Stone Cold 2000

[bigmackdaddy]

What kind of pops did he get in 2000?

Was he considered second to the Rock?

Did his return improve ratings and ppv buys?

How was he booked?

thehistoryofwwe.com

WWF @ Charlotte, NC - Coliseum - April 25, 2000
Smackdown!
Steve Austin, who was shown outside the arena, cut a promo on his appearance at Backlash, before using a crane to crush and destroy the DX Express.

Backlash 00 - Washington DC - MCI Center - April 30, 2000
The Rock pinned WWF World Champion Triple H to win the title at 19:22 following the spinebuster and People's Elbow after Steve Austin countered the interference of Vince & Shane McMahon, Gerald Brisco, and Pat Patterson; Shane McMahon was the guest referee for the match but Earl Hebner made the pinfall

Unforgiven 00 - Philadelphia, PA - First Union Center - September 24, 2000
included Shane McMahon coming out to the ring and showing footage from Raw over a year ago in which Steve Blackman hit Ken Shamrock with his car, with Shane then saying that was proof enough that Blackman was the culprit behind running over Steve Austin at the 1999 Survivor Series; moments later, Blackman came out, with Shane then leaving the ring, and Steve Austin soon followed him to the ring; Austin hit the Stunner on Blackman, shared a few beers with Shane, and then hit the Stunner on Shane three times

WWF @ Cleveland, OH - Gund Arena - October 17, 2000
Smackdown!
Chris Jericho, WWF Tag Team Champions Matt & Jeff Hardy fought X-Pac, Edge, & Christian to a no contest when all the participants began brawling and Steve Austin came to the ring and laid out all six men with a steel chair before doing the same to the referee and Sgt. Slaughter

No Mercy 00 - Albany, NY - Pepsi Arena - October 22, 2000
Steve Austin fought Rikishi to a no contest in a no holds barred match at around the 7-minute mark after Austin threw his opponent into the back of his pick up truck, which he drove to the ring, took the vehicle to the parking lot, assaulted Rikishi, and attempted to ram the truck into his opponent before several police cars arrived on the scene; moments later, Austin exited the truck, was quickly arrested, and driven away in a police car

WWF @ Hartford, CT - Civic Center - October 23, 2000
Raw is War
WWF World Champion Kurt Angle (w/ Stephanie McMahon) fought the Rock and Triple H to a no contest at 8:51 when Rikishi attacked the champion; after the bout, Steve Austin came to the ring and attacked both Rikishi and Angle

WWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - October 24, 2000
Smackdown!
Rikishi defeated Too Cool in a handicap match by pinning Scotty 2 Hotty with the Bonzai Drop; after the bout, Rikishi hit a Samoan Drop and Bonzai Drop on Grandmaster Sexay; moments after, Rikishi called out Steve Austin; Austin eventually came out, after being attacked backstage by an unknown assailant, and the two battled from the entrance way to the ring where Rikishi eventually hit the Bonzai Drop

WWF @ Toronto, Ontario - Skydome - October 28, 2000
The Rock & Steve Austin defeated Rikishi & Chris Benoit after Austin hit the Stunner; after the bout, Triple H made the save against the other members of the Radicalz

WWF @ Buffalo, NY - October 29, 2000
The Rock, Triple H, & Steve Austin defeated WWF World Champion Kurt Angle, Rikishi, & Chris Benoit when Austin pinned Angle with the Stunner after avoiding the Olympic Slam

WWF @ Boston, MA - FleetCenter - October 30, 2000
Raw is War
Steve Austin pinned Rikishi in a steel cage match at 5:14 with the Stunner after ramming Rikishi face-first into the cage; pre-match stipulations stated that the victory could only come via pinfall; prior to the bout, the two brawled around ringside before finally entering the cage

