It's been downhill ever since 2002. After Austin left and Rocky sold out for Hollywood, the show was never the same. Nobody gives a damn how many people HHH has beaten. They lost millions of fans overnight when they started making the son in law the focus of everything.
@@Rschr101 if you was the rock you would have done the same damn thing. this is not the '80s name anymore where people stay in wrestling for 30 years and get old they're probably die.
@@Rschr101 "Sold out" is a bit heavy for the Rock. I remember seeing him on SNL in 2000 and thinking "this dude could be in movies". I understood then that he had ambitions beyond being a wrestler and I'll always respect him for walking his own path.
@@attiepollard7847 also he doesn't like hogan ever since hogan joined wcw because hogan made him to drop the us title to his friend jim Duggan in squash match
the popularity of the Stone Cold character to this day is proof the character did not need a turn, he could have rode that lightning for as long as his body was gonna let him.
@@dominiquejones3805 think about it tho if the rock never went Hollywood we wouldn’t have got cinematic masterpieces like the Tooth Fairy and Hobbs & Shaw .... just think about that
@@Flowerz__ lmao all of Rock's stuff has sucked in terms of his films, still makes buku $ though. Sign me up to be in shitty movies if it means I get Rock levels of $
The attempts to bury Austin after he left felt like an ex who trashed you after a breakup, but they’re doing it to mask their hurt and humiliation over you leaving. WWE is incredibly petty and vindictive when it comes to talent leaving the company.
Hey I recognize you!! The username is so familiar...Maybe....Quick question: Did u ever comment on a reddit video where you talked about one of your High School friends who got knocked up by a guy who told her he was in the military?
Again, you're proving why this is one of the best wrestling channel on YT. Super informative. I was 13 on 2002. Nice to see a little behind the scenes Now that i am older
@@corey2232 that’s how much you know smh, Rocky contract didn’t end until 2005 that’s why he kept making appearances. They let his contract expire because they were upset he was going to movies full time... do your research
@@toptenguy1 Actually no, what happened was that Austin refused to job to Brock Lesnar on Raw, big difference! Unlike Mr Overrated himself CM Punk who threw a massive hissy fit the day after the 2014 Royal Rumble about not being pushed to the Moon and walked out on WWE.
I stopped watching not too long after the Attitude Era ended. The writing got terrible, redundant and ridiculous. I don't think I've watched a full episode of raw in over 20 years.
@@marklastes312 tbh im a huge wrestling even til this day but the current product is way to exposed to the point u already know whats good when u got social media u got talent protecting their "characters and aura's back when i was growing up nobody knew a dammm thing outside the ring nobody knew certain things from personal issues to other stuff in general
8:22 - I remember how they recreated that segment verbatim in _WWE Smackdown Shut Your Mouth's_ season mode; if your wrestler was on RAW you'd watch it play out, and if you chose Austin you could choose which show you were on yourself! Pretty cool honestly.
It’s those kinds of details we will never get again. Because 2k doesn’t do actual stories with substance. It’s always a very linear story line with few and predictable branches.
@@tangoblue but it was all about WWE pushing Reigns as a babyface when it was evident for years (right since 2015), a heel Reigns is the best for (WWE's) business. Had WWE stick to this idea, Reigns would've skyrocketed at 30-31 instead of skyrocketing at 35. The only reason I replied to your comment is age factor but I hope I'm making some sense in continuation to your statement.
Austin has been wrestling for a long time right? Like when did debut he was 32, it's crazy what you can accomplish in 5-10 years, with a stroke of luck and resolve
@Distinguished AllureProductions yep. He had been put through the paces by the time he got to the WWF, including a few years with WCW as stunning Steve. So his WWF career was short, but he was in the business for like 15 ish years.
I was at that RAW on June 10th 2002 when Austin walked out. I remember there was a lot of confusion among the crowd but even then there were rumors that he had went home. It was a very ...strange show. It was the same night Booker T was literally kicked out of the NWO by HBK.
@Babylonian Cowboy Hogan did not belong main eventing PPVs with Undertaker in 2002. His role in a tag team with Edge was where he belonged on the card at that time. If they booked the Invasion right, it would have been Austin vs Hogan at WrestleMania for the title, then Jericho wins it and feuds with Austin in the main event.
@@FarRockRatedR I feel you. There's this old dx promo with McMahon and the stooges where they all had a group hug and HHH said come on in here and get some lovin pat 😆😆
20:50 Rock never had heat with Austin personally. It's just that Rock was a company guy who always did what Vince said. Vince even told Rock that HHH would go over at WM 2000 and he accepted it
@@kingkazerous80x58 Mr perfect, what an absolute legend. U know he was the best in the ring when the excellence of execution bret hart himself calls him that. Hogan even with all his crappy vitamins couldn't tie his boots.
@@shreyampandey1952 i would disagree. the combined golden shovel of john cena and HHH leave a big "Star gap". u find hardly a new agression star on the roster these days.. all buried by those two.. hogan was selfish, but he also did not "kill the career" of all that could hurt his place in the food chain.
I think Austin was truly just burned out at that point. Physically, mentally, emotionally, creatively... All of it. Sure, he wasn't at the top of the card at the time due to several unique circumstances happening all at once (influx of top WCW stars, return of HHH, rise of Brock, + other worthy WWF stars). And sure, creative wasn't giving him the absolute best stuff to work with story wise. But he was still working with stars and legends. He was still being given stuff that he could have knocked out of the park. He just wasn't in a good place.
Well said. 2002 was a year of many changes with evolutions of characters and the presentation. Stone Cold got lost in the shuffle in the midst of everything and just wasn't the same as he was.
You know what whatever, whatever we all got on Hulk Hogan and on Shawn Michaels when they pull backstage politics BS and in reality that's what Stone Cold Steve Austin was doing. He saw others were starting to rise and he couldn't take it, let's just call it what it is
2002 I would say was the year where Stone Cold just wasn't the same as he used to be. The last great year of his career from beginning to end I would say is 1999. While he was still red hot in 2000, The Rock & Triple H were the focal point of the WWF and Austin wasn't as active as he was before. 2001 was an up and down year for him with all the face then heel then face then heel turns. It was all over the place. So from top to bottom, '99 was Austin's last great year as a tippy top guy.
This is a good summary. He should have never turned heel. At least when switched back to face, we got some excitement and buzz back and then short lived. It was overwhelming.
@@xxSlickAcexx Right. The face/heel turns felt very unnecessary and did not work out at all for someone who the fans wanted to cheer for again as their guy.
@@alexishanes6162 meh look at hogan he was the same for like 10 plus years and main evented mania after mania. Austin had main evented 3 manias then got tired of being a face like why, he didn’t need to be a heel especially right when wcw is coming in. And aligning himself with vince didnt have to be the way he turned heel, that made it worse
Vince was willing to feed Austin to Lesnar as he did with all his other stars (Rock, Hogan, Taker, HHH, SM, Angle) to make him credible against Goldberg who was on the horizon... Hindsight though
Do you know why Brock vs Austin could have been done on Free TV was because WCW was no longer around that's why. Everybody forgets about all of this. Had WCW still been a threat, yes we would have gotten Austin vs Brock on Pay-per-view The reality is Brock was a rising star and Austin threw a hissy fit because he was no longer being featured as the big star. We all get on John Cena Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels when they played their backstage politics but everybody just wants to give Austin a free ride🤭
I kind of can see where Austin was coming from at that time he was exhausted creative was horrible at the time with his character and things were just getting frustrating.
