Random thought...

[Guest]

Austin never took a Razor's Edge for the entire feud with Hall, avenged every single beatdown he got, and won the blowoff match at Mania basically beating the Outsiders singlehandedly. He reportedly threw a tantrum to Vince backstage a few weeks back and got his way, then after Mania(sez Scherer) he went home to Texas instead of showing up for Raw.

 

Who's the prima donna again?

[Guest One Bad Apple]

If this is true, Steve Austin can fuck himself.

 

That gutless coward.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

I haven't agreed with the way Austin has acted recently either...

 

But he physically can't take a Razor's Edge with his neck...which is why Hall started using a stunner.

 

Everything else I agree with.

[Guest Risk]

Austin has a RIGHT to act like a prima dona.  HE was the one who brought the WWF back to life when WCW was killing it.  HE put asses in the seats while Rocky was an unover face.  HE ALMOST single-handedly created the new Attitude of the WWF.(If you don't count Vince stealing the "gang wars" idea from WCW, ripping ECW off and watering it down, and DX)  Then...the man who f*cked him in WCW(sorry Hogan, it is true) comes into HIS company, and The Rock is treated as THE WWF Icon?  

 

WTF?

 

Austin got booked with Hall, who is okay but...is not very over and has ringrust.  Rock gets the big match because he has a movie based on him...?  Yeah, great...the Rock is over with mainstream fans...we'll see how that works in twenty years from now.

 

Austin didn't even gett make the man who HELPED ruin his WCW LOOK BAD BY JOBBING TO HIM.  Granted, Hogan put ock over clean...but that could be because he thinks Rock is a bigger star by being into Hollywood like he was.  

 

IMO Austin has a right to be angry.

[Guest The Man in Blak]

Positive Spin:

1) They sent him home to Texas to chill, since it could be considered "below him" to work with Scott Hall, who has been unreliable in North America at best for the last couple of years, and there's no reason for him to carry it with him

2) They already had a stuffed Raw in the first place

3) Physically, he's probably a little spent and I'd believe he probably couldn't take an Outsider's Edge (or wouldn't, because of Hall's unreliability)

 

Negative Spin:

1) Austin needs to start realizing that his time up top is starting to wind down and he should be shifting into more of a role where he could help the company that made him, as opposed to becoming this century's answer to Hulk Hogan

2) What do you mean he can't take an Outsider's Edge?  He took 10 rolling germans from Benoit, why not one edge from Hall?  'cause he's playing politics again like in mid '99.

[Guest The Man in Blak]

Oh, yeah - that and I'd imagine they're keeping Hogan and Austin under close watch, considering the potential animosity there.  I'm honestly surprised they let him do the tag match with the Rock against the nWo, and he certainly didn't look happy about it.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

I would trust Benoit to throw 10 germans on me before I let Hall Edge me once.

 

Which would you choose?  Honestly?

[Guest The Man in Blak]

Well, probability states that with Benoit, you have 10 possible chances for a move to mess up versus just one with Hall.  Of course, Benoit's probability of blowing a manuever is not even comparable to Hall's so...er...I'll just repeat my shill about Hall being unreliable, yeah, that's the ticket.

[Guest]

I'll give you the stuff about the Razor's Edge; I just thought Hall looked weak for never getting in his finisher on Austin.  ####, there was a time when Undertaker looked weak against Austin because Austin almost always survived the chokeslam and he couldn't use the Tombstone for obvious reasons.

 

And if you're going to make excuses for people being prima donnas, then maybe Triple H "has the right to act like a prima donna" after putting on great match after great match during his heel run at the top.  Or is that "different"?

[Guest El Psycho Diablo]

It seems kind of funny to me, that some people think Austin is justified in making Hall look pathetic. I'd bet these are the same people that complained about Hogan not putting people over.

 

Austin has -no- right to make anybody look bad. With a history of not wanting to work with wrestlers..(Double J)..or drop the belt to wrestlers..(HHH)..who does he think he is? It seems almost like he believes he's his gimmick. "Stone Cold" does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, because he can.

 

BS.

 

If he'd have been in a program with say..Jericho, or Benoit..and they'd have been getting the treatment Austin has given Hall..the bitching on the 'net would never stop.

 

Just because Hall/Austin have past issues, means Austin can use the pull he has to make Hall look bad? Hah. No wonder the nWo didn't succeed..

