On Steve Austin’s podcast with Vince McMahon on the WWE Network, they both mentioned Jim Ross as a mediator in disputes between Austin and McMahon over the years. They lamented that such a person does not really exist in the current-day WWE.
Austin addressed this in relation to the CM Punk situation on his latest podacst.
I think he [Punk] rolls with some [UFC] guys and it’s a very big passion of his…I wish him all the luck in the world, and I know they’ll do a hell of a big buyrate…Match him up with someone his skill level, it’s hard to gauge what his skill level is though.
on the idea of Austin himself being that Jim Ross-style go-between:
I talked about maybe bridging the gap with CM Punk and Vince, and then he goes and does the deal with UFC. It would appear to me that they’re way further apart than I thought they were. I knew things were bad and I hadn’t talked to CM Punk, so it’s going to be interesting.
