Austin WON'T be appearing at the Rumble

[Guest GameCop]

WWE's main/primary concern is to make lots of money.

 

If WWE adverstised Austin's return at the Royal Rumble, do you realize the buy-rate would triple? If WWE decided to "surprise" us with an Austin appearance in the Royal Rumble match, they would relinquish millions of dollars. Fans are yearning for the return of the rattlesnake. WWE realizes this; they are going to capitilize on Austin's impending return by promoting his return at NO WAY OUT or on an episode of RAW OR SMACKDOWN.

 

So, don't expect Austin to appear -- especially without a lack of hype -- at the Royal Rumble.

 

There will be one surprise entrant; his name is RHYNO.

[Paul Stanley 0]

Rhyno was on the OVW Tapings and lost to Doug Basham

[Guest IB2BLACK]

The wrestling world has continued since Stone Cold walked out. It may not be as successful, as when he was there, but it's still going. One wrestler doesn't make or break the WWE.

[Guest HartFan86]

Are you Metzler?

 

Remember....anything can happen in the WWF. Just watch Raw X.

[Guest AllCanadian]

Rhyno was on the OVW Tapings and lost to Doug Basham

WOW well that solves everything then!

[Guest Just call me Dan]

You are absolutely correct. I think most of us figured that and any speculation about this is pure bullshit right now.

 

The WWE capitalized (or is trying to) on the Undertaker's return from his short absence.

 

You can bet that they have plenty of drawing ability at least for the next few months in reserve

 

They WILL try everything they can to get some money in the bank from returns of Austin, Rock, possibly Hogan and the imminent Goldberg debut.

 

It will just be a matter of time, but not for the Rumble.

 

It should get a nice buyrate from name value alone.

[Guest GameCop]

Ummm...I saw RAW X...the abomination that was RAW X... the utter catastrophe that was RAW X...the calamity that was RAW X...and guess what?

 

NOTHING HAPPENED.

[Guest HHHater]

WWE needs to shake things up (i.e. having Austin as a surprise Rumble entrant) rather than milk Austin's return for one lousy PPV. They'll make much more money by shaking the product up. If they hype Austin's return for NWO, they'll get some casual fan buys for the PPV and some casual fan viewership the next night on RAW, but after that things will die down. They need to show the loyal, die-hard fans that they can still surprise us with something out of left field.

 

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

 

...buzzer sounds...

 

...the 0 on the clock shifts to 3:16, then the glass shatters, the FleetCenter fucking explodes, and Austin makes his triumphant return.

 

THAT's how you do it.

[Guest HartFan86]

Ummm...I saw RAW X...the abomination that was RAW X... the utter catastrophe that was RAW X...the calamity that was RAW X

My point exactly.

 

ANYTHING can happen in the WWF.

[Guest bob_barron]

And you make $0.00 off Austin's big return. Hype the hell out of it

[Guest GameCop]

"My point exactly...anything can happen in the WWF"

 

Well, if you want to look at it that way...

[Guest HartFan86]

Has the WWF delievered in the past couple of years hyping up the HUGE return of someone and it actually delievers, BOb?

 

My points: HHH's return at MSG. Entrance was good, but no one remembers what happened after that.

 

nWo's return at No Way Out: Terrible.

 

I can't think of anything else so I'm really not justified enough to it, so someone help me out if you can remember others.

[Guest GameCop]

HHHater -- If Austin wasn't invited at RAW X, he most certainly won't be invited to be a participant at the Rumble (in storyline terms, of course).

If Austin is going to appear (doubtful), he'll have to come out of the crowd and interfere, prompting the security guards to apprehend him.

[Guest bob_barron]

I won't comment on HHH's return since I was there live but you're right about the nWo- it was underwhelming.

 

But they need to hype the hell out of it so they can cash in on it. They can't afford to keep hotshotting stuff

[Guest Just call me Dan]

I for one will really be happy when he gets back along with the Rock, because I know ONE of them (even though Rock will most likely be short term) will be on RAW and may make it at least 1/8th not the sHHHow

[Guest Just call me Dan]

I'd like to see both ways happen. Austin can interfere or surprise everyone at the Rumble, and then stay off TV for another few weeks. The announcers and everyone will shill for him, and the fans will KNOW he's coming. I think that would be better for the long term if they combined those two ways of bringing someone back.

[Guest HartFan86]

But they need to hype the hell out of it so they can cash in on it. They can't afford to keep hotshotting stuff

It's not the fact they are hotshotting stuff....it's the fact they don't follow up on it. Look at the ECW InVasion on Raw, no one expected that and they could of actually saved the InVasion angle if it wasn't for the McMahons' ego and it was killed off an hour later in the show.

 

Also, you have to realize that the Rumble is a big show and that they SHOULD have surprises. I mean, I would think the least you could do for the people paying $300.00 for a ringside ticket in Boston would be to have Austin show up. It seems like your cheating the consumers (people who paid for the tickets in Boston, people who paid the $35 on PPV) if you don't do something good. Sure they have done that with almost every PPV in 2002, but at least make the consumer happy.

 

Also, with surprise apperances...it makes people go:

 

"Austin came back last night? Fuck! I'm going to watch Raw."

