Vince McMahon And Steve Austin Talk CM Punk, Savage In The HOF, Cesaro Not Having “It”

-Vince said that the WWE Network is going great with a satisfaction rate of 96%. He hopes to launch it in the UK in January but he makes no guarantees.

-Austin calls out Vince asking how professional wrestling became sports entertainment. Vince says that they tell stories and that pro wrestling is what his dad did. He compliments Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose, says he liked tonight’s shows but not every match is a hit.

-Austin criticizes the opening segment of Raw saying he wants to see more wrestling instead of promos to open the show. McMahon says they do that as a way to get people into the story before the action starts.

-Austin says WWE workers are afraid to piss people off because there’s nowhere else for them to work. Vince says “Well don’t piss anyone off.” Vince says the current crop is not ambitious. He says Ambrose, Rollins, Wyatt and Reigns are the ones reaching for the brass ring. Austin says the WWE needs more superstars and he challenges the roster to step up.

-Austin asks what Vince’s problem is with Cesaro. Vince says he doesn’t connect and he’s lacking “it.” Austin disagrees, Vince says he doesn’t know what Cesaro’s missing but he’s missing something. Vince says he hopes that Cesaro connects at some point and he says that Cesaro is an extraordinary physical talent.

-Austin criticizes the writing process and says it used to be much more simple. He asks why the process has gotten so complicated. Vince mentions that the company is a public company now. He says the company has grown and tells stories about the old days when the writing team was much smaller.

-Austin asks what happened to Shane. Vince says he’s very busy working in Japan and taking care of his family. Austin asks why he left the WWE. Vince says it was a mutual thing between the two of them as they weren’t always getting along because family businesses are tough. Vince says he tried to do what was best for business and that he wanted Shane and Stephanie to do what they wanted to do and never pushed them into the business.

– Austin asks if Vince wants to talk to CM Punk. Vince apologizes to CM Punk for firing him on his wedding day, and said legal and talent relations aren’t always on the same page, and it was a coincidence. He says Punk has said some things that he may regret in the future. He hopes one day they can resolve their issues and get back together again and that the audience obviously wants Punk. He seemed very sincere. Vince said that he hasn’t listened to the podcast with Colt Cabana but he’s heard a number of things that Punk said and there’s two sides to every story.

– Austin talks about how he walked out in 2002, and McMahon said that he was impossible to deal with. Austin said leaving was the worst professional decision he ever made. Vince tried to reach out to Austin but he wouldn’t respond. Finally after Jim Ross sent him a card, he spoke to JR and finally arranged a meeting with Vince.

-Austin asks if there’s anyone around to bridge the gap between WWE and CM Punk. McMahon says he wishes there was. He says that Punk lacks communication skills and that lack of communication is a big reason why the issue hasn’t been resolved.

-Austin calls out Vince and says that there’s no way ending the streak was The Undertaker’s decision. Vince says that’s true and that Vince himself made the decision and felt it was the right call at the right time.

-Austin asks Vince why Brock isn’t on TV. Vince says Brock is a special attraction and that if he was on TV every week you would become numb to it and it wouldn’t be special anymore. He says the story draws people in not the title. You can tell by Austin’s face that he disagrees.

-McMahon says Randy Savage will be in the Hall of Fame. Vince says “Absolutely.” He says he doesn’t know if it will be this year but it will be soon.

-Austin compliments Sting’s debut and says it was a great segment. McMahon says don’t be surprised if you see Sting at WrestleMania.

-McMahon says that Ted Turner’s goal was to hurt the WWE’s business but WWE’s goal was to put on a good show which is why they ultimately won the war.

-Austin asks if there’s heat between Jim Ross and Vince. Vince says there’s no heat but that the incident in L.A. was unprofessional. Vince doesn’t rule out working with J.R. in the future. Austin says it’s a mistake not to have him around.

– McMahon says he understood the psychology of the Stone Cold/Mr. McMahon feud because he’s no better than anyone else, but nobody else is better than him. He said he could relate to both sides of the feud because he felt like he truly was Stone Cold’s character.

– Austin says they’re counting him down to end the show, and Vince said “I happen to own the Network, so we’re going for 15 more minutes.”

-They talk about the table spot during their match at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Vince says he got a lot bruises and was bleeding a lot.

-They talk about Hart Vs. Austin at WrestleMania 13 and Austin says Hart suggested Austin bleed during the match. Austin says he cleared it with Vince but Vince says looking back he was probably pissed off about it.

-Austin questions if WWE is really giving the fans what they want. McMahon says the future is good despite the fact that ratings aren’t as high as they were in the 90s.

Austin asks when Vince is going to retire. Vince says he feels better than ever and although some people say he’s out of touch he disagrees.