12:53 PM EST

Heavy Promotion Includes The Rock, But He Won't Be There ... Plus, Stone Cold Steve Austin Interview

www.wrestlingnewsdesk.com reporter Anna Elizabeth Anderson wrote an article this morning for THE NATIONAL LEDGER regarding the promotion for WWE Monday Night Raw's 15th Anniversary Special on USA Network next week.
 
Here is the link to the story: http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272617528.shtml .
 
The article, entitled WWE Promotes The Rock But Is He Coming Back; Stone Cold Steve Austin Speaks Out states the following:
 
 
World Wrestling Entertainment took the unusual move (for them) of placing banner ads on a multitude of websites to promote the 15th Anniversary of Monday Night Raw, a 3-hour special that will air on Monday, December 10th on USA Network.  "WWE doesn't like to promote on other wrestling websites," said Wrestling News Desk.com editor Matthew Cooper, "but USA wants this special promoted in every available way."
There are two banner ads presently running online right now. One features John Cena, and the other features The Rock. However, reps for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson claim the Hollywood Box Office Heavyweight Champ is not going to be appearing on the special. WWE has confirmed that Stone Cold Steve Austin will be appearing.

In a funny example of the oft-criticized decision by employees of WWE to keep everything "McMahon-ized," the WWE website ran a poll for the Most Shocking Moment on Raw, and 5 out of the 7 clips are Vince McMahon-centered.
 
"It just speaks to the way WWE operates,"Wrestling News Desk's Cooper stated, "so much about the company is built on the premise of appeasing Vince's monstrous ego."  Cooper did point out that McMahon's contributions as a performer, however, can't be denied.

In an interview posted with Stone Cold Steve Austin, the "Texas Rattlesnake" was asked his favorite moment.  Austin stated, “I had so many classic moments with Vince McMahon and all the vehicles I got to drive. I think really one of my favorites was whacking Vince in the head with the bedpan when he was in the hospital.  I really enjoyed my moments in the ring working angles with Bret “The Hitman” Hart.

Anytime I was in the ring with him was a lot of fun also, and he really kind of helped put me on the map in my career. Man, you’re talking about 15 years. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite. I remember when the show first started. It was just a different kind of wrestling show, a different kind of energy, and really just kind of reinvented the sports entertainment business.”

Austin also commented on what separates Raw from all the other shows that have come and gone in its time by analyzing "It’s sink or swim time out there. … Just the energy and the feel of the show. It’s hard to describe. … Raw’s a pretty fast-moving two hours. They’re pretty aggressive with the story lines and it’s really action-packed. Some of the story lines have changed a little bit. I like the championship-oriented stuff, more wrestling stuff. The business has changed, just like every other sport has, so it just continues to evolve."
 
Austin gave a surprising answer when asked the one match he wishes he would have gotten to wrestle on Monday Night Raw. "Bill Goldberg," Stone Cold answered without even thinking about, "It probably would have been a pay-per-view match. … I thought he should have come to WWE way before he did, but he was getting guaranteed money and I can’t fault him on that decision. But it probably would have been fun to work in a program with him.”

Wrestling News Desk's Cooper thinks WWE should play up Austin's appearance even more than they have. "Putting Rock on the banner ads doesn't serve the long term goals of the company," Cooper says, "because he's not doing films with WWE. Austin is still a WWE character, doing movies with WWE Films. It's surprising he's not the focal point of their marketing plan."