@@fitness65 yes but how old were you during that time in 2002 and did you kind of veer away from wrestling even before he left because your attention was someplace else in the entertainment world?
@@attiepollard7847 17 by then my mind kind of got away from wrestling I was thinking about the girls in my school especially when they started wearing thongs and then cars and college wrestling was like the furthest from my mind at 17
I'm probably speaking now as my older self right now but during my younger self I did not feel the Eddie Guerrero was main event/championship material during that earlier stage..
They wrestled each other on house shows in mid-2002 and Eddie wrote in his book that they were having great chemistry and matches during that time. What could have been...
3 года назад
Eddie to.me he was always mainevent material even back then. .ausitn walking out screwed Eddie. Eddie could had s big push .I doubt they would made eddie beat ausitn over .but it made been great match sad the only live match ess squash match
@ ughhhh I just disagree about Eddie during that time. Maybe because it's Vince shoving down the big guy syndrome down the fans throats. I always thought of Eddie Guerrero as a cruiserweight/us heavyweight champion material
I never understood the Austin heel turns. He was always massively over with the fans. It was really disappointing to witness him suddenly disappear from our screens...
He had nobody to work with in 2001 after Rocky left for Hollywood and HHH got injured. Austin elevated guys like Jericho, Benoit. And especially Kurt during that time but the fans didnt want to boo Steve. They finally switched him back to a good guy but took the title off him and put him in a mid card feud with Hall at Mania. Very frustrating.
I spent most of 2002 deployed after the 9/11 attacks so when I started watching again in 03 I was WAY out of the loop and wondering what was going on with Stone Cold. This is one of the most informative videos that gets right to the point of what was going on. Thanks for this
My cousin was deployed too and even in tents in Afghanistan they had satellite and would watch Raw and Nitro. Where was your that they didn't have television?
You can tell by the 2002 Austin was really completely physically drained by that point and on top of that his character was going downhill creatively just everything was going completely wrong for stone cold in 2002 probably one of the most troubling year of his wrestling career
@@Rschr101 You talk as if he did that piledriver entirely with the purpose of actually breaking his neck. Accidents happen, kayfabe isn't actually real. You gonna try and guilt trip D'Lo Brown after what happened with Droz next smart guy?
@@anthonydeadman Yeah but to be fair, Austin has said that he told Owen before their match that he wasn't comfortable doing that spot in the first place. I don't necessarily blame Owen for the accident, but I think it was something that could've been avoided had he taken Austin's words of concern to heart.
Thank you for this very informative video. Being a wrestling fan only since 2008 I never understood what exactly happened during this time period between Stone Cold and the WWE but now I do 👍🏻 Keep up the great work
98-00 was by far the greatest time in the history of wrestling. Austin is a big part of why. When Austin, Hulk Hogan, and the Rock got in the ring together at WrestleMania 30 I almost cried.
I'd say so, considering now he's far more successful and went further in his life than he would've if he'd stayed. And what's more he's inspired other wrestlers--i.e. John Cena--to do the same. He didn't wanna spend the rest of his life under Vince's thumb like his father and grandfather. I'd say he's much better off.
@@scotty87able I wouldn't say that is necessarily true. He did what was best for him and his family. I think anyone in his shoes would have done the same.
@@RayNormanBateman i know that was just quotes from his face and heel runs at the time.everyone says this and that about people but when its them in that position.
It just seems that Austin was lost in the shuffle in 2002. Things were changing after WrestleMania X8, the draft, Hogan's face run, Brock Lesnar's mega push, them wanting to push new faces and mix things up. If Austin stayed, he'd most likely would have been back in the Main Event not too long, probably after Summerslam 2002 when they introduced the World Heavyweight Championship, so we may have gotten Austin vs Triple, Austin vs Shawn Micheals, Austin vs RVD, and more. But he probably had to retire in 2003, or maybe even in 2002, as Austin was on a time limit with his body.
Would have loved an Austin-HBK in 2002, two faces at the time would have meshed really well and the match would have knocked their WM14 match out of the water.
WOW! WOW!! So now I know what had happened to Austin in the WWE back in 2002. Honestly, it was perhaps the worst year of his wrestling career and it wasn't how it was when he rose to superstardom in 95-'99. Once Austin lost that momentum, it was clear that his time in wrestling would come to an end. Good documentary and covered everything I needed to know. Thanks, Wrestling Bios.
The reason why they give for free on TV was because there was no more rivalry from WCW and ECW. Had those companies still been around especially WCW, then yeah, they would have waited for Brock vs Austin on PPV. The reality is often stone cold was trying to have it his way. It's amazing we all get on Hulk Hogan and on Shawn Michaels for backstage politics but we give Stone Cold a free ride😤
GS Esquire I know but they had Brock beat Rock on PPV. Why couldn’t they do the same for Austin? It doesn’t make any sense to beat a star as big as Austin clean on TV
@@rickytpb2164 They probably realized their mistake and did what Austin wanted to do. But with him gone indefinitely, Rock was the one to put over Brock.
As much respect I have for Austin, him being my favorite wwe superstar of all time, he wouldn't've lost a damn thing losing to Brock. Lesnar was being booked as a beast shaking the current meta up and it would've brought that shock factor in his favor if he went over on SCSA. Austin at that point was a hall of famer already and loved by everyone. The ending could've dealt with some interference shenanigans with Benoit or Eddie and that could've furthered their storylines. Then later Austin could've had his rematch on a big ppv against Lesnar with proper storytelling and lead up. In 2002 Austin was the old guy that still had it. Him losing against the younger talent out of nowhere would tell the tale that he needs to step it up. So in hindsight it would've made sense. It could've brought the hype back to his character with him wrecking stuff in the following weeks to show everyone and prove he's still that fired up badass. I was always upset with the way Austin's in ring career ended up. I feel like it had a little bit to do with jealousy considering the fans' attention was on all the shiny new toys. I don't blame him for being emotional though, with his personal life catching up to him and all.
I will absolutely always love Stone Cold Steve Austin! One of the nicest, most welcoming guy I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and I wish him nothing but the best! 😎
That was heavy. It's hard to make rational decisions when you're stressed out. In that mental state, a lot of people would have acted the same way. It's good that he had/has JR as a friend. Creative was definitely an issue back then, especially if they had "nothing" for the biggest star in the company & you unintentionally relegate a main eventer to a mid carder. Imagine any match Hall & Austin could have had if both of them were in a good place back then.
Stone Cold vs Brock Lesnar... in a king of the ring QUALIFYING match... 🤦🏼♂️ It should’ve been the final of the king of the ring tournament not a freaking qualifying match
As hinted at here, it was probably a teaser...interference finish which would have led to something later. Not saying it was a good decision, but just putting them in the final of the KOTR tournament instead of building a huge feud for them at a huge PPV wouldn't have made much sense either.
