What If....?

[Mugatunow]

Welcome to the first "What If"! I 'm going to come up with a topic each week to ponder over, and I'll always leave a back story to why the question is being asked.

I was reading a back issue of WWE Magazine a while back, and it was dedicated to Triple H. I flipped through the pages until I got to the Most Important Moments in WWE section, where it talked about a variety of things . They talked a little about Steve Austin being let go by WCW, and that this was the moment history was made. Well, here is where the question comes in...

What if Steve Austin was never fired by WCW? What would he have done while he was there?

 

[VIsmith17]

I think he would have gotten to upper mid-card, a few more runs as US Champ, maybe a few Main Event stints, but no World Title reigns. He never would've gotten pushed past Hogan and Flair, Savage or even Goldberg later on. I doubt that there would ever be a "Stone Cold" he might have been nWo. I highly doubt he would have amounted to anything, especially under Bischoff/

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I think he would have gotten to upper mid-card, a few more runs as US Champ, maybe a few Main Event stints, but no World Title reigns. He never would've gotten pushed past Hogan and Flair, Savage or even Goldberg later on. I doubt that there would ever be a "Stone Cold" he might have been nWo. I highly doubt he would have amounted to anything, especially under Bischoff/

I agree with this for the most part. Austin would have been left as an upper-mid level heel following his split from the Hollywood Blondes and gotten a few US Title regins. He would have had some entertaining, early feuds with Eddie Guerrero and probably had a HUGE feud with Chris Benoit.

A few more things I think may have happened:

1. He would have been a member of the 4 Horsemen. He's a strong technical wrestler and was a vicious heel in WCW, so I wouldn't have been shocked to see him with Flair, Arn, and Benoit instead of McMichael or Malenko.

2. WCW may still be around. WCW didn't simply LOSE the ratings war with WWF so much as the WWF, with Austin at the helm, WON the war. Mick Foley wouldn't have been enough and The Rock would have been missing that uber feud with Austin that made the late 90's the best ever.

3. Bret Hart may still be with WWE. Think about it - Hart's heel turn occured simultaneously with Austin's face turn. Had Austin not been there to play his role as well as he did, Hart may not have become a heel. If Hart isn't a heel, maybe he doesn't feud with Shawn Michaels. As a result, Survivor Series 1997 never happens and the screw job doesn't occur.

 

[Mugatunow]

I think I agree with you guys on him not making it past mid card level. So far these all seem like plausible ideas, especially the Four Horsemen idea, that definetly would have happened. I think I'm just gonna go ahead and ask a new question now.
While I was reading the same WWE Magazine, and it talked about how WCW signing Hulk Hogan gained them all kinds of ratings. So, my question is obvious...
What if Hulk Hogan had never gone to WCW? What would have happened to him? What would have happened to WCW?

 

[Guy]

I think WCW without Hogan would've been like what TNA is right now. It would have been a decent company, but it more than likely would take many many more years to get anywhere. It would still be around if Hogan wasn't around and it might be getting the ratings that Smackdown gets.

Hogan would have still been the top dog in WWF and the Attitude era might have possibly never been born. We would have been stuck in the era when "taking your vitamins and saying your prayers" ruled the world. Just my take on it though.

What would have happen if ROH, CZW, and TNA teamed up to try to compete against the WWE?

 

[Shep17]

Great thread. Austin likely would have remained a mid-carder, which would have prompted his departure to ECW at a different time, under different circumstances. As things were going for Austin, he would have grown disgruntled with his direction, and would have seeked an out on his own. He likely would prompted the call to Paul-E (instead of the other way around) and have gone to ECW healthy with less chip on his shoulder. Without the chip on his shoulder, we may never have seen "Stone Cold".

As for Hogan, what if his ego had kept him from making the heel turn. Yes, Hogan gave WCW the boost that they needed to compete with WWE, but it was his heel turn that made the difference, more so than him just being on the roster. NWO is credited with the changes that brought about the Monday Night Wars, but is was truly Hogan that gave them the antagonist that we all wanted to hate.

