What's the story?
The Stone Cold Podcast could return to the WWE Network soon, with The Undertaker, The New Day, The Hardy Boyz, Goldberg, Charlotte Flair, Kurt Angle and WWE Champion Randy Orton all viewed by the company as potential guests.
This story was broken on the “Dirty Sheets’ Podcast, via our “DS Breaking News” show. You can listen to the Podcast, below (length 3 minutes and 49 seconds).
In case you didn't know...
The Stone Cold Podcast, which is hosted by WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin, had been one of the most watched shows on the WWE Network since the very first episode back in December of 2014, where Vince McMahon was the guest.
However, despite its popularity, it has not featured on the WWE Network since last August, when Steve Austin interviewed Dean Ambrose, in what many felt was the most awkward interview Austin had done. Vince McMahon was said to be unhappy with the episode and the WWE have not scheduled another episode of the show since.
The heart of the matter
A reliable source has said that the return of the Podcast will mainly hinge on whether The Undertaker is willing to participate. Steve Austin has said in the past that The Undertaker has agreed to come on his show.
Now that The Undertaker has retired, it would be the perfect time to make good on his word. As the WWE are probably aware of this, they will not want The Undertaker interview airing solely on Podcast One and not on the WWE Network.
As we outlined in a prior article, it’s being said that Mark Calloway not only retired from in-ring competition at WrestleMania 33 but also laid The Undertaker character to rest.
You can read the full article here.
If Calloway's intention was to retire the character, then this will open the door to Mark Calloway the man being able to speak about the character. This will give him the freedom to get involved in a DVD project, write a book and also appear on a show like The Stone Cold Podcast.
What's next?
Steve Austin will continue to do his podcast for Podcast One, as he currently does. Austin claims he still has a great relationship with the WWE and the door is always open to do more with the company.
The WWE recently dropped Legends with JBL, which had a format that was similar to that of Steve Austin’s Podcast. Dave Meltzer incorrectly touted JBL as the replacement for Steve Austin.
When speaking about the Stone Cold Podcast being done after the Ambrose one, Meltzer said:
“They haven’t done one since. They were supposed to do it every month. It could just be that they want JBL. He at least knows the framework of what they want, and Steve tries to be real, and they don’t really want real. They want their version of real, which is different from actual real, and JBL will do their version of real.”
Author's take
I'm told that some WWE writers often joke about the fact that Vince McMahon doesn't really know what a Podcast is. However, despite the fact the Stone Cold Podcast isn't really a podcast, it has produced some great interviews.
It should not be canned simply because Dean Ambrose and Steve Austin had no chemistry. Although it’s being said that the future of the show will hinge on The Undertaker, I am personally very interested in seeing Austin re-unite and sit down with the likes of Goldberg Kurt Angle and The Hardy Boyz.
However, given the disaster that was the Dean Ambrose interview, I am told that it’s very likely that the WWE will be more heavily involved in scripting the show than they were previously. This may spoil the organic feel of the show that we all previously enjoyed.
Be sure to check out my Podcast, “The Dirty Sheets” for the latest breaking news, along with rumours and in-depth analysis. It is available via iTunes.
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