The following is a complete recap of Paige’s appearance on the “Stone Cold Podcast.” The show aired live on the WWE Network on Monday, August 3, 2015. The following report comes from Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net.
Steve Austin welcomed viewers and the volume of his mic shot way up whenever he raised his voice. Austin introduced Paige and asked what she thought of her match. She said it was “cool” yet said she’s her biggest critic. Austin said they both swear a lot and this should be an Unleashed show. Paige confessed she swears in the ring and has to apologize for it.
Austin noted that Paige is a ten-year veteran. A shot aired of a young Paige on the set’s video screen. Austin noted Pagie’s mother and father Ricky and Saraya Knight. A shot of Paige with her parents appeared on the screen. She noted that her brother wrestles and another brother is a referee. Paige said she was afraid of the violence because her mom was blinded six months into the business. She said she was one of the kids who tried to get inside the ring because she was so worked up.
Austin asked if Paige’s parents ever smartened her up. Paige said not when she was young, but eventually she told them she knows what it is. She said she got knocked out when she got in the ring, but she doesn’t remember what knocked her out. She guessed she didn’t tuck her chin while taking a bump. Paige said she wanted to be like Lita and Bull Nakano.
Paige spoke about being trained by her mom, and Robbie Brookside press slamming his mother.
Paige said she has scoliosis. She said she didn’t have any idea she had it until one of the trainers at NXT noticed it. She said she got an X-ray that showed she has a question mark-like spine. She said it could give her problems down the line.
Austin brought up the Youtube documentary on her family. She spoke about her family and said the idea was to show them leading up to her tryout and perhaps the film would have a happy ending if she got in.
Austin brought up Paige’s bartending and bouncing career. She laughed and talked about how her parents would go away and leave her in charge of the bar at age 15. She said she headlocked one guy, and pinned another guy up against a wall.
Paige said the best part of her family’s promotion is that American wrestlers would come over. She spoke about meeting Jake Roberts, The Bushwhackers, and Yokozuna.
Paige said she looked up to Bull Nakano and said she modified her finisher to use as her own. She also liked Lita, Austin, and Rikishi. She also mentioned Madusa/Alundra Blayze.
Austin noted that Paige was rejected by WWE after her first tryout. She said she couldn’t bush her hair or do her own makeup properly. She said she hated the way she dressed and was not confident. She said she was timid and passive. She said she busted the lip of her opponent open during the tryout match because she was so nervous. She said she was told maybe she could come back once she had more confidence.
Paige said she came back the next time and decided to be herself. She said Jamie Noble and Goldust ran the tryout. Following a network freeze on my end, Paige spoke about her early run in NXT. She recalled hitting Summer Rae in the cheek with a shoulder tackle.
Austin asked her about transitioning to Paige. She spoke about Dusty helping her by keeping her sane. She said the job is hard whether people believe it or not. Cody told her that Dusty liked to play with the broken toys, so Dusty spent a lot of time working with her. She said Dusty spoke to her about saving her money. She was also censored when she recalled Dusty telling her he wanted chicken dinner from one of her promos and she gave him chicken shit. She recalled Dusty taking her outside and talking with her on the steps of the Performance Center for 20 minutes and telling her that she has something special and can be a star someday.
Paige said she did promos, but she didn’t realize you could tell a story in a promo. She also laughed as she told stories about her father having her work through injuries when she was younger.
Austin brought up John Cena’s broken nose and how he kept doing. Paige said good for him. She said it’s awesome and he’s old school. She said she looks at it the same way. She recalled Daniel Bryan wanting to do the same and not being allowed to. She spoke about having a broken wrist and being knocked out and still continuing through matches when she was younger.
Paige spoke about her mother being a big influence after Austin praised her mother’s work. Paige said her mom would slow her down with a shot if she was working too fast. She said she would do the same in developmental and people would tell her you can’t do that.