So, Austin hangs in WCW a while longer and leaves on his own for ECW, Hogan stays a face and the Nash/Hall invasion dies a slow death on it's own. We jump to 2008 and probably have all 3 organizations still in existance (no TNA, no ROH), and everyone is pulling in 0.6 ratings.....

 

[BRANDON GRANT]

I Honestly Think He Woulda Been Repackaged And Stonecold Would Have Taken Time Off After Being Stunning Steve Austin And He Woulda "been Himself" And He Woulda Been A Star There Too.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I Honestly Think He Woulda Been Repackaged And Stonecold Would Have Taken Time Off After Being Stunning Steve Austin And He Woulda "been Himself" And He Woulda Been A Star There Too.

The only problem with that, as well as this entire thread, is Steve Austin was fired because of two main reasons.

1. He was plain, & unmarketable: His gimmick was "Stunning" Steve Austin, & the Hollywood Blondes. There wasn't much they could do, because all he had was a pair of black trunks, with a small logo on it from time to time. He had a black vest, but thats about it. They didn't know where to go with that, or how to repackage him.

2. He wasn't a Vet: W.C.W. was the mega glass roof, of Professional Wrestling. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin would've never seen the light of day, because Steve Austin would've never been given the oppertunity to shine as a Main Event, or even top of the mid-card type of star. Superstars like Sting, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, & the other older vets were holding strong to the Main Event spot.. & none of them wanted to give it up.. especially to a guy that could showcase anything.

So..

Overall: I think Steve Austin's best career choice was being fired by W.C.W., then his turn up in E.C.W. -- if it wasn't for his attitude & ability to cut good promos, where they allowed him to do it with attitude, I don't think the W.W.E. would've ended up wanting him.

 

[Conor *Charmismo*]

The only problem with that, as well as this entire thread, is Steve Austin was fired because of two main reasons.

1. He was plain, & unmarketable: His gimmick was "Stunning" Steve Austin, & the Hollywood Blondes. There wasn't much they could do, because all he had was a pair of black trunks, with a small logo on it from time to time. He had a black vest, but thats about it. They didn't know where to go with that, or how to repackage him.

2. He wasn't a Vet: W.C.W. was the mega glass roof, of Professional Wrestling. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin would've never seen the light of day, because Steve Austin would've never been given the oppertunity to shine as a Main Event, or even top of the mid-card type of star. Superstars like Sting, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, & the other older vets were holding strong to the Main Event spot.. & none of them wanted to give it up.. especially to a guy that could showcase anything.

So..

Overall: I think Steve Austin's best career choice was being fired by W.C.W., then his turn up in E.C.W. -- if it wasn't for his attitude & ability to cut good promos, where they allowed him to do it with attitude, I don't think the W.W.E. would've ended up wanting him.

Pretty Much What He Said.

Expect i could of seen Stone Cold with the 4 Horsemen as someone else in the thread said. He would of fitted in their. But i don't know if Eric would of seen that as we do today, what with the pressure on WCW at the time

(That also effects it, what with the stress and pressure of running WCW, i simply don't think Eric had time for the mid-card limbo type guys like Austin)(which is a shame)

 

[Shocky]

I agree with most of Will said, but, and theres a but, Flair has gone on record stating that he wanted to put Austin over as world champion. But then again, this is Ric Flair, the king of revisionist history speaking. Austin was set to start a feud with Flair, but that was all axed as soon as Hulk Hogan inked his name on the contract with WCW and this is essentially what started Austins hatred for Hogan. Austin was set for a main event push, but Hogan came and WCW changed directions.

Austin, who knows what he would have done to be perfectly honest. I think a lot of people are discrediting him in WCW. I think he would have done fine, but you also have to remember, Eric Bischoff too. I think his fate was sealed when Bischoff took over. Bischoff couldn't find new talent if it was staring him in the face, just ask guys like Austin, Triple H, and Foley that all helped to put him out of business.