 

..and this time, it wasn't the nWo's ego that was the problem.

 

Does Austin really deserve the rep he gets? Partially.

"It's Stone Cold. He's one of the best workers in the world. Can't blame him for anything."

 

How do you excuse his playing Superman during the InVasion? Something that was supposed to be centered around WCW/ECW invading the promotion..and who was it centered around?

 

You guessed it. Good ol' Stone Cold.

 

NOW they bring in the Nashes, Hogans, Halls..to me, it seems like they're jamming the SOS button as hard as they can.

 

Would they have had nearly the same problem if the WWF had have concentrated on making new stars this past summer, instead of making the old/current ones look better? Probably not.

 

Austin didn't need the massive megapush. Everybody already knew who he was. Yet he's always the focus of the promotion. At the center of things. And god forbid his character ever looks weak. We can't have that, now can we?

 

Mabye Austin's started to believe that drivel he was spouting..remember? "I am Stone Cold Steve Austin..the WWF Champion..the Champion of Champions.."

 

Oh, his matches are still decent..but considering people blast HBK for being an ass backstage, is this really any different?

 

No.

 

My two cents.

[Guest Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye]

Austin's legacy is secure. Permanently. He doesnt need to throw hissy fits about working the odd program that he might not necessarilly agree with.

 

I love Austin, I mark for Austin, but at the same time, I want to see him doing his best at whatever match/promo/feud.

 

He is the man and that ain't gonna change. No one has the power to change that...including Hall/Hogan/Nash.

[Guest Big McLargeHuge]

Man it's the twilight zone. Hogan is getting his ass kissed left and right for doing the same thing he did 18 years ago because...uh, just because. Austin gets bashed because he doesn't want to work with a man who held him down and can't physically take a Razor's Edge.

 

It's a topsy turvy world, and I really don't like it. At least there's still HHH to bash.

[Guest The Man in Blak]

My only other thought here is that the WWF booking team may have felt a little more partial to the WWF-created icon in Austin than they did with the nWo, which they apparently only meant to brought in as an "evil tag team +1".  Nash's promo kind of said it all in black and white - Austin was their first choice, Austin fought back, they crushed his knee with a cinderblock, but they just felt that Austin was the guy to put over.

 

It might also be a thing of loyalty as well, given that Austin's done almost everything from sing Margaritaville with his hated enemy to play one of the most bizarre heel stints in WWF to integrate those factors into his surefire face persona, where as the nWo were brought in on short notice, apparently for the primary reason of generating a little shock factor throughout the WWF fanbase.

 

As far as the inVasion goes, the writing team would be the main ones to blame there, as not only did that not have any god #### idea what to do with Austin once they turned him, but they had absolutely no confidence in the abilities of the WCW/ECW superstars.

[Guest One Bad Apple]

I agree with "El Psycho Diablo," but I seriously doubt everything you listed was completely Austin's fault.

 

But ... I do think all of those things could've very easily contributed to his alleged attitude problems.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

I can also understand Austin's point of view.

 

Look at Mania:

 

Rock goes over Hogan clean while the buildup to it seemingly ignores all of Austins accomplishments...

 

HHH wins the undisputed title despite various...well...we'll just cal them problems.

 

And the fact that Austin was allowed to go back to Texas means that they didn't have anything important for him to do today either.

[Guest El Psycho Diablo]

One thing you have to consider..Austin's headlined or competed in how many WM's now?

 

Let's see..

 

13. Austin (going into match as one of the top heels)/Hart - Austin loses, Sharpshooter.

Match Position - second from main.

14: Austin (going into match as top face) /Michaels - Austin wins, Stunner.

Match Position - Main Event.

15: Austin (going into match as top face)/Rock - Austin wins, Stunner.

Match position - Main Event.

16: Did not compete due to injury.

17: Austin (going into match as top face)/Rock - Austin wins, Stunner/Chairshots.

Match position - Main Event.

18: Austin(going into match as one of, if not the top face)/Hall - Austin wins, Stunner.

Match position - fifth from main.

