Why Don't We See the WWE and Stone Cold Work Together More Often?

[Littlebase631]

Yes, he did.

-Ratings didn't drop when Austin left.

-Rock's segment were highest rated for example, the highest rated segment on Raw history till date (This is your life) 8.4 cable rating

-House shows :

1999 - 1. The Rock (set all-time record for most big gates in one year); 2. Steve Austin; 3. HHH; 4. Big Show; 5. Kane; 6. Undertaker; 7. Keiji Muto; 8. Bill Goldberg; 9. Ric Flair; 10. Kevin Nash

-PWI Awards :

1999 PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year - The Rock


The Rock was already the bigger draw and mainstream star by mid-2000. Austin was never the same in terms of popularity and drawing power as the 1998-early 1999 Austin.

No he did not. Ratings didn't drop cause it was the hottest show on tv at the time and I'm sure people were hoping Austin would return unnanouced like I did. every week. Ok cause Austin was advertised for them house shows and tickets were probably sold months on advance. This is your life big deal that's one segment. And wow pwi awards lol

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Lol.

Rock main evented with charisma vacuum Chris Benoit and still was able to get a great PPV buyrate.


Bryan beat Cena then Cena left. Cena came back, beat Del Rio for the world title. He beat him in the next PPV as well but did not main event.

Cena is still the face of the company just like The Rock was in 2001.

The Rock main evented pretty much every RAW and SD when he came back as well.

Rock was by far the face of the company.

You're just proving my point that the demand for wrestling was bigger than Rock. The only thing wrong with your stupid logic is that Bryan is actually The Rock, because Cena is the veteran that was #1 when Bryan was in the midcard, much like Austin was #1 when Rock was in the midcard. Rock could have been #1 in 2003 if he had a commitment with the company after AUSTIN left, but by that time nobody cared for Rock and he was fed to Goldberg in pretty much a squash. That doesn't happen to ANY face of a company. You never seen Hogan return to WWF to simply get his ass beat for the sake of it, he returned to beat Orton and HBK if anything.

You are the most delusional poster on this boards. You type like a ten year old with copy paste and you argue like a 14 year old buy that believes everything the internet says like : "Cena can't wrassle" or "Attitude Erazzz RULEZZ" "PG SUXXX". Go away stupid troll. You don't know anything and stop quoting stupid arguments like "Rock returned to fight Booker at SummerSlam" like a baboon.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

Six months after 1999 The Rock was a midcarder.-

Yeah, the guy who main-evented Wrestlemania 15 against the company's top babyface was a mid-carder.

You lost all your credibility that you never had to begin with. YOU are a fucking stupid ignorant ****** who bases his opinions on some podcast and ignores all the facts. Go listen to podcasts and believe in the biased revisionist history. Fucking troll.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Yeah, the guy who main-evented Wrestlemania 15 against the company's top face was a mid-carder.

You lost all your credibility that you never had to begin with. YOU are a fucking stupid ignorant ****** who bases his opinions on some podcast and ignores all the facts. Go listen to podcasts and believe in the biased revisionist history. Fucking troll.

I meant before in the quote (still six months into 1999, SummerSlam you had Rock vs. Billy Gunn LOL) , I wrote it wrong and still believing that Austin gives biased opinions is ridiculous.You have been ridiculed in here since pretty much you came in and this is yet a whole new reason for it. The Rock was never #1, was never "more popular" than Austin. Daniel Bryan also won a lot of awards like "Most Popular" and what not, and yet Cena is the number one of the entire company and people KNOW IT. Austin was the exact same way and that doesn't mean that Austin needs to be on top 365 days of the year, it means that Austin is the most recognized worker they had which was true.

People out of the business knew Austin, to this day people recognize his name. Of course now The Rock is a A-list actor and what not, but in that year The Rock couldn't even be compared to Austin as far as popularity and importance went. The booking tells you the whole story. Rock was losing to Undertaker on Raw cleanly. Austin wasn't.

