Stone Cold Podcast w/Brock Lesnar Review

This week, Monday Night RAW took place at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas. For weeks, there were conflicting reports about the status of Stone Cold Steve Austin. He was promoted to be part of the show with Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and Brock Lesnar in the lead up to the "Hell In A Cell" PPV. As great as RAW was, the highlight of the night was the Interview between Austin and Brock Lesnar.

This Interview was highly anticipated in every way, considering the fact that Brock normally is an introvert when it comes to doing media appearances. However, when Lesnar speaks, he has no problem sharing his thoughts no matter who he offends. Austin also jokes about not wanting to go to Suplex City.

Anytime Lesnar does an Interview without Paul Heyman as his mouthpiece, it is something to look forward to.

Now, time to get to the points:

• Working with Others: Brock thanks Steve for having him on the show. Austin and Lesnar joke by saying that if this episode isn't good, it might be the last one. Stone Cold talks about Brock's reputation as being hard to get along with and not liking people. Austin wants to know if Lesnar does it on purpose. Brock responds and says that he realizes that he may come off as arrogant, but it is not intentional. That is just how he was built. Brock opens up about how he always had a chip on his shoulder growing up. Lesnar said that he always had a chip on his shoulder and was the kid beating up other kids. Steve asked if he had ever been picked on. Brock said no because he was the one doing the picking. Brock said that he had to work hard to achieve what he has and that his passion is what made him who he is today. Lesnar applied his passion into weightlifting, and we clearly see the results. 
• Working on a Farm: One thing to know for sure about Brock Lesnar is that he is a true farm boy. When asked about growing up on a farm, Brock says that if he could cut it on a farm, he could cut it anywhere. Growing up in South Dakota, there was no extra money. All of your income was based on how well you produced, calling it a way of life. Austin said that it was a lot of work, and Lesnar agreed. Brock said that you had to be married to farming. No matter the weather, you had to wake up at the crack of dawn to milk the cows. Brock says that he applied that same work ethic to every stage of his life. Then they joked about never hunting together and discussed linking up to kill some animals.
• Country Life: Austin comes up with quick questions to give people an idea about the life of Brock Lesnar. Steve says that he knows that Lesnar is a truck man, so he asks if he prefers Ford, Chevy or Dodge. Brock prefers Dodge. He is currently driving a 2014 Dodge Ram, and Stone Cold shows a picture of Brock's million dollar project: a 1978 Dodge Power Wagon. Lesnar's favorite gun is a .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, and for scopes, he won't buy anything but a Leica. One of the other topics was food. No surprise that Brock's favorite food is Steak. He loves to grill steak (the kind he probably killed himself). He prefers medium well ribeye on the big green egg grill (he has four of them). Austin asks about music. Lesnar likes country and metal. From Willie Nelson to Johnny Cash to AC/DC to Motley Crue, as well as Metallica. Once again, no surprise.
• Pro Wrestler or Sports Entertainer: Everybody knows where Stone Cold stands on this topic, but he asks Brock what he identifies himself as. Brock responds by asking "Is there a difference?". Austin says he thinks there is. Lesnar replies by saying that he is in the entertainment industry because he sells tickets and puts butts in seats. He says that it is the American Dream, and he is doing something that he loves while getting paid for it. Brock says that he is fortunate to make a pretty good living from this business.
• Not Growing up a Wrestling Fan: Brock Lesnar says that growing up he never watched wrestling because growing up he was never exposed to it. They only had two television channels and they only worked part time. Instead, he watched Little House on a Prairie. Just imagine a genetic monster like Brock watching Little House on a Prairie. Austin chuckled himself. The conversation moves to Football. Brock says that he played virtually every position in high school. He says that he never received scholarships from wrestling. When Brock tried out for the NFL, he says that he knew that he was a fish out of the water but went through the process because he is not a quitter. 
• Breaking Into Wrestling: Brock says that after winning the NCAA Championship, he fell into a rut because he did not know what he would do with his life. He says that he fell into a depression and went into hibernation for two months. Lesnar started visiting wrestling coaches again to put a game plan together. Austin transitions into how Brock signed to Ohio Valley Wrestling and the rest is history. 
• Start in OVW/Learning from Veterans: Austin reveals the famous OVW class picture that features Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton and Batista and asked what were his initial thoughts when he first reported there. Lesnar credits Shelton Benjamin (another member of that class) saying that they were College roommates and moved together in Louisville. He called the OVW weight room "barbaric" and compared it to the gyms and weight rooms that he was used to. Lesnar also gives credit to the veterans like Curt Hennig and The Big Bossman who took him under their wings. Lesnar says that they were very influential in his learning process. Lesnar also says that he offered to buy the gas for Undertaker and Kane whenever he would jump into the car with them. Brock says having veterans like that in his ear smartened him up for what the business had to offer. 
• Working With The Rock: Stone Cold comments about how impressed he was when Brock went from being an OVW Rookie to wrestling The Rock in a Main Event within less than a year. Lesnar tells the story about how he was in a Triple Threat Match with The Rock & Triple H in Australia. Brock jokes about how they hung him out to dry and out of the loop for a teaching tool. Brock says that The Rock did a lot for him. People could say what they want to about the Hollywood Megastar, but Lesnar says that The Rock taught him to watch his back and to be selfish. He says that in this business, you have to have a certain element of selfishness. The Rock ultimately gave back to Lesnar by dropping the WWE Title at Summerslam. 
