Steve Austin On Why Roman Reigns Should Turn Heel, WWE Not Helping Cesaro, Seth Rollins Return, More
Recently, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin talked about Seth Rollins' injury on the Steve Austin Show – Unleashed! During the show, Austin said that Rollins' injury is an opportunity for the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion to retool and come back with a different attitude. Austin said that he still believes Cesaro will put the pieces together and get over in spite of WWE. Also, Austin claimed that Roman Reigns should follow in the footsteps of the Rock and have a heel run before turning babyface as the company's top star.
Austin said that it is easy for performers to miss the big picture when they are in the everyday grind of the professional wrestling business and that he tells injured wrestlers, like Tyson Kidd, to take a step back and really pay attention to what is getting over with the fans.
"Take yourself back and watch and see what everybody else is doing. Watch how the storylines are going. Listen and watch to what the fans are responding to. See what's resonating [and] what's not. [See] where people are hitting the mark [and] where people are striking out. You're able to kind of take a whole different perspective of where you were or where you are now."
On the subject of Rollins' injury, Austin stated that getting sidelined with an injury is a good opportunity to assess the lay of the land and come back refreshed.
"It might be the same Seth Rollins or it might be a Seth Rollins with a little bit of salt and pepper or a Seth Rollins who comes back full of piss and vinegar and vengeance and is on a mission because his whole world, literally, got yanked out from under him. Yeah, it was due to an injury, but because everything has changed when he comes back he has that much more impetus to go back and reclaim the gold. So he could come back with a whole different mindset and a whole different attitude. It's almost a chance for him if he needs to retool or reinvent himself to some degree."
The episode was taped before last Monday's RAW, and when Austin was told that Cesaro was going to face Reigns in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament, he replied, "oh jeez, you know where that's going!" Austin stated that he still believes that Cesaro will put all the pieces together to get over with the fans, but WWE isn't doing him any favors.
"I think the guy is just so damn good in the ring. I see eventually he will put all the pieces together, but [WWE is] not helping him any. He [has] got to put the pieces together to go up on top of the card." Austin continued, "Cesaro, you have hopes for because he can do so much [and] he looks so good. He only speaks 17 languages! He can go all over the world and promote for [WWE], so there [has] got to be a way to get this guy figured in a little more and get his ass over."
According to Austin, Reigns should turn heel before getting the number one babyface spot in WWE. Austin indicated that Reigns has the look and the body to be a top star in the company, but his in-ring work and promo skills must continue to improve.
"I think Roman needs to be a heel. Go through that journey and then evolve into a babyface. To me, it's almost going to mirror what the Rock did. [WWE] brought him in as a white meat baby. People hated him and they wanted to hate him. And then, all of a sudden, the Rock started taking over the Nation of Domination. He was the alpha male in that group. All of a sudden, the promo skills come alive. The character comes alive. The personality comes alive and he turned into the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. Now, I don't expect Roman Reigns to do that. I expect Roman Reigns to be Roman Reigns, but that's the road that the Rock went down. I just think, organically, that's the way it's going to play out for Roman Reigns. Now, you can try to put him in that babyface spot, that number one spot, right now to see what happens and I'll be very, very interested to see, if indeed, that's what they do because I'm just waiting on the edge of my seat to see what happens."
In addition to these topics, Austin talked about Alberto Del Rio's lackluster return to WWE, John Cena's absence, and more. Click here to listen to the entire show.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Steve Austin Show – Unleashed! with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.