EDIT: AND YES! By WM 15 The Rock was as big as The Miz was by WM27. It was Rock's first run and it came out of the blue because Rock lost the title to HHH at SummerSlam and had nothing to do after it, if anything, he was less than Miz at WM27 lol it's true. I dare to say that at that time if WWF made Mankind v. Austin it could have been a bigger and more succesful match.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

You're just proving my point that the demand for wrestling was bigger than Rock. The only thing wrong with your stupid logic is that Bryan is actually The Rock, because Cena is the veteran that was #1 when Bryan was in the midcard, much like Austin was #1 when Rock was in the midcard. Rock could have been #1 in 2003 if he had a commitment with the company after AUSTIN left, but by that time nobody cared for Rock and he was fed to Goldberg in pretty much a squash. That doesn't happen to ANY face of a company. You never seen Hogan return to WWF to simply get his ass beat for the sake of it, he returned to beat Orton and HBK if anything.

You are the most delusional poster on this boards. You type like a ten year old with copy paste and you argue like a 14 year old buy that believes everything the internet says like : "Cena can't wrassle" or "Attitude Erazzz RULEZZ" "PG SUXXX". Go away stupid troll. You don't know anything and stop quoting stupid arguments like "Rock returned to fight Booker at SummerSlam" like a baboon.

Most delusional poster? I'm not a poster, I'm a human being.

I rate your ret@rdness a 9/10.

The Rock was clearly the face of the company since survivor series 1998.

Austin has always been an overrated jobber.

Your argument as to why he's the face of wwe is him using backstage politics? Hahahaha.

Austin was supposed to work with billy Gunn and Jeff Jarrett but he refused.

Austin was supposed to lose to triple h but he refused.

Austin was supposed to get squashed by Lesnar on raw without any build up, so much for being "protected" lol.


The Rock >>>>>>>> austin.



Cena is a loser wannabe thug who can't wrestle, he killed wrestling and wwe is PG because of him, wwe should bring back attitude era and fire this joke Cena.
Cena can't wrestle, can't act, can't rap, he's a joke.
He cheated on his wife.
He killed kenny dystsa career.
He ruined Alex Riley push.
He killed Tyler reks career.
He destroyed Chris master's push.
He buried cm punk Damien sandow del rio everyone.
He uses dying children to make him popular.
He uses backstage politics to force his untalented asss.on us.
He dates porn stars.
He cheats on wife.

He's a bad wrestler.
He's a phony.
He only has 5 moves and buries everyone.

The day Cena d!es will be the best day of my life.


Ok bye. (don't reply me unless you want to ) Cena sucks!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Most delusional poster? I'm not a poster, I'm a human being.

I rate your ret@rdness a 9/10.

The Rock was clearly the face of the company since survivor series 1998.

Austin has always been an overrated jobber.

Your argument as to why he's the face of wwe is him using backstage politics? Hahahaha.

Austin was supposed to work with billy Gunn and Jeff Jarrett but he refused.

Austin was supposed to lose to triple h but he refused.

Austin was supposed to get squashed by Lesnar on raw without any build up, so much for being "protected" lol.


The Rock >>>>>>>> austin.



Cena is a loser wannabe thug who can't wrestle, he killed wrestling and wwe is PG because of him, wwe should bring back attitude era and fire this joke Cena.
Cena can't wrestle, can't act, can't rap, he's a joke.
He cheated on his wife.
He killed kenny dystsa career.
He ruined Alex Riley push.
He killed Tyler reks career.
He destroyed Chris master's push.
He buried cm punk Damien sandow del rio everyone.
He uses dying children to make him popular.
He uses backstage politics to force his untalented asss.on us.
He dates porn stars.
He cheats on wife.

He's a bad wrestler.
He's a phony.
He only has 5 moves and buries everyone.

The day Cena d!es will be the best day of my life.


Ok bye. (don't reply me unless you want to ) Cena sucks!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh I want to reply. This whole post proves why you are wrong and why PWF is wrong (again lol surprise!!!). I'm out, I've made my case and got a lot of positive feedback on this in form of green rep so keep your stupidity coming strong! We need delusional marks!!

