Steve Austin and HHH: The two man powertrip

[scottyshowman82]

I remember it like it was yesterday. When Austin did one of the biggest heel turns in the WWE against The Rock at Wrestlemania 17, The Rock was furious and wanted revenge. I remember the night after Mania. The Rock the babyface at the mercy of the Vince Mcmahon and Austin. And HHH's music hits, and he comes storming to the ring and the crowd erupts, and everyone just thought HHH was coming to save the Rock even though he was a heel because he was such a bitter of Austin. And then bam... he strikes the Rock and the two man power trip was born.

I really liked this concept. Two of the WWE's biggest more ruthless stars ever together in one unit. And even though it was just two guys when Triple H said, that they were two of the biggest and baddest stars ever to make a force no one could stop, you bought it. It was basically the Four Horsemen with two guys. Austin was the man and he WWE Champion and Triple H took a picked up the IC title. They then they also aquired the Tag Team Championships as well. This gave a nice rub to the tag team division as the exciting young team of Hardy Boyz got to work with two of the WWE's biggest singles talents. And these guys were doing some bad bad stuff. Austin was trying everything at the time so the fans wouldn't cheer him even shoving the end of steel chair repeatly in Lita's back. I remember even in the midst of the Attitude era TSN in Canada would not show the footage because I guess they thought it was too savage.

Sadly the angle had to be dropped when Triple H had his first quad injury back in 2001. But I think this angle had more wheels on it. Yes there have been super duos before and after them but no other team simultaneously monopolized the top 3 major titles in the company. I really like that. A lot of things have been rehashed, some a lot of more times than others.

If WWE did another two man power trip with the right two guys doing it the right way. I would very much enjoy it.

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[King of the Words]

I really liked it too. I would like to see Cena and Orton in a 2 man power trip, heels of course. Have them both on the same show and dominate as heels. Use this time to build Punk and Sheamus as the next two biggest names in the business. They could have a major feud and in the end Punk and Sheamus get the push. Orton and Cena could then have one more match against each other. This is probably the only way I would actually like seeing cena and Orton on Raw every week.

 

[mrfantastic111]

Actually when we had Edge, Orton and Lita form together as Rated-Rko back in 2006 it kind of reminded me of how HHH and Austin teamed up towards the end of the Attitude Era. Rated-Rko looked like it was going to be the next big thing that WWE, however, although it started well, within' a few months they had lost Lita, HHH got injured and so they couldn't continue their major feud with DX, they lost their tag titles to the Cena/Michaels WM feud, and then they were eventually broken up after Mania' so that Edge could goto Smackdown and Orton could take up the spot as top heel on RAW.

The whole power-duo is a fantastic idea because you know that there will usually be a fallout, and when the fallout occurs it occasionally leaves us with a fantastic feud at the end. Some power duos such as Hogan/Savage, Austin/HHH, etc are always fun to watch, but we haven't really had one for awhile. I can't imagine Cena/Orton, or Cena/Punk. When HHH and Punk teamed up briefly last year I thought that we were going to see some kind of alliance for awhile, but it was fairly short lived.

We don't have a power duo at the moment, but I have a feeling that on RAW in the future we will be seeing the Johny alliance that we saw at the Chamber; Del Rio, Mark Henry, Christian being the focus three. I would be more then happy if we saw more of this during 2012. Last year we saw Rhodes, Christian, Del Rio and Vickies faction team up for awhile on RAW giving promos, and I really wanted something to happen between them but nothing did.

WWE hasn't been the best in recent years at creating factions, but I the reason was because they tried so hard to form factions between wrestlers that we're over yet. Nexus was an exception because you hated Nexus as a whole, no matter what member (Besides Barrett). However, now that it's 2012 and alot of the guys who didn't have alot going for them last year are actually going somewhere, I assume that any faction (formed properly) would thrive in the RAW environment during 2012.

