WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin revealed on his most recent podcast the inspiration behind the âSmoking Skullâ belt, Jim Ross coming up with his nicknames and his thoughts on WWE dropping the term "Diva" to refer to their women wrestlers.
On The Origin of The Smoking Skull Belt: âYeah, the [prior] belt, I didnât like. The idea for the âSmoking Skullâ belt was The Road Warriors, Animal and Hawk. They called me over and said, âhey Steve, you know youâre âStone Coldâ Steve Austin. You ought to have your own belt.â That was The Road Warriorsâ idea and I give them credit for it.â
On Jim Ross Coming Up With All Of His Nicknames: âAs far as JR calling me all those cool nicknames he called me, that was just him being the best commentator in the history of pro wrestling. And he made all that stuff up on the fly. And I would never think, âhey JR, going out tonight, can you call me âThe Texas Rattlesnakeâ?â Sure, you could do that on the DL, you could feed it to an announcer, but I didnât. I was out there being âStone Coldâ. I was from Victoria, Texas. Hell, they came up with the name for the âStone Coldâ Stunner. I didnât. I didnât like it at first, actually, but it worked. And, boy, did it have a ring to it. It was effective and Iâm glad it turned out that way. But JR was simply shooting from the hip and making up those nicknames on the fly. And I am eternally indebted to him for his commentary and him helping to get the âStone Coldâ persona over the way he did.â
On WWE Dropping The Term Diva: âTheyâre not divas anymore,â Austin said. âNow the women are Superstars. No, no, no, there [has] been a whole womenâs movement. I mean, the womenâs wrestling scene has evolved tremendously. I was so glad when they dropped the âdivasâ moniker because, man, Iâll tell you what, they have spun up and they have some talented women down there. So, no, theyâre WWE Superstars just like the guys. The [term] âdivaâ no longer exists.â
Check out a special look at the night where The Rock threw "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's Smoking Skull Title Belt off a bridge.
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