paid for putting there body on the line every night. Austin making a statement is a smart thing to do so i find nothing wrong bout what he said, he is just saying wrestlers are under paid and this business isnt what it used to be.

 

[Mad Metal]

Like some are saying, Austin was piratically speaking for Vince McMahon, seeing how Austin would go around in public back in his prime wearing the complete opposite of what the current WWE dress code is with a pair of blue jeans or jean shorts with a regular black t-shirt and a hunting jacket, even though nowadays he dresses better.

I agree there aren't that many actual superstars, especially when you rewind back by looking at the superstars of 1999 then fast forwarding by looking at the superstars now, but in a way I feel it's the WWE's fault for hiring some non-talented names. There are also some wrestlers in the roster that can become a much bigger name if only they would put a little more effort in and use their potential instead of being lazy snobs **cough** Carlito and Shelton. Those are only two out of many names that could be actual stars.

 

[ErkBono23]

Well i agree with Austin on pretty much everything he said..including the dress code...esp at this time with all the chaos that is going on in the wwe and wrestling overall being put on a microscope looking professional is a must...its a company..its a business...i dont think it would kill anyone to dress alittle proper and slip on a tie is what i think he is pretty much is saying...and he is completely correct when he saids there arent any superstars..it seems nowadays everyone jsut does enough to get by...i dont think he's insultin anyone when he referrs to his pay his first year...i think he's just tryin to throw out there to everyone to not just settle for ok but to reach for the fuckin top...

 

[TheShocka2k]

I agree with Austin on everything he said. The WWE is lacking main event talent that can produce a great main event night in and night out. As a result of the suspensions, we may be able to see some talent get their opportunity to shine in the next month or so. Hopefully he has lit a fire in performers like Carlito and Shelton Benjamin. Bringing up how he believes 200,000 dollars is not enough to support his life to other performers making 50,000 to 70,000 is somewhat dangerous. However, you have to take into account that a wrestler's career may end in 2 years and 200,000 dollars does not provide support for the rest of your life. He is teaching younger talent to go out there and prove that they belong here. He is also telling them to know their worth in a business that gains and loses performers every year due to injury. A dress code is needed and I agree with Austin. They are representing a multi-billion dollar corporation that is receiving their fair share of negative light right now. Yes they are wrestlers but they are also part of a company and need to realize that they represent the company in every action they take. It is time that the younger wrestlers realize that you can be the IC champ one day and be released the next. They need to step up every aspect of their talent and cannot be complacent being "mid-carders." I also understand that politics has something to do with it, but the harder you work, the better chance you will can have getting to the top. Vince notices hard workers and good wrestlers. I understand that he loves the big guys that are over 6'7" but he also likes wrestlers like Michaels, Hart, Austin, The Rock. Those guys paved the way for these younger generation wrestlers and they need to realize that it is time to step it up and take a shot of becoming an icon.

 

[JBBO3314]

Oh how Austin is so right, my interest in WWE has gone down in the years following the attitude era and I'm only recently getting back into it. I mean all those stars from the era where fun to watch from top of the ladder to mid carders. I mean you can't say that as much as before. This is one of the reasons the ratings are down and people are losing interest.

 

[Jeremy Dick]

Yes, WWE is much different now than it was in the attitude era. But keep in mind, that's back when they were losing in the ratings to WCW and were pulling all the stops to put on the best shows they could.

In this day and age, there is no competition (TNA isn't competition until it's on Monday nights and beats Raw in the ratings which isn't going to happen anytime soon). As with any form of business, competition is healthy and really brings out all of the best in its employees. In WWE's case, that means the wrestlers and the creative team would really have to step it up to win the ratings, and that's when stars are produced.

I'm a WWE fan but I really hope TNA can grow and become more of a threat to WWE, as I feel pro wrestling was definitely most interesting at the peak of the WCW/WWE wars.

 

[lapel8533]

Yeah, pro wrestlers are like celebritys, they don't want to be dressing like their white trash or grooming themselves in a way which makes them blend in with the common white trash. No offense to white trash.lol. Believe it or not doing this does effect the image of the wwe which is who they represent. This is reality wheather you like it or not.

