I Listen So You Don't Have To: Steve Austin Show Ep. 235

Austin addresses Piper rumors 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: 235 (July 7, 2015)
Run Time: 1:15:52
Guest: None

Summary: It’s another solo show for Austin, who briefly discusses his role as the cover boy for the new WWE video game and not so briefly shares about an experience with one of his rings during filming. He answers listener questions regarding Skandor Akbar, the Big Boss Man, working in different sized rings, buttermilk, a video game tournament competitor’s viral video with a Stone Cold theme, dogs, drunken eBay purchases, his ranch and gun preferences before ending by refuting rumors he got “Rowdy” Roddy Pipe fired from PodcastOne.

Quote of the week: “For the hot potato, or the blame, to be placed in my lap, that I ran him off, or had him intimidated, or had anything to do with him leaving, is totally false. Roddy asked for the meeting, he got the meeting, he expressed his desire to leave the company, and it is what it is. To my knowledge, on paper he’s still under contract with PodcastOne. It was reported to me that if he wanted to go back and continue his podcast, he could. Whether he does or not is up to him. … To Roddy, you’re one of the all-time greats in the business of professional wrestling. I cheered for you as a babyface, I booed you as a heel, and respected everything that you did, and your hall of came career speaks for what it is. After that, no hard feelings. I don’t want a back-and-forth on this. Closed book. I will not respond to anything else. And what I’ve spoke in the bottom line, and what I’ve spoken is the truth.”

Why you should listen: In a sharp contrast to his usual fun-loving persona, Austin is dead serious and on the edge of losing composure while discussion the Piper situation. The story of him using Jim Ross as a courier to get his written thoughts of admiration to Akbar is special, and I found the quick breakdown of how different rings affected his work to be quite interesting. And as noted in the last Austin post, his story about the video game cover deal is further vindication for those who never put any salt in the “Austin on the outs with WWE” rumors.

Why you should skip it: Outside of those few highlights, this is a dreadfully boring episode. The stuck ring story is interminable, the Boss Man tales are as well worn as they come in Austin’s repertoire, and most of the other questions are so boring it hardly matters he breezes through the answers.

Final thoughts: Skip to about the 70-minute mark and you’ll hear all you need to hear. It’s clear why Austin didn’t do a full episode on this one topic, and I don’t fault him at all for putting it at the end of the episode. In fact, it’s entirely likely the listener questions segment was recorded before the Piper rumor surfaced, so it’s not as if Austin intentionally sandbagged the hot topic by burying it at the end of one of his slowest efforts in recent vintage. Even so, it’s still a pretty resounding dud until business finally picks up right before Austin gets the “go home” cue.