FEEDBACK: Stone Cold Podcast feat. Vince McMahon (2014)

Rewind-A-Wai returns next Tuesday, January 19th and the next selection has been made by Espresso Executive Producer & “Our Man” @NealFlanagan

Neal has chosen the Stone Cold Podcast featuring guest Vince McMahon that aired in December 2014 on the WWE Network.

We will dissect and discuss the 60-minute conversation from six-years ago and look back at one of McMahon’s rare long-form interviews of the past decade.

The interview can be watched on the WWE Network and you can post feedback below in the thread.

Rewind-A-Wai #78 will be available Tuesday, January 19th for all members of the POST Wrestling Café.

Brandon from Oshawa

I really don’t remember any of this interview, which I think shows how insignificant it was. I don’t think an interview with Vince on any WWE platform, will ever get anything noteworthy from him.

So, if you guys were given an exclusive with him and you were each given one question, it can be anything you want and he will answer truthfully, what would you each ask?

Chris from Ottawa

Hello gentlemen,

This podcast just made me shake my head…I wish it were possible for a recorded conversation between Austin and McMahon to have some meaningful candour. But I guess Vince just isn’t capable of that, and hasn’t been for a long time. The whole thing felt as leashed and rote as anything that I’ve ever seen either of them participate in. It had the potential to be great, and fell very flat…like a lot of the WWE Network Austin podcast offerings, quite frankly, but I guess that makes sense - if it’s under the WWE banner, it’s almost impossible for people to relax and speak openly. 2 out of 10, and the worst Austin/McMahon encounter since Austin gave the stunner to Linda.

Alex from Minneapolis
The original stone cold network show was a concept that had an off the cuff feel and felt more natural than today’s format. The timeline of CM Punk going from the first Cabana podcast on to then the Vince interview occurring to then Punk’s response on Cabana’s podcast to then Punk appearing at UFC 181 for his announcement is one of those trippy mindfucks that only wrestling can provide.

2 questions

  1. Do you think Vince coming off poorly on the Costas and Real Sports interviews is the reason why he’s been very selective in the interviews he does?

  2. How would you guys compare Vince and HHH’s handling when asked by Austin their thoughts on the Punk situation?

Jake from the Windy City

I’m probably gonna be on an island here but looking back, it was fairly decent interview to digest. Seeing where Austin is now being a TV show host, can definitely see that amount of charisma from the beginning from this interview and being an avid listener of his PodcastOne show since the very start.

I was just baffled by Vince’s explanation of the streak ending. The Undertaker has given back to the business for countless years and for him to lose out to Lesnar when he didn’t even need that as he was a gigantic figure by that point, was something to shake my head on. I thought it was interesting the stuff about Jim Ross where Austin really pressured Vince on. Basically saying why isn’t he in the company anymore. I think Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions is a presentable format I enjoy more than these past ‘podcasts’ in general but overall I enjoyed this.

Question:

Regarding his view on the territorial system, do you agree with his comment that the territories put themselves out of business? To me, Vince succeeded because after buying the company from his dad, he invested every penny back into the business while the other promoters didn’t adapt with the times and attempted to compete. I don’t think he should get the hate he gets for expanding this industry by leaps and bounds.