 

[kennyg9]

I also agree with everything Stone Cold said except for one thing. He said there are no superstars in the WWE todya but i disagree with that one. I think he believes HHH is just cause they were in the same era so he is not talking about him. BUT John Cena is definitely a superstar in the industry whether you like it or not Austin. The guy has been champ for nearly a year. Is doing subway commercials and has had one movie already and a 2nd coming and is very main stream with non wrestling fans. Cena = Superstar.

 

[|ronM|ke]

Good for Stone Cold to finally say something. I think they all need a kick in the ass from someone who's had his ups and downs in the company. I also feel he wasn't referring to superstars such as HHH, HBK, Undertaker, etc... He means someone for the future like Punk, Morrison, Carlito, Kennedy, etc...

I think the WWE needs to focus on Randy Orton a little more also. He's the future of the company. I think he could be the star that just comes out and becomes a major star for the company. Same with Mr. Kennedy. These are the guys that need to be given the ball to run with.

 

[percyellis22]

He's complaining about clothes? The guy walks around with t-shirts that say how proud he is of being a redneck. Also he beat his wife. As far as a professional image goes Austin hardly walks around with a top hat and monnacle, swinging his fine oak cane around while checking his pocketwatch.

 

[LipstickAndBruises]

In the minorty here....but I don't agree with Austin.

If someone wants to look assy on their off time so be it. It's not gonna help that person at all but jesus christ its there OFF TIME. You see celebs all the time getting their pics taken in sweats, no make up or bed head and stuff...thats life. No one is perfect all the time. I think warning superstars not to beat their wives, trash hotel rooms, sexually harrass women ect might have been a better lesson. Not to knock Austin or anything but thats just a little odd... "Best to not look like a slob while your your blowing rails off an underage girls ass. What would the fans think if you werent dressed nice???!!!". Strange sentiment. Seems to me like someones gotten pretty sassy since he stopped wearing those awful wrangler straight leg jeans so tight they had to be surgically removed.

And saying someone needs to "step up" and become a superstar....well easier said than done. You can be awesome in the ring, over with the fans and all that and if you dont give the right people in management chills you might be stuck being the next Val Venis.

 

[Rokitka]

What's Austin's purpose in WWE nowadays? I say if you don't wrestle get the f*ck out. Rather than trying to bring back Austin, why not create a new one? Obviously not the same gimmick, but why not create a superstar that WWE fans will accept to have shoved down their throats. Cena is obviously not going to happen. They tried it with Lashley with the Mcmahon feud, but his mic skills are too week. Kennedy seemed like it could've been something good if he didn't mess it up. What WWE needs is a guy to step up and be a top guy.

 

[EPN17]

I agree with Austin in regards to someone stepping up. He's pretty much grooming Kennedy now since Kennedy had the balls to come up with a cocky, heel gimmick. Who the hell else has done that in the last couple of years? That's exactly why guys like Santino, Khali, the spirit squad, and others are complete wastes of time and money, because they have shitty gimmicks. Granted WWE forces alot of them on the wrestlers, but if some of them could be creative that might change.

 

[FoleyIsGod]

I think Austin rubbed a lot of people the wrong way with his comments about dress sense, as its been stated, he was always in his jeans and tshirt.

Though Austin is kind of responsible for the mess WWE is in now. WHen he was wrestling, he refused to put anybody "over" or let them rub up against him. So he was always stuck wrestling Taker, Rock or Triple H. There was also the fact he wanted to be the number 1 guy long past he could feasibly do so. This is ironic, compared to what he went through with Hogan and co in WCW and not being given a chance there.

As fir the comment about why Austin is still in the WWE, i think he is showing up more and morebecause his last movie, The Condemned was a huge bomb at the Box Office, leaving Austin with wrestling as his only means of income. Not that he does a lot anyway, comes out, drinks a beer, stunner and rinse repeat. Sadly, even this is old, its not 1998 anymore. Yet Austin is doing the exact same thing almost 10 years later

Its not nice seeing a guy who is way past his prime taking up tv time from the younger guys on the roster, like the Carlito's and Shelton Benjamin's.

