Steve Austin On Whether He Would Have Gotten Over In Today's WWE, If WWE Would Use Okada Well
Recently on The Steve Austin Show, 'Global Icon And National Treasure' Steve Austin covered a number of pro wrestling topics including whether he would have gotten over in today's WWE and whether reigning NJPW IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada would be used properly in WWE.
During the show, Austin admitted that he does not know how he would fare in the current PG, highly produced, and heavily scripted WWE.
"It's the environment along with the writing [that influence whether a performer gets over nowadays]. Man, I'm glad I came around when I did. If I was to come into today's system looking the way I looked back in the day with the buzz haircut, just walking into the doors of the then-WWF in today's landscape, goddamn, I don't know what would've happened." Austin considered, "I think either way is tough and comparing eras is comparing eras, but they are unique in and of themselves. It's the same business, but it has changed so much, but I liked that back in the day there was so much competition and the two biggest companies in a war. I mean, you could just go out there and try s–t. These days, not so much."
Prior to being booked as the number one contender for the WWE Championship, Austin indicated that he was not thrilled with how Nakamura was been used on the main roster.
"Nakamura has been, and that guy can work his ass off and he's very charismatic and his push has been confusing to me. I'll just sum it like that. It [has] been confusing. 'The King Of Strong Style', I love that gimmick and I love the way that sounds, but he should be mowing through people because he's dangerous. He's not the biggest guy on the roster, but he's dangerous because he's 'The King Of Strong Style'." Austin said, "I'm excited about the guy. I'm just not excited about what they've done with him as far as booking."
In light of Nakamura's questionable booking in WWE, Austin seemed skeptical about how WWE might feature 'The Rainmaker'. With that said, 'The Bionic Redneck' advised that WWE would be wise to grab all the best talent in the world and have plans in place about how to use them.
"I don't know what they'd do with Okada. Well, I mean, Goddang, what would you do? Obviously, push him to the top! I don't know. I really don't know. He's a good looking kid, and Goddang, he can work his ass off, he can sell, he can do it all. He's just a good looking talent that can do everything." Austin added, "he's a superstar over in Japan. He's a big star over here. So I always believe you want to have the best talent you can find and put it into your company, but they just need to, if they're going to do that, they need to know what they're going to do with that guy."
Check out the show here. If you use any of the quotes that appear in this article, please credit The Steve Austin Show with an H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcription.
Source: The Steve Austin Show