*Vince talks with Stone Cold on the phone and tells him the plans* Stone Cold: “Really?!” *Hangs up* Vince: “That went well! Can’t wait to see him at Raw tomorrow!”
@@richallenxbox1976 Vince: You hear that????? RAW: We want Austin!!!!! Vince: They must be cheering for triple h. RAW: We want Austin!!!!! Austin: 🖕🖕WWE Creative
It's so funny how Vince is never the one screwing anyone else. They only screw themselves. Don't like the creative direction? You screwed yourself! Got medical issues stemming from us pushing steroids on you? You screwed yourself! Smoking THE DEVIL'S WEED to deal with pain from a relentless touring schedule? Now you're in the wellness program/released--you screwed yourself!
While Austin may not have handled himself in the best professional manner, I still can't help, but focus on the parallel between Hogan being put over Bret Hart in 1993 as with Austin in 2002.
Austin wouldn't do the job for Hogan. He blamed Hogan for his WCW release and then the subsequent ECW burials of Hogan. Austin wasn't gonna put over Hulk. No way about it, brotha
@@blackmantis3130 because Austin was such a big deal that making him lose in a qualifying match for a small tournament like kotr that too in free tv was like spitting on his face saying they didn't need him anymore. And he knew that even if they agreed to let him win over lesnar they would later screw him in the same way they did to bret and the rattlesnake was having none of that. He knew he needed to give himself priority over any of Vince's stupid demands.
@@shreyampandey1952 lolx the story with bret hart is completely different.stone cold wasn't going to another wrestling company and 2002 wasn't really a good year for stone cold . The rock was the guy at the time. I understand he was pissed but stone cold did the forgivable which was walking out without discussing it with macmahon. Basically turned his back on the company.
Although I haven't watched wrestling since like 2004, I love these rewinds on what was going on at the time. I was still in middle school then and knowing what I do about workplace conflicts now, its really interesting to get a look at the dynamics that were happening behind the scenes
… I DID watch every show back then, and no, he wasn’t hated at all. I completely disagree with you. Most fans still absolutely loved Stone Cold and wanted him to turn back to a baby face. The heel turn had some funny moments (steve and Kurt’s segments come to mind) but overall it kinda sucked.
They started treating Stone Cold like a regular mid-card guy when he should've been treated like 2012-2018 Brock Lesnar. It was a lot of factors that lead to Steve "taking his ball and going home."
Back in June 2002 when I was 12 years old, I was really pretty sad, upset, frustrated and devastated that Stone Cold Steve Austin walked out of the WWE after five years of within the WWE and without my Stone Cold Steve Austin fan nation,then I wouldn't be the WWE fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin. So there.
You are in my mind again! Been wanting you to cover this for a while but since the streak video ive wanted you to do Austin walking out and a summary of Hogans contract, cant wait to see the latter be made one day!
People, please use my like button as “oooooooh, hell yeah!” for another wrestling bios and R8ed R collaboration from heaven on that opening theme. Superb 👏🏼
Kills me every time McMahon tries to claim the wrestler personally hurt the fans and everyone in the company because the wrestler refused to let him bury them on TV.
It'd have just been so great if Brock took out Austin before the match started. Austin is making his way to the ring for the match and Brock attacks from behind and destroys Austin. That way Austin could have taken some time off. Brock could have gone on to dominate and even if it was a year later, Austin could have returned for revenge. That'd would have been insane.
Well Rock was just building his resume then. He didn’t become the megastar in the entertainment industry yet with the roles he was in at the time. Plus it was his management that convinced him to cut off ties to wrestling in order to make his name more mainstream.
He was pretty much one foot in the door around in 2001 so it was basically a matter of time. Especially in Summerslam after losing the belt to Brock. He didn’t exactly need to come back afterwards.
The roster being so stacked was also a problem. The Rock was in and out due o his filming commitments but also as a direct result of Hollywood was the bigger star, if not the biggest since the heyday of Hogan back in the 80s. He was also young and better physically than an ageing Austin. The same could be said, physically, for Angle, Jericho, HHH and so many others on that stacked roster. Austin chasing Hogan for the title could have made sense but for a guy with all his personal troubles, all his physical issues and lack of focus...it's no surprise that Vinny started to lose confidence in him.
@@illkid86 if I was Vince I would have for Steve Austin to go into semi-retirement until he wanted to retire completely. An alternative universe if I'm Vince I'll probably would have done some layoffs and not a brand split. Now sure that may mean TNA may have to come to power and that may means the earlier development of Ring of Honor but it would have been necessary.
I love Austin (He was never my #1 favorite but he was awesome), and I have to admit.. He got super stale in 2002 when he turned back face. Basically the Same ol' Same ol', but with the "What?" catchphrase added. He was so awesome as the cowardly/paranoid heel. One of the funniest characters I can remember.
The same thing happened to Sting and Rick Flair when Hogan came to WCW! Ric left…Sting stayed and took it and when an opportunity to step out of their shadow and shine came he took! It’s still talked about to this day! Austin, took his marbles and went home…
Ohhhhhh boy I wish I was Eric bischoff in those contract negotiations with Hogan in 1994. Me as Eric bischoff: we going to pay you all this money but you are losing to Ric flair at least 7 times, 2 on PPV, 2 on nitro, 2 at live events & 1 at class of the champions, you also putting sting over 3 times, 2 on PPV & 1 on TV, losing to Vader, Lex Luger, losing to macho Man when he comes to WCW and you're going to headline starrcade in 95, 96 & 97. Other than that you're going to get majority of the wins when you're here.
Austin will always be a fan favorite and my personal favorite because Stone Cold is the closest a wrestling persona has ever been to the real life person.
He didn't want to be bood over Hogan, let's face it that's a fact, nothing could have beat that pop Hogan got at WMXVIII, Hogan was willing at these times to put others over cleanly,...Austin wasn't, and for the record Scott should have been put over which was the original plan until Austin bitched about it to Vince.
I think he could of put over Brock if the build up was given to it than it being a throwaway bout. But that is a guess. Austin was also tired and burned out too after so many years and nagging injuries can be a bitch. He basically became insufferable in a sense sadly. Also creative issues too.
He ended up walking out again in 2005. He seems to have a tumultuous relationship with the company where he walks out, angering Vince and then makes up with him.
Great video as always. I feel like something that gets missed a lot, maybe because it's not 100 been proven is the games H was playing to try and maintain his spot whilst trying to cool off Austin at the same time. Austin hasnt ever said this publicly but others have said this to him and he always side steps the question.
I mean do you blame triple h for wanting to keep his spot? Now I don't believe he had anything to do with Austin's creative backstage but when Austin left that was his good opportunity to be the main guy on top
When Austin said: "I'm not happy with the whole direction this company is going", that was already a future prediction for the fans.
Austin was always in tune and in touch with the fans.
It's been downhill ever since 2002. After Austin left and Rocky sold out for Hollywood, the show was never the same. Nobody gives a damn how many people HHH has beaten. They lost millions of fans overnight when they started making the son in law the focus of everything.
