Planning out the inevitable

[Guest RedJed]

After reading a radio show report with Jim Ross recently stating that in most likelihood Austin will return (he has spoken to him quite a bit lately, apparently), it got me to thinking how to make this return special. On the thought of an ideal scenario for an Austin return......

 

I think he should actually be brought in as a heel, in some role based off of everything that has happened with his departure. Since it was all so publicly acknowledged about the entire situation, they might as well play off it.

 

The payoff is this........Austin needs a big match for Mania, or else it's pointless to bring him back as well as his opponent, Hogan. Sure, the match would not be a ***** classic, but Austin was turning into quite the crap worker anyway, so why not do it? Its a big $$$ match.

 

I would have Austin's return penciled in somewhere around January, possibly at the Rumble. One of the matches in the Rumble is Hogan v. Vince McMahon. Anyway this match is set from Bischoff ending up bringing back Hogan to Raw sometime next month, if and only if Hogan gets a match with Vince as the reason he came back, and also to Raw. This creates small heat in the storyline in the beginning with Vince and Eric as well, since McMahon was happy to just sit back and watch his company from the sidelines but Hogan called him out and since he's a "McMahon" he had no choice but to return. Ya know, Vince stroking his on-screen ego, as per usual.

 

Initially when Hogan comes back, he is friendly with Eric again, but that only lasts a short while, as Bischoff starts ordering him around, and questions Hogan's reasoning to coming back, just to get ahold of Vince. Eric suggests he's making a wrong decision. Anyway Hogan basically tells Bischoff off and that leads to Vince and Eric putting aside that initial heat and working together as cohorts against Hogan, Bischoff plays the innocent role most of the time but everyone knows he is pulling the strings to make Vince get the upper hand in angles and segments between McMahon-Hogan on Raw leading to the ppv. In another twist, Bischoff and Vince, in a typical scared heel tactic, hire a bodyguard type to make sure Hogan doesn't get anywhere close to the two leading up to the match, as Hogan's character basically is going crazy leading up to the Rumble, somewhat booked like he was back in the WCW New Blood angle days. The bodyguard is pretty decent size, black with a beard and a full head of hair, never says anything.

 

So we get to the Rumble and Vince-Hogan. Hogan pretty much is dominating Vince as expected. Hogan wins. Out comes Bischoff and the bodyguard and Hogan gets laid out. Eric then grabs a mic and says there are some thing to explain here. First off, he tells the bodyguard to get Vince up standing, he's got some news that he should hear that will get his mind off the loss. The guy starts to pick up Vince and throws him back down hard, drawing confusion with everyone. Bischoff then pulls out a contract from his coat, saying this is the contract Vince signed before this match, as it was a "WWE RAW wrestler contract." He says Vince was a fool to trust a contract that Eric and his attorneys wrote up, and thought Vince was smarter than this. Vince looks confused. Eric then announces that Vince not only signed himself up as a wrestler with this contract, but also in the fine print signed away his privelages as acting WWE chairperson and CEO (or whatever the fuck his title is) to Eric Bischoff. So Bischoff is now moreless the owner of WWE. He then announces that effective immediately, both Hogan and Vince are fired as Raw wrestlers. He tells them not to worry, as he had a more than suitable replacement for the two on Raw, and then the bodyguard is shown ripping off his beard and pull off his hair, revealing it was a wig. He then begins ripping off his skin ala Bischoff at the B7C wedding, revealing the man under the skin to be Austin. Vince looks like he just shit his pants as Austin walks up to Vince and grabs him, and then kicks him straight in the balls. As Eric is shown behind laughing at the situation, Hogan is up and throws Bischoff out of the ring. Hogan then actually tries to save Vince from Austin beating him up further, but Austin dominates Hogan and stuns him. Fans are stunned, so to speak.

