WWE News: AJ Styles Will Be The Next Guest On The ‘Stone Cold Podcast’
The popular Stone Cold Podcast will be returning to the WWE Network following Monday Night Raw on June 20, and the show’s guest will be none other than ex-TNA and IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles.
Steve Austin missed the last podcast that was featured on the WWE Network due to a shoulder injury. He was replaced by fellow WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, who interviewed Shane McMahon in what was advertised as a “tell-all podcast.” It looks like Austin is back at 100 percent, and the rumors of any heat between the “Texas Rattlesnake” and WWE can be laid to rest. In the past, Austin has gone out of his way to praise AJ Styles, saying that he didn’t understand why WWE never went out of their way to hire him sooner than they did. So, it’s clear that the WWE Hall of Famer has a ton of respect for “The Phenomenal One.”
The MATCH of your DREAMS is set to take place at #MITB, LIVE on @WWENetwork! @AJStylesOrg @JohnCena #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/OMaj8eCVqo
— WWE (@WWE) June 10, 2016
The long-awaited dream match between AJ Styles and John Cena will take place the night before the Stone Cold Podcast, so that’ll likely be a huge part of their one-hour long conversation. It’ll be interesting to see if Austin is allowed to talk about Styles’ time in Impact Wrestling, better known as TNA. During his interview with Vince McMahon back in December of 2014, Austin briefly mentioned TNA while talking about other wrestling organizations outside of WWE. But, he hasn’t acknowledged the company’s existence in any of his subsequent WWE Network podcasts. Of course, Styles spent the majority of his pro wrestling career in TNA, as he was there from 2002 to 2013.
Earlier this year, on the Edge and Christian Show that Totally Reeks of Awesomeness, Styles’ run in TNA was referred to, and mocked. But, they didn’t directly acknowledge TNA’s existence. TNA was also briefly mentioned on a recent edition of Legends with JBL, where John “Bradshaw” Layfield interviewed Brian James, better known as Road Dogg. James spent a few years down in TNA, where he and his longtime tag-team partner Billy Gunn regularly said negative things about WWE. JBL briefly mentioned James’ run in TNA before they moved on to other things.
Other WWE Network shows, like Table For Three for example, weren’t allowed to mention TNA, as Samoa Joe only talked about Ring of Honor during his appearance on the show. Austin will probably want to bring up Styles’ run in TNA, but will WWE actually let him bring it up? Well, that remains to be seen. But, if he’s planning on talking about Styles’ long journey to WWE, he’ll have to bring it up, because that’s where Styles became famous. If you read Styles’ bio on WWE.com, it only mentions his time in WCW, which was extremely brief, and his time in both New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor, but they don’t mention his decade-long run in Impact Wrestling. So, it seems pretty clear that they don’t want to let their fans know that made his name in TNA.
Other podcast topics may, and probably will include Styles’ WWE debut at this year’s Royal Rumble, his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling, his brief stint in WCW, why he never came to WWE sooner, his goals in WWE, and what it was like to wrestle John Cena at Money in the Bank. There weren’t any rumblings of Styles appearing on the Stone Cold Podcast, so the announcement comes as a bit of a surprise. But, it’s certainly a pleasant surprise. Austin is a fantastic interviewer, so his podcast with AJ Styles should be absolutely phenomenal.
[Image via WWE]
