The biggest news story in pro wrestling in 2023 is WWE’s ongoing merger with the UFC, which was officially announced the day after WrestleMania last month. As of this writing, not much is known about how the merger will affect WWE past UFC parent company Endeavor being upfront that layoffs are to be expected. In the meantime, there’s a lot of room for analysis and speculation, and on Thursday, one of WWE’s all-time biggest stars chimed in: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in an interview on “SI Media with Jimmy Traina.”
“I wasn’t shocked at all,” Austin said of the merger. “It had been in the grapevine, and it happened, and it kind of made sense. UFC did it [when the company was sold to Endeavor], so why not WWE? Triple H went out and cut that promo saying they’re not going anywhere, meaning the people that are running WWE. I think it needs to come from a wrestling-minded family type thing, or those key players. That’s a tricky business. Not everybody with a television background walks into the wrestling industry or the sports industry and can produce great results. So you keep the people running it that do because they know their fanbase as well as anybody.” Austin added that when WWE first went public, he asked Vince McMahon why he was doing that, and McMahon told him it was “to legitimize the business.”
Later in the interview, Austin was asked if he had any desire to have a full-time role with WWE again. Austin was dismissive of that kind of commitment in light of how much himself he poured into being a full-time performer in the past, but he’s always open to talking. “I’d always entertain any kind of business offer,” he said. “But I spent enough time on the road and I’m picking and choosing. I still wanna work and be productive. […] I don’t wanna get out on the road again. I’ve been there and I did it, and I ran hard.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