 

This leads to Austin returning full force the next night with the glass shatters music, etc. Does an interview pretty much saying the WWE and the fans blackballed him and that made him walk out on the company. He didn't have the desire to even come back until Vince was out of the WWE for good. And now that he is, he's ready to show how worthless the entire company is by him and Bischoff basically taking out everyone in the company out one by one and sooner or later killing off the company. Bischoff promises that on Smackdown later in the week, he'll detail step 1 of their "plan of action."

 

Smackdown showcases Stephanie being publicly fired in the middle of the ring and then attacked viciously by Austin himself. She gets strechered off. Bischoff says the GM spot for Smackdown is vacated for the time being, and will figure out what to do with the "other brand" on the next Monday.

 

This leads to Bischoff and Austin basically announcing that Smackdown will turn into a weekly 2 hour highlight package of the "Best of Eric and Austin" every week. Before it gets too out of hand, out comes a returning Shane McMahon, who explains to Bischoff and Austin that legally they cannot change the format of Smackdown as long as other McMahons hold a share of the company still, such as Linda, as well as all of the others who have stock in WWE. Basically, Bischoff doesn't have as much power as he once thought as it wasn't made in writing what exact powers of the company Vince really ran, so Bischoff still just controls Raw, and thats about it. Furthermore, Stephanie had a clause in HER contract, that even upon termination of the contract she had, she was allowed to come up with a suitable replacement for her GM spot. And low and behold, she has decided to pick Vince McMahon as the new Smackdown GM. Out comes Vince and then after some back and forth exchanges, he says step 1 of HIS plan of action happens this week on Smackdown.

 

Vince then announces on Smackdown his newest signing as GM. He brings back Hogan. The reason he could bring him back was that Bischoff fired him ONLY from Raw. Plus with it being announced Bischoff isn't as powerful as once thought, he could do nothing about Hogan coming back.

 

This leads to Hogan-Austin and Vince-Bischoff for control of the others brand at Mania.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Great storyline idea! But a few things that WWE would find wrong with it, and hence, probably not use it.

 

1) Bischoff would be made to look stronger than the McMahon's most of the time. Which, being the ego-maniacs they are, the McMahon's just can't have.

 

2) They'd have to get agreements from both Austin and Hogan to do it. Which would take a while.

 

3) Shane would have to feel comfortable enough with the company to come back on camera for the storyline.

 

4) HHH is in no way, shape or form involved (You KNOW he would be upset about that)

[Guest RedJed]

Yeah I know about the HHH thing, you know somehow he would have to join that Bischoff-Austin faction or something.

 

Shane could easily be replaced with.....umm......Linda. *gags*

[Guest cynicalprofit]

They should have austin com back as a heel, side with Unlce Eric, let him raise some hell for a while, then turn on Eric. He might be able to drag out a *** with HHH to boot.

[Guest phoenixrising]

Great idea. I like how it builds up over time and how ever move is logically built up to.

 

Sadly, the WWE writers will get involved, and the match will be HHH vs. Vince at Mania for ownership of the company.

 

Austin coming back as a heel would be a good reason for a HHH face turn.

 

Or you could do Austin-Hogan with Vince and Bischoff at ringside.

[Guest MixxMaster]

For all that is holy, PLEASE...no Austin. He was more of a nuisance than HHH, he played the backstage politics more than anyone else, he was a spoiled brat, who's gimick had run its course, and wasn't getting over anywhere NEAR the way he used to.

He refused to sell others offense, and put anyone else over credibly, his promos had become a shadow of the former greatness, reduced to "What"s, and the usual "hell yeah".

He expected to remain at the top, and hold the belt, when his actions didn't deserve it.

And then of course, comes his ego/attitude problems, resulting in him walking out more than once, and then abusing his wife.

I for one, would rather hear about his bald ass being some Bubbas' BITCH, then him being back in the WWE.

Austin is essentially Hogan v2.0...

[Guest Nevermortal]

Eh, I doubt that the fans will accept him as a heel because you know that when he comes back, he's going to get the ginormous pop of the century.