Austin asked Paige why she asks people why they want her autograph. She said she thinks it’s more of a low self esteem thing. She said there are all of the gorgeous superstars and she’s a girl from a small town.
Paige recalled The Rock told her to stay humble and hungry. Austin told her that fans who ask for her autograph means she struck a chord with them and maybe they live vicariously through her. Austin suggested that Paige step back when she’s not on the road and realize what she’s doing and how powerful her presence is.
Paige said the message she wants to give people is to be themselves. She said people have told her she helped them get over their eating disorder and anxiety. She wanted to tell a story about Daniel Bryan meeting her family.
Austin brought up Triple H being an influence on her. She said someone stole her identity and she couldn’t pay for a surgery. She spoke about how great he was, and they looked at a photo of her winning the NXT Championship. She said she feels the Divas revolution started because of Triple H.
Paige said she believes Triple H and Stephanie McMahon started the Divas revolution in NXT. She recalled being told that she and Emma twenty minutes on the first NXT special and they were both pleasantly surprised. Austin asked if she opened the door for the revolution. Paige said she feels like “we opened the door” and then praised Sara Del Rey as a trainer. She also praised Fit Finlay and Dean Malenko.
Austin asked who she travels with. Paige said sometimes she travels by herself. She said she used to travel with Emma. She said they used to travel five or six to a car in England.
Austin recalled someone telling him to enjoy life. He asked if she is enjoying life. Paige said she has to have a life coming out of the shows. She said she will go out to eat and go to the bars. She looked like she was worried about being scolded for mentioning the bar.
Austin asked where she feels she is in the business. Paige said she’s still learning. Austin said it’s a benchmark in terms of putting it all together. She said she feels that way some days, but there are other days when she questions whether she gets it.
Austin asked about the transition from NXT to the main roster. Paige said it’s about being bigger. She said it’s entertainment and there are millions of people watching via the camera and thousands in the arena.
Austin recalled working in front of 15-20 people in a parking lot. She said she hears people talking about 1,800 people being a bad live event crowd, but to her it’s still a lot of people. Paige said she would go out there and put on a show even if there was only one person there.
The conversation turned to Tough Enough. Paige said apparently she’s the bad guy. Austin said he enjoys the hell out of the show and he’s not just saying it for a plug. Austin said it was met with some indifference initially this year because they made changes to the format. Paige said she’s received grief (death threats?) because of the way she interacts with the contestants. Austin said she’s being honest and helping them. “My parents did that to me,” she said. Paige said they did it to other people and recalled her mom working up a woman named Bethany who wouldn’t come out of her shell. Bethany slapped her mom, and her mom said that’s the intensity they wanted to see from her.
Paige spoke about Sara Lee cutting a promo on her in week three. Paige said she is happy she picked Sara Lee for the bottom three because she stood out when she fired back at her. She also spoke about the Patrick elimination. Paige said she put him in the bottom three and didn’t expect him to go. She said she got backlash for it, but she blamed the fans for not voting for him since they decide the fate of the contestants.
Paige said Mada looked great and could deliver a promo. Austin said Mada stood out and jumped off the television screen. Paige said she doesn’t have anything against Amanda, but she doesn’t think she should have been saved because Miz felt she was hot.
It was time for the story about Daniel Bryan meeting her family. She said she met him in roughly 2003. She said no one picked him up at the airport and he had to make his way to the locker room. She said Bryan saw her dad and his brother punching a guy and dangling a guy out the window. Bryan thought it was a British thing. Paige’s mom apologized. Bryan said it happens all the time in America, thinking she was referring to him working multiple matches on one show.
Paige said she drinks beer and whiskey and that she wants to make the WWE Hall of Fame some day.
They spoke about working in big stadiums. Austin said they thought they lost the crowd at Ford Field because of the sound in the building.
Paige they are heading back to Tough Enough after the interview. She closed by saying she doesn’t know what will happen now that The Miz is on the show. Austin closed out the podcast.
