“Stone Cold” Steve Austin knows a thing or two about being in a wrestling ratings war.
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The WWE Hall of Famer was at the forefront of the Monday Night Wars back in the late 90s and early 2000s, when WWF’s Monday Night Raw and WCW’s Monday Nitro went head-to-head in a battle for television ratings every Monday night. That first war ended way back in 2001 when WCW folded, and a new one is finally on the horizon now that WWE’s NXT brand (on the USA Network) and All Elite Wrestling (on TNT) are both planning on airing two-hour weekly live shows this fall.
Austin offered a small bit of advice to both companies ahead of the Wednesday Night Wars in an interview with ComicBook.com on Wednesday.
“Hell man, go out there and go for it,” he said.
Austin added that he feels the real winner in this war will be the fans, and that he plans on watching both shows once they start going.
“I’ll tell you who’s going to win this fight is the fans because you’re getting head to head competition,” Austin said. “WWE is WWE. AEW is AEW. It will be a little bit different type of action and I’ll tune in or flip back and forth or watch one and DVR the other. But I think just wrestling in general wins because back when we had the wars and there was 10 million viewers every single night. And now it’s turned into what give or take 3 million on Monday [and] Tuesday. Maybe that’s high, but maybe it’ll reignite people’s passion for wrestling and head to head competition is always good and I think you’ll see more intensity, and I think it’s good and I’m looking forward to it.”
NXT will get a head start when their show moves from the WWE Network to the USA Network starting on Sept. 18. All Elite Wrestling’s show will premiere on TNT on Oct. 2, with both shows running from 8-10 p.m. Eastern.
Austin has popped up numerous times on WWE television in recent months, with the last one also promoting his new show, Straight Up Steve Austin. Airing on Monday nights at 11 p.m. Eastern on the USA Network after Monday Night Raw, the show features Austin interviewing a celebrity guest while also taking part in “one-of-a-kind customed-tailored adventures.” His guests so far have included comedian Rob Riggle, Impractical Jokers host Sal Vulcano and Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. The next episode, airing on Sept. 2, will feature Austin’s interview with reigning Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch.