 

[Batistabomb10]

Yeah, Austin was totally right. The WWE needs the newer talent to step up and lead the company forward. They can't rely on the same guys to carry the whole industry for them. Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Kane, Ric Flair, all of those great names are amazing, and the fans still love/respect them, but they want freshness!! I think Austin hit the target dead-on during this speech, and it probably opened up a side of him that hasn't been seen that often. Perhaps his speech will settle in over the next couple days, and someone WILL step up and lead. I hope so, it is getting ridiculous; the lack of leadership that the whole business has.

 

[Shocky]

The reason Austin can say shit like this, because Austin generated more money in one month then most of the guys on the roster have in their entire careers combined.

I know the Attitude Era gets blasted as being over rated, blah blah blah, but no one on this roster today would probably be more then mid-card talent ten years ago. Austin can say stuff like this, because no one can hold a candle to him. Until someone steps up and proves the man wrong, then the locker room should be the one to sit down, shut up, take the criticism, and prove him wrong. Until then, Austin beer drinking segments at Summerslam will continue to outpop the rest of the card each and every time. Long live the Texas Rattlesnake.

 

[percyellis22]

Very true, but if Austin started out again now with the same gimmick (I know it's hard to say that because the wrestling world would be very different now without him), do you think he'd retain that same level of popularity? The Undertaker is basically unbeatable now, but he would lose clean to Austin nine times out of ten in 98/99. And he's... y'know... Almost 10 years older now. As much as I hate Batista and much prefer the Undertaker (I genuinely don't know why I like the Undertaker so much), I think it's crazy that they don't put Batista over and groom him in the long run. They wonder why they don't have any new up and comers and it's because aside from Cena, nobody beats HBK, HHH, Undertaker etc...

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Steve Austin made a speech to the talent at Summerslam that turned alot of heads. Austin said that he thought the wrestlers dress like slobs in public, and need to conduct themselves in a more professional manner.

This coming from the dumbshit that dresses in daisy-ducks & self-plugging tee's. Not to mention proudly addresses that he's a redneck at its best. And has a history of spousal abuse. (as noted partly by percyellis22)

Austin also said that the company has no superstars, and its time for someone to step up and become one

Amen brother, John Cena, Triple H., Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Shelton Benjamin, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Edge, etc, etc.. keep slapping part of the stars that made you. I on a side note think its more than time for The "Giant Callie" (as noted by both Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler on Raw last night) to step up. I mean, the man has talent coming out his ears. hahahaha

He also went on to say that he only made a measly $200,000 in his first year in the company (said in front of wrestlers that make between $50,000 and $75,000).

If I was any one of those boys in the lockerroom listening to this, at this point I would've stood up & slapped the shit outta him for saying this. The first mental note Mr. Austin should make to himself.. "Know who you're addressing & all the information regarding them, before you slap how much MORE you made, then how much less they currently make."

 

[percyellis22]

Could NOT agree more mate. Poor little Austin with his 6-figure salary, full cooperation with his boss who's willing to have the crap beaten out of him and piss himself on live TV, just to make him look better.

Yeah, the wrestlers of today just don't seem to want to work hard... They don't want to work hard like Austin, they just want to have everything handed to them nice and ready, like Tajiri, or Tommy Dreamer...

Man I hate that guy.

 

[San AntonioSon21]

I don't think Austin was alluding to Triple H or Cene NOT being superstars. That's a given. Those guys have proven they can generate interest and buyrates no matter who they're paired up with.

I think Austin was saying that other than the obvious guys (HBK, Cena, Triple H, Undertaker and Edge) - there are no superstars in the WWE right now.

By that, I mean guys that can hold their own in the ring, on the mic, at the box office and via buy rates.

That's the measure of a TRUE superstar.

Could a guy like Bobby Lashley generate interest headlining a PPV that did not involve any of the above mentioned superstars?

Could Batista? Could Rey Mysterio? Could Randy Orton? Kennedy? MVP? Carlito? Umaga?

Jim Ross has mentioned more than once on his own blog, that WWE does not have enough "main event" talent at the moment, but as someone said here, I don't know if they have enough mid-card talent either.

I think Austin is challenging certain guys to step their games up to the main even level and challenging others to do enough to be noticed and given a sustained run on the mid-level.

This is one of the reasons WWE is desperately trying to lure HBK back early and sign Chris Jericho to a new deal.

They need main even level guys that will generate interest on their ability and name alone, and not because they've been paired with a marquee name.

I understand where Austin is coming from - but these days you have to wonder how much passion the young guys really have for the business.