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

SummerSlam you had Rock vs. Billy Gunn LOL)

The Rock was as big as The Miz

Yeah, thats why he was constantly main-eventing after Summerslam

Unforgiven (1999) - Rock wrestled Triple H Mankind, Kane, The Big Show and The British Bulldog for the WWF title "lol"

Rebellion (1999) - Rock wrestled Triple H for the WWF title "lol"

Survivor Series (1999) - Rock wrestled Big Show and Triple H for the WWF title "lol"

Won the 2000 Royal Rumble

Pretty good for a "mid-carder" and Miz level wrestler, eh?

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Yeah, thats why he was constantly main-eventing after Summerslam

Unforgiven (1999) - Rock wrestled Triple H Mankind, Kane, The Big Show and The British Bulldog for the WWF title "lol"

Rebellion (1999) - Rock wrestled Triple H for the WWF title "lol"

Survivor Series (1999) - Rock wrestled Big Show and Triple H for the WWF title "lol"

Won the 2000 Royal Rumble

Pretty good for a "mid-carder" and Miz level wrestler, eh?

At the beginning of 1999 he was Miz's level. After that he had strong showings but as you can see he only had a singles match, because WWE didn't believe in him to draw. Survivor Series is a statement to that since it barely made 400k buys. You are wrong, now go watch some old tapes and take your conclusions and you'll see that I am 100% right. The Rock could have been #1 by 2003 when Austin left for good and was in a bad relationship with creatives and the company.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Oh I want to reply. This whole post proves why you are wrong and why PWF is wrong (again lol surprise!!!). I'm out, I've made my case and got a lot of positive feedback on this in form of green rep so keep your stupidity coming strong! We need delusional marks!!

Oh no what a shame lmao.

Make sure to ask uncle Steve if he was the face of the company when WWE told him Lesnar will squash him on RAW lmao.

He'll answer it on the podcast, I'm pretty sure Steve is busy being one of Hollywood's biggest stars and it's going to be hard responding to all 25 million fans that he has on Facebook.

Oh wait that's The Rock!! Hahahaha.

But no worries you can still get Austin's movies on a gas station next to Jillian CDs hahahaha.

I hope Austin enjoyed winning fake scripted matches, Rock who truly understood the business created many stars before he left unlike roid raging wifebeater who barely lost one clean match before he left coz he was such a pu$$y.


The cream rises to the top.

Look at what a star The Rock and look what a desperate loser Austin is.

Karma is a b!tch.

Now I'll let you enjoy a good old stone cold ownage

[YOUTUBE] watch?v=lV1T25bXjVw [/YOUTUBE]

 

[Littlebase631]

Wow you guys are relentless trying to prove the rock is number one and it's obvious that Austin is clearly number 1 by stats and facts. If you don't wanna go by that go by wwe's opinion. Isn't there a dvd called the bottom line on the most popular superstar of all time? Who's on the hall of fame already? I think stone cold is. I'm done. Case closed. Argument over.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Wow you guys are relentless trying to prove the rock is number one and it's obvious that Austin is clearly number 1 by stats and facts. If you don't wanna go by that go by wwe's opinion. Isn't there a dvd called the bottom line on the most popular superstar of all time? Who's on the hall of fame already? I think stone cold is. I'm done. Case closed. Argument over.

No doubt Austin defined the Attitude Era but The Rock was the face of the company in 2000 and after that.

Denying that is either pure hatred or pure ignorance.

Triple H, Chris Jericho, Mick Foley... all said that Rock was the face of wwe at that time.


And Austin might be the most popular wrestler ever but Rock surpassed him in popularity in 99.


And Rock hasn't retired yet so there's no reason to put him in the Hall of Fame

 

[OYDK]

OK OK OK GUYS lets chill, shits getting ridiculous...

I think we can all agree that Rock and Austin were not jobbers...
I think we can all agree that Austin and Rock were in the top 3 most popular wrestlers of all time. Personally I'm an Austin fan and imo he was THE MAN until 2002 and if you want Vinces opinion just watch Austin's HOF induction.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

Austin has always been an overrated jobber.

