Did Austin vs. Triple H happen one PPV too early?

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Everybody knows about the epic match that happened at No Way Out between HHH and Austin which could arguably be the best both those men have wrestled. It's been argued that this should have been the main event of Wrestlemania. I believe the WWE missed an opportunity to have the best Wrestlemania match of all time (yes it would have been better than HBK/Taker) and here's why.

They had the foundation set for this to happen. During the Kurt Angle/HHH match for the title, Austin interfered and then Angle won and kept his title. Austin would go on to win the Rumble and face the Rock who won the title against Angle at No Way Out at Wrestlemania.

With the bad blood they had with HHH being behind Austin getting ran over, wouldn't it have made sense for HHH to beat Angle for the title and then have that three stages of hell match for WM. Kurt Angle could have faced the Rock at WM because the Rock/Austin match wasn't that good.

What no better way to overcome your biggest adversary and defeat him at Wrestlemania for the title. This could have happened and Austin could have turned heel at the Invasion. I believe WWE missed this opportunity and things wouldn't have been a whole lot different if my scenario actually happened.

So do you think that a grand opportunity was missed with having HHH/Austin at Wrestlemania instead of No Way Out? If you do, state what would you have done to make it different?

 

[Chopper]

I will have to disagree, although it would of been a great Wrestlemania match, we never would of saw Austin's heel turn. Of course this match would somehow had of been for the title (HHH wins at NWO, Austin at WM)

For the record... wm17 was Austin/Rock's best match!

 

[LongHessa]

I also disagree. HHH/Austin would be been a fantastic WM main event but Austin/Rock is without question the biggest and best match for that WM and that era.

 

[bioshock]

I'd say I don;t know. Because you forget HHH did face Undertaker and it was one hell of a match IMO stole the show, and is one of the best WM matches ever, on top of Austin/Rock being on of the best too.

But had it been done different, yeah HHH/Austin in 3 stages of hell would of been epic in front of 65,000, then have Rock vs Undertaker, and have the I think Angle vs Benoit match. Or was it Angle vs Y2j...I forget.

 

[klunderbunker]

No.

HHH vs. Austin was indeed a great match and likely better than Austin/Rock, but a few things to consider.

Austin/Rock was far from bad. I think I graded it as an A or so. It's a great match in its own right so it's not like you had a classic vs. HHH/Orton from last year or something.

Rock was WAY ahead of HHH. The thing is there was zero chance that this was going to be anything but Rock vs. Austin from the day Austin got back. Rock had shot up so far in popularity in Austin's absence that only Austin was ahead of him in popularity. You had the two biggest stars in the world wrestling on the grandest stage of them all for the world title. That's what Wrestlemania is all about.

The heel turn. That was one of the best that I can ever remember and it worked like a charm. Just an awesome moment to close the Attitude Era and memorable to say the least.

The schedule worked out perfectly as it was.

 

[Jetspete]

i hated everything about the austin heel turn, so i agree with you. First, there was no reason to turn Austin heel, had some funny moments, but overall stupid. plus it gave us the What? chant, which is by far the worst thing to happen to wrestling this decade, maybe ever.

hindsight is 20/20. but my opinion, however, has changed a lot on HHH over the past few years. During his title runs from 02 - 05 i viewed him as undeserving and overrated to be the top draw in the company. Now, seeing him after his orton feud and a revival of Dx, the guy might be one on the edge of the Pantheon of all time greats. AS such, this wouldve been a perfect match for WM.

 

[Max Moon]

i hated everything about the austin heel turn, so i agree with you. First, there was no reason to turn Austin heel, had some funny moments, but overall stupid. plus it gave us the What? chant, which is by far the worst thing to happen to wrestling this decade, maybe ever.

hindsight is 20/20. but my opinion, however, has changed a lot on HHH over the past few years. During his title runs from 02 - 05 i viewed him as undeserving and overrated to be the top draw in the company. Now, seeing him after his orton feud and a revival of Dx, the guy might be one on the edge of the Pantheon of all time greats. AS such, this wouldve been a perfect match for WM.