 

As far as the buildup to this 'mania, Yes, Hogan/Rock did get the majority of what little build there was. It was billed as Icon/Icon..which is true. As far as Icon status goes, right now, Rocky is bigger than Austin. He's got more credibility in the mainstream. Austin's beer-swilling, foul mouthed, rebel against authority redneck thing was big a few years ago, yes, but the novelty has worn off. Rock is bigger right now because of one thing - He's got class. Sad to say, but the 'big dumb wrestler' sterotype is still out there..but Rock is one that's not. That's part of his appeal.

 

So Austin isn't the top of the card this year. Waah waah waah. This just -screams- of something most smarks would be all over..if it was somebody except Austin. Some wrestlers seem to be 'untouchable' in the net community..they can do nothing wrong.

 

Perhaps Rock/Hogan had more draw than Austin/Hogan did. For one thing, nobody was sure who'd win.

 

But for one second, can anyone seriously believe that Austin would lay down for the Hulkster..someone he supposedly despises? I can't.

 

If Austin would have walked into that match, he'd have walked out the winner, and that's a guarantee. Even when Austin loses, he gets the upper hand. He always manages to look stronger. He's 'screwed over'.

 

Mabye I am a little hard on Austin, but it's the same act I've been seeing for years now. People complain about The Rock being stale, but Stone Cold is at the same level, too.

 

Just because he's a 'better worker' than Rocky dosen't exempt him from negative comments.

[Guest TheMikeSC]

It seems kind of funny to me, that some people think Austin is justified in making Hall look pathetic. I'd bet these are the same people that complained about Hogan not putting people over.

 

 

 

Maybe, just maybe, Hall looked pathetic because Scott---and this is a biggie here---ISN'T THAT GOOD.

 

Scott was NEVER that good in the ring and he hasn't actually put forth effort in a match in years. Steve was stuck in the ring with the lowest member of the nWo, a guy who isn't a good worker by any stretch of the imagination, and was lower on the card than a guy who couldn't sell a friggin' Thesz press on RAW.

 

 

 

Austin has -no- right to make anybody look bad. With a history of not wanting to work with wrestlers..(Double J)..or drop the belt to wrestlers..(HHH)..who does he think he is? It seems almost like he believes he's his gimmick. "Stone Cold" does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, because he can.

 

 

 

Every wrestler has refused to drop titles and the like (lord knows Flair did it A LOT). And, since I suppose you're refusing to drop the title to HHH is in reference to SSlam '99, think about one thing:

 

What are the odds of the WWF having Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura make the 3-count FOR a heel?

 

They wouldn't do that ever. They were going to let him count down a face and since Austin had knee problems, they let Foley get a title run of one day to drop it to HHH.

 

 

 

BS.

 

If he'd have been in a program with say..Jericho, or Benoit..and they'd have been getting the treatment Austin has given Hall..the bitching on the 'net would never stop.

 

 

 

Yes, true.

 

But, he HAS been in a program with both of them and made them look as good as he could make them look with the WWF booking him to beat both of them in a handicap match.

 

 

 

Just because Hall/Austin have past issues, means Austin can use the pull he has to make Hall look bad? Hah. No wonder the nWo didn't succeed..

 

 

 

What past issues to Austin and Hall have? Has Austin ever worked with Hall?

 

 

 

..and this time, it wasn't the nWo's ego that was the problem.

 

Does Austin really deserve the rep he gets? Partially.

"It's Stone Cold. He's one of the best workers in the world. Can't blame him for anything."

 

How do you excuse his playing Superman during the InVasion? Something that was supposed to be centered around WCW/ECW invading the promotion..and who was it centered around?

 

You guessed it. Good ol' Stone Cold.

 

 

 

Throughout, Austin played comic heel and made Kurt Angle look like a friggin' God. Keep that in mind.

 

 

 

NOW they bring in the Nashes, Hogans, Halls..to me, it seems like they're jamming the SOS button as hard as they can.

 

Would they have had nearly the same problem if the WWF had have concentrated on making new stars this past summer, instead of making the old/current ones look better? Probably not.

 

Austin didn't need the massive megapush. Everybody already knew who he was. Yet he's always the focus of the promotion. At the center of things. And god forbid his character ever looks weak. We can't have that, now can we?

 

 

 

Did you miss his feud with Angle? Up until the very end, Austin looked like he could never beat Kurt.

 

 

 

Mabye Austin's started to believe that drivel he was spouting..remember? "I am Stone Cold Steve Austin..the WWF Champion..the Champion of Champions.."

