Steve Austin Talks His Initial Reaction To Mr. Socko, Michael Cole As An Announcer, Cole's Best Work
Recently on The Steve Austin Show, WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin provided some alternative commentary to the WWE Championship match between The Rock and Mankind, also known as Mick Foley, on an episode of WWE Monday Night RAW from 1999. Historically, professional wrestling fans may remember the match as a turning point in the Monday Night Wars, as WCW producer Eric Bischoff made the tactical error of spoiling the title change on WCW Monday Nitro. On the show, Austin talked about the origins of Mr. Socko. Also, Austin praised WWE announcer Michael Cole.
During the podcast, Austin shared the story of Foley explaining his idea for Mr. Socko for the first time while the two were in a hospital shooting the memorable 'bedpan McMahon' angle.
"Nobody, I mean nobody, but Mick Foley, could get a thing like a sock over to the degree that he did. I'll never forget when I was about to hit Mr. McMahon in the head with that bedpan, me and Mick Foley were in a bathroom about the size of a shower in the hospital and he was telling me about the sock and he was going to start using it as a finish and we were laughing our asses off in that little, bitty bathroom. They had to knock on the door and say, 'hey, you guys need to keep it quiet – we're trying to film Vince's part of the skit!' So anyway, swig of beer and big respect for Mick Foley. Getting the Mandible Claw over was easy. I mean, that was a great finish. But, then, using the sock [and] calling it Mr. Socko, that's entertainment! That's something that's just credible, and then you throw the showmanship, or the entertainment factor in it by using the sock, and then the sock turns into a character, dude, that's just good stuff. I don't care who you are. That's good stuff!"
Although Austin claimed that Cole was at his best in 1999, he also acknowledged that Cole does an "awesome" job now and that being a lead commentator on WWE programming is a radically different job today than it was during the Attitude Era.
"Big shout out [to] Michael Cole. Probably some of the best work of his career [was in 1999]. He's dispersing so much information now. I understand it's a different ballgame and it really is when you look at from 1999 into 2016, and I don't mean that in a disparaging way. I'm just saying with the [WWE] app and so much business to talk about, the dude is awesome at his job! Take a listen these days and realize how much information he's putting out along with being totally into all the storylines, which are going on at the time [and] which points he has to get over. The dude is like [Harry] Houdini – he's working magic out there. And sometimes, surely, you miss the singular focus and passion of Jim Ross becoming so embroiled or enraged at the heel for doing despicable things or the backhanded complements that he used to give 'Stone Cold'". Austin continued, "but Michael Cole is doing a totally different thing these days. It's dispersing a lot of information. The product has changed. But, here, in 1999, I thought he was on fire. He captured the emotion, he captured the action, and Jerry Lawler was on fire too."
In addition to these topics, Austin offered some insight into Mankind's WWE championship victory over The Rock. Click here to check out the show. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit The Steve Austin Show with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: The Steve Austin Show