 

[rockofhysteria]

I think Steve Austin would have been a potential Horseman as well even teaming with someone like Benoit and maybe be US champ a couple of more times or TV but Bischoff would have missused him just like he missused about 90% of the talent he had.

 

[Mugatunow]

Well, you guys are definetly taking a liking to this thread. Like I've said before, these are just the first of many questions, from all eras of wrestling. I'm going to ask a new question now, and I only want responses to this question. I'll give it about a week to run its course. Now, let's get into a new subject...

It's getting close to wrestlemania time. Titles are being put on the line, grudges are coming to ahead, and streaks are in danger of ending. Now, their is one streak I'm speaking of, Undertaker's. This streak is Wrestlemania. His skill has earned it, his fans have kept it for him. So, here's my question...

What if there was no undefeated streak for the deadman?

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

I was going to start a thread asking a similar question, but found this one...I'm an avid supporter of recycling.

The question I would like to pose:

What happens to the WWF and more broadly, the Monday Night Wars in general, if there is no Stone Cold Steve Austin?

Now, I'm an "Attiude Boomer"(someone who was sucked into wrestling during the Attitude era...during the boom), as I would like to say, and I can specifically remember trying to make the decision as to whether I should give more of my attention to WWF or WCW. I would not be surprised if I was the only one from our generation who faced this issue. I narrowed it down to the following reasons to support each:

WWF - Storylines are great, engaging, UT and Kane were solid...The Rock was coming into his own......but the more than anything....STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN put my butt in the seat for Raw.

WCW - Nitro is 3 hours instead of just two. Roster is MUCH deeper...biggest collection of stars on any cohesive organization in sports. There was a LOT more pure wrestling...guys would have matches other than just tag matches before they fought on PPV, which was a great solidifier, IMO. I was really a Goldberg mark at the time, as well. I really was drawn in by his power and the mystique that he had with the whole security entourage, etc. And I was interested to see who would break the streak.

On paper, it would seem that WCW had the advantage over WWF in terms of gaining the viewership of Steamboat Ricky. However, I chose WWF, because of Stone Cold. Had there been no Stone Cold, I'm afraid that I would have sided with WCW.

So, assuming that Austin never became Stone Cold, would WCW be owning the WWF? I'm really interested to hear responses to this.

 

[ABS]

What If the Montreal Screw Job never happned ?

Well let's say this was the blessing in disguise for WWE/F.

The Montreal Screw job was ( he even said it ) the Birth of that Smart Evil SOB called Mr.Macmahon. And in that Character he feuded with Stone Cold in what is to be considred the greatest Rivary of all time and the Fued that created the Attitude Era wich Bascilly Put WCW out of buisness. So if the MontrealScrew Job never happend WCw would have been still dominting WWF till the point they put them out of buisness. The Montreal Screw Job is a blessing in Disguise.

What about you guys what do you think if the Montreal Screw job would have never happned.

 

[klunderbunker]

Geez what would wrestling be today. For one thing i think Bret would still be on TV. Not to mention WCW might've had a better chance of survival. Bret had a big contract, and had they not used all that money on him and then had to pay him for getting injured, they may have been able to afford some mroe talent, although it probably would've just postponed the inevitable. Another thing is Shawn may not have been injured. Had bret stayed, who knows if the undertaker feud, and therefore his back injury ever would've happened. The Attitude era would've been very different, as Stone Cold wouldn'tve had an evil Vince to feud with. And finally, to me the moment that killed WCW was when they basically did their own screwjob at starrcade with Hogan and Sting. Without Montreal, that may have never happened and WCW mightve had a shot at sticking around afterall.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

The fastest debut to main-event superstar in WWE history left to go to the NFL after Wrestlemania XX. But what if he wouldn't have? What if his match against Goldberg was for the WWE Title? Would Eddie have ever won the title? Would John Cena ever have been the star he is today? Would Angle still be in WWE? Would TNA even still exist?

