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Welcome to PWInsider.com's coverage of the WWE Network broadcast of The Stone Cold Podcast with Paige.
Paige said she was nervous and it was so weird being there. Austin said she had a hard fought win tonight and asked her about it. She said she's her own worst critic. Austin asked her if she was critiquing herself in the ring because he would go back and critique himself later but not in the ring. She said while she's in there she will be down on herself feeling she didn't do things right. Austin said she should be on his explicit show because they each speak a lot and curse. She talked about how she sometimes curses in the ring and was told she had to stop because it's not ladylike. Austin said it does fit the business though.
They talked about her unique background in that she's a ten year veteran although she's only 23 and her mother was still taking bumps when she was seven months pregnant with Paige. He noted her father Ricki Knight and her mother Saraya Knight have been in the business forever and asked her about her background. She said all her family are wrestlers and her Grandparents were referees. She said she was petrified of it growing up because of injuries and because her family was away all the time. She said her mother was blind for six months after getting dropkicked in the eye and getting an infection from the swelling, so the business scared her.
Austin asked if she was ever smartened up to the business. Paige said that she wasn't when she was younger but there came a point where she realized what it was. She trained for fun with her family and a show came where they were short a girl and asked her to wrestle. She ended up getting knocked out, possibly from not tucking her chin on a bump, and woke up loving it and wanting to do it. Paige said she wanted to be like Bull Nakano, Alundra Blayze and Lita.
Austin asked her about her training and said when he trained, it was hard for him to learn. She said selling was hard to come by because she was 13 and she hadn't been in a real fight, so she couldn't understand. Her parents would have her close her eyes and hit her so she would understand and learn to sell.
She talked about her mother taking bumps when she was seven months pregnant and didn't know she was expecting. Robbie Brookside gave her a press slam and to the outside onto her dad and afterwards, she didn't feel well. She went to the doctor and found out she was pregnant. Paige joked that she walked in skinny and came out heavy with the baby.
Paige joked that is why she has scoliosis and Austin asked her about it. She said that she didn't know that she had it until she came to WWE. A trainer realized her back was a question mark. She had x-rays and might have to have it addressed later in life.
Austin asked her about the "Fighting with My Family" documentary in the UK about her family. They were approached and it followed her and her family as she was going into her second WWE tryout.
Austin asked her about tending bar and bouncing as a teenager. He joked that England is a little different from the United States. She was left in charge of the bar her parents owned when they were 15 years old. She told some stories about taking women and even guys down in the bar.
Austin asked her about wrestlers staying with the family while they were touring the UK. Jake Roberts lived with them for awhile and she met Yokozuna, The Bushwhackers and Greg Valentine as a kid and she loved it.
She was asked who she loved and wanted to emulate growing up. She loved Bull Nakano, Alundra Blayze and Lita. She was obsessed with Steve Austin and his character growing up and she loved Rikishi as well. Austin said it was interesting to hear that a bald headed guy could resonate with a British teenager. She said she was going to embarrass herself but admitted being in love with him as a kid.
She was asked about her initial WWE tryout. She got it through the late Drew McDonald. Austin said she got the tryout and was rejected after trying to be a Diva. McDonald had told her to be a Diva, so she gave it her best try putting on a colorful dress and getting her hair and makeup done. She said that when she was in that dress, she was not in any way confident. She got a spray tan and she knew it didn't suit her. She had her tryout and busted open Lisa Fury's lip because she wasn't comfortable. She got a second tryout six months later and decided to come back as herself and the hell with it. Goldust and Jamie Noble were running the tryout. She and her brother Zack beat the crap out of each other and Goldust would give her advice on things that she was doing wrong.
Austin said that when she came to NXT, she brought a very physical style and had that reputation. Paige said you could ask Summer Rae about it. Her family's motto was "stiff but safe." Early on, a lot of the girls didn't like her. She came in very aggressive and people were intimidated by her. She told a story about tackling Summer Rae and nailing her in the teeth and the other girls accused her of trying to sabotage her. She was just trying to be physical the way she always had been. She didn't realize how much she intimdated others until Charlotte explained it to her.
As Paige, she had put all the qualities she's liked from her mother and Bull Nakanko and wanted to stand out. She said that Dusty Rhodes really helped her develop and kept her from going insane at times. She said it's a really hard job and she moved halfway across the world for it. People assume that they are on TV and on camera that it's an easy job. Austin said there's a little glamour but when you get in the grind, it's hard. Dusty took her in and when she would break down and Dusty would help her. Cody Rhodes said Dusty loved to "fix his broken toys." Paige said she was Dusty's little princess.
Dusty taught her about saving her money. She said the first year she didn't save very well but was 18, but after that, she saved and she saved well and it was because of Dusty. He would run promo class and make her do promos where he didn't want her to talk but use the 30 seconds. They would give her scenarios like she's in love with Roman Reigns and he stole her toaster. She got flustered once, called him a "motherf***er" and got upset. Dusty told her that she could be a big star one day and wanted the best for her, but she didn't deliver.
Austin asked her what was the hang-up with the promo. She said she could do them but didn't understand the art of using them to tell stories. She told a story of being hit by a car and being all banged up and her dad asked her if she could wiggle her toes. She could, so he told her, OK, go get ready, we have a show tonight. She told a story of breaking her wrist and still working and setting up the ring.