WWF @ Rochester, NY - Blue Cross Arena - October 31, 2000
Smackdown!
featured an in-ring promo from the Rock in which he asked Steve Austin to come out so he could face-to-face tell Austin he had nothing to do with running him over at Survivor Series 99; moments later, Austin came to the ring and said that the only person he trusts is himself; Rikishi appeared on the stage shortly thereafter and said that, because the Rock's merchandise sales were dropping, Rock came to him and asked him to run Austin down; to rebut Rikishi's claims, Rock told Austin that everything he has done has been face-to-face; WWF World Champion Kurt Angle then appeared on the stage and explained that Stephanie McMahon was too ill to be in his corner later in the night and that Rock was not worthy of receiving a title shot because he helped run Austin over; after Angle and Rikishi went backstage, Austin jumped Rock from behind and hit the Stunner
included Steve Austin talking on his cell phone backstage in which he narrowly avoided having a crate drop on him; after the commercial break, several officials investigated the incident and Jonathan Coachman was unable to find the Rock
The Rock defeated WWF World Champion Kurt Angle via disqualification at 7:45 when Rikishi, who the Rock knocked off the apron moments earlier, broke the cover on Angle after the challenger hit a spinebuster; after the bout, Rock was double teamed in the ring until Steve Austin came out, knocked Rikishi out of the ring, and hit the Stunner on Angle; moments later, Rock hit the Rock Bottom on Austin as payback for the Stunner he received earlier in the show

WWF @ Las Cruces, NM - November 4, 2000
Steve Austin & Chris Jericho defeated Val Venis & Rikishi

WWF @ Lubbock, TX - November 5, 2000
Steve Austin & Chris Jericho defeated Val Venis & Rikishi

WWF @ Houston, TX - Compaq Center - November 6, 2000
Raw is War
Steve Austin & Triple H fought WWF World Champion Kurt Angle & Rikishi to a no contest at 4:14 when Triple H, filling in for the Rock who had been attacked moments earlier backstage, nailed Austin with his sledgehammer after tossing Angle to the floor; moments later, Triple H admitted that it was he who was behind Austin's hit-and-run injury at the 1999 Survivor Series

WWF @ Dallas, TX - Reunion Arena - November 7, 2000
Smackdown!
The Rock & Steve Austin fought Triple H & Rikishi to a no contest when the Radicalz began brawling with the Rock & Austin before the match began

WWF @ Cincinnati, OH - November 11, 2000
The Undertaker & Steve Austin defeated WWF World Champion Kurt Angle & Kane

WWF @ Dayton, OH - November 12, 2000
The Undertaker & Steve Austin defeated WWF World Champion Kurt Angle & Kane

WWF @ Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena - November 13, 2000
Raw is War
Steve Austin, the Rock, Billy Gunn, & Chyna defeated Chris Benoit, WWF IC Champion Eddie Guerrero, WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko, & Perry Saturn (w/ Terri) at 10:45 when Austin pinned Guerrero with the Stunner; after the bout, the Rock continued brawling with Benoit backstage until Rikishi drove past and hit the Rock with a sledgehammer while hanging out the car window

WWF @ Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse - November 14, 2000
Smackdown!
Steve Austin pinned WWF IC Champion Eddie Guerrero with the Stunner in a non-title match at around 3:12; prior to the bout, Guerrero cut an in-ring promo on Austin, with cameras then showing Austin backstage blocking the Radicalz inside the McMahon-Helmsley locker room with a forklift; there was no opening bell for the match

Survivor Series 00 - Tampa, FL - Ice Palace - November 19, 2000
Steve Austin fought Triple H to a no contest in a No DQ match at around the 25 minute mark; late in the bout, Triple H goaded Austin backstage where Austin was attacked by all four members of the Radicalz until referees and officials intervened; after Triple H ran into the parking lot and hid in his car, waiting for Austin to follow him out so he could run him over, Chris Benoit tricked Austin into the parking lot but Austin quickly disappeared; after Benoit ran back inside to find Austin, Triple H's car was picked up by a forklift, with Austin operating it; Austin then lifted the car high into the air before dropping it, with the car tipping over onto its hood and smashing to the ground

WWF @ Orlando, Florida – TD Waterhouse Centre - November 20, 2000
Raw is War
Steve Austin pinned Chris Benoit at 8:34 with a kick to the mid-section and the Stunner after avoiding a clothesline

