I Listen So You Don't Have To: Steve Austin Show Ep. 173

Wyatt's talk with Austin continues on this show
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
Episode: 173
Run Time: 1:33:59
Guest: Ted Fowler (6:34); Bray Wyatt (53:22)

Summary: After a quick look at Thanksgiving, Austin spends more than a half hour letting Fowler question him about the wrestling business. Then Stone Cold finishes his interview with Bray Wyatt. They discuss Wyatt’s family and athletic background, the matches and wrestlers he studies, his relationship with brother Bo Dallas, the origin of “Follow the buzzards” and other aspects of the character, down time, working on the craft while injured and Sister Abigail — the character and the maneuver. The Match of the Week is the 1996 Royal Rumble.

Quote of the week: On himself and Bo Dallas: “We’re lifers, man. We’re not trying to come to the WWE to go and become movie stars, this is what we do and this is what we wanted to do. … He is going to be a big star here too. And we’ve known that since we were little kids giving off powerbombs on the trampoline to all the neighbor boys. It’s who we are. It’s who we’ll always be.

Why you should listen: Austin responds to Fowler’s questions differently than he has when encountering some of the same queries from listeners, so that segment has a fresher feel with a few bits of uncharted territory — notably a story about his showing in the 1996 Royal Rumble. The talk with Wyatt is a logical continuation of last week’s part one, and though they go back toward some familiar ground, it’s mostly a good bookend for anyone who appreciated Wyatt’s insight and willingness to be candid with Austin.

Why you should skip it: Austin is right — there are audio issues plaguing the Wyatt interview rendering some of Bray’s comments unintelligible. There’s less pomposity than what some may have detected from Wyatt in part one, but if Wyatt rubs you the wrong way anyhow, I don’t suppose you had this one queued up anyhow. Ditto for folks who don’t like Fowler, as you might find yourself wondering the point of letting him ask questions that in large part don’t force Austin to explore anything he hasn’t already examined on the show.

Final thoughts: I loved this episode for the Rumble nugget alone, but that’s just me. I also find Wyatt endearing and engaging and am fully able to enjoy his appearance here no matter how I perceive his recent work on TV. Wyatt devotees won’t skip this for anything, and while I found it a good complement to part one, it’s fair to say you’ll have a basic gist if all you hear is Episode 171. Ultimately, I left hoping Austin will interview more young main roster stars and would like to think people who only say Austin interview Vince McMahon on the Network find this episode a good entry point to the real world of his podcast.