Live Steve Austin podcast with Edge & Christian: Highlights and open thread

Immediately following tonight's airing of Monday Night Raw from Baltimore, Maryland on USA, a live episode of Stone Cold Steve Austin's podcast will stream on the WWE Network with special guests Edge & Christian.

WWE sent the following press release tune in advisory:

Tonight, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin will interview Edge and Christian on the Stone Cold Podcast, live on the award-winning WWE Network, immediately following Raw. What will be said when The Texas Rattlesnake sits down with The Rated-R Superstar and Captain Charisma for a no-holds-barred interview? Watch a brand-new episode of the Stone Cold Podcast to find out!

In past Stone Cold Podcast episodes with Mr. McMahon, Triple H, Paul Heyman and Paige, the show's outspoken host has pulled no punches with his guests, asking the hard-hitting questions. What topics will Austin bring up in this anything-goes interview?

The seven-time WWE Tag Team Champions and lifelong friends had no shortage of memorable moments during their run atop the tag team ranks, including their involvement in some of WWE's most absurd and hilarious moments. Don't miss two of WWE's most entertaining Superstars in a can't-miss interview, live on WWE Network.

We'll have live highlights right here when the podcast goes live tonight!

_______________________________________________

Highlights

- Steve clears the air by figuring out whether they want to be called by their real or gimmick names. Edge/Adam/One-humped camel rider and Christian/Jay/The Captain mess with him a little.

- They all look at their pictures from when they entered the WWE, as a segue into E & C talking about being new fathers (unplanned, the friends had their daughters six weeks apart).

- Each guy talks about how they ended up living where they are (Edge in Asheville, NC, Christian in Florida).

- They talk about adjusting to life after wrestling. Edge explains that he was ready to retire when he had to...explains that he got his job on Haven based on his retirement speech.

- Stone Cold sets up a "serious, hard-hitting" question, and then pulls out a pair of kazoos to ask them to play his theme song. E & C bust out a ukelele and a tiny cowboy hat for Austin to play Kumbaya. Christian asks him for a "little Rick Astley", but Steve no sells it.

- Twitter question - what do you think of today's tag team scene in WWE? Both guys put over The Dudleyz return, Christian praises The New Day. They all agree that the difference is that teams used to be put together for the long haul, whereas often nowadays it's two singles guys together for a short time. Austin puts over the lack of specific tag team psychology today. Edge says that having The Dudleys back will help teach that to new guys. The Usos and Luke Harper are praised; Dawson & Wilder from NXT are praised.

- The importance of the referee is discussed, and using him in tag matches. Austin asks who the ring general was in E & C, and they say it was both of them. When TLC matches were planned, Bubba and Matt would represent their teams while both Edge & Christian both participating in laying them out.

- Long diversion about a game the three played on the road called "Don't Look at Me" where if any of them said that to the other at any time they had to look away for a certain amount of time. Christian did it to Austin during the Raw scene where the tied  Austin to Undertaker's cross.

- An anecdote about how the guys met as kids (Christian was a new kid in school and they bonded over a ninja star he brought to school). They realized they both loved wrestling (both were Hogan fans).

- Reverse newlywed game: Both guys correctly identify their favorite arena (All-State Arena in Chicago because of the accoustics); favorite match (Edge incorrectly guesses a couple before Christian reveals it was his ladder match with Del Rio to win the WHC the first time; Edge's was his Mania match with Undertaker because he felt validated by Taker and the company).

- Most embarassing moments are discussed, and then they go to a clip of spots from TLC and ladder matches from their feuds with the Dudleyz and The Hardyz. WrestleMania X-6 was described as a "blank canvas" (and followed by putting "the girls on"). They discuss how to work the gags in the matches since there's no way to practice them. Christian talks trying to make sure they aren't just "car crashes", but bringing psychology into it. Edge talks about the pressure to always top the last one.

- Christian said the risk involved was worth it, because it put them on the map and solidified their place on the card. Everybody talked about how great The Hardyz and Dudleyz were, how they'd "pay each other back" if someone took a tough bump (like the ladder Spear Jeff took from Edge).

- They talk cheesy early gimmicks. Edge was Sexton Hardcastle, and Christian was "The Male Nurse".

- Edge says getting WWE was easy compared to finding himself in WWE. He had no idea who the character was.

- They like coming back, but they don't miss it full-time. Christian talks about enjoying talking to young guys and giving them positive feedback.

- Comparing their careers, both guys say that its special because of their friendship and because they both won World titles on their own. Edge felt his Hall of Fame induction came too early, but he wasn't going to turn it down. All three thing Christian will get in eventually ("maybe on a slow year", he joked).

- Everyone puts over Michael PS Hayes, how great he was and how he would listen to anything a young E & C would bring to him.

- Great story about them being taken to "wrestler's court" for breaching etiquette and brownnosing. Taker was the judge and JBL was the prosecuter. They got out of it by poking fun at themselves with a fake book called "Asskissing, our road to the top" and by buying their way out of their sentence with a Harley book and boxing DVDs for Taker.

- Edge's retirement is discussed, and how Vince called him to tell him. Both guys talk about their dealings with him, and what he meant to their careers. Christian tells the story of when he was struggling as a singles guy and Vince pumped him up, but told him he wouldn't be the top guy.

- "What?" actually started from a voicemail left Christian one day when he'd left a town before them and was riffing to kill time.

- They both have no regrets, and want to be remembered as guys who gave it there all to give people their money's worth.

- It ends with a three-man five second pose!

__________________________________

As a HUGE Christian fan, I wish they'd  dug into his decision to leave (TNA continues to be verboten, as even Bubba & D-Von's absence was glossed over as "they went somewhere else") a bit, and possibly even Edge's feelings about how the Lita story was handled (without going into personal detail, just focusing on the business decision), but I pretty much was grinning from ear-to-ear for an hour, so no complaints.

I daresay it reeked of awesomeness.

Grade: A