10 things we learned through Stone Cold - Vince McMahon podcast segment

After CM Punk broke the internet with Colt Cabana’s ‘Art of Wrestling’ podcast, Vince McMahon sat down with Steve Austin in the WWE Network to do something similar. Though it wasn’t as controversial as Punk’s rant, Vince did give some great insights into how the company is being run now.There were some shocking details that came out as well and the fans were left asking for more once it was finally wrapped up.This type of original content is what the company needs to produce if they want to plug the Network credibly. With that said, here is a look at some of the biggest take away from the Vince McMahon – Steve Austin podcast segment.

#10 Cesaro doesnt have it

One of the most interesting questions that Steve Austin raised on the podcast was about the Swiss Superman. Austin asked what problem Vince has with Cesaro and to his credit, Vince responded honestly.

Vince made it clear that Cesaro is missing something but admitted that he was an exceptional physical talent. This makes clear why the WWE is not pushing Cesaro to the main event scene despite impressing in every match that he has been put into.

The internet fans who rallied around Cesaro for all these time now know what his problem is. Vince didn’t however mention what the superstar is lacking and added that he hopes Cesaro would connect better with the fans in the future.

#9 The boss is still feeling better than ever

The retirement of Vince McMahon has been a big topic in the internet for quite some time now and for the ones who are calling for it, I am afraid I got some bad news for him.

When quizzed about his retirement plans, in his typical style, Vince replied that he feels better than ever. He also disagreed with the people who criticized for him not being in touch.

This tells that we could see Vince running WWE for a long long time and the WWE Universe’s hopes of seeing Triple H being crowned as the new chairman to reinvent the product has to wait until the current chairman feels that he has lost the touch.

#8 Vince McMahon is high on Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins

Vince had harsh words for the present WWE roster. He said that the current superstars lacked hunger and ambition and pointed this as the reason for the fans being pissed off with the product.

The boss did have his exceptions though. He tagged Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins as the next stars who could make it big in the business. If Vince views these four men to be big stars in the future, then mark those words because they will end up being Hall of Famers.

He is mighty impressed with the Dean Ambrose – Bray Wyatt angle that is running right now and since he is high on Rollins, we might actually see Rollins get one over Cena when they face at TLC. And we all knew about the plans for Reigns didn’t we?

#7 Reason for Shane McMahons absence

Shane McMahon was a mainstay in the WWE product throughout the Attitude Era but completely vanished from the wrestling scene with the exception of some sporadic appearances.

Shane is apparently busy with his own business in Japan and is spending more time with his family. There were some problems within the family while Shane was part of the business and when he decided to leave, Vince didn’t force him to stay put.

The decision of Shane to leave was marked as a mutual thing in the end and there are no current grudges in between the father – son relation. And as Vince said, family businesses are tough. Stephanie doesn’t go by that rule though as she is still playing a big role in the WWE’s day to day running.

#6 Vince admitted that not having Jim Ross was a mistake

There wouldn’t be many announcers in wrestling history that would have the legacy of Jim Ross. He brings in wealth of experience into the table no matter where he is working and the fans have been always puzzled about WWE’s decision to let him go.

Ross was fired for misbehaving in the Los Angles "WWE 2K14 30 Years of Wrestlemania" symposium in 2013 after the Hall of Famer turned up drunk alongside Ric Flair. Vince tagged the incident as unprofessional but cleared the rumors of heat existing between the two.

Vince admitted that firing Ross was a mistake and went on to say that he is hoping to work with JR in the future. So all those JR fans out there, Christmas has apparently come earlier than we expected.

#5 Brock Lesnar appearing every night is bad for business

Brock Lesnar will not be on television every week in and week out because Vince feels that the fans could go numb about his presence. It’s not because, Lesnar doesn’t want to appear, it’s because Vince feels it would be bad for business.

It’s hard to digest this idea for the regular fans and Austin felt the same as it was apparent from his facial expressions. Vince also said that Lesnar is saved for special occasions which will in turn bring the entire aura when he makes his return.

According to him, the story is what draws the crowd into the arenas and not the championship title. So this will probably go down in the long list of reasons made by the fans who are calling for Vince’s retirement.

#4 Steve Austin regrets his decision of leaving WWE

After being the backbone of WWE’s Attitude Era, Steve Austin decided to leave WWE due to creative differences that he had with the company in 2002.

Vince actually wanted to do a midcard angle with Austin but the Texas Rattlesnake pulled off and walked out of the company. in the podcast, Vince said that it was a big situation to handle and he did struggle a lot to get the company back in track.

However, Austin had a much more impactful revelation. He said that leaving WWE was the worst professional decision he ever made. Imagine how the company would’ve turned out if Austin hadn’t left in the first place.

#3 Randy Savage will be in Hall of Fame soon

There has been an urban legend floating around about why WWE is not inducting the Macho Man Randy Savage into hall of fame despite his illustrious career.

There were rumors making the rounds suggesting an affair between Randy and a 17-year-old Stephanie McMahon back in the days and this was the apparent reason for him leaving WWE. This was also thought to be the reason for his induction not happening but all that got trashed through the podcast.

Vince confirmed that Randy will be inducted to the Hall of Fame at the earliest and it might even happen in 2015. Austin actually deserves credit for raising a sensitive topic while Vince deserves more credit for handling it like a pro.

#2 The decision to end the streak was not Undertakers

Undertaker’s streak ending sparked a lot of controversy and debates all over the WWE Universe. There were speculations about Undertaker being the one who decided to end the streak due to his physical condition but that is not the case.

Vince was actually the master mind behind the streak ending and Taker had no say in it. This means that Undertaker was still ready to extend his streak if given the opportunity but Vince thought it was the right time to call it a day.

We are still not sure about Undertaker making another appearance in the WWE but the fans were clearly shocked to know that Vince pulled the plug on the streak rather than an Undertaker who was concerned about his health.

#1 WWE is still open to work with CM Punk

Probably the biggest take away of the podcast has to be this; Vince is still ready to work with CM Punk. After everything that Punk said on the podcast, what the fans expected was an all-out raging response from Vince but instead, he was calm as a cucumber.

He apologized for firing Punk on his wedding day and added that it was mere coincidence. He did say Punk was a loner during his time in WWE but left the door wide open for Punk to make his return.

Vince also praised Punk for being sincere to the core and pointed out instances of Steve Austin and Bret Hart on how the burned bridges could always be fixed. This however isn’t going to bring Punk back immediately, but if he wants to, Vince will welcome him with warm hands.

As they say, the boss only cares about what’s best for business.