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| The Revival appeared on the Austin show Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Show: Steve Austin Show
Episode: 355
Run Time: 1:29:14
Guest: The Revival (1:35)
Summary: Steve Austin is on location filming Broken Skull Challenge using his iPhone as a hotspot to conduct a Skype call with Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. It’s hard to tell who’s more excited — Austin for getting to rave over the Revival’s Tag Team Title defense in Brooklyn or the guys for having a personal interaction with an idol. Dash and Dawson tell Austin about their training background, which wrestlers they watched as kids and participating in youth sports. All three then share stories of their favorite tag teams and talk about the importance of a ring entrance setting the tone for a match. Dawson talks about recovering from an ACL injury, then again all three have thoughts on staying true to an in-ring style, the importance of emotion over high spots and praise for referee Drake Wuertz. Nearing the end, the Revival talk about enjoying their time in NXT and life at the performance center, then all three guys rave about the past and present women of NXT and the virtues of coffee. Just before closing, the guys ask Austin about working with Ricky Steamboat.
Quote of the week: Wilder: “We both work with chips on our shoulders. Like, we weren’t supposed to be where we’re at. We’re not supposed to be the two-time NXT Champions. We’re not supposed to be in Brooklyn at SummerSlam weekend having the matches that we have. … They didn’t have these elaborate plans laid out for us, we didn’t have this huge hype and buildup and debut. It was just, ‘OK, go do what you guys do.’ ”
Dawson: How many people know what a, uh, what a Frankensteiner feels like, you know what I mean? How many people know what a hurricanrana feels like, or even a dropkick, for example? Nobody knows what that feels like. But they know what frustration feels like, they know what pain feels like, they know what, uh, what hard work feels like. So if we make our babyfaces look as good as possible … even if they’re the smartest of the smart fans, in the back of their minds they’re gonna say ‘Oh God, these guys. Come on guys, let’s get it going, let’s get — you don’t have to pull Dash’s hand, you don’t have to do that.’ If I can get them invested emotionally and if they can say, for one second, if they can say ‘Aw, he didn’t have to do that!’ I got ’em. I got ’em right there because they know what that frustration, they know what pain and sorrow and happy and sad feels like.”
Why you should listen: This is an all around love fest. Not for just the three guys on the call, but for old school tag team wrestling and NXT in general. Dash and Dawson are straight-up giddy to be interviewed by a personal hero, and Austin is somehow transported back into the fan who grew up watching Dusty Rhodes on television and cheering his heart out for the Von Erichs at the Sportatorium. The joy is contagious, and the guys do a great job explaining both their big picture career approach and the little details that make their matches so compelling.
Why you should skip it: Aside from those who won’t care because they don’t follow NXT or the modern WWE, the only people who need to stay away are those worried about falling in love with the men behind two disliked characters.
Final thoughts: My main takeaway from this is a deeper appreciation for the Revival, as well as an understanding of the importance of wrestlers’ ability to draw me into a match emotionally despite my understanding of the larger conceit. I deeply want these guys to succeed professionally, and yet I also still want them to lose every match ever because they keep crushing my precious flower heroes. I can’t commend this episode strongly enough.