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Post by abyss on Jan 10, 2009 1:54:55 GMT -5
Not sure if this would really go in the Classic Wrestling forum, but whatever. As we know, one thing that likely lead to Austin leaving the WWE in 2002 was the fact that he played such a small role at Wrestlemania 18. Obviously, Rock/Hogan was the match that sold the show. I could understand Austin being a little jealous of it, but I think he would have been fine if he still had a big match. But HHH/Jericho and Taker/Flair were bigger matches than Austin/Hall; even a case for Angle/Kane could be made. What I was thinking about is why the WWE didn't give Austin a bigger match for Mania.
He could have faced Nash, even. While Hall is better in the ring, Nash was always a bigger star than Hall was. Another option would be Kurt Angle. There would be no reason off the bat for the match, but the idea of Austin/Angle sounds a lot bigger & better than Austin/Hall. One other thought I had was doing Austin vs. Triple H. Don't get me wrong, Jericho was pretty good during this time. However, Austin/HHH would have been a much more worthy follow up (although it'd still be hard) after Rock/Hogan. And the match would kind of make sense because of their alliance the previous year.
I just feel like overall Austin did have a case for WM18, and he was a complete afterthought when he should not have been. Thoughts?
Edit: I didn't think this alone was a reason to walk out or anything, but I think Austin did have a point that he wasn't used properly at all.
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Billy the Kid
Main Eventer
Joined on: Oct 5, 2004 19:43:31 GMT -5
Posts: 1,302
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Post by Billy the Kid on Jan 10, 2009 2:03:46 GMT -5
Steve Austin could be the biggest star in the history of the WWE but I honestly don't think he had a case.
Yeah sure, The Rock vs Hulk Hogan overshadowed his match with Scott Hall but that is no reason to walk out on the company. I am a HUGE Steve Austin fan and I always will be but there have been countless times that a huge star should've been the focus of the show and wasn't. Take a look at WrestleMania XI. That was the only WrestleMania that Kevin Nash headlinded as Diesel. His run with the title was awesome and I thought he was one of the biggest stars at that time but his match with Shawn Michaels was overshadowed by Lawrence Taylor and Bam Bam Bigelow.
Was LT bigger than Diesel? In wrestling, no. In the public eye, yes. WWE caters to the casual audience, not their loyal fanbase. If they catered to their loyal fanbase, Jeff Hardy would've been the champion years ago.
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madness1
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jan 31, 2007 10:26:16 GMT -5
Posts: 2,023
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Post by madness1 on Jan 10, 2009 11:01:00 GMT -5
Austin was suppose to wrestle Hogan but he was giving Vince too many headaches so they went with the Rock. Great match and all but Austin vs Hogan would have been the most signifigant match in history. It would have given Austin a huge rub. My guess is Hogan would not have been cheered as much. Hogan wouldn't have gotten the title at backlash instead it would have been Austin. Setting up Austin for a short run. The fallout would have been spectacular. Probaly set up Austin Hogan 2 for SS where I would hope Austin would have returned the favor and put Hogan over. The what if's are all mark out moments
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Chester McFisticuffs
Superstar
Check out the site, I've spent too much time taking those pictures.
Joined on: Sept 27, 2006 18:34:44 GMT -5
Posts: 648
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Post by Chester McFisticuffs on Jan 10, 2009 11:51:48 GMT -5
I agree with the madness... which is always fun to say. I would have preferred Austin/Hogan as Rock/Hogan could've happened many times afterward and did at NWO '03. But... whatever. I think he had a case. Especially with the later match with Brock for KOTR.. but that's a different story.
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Post by instant classic on Jan 10, 2009 13:00:18 GMT -5
I thought he left cause he whipped Debra's ass?
Edit: I just read about what happened with him and the storylines and I think it had more to do with his injuries than his smaller role.
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Post by K5 on Jan 10, 2009 13:16:14 GMT -5
i forgot how much of a cluster  wrestlemania 18 was. madness summed it up well. |
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Post by HugoOne on Jan 10, 2009 20:37:55 GMT -5
Austin was suppose to wrestle Hogan but he was giving Vince too many headaches so they went with the Rock. Great match and all but Austin vs Hogan would have been the most signifigant match in history. It would have given Austin a huge rub. My guess is Hogan would not have been cheered as much. Hogan wouldn't have gotten the title at backlash instead it would have been Austin. Setting up Austin for a short run. The fallout would have been spectacular. Probaly set up Austin Hogan 2 for SS where I would hope Austin would have returned the favor and put Hogan over. The what if's are all mark out moments Hindsight is 20/20 though. There's still a good chance Austin would have just walked out. It wasn't just Wrestlemania, it was a culmination of things, and him being burnt out. If they gave him the rub against Hogan, and then he just walked out, it would havebeen horrible. Angle vs. Austin would have been a good idea, but they had done it so much the year before that it probably felt like overkill at the time. Really, once Austin hit 2002, his match quality went down big time, not to mention Hall was in condition to compete either. I remember Hall botching a low blow on Bradshaw at Backlash, that was terrible. The match just stunk. Nash would have been an improvement, but not by much. |
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Post by spawnsyxx9 on Jan 11, 2009 6:17:04 GMT -5
No not really. I don't agree that he had a case because this is wrestling. Learn to get slighted and move on.
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