>thought "Hogan turned Austin into a midcarder"

Austins heel turn killed his character completely

>>2061093
I know this true but I still really enjoyed the Two Man Power Trip and that wouldn't have happened without the heel turn.

>>2061093
Heel Austin's interactions with Kurt Angle were amazing though

>>2061080
There have been so many different versions of the X8 story so this may be wrong but I believe that Austin was offered the the Hogan match but declined in fear of getting booed or whatever. In retrospect he probably would have at least stayed as a main eventer if he went up against him. Rock bounced back just fine evern when the crowd turned against him at that years Summerslam.

>>2061120
>>2061122
He had good moments sure but the fact is it was terrible for business. His heel turn caused an immediate negative impact (next PPV lost 300k buys from the previous year), and the second they teased him turning face again the PPV becomes the most bought non WM PPV ever (inVasion 2001). And then Vince turns him again, makes no fucking sense to me.

>>2061132
The only reason I can believe the "Austin was scared to get booed" story is because he changed his story multiple times. Sometimes he was never offered the match, sometimes he was offered it but declined it because Hogan was a step or two behind him (but a drugged up Scott Hall wasn't)? He was a lifelong wrestling fan and knew how big Hogan in Canada was, and to my knowledge he never got booed as a face. This could have been it

Austin was offered the Hogan match before Rock though, its his own fault

>>2061080
Don't know why this is a surprise to anyone.

Hogan and Rock were way bigger stars than Steve every year besides 98-99 and thus will always be in the main event.

Haitch had the title and was in the main event.

Austin was a step below those three in reality but filled a great niche as a B+ player.

>>2061148
Even Haitch wasn't safe from Hogan's power. HHH dropped the title to Hogan at the next ppv essentially ruining his run as the top face. He only bounced back when he turned heel on HBK.

>>2061154
His run was over the moment Hogan stepped foot in the company, I kind of feel bad for him because throughout January the crowd was hot as fuck for him. Just go watch his Rumble win and his MSG return

Then Hogan returns and the next thing you know him and Stephanie are feuding over a dog on the go home show while the nWo/Rock/Austin close the show. If Hogan returned like six months later he could have had a great face run, crowds were just too in love with Hogan

>>2061139
You're pretty on the nose there but Hogan was getting booed in WWE before he left and was getting booed to fuck in WCW before NWO

>>2061159
HHH isn't very charismatic though. I'm sure people would have got sick of him going against far more talented and charismatic people. Face HHH vs Heymans Angle would have been a disaster.

>>2061172
I meant Austin never got booed as a face throughout his career, he would have been the face going into 18 and there's a good chance he would have been booed. Maybe not to the degree of Rock, but it's Hogan in Canada. Nobody besides Bret Hart would have gotten cheers against him

Steve Marks will disagree but the upper midcard is where Austin belonged.

Sure, he was over with hicks and rednecks but did he have that mainstream, worldwide appeal that Rock and Hogan had? No.

See 2000 - WWE's best ever year and Rock's year.

Steve just isn't up there with Hogan, Rock and even Cena when it comes to making that main stream leap. He's more a talent on the level of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

>>2061179
Ah cool cool

>>2061180
This guy gets it.

>>2061180
lol

>>2061180
Stevetty was a legend but like Undercarder I think WWE overstate his importance because he didn't cuck them for bigger and better things like Rock did.

why does Canada love Hogan so much? Melzter said Toronto was always Hogans best city

>>2061222
Canadians are more American than Americans apparently.

>>2061222
Post 1990: WM6 nostalgia and WCW didn't go to Canada much

Pre 1990: When WWE was expanding in the Northeast, Canada was a big part of that and obviously Hogan was the main man then. The Big Event drew 64k people in Canada and I read that's what gave Vince the confidence to book WM3 in a stadium.

>>2061180
t. someone who wasn't around in 2000

>>2061273
18+
2000 was definitely Rock's year

>>2061281
Yea it was and the Rock was great that year; but it was also the year Austin was out with injury, and all anyone cared about is "When is Austin coming back?"

>>2061159
Haitch stopped getting reactions after the royal rumble. He has no talent as a face and people just pops for his intro and the hammer meme. Also, his ring work is the same either face or heel and because of this people got confused during his matches.

Trips vs jericho at wm18 was bad, Jericho did nothing but punches, kicks and rest holds to not make haitch look mediocre as a performer. The crowd popped for the revenge on steph and nothing else.

During this time, stevetty was abusing alcohol, pills, beating his wife and torturing cats. His midcard status was a punish for his attitude. He had shit feuds with Flair and The Giant after mania.

And yes, he was afraid to job to Hogan and protect his """""legacy"""""

>>2064857
Jericho/HHH was boring but HHH/Orton was even worse somehow

>>2061148
>>2061180
>>2061159
Hey Paul hows NXT going?

>>2064872
Neither haitch or orton can carry a match. The result is awful.

Vince no longer needed to push Austin to save his company, so he got sent back to the midcard where that pesky trumped-up mechanic belonged.

