The crowd was just BEGGING for Austin

[LooseCannon25 0]

You know why Austin didnt come back at RAW X or last night? Because they dont have him return on free tv. But, just imagine this for a moment the stampedes and riots ...here's the scenario (and i wouldnt put this past the WWE):

 

*eric Bischoff's music hits after the main event as he walks to the ring*

 

Bischoff --- "You know, last month i dropped a bombshell and publicly invited Stone Cold Steve Austin to join us and give his side of the story at NO WAY OUT.....and as you all know today is the day that history was to be made.......unfortunately, Austin respectfully declined his invitation and decided not to join us tonight.......I ...just.....wanna say....

 

*Vince's music hits as he walks to the ring*

 

McMahon --- I knew it......I knew Austin wouldn't show up tonight....and you know why he didnt??? I'll tell you why......cause I didn't want him in MY building and un-invited him.......now i just got these 2 words for you to think by......Yoooooou're fiiiiiiiiired!!!!

 

Jim Ross ----- Damn, that Mr. Mcmahon, damn him to hell.....he screwed us all.

 

*WWE.com logo appears on screen as show fades to black. End of PPV.

 

 

I think the fans would absolutely riot if that happened

[Guest bob_barron]

Well the show IS in Montreal- so anything is possible

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

I think the fans would absolutely riot if that happened

Indeed, since it probably would be following a "Shawn Michaels as a babyface" match.

[Guest Razor Roman]

(Oh, and Angle is God, you should try to crop or obscure that "I am a big testicle" sign in the corner of you sig...really ruins the image. Great image otherwise though )

 

Is that better?

[Guest The Old Me]

If Vince fires Austin at NWO, he may die in Montreal. How much do you think those people can take? And he better show at the PPV, and not blow it off until RAW the night after.

[Guest NoCalMike]

they don't need Austin to debut at a ppv. If he debuts on RAW and is scheduled for the following ppv, the buyrate would be about the same.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

ph34rZ0r my image editing skill, as I have removed that annoying pink sign from the Kurt Angle sig above.

 

[Guest AndrewTS]

Austin's not wrestling at No Way Out? Okay, so I don't give a shit.

 

Who wants to pay for an interview? Fuck that shit.

[Guest Brian]

Alot of people do.

[Guest Just call me Dan]

I think he will decline the invitation and make it seem like he doesn't want to wrestle, and he will just pop up on Smackdown 2 weeks later.

[Guest NoSelfWorth]

If he debuts on RAW and is scheduled for the following ppv, the buyrate would be about the same.

Not true. By giving away his first appearance on free tv, they would be giving up quite a lot of potential buys on the follow up PPV. There is more to be gained from having Austin's first appearance in 8 months be on a PPV, than putting it on Raw.

[Guest Super Pissed Smark]

Austin's not wrestling at No Way Out?  Okay, so I don't give a shit.

 

Who wants to pay for an interview?  Fuck that shit.

I think you're getting ahead of yourself here. Who said anything about an interview? All Bischoff said is he's extending an invitation for Austin to appear at NWO, didn't say anything about him talking. I can easily picture Vince trying to forbid Austin from speaking on the PPV, so Austin gives a few people stunners and celebrates with non-alcoholic beer in the ring at the end of the show while JR yells: "Omigod, omigod, it's Austin, by God the Rattlesnake is back! But why? Why is he here? Will Austin join Bischoff on RAW tomorrow night? I'm sure he'll have plenty to say if he does. You can't afford to miss RAW, tomorrow night on TNN! Good night."

[Guest The Man in Blak]

Actually, if there was one time to hotshot an angle onto a PPV at the last minute, I think it would have been this one.

 

Let's put it into storyline terms - Bischoff has been trying everything for three weeks to pull Raw together, but Vince is still breathing down his neck. Bischoff is frantic, nervous, and all sorts of scared that his job is in jeopardy. As an absolute last resort, Eric unleashes that he's giving Austin an open mic at No Way Out and the fans freak.

 

This would have accomplished two things:

 

1) It gives the WWE room to actually build up the card and the other matches and, then, pull the Austin card to draw people who are on the fence about the card. Make the card the steak and Austin's return the sizzle, not vice versa.

 

2) It gives a huge element of surprise and, most importantly, gives us skeptical fans very little time to think about all of the bad possibilities. Though the excitement of Austin's return is relatively high now, you can bet that, after hearing Austin's name 25-30 times on Raw for the next three weeks, certain fans will tune out and the ones that remain will have expectations that just can't be met by the WWE.

 

As it stands, Eric's already spent his trump card and now he can't really deliver anything other than repeated crooning about Austin for the next couple of weeks...unless they pull in somebody else (Nash?).

 

Another interesting point/question: does anybody else remember the buyrates of the last "return of Austin" Pay-Per-View, Unforgiven 2000?

[Guest NoSelfWorth]

Another interesting point/question: does anybody else remember the buyrates of the last "return of Austin" Pay-Per-View, Unforgiven 2000?

Unforgiven 2000 pulled a 1.50.

[Guest Creepy Crawl]

Well, I want to see Austin back because he is the fuckin man.

You said it all right there bro .