The austin situation...what actually happened?

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

yeah Jarrett was getting pretty over as a eel. if he hadn't been fired by vince than i could easily see him in the upper mid card of the wwf. which is equivalent to the wcw main event.

[Guest goodhelmet]

But Jarrett was not built up properly nor was he even considered a top-level player by the fans. I think Hogan recognized this and balked at losing to Jarrett. Compare Jarrett to Scott Steiner or even a piece of crap like Sid or Nash and the perception is worlds apart. And once again, Russo was booking and Hogan played it smart. Remember, Russo is the guy who felt Tank Abbott should have been a world champ. Sometimes, it is best to look after yourself when it becomes clear your boss is inept.

[Guest 5_moves_of_doom]

I don't care how much of a Razor Ramon mark I am, I must accept that now I'm watching Scott Hall, NOT that lovable Cuban toothpick chewer. And I must admit that the nWo is indeed poison to everything it touches.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

tank abbott, would have been a great world champ! well better than david arquettte.

 

fuck just the mere thought of david arquette being the wcw champion is enough to make me sick. russo was way worse than stephanie.

 

Your right that Jarrett hadn't been built up as a top player. I'm just a jarrett mark. his impressions of sting and dusty rhodes were fucking hilarious.

[Guest Tony149]

But Jarrett was not built up properly nor was he even considered a top-level player by the fans. I think Hogan recognized this and balked at losing to Jarrett. Compare Jarrett to Scott Steiner or even a piece of crap like Sid or Nash and the perception is worlds apart. And once again, Russo was booking and Hogan played it smart. Remember, Russo is the guy who felt Tank Abbott should have been a world champ. Sometimes, it is best to look after yourself when it becomes clear your boss is inept.

 

Hey, at least Russo was thinking ahead and knew how he wanted to take the belt off Tank. The WWF doesn't even know what they will do to take the belt off guys now. Plus, that was "The Week of Hell" for WCW. As everything started falling apart due to injuries and backstage B.S. That was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for WCW. Since 4 of their talented guys left for Titan.

 

No way Russo was worse than Steph. Russo will always have claim to being the guy who help turned the WWF around. Steph will always have claim to writing the WWF when ratings went down. Plus, he did things with the midcard.

 

Nobody would of remembered Hogan losing to Jarrett anyway.

[Guest goodhelmet]

Russo in WCW was worse than Steph in the WWF in a photo finish race to the finish line. Steph only thought of being world champ. Russo AND David Arquette were world champs. That speaks volumes.

[Guest Tony149]

Russo in WCW was worse than Steph in the WWF in a photo finish race to the finish line. Steph only thought of being world champ. Russo AND David Arquette were world champs. That speaks volumes.

His first 3 month run was good IMO. I really think he tried to turn it around then. When he was removed then came back with Bischoff in April 2000...the roster had lost 4 HUGE pieces of the puzzle. Arquette probably doesn't happen if Time Warner doesn't tell WCW to promote the "Ready to Rumble" movie. Steph is worse due to the fact she has the best talent roster ever created, and they don't know what to do.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

it's really hard to say who's worse.

[Guest goodhelmet]

Hey, Russo had a hell of a roster to work with and did all the wrong things. Right before he came in, Hart-Benoit went for 30 minutes and showed wrestling, dare I say it, in a positive light. Then he fucked it all up. His intentions were good in trying to elevate guys but the execution was fucking pathetic.

 

Like I said, at least Steph didn't make herself champion and has kept the belt on some credible guys. Her development of a midcard blows but even when the stories sucked in 2001, thw wrestling was bordering on excellent. if Russo had his way, wrestling would have been exterminated so he could play out his little boyhood t&a fantasies.

[Guest nWoScorpion]

Vince Russo as champion completely over shadows whatever was good about WCW. And David Arqutte. dont forget....Vince made HIMSELF WWF Champion in 1999. Better then stephanie i could say.

[Guest Tony149]

Hey, Russo had a hell of a roster to work with and did all the wrong things. Right before he came in, Hart-Benoit went for 30 minutes and showed wrestling, dare I say it, in a positive light. Then he fucked it all up. His intentions were good in trying to elevate guys but the execution was fucking pathetic.