 

[JJ15776]

I've never been shy about the fact that that Triple H heel turn was one of the worst booking decisions the WWE has ever made. Not only did Austin just turn heel the night before, but The Rock would leave to film a movie after that episode of Raw. Your two biggest faces, gone in 24 hours. Triple H was the absolutely perfect person to step into that void...the fans started cheering him the minute he showed up on screen, arriving at the arena, before he even hinted at a face turn. They tried to plug Undertaker and Kane in, but as I much as I like them both, as much as they're both legends, neither of them ever have or ever will be a "Face of the Company" guy. (Especially not the "American Bad Ass" Undertaker, easily his weakest gimmick.) They tried Jericho and Benoit, and while they would obviously both go on to be world champions, neither was ready for it at the time. It would've been one thing if The Rock was still around to battle them. That would've been fine. But in The Rock's absence, they needed Triple H to chase after Austin's title. It would've been a great feud. (Obviously it would've been cut short by Triple H's injury, but they didn't know that was going to happen at the time.)

And that's not even mentioning how illogical the whole thing was. Austin and Triple H had just finished one of the most vicious feuds of all time that culminated in a 3 Stages of Hell match, which TRIPLE H won, and then a month later they're teaming up, with Triple H taking a back seat to Steve Austin? Settling for the Intercontinental title? That went against everything his character has ever stood for, before or since. It made no sense and did nothing for him. This is why I've said that you could argue that his first quad tear was the best thing that ever happened to him. It got him out of that storyline and allowed him to come back, FINALLY the top face he was supposed to be 9 months prior.

I still get worked up thinking about it. I just wish I could know what they were thinking when they made that decision. The only way for it to make any sense is if they planned all along to have Triple H turn on Austin and Vince in the near future. Maybe they planned on using that to springboard the InVasion somehow. But still, clearly, they would've been better off with Triple H staying a face and fighting Austin and Vince on that first Raw. Of course, we'll never know what the plan was since the storyline was cut short.

But yeah, I definitely think a super group like that could work very well if it was done right. I thought Rated RKO was going to be something like that, but they never seemed to reach their full potential for whatever reason. Same with Jericho and Edge(Edge's injury cut that short, of course) and then JeriShow. I thought they might do something with Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, back when they were both getting similar strong pushes right out of the gate(on separate brands), what with their similar backgrounds and being good friends in real life - which I remember them mentioning in, I think, a Royal Rumble match they were both involved in. But nothing ever came of that at all.

With everybody appearing on both shows now, you could have two guys holding both World titles and just dominating both brands. Could make a great storyline, with an epic blowoff match(and title unification?), if done right.

 

[Kiefer-Zeus]

Yes there have been super duos before and after them but no other team simultaneously monopolized the top 3 major titles in the company. I really like that. A lot of things have been rehashed, some a lot of more times than others.

2 Dudes with Attitudes - Shawn Michaels and Diesel done this first.

Then of course there was The Hart Foundation in 97 with Bret holding the WWF Title Owen and Davey Boy Smith as Intercontinental and European Championships as well as the Tag straps

 

[KnowMyRole-ShutYourMouth]

The 2 Man Power Trip was a cheap way to put heat on Steve Austin, and the fans saw through it and I believe it was a major factor in the failure that was the Stone Cold heel run. Everything came together too quickly and so inorganically that I think the angle lacked any sort of credibility. It didn't make sense that these two were all of a sudden best buddies after the last several years of a hate filled rivalry. Then, all of a sudden, Stone Cold was a bad guy and since Triple H was a bad guy: they loved each other.

Stone Cold & Kurt Angle was miles and miles better than the 2 Man Power Trip.

 

[FlairFan2003]

The only thing that hurt the Power Trip was the lack of believability that Austin & McMahon would be friends. There are some feuds so intense that you just cant see the participants getting together. You could never see Dusty Rhodes with Ric Flair in the 80s, Hart with Michaels in the 90s, or Austin teaming with McMahon. It was quick, which was a great swerve. It just didnt make as much sense.

 

[mrfantastic111]

The only thing that hurt the Power Trip was the lack of believability that Austin & McMahon would be friends. There are some feuds so intense that you just cant see the participants getting together. You could never see Dusty Rhodes with Ric Flair in the 80s, Hart with Michaels in the 90s, or Austin teaming with McMahon. It was quick, which was a great swerve. It just didnt make as much sense.

I totally agree. Kinda reminds me of how Edge and Jericho became buddies on RAW during 2010 RIGHT AFTER they feuded for two months on Smackdown trying to permanently injure each other.