[Guest DJ Jeff]

I like that storyline, but I can't see Austin being a heel if he returns. Then again, if booked right, he could be a huge heel upon his return, and that scenario could possibly happen. Plus, I've always wanted to see Austin vs. Hogan.

[TheFranchise 0]

The WWE are stupid, but they aren't that stupid, Austin is going to be a face, and he is going to be forced down our throats until the ratings go up, then he'll disapear for 6 months, just like the rock..

[Guest netslob]

For all that is holy, PLEASE...no Austin. He was more of a nuisance than HHH, he played the backstage politics more than anyone else, he was a spoiled brat, who's gimick had run its course, and wasn't getting over anywhere NEAR the way he used to.

He refused to sell others offense, and put anyone else over credibly, his promos had become a shadow of the former greatness, reduced to "What"s, and the usual "hell yeah".

He expected to remain at the top, and hold the belt, when his actions didn't deserve it.

And then of course, comes his ego/attitude problems, resulting in him walking out more than once, and then abusing his wife.

I for one, would rather hear about his bald ass being some Bubbas' BITCH, then him being back in the WWE.

Austin is essentially Hogan v2.0...

finally someone with SENSE...i don't care if i ever see that wife-beatin' redneck piece of shit ever again...yeah, that's just what WWE needs...yet ANOTHER whiney little prima donna who pouts and bitches when he doesn't get his way. he took his ball, and went home...now he can shove that ball up his worthless ass. howabout for your next "match", Steve, you pick on someone with a penis, you degenerate fuck.

[Guest RenegadeX28]

This sounds like a great storyline idea, but the fact that HHH isn't in it.....is good. BUT, I know he will find a way to get himself in, if it was used.

[TheFranchise 0]

Of course he will, he will do a run in on Austin or to save Austin, depending on the situation, if it's at main event level, then he's bound to be in on it.

[Guest The Metal Maniac]

Personally, I say that if Austin does come back, they may as well go for Austin/Brock at WM.

 

I mean, Brock is a main-event player now, and Austin could be OK with doing the job so long as the right build-up is there (Not just "You job tonight for no reason").

 

Hype it as the match of the century, and Brock takes the big win to totally solidify him as a legend in the making.

[Guest saturnmark4life]

Although The Stevester played his heel character tremendously, he didn't really do much for the numbers and couldn't be bothered anymore by january. He'd be an instant face if he came back, no question, but i think he's done it all in the wwe and should quit. This would be another short sighted quick fix. (see nwo, the and steiner, scott)

[Guest Loss4Words]

Austin can tell he's being buried and sees the writing on the wall when he's being used as a guy Brock can squash as a steppingstone to larger angles. He tried talking to them about his concerns -- several times as a matter of fact -- and nothing ever changed. He was still the top draw in the company and still the guy that people paid tickets to see. And he was slowly being phased out in favor of HHH and he was expected to just accept this and not say a word? Come on. The WWE was costing him money, and themselves for that matter.

 

If you were Austin, what would YOU have done?

[Guest Loss4Words]

Oh, I guess he's a bad person because he refused to work with Jeff Jarrett because Jeff Jarrett had no heat at all and they were trying to insert him in a main event program.

 

I guess he's a bad person because he refused to work with Billy Gunn, and we all know the world was just waiting on him to be a consistent main eventer.

 

Austin put over Jericho and Angle without a problem, so it was never a question of elevating new stars, it was a question of some of the choices they were making to fill those roles.

[Guest bob_barron]

When did he put over Jericho?

 

He jobbed to Angle only to get the win back two weeks later and he didn't even job clean to Angle. He had to have that 'hand under the rope' thing.

 

Austin is a bad person for refusing to work with Jarrett- maybe the company wanted to try and get Jarrett over- that's not his decision to make, that's the companys.

 

The Austin v. Brock match was going to have Eddy Guerrero as the special guest ref so it wouldn't have been clean or anything like that.