For all the time you have spent trying to make your case on this topic, you completely blew up your credibility with this one statement.

Is there a "Hall of Fame" for absurd statements on the Wrestlezone board? If so, this one is a first ballot entry, no questions asked.

 

[steven87gill]

Rock drew way more than Austin.

That wasn't Rock my friend, that was Chris Kreski.

 

[Pedigree1]

Fact is people Austin for all intents and purposes will never wrestle again. The man is almost 50 years old,hasn't wrestled in 12 years that is a long time to be away from the ring. Younger fans dont know really who he is,except to hear the older ones talk about him and occasionally watch his straight to DVD movies. If he got in the ring awhile back and messed himself up,there is no way in blue hell he would work a WM match or any match..

I love SCSA,quite possibly the number two name in pro wrestling history. His career is legendary no doubt. If for a few nostalgia purposes he comes back,im fine with it. But im sure Austin himself would want more than just to stun few people here and there..

However that said,WWE doesn't seem to miss him all that much,they got Batista. Plus it seems as of late the WWE audience doesn't really care for part-timers coming and going as they please.. They weren't too hot on Batista,the rock when he came back last year was met with a lot of boo's. Not to say the WWE audience wouldn't go apeshit if Austin came back,i would but maybe the WWE feels its just not worth x amount of dollars it would take to sign him.

Plus we have the UW,Jake the Snake Roberts,maybe Scott hall,Hogan,Batista! Thats enough Nostalgia for any fan to digest! But it would be nice if Austin came back

 

[Kidpolean]

Omg Austin lovers vs Rock lovers lol

this argument is stupid and has been done for years. I'm not really a super fan of either guy but imo a wrestlers legacy is what matters in the end and The Rock has the far better legacy. Austin was amazing but he was only great for about three years and since he retired has become completely irrelevant. The Rock is STILL the most popular wrestler in the world and has been since the early 2000's. The Rock imo will go down as the greatest pro wrestler of all time, kinda like Jordan, to people that aren't huge fans of pro wrestling. Of course hardcore fans will have a different opinion but the majority of the US doesn't watch wrestling so there opinions will weigh more. Austin has been vastly overrated for years just because of the popularity of the AE. Rock was better on the mic, a better heel, a better face, and they both kinda sucked in the ring. Anything Austin did after, Austin vs Mcmahon was a complete failure and boring as hell. The Rock was the "MAN" in 2000, I don't mean he was the top booked guy because that was still Austin. Being the "MAN" is similar to DB right now. Rock in 2000 was more popular and more entertaining than Austin. Austin may have had the main event matches, but it was clear to anyone watching who the best in the business was at the time and it was by far The Rock.

 

[steven87gill]

Austin and WWE do work together. There are the straight-to-DVD movies, the video game and "Tough Enough."

If the real question is why Austin doesn't get in the ring anymore, there have been several explanations, but I think the prime two are: Austin doesn't want to......and it could be that both he and the company have come to the realization the time is past.

It's been so long since he wrestled that the only thing many young fans know of him is his unique ring name and some stories from the old folks about who he was. The older fans who remember him would still get hepped up about seeing him try it in the ring once again, but I wonder if his appearance would have the impact it once did.

It's hard to compare him to the Rock, since Dwayne Johnson's movie career keeps his name at a higher profile than Austin's. Sure, there'd be excitement if Stone Cold announced he was going to wrestle once more, but it's now a big question as to whether what they'd have to pay him would be worth what he'd bring in terms of ticket sales to the PPV.

What used to be a sure thing is now an unknown. Kind of sad, in a way.

Saying the comparison's faulty because Rock's a hollywood star doesn't really work. I saw the audience for his return, plenty of kids marking out chanting 'rocky', they knew who he was, not just that he was a famous actor, but who he was in the context of WWE history. Like Hulk & The Rock, Stone Cold is one of those names that has simply transcended the business & the particular era he was huge in. He's one of a select few that have become 'timeless' & doesn't need a consistent presence in the media to remain relevant.

