Steve Austin spoke with The Miami Herald
about his new TV show Broken Skull Challenge, the WWE and more:
On the concept for his new show: “I loved doing ‘Redneck
Island,’ but there is a lot of drama on the show and how you get voted off the
island is actually a vote. I wanted a competition show that involved challenges,
and when you leave the ranch, it’s because you lose something. So that’s how the
original concept was born. Through my body of work as the ‘Toughest S.O.B. in
WWF’ and the Broken Skull Ranch, one of the toughest places in Texas, the
ultimate thing was to have a competition show on my ranch with the baddest and
toughest athletes in the United States. We came up with the concept of three
rounds of competition with eight people and end up with one. Next day that one
takes on my obstacle course called the “Skullbuster”. We drew from the world of
CrossFit, Spartan racers, Tough Mudder, MMA (mixed martial arts) and pro
wrestling. We’ve got some of the best athletes in the United States doing
head-to-head competition at my place, and that’s what I like, a tough, no BS
competition. No frills. Nothing fancy.”
On now being an exciting time for WWE fans: “For a period
there was a pretty good gap of great new talent that was going to be able to
sell tickets. With The Shield and the Wyatt’s, Cesaro and a couple of other
guys, they’re going to move the needle. It’s refreshing. I remember back in the
day when I was still around. John Cena is a very good friend of mind and has
been a top guy for 10 years. I have so much respect for him, but their houses
have kind of fallen off. I want the business to go back to the way it was when
we were selling out every night. I think with this new depth of talent they have
rising out of the ranks of NXT, developing these new stars. They continue to
gain more momentum and get the business where it was back in the day.”
On the Shield splitting up: “I wanted them to remain
together for a little bit longer. So at some point they would have had to fly on
their own, and they chose the time to do that. I don’t know if it’s a lack of
depth. I know they have a lot of guys on the roster, but guys that are going to
be these potential superstars are few and far between. They are the ones booking
it, so we will see how it unfolds. Was it premature or not? I would have liked
to see them stay together longer, maybe about three to six months.”
On the WWE World Heavyweight Title situation: “Triple H
has had it enough. Cena has had it enough. You need a fresh face, so you might
as well take advantage of a bad situation, which is Daniel Bryan’s neck and make
a new superstar. With Cesaro having [Paul] Heyman in his corner, he would be a
great choice because of Heyman’s advice. His credibility, Cesaro’s in-ring
ability speaks for itself. He is going to be a badass. Bray Wyatt I like as a
heel even though the crowd is trying to switch him to babyface. Really, I don’t
know. Maybe Roman Reigns is my favorite to take that belt. I think the crowd is
ready to get behind him. He’s missing a little bit of his game, but he is going
to be a mega star very quickly. So either way you go with that, I think it’s
going to be fine. It’s put up or shut up, and you have to take the football and
run with it. I think whichever guy gets that belt, he will do that…I’m just
wondering if Brock Lesnar is going to come in there and smoke whoever has the
belt and then have a monster run until WrestleMania next year. Then drop the
belt to somebody who is really good at carrying it. So will this guy be a
sacrificial lamb or will they give them a run with the belt? I just want Daniel
Bryan to get well because he was coming into some good money working on top and
worked his ass to get there. He has been around a long time at the lower level.
Now he is at the top of WWE. I just want his neck to get well, so he can
continue making money and be the top guy because he earned it.”