 

Walking out in the middle of a feud with someone is disgusting and I don't want him back.

[Guest Loss4Words]

"When did he put over Jericho?"

 

Quite often actually. He jobbed the tag titles to him, he jobbed the WWF title to him and he lost to him at No Way Out. The last two times were under nefarious circumstances, but the bottom line is that the win, no matter how tainted, put Jericho in a bigger spotlight, if only temporarily.

 

"He jobbed to Angle only to get the win back two weeks later and he didn't even job clean to Angle. He had to have that 'hand under the rope' thing."

 

That was to set up a rematch. And yes, I wish Austin would have put over Angle more than he did, but Angle got more out of working with Austin in terms of getting over and finally being taken seriously than he has with anyone else. Austin does win most of the time, but usually his opponent doesn't come out of the match looking useless.

 

"Austin is a bad person for refusing to work with Jarrett- maybe the company wanted to try and get Jarrett over- that's not his decision to make, that's the companys."

 

You're ignoring that WCW tried to push Jeff Jarrett for over a year to the top of the card and the reaction was so negative that they released him no questions asked. Also, Jarrett had been pushed -- quite hard -- for several months in the WWF and NOTHING was working. He was given tag titles with Owen Hart, the IC title, the European title, Debra as a valet, a new look and a woman-beating gimmick and nothing stuck. He got a pop when he'd do something like hit the Fabulous Moolah over the head with a guitar but he never was able to sustain any heat. He's also the worst-drawing WCW World champion of all time.

 

"The Austin v. Brock match was going to have Eddy Guerrero as the special guest ref so it wouldn't have been clean or anything like that."

 

Maybe not, but if you're building Brock into a main eventer, why job Austin to him in a meaningless match when you can actually build to a PPV match between the two? Austin v Brock had the potential to mean more than a quick squash. And let's say they went ahead with the booking plan. Would that have HELPED Lesnar? No. Would that have HURT Austin? Yes.

 

And he was understandably worried that management was going to have Lesnar shoot on him to teach him a lesson. There were so many variables, and Austin was such a workhorse and so reliable for so long that you can't say he was the type to take his ball and go home. The guy was headlining when he was going through a bitter divorce and when he had severe neck problems. He led the WWE to their greatest boom period EVER. And his segments on RAW were consistently the highest-rated every week. He was still selling merchandise. He was still over. He was fading, but he was still the best choice to be on top.

 

"Walking out in the middle of a feud with someone is disgusting and I don't want him back."

 

There's a lot more to it than that.

[Guest treble charged]

I'd argue that Jarrett never really got a fair shake as WCW champion. He had it for about a week, lost it to DDP, who then lost it to David Arquette. He won it back, lost it a few weeks later, got it back again, somehow, and then, he finally got more than a few weeks as champ, before the whole Hogan debacle, and the belt was given to Booker T.

 

I'd say Russo's booking was just as much to blame for Jarrett drawing poorly as the wrestler himself was.

[Guest The Hamburglar]

But the thing about Austin-Lesnar...It was never going to be anything like a clean finish. It would have been the usual "Austin is over-powered by millions to lose" scenario involving Eddie, Benoit and Flair all doing run-ins. I don't see how this constitutes throwing away a Brock-Austin match-up at all seeing as it was barely going to be a match anyway. I've had the Jericho argument before, but I'd forgetten that Austin cunningly wrecked everything he'd done with Angle in the summer by going over him clean twice once he had turned back to his face role. The great danger is Austin coming back and doing another face vs owner angle. I swear, if they do Austin Bischoff I will not only scream but fell utterly validated in all my criticisms of Austin. You know that's the most likely angle.

[Guest bob_barron]

I didn't like that in the span of a week Austin faced Jericho three times and squashed him like a bug twice. Rock did much more for Jericho I think.

 

I think we're both in agreement that HHH killed all his momentum he was building.