In the same way that my younger self knew precisely who hulk hogan was, even before I'd seen any of his movies, or even became a fan of WWE. I knew he was a famous wrestler for the WWF, & what he looked like. When I was 14, I reacted in exactly the same way as plenty of grown adults at the time reacted when Hulk Hogan returned to WWF in 2002... I marked out. (I nearly had a heart attack when he hulked up at X8)

Stone Cold is not just one of those names, but maybe the last truly huge name for wrestling. (& before you shout 'Cena!' at me, yes, he's a workhorse, but unfortunately hasn't reached the escape velocity to propel himself to true crossover stardom/immortality yet, he needs to turn heel before he can do that)

 

[L@RISANO]

Cena never actually stated that The Rock was his dream opponent, because I'm pretty sure that his dream opponent would be Hulk Hogan since he was a big fan growing up. It's one of a few dream scenarios. And working with Austin is also a marquee match up. He said that working with The Rock was a dream come true, but dream matches with John Cena in the other hand are not that difficult to find. Cena vs. Goldberg. Cena vs. The Undertaker. Cena vs. Sting... Just to lay down a few.

On Hogan being Cena's dream opponent.

In Austin's Hall Of Fame Promo, where various Superstars talk about the said New Hall Of Famer(at the time Austin), Cena said something along the lines of Hogan being his childhood idol, but in an interview(Can be found on the net) he said Austin was his All-Time favourite.

lMO, in his Podcast Interview with Austin, Cena seemed to genuinely want a match vs Austin. I do hope it happens. Austin might not be as active and in the spotlight like before, but I am sure Cena vs Austin at WM31 would be a blockbuster matchup, and I doubt the crowd would turn on Austin for being a part-timer coming back for some limelight, if he did it for just one match, tbh.

 

[lil steroid meat]

What would he do?

He's not in need of money and I'm assuming he's not about that travel schedule so commentary and/or a backstage role is out of the question.

Obviously can't really compete in a match.

Sometimes you gotta let things go. The Austin run was cool while it lasted.

Plus on top of all that, I really have no desire to see neutered PG promos from Austin saying stuff like 'poopy'.

 

[L@RISANO]

Omg Austin lovers vs Rock lovers lol

this argument is stupid and has been done for years. I'm not really a super fan of either guy but imo a wrestlers legacy is what matters in the end and The Rock has the far better legacy. Austin was amazing but he was only great for about three years and since he retired has become completely irrelevant. The Rock is STILL the most popular wrestler in the world and has been since the early 2000's. The Rock imo will go down as the greatest pro wrestler of all time, kinda like Jordan, to people that aren't huge fans of pro wrestling. Of course hardcore fans will have a different opinion but the majority of the US doesn't watch wrestling so there opinions will weigh more.

I don't agree with that notion of the Greatest of All-Time.

the Rock is the Most Popular Wrestler of All-Time judging by the way you put it with regards to how the casuals view it. Although, I'd tell you that a certain guy named Andre the Giant was known to many casuals of yesteryear(That Eighth Wonder of the World stuff travelled far and wide).

However, Greatest of a certain sport can only be judged by those who follow it,lMO.
I am a huge soccer fan, and in soccer, the most famous is between Pele(in the argument for being the Greatest Soccer Player) and David Beckham(due to his celebrity status everywhere)...however Beckham wouldn't even make a top50 list of the Greatest Soccer Players of All-Time, regardless of his popularity.

Most Popular can be judged by how the casuals view someone.
Most Great has to be judged by people who actually have followed the sport,etc.

Cheers.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

are u an idiot? When the hell did Rock and Taker tarnish their legacies? Are u trolling?

The Rock came back, passed the torch to Cena, had an amazing back and forth promo with CM Punk, and headlined the two highest grossing WM's of all time. Yes his matches were average at best to most people, I loved the match at WM28, but the rock has never been very good in the ring.

