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Post by Citizen Zero on Apr 10, 2011 15:51:07 GMT -5
Fairly frequent breaks for injury kept him surprisingly fresh. That, and he never turned into a cartoon version of himself like Rock or Cena did. Arguable. The beertrucks were pretty silly.
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Abadebe
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Post by Abadebe on Apr 10, 2011 17:27:54 GMT -5
As others have already said, Austin really wasn't on top for that long, he was gone for almost a year straight in the middle of his run, he spent eight months as a heel, and there was competition from the Rock, Foley, Taker, etc so it wasn't just Austin against a string of challengers like Hogan and Cena.
I will say that after he stopped wrestling and was the "sheriff of Raw" he got very stale and smarks became sick of the fact that he'd beat up every heel on the roster but never get any cumeuppance or even have a match.
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Post by preferable on Apr 10, 2011 17:39:57 GMT -5
He's never been that popular that long for it to happen. Both Hogan and Cena have had much longer 'runs' at the top. Austin had two/three years at the most.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2011 17:46:42 GMT -5
Two things.
1) Time is definitely a factor. Austin in general was a fad from a time standpoint. His run was 1998 to 2001. He missed one year due to injury (2000) and turned heel in the beginning of another (2001). So we are basically looking at two plus years as a top babyface, or close to three if you want to count 1997. Not enough time to overstay your welcome. His character was also a perfect fit for that time period.
2) Am I the only one who gets offended when Cena is grouped in with Hogan, Rock, and Austin? Selling merchandise while buyrates are going down, ratings are stagnating, and the brand (WWE) is viewed as more important than any individual doesn't make someone a big star. Especially when that someone, since 2005, has been booed by half the audience every single week as a face.
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Bub (BLM)
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Post by Bub (BLM) on Apr 10, 2011 17:48:43 GMT -5
Fairly frequent breaks for injury kept him surprisingly fresh. That, and he never turned into a cartoon version of himself like Rock or Cena did. I don't know, I'd say 1998-2000 Austin was a cartoon version of 1997 Austin.
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Post by Big Daddy Bad Booking on Apr 10, 2011 17:56:06 GMT -5
Fairly frequent breaks for injury kept him surprisingly fresh. That, and he never turned into a cartoon version of himself like Rock or Cena did. I don't know, I'd say 1998-2000 Austin was a cartoon version of 1997 Austin. 1996-1997 Austin was some of the best segments wrestling ever provided: a no good son of a bitch stirring up shit with everyone on the roster from low-card jobbers to WWE Champions. Some stuff he did was more brutal than others (i.e: injury angles with Brian Pillman and Bret Hart), plus had some really underrated classic with Triple H (Buried Alive 1996), Mankind (RAW of 1996), Shawn Michaels (KOTR 1997), and Undertaker (Cold Day in Hell 1997). I always thought from about "Master Plan" (after Summerslam 1998) on, he was a caricature of himself, but also keep in mind I only saw these programs years after they happened.
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The Ichi
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Post by The Ichi on Apr 10, 2011 17:56:28 GMT -5
2) Am I the only one who gets offended when Cena is grouped in with Hogan, Rock, and Austin? Selling merchandise while buyrates are going down, ratings are stagnating, and the brand (WWE) is viewed as more important than any individual doesn't make someone a big star. Especially when that someone, since 2005, has been booed by half the audience every single week as a face. He's grouped in with them because he's the top face of his era, just as they were the top faces of their respective eras.
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Bo Rida
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Post by Bo Rida on Apr 10, 2011 17:57:51 GMT -5
There’s also the way he got over in the first place, he worked his way up and was allowed to improvise and develop naturally. As a result it almost seemed like the fans chose him so there’s a stronger bond. In contrast the Rock and Cena were both pushed despite huge negative reactions.
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Post by chunkylover53 on Apr 10, 2011 20:49:49 GMT -5
He was never booked like Superman like Cena is. Cena treats most matches and feuds like an annoyance, take the WrestleMania match vs. Miz for example. Also, he wasn't a goody two shoes like Cena became. In the 80s Cena would be huge. In 2011, not so much (at least with the teens/adults.) What are you talking about? The Austin/McMahon feud was all about overcoming the odds. Hell, I never see anybody complain about Austin stunning burying the entire Corporate Ministry in one swoop, but is it really different than John Cena taking on a bunch of guys, and prevailing? Anyway, I agree with all points those made about fans never turning against Austin.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Apr 10, 2011 21:11:06 GMT -5
Austin's run at the top was fairly short, especially considering the time he took off for injuries, so he never really got overexposed or stale the way the others did.
