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CLASSIC Q&A: AUSTIN AND WWE, FIRED WWE WORKERS, BEING A BABYFACE VS. A HEEL, IF ALL THE MCMAHONS PASSED AWAY TOGETHER AND MORE

Originally posted on 12/31/04

Seeing as how Stone Cold Steve Austin just turned 40, I have to ask this. Could you give me more details on why he left the WWE? I know it had something to do with him not wanting WWE to take a cut of the profit for him using the "Stone Cold" name outside the WWE but could you give me more details? Also, do you think the WWE would have fought harder to keep Steve if he could still wrestle? Seems like they didn't put up much of a fight to keep him.

Austin wanted to pursue more acting projects in Hollywood as his contract was coming to an end earlier this year. Getting older and dealing with a career-ending neck injury, he felt that going to Hollywood and pursuing acting roles was the best move that he could make. He wanted to have full control of the Stone Cold moniker to use however he saw fit in TV and movies, outside of WWE. Vince McMahon wanted to retain the rights to the name in whatever Austin did so that he would be in line to get a cut of whatever project Austin did, plus in theory be able to keep Austin from using the name in any project that he didn't want Austin to do. Vince did the same thing with The Rock and it has paid off very well for him. That was the major bone of contention between the parties and when it couldn't be resolved, they parted company, though Austin has remained in contact with Vince since then. At the time they separated, the only thing WWE could have done to keep him was to give him what he wanted since both sides had dug in their heels. That wasn't going to happen, so they parted. I think we will see Austin work with WWE again however, maybe even very soon. As I said above, he and Vince McMahon have stayed in close contact since Austin left.

I have a question relating to all the firings that happened recently in the WWE. Of all the wrestlers who have been fired, who do you think will benefit the most away from the WWE? All injuries aside, if everyone was healthy right now, who do you think would succeed away from the WWE? Any possible champion material in TNA perhaps in your opinion?

I don't see how any of them benefit from being let go unless they can make enough money to live comfortably, if not at the same level of when they worked for WWE. For example, oif they made 100K a year to work for WWE every week and could get 75K to work half the dates, that would be amenable in my opinion. While pay is down in WWE right now, for the most part the talent that was let go still made at least decent money and they can't make that up outside of there. The only real place for them to work is in TNA and Japan and I don't see any of them making the kind of money there that they made in WWE. I don't see any champions in the group either.

I get the impression most wrestlers would rather perform as a heel than as a face because you can do more with a heel character than face character. Is that your impression also?

I have talked to a lot of wrestlers about this over the years and I can't ever remember anyone ever telling me that they would rather play a babyface over being a heel. The babyface, especially in the traditional sense, always had to be pretty sugary and boring, which wasn't much fun to play. The guys prefer to play the heel because they can have a lot more fun with the character and be outrageous, plus get to do more interesting (read dastardly) things.

If all of the McMahons (including Triple H. McMahon) were to suddenly die in a freak plane crash, who would mostly likely be selected to step up and become the new, intelligence-insulting fan-ignorer?

Hmmm, probably TV Producer Kevin Dunn, who is one of Vince McMahon's right hand men. He owns a good deal of company stock and would probably take over. That wouldn't be pretty in my opinion.

Isn't selling used diva undies on the internet a new low for the creative teams at WWE. Is WWE trying to attract perverts, baby killers and women beaters... and 9/11 terrorists?

It's kind of odd, for sure. It's hard to say it's a new low though since WWE has so many other things that deserve equal consideration for that dubious honor.

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