Austin's missed feuds

[Boxer 0]

Looking back at the attitude era where people were getting paid and everyone was looking good, during Austin's run there were a few guys I thought could work with him and draw money but it just didn't happen for many reasons.

 

Ken Shamrock: Could've just been a hired gun for McMahon. I know they had one match sometime mid 1998 on Raw but I think I feud between these two would've been intense and could've drawn some cash.

 

Vader: Not the 1998 Vader, but the 1996 still heel and a still could've worked a decent match. I think Austin could've used a monster like Vader during his run as champion and it could've been a fun feud.

 

Shawn Michaels: A proper rematch between the two in mid 1998 with Michaels chasing the title would've been fun. I'm sure by that time A LOT of money could've be drawn in a rematch between the two.

 

Ahmed Johnson: They were slowly turning him into a tweener and he was on the verge of feuding with Austin and I think while it may not have been a classic in the ring, people would've paid to see this match-up.

 

Dr. Death Steve Williams: Unless I'm wrong, they were building for this trying to make him win the brawl for all but we all know what happened there.

 

Big Show: I think they wanted to do this feud with a build to Wrestlemania 2000. I think this would've drawn too and a proper feud would've been a good feud.

 

Jeff Jarrett/Owen Hart: We know all about each man here.

 

Bret Hart: If Austin was chasing Bret or even defending the belt against Hart in 1998 or 1999 this would've drawn. Would've been great both inside and outside the ring.

 

Mike Tyson: Before the turn on DX, I could've sworn the WWF was going to do a mega program with Austin vs. Tyson which would've shattered every record in the WWF possible. Summerslam or even Wrestlemania 15, but I guess for some reason they didn't want to go there.

 

Any of you got other picks here? This was just a time when Austin could've branched out and drawn a few bucks with other contenders but for some reason it just revolved around Taker and Rock for a good period from 1998 to 1999.

[Diamonddust 0]

The feud with Eddie before he "took his ball and went home".

[haws bah gawd 0]

Speaking of Ken Shamrock, I had forgotten how badass he used to be in the ring. I was watching some of his Attitude-Era stuff on YouTube, and he came across as a legitimate killer in the ring. When I was a teenage mark, I used to mark out when he would snap and get that "angry retard" look on his face, then start beating the shit out of people. He also made a simple Belly-to-Belly Suplex look like death! Not one of those Scott Steiner rolling suplexes, he would pick the opponent up, slam the shit out of them, and throw them into the ankle lock. I'd like to see him have another run, if he's got anything left.

 

Back on topic though, it's really a shame Austin let his ego get to him when he was at his peak. Remember when Hogan went to WCW, and had all his buddies running roughshot over guys like Austin? Austin ended up becoming the same thing he always spoke out against by refusing to work with guys that were "beneath him", and then as stated, "taking his ball and going home".

 

I would've liked to have had the chance to see him go up against Brock Lesnar, like they had planned for the Spring of 2002. Austin later said in his Stone Cold Truth book that he didn't have a problem jobbing to Lesnar. (I may have this misquoted, but it's been a while.) I believe Austin's comments in regards to the Lesnar situation was "I didn't have a problem losing a match to Brock Lesnar. I think he's a great kid with a lot of talent and a bright future. However, I am the biggest-drawing star in the history of this business, and if you're going to put me up against the monster Brock Lesnar, you don't put me on the front line. I'm the last line." In short, if WWE had advertised the match in advance, rather than just making it a nothing King of the Ring qualifying match, Austin may not have "taken his ball, and went home".

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Yeah, I believe that was the problem. He felt they should have built up to a Austin/Lesnar match with Austin jobbing, not just hot shotting it in a relatively meaningless encounter.

 

I don't know...it's nice to speculate about other feuds Austin could have done, but most of the potential ones mentioned in the OP of this thread didn't happen for some pretty legitimate reasons. The only one that I think was a real missed opportunity was the feud they were building up with Eddie Guerrero. Remember when they had that bar fight on RAW? Good stuff.

 

If Brian Pillman had been around longer and stayed healthy, a real Austin/Pillman feud down the line could have been a good draw.

[Black Lushus 0]

the only thing I really wanted to see was a proper blowoff to the Bret Hart feud.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Big Show: I think they wanted to do this feud with a build to Wrestlemania 2000. I think this would've drawn too and a proper feud would've been a good feud.

 

This one was totally sunk by bad booking. At one point, they had Austin beat Big Show clean on RAW, like 3 or 4 weeks after Big Shows' debut (right before WM15).

[Guest]

Steve Williams would have been a good one for Austin. And a blowoff against Bret would have been nice too, along with a rematch with Shawn. That's about it.

[Ripper 0]

Austins loss to Brock Lesnar was going to come via Eddy interfering with the match, so it wasn't going to be a real job or clean. Fuck him for that and I don't care how he tries to justify it.

[chuck415 0]

Austins loss to Brock Lesnar was going to come via Eddy interfering with the match, so it wasn't going to be a real job or clean. Fuck him for that and I don't care how he tries to justify it.

I've never heard that before. So was Eddie, who Austin was beginning to feud with, going to attack Lesnar? IMO it would have been a stupid move to give way a potential big money match like that on free TV reguardless of who won and why. If memory serves me Rock-Brock drew alot of money/buys and I feel Austin-Brock could have also. I'm not justifying Austin walking out, but I can see where he was coming from.

 

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

No he is saying Eddie would have attacked Austin, leading to Brock winning.

[chuck415 0]

Oh yeah I thought about that after I posted. I don't know why my brain couldn't process that idea before I replied. Brain fart I guess.