So, HHH stepping up (or being placed, however you see it) into the "company guy" place from 02-05 and basically carrying the company was just "meh"? But after his fifth run with DX and his seventh feud with orton he is now a living working legend? I don't get it.

 

[SHAYAN_CENA_Y2J]

I disagree too.HHH/Austin could have been one hell of a show but IMO,WM 17 is the greatest PPV in history so I think it was better to have two awesome showdowns between Taker/HHH (Which I believe is the Taker's best match after WM 25 in his 17-0 Mania series.)and Austin/Rock instead of one.

 

[d_henderson1810]

i hated everything about the austin heel turn, so i agree with you. First, there was no reason to turn Austin heel, had some funny moments, but overall stupid. plus it gave us the What? chant, which is by far the worst thing to happen to wrestling this decade, maybe ever.

hindsight is 20/20. but my opinion, however, has changed a lot on HHH over the past few years. During his title runs from 02 - 05 i viewed him as undeserving and overrated to be the top draw in the company. Now, seeing him after his orton feud and a revival of Dx, the guy might be one on the edge of the Pantheon of all time greats. AS such, this wouldve been a perfect match for WM.

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I actually thought that the Austin heel turn was perfect timing. Austin's act had grown a little stale, and needed something fresh and new. Having Austin heel, and changing everything that made Austin appeal to the fans, gave the character new life, and I actually thought that it allowed Austin another dimension. I especially noticed that he was more humourous at this time (especially being a foil for Kurt Angle) and Austin was quite funny. The heel turn also gave him fresh opponents to fight, and I think that he had fought most of the top-line heels at that stage.

I also think that Austin-Rock was perfect for WMX7. When the match was announced, I predicted an Austin heel-turn, because I wondered where else they could go with him. And I thought for an Austin heel turn to be a really big thing, it had to be on a big stage, against someone who the fans could side with, and , at that time, only the Rock had the popularity to make Austin's heel-turn have a major impact. I noticed too, that Austin himself seemed to enjoy his new role, and when he went back face, he seemed dissatisfied, and started walking out on WWE constantly. So, the Austin heel turn was as big as Hogan turning heel at BATB 1996, and helped give new "life" to the character.

BTW, Austin-Rock at WMX7 is the best WM main-event ever IMO.

 

[Hulkster84]

I agree totally. Austin v HHH was a hot match at around that time and i remember thinking why WWE would blow such a good Wrestlemania match at NWO. Austin Rock was good but it had been done before at Wrestlemania, and a few other times. Austin HHH hadn't been done since both men were on the undercard. Loss for WWE. I always thought that.

I also felt that Hogan v HBK ahould have been done at Wrestlemania. Summerslam is arguably the second most significant PPV of the year, but that kind of a dream match deserved to be done at Wrestlemania.

 

[SickJames]

I strongly disagree and yes as others said, WMX7 was the best and that match even won Match of the Decade and is the best main event in WrestleMania history

so good they had to do it THREE Times

Besides that it had great build up like I've never seen for a match, the highlight video was the best I've seen ever and the two biggest names going at it was more epic

those two had better chemistry and were the two greatest entertainers

When those two are in a ring together it's magic

 

[Limelee666]

Jetspete says there was no reason for Austin to turn heel but i disagree. I see Austin losing to HHH at NWO as the tipping point. It was the first time in a long time that Austin had lost a match fair and square in a very long time. Up until that point, Austin losses were always screw job finishes of some kind so he could save face. At WM17, just before the Main Event Video package aired, Heyman said "it's a match both men have to win, and neither man can afford to lose". Austin felt he didn't have what it takes to beat The Rock alone, and sure enough, he didn't. But he had to win otherwise his reputation would be destroyed.

In terms of Wrestlemania 17, HHH/Austin ended at exactly the right time at NWO. The main events of Wrestlemania that year were incredible. A classic encounter that we'd never seen before in HHH/Taker. Then Rock/ Austin in a face Vs face match ala Hogan/Warrior! Both matches were 5 Star!

The attraction of WM17's card was that the main events were matches we hadn't seen in a long time, or ever on PPV. HHH/Austin was given to us a Survivor Series. Putting it on at Wrestlemania wouldn't have felt fresh! Hence why Orton/HHH sucked!