WWE's teams just never make sense sometimes, like when Punk took over Nexus, which was cool but something I never understood. They beat up Punk earlier in the year, why did they then goto Punk to make him the leader? Who couldn't an insider have become the leader? That was when Nexus had HUGE heat as a whole group, so even David Otunga could of become the leader.

Austin and HHH was fun to watch, IF you looked past the obvious flaws, such as why would Vinnie Mac, HHH and Austin join forces, seeing as they all hate each others guts? That would be like if Rocky returned after Mania' around Summerslam to befriend Cena.

 

[King Patrick Star]

If the WWE were to do a Two-Man Power Trip today, I think the best candidates would be John Cena and Randy Orton. Not only would the WWE and World Title scene benefit from having these two away from it, but the Tag Team Division would be much more exciting. Imagine Primo and Epico getting a win over the team of Duke and Cobra Commander.

Now, if the WWE were to bring back the original Two-Man Power Trip, I think Triple H should run Raw and Stone Cold Steve Austin should run Smackdown. They don’t need to be on TV every week, but at least once a month and a PPV segment would be great.

 

[HBKperfect23]

I always liked the super teams. Hogan/Savage, Savage/Warrior, HBK/Desil. The 2 man power trip was the first heel version of the super team. Could have been huge if it wasnt for injury. I cant think of one today who could really get over like the ones of the past. Maybe Cena/HHH?

 

[scottyshowman82]

2 Dudes with Attitudes - Shawn Michaels and Diesel done this first.

Then of course there was The Hart Foundation in 97 with Bret holding the WWF Title Owen and Davey Boy Smith as Intercontinental and European Championships as well as the Tag straps

The Two Dudes w/ Attitudes of course. Touche' You are absolutely correct and I'm not too big of a man to admit when I'm wrong.

I really liked it too. I would like to see Cena and Orton in a 2 man power trip, heels of course. Have them both on the same show and dominate as heels. Use this time to build Punk and Sheamus as the next two biggest names in the business. They could have a major feud and in the end Punk and Sheamus get the push. Orton and Cena could then have one more match against each other. This is probably the only way I would actually like seeing cena and Orton on Raw every week.

That all sounds great. I'd enjoy that too.

If the WWE were to do a Two-Man Power Trip today, I think the best candidates would be John Cena and Randy Orton. Not only would the WWE and World Title scene benefit from having these two away from it, but the Tag Team Division would be much more exciting. Imagine Primo and Epico getting a win over the team of Duke and Cobra Commander.

I love a good G. I .Joe reference. lol

Actually when we had Edge, Orton and Lita form together as Rated-Rko back in 2006 it kind of reminded me of how HHH and Austin teamed up towards the end of the Attitude Era.
.

I was also a huge mark for Rated RKO, in some ways they had more of the reminded me more of the original DX in 1997 than HHH and HBK did in 2006.

I've never been shy about the fact that that Triple H heel turn was one of the worst booking decisions the WWE has ever made. Not only did Austin just turn heel the night before, but The Rock would leave to film a movie after that episode of Raw. Your two biggest faces, gone in 24 hours. Triple H was the absolutely perfect person to step into that void...the fans started cheering him the minute he showed up on screen, arriving at the arena, before he even hinted at a face turn. They tried to plug Undertaker and Kane in, but as I much as I like them both, as much as they're both legends, neither of them ever have or ever will be a "Face of the Company" guy. (Especially not the "American Bad Ass" Undertaker, easily his weakest gimmick.) They tried Jericho and Benoit, and while they would obviously both go on to be world champions, neither was ready for it at the time. It would've been one thing if The Rock was still around to battle them. That would've been fine. But in The Rock's absence, they needed Triple H to chase after Austin's title. It would've been a great feud. (Obviously it would've been cut short by Triple H's injury, but they didn't know that was going to happen at the time.)

And that's not even mentioning how illogical the whole thing was. Austin and Triple H had just finished one of the most vicious feuds of all time that culminated in a 3 Stages of Hell match, which TRIPLE H won, and then a month later they're teaming up, with Triple H taking a back seat to Steve Austin? Settling for the Intercontinental title? That went against everything his character has ever stood for, before or since. It made no sense and did nothing for him. This is why I've said that you could argue that his first quad tear was the best thing that ever happened to him. It got him out of that storyline and allowed him to come back, FINALLY the top face he was supposed to be 9 months prior.

