WWE News: Was ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin Censored During WWE Network Podcast?
WWE Network had a lot of buzz a few weeks ago when it was announced “Stone Cold” Steve Austin would host his podcast live on the WWE Network. His guest would be none other than the WWE Chairman himself, Vince McMahon. Many assumed that WWE would want to control the podcast a bit, seeing as it was on the network. Whatever happened afterward was of no issue, as it would simply go up on Austin’s podcast away from the network.
Austin asked a lot of great questions, from which Vince didn’t steer away from. Austin asked about the locker room and why it didn’t seem as driven as it was in his time. Vince said that people of this generation didn’t want it as much as his did. NXT proved this thought wrong just a short while later in a massive way. Austin also asked about CM Punk among other various topics. Overall, the interview was good and well worth seeing on the WWE Network.
However, was it censored even a little?
According to the Wrestling Observer, it was not. It’s said that there were no directives made by anyone, including Kevin Dunn or other high-end WWE executives, which means that Austin did everything on his own with or without permission. Austin was not told to stay away from any topics, in fact, which meant anything he wanted to ask was free game. It appears Austin did just that, as well.
This podcast came just days after CM Punk’s explosive and revealing podcast with Colt Cabana. Vince seemed apologetic when talking about Punk and feels that it’d be great to have him back. Punk is now signed with the UFC, which means a WWE return is doubtful for at least a few years. The Vince podcast also seemed to get the young guys going as well.
Programming has increased in match value. NXT alone proved that this generation could be on par with the past ones, and in some ways, it could be better. In fact, NXT has affected what the main roster has done lately. That means that this generation’s stars are affecting the product massively, which shows they not only want it, but they are willing to grab it by the throat and take it. That is something that many find exciting in today’s WWE product.
Steve Austin felt like guys were walking on egg shells the day he was there, and due to the Punk podcast, that makes sense. However, NXT guys aren’t letting that affect them — so the main roster certainly shouldn’t. If the main roster keeps being outshined by NXT, most would expect WWE to pull the best guys from NXT up quicker just to make the current televised product better. That may not be a bad idea in the end.
[IMG Credits: wrestlingnewsreport.com, WN.com]