As far as Taker goes, your statement is just stupid. Taker has had the best match at mania 5 years in a row, the streak is WM's biggest draw, and he arguably had the greatest match in wm history like 5 years ago. I fully expect Taker to steal the show again at WM30.

the difference between rock/taker and flair/hogan is that they will do anything to be on camera even though they clearly can't wrestle anymore. Taker shows up for on match and puts on a classic and the rock is a huge star and I honestly believe he came back just to show his loyalty to Vince and the WWE fans because he really didn't gain anything from his return.

Austin is doing what he should be doing...relaxing and enjoying his money. If you can't wrestle anymore than there is no reason to show up.

Rock came back because his movie career was starting to hit major road blocks, and he wasn't a big bad action star anymore. Then after he agreed to come back and do the deed, Fast Five ended up becoming a MONSTER hit (which no one saw coming) and it completely revitalized Rock's film career.

 

[babinko]

Glad to see all this back and forth from each other. Very big Rock vs Austin debate just sparked up in this haha. Just to everyone: We all have opinions, which makes being fans of wrestling great. Its good to be open minded and give your case for something.

My main concern wasn't about Austin wrestling, It was just him making appearances. I saw some people going off about him wrestling again, that would be cool and all, but he definitely could come back for a role on TV. I know they ran the GM angle already but that was 10 years ago. Like someone else stated it would be great for nostalgia purposes.

Also another question off this and I hope people look at this. Do you think HHH and Austin have something against each other? I always felt they never liked one another. They did work as that Power Trip tag team, which was great, but I always felt these two just never saw eye to eye. Maybe jealously perhaps? Now with HHH in control of things, it might steer Austin away from doing anything.

Any further thoughts on that?

 

[OYDK]

Glad to see all this back and forth from each other. Very big Rock vs Austin debate just sparked up in this haha. Just to everyone: We all have opinions, which makes being fans of wrestling great. Its good to be open minded and give your case for something.

My main concern wasn't about Austin wrestling, It was just him making appearances. I saw some people going off about him wrestling again, that would be cool and all, but he definitely could come back for a role on TV. I know they ran the GM angle already but that was 10 years ago. Like someone else stated it would be great for nostalgia purposes.

Also another question off this and I hope people look at this. Do you think HHH and Austin have something against each other? I always felt they never liked one another. They did work as that Power Trip tag team, which was great, but I always felt these two just never saw eye to eye. Maybe jealously perhaps? Now with HHH in control of things, it might steer Austin away from doing anything.

Any further thoughts on that?

I honestly don't know, I always thought Austin and Trip were professional towards each other when working together but yes there did seem to be legit tension between the two in their feuds (which made them awesome imo). I think Austin had a Punk frame of mind when it came to the business but was less vocal about it. I think he respected Trip as a wrestler but I think he had a problem with how Trip continuously buried people to get over. Like I said, I have no facts on this, its all my opinion

 

[Kidpolean]

Rock came back because his movie career was starting to hit major road blocks, and he wasn't a big bad action star anymore. Then after he agreed to come back and do the deed, Fast Five ended up becoming a MONSTER hit (which no one saw coming) and it completely revitalized Rock's film career.

Um so you decided to just make some shit up? why even respond if you were just going to say some completely false nonsense?

1. Nobody saw it coming when Fast Five was a MONSTER hit? lol Dude Fast & Furious, the fourth movie in the series that Rock wasn't in did huge numbers. Fast & Furious, at the time, was the highest grossing movie in the entire series which means that the series fan base was obviously growing. EVERYONE expected Fast Five to do huge number because the success of the previous movie, with or without The Rock.

2. What are you considering The Rocks comeback? WM27? or WM28?
Either way it doesnt matter, WM27 was on April 3, 2011 and Fast Five came out April 29, 2011. The Rock was done filming Fast Five before he even made his comeback. Fast Five was highly anticipated and was a guaranteed success so um.....wheres the road block? Are you trying to imply that The Rock's return saved The Fast & The Furious movie series? because that is completely untrue. Vin Diesels return to the series in the fourth film is what caused the major spike in sales for the series. Fast Fives success had almost nothing to do with The Rock's wwe return.