Various: Steve Austin on Owens Being Squashed, Hidden Gems, Indies

Steve Austin Comments on Kevin Owens Being Squashed at SummerSlam

A recent episode of The Steve Austin Show podcast had Austin discuss his thoughts on the Kevin Owens versus Braun Strowman match from last weekend’s SummerSlam event.

“I hope Kevin Owens can claw his way back to where he was. Hopefully, they’re booking him to get back to where he was. I’m a big fan of both guys. I’m friends with both guys, but, man, with Braun, Braun is a big guy. And Kevin has been in the picture for a lot of titles, held a lot of titles, and I just thought, ‘man, he didn’t get s–t in, so, eh, I just wasn’t a fan. Yeah, I just didn’t think Kevin Owens needed to get steamrolled because he’s a top guy. And, obviously, Braun Strowman is still green, but he’s a top guy. They’re grooming him for bigger and better things, but KO didn’t need to get squashed in the process.”

This Week’s WWE Network Hidden Gems Addition

Big Time Wrestling’s Wrestling Star Wars event from 1981 is this week’s addition to the WWE Network’s Hidden Gems series. This near-complete event took place on February 22, 1981 with only the singles match between Bruiser Brody and Chan Chung missing. Big Time Wrestling was the precursor to World Class Championship Wrestling prior to WCCW’s television debut in 1982.

Official WWE Network synopsis:

“02/22/1981 – WCCW Wrestling Star Wars 1981
The Von Erich family is ready for action in this star-studded spectacular from the legendary Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.”

BTW Wrestling Star Wars 1981 card:
* Mil Mascaras versus Tim Brooks.
* Texas Death Match – The Great Kabuki (with manager Gary Hart) versus Fritz Von Erich.
* NWA World Heavyweight Championship match – Kerry Von Erich versus Harley Race (c).
* World-Class Wrestling Association Tag Team Championship match – David Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich versus Hercules Ayala & Ali Mustafa (c).
* Battle Royal.

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Melzter reported in this week’s Newsletter that New Japan Pro Wrestling is currently planning for their September 30th Fighting Spirit Unleashed event in Long Beach, California to air live on AXS TV in the United States.

World Wrestling Network (WWN) announced that the card of EVOLVE’s September 7th EVOLVE 112 event in Joppa, Maryland features a WWN Championship match of Austin Theory versus champion Joey Janela.

PROGRESS Wrestling announced that the card of their August 27th event in London, England features a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls No Disqualification match of Jimmy Havoc versus Will Ospreay.