 

Oh, his matches are still decent..but considering people blast HBK for being an ass backstage, is this really any different?

 

No.

 

My two cents.

 

 

 

 

There's a world of difference---though Shawn was not as bad as people seem to think.

               -=Mike

[Guest RickyB]

Austin has a RIGHT to act like a prima dona.  HE was the one who brought the WWF back to life when WCW was killing it.  HE put asses in the seats while Rocky was an unover face.  HE ALMOST single-handedly created the new Attitude of the WWF.(If you don't count Vince stealing the "gang wars" idea from WCW, ripping ECW off and watering it down, and DX)  Then...the man who f*cked him in WCW(sorry Hogan, it is true) comes into HIS company, and The Rock is treated as THE WWF Icon?

 

WTF?

 

No-one condonded Hogan's actions in WCW when he brought them up in the ratings then didn't want to lose matches.

 

Oh and it isn't "Austin's company".  If it's any Wrestlers it's Hogan's company, he was the biggest face of all time in the 80's and from the looks of Wrestlemania it looks like he is again.  The Rock/Hogan match was made because it would get more mainstream media attention then Hogan/Austin would.  Hogan/Austin would be big to Wrestling Fans, Hogan/Rock would be seen as big to everyone because both have been well known outside of Wrestling.

 

Austin got booked with Hall, who is okay but...is not very over and has ringrust.  Rock gets the big match because he has a movie based on him...?  Yeah, great...the Rock is over with mainstream fans...we'll see how that works in twenty years from now.

 

It'll work well since Rock went over Hogan and will, hopefully, become bigger than Austin so that Austin's whining will get him fired and he'll become Bret Hart #2.

 

Austin didn't even gett make the man who HELPED ruin his WCW LOOK BAD BY JOBBING TO HIM.  Granted, Hogan put Rock over clean...but that could be because he thinks Rock is a bigger star by being into Hollywood like he was.

 

Shut up.  Hogan might have thought Austin wouldn't become a star but then again he wouldn't have unless Bret turned heel and pitched some catchphrase ideas to him.  Funny how Austin can do what he likes because he made the WWF during the mid-90's but Hogan shouldn't even be allowed to end his career on a good note in the WWF even though his popularity made the WWF during the mid-80's.  If he didn't go to the WWF in the mid-80's it would have went bankrupt - people inside the business that time have said it themselves.

 

IMO Austin has a right to be angry.

 

No he doesn't.  He hasn't got as much time left in him as the Rock.  Rock can carry the WWF for the next 10-20 years, Austin has got about 6 years in him at the most with the neck problems.  And if these attitude problems are true then i'd say get rid of him today or just job him out.

 

I understand what he did for the WWF in the 90's, but since no-one seems to look at what Hogan did in the 80's and they say that if he causes problems then fire him, why should Austin be any different when he only did half of what Hogan did?

[Guest]

So how about this from the Torch?

 

"The finish of the Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall match at WrestleMania was supposed to involve Austin getting screwed over by the NWO (and perhaps Vince McMahon, too). But because Austin didn't like the proposed finish, that storyline was thrown out, thus rendering the whole "Vince has control of the WWF through WrestleMania" storyline pointless.

 

As it turned out, Vince McMahon didn't do anything wrong at WrestleMania, thus in the process, it took away Linda McMahon's motivation for instigating the roster split on Raw the next day. Instead, it seemed as if Vince McMahon behaved himself at WrestleMania, thus Linda's announcement that Vince and Ric Flair can't coexist seemed to come out of nowhere and was without justification relaive to last week's Smackdown board meeting announcement."

 

So he not only refused to job to Hall, he threw a monkey wrench into a rather important storyline by doing so...

[Guest Tony149]

No wonder Linda's announcement came out of no where (Although the net knew about the split). Austin is a legend, but doing stuff like that can make people look down you. It happened to Hogan.

[Guest RickyB]

So how about this from the Torch?

 

"The finish of the Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall match at WrestleMania was supposed to involve Austin getting screwed over by the NWO (and perhaps Vince McMahon, too). But because Austin didn't like the proposed finish, that storyline was thrown out, thus rendering the whole "Vince has control of the WWF through WrestleMania" storyline pointless.