 

Like I said, at least Steph didn't make herself champion and has kept the belt on some credible guys. Her development of a midcard blows but even when the stories sucked in 2001, thw wrestling was bordering on excellent. if Russo had his way, wrestling would have been exterminated so he could play out his little boyhood t&a fantasies.

True. But that's what happens when you take a "wrasslin" company and try to turn it into Sports Entertainment. He style wasn't suited for a company who was more wrestling based. If kept in check ie. McMahon as his editor, he's can do good. The wrestling can be excellent, but the storyline is what sells. At least Bash at the Beach 2000 was good, if you know what I mean.

[Guest Vyce]

I think people are defending Austin's actions to send a statement to Vince and Co. that the shit that's supposedly going down is not going unnoticed. His actions are a direct result of a) the company's insistence on putting out an inferior product, thus bringing down Austin's ability to market himself, b) the political shenanigans by HHH et al that is furthering the deterioration of locker room morale, proper utilization of talent, etc., and c) the lack of direction the company seems to have, what with the shoddy, haphazard booking and writing as of late. In many people's mind, Austin is looking out for not only his well being but the welfare of the company as a whole, because in this monopoly that Vince has created, there aren't a whole lot of options should WWFE go up like the Spruce Goose

 

Ding ding ding!  Someone ring the bell.  Someone ring the damn bell.

 

That paragraph sums up EXACTLY why I defend Austin and his actions recently.  In a twisted sense, this whole situation was like manna from heaven.  For weeks, months even, "smart" marks have been complaining about the direction (or lack thereof) of the WWF, about Steph, about the political bullshit, and it's all been for naught, as the WWF, naturally, doesn't listen to anything the net community has to say.

 

But here you have a top star, perhaps THE top star in the promotion, who seems to be agreeing with many of the same complaints that have been vocalized on forums like this for months now.  Whether Austin's opinion is for the welfare of the WWF, or more self-serving, or if he really is championing the net's p.o.v., remains to be seen.  But if it IS the case, if he is rebelling against the political shit, etc., than I can forgive him for a small work-strike.

[Guest mastermind]

Hogan was RIGHT in not jobbing to Jarrett. I can't believe people still couldn't see Russo was going to humiliate Hogan regardless. In that scenario Terry Bollea actually saved the Hulk Hogan character although he was verbally trashed. At least he didn't job. Russo had no damn clue what to do with Hogan. Remember Hogan laying down for Sting? Yeah, everyone remembers the finger poke of doom on free tv, but forget that Russo booked that crap on a freaking ppv show. He then turns to Stone Cold Hulk trying to keep the food on his children's table(when he's freaking Hulk Hogan a multi-millionaire) when young up and comers like Billy Kidman were a force to take his spot in history. Guys, come on that stuff was brutal. Terry Bollea knew it and protected the character on that night against Jarrett.

 

I like Jarrett, but Hogan losing to this guy STILL wouldn't do anything. He is a midcarder 4 life. I admit the first few weeks I was interested in Russo's wcw, but when it became apparent he was just using his old ideas (The Book being a clone of Rock, Hogan being a clone of Austin, the world title tourney repeat of Series '98 although I loved the Bret/Benoit final, etc.) it was doomed to fail. Russo sucked plain and simple and he was sucking hard in the wwf in 1999 as well that's why he jumped out while things were good in the ratings. He knew his best days were over creatively. He was just lucky to get an excuse about being handcuffed by the suits. A real creative mind would find a way around that showing he was more about shock and smut than putting on good wrestling shows. The wwf counters with the solid wrestling because that's what fans wanted and wcw was sent to hell.

 

Russo former wcw champ. David Arquette former wcw champ. Hell, Russo wanted to make Jarrett break Flair's record title runs within a couple of months. Russo just sucked plain and simple with dumb matches like Judy Bagwell on a pole. He didn't know what the hell he was doing without Vince filtering and directing his crap.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

don't forget russo was going to reveal himself as the father of stacy's baby.

[Guest The Man in Blak]

And that Russo feuded and pretty much dominated Ric Flair and shaved his head.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

The problem I have is...that JJ was champion at the time

 

They weren't asking Hogan to do that much.

