Austin to Ref Hart vs McMahon?

[IrishCanadian25]

Spoiler: March Guest Host

For those who haven't read yet, Stone Cold Steve Austin is hosting Monday Night Raw a mere 2 weeks out from Wrestlemania this year.

Here are a few reasons why Stone Cold Steve Austin would make a load of sense as the special guest referee for a potential Hart / McMahon Wrestlemania altercation.

1. Austin and McMahon's feud is legendary - perhaps the only feud in recent memory that rivals that or Hart / McMahon. Having Austin and McMahon in the ring together, even as participant and referee, is something neat to see, ESPECIALLY at Wrestlemania.

2. Austin and Hart's feud is almost legendary - remember it was the Hart / Austin Wrestlemania match that contained the now infamous "double-turn" and also signified a passing of the WWF torch to Stone Cold. For the 365 days following the submission match loss to Hart, Austin carried the momentum from the match straight to a Royal Rumble win and a first WWF Title one year later.

3. Austin as a ref in a street fight? Makes perfect sense. Maybe he will offer one of them a microphone wire to choke the other one with.

4. Takes emphasis off of Hart's performance. Ring rust. Stroke recovery. There are a few concerns about Hart going into this match, even placing age aside. Austin's presence would take some of the focus off of what Bret is ABLE to do.

5. A potential feel-great ending. We all know that Hart and Austin are close. Austin inducted Bret into the HOF. But a match ending of McMahon tapping to the Sharpshooter and Austin stunning the chairman, followed by Austin having a Budweiser and Hart having a Molson? Would be worth it.

 

[D-Man]

All of this is good stuff. I agree with every point that IC25 made here. But, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't worried about how the match would actually pan out...

Let's face it, Austin, Vince and Bret are all older, out of shape, and have tons of ring rust. Even though they are all consumate professionals, it doesn't take away from the fact that I'd be worried if they all got into a match with each other.

Sure, on paper, this looks like a hell of a match and card. But I feel that it would be rushed and the audience would be left disappointed in the end. They don't have the stamina to stretch out a 20 minute matchup. Making the match into a street fight will eliminate the possibility of a botch-fest, but it's also an element that makes Vince look very sloppy. Besides taking injury-risking bumps, Vince needs the psychology of an in-ring match to tell the story properly... if he's on the offensive. Defensively, in the past, Vince has always been good at standing there and taking tons of punishment from his opponents, especially at his old age. But there's just too many factors about this possible match that are making me sweat a bit.

But, in the end, I'd pay the money just to see the history unfold. After all, this match is more about making history than making a great, psychological match. The fans would win in the end... no doubt about it.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

D-Man, I totally hear you. And your concerns about wanting more are valid. So here's the remedy.

Hart vs McMahon w/ Austin as the referee wouldn't be a curtain jerking match. I could see if coming immediately after the first major World Title match (say for arguments sake Batista vs Mysterio) but just before Michaels / Undertaker 2. Obviously, the former and the latter would be long and intense wrestling matches. But the emotional value of the Hart / McMahon match would be well worth it, and with a potentially stacked card, you don't need to have the 50-something and the 60-something go 30 minutes.

People are going to pay for the PPV for a myriad of reasons, and one of them would damn sure be to see Austin, Hart, and McMahon all in the ring at the same time. It's not about the match - it's about the moment.

 

[AMH]

This only makes sense. The biggest rivalry of all time Austin and McMahon put together against the biggest real life rivalry Bret Hart and McMahon. In a match like this, you can't have any little old referee out there. You'd have to have someone who could add fuel to the fire so to speak. And there's no one better to do so than the Rattlesnake himself, Stone Cold Steve Austin. This would be a HUGE addition to this match. Make it happen McMahon. And as for them all being out of shape as was previously stated, I'm not so sure about that. I don't know about some of you, but I thought Bret Hart looked pretty good last week. He doesn't seem to appear much bigger. His face luckily hasn't really been effected by the stroke. Now, I know his head is still touchy, which of course it would be after suffering two strokes, but I think he may not be as bad as we've been stating. I mean, he'd know better than anyone. He wouldn't do the match if physically he wasn't able. Austin's in good shape too. Didn't he just do a spread with a fitness magazine not too long ago. Maybe not, I'm not sure. But this is going to be a great match believe it or not. The drama alone will win over the fans. It doesn't have to be a "five star" match to get us excited. The history alone has already won me over.