@@Rschr101 if you was the rock you would have done the same damn thing. this is not the '80s name anymore where people stay in wrestling for 30 years and get old they're probably die.
@@Rschr101 "Sold out" is a bit heavy for the Rock. I remember seeing him on SNL in 2000 and thinking "this dude could be in movies". I understood then that he had ambitions beyond being a wrestler and I'll always respect him for walking his own path.
Actually 2002 was one of the best years that ever had! As far as not locker room was concerned!
Austin HAS TO have The Rock on the Broken Skull Sessions eventually. They have a lot to discuss.
AGREED 🍺
I'm sure The Rock would love to be on his show once he has the chance. He's a little busier now than he was 20 years ago.
I’d prefer Debra
Can't believe Rock and Sting haven't been on yet. Rock was his only rival on WWF, and Sting was the only reason anybody watched WCW.
That's something everyone has wanted for years. There's a lot of history between them & the rivalry between them started back in late 97.
Vince: Steve how bout a Wrestlemania Match wit Hogan
Austin: That doesn’t work for me brother
You want to know why they didn't work because look at hulk Hogan style of wrestling I don't think you would have got more mileage out of him
@@attiepollard7847 also he doesn't like hogan ever since hogan joined wcw because hogan made him to drop the us title to his friend jim Duggan in squash match
@@mohammedriadh4990 I don't think it's because of their past in WCW.
Same hogan that refused to job to HBK and Randy 😬
Hogan would've refused to put Austin over.
That Hall quote cuts deep. “my fake life was what I was holding on too”
Life*
@@juniorsanchez7441 good looking out lol
@@SoSickRick *to. 🤣
Sadly true for a lot of wrestlers back in these times!
Rest In Peace Scott Hall
the popularity of the Stone Cold character to this day is proof the character did not need a turn, he could have rode that lightning for as long as his body was gonna let him.
Correct! Stone Cold Steve Austin didn't need a turn.. Stone Cold was too over.. and he wasn't a Babyface or Heel.. He was a tweener..
@@kenrickeason but it's a ticking bomb at that time
The heel turn was Austin's idea though
True, hey but when he was the leader of the alliance it was some of the funniest segments i ever seen
To be fair, Austin did make a really good heel.
It's crazy how much stone cold and the rock achieved in just 5 years.
Sucks Austin injuries shortened his career and Rock went Hollywood
@@dominiquejones3805 think about it tho if the rock never went Hollywood we wouldn’t have got cinematic masterpieces like the Tooth Fairy and Hobbs & Shaw .... just think about that
@@Flowerz__ lmao all of Rock's stuff has sucked in terms of his films, still makes buku $ though. Sign me up to be in shitty movies if it means I get Rock levels of $
@@Kjraider2009 same haha
@@Kjraider2009 yeah the rock ain’t never gonna be in award winning movies but Atleast they’re dumb movies to watch when bored
The attempts to bury Austin after he left felt like an ex who trashed you after a breakup, but they’re doing it to mask their hurt and humiliation over you leaving. WWE is incredibly petty and vindictive when it comes to talent leaving the company.
Hey I recognize you!! The username is so familiar...Maybe....Quick question: Did u ever comment on a reddit video where you talked about one of your High School friends who got knocked up by a guy who told her he was in the military?
That's the rock kissing McMahon ass just like roman reigns and triple h
@@javediqbalsalim7800 like austin didn't do the same from 96-01
Lool steve walked out unannounced even he in later years accepted he was wrong and unprofessional
@@civildiscourse7626 as said in start of video he was in a delicate position
Scott Hall's stunner sell is probably my favorite.
Better than The Rock??
Mick foley was always an underrated stunner sell
Shane McMahon was also an underrated stunner seller.
@@AdolfShitler69420 That was overselling, what Rock did.
Kurt Angle's was pretty good as well
Again, you're proving why this is one of the best wrestling channel on YT. Super informative. I was 13 on 2002. Nice to see a little behind the scenes
Now that i am older
Yeah it is so nice to see the behind the scenes of these type of events
Same here. Let guess 80's baby?
@@MrStaley 88 🙌
Lol same here bro
Fo real, i didnt watch 2001 much because hhh was injured
It’s funny how the rock said if you don’t wanna be here get the F out.... one year later rock leaves lol
Rock's contract expired, and WWE didn't even try to resign him. Stone Cold actually left while employed by the WWE. MASSIVE difference.
It’s not the same situation at all
@@corey2232 that’s how much you know smh, Rocky contract didn’t end until 2005 that’s why he kept making appearances. They let his contract expire because they were upset he was going to movies full time... do your research
@@TimeCenaPSW we know it’s not but it’s still funny and ironic
@@greatomeister675 Austin’s LAST match he put over Rock. Rock 🪨 put over Booker T, Hurricane, And Goldberg stop it. I know my Wrestling history
I don't trust the info of Bruce Prichard podcast. He's the ultimate Vince yes-man.
Better him than Meltzer
Chat me up
Yeah, when they did Austin walking out, he gave Conrad Thompson NOTHING except a bunch of fluff.
He just likes to cozy up to Vince to keep his job, even though Vince fired him before.
@@jburnett180 He wasn't working for Vince when he did the episode, lol.
Cue the “Austin took his ball and went home” comment 😂👏🏻
Of course hahah
This is mandatory. 😆
Well.. That's what happened, so... :)
@@toptenguy1 Actually no, what happened was that Austin refused to job to Brock Lesnar on Raw, big difference! Unlike Mr Overrated himself CM Punk who threw a massive hissy fit the day after the 2014 Royal Rumble about not being pushed to the Moon and walked out on WWE.
@@richallenxbox1976 I would argue that BOTH had hissy fits and took their balls and went home. :)
If he hated the writing back then...I can just imagine what he thinks these days. Its horrible
I stopped watching not too long after the Attitude Era ended. The writing got terrible, redundant and ridiculous. I don't think I've watched a full episode of raw in over 20 years.
@@marklastes312 damn. And I don’t blame u.
@@marklastes312 yet here you are. Still here viewing wwe content
@@marklastes312 tbh im a huge wrestling even til this day but the current product is way to exposed to the point u already know whats good when u got social media u got talent protecting their "characters and aura's back when i was growing up nobody knew a dammm thing outside the ring nobody knew certain things from personal issues to other stuff in general
It got pretty good between 2011 and 2014 during the punk era IMO
8:22 - I remember how they recreated that segment verbatim in _WWE Smackdown Shut Your Mouth's_ season mode; if your wrestler was on RAW you'd watch it play out, and if you chose Austin you could choose which show you were on yourself! Pretty cool honestly.
It’s those kinds of details we will never get again. Because 2k doesn’t do actual stories with substance. It’s always a very linear story line with few and predictable branches.
Crazy to think Austin got his big break at 34 and was gone by 39 (I think those numbers are pretty close), I didn't realize his career was so short.
he seemed a lot older
@@tangoblue but it was all about WWE pushing Reigns as a babyface when it was evident for years (right since 2015), a heel Reigns is the best for (WWE's) business. Had WWE stick to this idea, Reigns would've skyrocketed at 30-31 instead of skyrocketing at 35.
