The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Series [1]: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

[Calderownz]

OKay, this is my first idea for a series. The concept is simple. Every week, I'll pick a different wrestling legend and then you can tell me the good about his run as this character, the bad times or bad moments or bad aspects and the absolutely ugly/horrible moments.

The good, bad and ugly can be about them personally, professionally, in the ring or on the mic. Storylines, angles, the gimmick itself, etc.

The first person up for the series is "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

I'll start us off.

The Good: I loved the attitude he had with his persona, even though I usually hate rednecks. I loved his mic work and the feuds with Vince McMahon, as well. Obviously kicked the "Attitude Era" up another notch. Solid in-ring work and he had some of the best "brawling" main events that I have ever seen. Not to mention, that a guy like The Rock or Bret Hart could pull a really technical match out of him.

The Bad: To be honest, there isn't much, but there is some. I think that I'd have loved to see him work as a heel a liiiiittle bit more during the beginning of his notoriety. Obviously, it's not like WWE could have REALLY helped it. His turn was organic. However, I've always wondered what could have happened with the role. I also hate that he started the "WHAT?" chants. Very annoying.

The Ugly: Personally, I wasn't big on him beating Debra. Also, the Alliance angle really didn't go all that well. Lol. That's about it.

What do you guys think?

 

[AA-Styles]

Alright lets go:

The Good: Ummmm.... EVERYTHING! I love his persona, his attitude, I loved it that he rose to glory for being himself, A Red-Necked, Beer Swelling, Foul Mouthed S.O.B! The fans absolutely love him, I remember once there was a match (I don't know between who) and all of a sudden you heard the glass breaking and the crowd went nuts. Good times.

The Bad: Can't think of anything. There is so much good in him. Except for what is coming up in the ugly...


The Ugly: That's simple, HIM JOINING THE ALLIANCE!! I mean what the F@#K! There was literally no reason to join The Alliance, sure he hated himself in that time (not necessarily...) but it happens, LIVE WITH IT!! (No Offense). Yeah, with that simple move he screwed up that entire storyline, well kind-of.

 

[amyshpyrate]

The good- yeah seriously, his entire persona rocked, I can't really think of much to put here that won't be explained by everyone else on here

The bad- The alliance angle sucked, but it does seem to make sense to me that he would side with the guys going against vince mcmahon, but keep in mind I missed a chunk of this angle when it was running.

the ugly- Now I don't know the whole story and probably never will, but he did walk out on the wwe because they weren't using his character to his liking. Like i said, i don't know the whole story and don't wanna judge, but it does sound like his success was starting to go to his head

 

[SickJames]

The Good: Everything about his Stone Cold, Texas Rattlesnake gimmick was awesome and worked and even his Alliance period because it was good to see him different, I liked the point before that when he was hugging Vince and wasnt being himself, funny but made me mad at the same time, I wanted the old Stone Cold back


The Bad: The Ringmaster gimmick was terrible imo and I wasnt a fan of "Stunning" Steve Austin (funnyn his finisher became The Stunner though)


The Ugly: Beating Debra, Not so much his fault but that injury from Owen was ugly & yes he did "Take His Ball And Go Home" as HHH put it and I believe it was said that he was scheduled to lose to Brock Lesnar and felt it was a bad business decision, but doubt that was the only reason, there was more, but I cant remember now.



Side Comment: Oh I cant wait to see the very interesting (hopefully coming) Chris Beniot version of this

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

The Good Austin was the PERFECT fit for the Attitude era in the WWE. Bad ass attitude, great finisher, tough as hell in the ring, a great brawler and looked like one mean SOB. His feud with Vince connected wih the everyday man who always dreamed of beating up his boss. Plus, later on Austin showed his funny side, and always cracked me up. Plus, I loved the beer bashes!

The Bad Although he was a brilliant brawler, I would have preferred a slightly wider move set from Austin as alot of his matches were quite similar. Also, I wish he could have lasted longer as a main event talent, but injuries eventually caught up with him

The Ugly Just the wife-beating really. I lost respect for Austin after that. Cant really think of any other "ugly" things about him really. He was one of the best

 

[Whatsinaname696]

The Good: Well this is rather easy seeing as he was one of the most popular characters of an era and of all time, his skills in the ring weren't the best but def not the worst, multiple title reigns, and signature moves that are still awesome

The Bad: His treatment in WCW leaves a lot to be desired, however at the time I didn't think he was goin very far either, even with him and Pillman teamed up although I did like him a lot more when he was, also the injury Owen inflicted on him (whoever was responsible)

The Ugly: Well uhhh when is wife beating pretty? so yeah, prolly go with that as the ugliest moment, also his moment in ECW of laying the "smackdown" on WCW... I liked that

(really like the thread idea btw, keep it going)

 

[ScruffDog]

Good:His character in general. He had a kick ass attitude, great fighting style, and some of the best mic stills ever. The Stunner is one of the greatest moves of all time, because he could pull it out of nowhere. He had great entrance music, and when they glass shattered he got a bigger pop than anyone. And last but not lest, all of the cool thing he drove to the ring, every thing from and ATV to a Monster truck.

Bad:He was to Good. Austin always won, always. Take the 2001 Royal Rumble, Kane came in at number 6, was in the ring for almost an hour, Austin comes in at 27 eliminates every left, including finally Kane. As soon as Austin and Kane were the last two, you know Austin would win. Also, another Kane one, Kane one the title form Austin and the 98 King of the Ring only to give it right back to him the very next day. People think Cena is bad for being Superman, but Austin was just as bad if not worse, but we forgive him because he is Bad Ass.

