The thing that's so tough about 'Broken Skull Challenge' is you're going head-to-head with another human being who may or may not be stronger than you and may or may not want it more than you.
— Stone Cold Steve Austin
I like pure pro-wrestling, when it's serious in its orientation and presentation - like it's a legit sport with Jim Ross calling the action.
I think they've got to give Kevin Owens a run with the belt. He's a veteran, and he's really clicking on the mic, and the kid is super talented.
Say the average arena is 20,000 people. You're in the very center of that arena, and you're playing to the worst seat in the house up there. So everything is very big, very large. It's like a very violent form of Broadway in a 20x20 ring.
When you see me on TV as Stone Cold Steve Austin, that's definitely a part of my personality.
A lot of people say, 'What set the Attitude Era up?' or, 'What started the Attitude Era?' To me - and I was allegedly the leader of it - sports entertainment, pro wrestling, whatever you want to call it has always had an attitude. So, why that particular generation got labeled, I don't know.
Diamond Dallas Page is one of my best friends.
I've got a chance to host a show called 'Redneck Island' on CMT. I love doing that show.
I appreciate everyone that had supported my career.
Don't look forward to me putting on the trunks and knee braces to get back in the ring and stomp a mudhole in somebody and walking it dry.
I'll tell you what, the chemistry that I had with Bret 'Hitman' Hart in the ring, and the respect and the trust we had for each other, was unbelievable.
I was a Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes guy. Ric Flair continues to be my favorite wrestler of all time. I loved Harley Race and Nick Bockwinkel and all of those guys, but I'm a big Flair guy.
Based on the name value I had, I went to L.A. and got involved in independent movies.
There's so many things I want to accomplish in the world of acting. But, the two most important are that I want to keep paying the bills and I want to get better. That's about it. I enjoy what I do. I'll stay busy. I've been lucky.
When you look back on anything in life, hindsight being 20/20, some things you'd like to have done a little differently.
We didn't roll credits after 'Monday Night Raw.' You know, it didn't say, 'Stone Cold Steve Austin played by Steve Austin,' so all of a sudden people think that's who and what you are 24/7, you know, 365 days a year.
You know how much money I could have made playing professional football as a tight end? But I can't jump, and I can't run fast. That was my problem.
It's like I tell everybody, if you get a chance to win the Royal Rumble or the King of the Ring back when they had it, that means you're gonna get a push. You getting an opportunity at something big, and it can really set up your future for you. So if you're that guy, boy, it's pressure.
They made a three-hour 'Raw,' but two hours is about my time limit. I ain't got that kind of attention span.
Paul Heyman works with Brock. The magic works between Brock and Paul because of their dynamic and their chemistry.
I didn't do choreographed fighting for a living. I was a professional wrestler for 15 years; there's a big difference.
You're in there, you're having a match, and you're feeding off that crowd. That's the gasoline that fuels the match, and that's how you make your decisions. If you're not listening to that crowd when you're working, you're missing the biggest part of what working is all about.
Man, it was a great ride back in the day. Obviously, I started out in WCW, and I was a good mechanic back in the day. Got fired from that gig, made a turn for ECW.
WWE dropped the ball with 'Tough Enough.'
Vince McMahon is a workaholic; he sleeps 4 hours a night. The last thing that you want to tell the old man is that you are burned out - you need a break.
Earl Hebner should definitely be in the WWE Hall of Fame.
That final match I had at WrestleMania with The Rock was my last match.
I used to love Andre The Giant. I could sit around all day and listen to Andre stories. He was such a wonderful, unique guy who everyone loved being around. The thing about Andre, he just had this magical mystique about him.
Cancer has affected my family; my mother and father have battled cancer. I know how tough it is.
When you wrestle for 15 years, you don't want to go back to driving that forklift.
My favoirte wrestler is 'Nature Boy' Ric Flair.
I'm for same-sex marriage.
Probably the greatest match in my career, and really put me on the match as a main event guy and paved the way for what I was to become, was Wrestlemania 13, with the one and only, Bret 'The Hitman' Hart.
With the Monday Night Wars, it was almost a pay-per-view every single Monday between the two factions because they were trying to throw everything but the kitchen sink to win the ratings war.
In the wrestling world, you had WWE, WCW, and smaller promotions that were like the independents. I look at it as craft beer being the independent beer makers. It's the indie scene.
You cannot put Paul Heyman with Roman Reigns. People would know you're putting Paul Heyman with him because there is a problem.
In the ring, if someone hits you too hard, you can only take so many of those, and you have to send back a receipt, meaning 'Hey, settle down.' If a guy has a bad night at the office and catches you in the chin, you pop him so he knows what's going on.
When that glass broke and 'Stone Cold' was making an entrance, and that roof blew off that building, that sends you higher than life or anything that I know of. It's an adrenaline rush you can't explain.
I am not a coward.
I enjoy reality television.
I have so many great memories of the wrestling business. I've worked real hard to get to the top, and how many flukes and breaks to have happened that had allowed me to have the success that I did.
There's no reason to go back in the ring and prove anything.
I'm not wrestling anymore. I'm out of that part of my career.
John Cena has done well for himself.
I'm pro-WWE, but also I maintain my independence and speak my true thoughts, never bashing the product. But yes, I can be critical. I've earned the right to be critical.
My exit strategy from pro wrestling wasn't carved in stone. I retired because of a few neck issues, some neurological issues.
I'm telling you, there have been some great finishers in the world of pro wrestling or sports entertainment. Whatever you want to call it. Man, I enjoyed the Iron Claw back in the day. I believed it was real.
I made a good living being a tough guy on TV, but I'd rather laugh and joke all day long than try to be a tough guy.
Shoot, man, I loved being a damn heel. Something about that, just going out there and being the most despicable person you could ever be, was a real turn-on for me. And I grew up a real shy kid in south Texas, and it was something for me to lean on and have fun with.
