Austin3164life

Cena's "You Can't See Me" hand gesture is definitely his best taunt, imo. Althought I see the "Word Life" bullhorn signal as his signature taunt. When Smackdown came up here in June, he was still an uber-heel and people all over the arena were doing the "Word Life" salute. I still prefer the "You Can't See Me" wave.

To be honest, I have not seen much of Stan Hansen's work, but I have read about how he was a very intelligent wrestler, in terms of controlling the pace. I agree that Austin's injuries and lack of opponents (how many times can you wrestle The Rock and Undertaker?) might cause some to place him a bit lower. I think that because he basically worked his best year's injured, it shows how great he truly was, to put out ****+ matches when he wasn't even at his best physically. If I were to see at least 3-4 matches of Hansen, maybe it might change my opinion. But like BPS21 said a while ago, everyone else falls behind Austin somewhere in this list.

Jim Cornette > Brian Gewirtz

Well it would've made for an interesting segment, but I think instead of Cena doing an FU to Benoit (his finishing maneuver), he could've pushed Benoit out of the way and yelled at him. If that caused Benoit to lash out then Cena could defend himself with the FU, showing Cena doesn't care about anyone, and it shows that Benoit is all about honor.

Two things take away from Brock's "mystique": -Falling on his face at WM XIX -HORRIBLE booking

I think you guys fail to realize that Ray is probably as big an Austin mark as anyone is around here (like I am). All he's saying is that he thinks that there's someone better than Austin from the USA. Ray will disagree, but the reason I put Austin above guys like Race, Thesz, Hansen, and Flair is because not only could Austin work a ****+ match on any given day (with a good enough opponent), but he also drew boatloads of cash, and his persona in the ring (which many overlook to his backstage and interview antics) changed the way heels and faces are perceived.

1. Steve Austin 2. Ric Flair 3. The Rock 4. Bruno Sammartino 5. Lou Thesz 6. Hulk Hogan 7. Ricky Steamboat 8. Vader 9. Harley Race 10. Mick Foley

Dumb idea to put the strap on the Big Show. Now, Eddy will enter a feud with his nephew, which will produce a good match, but will not garner the heat Eddy used to enjoy a month ago.

The basic theory is correct here. They're trying to create an uneasy atmosphere for the face team by throwing the tweener/wildcard in there to see if he can co-exist with the rest of them. I don't agree that Cena should've FU'ed him on the spot, but maybe a hard shove or a stiff punch would've shown Cena as a tweener rather than being friendly with wrestler's he's had feuds with.

RRR is right. A nonsensical way to establish Cena as a wild-card member of the face team, while sacrificing Benoit's momentum. I knew that the WWE would screw up Cena's pseudo-face turn, but I hope they don't sacrifice Benoit's push in the process.

I don't frequently recall seeing people exclaiming about No Mercy 2001. It was a solid pay-per-view with the great Rock/Jericho match and the solid Three Way (I usually hate triple threats).

The Brock/Angle feud sucks big time. There aren't really any redeeming qualities about it, especially since the WWE throws it together and expects it to be an "instant classic" each time.

I joined "The Smarks" on ezboard around late Sept. 2001. I started with the name "AustinHHH4life" and had it until around March of this year. "The Smarks" was good fun, I just didn't really like EZboards that much.

Austin vs. Bulldog, either April-May 1997. Good one.

Flair Foley My favorite 80s wrestler TED DIBIASE~! Savage Roberts Austin Honorable Mention: Brian Pillman

Bret/Shawn wasn't even the match-of-the-year that year, but of course it won that award. Austin/Hart from Survivor Series smokes that match like a Salem Menthol. Watch the first five minutes of that match, and watch how both men put on one of the best US matches of the ninetees. Shawn/Bret is not even close to what the marks say it is. Only the last 10-12 minutes were pretty good.

A lot of heels also have an extraordinary ability to connect with the audience, thus they become big babyfaces almost by default, and not by planning. This day and age, lazy booking prevents true character development, and thus, less fan participation into the character.

Considering the talent pool in the "Attitude" peak (98-99), I'm glad that he did. Imagine seeing Austin vs. Billy Gunn or something like that.

Cena should solidify his Main Event status by a huge win at a huge event over a legend (vs. The Rock at 'Mania). Cena/Brock would be a great main event at Summerslam, assuming it isn't like their Backlash encounter.

The three main events should be as follows: Angle vs. Benoit (w/Bret as ref; Iron Man) Brock vs. Goldberg Cena vs. The Rock

Austin was slated to win the belt at IYH: Final Four almost a year earlier. But the plan for Austin to win at WM 14 was almost 4 months in advance. The person he was supposed to defeat? Bret Hart. I have been reading Ray and BionicRedneck's arguments as well as reading others' posts. There's a point where a man's opinion cannot be logically justified. I hate the Utah Jazz, but I would be a complete moron to say Karl Malone is not a great basketball player. Sometimes it makes me wonder that if Austin didn't have all of his personal/business problems last June, the tone would be different. I also hate Austin's current character direction, but I'm not going to direct that hate and blatantly reject the fact that he was a great wrestler. If any Austin-doubters need proof of how great he could be in the ring, watch his match with Bret at Survivor Series in 1996. And don't come back with a lazy answer like "Bret carried him".

The book looks interesting, and I've been a bit anxious to see Austin backstage (non-kayfabe wise) and see his interaction with others in the business. I think I might go to Barnes&Nobles to pick it up.

I definitely could hear Cena saying that. I like your idea of him acting the same but not attacking faces. The slow burn is better in the long-run.

Cena vs. Mysterio is probably not even 5 minutes long. Ditto for the Cruiser match.

I agree completely with this. Cena's face turn should be gradual. He shouldn't start saving the faces yet, but he shouldn't rub elbows with the heels still. A good example of that would be when Austin/Michaels won the tag titles. Austin thought about saving Michaels from the post-match beatdown, but just left and went after his opponent. Cena should play the impartial tweener that attacks whomever he pleases. Like RRR said, he should be the black sheep of the babyface team. He could do his part to defeat the heels, but not sacrifice himself for the good of the team, until he sees Benoit and Angle do it, then begins to turn face gradually.