“Stone Cold” Steve Austin discussed the young wrestlers of today in a guest column for Fighting Spirit Magazine.
“Today’s guys are very impressionable, and don’t really call it in the ring anymore. Some of the guys don’t know whether to s–t or wind their watch; when they get in the ring, they have some basics, but they’ve always been told exactly what to do before they go out there. Back in the day, we were calling it all in the ring; we didn’t have anything to be nervous about, because we didn’t have to remember anything. All I had to do was listen to a hellacious worker like Billy Joe Travis or Jimmy Jack Funk, trusting them to help lead me through it.
The guys today are on a big stage, and none bigger than WWE. It’s up to the promotion to bring these cats in light, establish them, and help them get over. You can’t just bring in someone new and expect them to work a Wrestlemania caliber match right away. If you give someone a monster push right off the bat, but don’t give them the base knowledge, it makes no sense to wonder why they s–t the bed. These kids are exposed after a few weeks of TV, because they don’t have the experience of what to do in that situation. The more knowledge you have, the better chance you have of being successful.”