 

[Shocky]

Completely agree. The entire point of Steve Austin coming back was finding out why and who was behind his attack in November of 1999, a match that happened to feature Triple H in it as well. Everything from Summerslam 1999 to Wrestlemania 17 had Triple H vs. Steve Austin written all over. Austin and Triple H were feuding before he got injured, and began to feud right before Wrestlemania when Triple H was determined to be the man behind the angle.

Instead, we get the WWE going the safe route by having Rock vs. Austin. I'm in the minority when I say this match was over rated, I realize that. However, In my book I take the No Way Out match over Austin Rock any day of the week. The storyline demanded Triple H vs. Austin, instead the WWE played it safe. Lame.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

The most sense would be to conclude your storyline at Wrestlemania. It's not only the biggest stage in wrestling, but it's the conclusion to the story. HHH and Austin should have wrestled and you delay Austin's heel turn for the other PPV or possibly Summerslam. But the sense of logic was Rock and Austin were the two biggest guys at the time and to have them Main Event Wrestlemania made good business sense. And it did.

But for storyline sake, you further the HHH/Austin feud and conclude it at Wrestlemania. But that would make too much sense. And as we all know, Vince could care less about the story, he wants the 'monay!' So he got it with that Main Event and in the process, turning Austin, and even teaming him up with HHH, with the reasoning being that "I want a crazy bastard like HHH on MY side." I guess.

But the Austin/HHH PPV match was too early. Should have been at Wrestlemania.

 

[classicviolence]

I disagree because HHH won @ NWO 01. If this would have happened at WMX-Seven that would have left fans in Texas really angry.

I still watch matches avidly from the past and the instant the Austin/Rock match started the electricity and intensity just took over that entire match. Everyone who saw that match felt that match.

As far as the HHH/Austin match it was a match that HHH had to win to further put himself over as the "Cerebral Assassin". At that time HHH had not beaten Austin or Undertaker, he had only beaten Rock, Foley and Show. That match was critical to HHH's career as a dominant heel, and him winning WM 2000 and WM X-seven would have been bad business.

 

[DJ-LyRiX]

I think arguments could be made for both sides, but ultimately, the probable cause of the storyline shift from HHH to Rock for Austin was that Rock disappeared the Raw immediately following WM-X7 to film Scorpion King. He was gone for months, so therefore no feud between Rock & Austin (a money-spinning feud at that) would take place.

Everyone knows that by that point, The Rock was the biggest draw and most mainstream name, with Austin not far behind him. Both were the only real recognised names in WWF/E beyond the boundaries of wrestling, so it made sense in terms of buyrates to include them in the same match.

As well, fears over Austin's neck were growing within WWF/E by this point. He'd just come back from his second neck surgery and it was clear that he would not be able to go forever. He wasn't at WM2000 and Rock was going off to do films, Vince probably thought the chance wouldn't come along again.

Retrospect tells us that Austin/HHH would have been awesome, and it would, but HHH was not as big then as he is now. So putting him in the WM main event in the place of either Rock or Austin would have been a bad call.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah, while I love HHH-Austin, I think the right decision was made. Here are my reasons.

1. Austin-Rock is one of the great Wrestlemania matches. I put it up there with Savage-Flair, Savage-Steamboat, Savage-Warrior (er, spotting a trend??) and HBK-Taker in my personal WM faves. It screamed Mania main event more than any other match possibly could have done, it was built up perfectly and it was what the majority of wrestling fans wanted to see.

2. Argue about whether it would have happened but for Austin's injury until the cows come home, the fact is that The Rock was THE hottest property in wrestling when Austin returned and remained more popular than Austin up until Wrestlemania (FWIW I doubt Rock would have scaled such heights had Austin remained abut the whole time, but we'll never know and Rock's popularity was soaring before Austin left). To not have him in the Wrestlemania main event would have been ludicrous. He was going away for a few months as well so Vince needed to make the most of him while he was still there (like Jeff Hardy last year but on a much bigger scale).

