Meltzer on Austin

[Guest Brian]

This is a guide to how to view WWE programming over the next few days in regards to Steve Austin:

 

If on tonight's Smackdown, Austin is mentioned incessantly apart from the Confidential piece on him that they have to promote, the two sides have come to terms and what happened Monday and are going to work an angle out of it. If they have a well-produced video package on the show, then it was an angle from the start. If he's not mentioned in commentary and only plugged in regard to trying to hype ratings on Saturday, it doesn't necessarily mean one thing or another/

 

If Austin appears on Confidential either by phone or in person, whatever it started as, it is 100% angle. If he says he's coming to Raw in Oakland to confront Vince, it probably, but not necessarily, started as a shoot and they are now turning it into an angle. Because they wouldn't go to that much trouble just for one week if this was all planned out, nor ruin all those storylines with a show the way they did. If he appears either by phone or video on the air on Confidential and says he's staying away until things get better on the air, it was an angle from the start. If he doesn't appear, it doesn't mean anything one way or another.

 

If Vince McMahon cuts a pro wrestling promo on Confidential, it's either an angle, or he's lost his mind. If Jim Ross goes on the air on buries Austin rather than citing it as a disagreement between adults and saying anything stronger than Austin shouldn't have handled it this way (which is a very fair appraisal of the situation), they are making a big mistake. Whether it happens or not, the company's short-term goal here is do as much damage control of Austin being gone at a very crucial time and keeping the strong Austin fans as much as possible from not giving up on the product. This isn't the time to be losing the existing fans, and Austin had more of them than perhaps anyone. Going on the air too strong, even if the company believes they are in the right, will alienate some fans. Portraying it as a disagreement, and saying they hope everything will work itself out and they thank Austin for all he's done for the company, will hopefully not hurt the company. More important, if Austin comes back, unless they bring him back as a heel, and we went through that one already last year and there is no positive way you could have read that period other than he was entertaining as business plummeted, there is no purpose in burying him and then doing an about face later when he comes back. This isn't Jim Hellwig, because Austin is in a totally different league as a star. This isn't Bret Hart, who was going to work for opposition. And this isn't the time, no matter how righteous one wants to be, to be vindictive when the company's image to its most hardcore fans is on edge.

 

If it wasn't an angle from the start, and history shows more often than not in these situations the guy does come back, and Austin has a history as well, it may very well turn into an angle down the road. For many reasons, I don't believe this started as an angle, but have followed New Japan and WCW enough to know that once working angles gets into your blood, some really kooky ideas get into your head and the "con" becomes king instead of the dollar. On paper, with running two sets of house shows, Rock being gone, and Hogan rarely working house shows, this is the last time one would do this kind of an angle, but on the other hand, when you're desperate, you start pressing for ideas and as we've seen, things get weirder because they try too hard for an immediate solution. It is natural in some people's blood to try these things, the paranoia that exists among wrestlers naturally based on what the business is, will only get worse. Wrestlers are always wary of management, but this will put them in enemy camps to a degree and nobody will believe anything they are told from this point forward. Some people find it romantic about working the boys on angles, but I saw almost daily what it did to people that worked in WCW. There is no upside to it, unless the scenario makes huge money. None of the worked shoots in WCW ever made a dime for the company. If this does make money, that will lessen any resentment by wrestlers to being worked, but it'll still increase the paranoia about thinking everything they are told from that point forward by management could be a work. Although several people are naturally brought up in this business to think like that anyway.

[Guest Vyce]

Interesting.  I guess it will be a total "wait and see" until Saturday night, and perhaps even beyond that.

 

I still don't think it started as an angle.  I don't believe it's a complete work.  And I agree with Metlzer on one specific point - if there's ANY hope for a reconciliation, they had better walk on fucking eggshells.  Because Austin has a LOT more fans than Hart did, so it would be utterly stupid to bury the man if there's any chance at all to bring him back into the fold.  In a climate where they're already losing viewers & fans, they don't need to alienate the legions of Stone Cold supporters as well.

 

It is natural in some people's blood to try these things, the paranoia that exists among wrestlers naturally based on what the business is, will only get worse. Wrestlers are always wary of management, but this will put them in enemy camps to a degree and nobody will believe anything they are told from this point forward. Some people find it romantic about working the boys on angles, but I saw almost daily what it did to people that worked in WCW. There is no upside to it, unless the scenario makes huge money

 

The evil, sadistic side of me would LIKE this to happen - to have the locker room begin to come unglued.  To have the talent because distrustful and unhappy with management, a la WCW towards the end.

 

It would be pure havoc, but it would be entirely the fault of the WWF.

[Guest Mole]

We'll all find out on Saturday what the truth is.

[Guest RetroRob215]

I can't wait!!  I guess the rating will beat last weeks .8, hell it might break the Confidential record of 1.5.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

Where the hell is Meltzer getting his formulas from?

[Guest buffybeast]

I agree somewhat with Meltzer.  I think this whole thing started as a legit disagreement between Austin and management.  I think now the WWF is trying to make it into an angle.

 

But Confidential should tell us really what is going on.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

i wouldnt have such high hopes for smackdown.  we'll only find out whats really going on if its a work.  if its shoot jr and vince will just spin some shit so as to not piss austin off further.  they dont wanna risk losing him to nwa-tna.

[Guest converge241]

This was one of Meltzer's best articles in a long time (hes always good, but this was above and beyond). Its very accurate too. Does everybody realize if this gets turned into a storyline, it will be the thrid time for Austin's character?

[Guest]

What are Austin's alternatives?  NWA for a shitload less money?

[Guest RetroRob215]

NWA as a way to fuck with Vince and the WWE.

[Guest buffybeast]

I suspect if the WWF and Austin come to an agreement for a release, that WWF will stipulate that Austin cannot work for any competing wrestling promotion for the duration of his current contract.  

 

So I highly doubt that Austin would ever work for NWA-TNA.

[Guest]

i don't think it was ever an angle. on saturday , vince will either

 

A: be nice, say it was a disagreement, talk about his legacy, ect. to try not to piss austin off so he might come back.

 

B: once again assume that he's Vince McMahon, DAMMIT, and he doesn't need to kiss some workers ass. then he'll tell austin to eat his crank. He may not use those exact words.

 

obviously, we would all perfer A. At the same time, we all recognize the extremly high probability of B.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

Since they cut out the what chants on Smackdown, I'm doubting that Austin is coming back.

[Guest Austin3164life]

Man, I still can't believe it.  To me, I think Austin is really walking away from the company, and Vince is trying hard to get him back by trying to change this whole dilemma into a work.  It's probably not happening with Austin.  Maybe Austin and Foley (good friends) can hook up and form the Disgruntled Wrestling Organization......or maybe not......

[Guest converge241]

Since they cut out the what chants on Smackdown, I'm doubting that Austin is coming back.

 

good observation. Imagine how much they will hate that even more now! (they being performers/management who were sick of it interupting everything).

[Guest RetroRob215]

They should have been cutting the WHAT chants for months now.  WHAT has ruined many promos that had nothing to do with Austin.