WWF @ Ft. Lauderdale, FL - November 21, 2000
Smackdown!
Chris Jericho & Steve Austin fought Kane & Chris Benoit to a no contest when a frustrated Austin hit the Stunner on Earl Hebner before doing the same to Benoit and Kane

WWF @ Chicago, IL - AllState Arena - November 25, 2000
Steve Austin & the Undertaker defeated Chris Benoit & Rikishi after Austin executed the Stunner on Benoit

WWF @ Omaha, NE - November 26, 2000
The Undertaker & Steve Austin defeated Rikishi & Chris Benoit

WWF @ Ames, IA - Hilton Coliseum - November 27, 2000
Raw is War
Steve Austin defeated WWF World Champion Kurt Angle via disqualification at 9:16 when Triple H interfered and helped in double teaming the challenger

Rebellion 00 - Sheffield, England - Arena - December 2, 2000
WWF World Champion Kurt Angle defeated Steve Austin, the Rock, and Rikishi in a No DQ match at 8:51 by pinning Rikishi with the Olympic Slam, moments after Rikishi sustained the Rock Bottom from the Rock and the Stunner from Austin; following the Rock Bottom, the cover was broken by Edge, with Rock then brawling with Edge & Christian on the floor; following the Stunner, the cover was broken by Perry Saturn, with Austin then brawling with Saturn & Eddie Guerrero on the floor; after the bout, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko came out, with all four members of the Radicalz assaulting Rock and Austin until Rock and Austin were able to clear them from the ring; moments later, the Radicalz rushed the ring and were again thrown to the floor, with Rock and Austin then having a few beers as the show came to a close

WWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - December 5, 2000
Smackdown!
WWF World Champion Kurt Angle, Steve Austin, the Rock, and the Undertaker fought to a no contest when Triple H and Rikishi interfered and a brawl ensued involving all six men, with Triple H remaining as the last man standing

Armageddon 00 - Birmingham, AL - Boutwell Auditorium - December 10, 2000
WWF World Champion Kurt Angle defeated Steve Austin, Rikishi, the Undertaker, the Rock, and Triple H in a Hell in a Cell bout at 32:10 by pinning the Rock after Austin hit the Stunner on the Rock but was prevented by making the cover by Triple H; mid-way through the bout, Vince McMahon had a truck driven to the ring so he could dismantle the cage; moments later, Mick Foley came out and had McMahon sent backstage before the cage could be taken down; late in the bout, the Undertaker chokeslammed Rikishi from the top of the cage down onto the bed of the truck; after the match, Austin hit the Stunner on Angle

WWF @ Little Rock, AR - December 12, 2000
Smackdown!
The Rock & Steve Austin defeated WWF World Champion Kurt Angle & WWF European Champion William Regal when Austin pinned Regal with the Stunner

WWF @ Greenville, SC - Bi-Lo Center - December 18, 2000
Raw is War
WWF European Champion William Regal defeated Steve Austin via disqualification at 4:31 when referee Tim White recovered from a collision and saw Austin with the Euro title belt, which he had taken from Regal, and assumed Austin had used it as a weapon

WWF @ Charlotte, NC - Coliseum - December 19, 2000
Smackdown!
WWF European Champion William Regal fought Hardcore Holly to a no contest when guest referee Steve Austin hit the Stunner on both men and began counting them both down until Kane came to the ring and hit a chokeslam on Austin; after the bout, Vince McMahon announced Austin would face Kane on Raw

WWF @ Chattanooga, TN - McKenzie Arena - December 22, 2000
Raw is War
Steve Austin defeated Kane via disqualification at 7:22 when William Regal attacked Austin; after the match, Austin fought off both men

WWF @ Tulsa, OK - December 28, 2000
Steve Austin (w/ Jim Ross) pinned WWF European Champion William Regal in a non-title match following the Stunner

WWF @ Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center - December 29, 2000
Raw is War
WWF European Champion William Regal pinned Steve Austin with a roll up in a non-title match when guest referee Stephanie McMahon made a fast count; due to pre-match stipulations, Regal advanced to a #1 contender's match on Smackdown!

