VIP Exclusive Features VIP - TORCH TALK with STEVE AUSTIN: What would Roman Reigns need to do in order to show he is ready to headline a WrestleMania? What areas does he need to improve on, and what can get him there? (preview)
Jan 25, 2015 - 11:47:22 AM
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By Wade Keller, editor
The following is a preview of part one of a transcript of my VIP interview transcript with Steve Austin on Jan. 22. This installment is focused on Austin’s impression of the development of Roman Reigns and his readiness to main event WrestleMania.
Wade Keller: I’ve never swayed from thinking Roman Reigns is the most likely choice they make to win the Royal Rumble. If they go that direction, have you seen enough of Reigns to give an opinion on whether you think this is the year to go with him? I know it’s a tough question politically to answer.
Steve Austin: (laughs) Everybody knows I’m a fan of Roman Reigns. Along with that, I’ve also said he needs a little bit more depth of work, more time in the ring. He’s really green. He doesn’t have a whole lot of offense. He never really goes to a body part. He never goes into a long of long matches. I haven’t seen him work a whole lot. But when you have The Shield in those dynamic six-man tags, those guys ripped it up with whoever they were in there with, whether it was the Wyatts or anybody. He was working a third of that teams’ match and he was able to go in in there and shine. Now he’s had an injury, a hernia operation that put him on the back burner for a little bit. Seth Rollins has really stepped up. Dean Ambrose, he’s going to come around a little more on the work. He turned into a lot of a puncher and a kicker. But Roman Reigns’s body of work has to really improve to carry that belt, in my opinion. Your thoughts on that? Because you’re a guy who’s made a living talking about matches. Can he carry his end of a three to five star caliber of match being that World Champion? Can he draw money?
Keller: I think Roman Reigns, five years from now, we’ll be talking about him as a top star in this industry. I have watched probably every televised Roman Reigns match. There was a tag match recently where he was in at the beginning for 30 seconds and then end for 45 seconds, and he did around six moves total, maybe three different moves.
Austin: I saw that match.
Keller: It was two clotheslines, two Superman punches, and a spear.
Austin: Yeah, it was two or three Raws ago.
END OF PREVIEW. FULL LENGTHY TRANSCRIPT OF THE ENTIRE REIGNS DISCUSSION IS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY TO VIP MEMBERS.
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.
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