Stephanie's Places S01 E04 - Stone Cold Rides Again | WWE Stephanie's Places Season 1 Episode 4
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00:00I found myself in a good old-fashioned Western showdown.
00:07I was face-to-face with the Texas rattlesnake himself, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
00:15I wasn't sure how this was going to go.
00:19After all, we have a storied history
00:23that goes back quite a while.
00:28The starter of Stephanie!
00:33Give me a hell yeah!
00:36Possessing an adrenaline-fueled intensity unmatched in WWE,
00:41Stone Cold Steve Austin ignited the industry in the 90s and 2000s.
00:47The Austin era has begun!
00:50Not only crushing his opponents,
00:52but doing what every blue-collar worker has dreamed of,
00:56going toe-to-toe with the boss.
00:59You can kiss my ass!
01:02Oh my God!
01:04The beer-chugging, straight-talking son-of-a-gun would shoot from the hip.
01:09And that's the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so.
01:13And back it up in the ring with the Stone Cold Stunner.
01:20He became a kind of deity.
01:22Austin 316 says I just whipped your ass!
01:26Worshipped by fans across the globe.
01:29During his wild run to the top, he would plow through anything
01:35or anyone who got in his way.
01:38Oh my God!
01:39Which meant the entire McMahon family.
01:42Oh my God!
01:44What?
01:45Including...
01:48Yours truly.
01:53How are ya?
01:54I'm great!
01:55I'm great!
02:00I'm Stephanie McMahon and I love WWE.
02:03Stephanie McMahon!
02:06I'm on a quest to hear the stories behind the biggest superstars and legends in WWE history.
02:13There we go.
02:15Please join me on the trip of a lifetime.
02:18This is beautiful.
02:27Appreciate you coming out here.
02:28No.
02:29This is not an easy place to get to.
02:30It is not an easy place to get to.
02:31Parts Unknown, as I was...
02:33Parts Unknown.
02:34Yes.
02:35That's on the mailbox out there.
02:36I like that.
02:37I like that.
02:38Do you realize, Steph, that we've known each other almost 30 years?
02:43That's incredible, isn't it?
02:44I wasn't sure, you know, what to expect.
02:46Oh, no!
02:48What are you doing?
02:49Happy New Year, Stephanie!
02:52Well, for myself, of course, but...
02:55You know, here's a cool story that maybe not everybody knows.
02:58But when I first signed on to WWE, we're heading into 96.
03:01They were gonna do a commercial for the 96 Olympics.
03:03They said, we're gonna have an intern pick you up.
03:05And you were the intern.
03:06I was the intern, yes.
03:07At 17 years of age, out of high school, picking me up.
03:11That's right.
03:12And we hit it off right off the bat.
03:14And finally, I think we were talking and you started laughing.
03:17And you know, I've always been a big fan of your just...
03:20This gigantic laugh that you have.
03:21It is loud.
03:22You cannot think.
03:23When I hear Stephanie laugh, it could be a room of 2,000 people.
03:27I know exactly where she's at.
03:28But I'm glad to have you here.
03:29I'm so grateful to be here and so grateful to have this time with you.
03:33Thank you very much.
03:34Real time.
03:35It's almost 10 a.m.
03:36So if you want to take a lap, we'll start off over here.
03:39Sounds good to me.
03:41After his WWE career, Steve settled in Nevada on what he calls the Broken Skull Ranch.
03:47Where he gave me a day in the life tour.
03:50Tens of thousands of screaming fans used to command Stone Cold's attention.
03:55Now, it's these guys.
03:57We have two batches of chickens in there.
04:00That's great.
04:01So we're going to go over here and let them out.
04:02You want to do the honors?
04:03Sure.
04:04Put me to work.
04:07All right.
04:08Come on, guys.
04:09Get ready.
04:12Oh.
04:14That's pretty awesome.
04:15I love it.
04:16I love it.
04:17We're trying to keep the coyotes and everything from eating our chickens.
