During his trip to Los Angeles, Steve Austin met up with the WWE team and recorded or made plans to record a number of Superstars for his The Steve Austin Show podcast.
Today, the "family friendly" episode (where they only say "$#!+", but do refrain from "mother$#(&er") hit the web, and it features and hour long conversation with John Cena. The Champ is his usual entertaining and professional self, and the whole episode - embedded below or available at this link - is well worth a listen, if for no other reason than to hear two of the biggest draws in history swapping stories.
What really caught my ear was Cena's answer to Austin's question about what goes through his head when he's getting a mix of pop and heat from the live crowd:
For quite a few years, WWE didn't step up to the plate and correctly build new superstars, and didn't correctly provide new main event talent.
I often tell people that I'm working with, if they're in the ring and half the fans are cheering me and half the fans are booing me, "Shouldn't you be the one that's mad? Because they're not noticing you at all."
And people talk about being a babyface and being a heel...what happens when there's no one? And that's honestly the thing I wish...and right now I'm very excited, not only for stuff like the WWE Network, but I think we are on the cusp of getting a true All-Star line-up for first time in a long time.
We have a lot of guys who are if not making noise are about to make some serious noise. And I'm objectively looking at it. Because when you have one dude and you're trying to make Superstars off of that one dude, a majority of the audience just recognizes that one guy.
And that's why when you have a feud with Daniel Bryan or a feud with The Rock, you don't hear "Let's Go Cena" / "Cena Sucks" as much. It's cheer for one guy, boo the other guy. But when it's a one-man party out there often times the crowd is attached to the one man.
The emphasis is mine, because while I think Cena makes a bunch of great points in that one minute sound bite, that's the thought that hadn't really occurred to me. It also gives us a glimpse into what kind of locker room leader he probably is; one who pushes his co-workers to keep up with him more than one that coddles or berates those that fall behind.
It also shows the sharp mind and observant eye that has undoubtedly helped him stay on top for a decade and counting. Plus, the mark in me adores the names he chooses to drop as examples of guys who can hang with him and draw their own reactions.
Cena also reinforces Austin's observations from last week's episode of "a locker room full of Superstars that are fearful for their employment". And he tells a story of working a Muscle & Fitness photo shoot with Cesaro by way of mentioning how he likes to get to know talents better when WWE is ready to push them to the main event.
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What do you think, cSs?
Lots of discussion fuel here:
- Is Cena right that his getting a mixed reaction is an indictment of the man with whom he's working?
- How does he come off to you in this quote or the Austin interview in general?
- How do you think his fellow Superstars react to his stance on "Let's Go Cena" / "Cena Sucks" reactions?
- Are we on almost into a new Golden Age? Or are we already there?