Sports Illustrated recently previewed Wrestlemania 31 with a compilation of notes and quotes from several WWE Superstars and legends, including Sting, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Ric Flair and many more. You can read a few excerpts below:
Stone Cold Steve Austin:
“WrestleMania is the biggest stage you can be on as far as sports entertainment goes, though I still like to call it pro wrestling.
You want to knock it out of the park, grand slam style, for the fans. When I was in the ring with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV, Shawn was in a bad way. He was in a bad place in his head, and along with his bad back came a bad attitude. I remember telling Vince McMahon right after, ‘That match was half-ass,’ but Vince told me, ‘We got that done and it’s over with. Now we’re going to take off and put the jets to the rocket.’”
Sheamus (on working with Daniel Bryan, and the ‘YES Movement’):
“I was watching WrestleMania XXX, waiting in the back until I could give him a hug. Bryan’s been one of my favorite opponents ever. We built up our skills together, but we’ve also suffered disappointment together with the U.S. title match at WrestleMania XXVII being bumped to a dark match.
There’s no nicer guy in the company than Danny. He really is everything you see in the ring. No ego, no hidden agenda. He just loves what he does. Give him something, he’ll make it work, no matter what. When he won at WrestleMania, it was awesome. How could you not feel that emotion from the crowd? It was tremendous, and you couldn’t be happier for the guy. The good guy literally won, and I really mean that.”
Ric Flair (on wrestling again after his Farewell Match against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXIV):
“Here’s the deal. I’d done this for 38 years. I didn’t know how to get off the road. I was miserable not wrestling. I missed the business, and I miss the business now. When it’s in your blood, it’s in your blood. I was heartbroken and I missed it so much. I missed the guys and I missed the camaraderie. After the retirement ceremony, I was bored in two days. I wanted to be with the guys. You get there at noon, you have a good time, tell stories, drink coffee, and get ready to go to work in front of the fans. I’d been doing that for almost 40 years, and it’s hard to walk away.”
