One of the most celebrated pro wrestling superstars of all time "Stone Cold" Steve Austin continues to win fans over years after he left the squared circle in a full-time capacity. Much of it has to do with his unique loquaciousness and interview techniques, which were utilized in full for his highly popular podcast. Now, Austin will finally get to show off those skills on his own official talk show. Cue the theme. [glass breaking]
USA Network announced that it has issued a straight-to-series pickup order for Straight Up Steve Austin, which will be a half-hour series mostly centered on Stone Cold interviewing various celebs. It will likely surprise no one to learn that USA will be pairing Straight Up Steve Austin with Monday Night Raw, with the chat show making its debut on Monday, August 12.
Because putting "Stone Cold" Steve Austin behind a desk inside a soundstage studio is the antithesis of the wrestler's vibe, Straight Up Steve Austin will fling that format into the turnbuckle. Instead, Austin will be joining a celebrity guest for a story-swapping trip across different cities throughout the U.S. Though some of those stories will likely touch upon some uncomfortable topics, the point of the show is to deliver some "good old-fashioned American fun."
Naturally, the quality of the celebrity guests can sometimes be as important as the host, although Steve Austin could interview a jar of pickles and it would easily be peak entertainment. For Straight Up Steve Austin, the wrestling icon will talk with current WWE superstar Becky Lynch, but surprisingly, she's the only guest noted that hails from his former employer.
Beyond Becky Lynch, Steve Austin will talk with country singer and actor Trace Adkins, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, comedian and retired military man Rob Riggle, Impractical Jokers star Sal Vulcano, comedian Gabriel Iglesias, and NASCAR giant Dale Earnhardt Jr. That's a fairly wild lineup outside of this context, but those guests will definitely be welcomed by WWE fans all over.
A lot of former wrestlers try to make waves in the acting world, which Steve Austin also did for a spell, but his gift of gab opened him up to the world of TV hosting, which doesn't embrace WWE icons very often. Can you imagine Macho Man as a Family Feud host, for instance?
Austin first got in front of the camera as a host for the first season of the wrestling competition series Tough Enough, and he followed that up by hosting five seasons of the CMT reality show Redneck Island. He also took on duties hosting CMT'S physically rigorous series Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge.
While those shows got Stone Cold more comfortable in front of a camera in different capacities, the projects that solidified his interview magic were his podcasts The Steve Austin Show and The Steve Austin Show – Unleashed!, with the latter being a more adult-oriented listen. (You bet your ass Stone Cold gets explicit when the time calls for it.) Some of his podcast episodes have gotten broadcasted on WWE Network in the past, unwittingly foreshadowing what everyone can expect from the new show.
Straight Up Steve Austin will be produced by Wilshire Studios. Steve Austin will be serving as an executive producer alongside former Dirty Jobs EP Dave Barsky. Speaking of Dirty Jobs, former host Mike Rowe would make for an excellent future guest, if the show makes it to Season 2.
While waiting to see what Austin's upcoming A&E docuseries episode will be like, don't forget to grab yourself an ice chest full of suds and check out Straight Up Steve Austin in its post-Raw time slot on USA on Monday, August 12, at 10:00 p.m. ET.
