Midnite Express 2009
Getting Noticed By Management
I generally hate "what if" questions. The reason why is because asking "what if" makes everything seem like something went wrong and "what if" this or that had went correct or had been changed to suit a better outcome would have made such a dramatic shift in time. Such as, "what if JFK had never went to Dallas?" Who knows? The man went to Dallas, and came under attack and was subsequently murdered in broad daylight. Would there be heavy security for Presidents now if Kennedy had never been killed or even stepped foot in Texas? Who knows? But asking "what if" tends to bring about debates, and debates I like...
So, even though I don't care too much for "what if" questions, I will, in the spirit of debate, as "what if" question about a duo in 2001 that was extremely unlikely, but also extremely interesting. My "what if" question is about the team of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and HHH (with Mr. McMahon involved), and what would have happened had HHH never injuried his quad and been forced to disband the team.
Okay, quick history lesson. WrestleMania X-7 just concluded and the most shocking heel turn since Hulk Hogan formed the nWo just happened, when Austin formed an unforseeable alliance with Mr. McMahon. "Stone Cold" had just defeated The Rock for the WWF title and was riding high off the new waves of unfamilair and reluctant "boos" from the crowd. Soon, HHH comes into the fold and the Two Man Power Trip was formed, with HHH eventually winning the Intercontinental title. Both men would also team up to win the Tag Team titles and basically hold all the belts. This would be one of the last times that two men who had such a such a bitter history would team up and hold all the belts. What was more bizzare was the fact that Mr. McMahon was apart of this.
Speaking of McMahon, he had his own battles starting up with the splintered faction of WCW "Invading" the WWF. Vince had just purchased the company and was basically about to kill it. Enter Shane McMahon to say that HE, and not Vince was the owner and so on and so forth. Long story short, two possibly major issues were forming (the formation of HHH & Austin) and the feud between Vince & Shane). Then, it all came to a hault when HHH injured his leg in a title defense on Raw.
Now, here's my "what if"...What if HHH had never gotten hurt? Would Austin and HHH had been major players in the WCW vs. WWF storyline and quite possibly that following year's WrestleMania? Would this had meant that the Invasion storyline wouldn't had been so terrible? What if Sting had been somehow swayed to sign with the WWF due to HHH and Austin remaining a force? Picture Sting being brought in by Shane to try to take down his father and the tag team champions?
What if Chris Jericho and even Kurt Angle's inital pushes to the top had never happened? Eventually Angle defeated Austin for the title, but what if that match with HHH and Austin defending the belts had never happened? Would Austin have been thrown into the Invasion storyline prematurely and basically thoughtlessly and had to try to carry the storyline by himself? Would this had opened the door for Austin vs. Angle? Would Chris Jericho had become the first Undisputed Champion afterall? Or would the WWF had eventually turned "Stone Cold" and HHH on each other anyway, and had them feud for the belt at WrestleMania X-8 with HHH holding up two belts still, but this time the WWF & the Intercontinental straps instead of the WCW belt? Would we have seen Jericho remain a midcarder and never get his shot, or maybe Chris vs. Kurt at WrestleMania. And what about the Hollywood Hogan vs. Rock match at WrestleMania X-8? What if that never happened?
So let me know what you think? Could one match, one simple title defense on Monday Night Raw actually hold so much weight that it changed the whole direction a company went in? The WWF had no real plan if one of their two major stars went out with an injury, so they rushed the Invasion storyline, IMO, and we got what we got. How does your WWF/E shape out had the Two Man Power Trip lasted longer?
So, even though I don't care too much for "what if" questions, I will, in the spirit of debate, as "what if" question about a duo in 2001 that was extremely unlikely, but also extremely interesting. My "what if" question is about the team of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and HHH (with Mr. McMahon involved), and what would have happened had HHH never injuried his quad and been forced to disband the team.
Okay, quick history lesson. WrestleMania X-7 just concluded and the most shocking heel turn since Hulk Hogan formed the nWo just happened, when Austin formed an unforseeable alliance with Mr. McMahon. "Stone Cold" had just defeated The Rock for the WWF title and was riding high off the new waves of unfamilair and reluctant "boos" from the crowd. Soon, HHH comes into the fold and the Two Man Power Trip was formed, with HHH eventually winning the Intercontinental title. Both men would also team up to win the Tag Team titles and basically hold all the belts. This would be one of the last times that two men who had such a such a bitter history would team up and hold all the belts. What was more bizzare was the fact that Mr. McMahon was apart of this.
Speaking of McMahon, he had his own battles starting up with the splintered faction of WCW "Invading" the WWF. Vince had just purchased the company and was basically about to kill it. Enter Shane McMahon to say that HE, and not Vince was the owner and so on and so forth. Long story short, two possibly major issues were forming (the formation of HHH & Austin) and the feud between Vince & Shane). Then, it all came to a hault when HHH injured his leg in a title defense on Raw.
Now, here's my "what if"...What if HHH had never gotten hurt? Would Austin and HHH had been major players in the WCW vs. WWF storyline and quite possibly that following year's WrestleMania? Would this had meant that the Invasion storyline wouldn't had been so terrible? What if Sting had been somehow swayed to sign with the WWF due to HHH and Austin remaining a force? Picture Sting being brought in by Shane to try to take down his father and the tag team champions?
What if Chris Jericho and even Kurt Angle's inital pushes to the top had never happened? Eventually Angle defeated Austin for the title, but what if that match with HHH and Austin defending the belts had never happened? Would Austin have been thrown into the Invasion storyline prematurely and basically thoughtlessly and had to try to carry the storyline by himself? Would this had opened the door for Austin vs. Angle? Would Chris Jericho had become the first Undisputed Champion afterall? Or would the WWF had eventually turned "Stone Cold" and HHH on each other anyway, and had them feud for the belt at WrestleMania X-8 with HHH holding up two belts still, but this time the WWF & the Intercontinental straps instead of the WCW belt? Would we have seen Jericho remain a midcarder and never get his shot, or maybe Chris vs. Kurt at WrestleMania. And what about the Hollywood Hogan vs. Rock match at WrestleMania X-8? What if that never happened?
So let me know what you think? Could one match, one simple title defense on Monday Night Raw actually hold so much weight that it changed the whole direction a company went in? The WWF had no real plan if one of their two major stars went out with an injury, so they rushed the Invasion storyline, IMO, and we got what we got. How does your WWF/E shape out had the Two Man Power Trip lasted longer?
