Was Steve Austin Lucky?

[TSG]

Was he? I mean, his push came from his promo after winning the tournament at King of the Ring 1996.

You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass!".

But why did Austin when KOTR in the first place? Because Triple H screwed up with the MSG Incident. The tournament win and the subsequent push were meant for Triple H. So my question is, was he lucky? Would he still have gotten a push?

I think he would have, because he has so many skills and so much talent, plus if he wasn't in line for a push he probably wouldn't have been the choice behin HHH.

But, then again, it's always hard to tell. So, what do you all think, was Steve Austin's rise to superstardom a result of luck?

 

[1C3-M4N]

was Steve Austin's rise to superstardom a result of luck?

I don't think it was just luck. It was a result of skill and fan support. When people think of Austin not many even remember him winning the KOTR. His promos would've still came and still been impactful to get him the push he needed weather or not he won the KOTR. So what I'm saying is, it wasn't just the one action of winning the tournament that made Austin. It may have helped but Austin was made for the main event and was good at what he did. You can't say someone who carried the attitude era was luck.

 

[Real Lucha Guy]

No, it was Jim Cornette and Bruce Pritchard convincing McMahon that Steve Austin new character was the way to go. Jim might not want to take the credit but it was him,Bruce and Vince writing the shows at that time.

 

[The Mizard of Oz]

It would have cost the WWF several million dollars in t-shirt sales, but he still would have become Stone Cold, whether he delivered that line or not.

Honestly, in 1998 and 99 whenever Austin 3:16 t-shirts were EVERYWHERE, how many fans do you think actually knew where it originated from? There were not a ton of people tuned in to the 1996 King of the Ring.

 

[GameOver]

Austin did luck out on one thing. being kicked to the curb by Eric Bischoff, Austin was already a good act b4 he came to WWE. Just WCW squandered what could have been phenomenal and "coulda have" run WWE into the ground using heinsight.

I got to see very little of WCW back then but what i did see was the Hollywood Blondes reeking havoc and then a blonde haired Stunning Steve Austin cutting awesome promo's as US champ or was it TV champ i forget that bit. Also young Mick Foley's, and Mad Mark Calous aka The Undertaker. So you may aswell put them all in the same boat as Austin, they were fortunate that WCW kicked them to the curb, so WWE could turn them into mega stars

Anyway not long after he moved to WWE and the rest is history, he put on great matches once he hit that main event spot and had decent talent to play off of, and never dissapointed until the gay turn towards the end of his WWE tenure.

Had he not started that quote at Surivor Series he still woulda made it to the top spot, after all he won the King Of The Ring, which back then meant something, the Austin 316 quote just was icing on the cake and became his catchphrase til "Oh Hell Yeah" and "What?" But that was just one match

 

[Henry Hill]

austin would've gotten over no matter what. you can't stop natural charisma, and thats that. while winning the king of the ring was a push in the right direction, he was the one who did the incredible ecw promos and he was the one who performed. his promos were amazing and his in ring work, with the likes of (at the time) Rocky Maivia, Savio Vega, The Undertaker, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels was second to none. Austin understood how to tell a story and while the King of the Ring was a major accomplishment that maybe would've been triple h, he took himself to the next level even after that. as much as he was pushed as a heel, people supported him regardless. He answered what was needed at the time, the anti-hero role and he made it his own. Austin got where he did due to sheer talent, not luck.

 

[Real Lucha Guy]

WCW did the right thing for them at the time. Austin didn't really become Austin until he went to ECW and even when he got to WWF he was a robot. Ted Dibiase leaving force the WWF writing team to go a different direction with him which end up being the greatest thing ever.

 

[RVDgurl]

Steve Austin was in the right place at the right time, which does involve quite a bit of luck. However, make no mistake about it- Austin didn't become the phenomena he was by luck. He was the right guy for the direction the WWE was moving in at that time. He worked his ass off and connected with crowd in a way the WWE hadn't seen since the Hogan days.

 

[Miko]

Doubt it, you dont get that popular by luck, when I think of Austin King Of The Ring is one of the last things I think of, even though that is what kick started the phenominon.

Had HHH not fucked up his push we'd have had to have waited a little longer for that moment where Austin came into his own, it would've happened, only a matter of time before it did. If Austin was actually lucky that moment would've came years before that so he could've had a longer healthier career on top.

 

[Alex(Killer Of Dreams & Legends)]

Well lets put it this way HHH and Austin Lucked out because they got out of wcw before things got out of hand . But if your saying that Austin only got his push because of his line is kinda hard to say because I think with his work ethic he would have gotten a push and then he would have ran with it like he did . But like some one said there might not have been any austin 3:16 if he would have not said that . but i think he still would have been a big draw no matter what happened after that .

 

[Real Lucha Guy]

Don't forget Bret Hart choosing Austin for his comeback feud. If Bret would of chosen someone else, Austin would of spend the next year feuding with freaking Goldust and Marc Mero.

 

[Ezzee]

I have to say that there was some luck involved. He was in the right place at the right time. He was given the opportunity to succeed, he had the talent, and he had the right circumstances. Those things aren't all a result of talent, there has to be a certain amount of luck to make the stars align like that. If Austins character would've been in some other times, I don't think he would've gotten over like he did. Especially not as a face. As my understanding is of his gimmick, he was actually suppose to be a heel, which I think would've been short lived, but because of the time and the direction the WWE was heading, he was able to achieve a huge following.

Again, yes, he had talent and the ability, but there had to be a certain amount of luck to be where he was when he was.

 

[Steve001]

As much as I agree with a lot of these opinions, Where is Vince Russo's credit!!!????

Vince Russo penned so many of Stone Cold's memorable promos and feuds, which in turn, increased Stone Cold's stock and value to the company.

Yes, Austin has/had an intangible charisma, a great work ethic and tonnes of natural ability. He probably would have made it to the top of the card anyway, but in the careers of a select few, like Austin, Rock and HHH, Vince Russo WAS an integral part of their early success.

Anyone who is ignorant enough to disagree with that, is simply uneducated...