I swiped this off of 1wrestling.com - it was posted by Manny A, so credit him for this. I've edited it slightly for spelling, punctuation and aesthetics and deleted some stuff that wasn't relevant. The entire report can be found at 1wrestling. You can watch Byte This! at the WWF website.
HOSTS: Dr. Tom Pritchard and Jonathan Coachman
GUEST: Steve Austin
[Note: Manny placed "kayfabe" comments in bold; I've simply put an asterisk (*) beside them; questions/quotes relating to Debra are in peacock-y blue]
- Steve Austin joined the show.
Question: Going Back to WrestleMania
Steve is happy about winning the Royal Rumble and returning to WrestleMania. He told everyone that he was going to raise hell at the Rumble and he did it. It is great for him to be able to perform at the Houston Astrodome in a WrestleMania WWF title match.
Question: His health
He is about 90% right now. There are still a few more kinks that he needs to work out but he feels that he is just about there. Being out for a year is pretty much "career suicide" so he is happy to be back and trying to claim what is his.
Question: Who would he like to face at WrestleMania?
He named Triple H, Rock, Undertaker and Kane as guys that he would love to work a match against at WrestleMania.
Question: Shawn Michaels possibly returning
If anyone can make the adjustment to come back after such a long back injury, it is Shawn Michaels. However, he will have to make some readjustments. He does feel that if Shawn wants it, he can do it. He believes that Shawn can make an impact if he returns because he is such an incredible performer. Steve would love to wrestle with him again.
Question: Big Show
Steve feels that he had a good show at the Royal Rumble. However, he was a bit nervous being in front of that many people again. Big Show should go in there and find a mean streak to reach the top.
Question: Chris Benoit
Benoit has always been one of Steve's favorites. They briefly toured together in Japan. He would definitely put him in the top 3 in terms of in ring performers in the WWF. There are still some things that he needs to work on. He is still trying to adjust to the WWF after coming from WCW.
Question: William Regal
Regal was his travel partner back in the day. He has always been a fan of Regal and feels that he will be a major player in the game.
Question: Who did he get the name Stone Cold?
He was not getting it done with the gimmick of the Ringmaster. He saw a television special about serial killers and that was the motivation for the Stone Cold character.
Question: XFL
Steve is looking forward to it. It will give a lot of guys some breaks but it will also raise some eyebrows. Many people have worked a lot of hours trying to get this together.
Question: Saturday Night Live
There are a few tentative dates scheduled but he has to talk to Kevin Dunn about that. If the opportunity is there and he has time, he would love to do it. It is one of his favorite shows to watch when at home.
Question: If he could wrestle anyone (past or present) who would he choose?
He picked Jake "the Snake" Roberts as someone who would be on his top 3 list.
Question: Debra taking a year off to help him
He appreciated it a great deal. She is waiting to get back into the mix in terms of storylines.
Question: Any movie roles?
If something comes along, then he will consider it but right now, his goal is to be with the WWF. If those things come later, then that is good.
Question: Goals
It will take about 2 to 3 years for him to get where he wants to be. After that time, he will re-evaluate what he wants to do. However, he feels that he will always have ties somehow with the WWF. He would love to help out in things such as merchandise and booking.
Question: WCW being sold
He is happy that they were sold because they were going downhill fast. He tries to watch a show every now and then. He wants them to succeed so there is some competition, which drives the entire wrestling product.
Question: Why would someone choose WCW over WWF to work?
Anyone who has worked in both companies will tell you that being in the WWF is a great place to find opportunity. WCW is a good place for young guys to pay their dues before they come to the "major leagues." The grass is definitely greener in the WWF.
Question: Teaming with the Rock
He feels that it would be a great tag team. However, their agendas are different right now as they are both going for the WWF title.
Question: Tough Enough
Whenever they are on the road, many people come up and ask how they can get into the WWF. This is a good place for them to learn how to train. It takes a very unique person to be able to make it to the WWF. There is always the potential that someone special will come out of it.
Question: Who is he closest to in the WWF besides Debra?
Ever since he came back, he really hasn't gotten back into hanging with anyone. From time to time, he checks out the other guys' work. There are little cliques backstage but he hangs on his own right now.
Question: If he wins the WWF title, will the Smoking Skull belt return?
Steve is into merchandising as much as anyone else but he is just happy to be involved in the WWF title match and isn't thinking too much about what comes after that.
- Steve talked about when Coach stepped in for Lillian Garcia to sing the national anthem one time, when her throat was hurting her. He was really impressed with it. He also put over Michael Hayes as well as being a great singer, who could bring a "tear to a glass eye."
- They are trying to get the Big Show on Byte this next week.