WATCH: Paul Heyman Issues Wrestlemania 32 Challenge on Stone Cold Podcast

Ladies and gentleman, my name is Paul Heyman. I am the advocate for the former reigning and defending WWE World Heavyweight Champion Broooooooooooockk Lesnar and an advocate for… a match with the Beast Incarnate and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 32.

— Paul Heyman, June 1st, 2015.

In the short YouTube excerpt above, which can be found on the WWE’s YouTube channel, Heyman issues the challenge to Stone Cold for Wrestlemania 32 with Brock Lesnar. Next year’s Wrestlemania will be held in aT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the WWE are going to look to set the world indoor attendance record for the event.

Okay, that’s not EXACTLY how it went down, but it came pretty close to that.

Austin politely (and hilariously) sells the interview question in kayfabe (wrestling’s version of the ‘fourth wall’) terms and gives Heyman a blank, cold death stare saying he would kick Lesnar’s ass. For a split second, it seemed as if Austin was legitimately pissed off at the question — there was noticeable tension as Heyman tried to shrug and joke the question off but Austin wouldn’t allow him to do it. This could be chalked up as two of the all-time bests getting everybody worked up in a good way.

The hour-long interview can be seen exclusively on the WWE Network.

Some of the highlights of the interview include:

– Early 1990s WCW stories that involved Jim Ross and Rick Rude immediately following him defecting from WWF to WCW in 1991. That was back when Stone Cold was in the Hollywood Blonds with Brian Pillman and Heyman was known as “Paul E. Dangerously.” Here is an old Hollywood Blonds promo:

– Heyman does an INCREDIBLE impersonation of Dusty Rhodes.

– Surprisingly, there was not too much talk of Austin’s brief run with ECW in 1995, but that topic has been discussed on earlier podcasts that the two have had together.

– The two talked about aspects of the business including what it takes to cut a great promo and sell a maneuver.

For the promo portion, Heyman spoke about how the superstars first and main objective should always be to “connect with the audience.” He told an old story about when he cut a promo in WCW and went backstage afterward to consult Dusty Rhodes for critique. Rhodes asked him “Where was the money?” Promos are about interaction and being able to sell something so that it eventually draws and makes money (duh).

For the maneuver portion, Austin brought up WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts and his former finishing move, the DDT. The DDT is now done by most superstars today and is considering more of a standard move than a finishing move. Heyman explained that if Vince McMahon and a talent wanted to get a move “over,” all it would take is making the crowd believe and repetition. Heyman explained that if Mark Henry started using a Sleeper Hold finisher and finished his matches with that for 30 consecutive weeks, eventually the move would be talked about enough to instill that aura.

– Some travel stories including when Austin would continuously use the term “God d***” and how that would piss off Rick Rude (a real-life devout religious man) to no end.

The Podcast concluded with Heyman asking Austin about Wrestlemania 32, which Austin responded sarcastically to by asking for a “Texas Deathmatch.”

As for Wrestlemania 32? Austin is 50-years-old and Lesnar is 37. Despite rumors that Austin has always looked for one more match now that his neck problems are a thing of the past, it has been over 12 years since he last competed in a ring at Wrestlemania 19 vs. The Rock. Although Brock Lesnar re-signed with WWE in March, Lesnar still has a lot of young talent to face: Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Rusev, Kevin Owens and, maybe, even a match with a veteran like Randy Orton who he has never competed with Lesnar during his 2nd WWE run down the line.

It seems like the move was to just create some hype surrounding how big Wrestlemania 32 is going to be. Kudos to Austin and Heyman for another tremendously quality segment.


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