Steve Austin Talks Roman Reigns Push And If He Is To Blame, Disappointing Royal Rumble Finish
The WWE audience has been vocal about this year's Royal Rumble, and there isn't exactly radio silence from WWE Legends, either. On Stone Cold Steve Austin's latest Unleashed podcast with Court Bauer, he spoke out about his feelings on the event and Roman Reigns.
Austin was disappointed with the amount of action in the Royal Rumble match, which lacked the fast-paced spots of previous years. Austin was particularly critical of the predictability of the match as it came to a close.
"I thought there was gonna be displays of athleticism and teeter-totter back and forth who was gonna win that thing," Austin said. "With all due respect to the guys who were in the final four, but you could see the writing on the wall, and that's the way it went down. I thought they could have been more creative."
WWE's perceived anointment of Roman Reigns as the next face of the company has drawn resentment to the 29-year old star. Fans and Austin alike have questioned whether Reigns is prepared to make the leap to the main event spot at WrestleMania.
"It's not his fault," Austin said. "DDP, Triple H those kind of guys were always down there at the Power Plant, training, learning hungry. I don't know that he's done that work on his own yet. I know he's on the road a lot, but I haven't heard the word on the street that he's arriving early, working with so and so, picking someone's brain. I could be all wrong on this, but behind the scenes but I don't know if he's put in the work. It's not his fault they're giving him a push."
Austin pointed to Roman Reigns' offensive arsenal as something he needed to work on and improve, as well as working on individual body parts.
"You have to be able to fill in the gaps. The sad thing is he's getting the heat when he shouldn't be getting the heat. It's not his fault. You've gotta put the work in, but the push isn't his fault. Creative didn't do him any favors, how they booked things. They should have had him come in a little earlier, work his ass off, and pull it out," Austin said.
Triple H and WWE are teasing a major announcement involving the "controversy" behind the Royal Rumble for this Monday's Raw. You can listen to Stone Cold Steve Austin's full podcast with Court Bauer at this link.