WWF @ San Antonio, TX - Freeman Coliseum - December 30, 2000
Smackdown!
Steve Austin (sub. for WWF European Champion William Regal) defeated the Undertaker and Kane by pinning the Undertaker with the Stunner after Taker hit a chokeslam on an interfering Rikishi; Vince McMahon was the second referee for the bout and reluctantly made the pinfall for Austin; due to prematch stipulations, Austin earned a world title shot for the following Monday

[viking85]

austin was still huge but that spark or magic he had in 97 to 99 seemed to be gone, he was never really the same even if he sometimes get a bigger pop than rock.

[donbot]

I wonder how he would be booked if it wasn't for neck surgery? Would the fans start to turn on him? Would he turn heel earlier? So many possibilities.

[ToyfareMark]

A lot of this lead to Austin's heel turn. You could see during his initial comeback that he was becoming way more vicious, the pandering was being toned down, and he was becoming more serious.

Now this definitely isn't a popular opinion, but 2001 heel Austin is pretty much my favorite character ever in wrestling. I loved how he combined being a psychotic, paranoid champion, while at the same time wanting to be loved and accepted by someone who's life he made a living hell for years. Add Kurt Angle trying to nudge his way in on that and it got even better.

I was never a fan of pandering beer bukkake Austin, and I'm glad he slowly started to change during his comeback in the fall of 2000.

[mjolnir]

Jan 16, 2013 4:05:41 GMT -5 ToyfareMark said:

A lot of this lead to Austin's heel turn. You could see during his initial comeback that he was becoming way more vicious, the pandering was being toned down, and he was becoming more serious.

Now this definitely isn't a popular opinion, but 2001 heel Austin is pretty much my favorite character ever in wrestling. I loved how he combined being a psychotic, paranoid champion, while at the same time wanting to be loved and accepted by someone who's life he made a living hell for years. Add Kurt Angle trying to nudge his way in on that and it got even better.

I was never a fan of pandering beer bukkake Austin, and I'm glad he slowly started to change during his comeback in the fall of 2000.

Agreed, this is probably my favorite version of the Stone Cold character. It was a natural evolution, in my opinion, of the character. And, it was honestly something of a Western genre cliche. The hero rises, then as he starts to diminish, turns into the villain to cling to what is his.

[DIIV]

One of the biggest what-ifs. I always wonder if The Rock would be as big as he is now. There's no doubt that his popularity from wrestling played a huge part in him landing the role for the role that was a plateau for his acting career, The Scorpion King, and in 2000, he was on top of the world. He would have still been big, but I can't help but feel he would have played second fiddle to Austin, as he'd been doing for the previous two years.

As for Austin, I don't think fans would have turned on him. I mean, it was his second year as the prominent main eventer? It could be argued that his same ol' shtick may have ran its course, but it wasn't anything that was force-fed, he was still getting the biggest reactions in mid/late 1999 and there's no reason why that would have died down anytime in 2000. Maybe fans would have turned on him in 2001/2002 if he had ran through the duration of 2000 as the same old beer drinking, pandering Austin, but he was still red hot before he left.

In retrospect, it was cool seeing other wrestlers such as Rock, Triple H, Foley and Radicalz at the forefront. The first half of 2000 was absolutely amazing (not counting WM). But that question of what they would have done throwing Austin in the mix will always linger.

[TK The Friendly Robot]

I expected this thread to be about a Cyborg version of Stone Cold...I am disappointed.

On the other hand I have to agree that the heel turn was a natural progression for Austin and while I wasn't completely behind it at the time looking back on it I thoroughly enjoyed it. He was just getting stale as a face and while I don't think the crowd would have turned on him they definitely would have slowly moved away from him and started getting behind others and supporting them more than they did Austin.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Reading back about his actions, Stone Cold was a total asshole. If the IWC had been properly around at the time, I'm sure there'd have been tons of threads about how 'Babyface Stone Cold is an asshole, he needs to go heel.'

