Update on Stone Cold - No Beer maybe he can drink Milk

[Sir O]

Yes, and several superstars were let go because of (compared to SCSA) minor problems. That sort of treatment gets you heat backstage, look at the NWO, we're down to what, 1 of them left on the roster? Why would you hire someone who has demonstrated to you that he is unwilling to bend if you don't meet his demands?

Austin was having problems with management/creative for quite a while before he left. The job to Brock was just the straw that broke the camel's back. There's no reason to have your top face to a job in a meaningless match with zero buildup - which is what creative wanted to do. It was nothing like the Brock/Rock or Brock/Hogan matches where there was a month of build to a PPV Main Event - he was asked to job to Brock on the undercard of Raw with no prior notice. He was tired of getting fucked in the ass, so he went home. As an independent contractor, and not an employee of WWE Inc, he had that right.

Sure Austin would be a ratings spike, emphasis on spike. SCSA is not the future of the wwe.

I don't think anyone is saying he is the future. But he still has major star power, and can still go in the ring - maybe not like he used to, but certainly better than has-beens like Hogan and Nash and HHH and Shawn and Flair. The majority fans don't yet see Austin as a has-been, and until that time comes, he'll sell tickets. It's not that he's the future, but he more than anyone can help bridge the present to the future.

So what would you do? Hire the man who might get you some ratings for a few months or get that young gun from the indy's who, with the right storyline, will be the big star of tomorrow.

How about, hiring the biggest star in wrestling to put over those young guys. Right now, all they have in terms of guys who can elevate wrestlers to the main event, is HHH, and he won't put anyone over unless they're no threat to him (see: Michaels, Shawn and Undertaker). Rock's out, Hogan's out, Austin's out, Michaels' body can't take working a full schedule, Taker's out. Other than Goldberg, there's nobody out there except Austin - the same Austin who was instrumental (I'm not saying singlehandedly responsible) in getting Rock, HHH, and Foley over at main event level.

People who stopped watching might watch when Austin returns, maybe they will stick around for a while, until they realise that nothing has really changed, and what will they do? Stop watching.

That's too shortsighted - it's not as simple as putting Austin on TV and the viewers will come crawling back. The entire company needs a major overhaul. They need someone to put over the Guerreros and Benoits, to further solidify the Angles and Lesnars. Where are tomorrow's main eventers going to come from, when (with the possible exception of Lesnar) nobody takes them seriously as a threat today, and nobody in the company is willing to do the job? This isn't something that an meaningless undercard loss on a meaningless Raw could fix.

Until Vince sees that this slump is here to stay and is something that can't be fixed by bringing back the people who were good during wrestlings high point.

Again, the answer isn't simply bringing in yesterday's stars - which is why the Steiner signing is a joke. The answer, or at least a major part of the answer, is using guys who are towards the end of their career but still have "main event" cridibility in the fans' eyes, to put over the next crop of main eventers, so they, 5 or so years from now, can do for others what Austin did for them, what Michaels and Hart did for Austin, etc.

Last, but not least...

the wwe is not in a slump...ratings are not down...for fucks sake...what show, week in and week out two times a week for 2 hours has more than 4 million people watching it?

WWE Inc reported a net loss last quarter. Ratings are the lowest they've been since before the Monday Night Wars, buyrates are down, TV and houseshow attendance is WAY down. That's definitely what I'd call a slump. Just because they get better ratings than Lifetime's Movie of the Week or reruns of SNL doesn't change that fact.

And yeah, wresting sucks.