 

I'm sure he wasn't supposed to lay down clean.

 

When someone tells you to job..you do it...that's your job.

 

So it was wrong when Flair wouldn't job to Luger, It was wrong when Hogan wouldn't job to JJ, and it was wrong when austin wouldn't job to Hall.

 

Although they are all wrong...

 

Austin didn't want to job to a midcarder...Hogan didn't want to job to the champion...and Flair didn't want to give in to Dusty.

[Guest mastermind]

Yep, I forgot about that one. I guess Nash and Hogan were responsible for THOSE DAYS when wcw was really dying too*wink*. Don't forget the horrible Austin/Mcmahon saga 2 with Goldberg and Russo with Goldberg turning heel for no good reason AT ALL. How pitiful is the wwf today again?

[Guest The Man in Blak]

To abuse a lyric from Slipknot...

 

Nash/Hogan slit WCW's throat.

Vince Russo fucked the wound.

[Guest mastermind]

BPS, at least you are consistent and aren't hypocritical with t posting. I agree if you are told to job you should job because most likely there is good reason if you are a top guy and don't job that often. I still say that Bret should have jobbed in Montreal. Not to beat a dead horse anymore, but just proving a point that stays across years. However, I won't be hypocritical by not stressing Russo didn't know what the hell he was doing in wcw and just opened up the business way too much by talking about scripts and whatnot on the show. Guys like Flair and Hogan must have thought this guy was ridiculous in his approach. I mean guys like that have only been selling out places all over the world for the business. I think they might have some shred of credibility of what going over the line is about.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

i think hogan would do just about anything icluding going over the line as long as he was the bigg star.

[Guest mastermind]

Well, I can't argue with you there about that. Ah, wcw just sucked plain and simple. Talking about this stuff the current wwf doesn't look so bad. Is it that? Is it that we don't have the real poison of wrestling down south anymore to make the wwf look all high and mighty?

[Guest The Man in Blak]

I think it's just general disappointment because after watching an amazing period from late '99 to WM X-Seven, everybody KNOWS the WWF can do so much better.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

nope the wwf is horrible in it's own right and deserves the majority of the critiscm that we give it.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

The JJ thing is most likely because Russo painted himself into a corner.

 

The new blood never got elavated...and with Hogan taking off for months at a time...he went in a new direction with JJ.

 

I'd be willing to bet that Russo was banking on JJ beating Hogan to gain all the credability that the New Blood angle never reached.

 

The match was like a bridge...I thikn.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

eh who knows what was going on in russo's brain (that is if anything was going on in there)

[Guest]

I do not see why everyone is so set against Austin jobbing to Hall. By all indications it was not going to be a clean job at all anyway. Austin probably would have squashed the man only to be robbed when Nash and whoever else was in on it came down to interfere. Losing due to interference is no big deal. It would have progressed the N.W.O. storyline and Austin would not have lost face at all because we know he would have ripped ass on Raw the next night.

 

If he wants to walk, he is more then entitled to do so. I probably would have done the same thing. I probably would have been fired as well, and I definitely would have deserved it.

 

If he manages to change the way that the company is running right now, more power to him. I would fire him if I were Vince though.

 

If he had been willing to work with Hogan I think that they could have pulled a killer angle out of it though. Austin could have gone over Hall at Wresltemania, but then Hogan would go over the Rock. The next night on Raw Hogan would be bragging about being the only icon in the history of sports entertainment. Cue the sound of glass breaking. Take it wherever you want from there, but the climax would inevitably be the same. Austin versus Hogan, which would have truly been the match up of the best ever.

[Guest mastermind]

You know what would have really lit up the wwf? Instead of Rock coming down and doing the challenge Austin did. Something similar to the Mike Tyson angle. Hogan saying he built the wwf and its his house and then boom. I still say Rock vs. Hogan would have better storyline material for SummerSlam when Rock's movie would have been out and about. Hollywood vs. Rock. I will say if I did what Austin did I would be fired as well. However, I probably wouldn't have come back after a broken neck and damaged neck twice and compete either. I still say Austin should have jobbed at Mania don't get me wrong. Just saying I think little things like that makes Austin have leeway.