04:19It works.
04:22Macho.
04:23Macho.
04:24I call him my intercontinental champion.
04:26He's still green, but God dang it, he's my intercontinental champion.
04:31Of course, Poncho, if we can find him, is my reigning defending world champion.
04:36There he is.
04:37Get a shot of Poncho before he leaves.
04:39Wow.
04:40Here we go.
04:41Rebel is 28 years old, and now he's all arthritic, and he's retired.
04:47So he's living a good life.
04:50I see you've had a few horses in your day.
04:51Just a couple.
04:52The open palm.
04:53Okay, yes.
04:54During our tour, Steve showed me his custom-made podcast studio, where for years he hosted the aptly named Broken Skull Sessions.
05:04Here, he was able to stay close to the world of wrestling after his retirement.
05:09All right.
05:10Oh, there it is.
05:12You know, why didn't you ever have me on your podcast?
05:15Well, that was supposed to happen.
05:17What happened?
05:18I don't know.
05:19I was never asked.
05:20That's bull .
05:22You should have been.
05:25There's been some great stories told here.
05:27Cheers.
05:28Cheers.
05:29Cheers, sir.
05:30I originally kind of started podcasting, which led to the Broken Skull Sessions just as a way to keep in touch with my fan base.
05:38You don't have to be so modest, brother.
05:39It's your show.
05:40When I left the business, it's not like I had the greatest exit strategy.
05:45This was kind of the end result of me finding my way without the exit strategy.
05:51I would tell people to be smarter than I am.
05:53And think long term?
05:55Think long term?
05:56Well, you got to think down the road.
05:58You know, wrestling, you know, you're running so fast and so hard and having so much fun and you never want it to end.
06:04But the reality is, for everybody, sooner or later, it is going to end.
06:10That realization came to Steve in 2003.
06:14After entertaining fans around the world for years, Stone Cold Steve Austin announced his retirement.
06:22My neck was really beat up and I was just running real hard and I was just frazzled.
06:28And I just figured, man, if I'm going to go, I think now it's time to go because I wasn't in a good place.
06:34Yeah.
06:35But anyway, it was just time for me to leave.
06:37I was getting pretty beat up and I made my departure.
06:40But what about that live audience adrenaline, that performance, that feeling?
06:47Do you feel like you need to continue to feel that in some way?
06:51Do you miss that?
06:52Did you get that from podcasting?
06:54You don't get it from podcasting.
06:55You don't get it from sitting down and talking to someone.
06:58And certainly good times can be had doing those things.
07:01But there is nothing, nothing, and I think you know this, that can give you that kind of high.
07:07That adrenaline spike is so intense.
07:10But you live and die by that response.
07:12To go back a couple of years ago in Dallas, Texas, really special.
07:21Welcome to the most spectacular live event in entertainment, WrestleMania.
07:30Ever since Steve left WWE in 2003, his craving for excitement only grew.
07:37As the man said, there is nothing that compares to the rush of the crowd when you're standing in the squared circle.
07:45So nearly 20 years after his last match, Stone Cold Steve Austin made a triumphant return against Kevin Owens at AT&T Stadium on the biggest stage of them all, WrestleMania.
08:03When your music hit, the roof blew off that place.
08:10Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania!
08:14This is so real!
08:15Man, when a glass breaks and you're kind of, you're wondering, and you're thinking, hey man, they're gonna be there for me.
08:22Sure, they always have been, but it's been a while.
08:2519 years in the making!
08:28And man, when they gave me that response that they gave me, it was like, thank you, thank you, thank you!
08:37And as many of the talent that could be out there were, to just feel that moment.
08:45When you really have that resounding support, it's like, oh, we got this.
08:50Stone Cold Steve Austin!
08:53Cover by Stone Cold!
08:56One, two, three!
09:03As far gone as I've been from WWE, I'm still part of the family.
09:06Of course.
09:07One of the, not founding, but one of the guys that helped.
