"There's been better athletes decades ago" - Six-time WWE Champion gives honest take on current stars
In the late 20th century, top wrestlers may not have held the WWE Championship for numerous reigns, but each of them counted. Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin is a former six-time WWE Champion. When compared to several stars that rose up the ranks after him, it's a relatively small number.
Austin recently did an interview with Forbes, during which he discussed the current era of wrestling. Having retired during the transition phase of Vince McMahon's company into the Ruthless Aggression Era, The Bionic Redneck made some comments about today's wrestling.
To this day, the Attitude Era is deemed WWE's greatest, and Steve Austin was the poster boy at the time. Here is what he had to say about the performances of the current crop of talents:
“The performance level has sped up so much, and the guys and gals are doing so much incredible stuff. It’s absolutely unbelievable," Austin stated. "These days, even though if I look at Attitude Era stuff, I look like I’m in slow motion watching what these superstars today are doing with better cameras and just better athletes."
While The Texas Rattlesnake feels many of the newer talents are quick and the wrestling is more fast-paced, Austin explained why he is not a fan of that as well because it feels they give away too much all at once:
“I really enjoy some of the sequences that they’re able to do. But then that also takes me back to one of the things that I don’t like is sometimes I think there’s too much being done [...] There’s been better athletes decades ago, but I really think there’s some really great work being done in the ring right now.”
25 years ago today, Vince McMahon introduced a new version of the WWE Championship Belt and presented it to Stone Cold Steve Austin https://t.co/0FGKnx4YFc
The former WWE Champion believes that it is a "double-edged sword," on the one hand, the changing style of showcasing professional wrestling is good in terms of the sheer athleticism on display, but it is also a situation where more is less.
Stone Cold Steve Austin was not a fan of WWE legend's streak ending at WrestleMania
Austin and The Undertaker have had some remarkable bouts during the Attitude Era. Speaking about his former rival's undefeated WrestleMania streak ending at the hands of Brock Lesnar in 2014, he asserted that it was not the right call.
However, Stone Cold believes that if it had to end, then The Beast was a legit option to receive that honor.
Stone Cold Steve Austin wasn't a fan of The Undertaker's #WrestleMania streak coming to an end.
#WWE #SteveAustin #Undertaker https://t.co/RvXRNUY8sV
Meanwhile, another WWE legend, Hulk Hogan, has now come to the forefront by making it known he wishes to have a retirement match against Stone Cold Steve Austin; he believes WrestleMania 40 to be the ideal place for the dream match.
Which is your favorite WWE era? Do you have a wrestler from the current crop of talents in mind for a dream match against Stone Cold? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.