– Steve Austin recently appeared on You’re Welcome With Chael Sonnen (transcript credit wrestlinginc.com), here are the highlights…
On Reigns Having Issues Winning The Crowd Over: “Roman is having a hard time winning the crowd over just because of the way he’s booked. When you sit there, good looking guy, a lot of charisma, [and] easygoing the times I’ve talked to him. He’s one of the nicest guys in the locker room and well-spoken and smart and doesn’t need anybody writing convoluted promos for him, so I just think many people consider him [to be] entitled because of his looks and that [has] actually worked against him, so the kid is in between a rock and a hard place, no pun intended that he’s related to The Rock.”
On What They Need To Let Reigns Do: “If this is the Reality Era, let the kid go out there and shoot and let the chips fall where they may.” Austin added, “let the kid have some freedom. Let the kid go out there and express himself. Let him go out there and experiment. All he can do is fall down and trip and then get back up if he does and take another shot at it. Vince [McMahon] is going to still try to do the tried and true formula, a traditional babyface push, but this kid is not going to be a traditional babyface because, just going back to politics, people don’t want to be told what to like, why to like him, here’s why you should like him, and, damn it, like him!”
On Reigns’ Look: “He’s covered up in so much black clothing. He [has] got that long black hair. Half the time, it’s in his face. Lose the top. Dude, I had a drum half the time I wrestled, but I was mega over. It wasn’t about my physique. This kid [has] got twice the physique, ten times the physique I ever dreamed of having. And just let him go out there and be himself. I think the padding is just too much. The appearance, it worked okay for a little bit and now as a babyface, not so much.”