The only reason I replied to your comment is age factor but I hope I'm making some sense in continuation to your statement.
Austin has been wrestling for a long time right? Like when did debut he was 32, it's crazy what you can accomplish in 5-10 years, with a stroke of luck and resolve
@Distinguished AllureProductions yep. He had been put through the paces by the time he got to the WWF, including a few years with WCW as stunning Steve. So his WWF career was short, but he was in the business for like 15 ish years.
@@distinguishedallureproduct879 Steve wrestled from 1989 to 2003 . He was red hot from 1996 to 2002
In "2002" austin was tired with creative , imagine it now worse than ever.
I'm glad Austin didn't come out of retirement. Even though they wanted him to against Coach.
Yeah i remember he was supposed to face the coach and they promoted the match, what happened why did they decide to put batista instead?
They wanted coach to win that match....
@@Rschr101 Yeah, because JR wasn't coming back anytime soon.
I was at that RAW on June 10th 2002 when Austin walked out. I remember there was a lot of confusion among the crowd but even then there were rumors that he had went home. It was a very ...strange show. It was the same night Booker T was literally kicked out of the NWO by HBK.
Austin probably saw that too and thought "wtf?!".
@@jasondyrkacz8270 he didn't watch it on tv
Imagine getting literally kicked out a WCW group by a guy who was never in WCW
@@eboishea4980 yh there was a lot of racism back then.
HBK was a diva POS
Now that would be a great *"Dark Side of the Ring"* episode.
Steve's 2002 run always frustrated me he was still clearly the top star in the company at the time, and should have been main eventing every PPV.
@Babylonian Cowboy but how ?
@Babylonian Cowboy Hogan did not belong main eventing PPVs with Undertaker in 2002. His role in a tag team with Edge was where he belonged on the card at that time. If they booked the Invasion right, it would have been Austin vs Hogan at WrestleMania for the title, then Jericho wins it and feuds with Austin in the main event.
It was a weird time. It was like they were trying to move on from him. He wasn’t wrong imo. But I’m pro Austin 🤷♂️
Austin vs Hall felt like a waste of a Austin mania match, the stunner was great though
I hate Hall's and The Rock's overselling of that move ...
would’ve been great a few years earlier
Honestly I still really loved it as a kid
Should have been handicapp match with Nash and Hall vs Austin
He probably shouldn't have bottled wrestling Hogan.
You stooges are sweeter than Pat Paterson Lol... Those lyrics made me laugh 😆
I hope Pat has a sense of humor lol, I meant no disrespect
I thought I was the only the picked that up 😂
@@FarRockRatedR he usually does as long as you're not malicious about it
@@BlackFlash7 I seen another person in the comment section point it out to.. when I was writing i wanted it to be noticeable but not to much lol
@@FarRockRatedR I feel you. There's this old dx promo with McMahon and the stooges where they all had a group hug and HHH said come on in here and get some lovin pat 😆😆
Austin needs no introduction he is nothing short of a legend.
20:50 Rock never had heat with Austin personally. It's just that Rock was a company guy who always did what Vince said. Vince even told Rock that HHH would go over at WM 2000 and he accepted it
Austin's decisions on creative made actual sense unlike the way Hogan's selfish decisions were made
I agree. But I *really* don’t like Hogan.
@@jessicaburrow2799 any sane wrestling fan would not like hogan tbh. He is the most selfish brat to ever step into the squared circle.
I would love to see Mr perfect beat hogan and I say we be talking a different wrestling In today's era
@@kingkazerous80x58 Mr perfect, what an absolute legend. U know he was the best in the ring when the excellence of execution bret hart himself calls him that. Hogan even with all his crappy vitamins couldn't tie his boots.
@@shreyampandey1952 i would disagree. the combined golden shovel of john cena and HHH leave a big "Star gap". u find hardly a new agression star on the roster these days.. all buried by those two.. hogan was selfish, but he also did not "kill the career" of all that could hurt his place in the food chain.
As a die hard Austin fan I always knew Austin was gonna come back even though Rock fans telling me he won’t
I still remember the headline on wwf.com that Austin was returning in 2003. Great times.
@@Rschr101 The austin fan that hates Rock. I understand why austin fans have disdain for the Rock. I don't appreciate the burial either.
@@aboriginalsonmost people love both of them
I think Austin was truly just burned out at that point. Physically, mentally, emotionally, creatively... All of it. Sure, he wasn't at the top of the card at the time due to several unique circumstances happening all at once (influx of top WCW stars, return of HHH, rise of Brock, + other worthy WWF stars). And sure, creative wasn't giving him the absolute best stuff to work with story wise. But he was still working with stars and legends. He was still being given stuff that he could have knocked out of the park. He just wasn't in a good place.
Agreed. As J.R. said......."Austin wasn't into making good matches.....he was into making GREAT matches."
Well said. 2002 was a year of many changes with evolutions of characters and the presentation. Stone Cold got lost in the shuffle in the midst of everything and just wasn't the same as he was.
You know what whatever, whatever we all got on Hulk Hogan and on Shawn Michaels when they pull backstage politics BS and in reality that's what Stone Cold Steve Austin was doing. He saw others were starting to rise and he couldn't take it, let's just call it what it is
Yeah a break would have been good for him
@@WillsonT011 exactly, yet people will jump all over Hogan but it’s ok when Austin does it?
2002 I would say was the year where Stone Cold just wasn't the same as he used to be. The last great year of his career from beginning to end I would say is 1999. While he was still red hot in 2000, The Rock & Triple H were the focal point of the WWF and Austin wasn't as active as he was before. 2001 was an up and down year for him with all the face then heel then face then heel turns. It was all over the place. So from top to bottom, '99 was Austin's last great year as a tippy top guy.
This is a good summary. He should have never turned heel. At least when switched back to face, we got some excitement and buzz back and then short lived. It was overwhelming.
@@xxSlickAcexx Right. The face/heel turns felt very unnecessary and did not work out at all for someone who the fans wanted to cheer for again as their guy.
I thought the same thing
The point is Austin thought his character was gettin stale by that time
@@alexishanes6162 meh look at hogan he was the same for like 10 plus years and main evented mania after mania. Austin had main evented 3 manias then got tired of being a face like why, he didn’t need to be a heel especially right when wcw is coming in. And aligning himself with vince didnt have to be the way he turned heel, that made it worse
Austin was right. He shouldn't have lost to Brock in a qualifying match. Let him lose at the pay per view.
Austin screwed Austin lol
@@sacredsteeler noooo he was right
@@sacredsteeler WHAT?
Vince was willing to feed Austin to Lesnar as he did with all his other stars (Rock, Hogan, Taker, HHH, SM, Angle) to make him credible against Goldberg who was on the horizon...
Hindsight though
Do you know why Brock vs Austin could have been done on Free TV was because WCW was no longer around that's why. Everybody forgets about all of this. Had WCW still been a threat, yes we would have gotten Austin vs Brock on Pay-per-view
The reality is Brock was a rising star and Austin threw a hissy fit because he was no longer being featured as the big star. We all get on John Cena Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels when they played their backstage politics but everybody just wants to give Austin a free ride🤭
For all those issues he was going through he must have been at times a nightmare to work around
Bet JR was knackered being the go between
I kind of can see where Austin was coming from at that time he was exhausted creative was horrible at the time with his character and things were just getting frustrating.