 

Austin did help Angle greatly- I'll give him that.

 

Meaningless matches are giving away for free all the time. Rock v. Flair, Rock v. RVD, RVD v. HBK, Austin v. Flair- All have been on TV or will be on TV in the last year. It's dumb to give it away for free but I think if they were to run Austin v. Brock later on PPV- the buyrate wouldn't have been hurt.

 

 

I agree that WWE has a LOT to blame with the Austin walk-out and that he did a lot for the company but some of the stuff he did in his last month like squashing Booker T in the lumberjack match pissed me off.

[Guest Loss4Words]

And I can respect that. I can respect that Angle could have become a superstar had he gone over clean or that Jericho might be a little more fortunate these days or that even Booker T may be a little more involved.

 

I guess my only argument is that he's gone, and they're still where they were when he was here. When HHH was gone, Angle and Jericho were two of the top four stars.

 

That, to me, speaks volumes about where the real problems are in the company.

[Guest The Metal Maniac]

Ok, wait wait wait...

 

When did he put over Jericho?

 

He jobbed to Angle only to get the win back two weeks later and he didn't even job clean to Angle. He had to have that 'hand under the rope' thing.

 

Austin is a bad person for refusing to work with Jarrett- maybe the company wanted to try and get Jarrett over- that's not his decision to make, that's the companys.

 

So it's the company's decision for him to put over JJ, and he should hve no say in it...fine.

 

But how can you then claim that Austin is a bad person for not putting Jericho over and not jobbing clean enough to Angle?

 

I would assume that the winners of those matches, and the methods used were the company's decision as well.

[Guest bob_barron]

I'm sure Austin could've said: Hey Vince- maybe my hand being under the rope when I tap out is a bit stupid.

 

That's a good point L4W- I wish the Rock was still around because he was very good at getting the people over that HHH wouldn't

[Guest Brian]

The Angle thing was supposed to be a dusty finish originally, with Austin retaining and Angle winning later (it might have even been the next night).

 

Jarret did the same thing to Austin years earlier in USWA. Payback is a bitch isn't it?

[Guest dreamer420]

I hope the fans don't accept Austin at all if he does return. What he did earlier in the year is not the correct way to do things and if the WWE welcomes him back with open arms, then they will look very stupid in my opinion, especially with all the toughguy statements made by Vince and JR after he walked.

[Guest Army Eye]

You're ignoring that WCW tried to push Jeff Jarrett for over a year to the top of the card and the reaction was so negative that they released him no questions asked. Also, Jarrett had been pushed -- quite hard -- for several months in the WWF and NOTHING was working. He was given tag titles with Owen Hart, the IC title, the European title, Debra as a valet, a new look and a woman-beating gimmick and nothing stuck. He got a pop when he'd do something like hit the Fabulous Moolah over the head with a guitar but he never was able to sustain any heat. He's also the worst-drawing WCW World champion of all time.

What does any of that have to do with Austin refusing to work with Jarrett?

[Guest Brian]

Austin refused to work with Jarrett for a number of reasons. Debra. The USWA situation. Him not thinking Jarrett was the right guy to put over. Austin protecting his character. Jarrett's push already not working.

[Guest dreamer420]

If Austin had worked a program with Jarrett it could have given him that little nudge he needed to get into the main event picture in the WWF.

 

Also Jarrett refused to be WCW champion numerous times back in late 99 and 2000, and only became champion when Bischoff and Russo returned and when he felt the company was stable enough for him to run with the title.

[Guest The Metal Maniac]

I'm sure Austin could've said: Hey Vince- maybe my hand being under the rope when I tap out is a bit stupid.

 

So it's only OK for Austin to give his input when it suits your needs?

 

I'm sure Austin didn't hold a gun to McMahon's head and force him to book things his way - but I'm also sure that he probably said "Why don't we do it this way..."

 

He's only allowed to give advice when it helps others, and not himself?