Saying that, I LOVED heel Austin. One of my favourite characters too, and without doubt 2001 was the year of Austin's best wrestling matches.

[Arrow]

I don't know if Austin was second to Rock but if not then the two of them were at least equals. I don't remember every episode Raw going on, but since his return at Unforgiven all the way to Backlash '01, Austin main evented one pay-per-view without The Rock - Survivor Series. This even includes No Way Out '01, which had Austin's big blowoff "Three Stages of Hell" match against Triple H. I think it's pretty telling that Austin only started main eventing on a consistent basis once The Rock left. But then again, Austin main evented pay-per-views over Rock even after Rock came back, so...

As far as ratings and pay-per-view buys, Austin's one pay-per-view in 2000 (Survivor Series) main event without Rock did rather poorly for the time period. 2001, the year when Austin started main eventing again, did worse business than 2000, which is a year that Austin missed most of and Rock took his place as the company's face. 2001 also did pretty poorly ratings-wise when compared to the year before. I don't think Austin's drawing power was completely gone by then, but it was definitely waning and when he returned it doesn't look like he was as profitable as he was in 1999.

In 2000, Austin was booked pretty much the same as before. He gave the same promos, feuded with Rikishi, Kurt Angle, and Triple H. It was all the usual stuff, just not as effective as it was before his injury. I can't say whether or not crowds would have turned on him, but he wasn't really bringing anything new to the table. 2001 was a year that I didn't watch much of considering that Rock was gone for half of it and Austin was heel, so I can't give much of an opinion on his booking during the heel turn. But from the look of WWE's business as compared to 2000, it certainly couldn't have been that entertaining if people were turning out.

[Lt. Palumbo]

Jan 16, 2013 4:05:41 GMT -5 ToyfareMark said:

A lot of this lead to Austin's heel turn. You could see during his initial comeback that he was becoming way more vicious, the pandering was being toned down, and he was becoming more serious.

Now this definitely isn't a popular opinion, but 2001 heel Austin is pretty much my favorite character ever in wrestling. I loved how he combined being a psychotic, paranoid champion, while at the same time wanting to be loved and accepted by someone who's life he made a living hell for years. Add Kurt Angle trying to nudge his way in on that and it got even better.

I was never a fan of pandering beer bukkake Austin, and I'm glad he slowly started to change during his comeback in the fall of 2000.

Can't unread "beer bukkake Austin"

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

Jan 16, 2013 4:05:41 GMT -5 ToyfareMark said:

A lot of this lead to Austin's heel turn. You could see during his initial comeback that he was becoming way more vicious, the pandering was being toned down, and he was becoming more serious.

Now this definitely isn't a popular opinion, but 2001 heel Austin is pretty much my favorite character ever in wrestling. I loved how he combined being a psychotic, paranoid champion, while at the same time wanting to be loved and accepted by someone who's life he made a living hell for years. Add Kurt Angle trying to nudge his way in on that and it got even better.

I was never a fan of pandering beer bukkake Austin, and I'm glad he slowly started to change during his comeback in the fall of 2000.

I absolutely adored the "pandering beer bukkake Austin", he was the wrestler that got me into wrestling but I have to agree. The paranoid, vicious, egotistical but also desperate for love from McMahon was my favourite ever thing Austin did. Add into that the Kurt Angle both trying to squeeze in with McMahon at the start and then later the epic series of matches they had during the Invasion era.

[Sparvid]

Jan 16, 2013 5:47:49 GMT -5 TK The Friendly Robot said:

I expected this thread to be about a Cyborg version of Stone Cold...I am disappointed.

I imagined Austin wearing a helmet while being managed by Sunny.

[TK The Friendly Robot]

Jan 16, 2013 12:37:18 GMT -5 Sparvid said:

Jan 16, 2013 5:47:49 GMT -5 TK The Friendly Robot said:

I expected this thread to be about a Cyborg version of Stone Cold...I am disappointed.

I imagined Austin wearing a helmet while being managed by Sunny.

Oh god...those f***ing helmets lol

[Jimmy]

He and Rock were on equal footing.