He was exhausted but what about the fans? Did we wanted some change in 2002 because nothing seemed new to us anymore?
@@attiepollard7847 yeah I agree the fans deserved in explanation him walking out on the fans wasn't fair to them totally on your side on that part.
@@fitness65 yes but how old were you during that time in 2002 and did you kind of veer away from wrestling even before he left because your attention was someplace else in the entertainment world?
@@attiepollard7847 17 by then my mind kind of got away from wrestling I was thinking about the girls in my school especially when they started wearing thongs and then cars and college wrestling was like the furthest from my mind at 17
@@planescaped That is correct so far but Hogan Had Made that famous "creative controll-special" in His contract. I don't think Austin had
An Austin/Guerrero feud would have been a classic but it wasn't meant to be with Austin's in ring limitations at this time.
I think Eddie could have carried Steve to a great match.
I'm probably speaking now as my older self right now but during my younger self I did not feel the Eddie Guerrero was main event/championship material during that earlier stage..
They wrestled each other on house shows in mid-2002 and Eddie wrote in his book that they were having great chemistry and matches during that time. What could have been...
Eddie to.me he was always mainevent material even back then. .ausitn walking out screwed Eddie. Eddie could had s big push .I doubt they would made eddie beat ausitn over .but it made been great match sad the only live match ess squash match
@ ughhhh I just disagree about Eddie during that time. Maybe because it's Vince shoving down the big guy syndrome down the fans throats. I always thought of Eddie Guerrero as a cruiserweight/us heavyweight champion material
I never understood the Austin heel turns. He was always massively over with the fans. It was really disappointing to witness him suddenly disappear from our screens...
That's for sure
@Trump4Prison2021 Yeah but even he recognizes he should've at least stunned Vince the raw after WrestleMania
He had nobody to work with in 2001 after Rocky left for Hollywood and HHH got injured. Austin elevated guys like Jericho, Benoit. And especially Kurt during that time but the fans didnt want to boo Steve. They finally switched him back to a good guy but took the title off him and put him in a mid card feud with Hall at Mania. Very frustrating.
austin said he was bored with his character and wanted to do something fresh and lobbied to turn heel. blame Austin, not the company
Rock was back in the summer of 01@@Rschr101
I spent most of 2002 deployed after the 9/11 attacks so when I started watching again in 03 I was WAY out of the loop and wondering what was going on with Stone Cold. This is one of the most informative videos that gets right to the point of what was going on. Thanks for this
My cousin was deployed too and even in tents in Afghanistan they had satellite and would watch Raw and Nitro. Where was your that they didn't have television?
You can tell by the 2002 Austin was really completely physically drained by that point and on top of that his character was going downhill creatively just everything was going completely wrong for stone cold in 2002 probably one of the most troubling year of his wrestling career
Austin vs Hall at WrestleMania is hard to watch... No heart, no feeling.
Great job as always, Wrestling Bios
That's on Hall who was out drinking and got drunk the night before. No class and Austin deserved better. So did the fans.
Given what happened after he came back, His in ring career probably wouldn't have lasted much longer past June 2002 anyway if he stayed.
Thanks to everybody's favorite technical wrestler and prankster, Owen. Ugh.
@@Rschr101 You talk as if he did that piledriver entirely with the purpose of actually breaking his neck.
Accidents happen, kayfabe isn't actually real. You gonna try and guilt trip D'Lo Brown after what happened with Droz next smart guy?
@@anthonydeadman facts that was low and trifling Owen is dead and can’t even defend himself for an accident at that smh
@@anthonydeadman Prior to the match Stone cold kinda demanded that owen do the pile driver on his knees not his ass. Owen didn't listen.
@@anthonydeadman Yeah but to be fair, Austin has said that he told Owen before their match that he wasn't comfortable doing that spot in the first place. I don't necessarily blame Owen for the accident, but I think it was something that could've been avoided had he taken Austin's words of concern to heart.
Thank you for this very informative video.
Being a wrestling fan only since 2008 I never understood what exactly happened during this time period between Stone Cold and the WWE but now I do 👍🏻
Keep up the great work
Man some of these scenes feel like I watched them yesterday on my couch with my mom and dad I can remember my screams for Steve.
98-00 was by far the greatest time in the history of wrestling. Austin is a big part of why. When Austin, Hulk Hogan, and the Rock got in the ring together at WrestleMania 30 I almost cried.
Waiting for the WrestlingBios notification on Thursday and Sunday is the new tradition.
I agree, Daniel R! 🤜
"The Rock considers the WWE his home"
That aged well.
I'd say so, considering now he's far more successful and went further in his life than he would've if he'd stayed. And what's more he's inspired other wrestlers--i.e. John Cena--to do the same.
He didn't wanna spend the rest of his life under Vince's thumb like his father and grandfather. I'd say he's much better off.
Rock took his ball and went to Hollywood
june 2002 "the rock came to address the people and only the people"
march 2003 "the rock could care less about the people"
@@scotty87able I wouldn't say that is necessarily true. He did what was best for him and his family. I think anyone in his shoes would have done the same.
@@RayNormanBateman i know that was just quotes from his face and heel runs at the time.everyone says this and that about people but when its them in that position.
A Wrestling Bios to cap off Thanksgiving weekend! Thank you WB!!!
i love this man’s content i’ve learned sooo much
It just seems that Austin was lost in the shuffle in 2002. Things were changing after WrestleMania X8, the draft, Hogan's face run, Brock Lesnar's mega push, them wanting to push new faces and mix things up. If Austin stayed, he'd most likely would have been back in the Main Event not too long, probably after Summerslam 2002 when they introduced the World Heavyweight Championship, so we may have gotten Austin vs Triple, Austin vs Shawn Micheals, Austin vs RVD, and more. But he probably had to retire in 2003, or maybe even in 2002, as Austin was on a time limit with his body.
Would have loved an Austin-HBK in 2002, two faces at the time would have meshed really well and the match would have knocked their WM14 match out of the water.
i personally loved his alliance angle he was cool as hell in that time even the long sleeved shirt he wore with the longer goatee
WHAT!?
Yea heel Austin had some moments, Him saying “LOOK AT YA..LOOK AT YA, YOU’RE PATHETIC, LOOK AT YA..WHAT!?” 😂😂
@@mike_datzmag1c21 hahaa yea :)
After Vince Russo left the WWF creative team, I could tell that creative went down big time.
Nawwwww creativity kind of went downhill in 2002 and Vince McMahon loved for big guys like Brock Lesnar
Vince Russo was trash.
@Strigorvious Dregorous you know Vince always wanted to be a Hollywood director
@@Rob_Thorsman If that is the case, then why did raw get the highest ratings when he was there? Look at the ratings for Raw in 1999.
@@MarveltheCross316 By that logic he killed WCW.