They can only blame Vince for so long.

Eventually, they may have to start pointing the finger at themselves, and I think that's what Steve Austin is trying to get them to do.

 

[Tomm2x]

With regards to the locker room speech, I wasn't there and all I have picked up is hearsay from this and other sites, so I don't feel it's completely fair to editorialize to a great degree. In response to the subject of how wrestlers dress in their off time, I feel it is ridiculous of any employer to impose or even suggest regulation of some sort. If the man delivering this message happens to be a guy who rose to fame in a t-shirt and jeans, then it's almost impossible to take it seriously.

The WWE certainly does needs some stars to step up, regardless of how Austin addressed it. Economics and politics aside, these stars need a real desire to push themselves, as opposed to waiting for a lucky situation or big break to be handed to them. Even the wrestlers whose careers have excelled due to politics (Hulk Hogan, HHH, HBK, Kevin Nash, etc.) paid years of dues before getting their opportunity to shine.Just because a guy like Carlito or Shelton Benjamin isn't being pushed right now doesn't mean they won't be the next superstars of tomorrow. They just have to keep going out there and putting on inspired, passionate performances and the truth is, sooner or later, they'll be noticed, but only if they don't expect opportunities to be handed to them.

As for Austin himself, if he's unhappy, it's his own fault. His movie bombed and wrestling's his only income. The truth is, Austin could be in a much more comfortable situation if he put aside his ego. There were at least 3 occasions I remember during his prime that he walked out on the WWE for reasons such a storylines and basically not getting his way. If he hadn't wasted months of his prime sitting at home waiting on egomaniacal demands, he could have wrestled several more big money matches. Now, he's no longer in the condition to wrestle and his only means of income is making random appearances on WWE TV (some trash talk, guzzle a beer, stun someone = easy paycheck). He wouldn't have to be doing this if he managed his career and money more responsibly. In his prime, Austin was making millions of dollars a year. A smart person in a short term career know to save the money he makes so he can retire comfortably. Any bitterness or anger Austin carries is no one's fault, but his own.

 

[Player_1]

I think it's safe to assume that there is a great deal of stress when you are a top draw in the WWE. The demand is high. Making appearances outside of the WWE, signing autographs, last minute travels, a hectic schedule that would make most athletes and entertainers go home and cry to their mothers, wrestling while injured, and the stress of being the leader of the company....it really adds up. It is only fair that the person gets some acommadations, especially if he was one that earned his spot. Austin made alot of money for the WWE in such a short time, even more so than Hogan did during his prime in the old WWF. I think he deserves to complain every once in a while.

On a side note, isn't he still under contract with the WWE? Or does he only get paid when he plays?

 

[Jeremy Dick]

I think Stone Cold's contract is for WWE Films, not for wrestling appearances. So I assume he gets paid by the appearance. I don't know for sure, though, I don't know the specifics of his contract.

 

[PocketJokers]

I disagree with Austin on some levels, yes he is right about the dress code, and the measly 200thou, but the up and coming talent part of Stone Cold's speech, I disagree on every level. WWE has the talent to make it big, but, they are under utilizing the talent they have in every way. The main example at the moment that springs to mind is Mr Kennedy, he has a unique angle, a unigue style, and the best on the mic. I watched some of his backstage promos recently, from both Smackdown and RAW, who did it remind me of? The Rock... Maybe not at such a high caliber, but with due time, and a right push by WWE, he will be the key to the WWE 'promised land' so to speak, or what Vince has wanted for his new era.

It's not all just Kennedy, there is Morrison, who shocked me a lot. I didn't thing the Morrison angle would work, but I was wrong. He shocked me, and I found an incredible new side of Morrison, I respect him. And he's kind of the modern version of Bret Hart, not in accomplishments, but the fact that he, and like edge and matt, have come from tag teams that did really well, but has exceeded anyones expectations as a main eventer.

This is where Austin is full of himself. Kennedy, Morrison, MVP/Matt, CM Punk, Edge these guys are the future of WWE, not Cena, not Orton, it's the guys I mentioned above. Yes, Cena, Orton, Batista, these guys are caliber wrestlers, but they lack the mic skill, and they aren't a total package. Cena may look and seem like he is, but he isn't.