09:10You are one of the major reasons why WWE is what it is today.
09:14So, man, there's nothing that I know that can replace that.
09:18The beginnings of Steve's pursuit for excitement are rooted in his childhood.
09:24When I first saw professional wrestling on TV was Houston Wrestling.
09:28Houston Wrestling.
09:29I fell in love with it.
09:31Then I went to college, so I was on a football scholarship.
09:34This is the young man we talked about.
09:36Real good play by Steve.
09:38And on Friday nights or Saturday mornings, I would drive down to Sportatorium.
09:42The Sportatorium goes nuts!
09:44I'd be out there drinking beer with my friends, throwing stuff at the wrestlers, of which we both have been through, right?
09:49And having a great time.
09:52And then decided, I always knew I wanted to be a wrestler, but then there was a way to get in and I went to a wrestling school.
09:58In spite of a demanding schedule playing football at the University of North Texas, Steve made time for his true passion.
10:06And when his time came to actually get in the ring, Steve quickly realized that a career in professional wrestling was anything but easy.
10:16Here he comes, look up!
10:19One, two, and you can count to a hundred.
10:22What'd I tell you?
10:24When you just got finished playing college football and you're pretty jacked up and you're a guy.
10:31Yeah.
10:32You expect respect.
10:33You're the new guy, so you don't get it.
10:35You have to earn that respect.
10:37Respect is earned.
10:39After learning his craft and paying his dues in the independent circuit, Steve earned his way into brighter lights and bigger crowds.
10:49In 1991, he joined World Championship Wrestling and had much success as Stunning Steve Austin.
10:57Stunning Steve Austin is by far the hottest athlete in WCW.
11:02In 1995, his big break would come when he was signed by WWE as the ringmaster.
11:09The ringmaster has all the tools to go straight to the top.
11:14Although he hadn't yet reached superstardom, he was stopping at nothing to get there.
11:20It was a real struggle to try to pull off the ringmaster.
11:24I couldn't do it.
11:25I became frustrated.
11:27And Vince became as frustrated as I was.
11:29And I said, hey man, I've got to come up with another idea.
11:32I go back to the defining factor of hard work.
11:37My mother and my father always taught me to work hard.
11:40And God dang, when you get in this business, if you're not willing to work, you're not going to go very far.
11:45Steve's hard work to climb towards main event status was starting to pay off.
11:50And in 1996, he wanted a new, improved persona.
11:55One that rang true to his no-nonsense, hell-raising, authority-fighting attitude.
12:02Enter Stone Cold Steve Austin.
12:05I'm doing him a bit better now. He's a Stone Cold Steve Austin.
12:09Austin 316 says I just whipped your ass.
12:13The result was a sports and entertainment phenomenon.
12:20What?
12:22Stone Cold Steve!
12:24This arena has erupted.
12:26Austin, they got it!
12:28The stagger! Austin is the champion!
12:31Shattering records and elevating an entire industry.
12:35Please welcome Stone Cold Steve Austin.
12:38Maybe we'll get you some autographs later.
12:41What do you sign crap all day?
12:42Every now and then.
12:43Every now and then.
12:44That's what you do.
12:45Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
12:47Adding to his success was Steve's quick wit and an unparalleled ability to trash talk.
12:53Stone Cold Steve Austin!
12:55Don't change for nobody!
12:57And that's the bottom line!
12:59Cause Stone Cold sits high!
13:02When he grabbed the microphone, all he needed was to be himself, with the volume turned way up.
13:09I'll break every damn law you can make and can't nobody stop me!
13:13You know, when we start talking about, you know, some of the things that Stone Cold Steve Austin would say,
13:17talking trash was just things that I heard growing up in South Texas.
13:21I respect what you've done in the boxing world, but when you step in this ring, you're messing with Stone Cold Steve Austin, and that's something you don't do!
13:31One of the scariest things is to be yourself, and to allow people in. Do you agree with that? Do you have a perspective on that?
13:41I think people want to see the human side of someone or who they really are.