Austin and The Rock were amazing and helped the WWE hit the peak it did
WOW! WOW!! So now I know what had happened to Austin in the WWE back in 2002. Honestly, it was perhaps the worst year of his wrestling career and it wasn't how it was when he rose to superstardom in 95-'99. Once Austin lost that momentum, it was clear that his time in wrestling would come to an end. Good documentary and covered everything I needed to know. Thanks, Wrestling Bios.
It's really weird that they wanted Austin to job on free TV. Austin was the most heavily pushed wrestler since Hogan.
They were giving away ppv matches on raw and SmackDown weekly , wrestling was so good back then especially the roster
The reason why they give for free on TV was because there was no more rivalry from WCW and ECW. Had those companies still been around especially WCW, then yeah, they would have waited for Brock vs Austin on PPV. The reality is often stone cold was trying to have it his way. It's amazing we all get on Hulk Hogan and on Shawn Michaels for backstage politics but we give Stone Cold a free ride😤
GS Esquire I know but they had Brock beat Rock on PPV. Why couldn’t they do the same for Austin? It doesn’t make any sense to beat a star as big as Austin clean on TV
@@rickytpb2164 They probably realized their mistake and did what Austin wanted to do. But with him gone indefinitely, Rock was the one to put over Brock.
As much respect I have for Austin, him being my favorite wwe superstar of all time, he wouldn't've lost a damn thing losing to Brock. Lesnar was being booked as a beast shaking the current meta up and it would've brought that shock factor in his favor if he went over on SCSA. Austin at that point was a hall of famer already and loved by everyone. The ending could've dealt with some interference shenanigans with Benoit or Eddie and that could've furthered their storylines. Then later Austin could've had his rematch on a big ppv against Lesnar with proper storytelling and lead up. In 2002 Austin was the old guy that still had it. Him losing against the younger talent out of nowhere would tell the tale that he needs to step it up. So in hindsight it would've made sense. It could've brought the hype back to his character with him wrecking stuff in the following weeks to show everyone and prove he's still that fired up badass. I was always upset with the way Austin's in ring career ended up. I feel like it had a little bit to do with jealousy considering the fans' attention was on all the shiny new toys. I don't blame him for being emotional though, with his personal life catching up to him and all.
This is the best wrestling channel on RUclips, I don't care, I said it.
Well said
@broootal Nah. OSW are good. Too much shtick though. Just give me the wrestling facts please.
Yeah, way better than that HRT Abomination.
Can't get enough of these uploads. Awesome again. Sad to see this year for Austin
I will absolutely always love Stone Cold Steve Austin! One of the nicest, most welcoming guy I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and I wish him nothing but the best! 😎
I loved how you put in the rap song hell yeah because to me it shows how stone cold Steve Austin is loved in every culture
You have the best wrestling videos out there.
Love the variety of topics.
Austin made the right decision..
@Versatile Wolf Yes he did.
@Versatile Wolf he for sure did
@Versatile Wolf nWo so u tellin me your biggest draw will lose a match to a rookie at the time with zero build up to it yea he made the right choice
@Versatile Wolf nWo "Defend him so strongly" I just said yes he did.
That was heavy. It's hard to make rational decisions when you're stressed out. In that mental state, a lot of people would have acted the same way. It's good that he had/has JR as a friend. Creative was definitely an issue back then, especially if they had "nothing" for the biggest star in the company & you unintentionally relegate a main eventer to a mid carder. Imagine any match Hall & Austin could have had if both of them were in a good place back then.
Stone Cold vs Brock Lesnar... in a king of the ring QUALIFYING match... 🤦🏼♂️
It should’ve been the final of the king of the ring tournament not a freaking qualifying match
No not really that should have at least been a SummerSlam main event
As hinted at here, it was probably a teaser...interference finish which would have led to something later. Not saying it was a good decision, but just putting them in the final of the KOTR tournament instead of building a huge feud for them at a huge PPV wouldn't have made much sense either.
Makes no sense as Austin already won the king of the ring
Thank you Wrestling Bios in my opinion you are the world champion of Wrestling content here on RUclips
I always liked his heel turn myself. It gave him the chance to expand the Stone Cold character, and also helped him extend his career for a short time
*Vince talks with Stone Cold on the phone and tells him the plans*
Stone Cold: “Really?!” *Hangs up*
Vince: “That went well! Can’t wait to see him at Raw tomorrow!”
Raw:................where’s Austin?????!!!!!!
Vince: Austin.....Your FIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@micahhill4786 Raw: WE WANT AUSTIN!
Austin: What?
@@richallenxbox1976 Vince: You hear that?????
RAW: We want Austin!!!!!
Vince: They must be cheering for triple h.
RAW: We want Austin!!!!!
Austin: 🖕🖕WWE Creative
It's so funny how Vince is never the one screwing anyone else. They only screw themselves. Don't like the creative direction? You screwed yourself! Got medical issues stemming from us pushing steroids on you? You screwed yourself! Smoking THE DEVIL'S WEED to deal with pain from a relentless touring schedule? Now you're in the wellness program/released--you screwed yourself!
The hell are you writing a script?
While Austin may not have handled himself in the best professional manner, I still can't help, but focus on the parallel between Hogan being put over Bret Hart in 1993 as with Austin in 2002.
It's a distinction
Austin wouldn't do the job for Hogan. He blamed Hogan for his WCW release and then the subsequent ECW burials of Hogan. Austin wasn't gonna put over Hulk. No way about it, brotha
@@dingdong7610rightfully so. If they did have a match it should be Austin going over Hulk clean.
@@countryboyred yes, in 2002, yes for sure
Watching this now makes me wonder how Austin would react to the creative team today.
He think it sucks which is true
Stone cold wasn’t gonna let Vince McMahon screw him like Brett screwed Brett
@Trump4Prison2021 You’re wrong if you pay attention to Vince McMahon you know he was done with stone cold so he was going to screw him
@Sam Crubish I don't understand, who is paying it?
How is putting someone over screwing?
@@blackmantis3130 because Austin was such a big deal that making him lose in a qualifying match for a small tournament like kotr that too in free tv was like spitting on his face saying they didn't need him anymore. And he knew that even if they agreed to let him win over lesnar they would later screw him in the same way they did to bret and the rattlesnake was having none of that. He knew he needed to give himself priority over any of Vince's stupid demands.
@@shreyampandey1952 lolx the story with bret hart is completely different.stone cold wasn't going to another wrestling company and 2002 wasn't really a good year for stone cold . The rock was the guy at the time. I understand he was pissed but stone cold did the forgivable which was walking out without discussing it with macmahon. Basically turned his back on the company.
Golden days of wrestling.
Stone cold Steve Austin,The Rock,and my personal favorite,Too Cool.
My favorite stunner ever is the Scott Hall double stunner. Sold to perfection.
Although I haven't watched wrestling since like 2004, I love these rewinds on what was going on at the time. I was still in middle school then and knowing what I do about workplace conflicts now, its really interesting to get a look at the dynamics that were happening behind the scenes
These themes for the beginning of the videos are on point.
Scott Hall Vs Steve Austin match was actually a pretty good match
True
Just Pick 1 NHL team and stick with them. Bandwagon fans are the worst
@@HoshizakiYoshimasa I enjoy the sport that's why I like 4 teams
@@HoshizakiYoshimasa the what I said had nothing to do with hockey
Damn man. Nothing but top tier content as of late. Thank you.