I still get worked up thinking about it. I just wish I could know what they were thinking when they made that decision. The only way for it to make any sense is if they planned all along to have Triple H turn on Austin and Vince in the near future. Maybe they planned on using that to springboard the InVasion somehow. But still, clearly, they would've been better off with Triple H staying a face and fighting Austin and Vince on that first Raw. Of course, we'll never know what the plan was since the storyline was cut short.

But yeah, I definitely think a super group like that could work very well if it was done right. I thought Rated RKO was going to be something like that, but they never seemed to reach their full potential for whatever reason. Same with Jericho and Edge(Edge's injury cut that short, of course) and then JeriShow. I thought they might do something with Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, back when they were both getting similar strong pushes right out of the gate(on separate brands), what with their similar backgrounds and being good friends in real life - which I remember them mentioning in, I think, a Royal Rumble match they were both involved in. But nothing ever came of that at all.

With everybody appearing on both shows now, you could have two guys holding both World titles and just dominating both brands. Could make a great storyline, with an epic blowoff match(and title unification?), if done right.

I'll admit I'm not the biggest HHH mark however you do make some strong points. And I believe when a guy is hot and on fire, a wrestling company should go with it and not wreck it. When he came out when the Rock was handcuffed the crowd was SUPER HOT. I have no doubt a face HHH vs a heel Steve Austin would have been a success at that time. But as you said HHH did come out to a thunderous ovation when he came back from his quad injury too so he did eventually get some big time fan favourite reaction.

The only thing that hurt the Power Trip was the lack of believability that Austin & McMahon would be friends. There are some feuds so intense that you just cant see the participants getting together. You could never see Dusty Rhodes with Ric Flair in the 80s, Hart with Michaels in the 90s, or Austin teaming with McMahon. It was quick, which was a great swerve. It just didnt make as much sense.

The 2 Man Power Trip was a cheap way to put heat on Steve Austin, and the fans saw through it and I believe it was a major factor in the failure that was the Stone Cold heel run. Everything came together too quickly and so inorganically that I think the angle lacked any sort of credibility. It didn't make sense that these two were all of a sudden best buddies after the last several years of a hate filled rivalry. Then, all of a sudden, Stone Cold was a bad guy and since Triple H was a bad guy: they loved each other.

Stone Cold & Kurt Angle was miles and miles better than the 2 Man Power Trip.

Austin and Mcmahon, being friends was hard to believe, but I think it was one of those things that happened to shock fans. I think Austin wanted to be a full heel, he always liked being heel, and maybe they wanted to see what they could with the Rock, if he was the only main fan favourite. But no matter what Austin did the fans loved him. They just couldn't stop. The fans loved anarchy and Austin fed that to them in buckets and they loved him for it.

 

[AwesomeRko]

I enjoyed the 2 man power trip back in the day its always interesting to see two massive characters team up and see how the co-exist. I do however agree with many that it was flawed in that it was just so unrealisitc that HHH and Austin would suddenly not even just be able to co-exist but becomes best buddies.

Having said that my pick for a modern incarnation would be Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. I'll start by saying I am personally not a fan of either and I know that Bryan isn't really on Punk's level popularity wise so it wouldn't be as groundbreaking as some of the legendary pairings of the past previously alluded to. Yet I think this would really work, they are friends in real life and their respect for ach other is well documented, they have similar 'wrestling ideals' and neither are typical WWE superstars.

You could easily work an angle where they attack the WWE and make s tand for the art of 'wrestling', as opposed to the flashy sports entertainment delivered by the WWE today, Punk has already mentioned this in many of his promos. I'm aware that right now wouldn't be the best time to launch this as Punk is so over as a face but at some point in the future it could work. It could also help really establish Bryan as a legitimate main event force, with the inevitable break up resulting in the fued that many on here are clamouring to see between the pair.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.

With their powers combined, they'd be a wrestling force to be reckoned with. They're not the biggest guys, but between their submission style and their ruthless nature, they'd make great antagonists and raise pure hell with the WWE.

With their mic work, the heel tactics and the simple bragging rights of being better than anyone else, this pairing would work the best.