Here’s What Stone Cold Has to Say About Roman as #30

The big talk coming out of the Royal Rumble was the appearance of Roman Reigns as entrant #30, a spot many hoped would be saved for a major return or debut. Even Stone Cold Steve Austin had a few words to say about it.

On a recent episode of the Steve Austin Show (transcribed by WrestlingInc), Stone Cold talked about the finish–and he loved it.

“A lot of people s–t on Roman Reigns in the 30 spot. I popped because I’m thinking, ‘dude, here’s the setup, guys. Something’s up.’ And then, [Chris] Jericho gets out, so there’s the three [remaining entrants, Reigns, Randy Orton, and Bray Wyatt], so you got two heels and a baby. You know it’s going to be a double-team. You know Roman Reigns is somehow going to defeat two heels again and he’s going to win the f–king Rumble. Setup. I smelled a rat from the beginning and I just couldn’t believe what I was going to end up seeing. He goes to charge Randy Orton, spear, and, of course, Randy Orton connects with an RKO. Boom. Over the top rope. Randy wins. I thought Roman Reigns in the 30 spot was a fantastic idea and great booking.”

Austin is a fan of Reigns, but he’s not blind to some of the superstar’s shortcomings.

“In The Shield, those guys were all protected because whether it was Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, or Roman Reigns, in their totality, all they had to do was 33.3% of the work and the other guys could fill in. So now, they’re all having to do everything. And I really think Roman has progressed. And he still needs to improve, but I see a really good run [for] that kid [as] a heel first – I keep saying this and it’s just me – and once he has that heel run, I think he has the potential to have a monster baby run. But I still believe in him.”

“I’m a fan. Sometimes, early on, I picked on him because I had to pick on him because I had to call out the obvious! I can’t sit here and lie!”

If you’re hoping for Steve Austin to stomp a mudhole into these modern kids, well, I think you might be out of luck.

Are you with Stone Cold here? Do you think Roman at #30 was the right call? Let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook!