Video: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin Talks About His WWE Character, What?!, Being Happy & More

Sam Roberts spoke with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Here are some highlights from the interview.

Seeming happy now and if he was an angry guy during his peak: “There’s been so many times that people think I’m mad all the time because Stone Cold was always anti-authority or against the system during the peak of my run in WWF… But as a human being or just in life, I’m the happiest guy in the world.

“When you’re selling out 20,000 seat arenas every single night of the week, it doesn’t matter what night of the week it is, there’s nothing to be mad at. When you go get your paycheck, there’s a reason to be happy. It’s funny, I go into so many meetings and people think I’m going to be mad, ticked of, not have a sense of humor or drunk. A lot of the things that Stone Cold did on the air, but that was a character. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of me is in that character, but it’s not me as a human being.”

Wrestlers being upset with fans chanting “What?!” during their promos: “The fact that my presence is still felt, or my influence is still felt, it’s an honor and a privilege… Everybody always says ‘What?!’ ruins everybody else’s promos. It does not! If you leave that gap in between your sentences, your words, your phrasing… don’t interrupt your cadence and give them that end for the ‘What?!’ If you just keep talking, just like I’m doing, I don’t give you a chance to say it.”