By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin says there is no issue or animosity between himself and WWE or CEO Vince McMahon. Austin said on the latest edition of the "Steve Austin Show" that any business to be conducted simply did happen, but not because of a personal dispute.

- On not attending WrestleMania: "There is no heat. One of the rumors was I supposed to be on an airplane with The Undertaker. Not true. I don't know where Undertaker lives. Last time I checked it was Austin, Texas. I currently reside in Los Angeles, California. When I'm not there, I'm at the Broken Skull Ranch. So, why they would have me and Undertaker on the same commercial airplane, I have no idea. So, that rumor is completely untrue."

Austin's close friend, Jim Ross, added in his latest blog at jrsbarbq.com: "I knew for weeks prior to the event that he was not booked. If he had been booked we would have done my RINGSIDE show together. He was in South Texas at that time working on his ranch doing some time sensitive projects that he has been postponing for weeks due to his CMT production schedule. The rumor that Austin was to be on the same flight at Undertaker also made zero sense as Austin would have flown out of San Antonio while Taker lives in the Austin area."

- On not being part of WM31 plans: "I was never part of any part of any kind of Creative discussions with me participating in WrestleMania 31. So, there was no booking, there were no ideas, I didn't turn down anything. So, I simply wasn't there."

Austin noted he watched WrestleMania at Broken Skull Ranch in Texas, where he and his family needed to get work done at the ranch. "I was never scheduled to be there (at WrestleMania)," Austin said.

- On not hosting a new season of Tough Enough: "Everyone says there's heat with Steve and Vince. And Steve turned down the Tough Enough gig. No, that's not true. I've been talking with WWE about doing Tough Enough for quite some time. Quite some time. It was supposed to be shot in February or March. Right now, we're in April. Well, it didn't happen in February or March, through nobody's fault. There are so many dynamics and so many moving parts planning a show the magnitude of Tough Enough. It takes a while to get all those pieces in order.

"Once WWE finally got those pieces in order and could go to camera was the same exact time that CMT said, 'Hey, we want to do more episodes of Broken Skull Challenge.' Both things lined up the same time, and I had the previous commitment to Broken Skull Challenge. In a perfect world, had we been able to film Tough Enough in February or March, then I was scheduled to do it, and that would have been an absolute blast.

"So, I didn't turn down Tough Enough because I have heat with Vince McMahon. That was my first reality TV hosting gig and I absolutely loved it, and it helped get the other gigs that I now do as well. So, scheduling problems prevented me from doing Tough Enough. I didn't turn it down for any other reason than that. Wish I could have done it, too bad I couldn't. That's just the way it is."

- On WWE shifting to Chris Jericho hosting live podcasts: "I'm not doing the podcast on WWE Network just because we did the initial two (with Vince McMahon and Triple H) and were going to make a deal and move forward. A deal wasn't made and we're not moving forward. End of story. There's no heat there."

- On his current standing with Vince McMahon: "Some people said that Vince McMahon wasn't happy with the questions I was asking (on the podcast). Not true at all. Again, a deal could have been made, a deal was not made, WWE went the direction they went, and I'm going the direction I'm going in. Hey man, if we partner up down the road and do business, that will be gangbusters. Because for the rest of my life, I will have WWE blood running through my veins."

Austin continued: "When WWE and Steve Austin are in business together, it's always a good thing and always a fun thing. So, no matter what anyone says, there is no animosity from any standpoint - from WWE's point of view, from my standpoint.

Despite Austin addressing each rumor, Austin left the door open for questions about his standing with WWE during his final statement on the topic: "I'm stating the case plainly, clearly, and as efficiently as I can without going into to too much more detail, which is between myself, Vince, and WWE. Private matters. But, for all the public things I just talked about, those are the answers to the questions. No heat, nowhere, it's cool, moving on."

[ LINK: Austin's full podcast HERE at PodcastOne.com ]

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE NEWS: Superstars SPOILERS - Results from Chicago Raw

WWE NETWORK: Monday, Oct. 12 Schedule - Raw pre-show, Sting DVD preview

WWE NEWS: Lana & Rusev reportedly engaged - follow the interesting 2015 timeline