 

As it turned out, Vince McMahon didn't do anything wrong at WrestleMania, thus in the process, it took away Linda McMahon's motivation for instigating the roster split on Raw the next day. Instead, it seemed as if Vince McMahon behaved himself at WrestleMania, thus Linda's announcement that Vince and Ric Flair can't coexist seemed to come out of nowhere and was without justification relaive to last week's Smackdown board meeting announcement."

 

So he not only refused to job to Hall, he threw a monkey wrench into a rather important storyline by doing so...

Vince needs to lay down the law to Austin.  In WCW Hogan did refuse to job to Wrestlers cleanly BUT he did job when it was necisserry (Goldberg, Piper) and he agreed to job by DQ or interfierence many times.  Austin won't even job after interfierence.

 

Austin never did half of what Hogan, Bret and Flair did for Wrestling so he doesn't deserve to be able to dictate the finishes of his matches.  How on earth he can see it fit to change the finish of his match and destroy the start to a big angle I don't know.

 

Seems like the 'net has been supporting the wrong guys all along.  Austin's the real egotistical jerk.

[Guest saturnmark4life]

Austin should be pissed fucking about with Nitro main events with these jackasses. Least he has decent matches still, unlike the the nWo (or a face hhh). Misawa's a reknowned #######, but he can work some.

[Guest muzanisa]

Basically since he came back from the "Auto Incident" He has been Mister unbeatable. Aside from putting over HHH clean and some concessions to Angle I've found him boring. He beat up all of WCW then lead them through fear and just totally manhandled the NWO so that they never seemed a threat.

A while back I think the Torch said that he should job to X-pac. I don't know about that but if he at any point looked vulnerable I mght be able to get back into his character.

[Guest Downhome]

Fellow posters, I give you the most hair-brained statement I've ever read at this board...

 

Austin has a RIGHT to act like a prima dona.  HE was the one who brought the WWF back to life when WCW was killing it.

 

...yep, that's the most insane thing I've ever read here I do believe. In this very same thinking, Hogan has EVERY right to act like he has done in the past simply because of all HE meant to Pro. Wrestling. Come on man, if you honestly mean the statment I quoted, you seriously are on the wrong track ???.

[Guest RickyB]

Austin should be pissed fucking about with Nitro main events with these jackasses. Least he has decent matches still, unlike the the nWo (or a face hhh). Misawa's a reknowned #######, but he can work some.

So what?  Whoop de do Austin can still Wrestle... so can Jericho where is he?

 

Hey, I Wrestled in a show for the training school that I recently returned to and I seen guys with no talent being put over in the main event because they were bigger than the smaller guys who were better Wrestlers - why?  Because the guys running the show knew that people a lot of people were there to scout guys who might make a name for themselves in their promotion... the bigger guys might not have the talent but they will sure as #### get more over than a medium sized guy like myself or a small guy like Davie G (a friend of mine, thought I may as well put him over here since I went over him at the event ).  When you look at Austin, physically he's a big guy, but Hogan is still more marketable to non-Wrestling fans and Rock will be over with Wrestling and non-Wrestling fans for years to come.  So Austin has no right to be pissed for what's happening now and he has absalutly no right to fuck up an upcoming angle.

 

If it was Hogan doing this then you would all be saying that he's an egotistical jerk even though he did way more for Wrestling than Austin.

[Guest Human Fly]

Whenever I read these types of scenarios I always think the same thing. The Wrestler should put over whoever management tells them to. Bret should've jobbed to Shawn at Montreal, Hogan should've jobbed to whoever, and Austin should've jobbed to Hall like it or not. Angle and the Rock job alot. Just last night Angle jobbed to Edge, and Hall is closer to Austin then Edge is closer to Angle in my opinion.

[Guest RickyB]

Whenever I read these types of scenarios I always think the same thing. The Wrestler should put over whoever management tells them to. Bret should've jobbed to Shawn at Montreal, Hogan should've jobbed to whoever, and Austin should've jobbed to Hall like it or not. Angle and the Rock job alot. Just last night Angle jobbed to Edge, and Hall is closer to Austin then Edge is closer to Angle in my opinion.

Question: why did you bring up Hogan?  You should have used a real scenario like Michaels refusing to job to Hart before Montreal (when he faked an injury).  Sorry but I hate it sometimes when people put down Hogan for no reason.