And don't worry about where it goes on the card. Because if the WWE were smart, they'd make Taker/Michaels II the main event. Which is where it deserves to be. Wrestlemania is really building into quite the card, already. Without even knowing the title matches, I'm excited.

 

[tehblogger]

Yeah, exactly. Think of this in terms of Michaels/Flair at Mania 24. That was one of the world's shittiest botch-fests ever, with Flair just being absolutely terrible and HBK trying a little bit too hard. But ultimately it didn't matter, because everyone cared so much about Flair's sorry-ass career that it was a great occasion, even if I couldn't have given a fuck personally.

If Hart/McMahon happens, nobody's expecting a classic, just a shitload of brutality and the resolution to the greatest storyline of all time. Montreal was the moment when wrestling stopped being scripted and became all-too-painfully real, and now, finally, we get the blow-off from that.

I wouldn't mind Austin guest-reffing, but, um, didn't they have this big send-off ceremony with Austin at last year's mania? And now he's back again? Arguably this would just take the spotlight off what really matters: Vince and Bret. Hmmm.

 

[SnailBobby]

There really is nothing in wrestling that can compare to this angle, it is a one of a kind event and hopefully the WWE puts out their best work and really gives the fans the climax that this feud deserves. Not only would it be amazing to see Bret wrestle one more time, we get to see him wrestle his greatest rival, Vince McMahon. There is so much history to this match that hopefully they exploit. For example, before the montreal screw job, there is the footage of them getting into a fight on a broadcast of Raw (From Halifax I believe) So they could really build the tension that these two. They have had tension their whole lives, it just wasn't one event. Vince simply never liked Hart. Simply put this angle has the potential to be huge. They should really have one RAW in Canada before Wrestlemania, just for the huge pop that would ensue.

 

[jccool420]

I agree, it wouldn't have to be a long technical match... a street fight would be the best setting, assuming vince takes an ass whipping for the majority of the match. Im pretty sure that Austin will be involved in wrestlemania in some way, because his guest host spot is less than two weeks away... Im sure vince won't miss this payday

 

[irwin4202003]

I think that is a fabulous idea to have Stone Cold Referee the Street Fight between Vince and Bret. Although it does seem a bit different to have a Special Guest Referee in a Street Fight. It would take the heat off of Hart and would probably be an all around better match.
I feel that this Wrestlemania is a good time to induct Owen and Bulldog into the HOF! (as well as a boat load of other Hart family members)

 

[Dave]

The first thing that I find to be intriguing is that Austin is even coming back to WWE. I remember hearing him at Wrestlemania last year and more to the point, his Hall Of Fame induction. In that, he mentioned that he was looking to close this chapter of his life and move onto new ventures. The fact that he is now returning doesn't really surprise me, to be honest. I think that as long as Stone Cold is in the hearts and minds of the fans, he will always be welcomed at Wrestlemania. With that being said, I think that this appointment raises some eyebrows and questions across the board.

The first question I had was why he had decided to do this job and then I read this thread. It all makes sense, if it is done properly and if this match is indeed how it is going to pan out, I am looking forward to seeing all of the ways that Stone Cold could be used. I don't expect him to side with McMahon and I don't think he would side with Bret in all honesty. So the position of Austin will be a strange one is he is named as a referee for that match.

The other question is, what would that match pan out like. I have to tell you that I don't really look forward to this match as it is right now. The thing that keeps crossing my mind is that both of these men have been out of the ring for years now and they are bound to be rusty if not terrible. With Austin as a ref, some of that attention that could be focused towards the match, will be focused on how Austin will play out. My thoughts about this match are confusing right now because I could certainly like to see these three men occupy the same ring again but I fear that it could be a terrible match.

I guess we will just have to see.

 

[trailbyfire]

I agree with you guys that putting Austin in the match would help take the load off Hart and Vince, but its not really something that I'd want to see. Obviously, what happened last week on Raw was historical; who ever thought we would see Bret back in a wrestling ring again? However, I feel like adding Austin to this would sort of take away the magic that this feud could possibly have. Personally, I think that this storylne should only be about Bret and Vince. If you add someone else to this match, I feel like the match wouldn't be the same. This conflict has been going on for 12 years, it has been legitimate for so long, and it is something that should only be settled between Bret and Vince. If they can't have a street fight, or if they're gassed out midway through the match, then add HBK as a special guest referee...hes the only other guy who was apart of this conflict and who would have a good reason for beign invovled in the storyline. Otherwise, leave this story between Bret and Vince. That's the way it should be.