>>2061139
Austin wasn't a self-mark and didn't give a shit about getting booed.

>and to my knowledge he never got booed as a face.

He got mixed reactions during his 1998 feud with Undertaker for one.

Or in Canada when feuding with The Hart Foundation.

>>2064894
>Austin wasn't a self-mark

He literally walked out on the company because he thought losing a fake wrestling match would hurt his fake wrestling character

>>2064857
>Trips vs jericho at wm18 was bad,

got at least 8/10 in every review

>>2064857
>And yes, he was afraid to job to Hogan and protect his """""legacy"""""

Hogan even walked out on the rematch with Michaels to protect his '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''legacy'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Just like he constantly asked changes of the endings in WCW. If there's someone who literally murdered a company out of refusing to job, it's Hogan. He didn't even want to lose clean to Sting and ruined the ending of the NWO storyline. Biggest egomaniac ever.

Then in 2002 begged Vince to bring him back under the promise he'd job to Rock, Taker and Lesnar.

>>2064908
No he walked out on hbgay because his doctors told him he shouldn't have another match let alone two or three more. Even le meltz who despises Hogan sided with him on that

>>2064898
No, he walked out because the company booking was making him lose real money.

18+ Network babby

If Austin was as smart as HBK, he'd still be main eventing PPV's. Unfortunately he's a dumb fuck who gradually worked himself into a shoot midcard spot

>>2064908
I'm not denying hogan is a piece of shit. But Austin and HHH represent the same ego-driven backstage politics school.

>>2064921
Kek what are you on about, listen to any Austin interview talking about it

He says that he had no problem jobbing to Lesnar (doubtful) but it being a one off and there being no build up would have hurt both his character and the company so he walked out. Ric Flair is Steves favorite wrestler and he jobbed to Brock on a one off and didn't complain

>>2064898
>>2064921

Having Austin job to Lesnar on a throwaway Raw is dumb booking, but Austin is still a bitch for walking away

>>2064936
>but it being a one off and there being no build up would have hurt both his character and the company so he walked out.

You just proved me right, dickhead.

>Flair in 2002 = Austin in 2002

Babby please.

>>2064945
>>Flair in 2002 = Austin in 2002

That's completely true actually, they were both midcarders. They had a match in the midcard of Judgement Day that year

Austin not only shot himself in the foot, he blew his fucking foot off when he turned heel in 2001.

He could have had another 3 good years of babyface dime drawing left in him, but he opted to be a complete and utter retard

>>2064932
It's a swim or sink business. If you don't protect your character, noone will.

Ask Hurricane who went from being the third biggest merch seller at 23 to .... a marginal character in TNA at 40.

Austin also arrived in WWF at the time of the Kliq and the worst of HBK politicking his way into things.

Overall, I don't blame them for fighting for their spot. It gave us a good show. Many of the new guys today aren't really driven (cough Roman cough) and that's why they are boring as fuck.

>>2064915
why do you think HBK did that comedic overselling throghout the match?

he intentionally ruined it because Hogan had promised 2 matches, got booked to win the first one and then told HBK he wasn't going to do a second

>>2064967
He did it because it was the first time he ever got outpoliticked by someone and couldn't get Vince on his side. He didn't like a taste of his own medicine

His overselling actually worked because it was Hogan, anyone else it would have ruined it but the Hogan character is basically a cartoon so nobody in the crowd even noticed what was going on

>>2064951
>being this simpleton

Doing it on purpose or just a legitimate dummy?

>>2064975
He was a midcarder m8, just like Flair was.

Midcard of 18
Upper midcard of Backlash/Insurrextion
Midcard of Judgement Day

Then he was going to have a midcard match at KOTR and he walked out. He killed his drawing power with his heel turn, he was strictly a merch draw after that.

>>2064981
No, he was going to job to Lesnar.

On free TV.

But he didn't: because he's not an idiot.

>>2064987
As a mid carder yes

>>2064987
I'm not talking about that, like OP said he was in a feud with Eddie at the time and that was going to lead to a midcard match at KOTR

>>2064957
>turning heel when the next-biggest full-time face was Bikertaker, who was so shitty in the role that they ended up actually giving Benoit and Jericho chances

Literally what was Austin thinking

>>2065106
>Bikertaker, who was so shitty in the role

Crowds were popping for Kane an Bikertaker in that feud, tho.

>>2065106
Austin was drunk on power and his small fortune that he thought he could do anything.

Dwayne kept his head on his shoulders, and that's the difference.

>>2065106
He was thinking he was as big as Hogan and could usher in another big wrestling boom after the falling ratings in 2001 by copying Hogan and turning heel. Little did he know he wasn't even close to as big as Hogan and would eventually be turned into a midcarder by Hogan himself after tanking the ratings

>>2061132
Austin is one of the biggest marks for himself ever. Anyone besides Bret who went in there with Hogan then was getting booed, Austin's character just wasn't built to deal with getting turned on