3. Austin turning heel was so monumental that it couldn't happen anywhere but Wrestlemania. This couldn't have happened if he'd fought Triple H, it basically couldn't have happened against anyone but Rock.

4. Austin-Triple H had happened at Survivor Series! You don't give away your Mania main event on Survivor Series, surely?

5. The three stages of hell match was the perfect way to end the Austin-Triple H feud. I don't think that it would necessarily have been doable at Mania, on top of that having it occur in between the Rumble and Mania meant you didn't have Austin in the no-mans land that the Rumble winner can sometimes experience between RR and NWO.

This thread has reminded me of another thread I've been meaning to start for a while

 

[Miko]

No way man, Austin and HHH had a bloody match at No Way Out sure, but even after all that, despite all that even, it was about Austin vs Rock, that's what people wanted to see, the two most popular men on the roster going toe to toe. HHH could've murdered Austin's family and people still wouldnt have cared nearly as much about him, or his fued with Austin as they would've with The Rock, the reason, HHH just isnt as good as Rock was.

It also helped develop Austin's and Rock's characters, Rock wanted to even the WrestleMania score, and had improved so much that he was gonna do it, Austin was so used to being champion that he couldnt function without it, he knew he couldnt beat The Rock on his own, so he had to team up with his arch enemies Vince and HHH to get it done. The Austin vs Rock saga is far more entertaining and meaningfull than anything with HHH.

 

[Straight Edge Loyalist]

Or they could have Triple-Threat the main event, and have Angle face Undertaker instead of HHH. Since both The Rock and Austin were faces at the time, so later in the match they could have teamed up to take out HHH(it was no DQ as well, so it could have been realistic), and the finish would not have changed.

Meh, just an idea.

 

[The Brain]

I completely understand why you would want Austin vs. Triple H as the main event for WrestleMania X7. It was a great feud between two top guys that had been built up for a year and a half. They also delivered a great match at No Way Out. Plus Austin vs. Rock happened at WrestleMania XV. I’m not crazy about WrestleMania rematches. I’ve always found their matches to be overrated anyway. This match was ok, but not anywhere near as good as people make it out to be. I also think Kurt Angle would have been a good opponent for Austin. Angle had an amazing rookie year and squeaked by the top stars while becoming the most hated guy in the WWF. Austin coming back to end the title reign at mania could have worked.

With that said I actually have to disagree. I think it was done right. Austin and Rock were by far the two biggest stars in the company. The two of them main eventing mania to close out the attitude era was appropriate. Besides, both were face now. That added an extra element to the match. More than that though, I take the rest of the card into consideration. I love the build for Triple H vs. The Undertaker. That was a fresh feud between two huge stars and was definitely worthy of mania. I could see choosing Austin vs. Triple H instead of Austin vs. Rock, but I wouldn’t trade Taker vs. Triple H to get it.

I do think Austin vs. Triple H should have been the main event for WrestleMania X8. Triple H had just returned from the first quad injury and his popularity was at an all time high. Austin was still popular but was winding down. It could have been the ever popular passing of the torch. Remember Austin and Triple H were partners when HHH got hurt. They could have had something similar to what Edge and Jericho have today, but not as obvious with both being face. Plus the showdown they had at the rumble seemed like a mania preview. I liked that Jericho was getting such a big opportunity by main eventing mania against Triple H, but looking back Austin vs. Triple H would have been better for WrestleMania X8.

 

[Big Sexy]

I disagree. The thing that made the Austin vs Triple H match at No Way Out great was the three stages of hell stipulation. Austin vs Triple H in a regular no dq match would not have been as good as the Rock vs Austin match. The WWE put their two biggest stars in the main event for the title. That match and the Austin heel turn that came with it helped make Mania 17 one of the best Wrestlemanias ever.

 

[Tastycles]

I think you've got to look at the fuller picture before making an analysis. Triple H vs Austin is probably what should have gone down at WrestleMania 2000 but couldn't, and then they get to WrestleMania X-7. However, by looking at 2001 in a bit more detail, I think I'd probably agree with you.