Clearly this has a lot of potential ramifications....discuss.



I think Brock v. Goldberg for the WWE Title would have made Mania XX the best Mania ever. Two larger than life main-events in Brock v. Goldberg and Benoit v. HBK v. Triple H. Just thinking about Brock v. Goldberg in a significant match makes more excited about wrestling than ever. It would be one for the ages, you can bet your bottom dollar.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Austin's fate had he stayed in WCW would have depended soley on Hulk Hogan. No one, not even Kevin Nash, got pushed without Hogan's OK during that time. He and Bischoff were practically as one. The only time this changed was late 95, early 96 after Hogan had failed to generate any significant interest in the company when he wasn't facing Ric Flair. Remember when the Monday Night Wars started Flair and Savage were the headliners for most of that time, not Hogan. His inclusion in the NWO story, which was genius, restored his powerbase in the company.

If Austin played his cards right and stayed close buddies with Hogan and Bischoff (meaning not voicing his opinion and never showing up Hogan onscreen) he might have been in the NWO, on par with Scott Steiner. Otherwise he would have languished on the mid card. Anytime between 97-99 anyone other than Hogan/NWO got signifcant heat one of two things happened - either they turned heel and went NWO or they faded into obscurity. Hogan and Bischoff buried Eddie Guererro in 97 and 98 because he was not affiliated with the NWO but drew MEGA HEAT as a bad guy on his own, plus he could wrestle. Flair and Sting were buried constantly during that time. Flair was barely alowed on screen, at one point forced off screen entirely, and never given a main event run until after WWE started beating Nitro in the ratings (even then he was buried and made to look weak soon after). Brett Hart was denied multiple opportunities to face Hogan and the NWO top guys when he arrived and pushed almost immediately into the US Title scene against Lex Luger, a way to keep both of them away from Hogan. Randy Savage alternately either had to turn heel and be Hogan's side kick or job out repeatedly to him, which is pretty much how his career ended, ruining so much good work he did in 95-96. Goldberg was the single biggest phenom in wrestling, but his entire WCW Title reign was a joke. Hogan and the NWO constantly got top billing over him. Goldberg never had the feature match on a PPV until Starrcade 98 when he put over Nash. Even Halloween Havoc against DDP was over shawdowed by Hogan/Warrior 2. His Fall Brawl match was over shawdowed by NWO War Games match featuring Hogan.

Austin, being a creative type not crazy about politics likely would not have made Hogan's friends list and probably would have lanquished. He easily could have been part of the NWO B-Team with Buff Bagwell, Disco Inferno, et all that jobbed on TV each week to the Harts, Stings, and Flairs as a way of letting them get something after being humilaited by Hogan, Nash and the boys at every major show. Realistically, if WCW buried Flair, abused Sting, and completely wasted Brett Hart, what makes anyone think Steve Austin stood a chance of major success ?

 

[TruWrestlingFan67]

I agree with VIsmith....the whole "texas rattlesnake" persona was truely created by Jim Cornette, surprisingly Vince Russo, and the WWE "attitude" era. I think they (being WCW) would of most likely kept the Stunning Steve Austin character and stayed a mid-card type guy. Though the direction WCW was going in the late 90's I think Steve Austin would of had nice feuds with some of the work horses in WCW like, Booker T, Chris Jericho, Benoit, and Melinko.

 

[Straight_Edge_Mystic]

I cannot really add to the what if's of Stone Cold and Hogan because all has been said that I would want to say. The infamous Montreal screwjob. If this had never happened, Bret would still be with the WWE and Shawn Michaels probably never would've become a bigger star because the screwjob is what really brought him notoriety and big time fame. Bret would've probably remained on top for a few more years and then retire occasionally making some appearances as a guest referee or something. Shawn most likely would've never been injured. I don't think that if it didn't happen, things would've radically changed.

