By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

Steve Austin says he keeps up on pro wrestling, TiVo'ing WWE programs all the time so he can watch them if he has time later. He says he understands WWE is taking a PG approach for strategic reasons in stark contrast to the Attitude Era he's synonymous with, but doesn't believe it's necessarily a winning formula.

"They've toned it down. You always go for that coveted male demographic," he tells the UK Sun. "But really, they're trying to I think entertain such a large demographic so there's something for everybody, you know, sometimes I think they miss the mark in that respect. As much as the kids and the girls love John Cena, some of the smart fans boo him because they want to boo him. I think he tows the line very well as far as that goes... I just think, you know me, here we go on the creative deal, but as long as you have serious storylines, you can do humor, but don't make slapstick comedy. I always think it revolves around the championship belts and a personal issue, but not the stupid personal issues."

Keller's Analysis: The first thing I thought of when I heard him talk about slap-stick was the DX cafeteria skit with Triple H and Shawn Michaels. It was one of my least favorite segments I've ever seen on WWE TV, right there with Katie Vick actually, and it made me once again really question Triple H's whole instinct for what works on a pro wrestling show (not all big stars who have what it takes to be main eventers have brilliant wrestling minds, obviously - in fact, there's very little historical correlation). I agree with Austin that the "offer something for everyone" approach is a losing approach. I know there are people in WWE headquarters who look at those demographic breakdowns and tell Vince McMahon that he needs to bring some more women to the TV sets, so then they work that into the shows, without regard for whether it messes with the tone of the show and key target male demographic. One of the best chapters I've ever read in a wrestler biography was in Steve Austin's autobiography when he wrote about his creative philosophy on what works in pro wrestling.

[Steve Austin art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch]

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