This segued into a discussion of how the way medical is treated in WWE has changed from the old school ways of pro wrestling. Paige admitted she would see girls get banged up at the WWE Performance Center and would think, "What is wrong with you? Get up, brush yourself off and go" and would be annoyed at them for not doing so. Those girls however didn't grow up in the business like she did. Austin talked about the John Cena injury from last week and Paige said that Cena is old school and that's why she likes him.
Austin said he's heard stories of people who want her autograph and she asks them why do they like her. He asked if it's a confidence thing or what. She said she's a little girl from a little town in a world of beautiul women and Superstars, so why would they like her? Austin said people live vicariously through them. He said it wasn't until he was in the WWE Hall of Fame and saw the package for him and said, "OK, this is what we were doing." He advised her that at some point when she's off the road, she should take a step back and watch some of her own stuff and realize how passionate fans are for her and why.
Paige said she watched some Total Divas back and the message she wants to give is to be yourself. She said a lot of people preach that but she feels that she really lives that. She told stories of people who have told her that they have gotten over anxiety and eating disorders because of her and how she carries herself.
Austin brings the conversation back to Florida. She said that when she won the NXT title, she was coming off some bad luck including being hit by a car, needing surgery, having her bank account hacked and she couldn't pay for the surgery and her dog being hit by a car. Triple H brought her back a week early so she could do the tournament and she was amazed that at 21, she could even make WWE history by being the first champion. She said that Emma was awesome to work with and really the Divas Revolution started there.
She said that the best part of it was being given time to tell stories in the ring. She gave HHH the credit for changing things. Austin asked if she feels she started it. She said that AJ was amazing and quirky and great on the wrestling sides of things but she didn't get to actually do the wrestling side of it that often. She was different. HHH gives them 20 minute opportunities for NXT matches on the first ever PPV on the WWE Network. She said that she and Emma got to help get the ball rolling. Austin brought up all the women that have come through. Paige credited Sara del Rey, Finlay and Dean Malenko for everything they have done and being given the chance to show what the women could do in the ring.
Austin asked her about her travel partners. She said that sometimes she travels alone. She travels alot with Alicia Fox and sometimes with Emma. In the UK, they would all squeeze into crappy cars and trying to get to the next town. It's really nicer here. Austin said he's friends with William Regal and they were in Blackpool and met a promoter there and the promoter, when they left, told Austin "Enjoy life" and Austin kept that to him. Paige said that she has to have fun and has to get something else out of life beyond just the grind of the business. She said she sometimes takes short trips in between the tours.
Paige said she feels she has a lot of time in the business and feels completely refreshed with how she is in the company and her role. Austin said that at ten years in, he felt he would know the lay of the land and what promoters expected of him and what he did in the ring. He asked her if she feels the same. She said that some days she does and some days she still questions if she's doing what they want.
Austin asked her about the transition into the NXT system, saying in some aspects, she had to be light years ahead in certain aspects but was any of it hard to get her head around. Paige said getting used to the bigger crowds was different and the difference in how the crowds were seen was interesting. She would hear things like the crowd is only 1800 people and to her, even know, thats a lot of people. In the UK if there were 2 people in the crowd, they wrestled and here she joked, do we cancel because there are only 1800 people?
Austin asked her about Tough Enough and said he's enjoyed her on the show. She said she's apparently a bad guy. Austin said he just binge watched the first six episodes. He said he think people probably expected to see what they had with the previous version but likes the live aspect although sometimes it feels too stuffed for one hour. He said that people give her heat for what she says. She joked that she's gotten death threats. Austin said people think she's riping people to shreds but he understands she's coming from the point of view of someone inside the business and being honest. She explained why she was so hard on Sara Lee, knowing that she was boring and she needed to come out of her shell. Austin said she is tough on them but honest. The show is called Tough Enough. Austin said to Paige's credit, she does give them positive encouragement as well. She is honest but fair.
He asked her about the Patrick Clark thing. She said he was 19 and already had an ego. She said she had to put it on blast. The point of the episode was humility. Austin asked her if it was too much ego. She said he rubbed her the wrong way and he needed to get a shock but she didn't expect him to be eliminated. She got crap on Twitter but it was the fans' fault because it's on them to vote them to stay or be gone. She said it was the fans' fault. She said he shouldn't have been eliminated but the biggest mistake was Mada being eliminated. Amanda should not have been saved because she's hot. She was like Miz, what are you doing?
Paige told a story of meeting Daniel Bryan back in 2003 when she was a young teenager and how when Bryan came in the locker room, her dad and brother were beating someone up and Bryan was completely oblivious. She intimated it was because the guy they were beating deserved it because her family was being protective of her. She told some stories of how protective her family members are of her. She admitted that she misses her family all the time. She feels sad not seeing her siblings and their kids growing up but she tries to stay in touch.
When she's not wrestling, she likes to go to concerts and go on trips. They talk about what she likes to drink for adult beverages.
Austin asked her about what sort of goals she has. She wants another Wrestlemania match, she wants to be the longest running Divas champion, change it to the Women's championship, and really, really wants to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. He asked her about working Mania and she said that she can't even imagine wrestling in front of 100,000. They talked about how in the stadiums, you can't hear the crowd in the ring.
A good discussion.
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