 

[smagfx]

McMahon Vs Hogan WrestleMania 19 anyone? What's the one thing we remember about that match? Piper. It didn't matter about the over selling and the inability to wrestle (as that too was a street fight) I think IF and that's a big IF this match goes ahead, Austin is a good idea to use as some sort of enforcer.

 

[lordslix0129]

In that, he mentioned that he was looking to close this chapter of his life and move onto new ventures. The fact that he is now returning doesn't really surprise me, to be honest. I think that as long as Stone Cold is in the hearts and minds of the fans, he will always be welcomed at Wrestlemania. With that being said, I think that this appointment raises some eyebrows and questions across the board.

I was at the hof last year in person, and I think Austin just meant that he wanted to close the door on the idea that he would ever wrestLe again, but its open to interpretation. I miss The Rattlesnake more than any wrestler in this business, and I will always mtfo when he comes out.

So the position of Austin will be a strange one is he is named as a referee for that match.

Indeed, and honestly I doubt Austin will be involved at this years Wrestlemania. He will be there for one night to help accelerate the Bret/Vince feud, to promote his new movie and then he'll be gone again.

However, I feel like adding Austin to this would sort of take away the magic that this feud could possibly have.

You are right, if the Austin of the past 4 years is involved in this feud, his presence will be very anti-climatic. That's why I really hope that we see the Austin from 97 that comes out, idc who he sides with, I just wanna see the baddest mother fker in the history of this business beating the shit out of someone in this feud.

Last I heard, Bret was incapable of wrestling because of past injuries, so I'm wondering if Bret will even be in a match this year.

 

[darqknyt]

It makes sense, although I feel bad for Austin.He's really tainted his legacy by all these non-wrestling comebacks.Kids born in the 2000s probably thought he was inducted into the HOF because he was WWE's greatest Guest Referee.If they were going to have a special ref. then it would/should have to be HBK.The uncertainty as to whether HBK would call the match down the middle & not screw Bret again would add to the match's hype.I actually have a sneaking suspicion that Bret vs. Vince will happen at Backlash and the WM26 match will be the Hart Dynasty (Bret, DH Smith, Kidd) vs. Legacy (Orton, DiBiase & Rhodes) That way, Kidd & Smith would carry most of the match & Bret can just come in for a couple of spots and the sharpshooter to make Randy tap.Although it would also be a perfect opportunity for Smith to turn on Hart & join Legacy.That would be one hell of a WM moment with Orton having kicked (the stroke survivor) Bret in the head and then kicking Ted out of Legacy and replacing him with Smith. (If WWE uses this angle, you'll know they stole it from me!)

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Problem with putting Austin as the ref in Bret/McMahon at WM26 is that Austin is bound to out pop Bret and McMahon drawing the drama away from the actual rivalry.

 

[projectaero]

I feel this wouldnt be that good primarly for austin, because if its a special ref match then something will clearly happen but austin cant wrestle, neither can vince so where can you go with it.

 

[SHAYAN_CENA_Y2J]

Firstly,I have to say I prefer to see VKM and Bret not having a match themselves.I think they should pick 2 Superstars to represent them and i am agree with the Idea of Special guest referee cuz it will make it more classic.

This ref can be Austin,which is a really good and boring choice!

He has done it nearly a million times,and he can't provide something new.Damn sure he won't screw Bret's side,Damn sure he can't do something more than a stunner to the chairman.So we have seen it a lot.

I think the best way to involve Austin in to this match is that he should interfere surprisingly,give a stunner to Vince and help Bret to put Vince in Sharpshooter.

 

[Tastycles]

It's a very interesting proposition, I think. If Hart takes on McMahon, it'll probably be a shit match, because Vince isn't a wrestler and Hart is a stroke victim. As a result, I think it should be a street match or something like that so the obvious weaknesses can be ignored to a certain extent. A special referee would do that even further, but I only worry that actually openly using Austin will make the match about Austin and McMahon and not Hart and McMahon. That being said, who cares if the spotlight isn't on the original feud if it is still compelling vision. It couldn't be any more obvious that Hart will win no matter what, so they might as well give it one of those iconic WrestleMania moments - Austin and Hart taking out McMahon together. I like the idea, but I'm ambivalent as to if I want it to happen.