Now, if Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak had never happened, to be honest, I highly doubt that anything would change. It wasn's his streak that made him who he is, it was the intrigue and mystique of the character. The streak is just his claim of notoriety much like Flair's 16 time World Title reigns. The streak is amazing and all, but it's not like it's history changing in that it changes the landscape of wrestling history. It is history making in that he is the first to do it. I respect the fact that he accomplished it and am always hoping that he continues it, I just do not believe that it's something that is really necessary. I believe he would still be where he is today even without it.

 

[Game ON]

In 2001 Stone Cold and Triple H formed their own unit which was named The Two Man Power Trip. When Triple H got injured it basically went into extinction. What if Triple H never got injured, would they still have this unit? How far would they gone to be the most dominate team in the WWE? What if when the WCW and the ECW angle invasion story occured while Triple H and Stone Cold were still together? Would they have stuck with WWE and became a likeable bad guy team or would they have backstabbed the WWE to form with The Alliance and become possibly the greatest 2 heels of that year. hmmmmm- def. would have been interesting to see if Trips and Stone Cold stuck it out with the WWE and used their nasty and brutal tactics on the Alliance. Then teaming with Taker and Kane after feuding for months on end with eachother. Probably would have made for some great tv and good storylines for the next few PPV's.

 

[Afro-Ameri-Spawn]

Well here's Spawn's two cents on the subject.

If Stone Cold Steve Austin would have stayed in WCW, there are several things that would have happened.

1. There would be no Dean Malenko or Steve "Mongo" McMichael. With Flair's latest revelation of how much he allegedly liked Steve Austin, The Stunning One would have been a perfect fit for the Four Horsemen. He would have either filled out he number 3 spot or the number four spot. Hell, he might have even moved up to number 2 when Arn Anderson finally hung it up. And eventually, he would have been The Man. Or so it would seem.

2. Eric Bishoff would eventually have to face facts and give Austin his shot at the title. Hulkamania is eternal, but Eric Bishoff never did like the whole fantasy aspect of wrestling and always liked to make wrestling seem as real to life as possible. So odds are that while he may not have had the name Stone Cold, Steve Austin may have gotten the chance to try out the gimmick sooner or later in WCW.

3. J-E-Double who? Yes, that is right. Who would have paid attention to Jeff Jarrett in WCW? As a matter of fact, if Stone Cold would never have come, guys like Jeff Jarrett would not have been expendable in the first place.

4. Nobody would have smelled what The Rock was cookin. Well maybe would have gotten a wiff, but it was the chemistry between The Rock and Austin that pushed them both in the WWE. The Rock would be stuck trying to strike it up against guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. To be honest, I can't see The Rock being he main patriot int he USA versus Canada angle. It's not the same.

5. Vince Russo would still eventually have come to WCW. Even if he didn't make head writer in the WWF, his creative genius would have found a place to flourish. And when he came, he would have went ahead and pushed Austin over. So no sweat, he had the vision and Austin had the drive. A match made in heaven.

6. Austin would still be wrestling. If not for Austin going to the WWF, his match with Owen would never have happened. This match, essentially, was the career ender for Austin. Sure he went on after that, but that one piledriver gone wrong (which some still say was on purpose) stole years from a career that should still be in play.

All in all, if Austin would have stayed and gotten the proper pus, you have to wonder if the WWF would not be the one going out of business. Sure, Time Warner didn't want to deal with wrestling anymore, but you can't dump a business that would have been raking in billions after crushing Vinnie Mac into obscurity. Great What If. Can't wait for more.

 

[Canadian Knight]

I think that if he actually stayed he would still eventually become a member of the WWE. If he stayed he would have to be content with not getting shots at the belt (maybe rarely). And if he came over to WWE with the rest of WCW, he would not become the Rattlesnake because someone would have to try him out, and taken the time to work with the character to become Stone Cold Steve Austin. With all the talent that did come over, there would be few people that would possibly see a diamond in the ruff.

I think we should change this thread a little and ask the question: If Steve Austin stayed in WCW, who would have been introduced as the Ringmaster instead, then possibly becoming the new Stone Cold?