 

[Just call me Dan 0]

I really would have liked a full blown Austin/Foley feud with Foley playing his Cactus Jack character near the end of his career ( his original career) circa 2000-2001. Foley cutting promos on all his done in the business with the passion he can against a heel Austin would have been killer.

[Darth Pipes 0]

The feud with Eddie before he "took his ball and went home".

 

I remember that one.

 

Austin never had a true blow-off with Bret. Although they did have that great street fight on Raw where Austin kicked the living crap out of him.

[JN News 0]

I think if Austin didn't need neck surgery, I think he would've had a great feud with DX 2000 during the initial McMahon/Helmsley Era. While guys like Rock & Foley would've constantly have been falling prey to HHH & Stephanie and the rest of DX, Stone Cold would've raised Hell like he never did so before, and I think the crowd would've ate it up.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Stone Cold Vs. Ken Shamrock or The Big Show would've been good world title PPV main event matches IMO.

[AntiLeaf33 0]

I think if Austin didn't need neck surgery, I think he would've had a great feud with DX 2000 during the initial McMahon/Helmsley Era. While guys like Rock & Foley would've constantly have been falling prey to HHH & Stephanie and the rest of DX, Stone Cold would've raised Hell like he never did so before, and I think the crowd would've ate it up.

 

I would have been all over that.

[cabbageboy 0]

To be honest I never much cared about seeing a blow off to Austin/Bret. By mid 1997 they had fought so often that I really just wanted them to move on, which they did. Bret had beaten Austin nearly every time anyway, so would Austin have gotten that much out of a win? Things turned out fine regardless.

 

Some of these feuds are better than others. After Austin beat Owen AFTER Owen broke his neck and then basically squashed him at Survivor Series 97 I don't see much potential in that feud. Shamrock might have been an interesting feud, but would it have drawn more than the UT and Kane stuff Austin was doing? Shamrock would have been good as a Corporation henchman thrown Austin's way on a nothing PPV.

 

 

[Ripper 0]

Shows first match against Austin in the cage match after he debuted was fucking awsome. Thats how you sell a monster without making the face look like a total bitch. They never got it right again.

[Black Lushus 0]

To be honest I never much cared about seeing a blow off to Austin/Bret. By mid 1997 they had fought so often that I really just wanted them to move on, which they did. Bret had beaten Austin nearly every time anyway, so would Austin have gotten that much out of a win? Things turned out fine regardless.

 

Granted things turned out fine in the end, Austin FINALLY beating Bret and for the title no less would have been pretty cool.

[zappafrank 0]

They should have had his mini-feud with Booker T make it onto PPV. We got a few weeks of grocery store brawling and Booker hiding in church, but ultimately it was filler. They could have had something had the nWo come in (and Booker "membership" doesn't count).

[Boxer 0]

I don't know if this was a missed opportunity but those 3 times they had Tazz teasing a feud with Austin in 2001 and they never once pulled the trigger on it. All it did was make Tazz look like a big bitch in comparison to Austin.

[BruiserKC 0]

Austin vs. Goldust...you could have taken this feud two ways. The comedic value of it with Goldust at his flaming best against the bad-ass. Or...have Austin look right through the facade and maybe re-introduce Dustin Rhodes to wrestling by talking about how pathetic he's acting and his old man should be ashamed of him, etc.

[Guest the_last_rites]

I can see the latter making for intense television viewing, but the sole prospect of those matches turns me off

[cbacon 0]

A proper Austin/Pillman fued would have been awesome

[Guest IronManLUNG]

Austin vs. Jarrett when Austin was injured would have made a lot of sense and would have taken a heavy burden off Steve's shoulders. Jeff could have bounced around for him nicely. I'd rather see this than Austin getting taken out by some stupid car accident.

[mysterious_w 0]

As I've been watching a lot of Dr. Death, I'm annoyed as hell he didn't get a good run in the WWF. Austin/Williams would have ruled.

[Guest the_last_rites]

As I've been watching a lot of Dr. Death, I'm annoyed as hell he didn't get a good run in the WWF. Austin/Williams would have ruled.

 

 

"Right to own the name of Steve Williams" on a Pole Match

 

No wait nothing can beat a "Judy Bagwell" on a Pole match. Everyone should fight a JBOAP match. That to me is the yardstick by which the real performers should be measured by

[Bruiser_Brody_ 0]

Big Show: I think they wanted to do this feud with a build to Wrestlemania 2000. I think this would've drawn too and a proper feud would've been a good feud.

 

This one was totally sunk by bad booking. At one point, they had Austin beat Big Show clean on RAW, like 3 or 4 weeks after Big Shows' debut (right before WM15).

 

WON or somebody said in recent months, that Austin insisted on going over Big Show because he was paranoid that Wight was going to be the new top man, so to calm Austin down they booked him clean over the Giant

[The Buzz 0]

I agree about the Tazz thing. I always thought the pops were huge when they teased it, and then the blowoff was a forty second match on smackdown with Tazz locking in the tazmission getting lowblowed then stunnered. Austin didn't even bother putting on his gear for the match.

[mysterious_w 0]

As I've been watching a lot of Dr. Death, I'm annoyed as hell he didn't get a good run in the WWF. Austin/Williams would have ruled.

 

Actually, rethinking it, Williams would have been best with a guy who could bump big, which Austin certainly can't do. Starting him off with Mankind and just showing how he can fuck people up with Doctor Bombs and Backdrop Drivers, then moving him onto Austin in the ME would have worked so well.