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mrjl
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Post by mrjl on Apr 10, 2011 21:20:12 GMT -5
another thought. There was period in the middle of the Monday Night Wars where the champs weren't always defending the title in the main event. Sometimes there'd be tag team matches
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Post by Trout Stratus on Apr 10, 2011 21:52:03 GMT -5
Stone Cold is a bad ass straight up, just look at that name STONE COLD, plus he's Stone Cold, I mean Idk how else to explain it. Hell, just a few days ago kids who werent even born when Stone Cold was hot were telling me they're glad hes back and wanna see him take the Miz's WWE Title lol
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Post by cabbageboy on Apr 10, 2011 22:19:44 GMT -5
I think the crowd eventually sort of did turn on him, but it was mainly after his career was over and he was just doing whatever on Raw. The whole "What" act got really, really stale in a hurry.
If we're talking about his active career, what exactly could the fans turn on? Austin was never a typical babyface, so when he attempted to turn heel it didn't work (he was already a lowlife in a lot of respects).
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wildojinx
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Post by wildojinx on Apr 10, 2011 22:27:45 GMT -5
He had a "blue collar" image (extremely similar to dusty rhodes to be honest) which also helped him, unlike the others who have a "movie star/superhero" vibe to them.
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Yami Daimao
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Post by Yami Daimao on Apr 11, 2011 1:46:02 GMT -5
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Post by MichaelMartini on Apr 11, 2011 1:54:43 GMT -5
I chalk it up to timing mainly. He wasn't on top long enough for the fans to get sick of him.
Plus the Rock was another top face that soon became equally popular so they helped each other stay fresh. They didn't have to single handedly carry the company as a top face like Cena did.
Another reason is that his character went through many changes and evolutions. He went from silent ring master, to stone cold psycho, to beer drinking, catch phrase saying fan favorite, to the bionic redneck, to paranoid sell out, back to beer drinking bad ass, to ATV riding sheriff -all in the span of about 6 years.
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Post by preferable on Apr 11, 2011 2:57:20 GMT -5
People wouldn't have gotten tired of Hogan if he stopped wrestling in 1987.
Another factor is that Austin really began to fade in memory before he faded from the screens and subsequent ridiculous cameo appearances where he'll turn up at a PPV just to drink beer with a commentator hardly cemented his place. I think if you have that position as he did as top face in the company since, and some may argue including Hogan, I think you have a responsibility to the fans to use your appearances well and Austin didn't. Austin used them as personal appearances with all the excitement of a book signing where he'll come out, perform an action of harm against someone completely inconsequential, wave to the crowd and then leave.
Austin's refusal to work with Hogan I've always said has nothing to do with personal dislike. I think Austin would refuse to work with anyone and not only because of his injuries. I think deep down is is afraid that if he laced up his boots that the magic might not be there any more and I think that terrifies him. Justifiably so but I think had he been sensible and been economical with his body in his various come backs as he could have been yet still been able to put on a show if carefully choreographed, then he would not have this paranoia right now.
It is a shame because Austin spent as much time as he did active at the top, in active sitting at home at a time when he could very easily have kept at least a part-time in ring career going.
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Turd Ferguson
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Post by Turd Ferguson on Apr 11, 2011 7:50:53 GMT -5
I think Austin's ability to stay fresh really helped too. He used Summer's Eve.
No, really, though. There were subtle changes to his character, but he was always the same at his core. Plus, his heel turn was a complete revamp.
I know a lot of people say that calling for a heel turn is stupid, and it's not a cure all. But really, it's a way of keeping very fresh. It's like if you have day old bread. You really don't want to make a sandwich out of hard bread, that's horrible and it'll hurt your teeth. But you cut them up and throw them in a salad, you've got some tasty motherf***ing crutons.
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Post by FUNK_US/BRODUS on Apr 11, 2011 9:33:25 GMT -5
Fairly frequent breaks for injury kept him surprisingly fresh. That, and he never turned into a cartoon version of himself like Rock or Cena did. Arguable. The beertrucks were pretty silly. I actually disagree with the beer truck before WrestleMania XV. It was so outrageous it was awesome. Not as awesome as the Milk Truck, but still epic.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2011 13:32:48 GMT -5
Austin never really wavered from his core character. He tweaked it, but that whole character resonated with almost everyone.
While Austin usually came out on top like Cena did, at the end of Raw, you'd see Austin laid out. This would happen multiple times leading up to the PPV, where Austin would be victorious. Unlike Cena, who very rarely ever gets laid out. It does happen, but not frequently.
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