If you know anything at all about “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, you know that he isn’t now — nor has he ever been — afraid to speak his mind on things. He’s one of the consensus greatest of all time to set foot into the wrestling ring, so when he gives his two cents on a situation, people tend to pause and take notice.
Austin recently shared his opinion on Ronda Rousey’s debut WWE match, and while he gave his top marks to the former UFC star for her performance, there was one WrestleMania moment that he wasn’t particularly keen on: the debut of Nicholas.
Nicholas, as you certainly know by now, is the fourth-grade boy and son of a referee who became Braun Strowman’s surprise tag team partner and one half of the Raw Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania 34. Nicholas had to surrender the tag titles due to his commitments as a student, but he even got an actual, official entrance video, even if it will never be used.
Social media exploded when Strowman picked Nicholas out of the audience to be his partner, and most people seemed to enjoy the joke, even now. But Austin wasn’t particularly tickled by it, and thinks the stunt may have done a disservice to Nicholas’ opponent.
On a recent podcast, Austin shared his thoughts on the situation. (Transcript via Wrestling Inc.)
“Braun Strowman is over like rover, a lot of potential, a lot of momentum, a lot of great storylines for him. But the fact that he goes out there in the crowd and picks some kid, it’s almost like a disservice to Cesaro and Sheamus, who’ve been working their asses off. Two physical specimens, have really gotten some chemistry together as a team. Not to be taken lightly. Braun’s a big guy, but you know, Cesaro’s one of the strongest guys in the locker room. Sheamus is a brute.
“They can’t monetize this person who was picked from the crowd. And, I don’t know, I wasn’t really down with it, and that’s with respect to a damn good tag team like The Bar. And then Strowman picks someone [from the crowd], I just, man you’re walking a fine line with him, because you have this brute force killer who’s legitimately one of the biggest, strongest men in the world. It didn’t do much for me.”
Where do you stand on the situation? All in good fun, or a bridge too far? Let us know in the comments below, and if you disagree with Steve Austin, you can feel free to tell him yourself. We’re staying out of it.
