‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin talks WWE 2K16

Former world champion Stone Cold Steve Austin was recently involved in a sit-down interview with WWE.com as he expressed his thoughts on the company's upcoming video game, WWE 2K16.

GameZone previously reported that Austin will feature on the case of WWE 2K16, a move that caught the Attitude Era star "completely off guard."

For those that are unaware, the Attitude Era started around the turn of the millennium involving a constant battle between rival brands WWE and WCW, known as the Monday night wars. This time in WWE's history involved the production of very much adult-oriented content as both Stone Cold and The Rock, AKA Dwayne Johnson, took centre-stage.

When asked about his inclusion on WWE 2K16's game case, Austin said: "I was very surprised when I got the phone call. You know, I figured I'd been gone for such a long time; it's been a while.

"I think it really speaks to how Austin and The Attitude Era resonated with the fans back then and, obviously, it resonated enough for 2K to pick a guy like me. I'm thankful to have had so many dance partners and so many Hall of Famers to work with. It was really an all-star cast of people in a 20-by-20 squared circle, entertaining people. At the end of the day, you really gotta thank the fans for being there for us. It’s an extreme honor."

Austin has been very vocal regarding the current crop of WWE superstars of late, claiming that not enough of the roster's talents are taking enough risks at the moment. Aside from his praise of John Cena, Austin has challenged the other WWE superstars to step up and make a name for themselves, and one has to wonder, does his inclusion on the cover prove his point?

Back in the WWE heydays, even after the Attitude Era, the company always had a whole bunch of guys at the top, whereas now it could be argued that only John Cena, Randy Orton and maybe Kane, have proved to be long-standing and reliable performers.

WWE has selected both The Rock and John Cena to be the cover stars of their very own video game in recent years, suggesting that the roster isn't trying hard enough to break into the limelight over these veterans. Albeit, before that was CM Punk and Randy Orton, both really good performers, however the general consensus among fans and former performers is that WWE need more fresh faces and ultimately "reach for that brass ring."

The WWE Hall of Famer was also asked the following question: "So far, 2K has chosen true sports-entertainment icons to appear on their WWE video game covers. Last year was John Cena, the year before that was The Rock. How do you feel about the company you're keeping as a 2K cover Superstar?"

Stone Cold replied: "I've always told people, The Rock brought out the best in me and I brought out the best in The Rock – and that's the end of that story. I loved being in the ring with him. It was fun watching him come into the company and develop into the Superstar that he turned into inside the squared circle, and then morphed into the biggest movie star in the world.

"With John Cena, one of my favorite Superstars of all time, another guy who's having an unprecedented run on top, to come from humble beginnings there in a small town in Massachusetts, to do everything that he's been able to accomplish in the business at such a high level, and to be such a workhorse. Those two guys were awesome guys to put on the cover of the 2K wrestling games."

Austin's cover star status has certainly went down well from a commercial standpoint, but from a wrestling perspective, his hints towards getting other superstars to try that bit harder to succeed are certainly hard to ignore. However it may seem, WWE certainly has a wide variety of talents coming through at the moment and many fans can only hope that next year's title could feature a Seth Rollins, a Bray Wyatt, or even a Dean Ambrose!!!

[WWE]