Watched Hall's selling of the stunner like 10 timers. Soooo good!
Hey hey. Wild intro.
Yo Wrestling Bios produced it too. He really been on fire lately
I was not ready for that at all like damn
That intro was hot fire
I appreciate that fellas... whenever he’s done making videos he has a future as a producer lol
I think Austin was one of the best Heels in History. If you really watched every Show back then you cant say he wasnt hated. He was
I completely agree. I always shake my head when I hear the narrative about what a supposedly huge mistake it was.
… I DID watch every show back then, and no, he wasn’t hated at all. I completely disagree with you. Most fans still absolutely loved Stone Cold and wanted him to turn back to a baby face. The heel turn had some funny moments (steve and Kurt’s segments come to mind) but overall it kinda sucked.
I look forward to your videos more than anything else on RUclips!
Man, a SCSA vs. Benoit match would've been awesome.
They started treating Stone Cold like a regular mid-card guy when he should've been treated like 2012-2018 Brock Lesnar. It was a lot of factors that lead to Steve "taking his ball and going home."
Austin wasnt a powerhouse...Austin's health was deteriorating, why should Austin hog the world title in 2002 when he had it most of 2002?
I'd LOVE TO SEE a story detailing the ECW Crucifixion angle,which I don't believe has ever been touched upon
I literally thought this was going to be about Austin's swaggering entrance. Thought 25 minutes was pushing it, but was willing to give it a chance
Back in June 2002 when I was 12 years old, I was really pretty sad, upset, frustrated and devastated that Stone Cold Steve Austin walked out of the WWE after five years of within the WWE and without my Stone Cold Steve Austin fan nation,then I wouldn't be the WWE fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin. So there.
Your content is very addictive my friend. Fantastic work.
You are in my mind again! Been wanting you to cover this for a while but since the streak video ive wanted you to do Austin walking out and a summary of Hogans contract, cant wait to see the latter be made one day!
People, please use my like button as “oooooooh, hell yeah!” for another wrestling bios and R8ed R collaboration from heaven on that opening theme. Superb 👏🏼
Thank you 💪🏾💪🏾
Great content, should do a video on Triple H's reign of terror.
The horror.....the horror
Kills me every time McMahon tries to claim the wrestler personally hurt the fans and everyone in the company because the wrestler refused to let him bury them on TV.
Forgot how in shape Scott Hall was still at this time.
Never considered him a baby face or a Heel. Stone Cold was just Stone Cold to me.
Always best when they let Steve be Stone cold instead of telling Steve how to be Stone Cold.
That caused him to leave the territory?? That's an old school fan right there.
"Took his ball and went home"🤣 way to make him into an elementary school kid in one sentence
It'd have just been so great if Brock took out Austin before the match started. Austin is making his way to the ring for the match and Brock attacks from behind and destroys Austin. That way Austin could have taken some time off. Brock could have gone on to dominate and even if it was a year later, Austin could have returned for revenge.
That'd would have been insane.
Austin probably would've been fine with that.
How long after the rock's lecture did He take his ball to Hollywood?
Tbf I think he did movies before that
Well Rock was just building his resume then. He didn’t become the megastar in the entertainment industry yet with the roles he was in at the time. Plus it was his management that convinced him to cut off ties to wrestling in order to make his name more mainstream.
He was pretty much one foot in the door around in 2001 so it was basically a matter of time.
Especially in Summerslam after losing the belt to Brock. He didn’t exactly need to come back afterwards.
You clearly don’t understand the reference. That’s in no way shape or for the same. Lmao.
@@Concrete.Ro5e You're right, the Rock has ALWAYS put wrestling first. Lol
It wouldn’t be a Sunday without some wrestling bios!
I was 15 in high school when this was going on no wonder WWE felt weird to me plus the thing WWE was also a big change to me.
The roster being so stacked was also a problem. The Rock was in and out due o his filming commitments but also as a direct result of Hollywood was the bigger star, if not the biggest since the heyday of Hogan back in the 80s. He was also young and better physically than an ageing Austin. The same could be said, physically, for Angle, Jericho, HHH and so many others on that stacked roster. Austin chasing Hogan for the title could have made sense but for a guy with all his personal troubles, all his physical issues and lack of focus...it's no surprise that Vinny started to lose confidence in him.
Austin was 38 in 02 the Rock was only 30 in 2002 Austin was done at the time
@@illkid86 if I was Vince I would have for Steve Austin to go into semi-retirement until he wanted to retire completely. An alternative universe if I'm Vince I'll probably would have done some layoffs and not a brand split. Now sure that may mean TNA may have to come to power and that may means the earlier development of Ring of Honor but it would have been necessary.
I love Austin (He was never my #1 favorite but he was awesome), and I have to admit.. He got super stale in 2002 when he turned back face. Basically the Same ol' Same ol', but with the "What?" catchphrase added. He was so awesome as the cowardly/paranoid heel. One of the funniest characters I can remember.
"Sweeter than Pat Patterson" hahaHaHAhaha!
I thought I was the only one that caught that 😭😭
Low Blow!!!!! Nevermind
The same thing happened to Sting and Rick Flair when Hogan came to WCW! Ric left…Sting stayed and took it and when an opportunity to step out of their shadow and shine came he took! It’s still talked about to this day! Austin, took his marbles and went home…
Ohhhhhh boy I wish I was Eric bischoff in those contract negotiations with Hogan in 1994.
Me as Eric bischoff: we going to pay you all this money but you are losing to Ric flair at least 7 times, 2 on PPV, 2 on nitro, 2 at live events & 1 at class of the champions, you also putting sting over 3 times, 2 on PPV & 1 on TV, losing to Vader, Lex Luger, losing to macho Man when he comes to WCW and you're going to headline starrcade in 95, 96 & 97. Other than that you're going to get majority of the wins when you're here.
Austin will always be a fan favorite and my personal favorite because Stone Cold is the closest a wrestling persona has ever been to the real life person.
Ric Flair would like a word with you fool
He didn't want to be bood over Hogan, let's face it that's a fact, nothing could have beat that pop Hogan got at WMXVIII, Hogan was willing at these times to put others over cleanly,...Austin wasn't, and for the record Scott should have been put over which was the original plan until Austin bitched about it to Vince.
I think he could of put over Brock if the build up was given to it than it being a throwaway bout.
But that is a guess. Austin was also tired and burned out too after so many years and nagging injuries can be a bitch. He basically became insufferable in a sense sadly.
Also creative issues too.
He ended up walking out again in 2005. He seems to have a tumultuous relationship with the company where he walks out, angering Vince and then makes up with him.
Great video as always. I feel like something that gets missed a lot, maybe because it's not 100 been proven is the games H was playing to try and maintain his spot whilst trying to cool off Austin at the same time. Austin hasnt ever said this publicly but others have said this to him and he always side steps the question.
I mean do you blame triple h for wanting to keep his spot? Now I don't believe he had anything to do with Austin's creative backstage but when Austin left that was his good opportunity to be the main guy on top