• Not Liking People: Here is another part of the Interview that is not a surprise. Brock Lesnar does not like people! He says that he feels more comfortable in a ring surrounded by 20,000 people compared to being in the middle of a crowd in public. Lesnar says that when he is inside of the ring, he feels like he has a dome protecting him. Austin asks if it is a phobia, but Lesnar just says that he gets uncomfortable. 
• The Shooting Star Press at WrestleMania XIX: Long before breaking the Streak, Brock Lesnar's WrestleMania Moment involved him doing the Shooting Star Press at WM XIX. However, he botched the move and almost injured himself. Stone Cold shows the video and says how painful it was to watch it. Brock says that he was talked into doing the move by a wrestler who will remain nameless. 
• WrestleMania XX: The Conversation transitions into Brock's last match with Goldberg at WrestleMania XX. Austin talks about how he was the Special Referee for that match and how they were just booed heavily by the fans. He then asks why Brock decided to leave after only two years into the WWE and at the top of his game. Lesnar said that he did not care anymore. Stone Cold wanted to know if it was the life on the road, the pace of the business, etc. Brock said that it was all of those things that factored into his decision to leave. 
• Getting Along with the Boys: Stone Cold asks Brock if there was any dissension or resentment from the locker room when he returned because of his part-time schedule. Brock says that he doesn't pay attention to that. Instead, he looks at it like a job where he clocks in and clocks out. He says that working for WWE is no different than putting on his singlet to wrestle for the University of Minnesota. The only difference is that Minnesota was not putting money into his bank account. Of course, that made Austin and some people off camera start to laugh. 
• Joining UFC: This is where things start to heat up. Steve asks Brock how he got his start in mixed martial arts. Lesnar says that after trying out for the NFL he went to New Japan Pro Wrestling to perform. NJPW tried to get him to try some MMA. Brock used his connections to sign a one fight deal with K1 where he beat Min Soo Kim. After unsuccessfully hooking up with Dana White, Brock told his manager that he wanted to attend the UFC event that featured Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga. Lesnar bought his own tickets and sat in the crowd. After the fight, Lesnar jumps the rail to grab Dana so that he could introduce himself. They went backstage to discuss everything but money because that was not his goal. Brock said that he just wanted to prove himself to Dana and that if he could not draw money, then he would not return for a second fight. 
• Losing to Frank Mir/Winning UFC Title/Diverticulitis: When talking about UFC, Austin and Lesnar start off by talking about the fight with Frank Mir. Stone Cold said that it was a really good fight before talking about Brock tapping out to the kneebar. Steve wanted to know if it was unlike any other hold that he had been put in before. Brock says that he was disgusted with himself because he trained to get out of that exact hold. Yet, he did not have an answer for it. Meanwhile, Dana White was excited and impressed with Lesnar's performance. They signed a contract extension as Brock would later win the UFC Heavyweight Title. The discussion later moves into Brock's diverticulitis. Lesnar says that it was unfair and that if he had not had to fight that illness, he could still be in UFC smashing heads. I am sure Vince loved to hear that. Brock says that he felt he was at his best against Randy Couture, but he knew there was something physically wrong. Brock says that he was too stubborn at first to get a CT Scan until he fell out of his deer stand in Canada. The Dr. focused more on saving Brock's life than his career. 
• Returning to WWE/Comparing Vince McMahon & Dana White: Steve asks Brock what it was like to mend the fence with Vince McMahon, admitting that he burned some bridges himself in the past. This leads into something I had been waiting for. Austin talks about his decision to walk out of having a match with Lesnar. Brock said that he understood where Austin was coming from, because it is still a business. Austin wants to compare and contrast Vince and Dana. Brock says that he thanks them both for giving him opportunities. 
• Place in the Locker Room: Austin asks if Brock feels like there is any competition among his peers. Lesnar says that he doesn't deal with colleagues that much, but instead is hands-on with Vince. 
• Breaking the Streak: Steve talks about the surprising and career-defining moment at WrestleMania XXX when Brock Lesnar snapped The Undertaker's streak and asks what that honor meant to him. Brock says that as a businessman, it was huge for him because of how special the streak is. Lesnar says it was his biggest honor next to winning the WWE Title. He also gets criticized for ending the streak before asking who within the current industry has the credentials and credibility of ending the streak (honestly, nobody else does). When asked about the misconception from fans, Brock simply says, "I really don't care, Steve". 
• Hell In A Cell vs. Undertaker: The Interview concludes with Stone Cold bringing up Sunday's match with The Undertaker inside of Hell In A Cell. Brock says that he is going to end Undertaker inside of the Cell. 

Overall, this was simply a look into the Journey of Brock Lesnar. Brock has never been a man of many words, so it was good to get his insight without Paul Heyman involved. When Heyman was the guest, he provoked Austin by bringing up Brock Lesnar's name up. Stone Cold went into full form saying that he would welcome a match with Brock Lesnar. Unfortunately, they never had a face to face stare down. Stone Cold was not talking trash like he did with Heyman. Looks like that "match" for WrestleMania XXXII was just smoke and mirrors. 

This Interview was not as highlight-filled as Austin's episodes with Vince, Triple H and Heyman, but it was much better than the Paige Interview. 

In Conclusion, I give it 3 out of 5 Brock Lesnar WWE Titles.