During the latest episode of his “Grilling JR” podcast, Jim Ross spoke about WWE Superstars stepping up when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin went down for an extended period of time with an injury during the Attitude Era, as well as his thoughts on Stephanie McMahon’s underrated abilities as a heel character.
Check out some of the highlights from episode 66 of the “Grilling JR” podcast below.
On how the WWE talent roster needed to step-up when Steve Austin went down with an injury:
“Yes, and without Stone Cold which is a testament to the roster. All these guys when they saw Steve go down knew that there was a spot now, a top spot, the door opened for opportunity. I told the guys the same thing – the path is clear, become a star and take advantage of the opportunity at this point in time because I always believed Steve was coming back, and he did. Nobody forgot about Austin, but it gave these other guys like Triple H [an opportunity], who really had a hell of a year that year.”
On how Triple H capitalized and evolved into a Superstar at this time:
“He really evolved into becoming a really good wrestling heel. He could brawl, he incorporated the sledgehammer from time to time, and his mic skills kept improving. I always gave him credit for that. He never stopped trying to improve even though he was sitting in a great spot politically, athletically, age wise. He was a big big addition to what we were doing, but it wouldn’t have been as effective if he had not taken the challenge to improve, get better, and continue to become a bigger star.”
On Stephanie McMahon having that “McMahon gene” as a performer:
“Vince was the top heel in the attitude era and I believe that, but Stephanie wasn’t that far behind. She was as natural a heel as we had. She just had that Vince gene that fit so well as an antagonist.”
Check out the complete episode of the Grilling JR podcast below, or by visiting Stitcher.com.
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