Triple H ended up fighting Undertaker in what was a good match, Angle fought Benoit, and Rock and Austin faced off. To me, this just smacks of taking the safe option, which seems frankly bizarre for the year that they finally beat the WCW into submission. Triple H vs Austin had WrestleMania written all over it, and they needn't have even had it for the title, if they didn't want to risk it as the main event. Rock could have won the Rumble and fought Angle, or better The Undertaker, which is most definitely a Mania match that never was.

I think they may have rushed this angle a little bit, and they could have gone much further with it.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I think you've got to look at the fuller picture before making an analysis. Triple H vs Austin is probably what should have gone down at WrestleMania 2000 but couldn't, and then they get to WrestleMania X-7. However, by looking at 2001 in a bit more detail, I think I'd probably agree with you.

Triple H ended up fighting Undertaker in what was a good match, Angle fought Benoit, and Rock and Austin faced off. To me, this just smacks of taking the safe option, which seems frankly bizarre for the year that they finally beat the WCW into submission. Triple H vs Austin had WrestleMania written all over it, and they needn't have even had it for the title, if they didn't want to risk it as the main event. Rock could have won the Rumble and fought Angle, or better The Undertaker, which is most definitely a Mania match that never was.

I think they may have rushed this angle a little bit, and they could have gone much further with it.

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Because they wanted to turn Austin heel. If he was going to go heel, and he NEEDED to go heel, it had to be on the biggest stage, and against the other hottest fan-favourite in wrestling. It had to be the Rock. Triple H, even as a face, doesn't have the popularity that the Rock had, so the impact of an Austin heel turn would have been lessened.

I know that a lot of the IWC didn't want Austin going heel, and would have rather he stay the same stale, overdone character he had always been, instead of freshening up the character, giving him entirely new feuds, and making him one of the hottest guys during the Invasion Era. Besides, Austin v Rock at WMX is the greatest WM main-event I have ever seen (followed by WMXX's main-event), whereas if Triple H had been in the main-event, he would have stunk it up like he did with Jericho in WMX8, John Cena at WM22, or Orton last year. Let's face it, most WM main-event featuring Triple H have sucked (and HBK and Benoit are the reason that it didn't at WMXX). So, Austin v Triple H wouldn't have been as good as Austin-Rock.

 

[WWEFan2000]

I have to say that the Austin-HHH was one of my favorites fueds that I have had the pleasure of watching in my 10 years of watching WWE TV. And their match at No Way Out was classic, no question about it. But I have to disagree with the OP.

Wrestlemania X7 was in my opinion the best PPV ever and Rock-Austin is my favorite all time match. Like others have stated, the build to this match was just outstanding. To this day, I have not wanted to watch a match as badly as I did that one and both guys delivered. I have not seen a match that displayed the intensity as that match. As good as 3 stages of Hell was, Austin-Rock was the best match of 2001 IMO. And the ending was a shocker to most, especially to me. I'm a die hard Rock fan so I hated to see him lose like that but I had always wondered what Austin would be like as a heel so the WWE hit the money with Rock-Austin. Austin wasn't the best heel but we saw a lot of funny moments that added more depth to the 'Stone Cold' character. But HHH-Taker was great as well and I wouldn't trade that match for Austin-HHH at Wrestlemania.

But another reason why I wouldn't have switched Austin-HHH to Wrestlemania X7 was that I just absolutely loved that No Way Out PPV from 2001. Everyone talks about Austin-HHH from that PPV but Rock-Angle for the WWE title was almost as good as that match. Great match and I believe that Angle proved that he belonged on the main event stage. The fatal 4 way for the IC title involving Y2J, Benoit, Eddie, and XPac was very good. Really no bad matches from this PPV and I think this may have been the second best PPV that year. One of my favorite PPVs ever and I am glad I have this PPV on tape. Underrated PPV from 2001 IMO.

 

[Why Always Me]

No, at No Way Out Austin needed a fued, he was already booked in for the Wrestlemania main event, and Triple H was the perfect opponent.

Plus if HHH v Austin had happened at mania then Austin could not of turned heel.

Austin v HHH should of main evented WM18 for the Undisputed title.