13:45Here's to you, Rock, the WWF Champion, for the very last time!
13:53No!
13:55I'm willing to show people any aspect of my life. You know, I'm, I am who I am.
14:02Part of who Steve is, is raising a little hell behind the wheel.
14:07Boston!
14:08Making his way for the ring!
14:10I got a chance to do a lot of things that other talent didn't get a chance to do.
14:18The four-wheeler and the vehicles as it would come to be were a large part of my history.
14:22Yep!
14:23Oh my God!
14:24Oh my God!
14:25Where there was an opportunity for wreaking havoc, Stone Cold was driven to answer the bell.
14:31The only question was who got the bigger thrill, the audience or Steve himself?
14:37I've always had an affinity for driving. I love having a steering wheel in my hands.
14:41The fact that WWE created so many opportunities for the Stone Cold character to thrive was a blessing.
14:48And it wasn't my idea to drive all this stuff. It was theirs. They just figured I could do it and it fit my persona, so it worked.
14:55I so look forward to like, hey man, you're driving a monster truck over rocks, Lincoln and Continental.
15:01No! Oh my God! Oh my God!
15:05Oh my God!
15:06Mark West Senior!
15:07The money shot was when the glass broke.
15:08No one had counted on that. That was just a bonus.
15:09That was a brand new car!
15:10That was a brand new car!
15:11There was a cement truck as well.
15:15I'm a car guy, right? And I found out it's going to be destroying a completely good Corvette.
15:21And I was like, man, can I buy this thing?
15:23Why?
15:24Yeah!
15:25Oh my God! Oh my!
15:28Mark West Senior!
15:31The money shot was when the glass broke.
15:34No one had counted on that. That was just a bonus that happened to happen because of the weight of the cement.
15:40God, so many incredible fun moments. The infamous beer truck.
15:45Uh oh!
15:48What?
15:53Oh!
15:54Oh! No talk!
15:55This beer! No talk!
15:56With a beer bath!
15:57Oh!
15:58Beer baths on the corporation!
16:00The band business was so fun and I had such a good time doing it.
16:04And the wrestling is the meat of it, right?
16:06Mmhmm.
16:07Because you've got to be able to perform in a ring. That's what you're going around selling.
16:10Mmhmm.
16:11those moments of character building which helped build that character of
16:14Stone Cold were so important to me but you got to go to that holy grail that 20
16:20by 20 squared circle and back it up. By 2003 Stone Cold had done it all his
16:31WrestleMania 19 match against The Rock would mark the end of an era that night
16:48Stone Cold Steve Austin walked away from an industry he helped take to
16:53unimaginable heights.
16:55He has a right to be proud in a night that I know in my heart I will never
17:01forget as long as I live.
17:04Steve moved on after he left in-ring competition and started to live a new
17:10life. Your wife Kristen how did you fall in love with her I don't know that many
17:15people know this side of Stone Cold Steve Austin. I was training at a world gym with
17:21a guy named Dan. My wife taught special education and she never watched the
17:26business she never watched wrestling. One of her students brought a WWE calendar and
17:30sure enough she put it on the wall it was Stone Cold Steve Austin in her
17:35classroom. She sees me at the gym puts two and two together she goes Dan is that
17:40that Stone Cold Steve Austin guy and he goes yeah and she says do you think he would
17:45come read to my kids I don't know ask him long story short I drove my pickup truck down there read to her kids and then I was drinking beer one night
17:55I think she would be nice to go over to Kristen.
17:59I said hey you like football and she goes yeah I said all right I'll come over watch
18:04football with you and I basically never left.
18:09Oh that's great. We got married oh nine the same year I went to Hall of Fame.
18:12Wow but we've been together for 20 years she makes me better than who I am.
18:17Stone Cold's WWE in-ring days were over and now Steve finds himself in a different kind of
18:29adrenaline-fueled competition sitting in a familiar seat behind the wheel.
