Monday, September 29, 2014

I Listen So You Don't Have To: Steve Austin Show Ep. 154

Austin talks movies this week
Photo Credit: WWE.com
If you're new, here's the rundown: I listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are better wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but these are the ones in my regular rotation that I feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If I can save other folks some time, I'm happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show Unleashed
Episode: 154
Run Time: 1:29:35
Guest: None

Summary: Stone Cold is still in Georgia, and the first half of the show is more or less a narration of his morning and running errands. Seriously. Then he tells stories from sets of the movies he’s worked on, including The Longest Yard, The Condemned, Damage and The Expendables. About 75 minutes into the show he takes listener questions, including one about Brock Lesnar, before ending by suggesting fans hunt down a Dusty Rhodes/“Superstar” Billy Graham promo.

Quote of the week: “We got a rambling show here, I’m rambling about everything under the sun. But I guess I picked a bad day to quit amphetamines and a great day to triple up on coffee and Diet Red Bull. Swig of coffee for the workin’ man!”

Why you should listen: Fans of Austin’s movies, and yes, there are some, will enjoy his recollections. Fans of dark humor will enjoy laughing at the letter from the listener who, upon learning he was going blind, wrote he “couldn’t see himself” sitting around and doing nothing. And though very brief and way at the end, it’s nice to get a promo of the week tip from Austin instead of the typical match suggestion.

Why you should skip it: There’s not much there there. Even the usual “day in the life” stories lack the usual outlandish humor, and even Austin’s legendary profanity seems subdued. And the listener questions are almost entirely useless (spoiler: Steve listens to Pandora while lifting, and he pays for the ad-free version).

Final thoughts: How much longer is Stone Cold tied up filming Redneck Island? At the outset of the show he talks about wanting to drive into Atlanta for a sitdown interview with Ric Flair, and even trying to track down Ole Anderson, and I certainly hope either one of those possibilities are in the cards. Otherwise it’s going to be more of the same from our old friend at 316 Gimmick Street.