 

"Austin is back? I'm ordering the replay!"

[Guest BobBacklundRules]

I heard that WWE would bring back Austin after the Rock/Goldberg match at mania so that the ratings spike would stay up, but if that happened I doubt the product would get any better.

[LooseCannon25 0]

I say have the timer count to 0, have the glass shatter and have Stone Cold strut down to the ring in his wrestling gear and vest. The roof will blow off the building. and the Raw rating the next day i guarantee will surpass 4.0 easily from the word of mouth that would get around that night of the PPV.

[Guest bob_barron]

They hotshotted Vince being 100% owner, HBK returning, Bischoff returning and all this other stuff.

 

They need to hype it for weeks and then make sure it pays off when he return.

 

People do pay a lot of money for a ringside seat but that doesn't mean they have to hotshot the return of the biggest star ever. Rhyno will do.

[Guest HartFan86]

Just watch the Rumble...I'm going to be there in Boston and I bet you that if Austin comes out the place is just going to explode.

 

These are things that will make people's heads turns and possibly turn products around. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but Austin did play a big part in the product turning around in 1997.

[Guest the pinjockey]

I think it would be worth it to bring him back as a surprise. You figure if you hype him for a PPV you get what .4-.5 buyrate increase max for the PPV he returns on before everyone realizes it is still the same old same old. But if you actually bring back the anything can happen aura that will translate onto all of the TV shows increasing ratings and increase future buyrates for the same reason. They need to do something to get the unpredictability back.

[Guest HartFan86]

They hotshotted Vince being 100% owner

 

True, but you have to realize that was a last minute thing with Austin walking out. No one had control over that and they probably wouldn't have made a dime either way.

 

HBK returning

 

Actually, they were building up him pretty good as the nWo leader, but Raw is Quad II happened and it went no where (Remember, HHH was suppose to have until Vengeance to give Shawn his answer about being in the nWo). Also, Shawn can't draw worth shit and never has drawn worth shit...I'm not making excuses, I'm just telling the truth.

 

Bischoff returning

 

Well, this is borderline. It justified the pure HOLY SHIT moment on Raw, but I don't see fans shilling money out of their pockets to see Bischoff on a PPV cut a promo or whatever. Maybe in 2001 during the beginning of the InVasion angle, but not in July of 2002.

 

People do pay a lot of money for a ringside seat but that doesn't mean they have to hotshot the return of the biggest star ever. Rhyno will do

 

"Oh yeah, he's that guy from ECW no one remembers."

 

Rhyno isn't over, sorry to say. He needs the Nathan Jones treatment....videos to build him up so the people remember.

 

Steve Austin is Steve Austin....he doesn't need to be built up to be remembered, so why can't deliever him on a big PPV, then make the $$$ in the future shows?

 

Edit: And how do you know they won't pull the same shit with the Undertaker at the Rumble like they did with nWo at No Way Out? The more they hype up people's returns and they can't cash on it, people will remember and go "Fuck that." And I STILL hear about it from my mark friends at school who go "Man, remember that PPV in December last year when HHH was suppose to come back! Damn the WWF."

 

Hyping someone's return for a show is the logical way to go to make money, but it can sure as hell bite you in the ass and it has the past couple of times for Vince.

[Guest Just call me Dan]

Well my idea was no sold, did it make sense?

[Guest HHHater]

I agree with the people who say that the surprise element will pay off *long-term*, and I disagree with bitter bob, who wants the instant pay-off from an Austin-hyped PPV. Austin will draw money long-term, and it will show the die-hard fans that anything can STILL happen in WWE. That will make business go up. When was the last time WWE actually surprised us? I can't even remember.

 

With that being said, I don't expect Austin at the Rumble at all.

[LooseCannon25 0]

It was a good idea Dan.....makes sense.....I just ask for one thing and one thing only for when he makes his return. Have him come out to the Alliance music from SummerSlam 2001 and Survivor Series 2001. That them is bad ass and suits him perfectly.

[Guest Just call me Dan]

They can pull something slick out of thier ass every now and then, hence Austin's music hitting directly after his walkout and Eddy coming out to cut a promo, I jumped off my bed, I thought that was ingenius. Things like that just keep people interested.

 

A small occurence such as that helps keep me glued to the screen because my interest was only momentarily sparked. Every show needs something like that, a spark that will keep fans attention at least for the show at hand.

[Guest Just call me Dan]

I agree, that theme owned and his current (old) one is seriously outdated.

 

 

The latest was just a good revamp kind of like Rock used to get all the time.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Right now the fans' enjoyment should be #1. Short term loss for long-term gain = good idea.

[Guest HartFan86]

They can pull something slick out of thier ass every now and then, hence Austin's music hitting directly after his walkout and Eddy coming out to cut a promo, I jumped off my bed, I thought that was ingenius. Things like that just keep people interested.

Same here. My heart stopped when they did that.

 

IMO, promoting a guy's return is starting to get stale. Surprising someone with it will make things fresh and unpredictable, which is what the WWE needs right now (I'm not talking about unpredictable in having a funeral on TV.....I'm talking about people showing up out of nowhere).