Ugly:It's been said before, but the Debra batting was pretty ugly. It had no business being there, and brought the wrong kind of heat to Austin.

 

[Judah's Lion]

GOOD: Stunner is one of the best signature moves of all time. Austin also had one of the best and most recognizable entrance themes too, so that's good. great mic work and great ring psychology. not the best technical wrestler, but he told a great story inside that ring. his feuds with Rock, Triple H, Angle, Booker T, Taker and HBK were classics. of course his feud with McMahon was legendary. loved the vehicles that he used at random times: zamboni, monster trucks, monster limos, cement mixers, etc.

BAD: longevity. this is hardly his fault as he had some serious injuries, but that's probably the worst part of his career. i guess i don't count his time in ECW or WCW because i wasn't watching him then, but his WWF career was pretty short lived as an in-ring competitor.

UGLY: personal issues aside, not that i condone spousal abuse in any way, but i'd say that another one of the ugliest parts of this guy's career and legacy was his walking out of the company. i may be way off base here, but i was under the impression that this happened more than once from him. not only that, but there are reports and rumors, if they can be believed, that he wouldn't job to certain wrestlers. i've just never been a fan of the whole "i won't job to so and so because i'm bigger than them" mentality, but it's certainly not limited to Austin. i wouldn't call the Alliance part of his career ugly because a lot of that angle couldn't be helped. the biggest names in WCW hadn't come over to the WWF at that time and some never at all, so the WWF had a hard time making that work. Stone Cold might have been one of the best options with the talent available.

great thread idea. i'm looking forward to this series.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Firstly I'll say that I am a huge Austin fan. My username kinda gives that away.

Good- Everything. He isn't the biggest or the second biggest babyface of all time for no reason. Great promo man, great wrestler albiet with a limited moveset. Possibly the coolest finishing move that there was, there is, and there will ever be. (If you think I am talking of Santino's cobra you have no business reading this.)

Bad- His neck injury. If not for this he would have probably wrestled for a longer time. Plus people would not have bitched about the fact that he was only a brawler. Fact is he used about 7 moves in his match versus Bret Hart as well but no one bitches about it. His injury just gave people an excuse that he had lost a step after getting injured which I believe is not true.

Ugly- A lot of people have mentioned his mistreatment of Debra and his politicking ways. So for ugly my pick would be the year 2002. I believe the entire year was pretty ugly for him. His marriage fell apart, his children moved overseas with his ex-wife, his career was almost over due to his recurring neck injuries and bad knees and so I guess he made some bad decisions. If not for 2002 people would never have bitched about Austin being a bad company man and hence his legacy would not have had a single blemish.

 

[Brahma Bull]

good series

the good: one of the biggest of all time. his fueds with the rock, hhh, mcmahon etc are legendary. he was a good talker and entertaining in the ring. he also continued a match after getting his neck broken which is pretty badass.

bad: his heel turn. when from scsa to a whinny bitch. i mean seriously wwe, just make him look awful. then the whole alliance thing. this man cannot be a heel.

ugly: wife beating, walking out of the company on 3 separate occassions, refusing to job to anyone towards the end (anyone not already established that is), not really putting people over. pretty much backstage and personal issues.

 

[mulkeymania]

the good-just his whole character was great--especially the austin vs mcmahon feud and one of my favorites was when he had to pick a tag team partner and dude love running around everywhere begging to be picked

the bad-not much to remember here that would qualify--probably have to go with the heel turn

the ugly-the stories of him leaving the company or flat out refusing to job to people at the end--granted i dont blame him not wanting to job to coach and i dont know the stories behind the rest--i.e.--jeff jarrett--but it sounds like bad business when a wrestler feels they are too big to lose to anyone.

 

[god-soldier]

Good: Austin's ability too propel prowrestling in the late 90's, save the WWE, and become te biggest superstar in the history of pro wrestling.

Bad: The heel turn and the alliance would ruin Austins 2001-2002 era in the WWE. Austin not being able to win or hold the WWE Undisputed championship. I always felt the title was designed for him too hold atleast once.

Ugly: Austin beating his wife is not good and him portraying the Stone Cold character 24/7 as a part of his life is very foolish; but the ugliest thing Austin has done in the prowrestling business was not going foward with the match between him n Hogan @ WrestleMania 18 sure the Rock was a great adivsary for Hogan however, We all wanted to see what we have been waiting for Stone Cold vs Hollywood Hogan thats what we fans wanted and he would not deliver. Austin also did not want to put other guys over such as Brock Lesnar was a huge outcry from a man who complained about WCW not wanting too put him over Austin should of been the last guy to complain about putting over new talent.

Dont get me wrong I'm a die hard Rattlesnake Stone Cold fan hell i was always a fan of Steve Austin since his stunning Steve days. I'm just upset that he let the business of being the franchise get to his head and cost us the fans who believed in Steve Austin since before he was anybody get in his way.

 

[Stone_Cold_Stunner]

The Good: Arguably the greatest superstar of all time. Leader of the Attitude Era and to many things to list

The Bad: Alliance with Mr McMahon in 2001 though i liked his heel character i didnt like the stuff he did with Vince and Kurt if Triple H didnt get injured i think the Austin heel run would of been better.

The Ugly: Alliance Austin yep