 

But yeah I agree with what you said, other than about Bret.  If Shawn had agreed to job to Bret instead of faking an injury (earlier in the year) then I would have been fine about it.  But the WWF had destroyed Bret in the States and I think Bret was right to ask to go over in the states since he never wanted to leave the WWF.  I'll strop there before I go on another rant about it.

[Guest Human Fly]

I remember one time Bret said he would've lost to Barry Horowitz (can't remember if that was the exact guy, but someone of his caliber) in Detroit. Sometimes I think they just should've jobbed Bret beforehand and had his match with Michaels nontitle. I agree about Shawn refusing to job to Bret. He should've. I guess I could understand Bret's position a little more if he wasn't going to WCW right after. That put everyone in a tough position. I was shocked when just a few years later the WWF found themselves in the same position with Jeff Jarrett and the IC title.

[Guest OSIcon]

The whole point is Austin was the WWF MVP in 2001, in and out of the ring.  Nobody needs reminded of his great in ring work, so look at it this way.  

 

The WWF wants the Rock has their number one face, thus they ask Austin to turn heel in his hometown.  It seems (by the WWF) to be the best thing for the company at the time so he does it.

 

He lets his character do nearly a 180 degree turn.  Out the window is the Austin who is always pissed off, doesn't take any crap from anyone, and is the "Toughest S.O.B. in Wrestling."  He turns into a wise cracking, somewhat "geeky" Austin that taps out to the Angle lock and doesn't get many a clean win the whole summer.

 

His run as a heel should prove that he's a lot more of a company man then most guys in the WWF and a #### of a lot more of a stand up guy then everyone here is giving him credit for.  He took his character, that was still extremely popular, and flipped it upside down for the good of the company and a new number once face in the Rock.  

 

Saying that he was 'superman' during the alliance angle is completely ridiculous.  For starters, I wouldn't classify 'superman' as a guy who had to cheat to win nearly every match he had, was defeated and made to look below Angle on several occassions (not that there is anything wrong with that), taking the gimmick of a guy who is paranoid of losing, puts Benoit over more then anyone else (thus getting him over as a legit face), ect, ect.  Secondly, there are those guys called bookers, writers, and Vince McMahon.  They set up for the Alliance to look like chicken shit.  Austin included.  Just because they didn't bury Austin with the rest of the Alliance members hardly makes him at fault or a prima dona.

 

The heel turn flopped, Austin turned face again, and tweaked up his character by adding his heel comedy into his face persona.  The argument that he has been doing the same thing for the past four years goes right out the window.  

 

Can anybody honestly say that put in Austin's shoes, that they wouldn't be upset when after doing everything you have been asked to do for the past year and being the constant bright spot in matches and interviews on WWF TV during a down time, that when the biggest show of the year comes you are a couple matches down the card working with a rusty guy who was just brought in, while a guy who just came back to the WWF and another guy who has spent the majoirty of the year filiming a movie are main eventing?  Then, the company doesn't have anything to do for you Post Wrestlemania (according to the Torch.)  It's easy for everyone sitting at their computers to say they would do what's best for the company, but when your pride and loyalty takes a show like that, you would be singing a different tune.

 

Lastly, the thing about making Hall look bad is just plain terrible.  Hall made Hall look bad in the ring.  He's below the mediocre line at this point.  As for Hall not getting a lot of offense on Austin, once again, I remind you that there are writers and bookers.  Against everyone, the NWO has played the cowardly heels.  So why is it Austin's fault when they do the same against him?  

 

You are asking Austin to not be upset over being taken for granted.  You are also asking him to put all of the jobs, angles, and everything else he does fully into the WWF's hands.  You have to look out for yourself once in a while.  Foley talks about doing that a lot in his books.  Yet I don't hear the word prima dona thrown around at him.

 

Later.

[Guest RickyB]

The Hogan-Rock match was made to spart mainstream intrest.  Hogan-Austin would have meant nothing to non-Wrestling fans.  So it wasn't a knock against Austin.  If Hogan came in during 1998/1999 he would have been thrown straight into a feud with Austin but now they put him a feud with The Rock to bring in non-Wrestling fans and fans who stopped watching in 2001.

 

Hogan refused to job to Jarret in 2000 because WCW had nothing for him to do after the match and the smarks bitched at him for that.  Austin does the same thing and the fans support him... can anyone say "hypocrites"?