18:34I've driven these things my whole life but I've never really tried to drive one
18:38fast and at speed and out of the blue a guy named Shane calls me and he says hey
18:43Steve how would you really like to race one of these things? Last year as we
18:48speak now was my first season I ended up winning rookie of the year racing
18:52side-by-sides. To be a rookie again? Yeah when you're a rookie at then 58 yeah it's
18:58kind of a kick in the ass.
19:01God dang I have so much fun in that car when you strapping that buggy and that
19:07adrenaline starts to surge at a low key and you smell that race gas and it's
19:11performance time this is just like when I signed up for wrestling.
19:16Would you like to sit inside my Kawasaki KRX 1000 and take a few laps with me?
19:23I would be honored to do that. Before we leave safety first so I have this for you.
19:28Okay. Is anything alive in here? No. Nothing.
19:34Wow holy this is really cool.
19:38Oh my god look it's Steph 316 on it.
19:42My buddy Jay at XS Paint did this especially for you in rapid fire fashion.
19:48Thank you very much. You're not supposed to make me cry in this episode. This is
19:54really really cool. God if we got that vulnerability though wouldn't that be amazing?
19:59All right here goes nothing.
20:02I'm hoping we don't get pulled over by the cops. I've lost my brakes in a race before and had to finish without brakes.
20:10Riding shotgun I got just a little taste of what it was like to race in the desert with a rattlesnake.
20:25So this is your course. So we're having a hard time even getting up to speed. Normally the track is so vast we're able to make turns more than 60 miles an hour.
20:40Our test drive together seems to have made for a good practice round.
20:46Three weeks later at the Gold Rush 350 Steve took home the checkered flag winning first place in his division.
20:54Congratulations on your championship.
20:56Thank you very much. Hey we earned that. We earned that. Hell yeah.
21:01It was late in life when I found racing. I'm happy I found some great people out here.
21:06So I'm having the time of my life. A little late to the game but glad I'm here.
21:10It seems as though this rookie is about to break records again.
21:15That was so much fun. I didn't know you could get into those turns like that and driving over all the
21:24the shrubbery whatever this is called.
21:27That's called blowing a turn actually.
21:30You're not supposed to try to go with a sage brush I'll be completely honest.
21:34I know you're traveling around seeing everybody and thank you for inviting me to be on your show.
21:40It's just great to spend time with you.
21:42We've always maintained our friendship no matter what happened within the scope of both of our lives.
21:47And here we are. Thank you for letting me be on your show.
21:50Well thank you for being a part of it Steve. I'm really honored to be here with you. I really am. Thank you.
21:55But I have one more thing that we've got to do.
21:58All right. What's that?
21:59Drink a beer together.
22:00You know this is something we've never done.
22:02I know and but I promise you there will not be a stone cold stunner on the receiving end after drinking this illustrious beer out here in the desert.
22:11Uh oh I popped in early. Cheers!
22:13All right.
22:21Thank you Seth. Thank you.
22:23I grew up riding horses. Oh really?
22:34My first horse was a Shetland pony named Shorty.
22:37Really?
22:38Yeah. And that was the meanest damn horse you've ever seen.
22:42When I grew up in Edna every year we'd have a parade.
22:45It's such a little podunk town that you know if you had a horse you just jump in at the end.
22:50And you know like when you gird up a horse on the saddle.
22:53It's supposed to be tight.
22:54You really need to cinch that thing up.
22:55Yeah.
22:56So I just barely girded him up.
22:57So we go through the parade make it through town.
23:00Then all of a sudden you know that little Shetland gate.
23:03I started going sideways and then I rode that damn horse upside down about 20 yards.
23:09You know.
23:10And then he trampled all over me like a pile of dust.
23:14I chased that horse for 30 minutes.
23:16Yelling every four letter word as a kid.
23:18That you could think of.
23:19That I knew.
23:20I knew them all.
23:21Trying to get that God dang horse.
23:22And that's the bottom line.
23:24Cause Steph said so.