Hogan vs. Austin?? No Thanks!!

[jonlawson]

[B]An Occasional Online Column By A PWI Senior Writer By Will Welsh[/B] At “WWE Homecoming” this past Monday, the immortal Hulk Hogan—with his pal “Mean” Gene Okerlund holding a microphone in front his mouth—all but called out “Stone-Cold” Steve Austin for a possible WrestleMania 22 confrontation. The fans at the American Airlines Center in Dallas popped. Okerlund, as he’s been doing for seemingly hundreds of years, acted as if what Hogan had just said was a complete surprise. Hogan, after having thrown down the gauntlet, flexed and preened his suntanned body in ridiculous ways that only he could get away with doing. Austin, who earlier in the night had delivered stunners to four members of the McMahon family, remained in the back and refrained, for now, from commenting publicly one way or another on the possibility of the match happening. Austin was the smart one. Austin vs. Hogan. It has a ring to it, doesn’t it? It’s a match that many of us have talked about in one way or another for at least the past seven years. In 1999, when Austin was in the midst of his hell-raising campaign in WWE, and Hogan was still riding the crest of that huge New World Order wave in WCW, it’s possible Austin vs. Hogan would have broken every box office and buy rate record in wrestling history. In 2002, with Hogan still fighting off the stench of WCW, and Austin battling WWE management, personal demons, and neck problems, it still could have been a match that set a lot of records. In 2006? It might still do very well at the box office, but that doesn’t mean that it should take place. Austin hasn’t been the same physically since he underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his neck in January 2000, which is why he went into semi-retirement following his loss to The Rock at WrestleMania XIX. Although he might climb into the ring and deliver an occasional stunner (or four), his body isn’t what it once was. It’s weaker and slower and more susceptible to major injury than ever before. He knows it. At this point in his career, the man who once seemed incapable of delivering a bad match would be much more dependent upon his opponent to put forth a terrific effort than he’d ever like to admit. The effects of Owen Hart’s botched piledriver, delivered at SummerSlam ’97, and all the other bumps he’s taken finally caught up to him. Hogan, for his part, is coming off a stellar performance against Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that his match with HBK came off much better than anyone could have possibly hoped. Most observers placed it within the four-star range, which in turn raises expectations for the proposed match with Austin. Is it possible that Hogan has another great match in him? Yes, it is—but probably not with Austin. Hogan, now 52, looked as good as he did in the ring against Michaels because Michaels, who’s wrestling as well as he ever has, created virtually all of the match’s momentum. Michaels’ speed, athleticism, and cunning hid the fact that Hogan’s mobility is more limited now than it’s ever been—and it’s not like the guy was ever known for his fast-paced matches. Austin would have a hard time making up for Hogan’s compromised mobility because he’d be too busy trying to compensate for his own shortcomings. Remember, it’s been more than two years since he was a wrestler. Even though neither man would ever admit it, Hogan and Austin would be looking for the other to carry the lion’s share of the match, and that would likely result in a bout that couldn’t live up to their or anyone else’s expectations. Hulk Hogan vs. Steve Austin has been a dream match among fans for a very long time. I, for one, just hope when WrestleMania 22 rolls around, WWE will be smart enough to keep it exactly that: a dream match.

[NGW4LIFE]

Ohh Hell No, This is one of the last big matches The WWE can deliver. SO I hope it happens. and It can only happen on the biggest wrestling stage in the world, WrestleMania. The Story that these two could tell in the ring would more than cover for whatever moves they can or can't do. This is just the opinion of another WWE hating spot monkey lovin' member of the IWC. The average WWE fan would mark out hardcore for this match

[panix04]

It couldn't be any worse than the goldberg vs lesnar wrestlemania catastrophe! I think to a certain extent that two wrestlers being super-over which undoubtably hogan and austin both are can compensate for a lack of in-ring talent - lets be honest hogan was never the most technically gifted worker anyway. He constantly relied on his charisma to put his matches over! I think they would need to start the feud at no-way out if you over hype it it will just dis-appoint. It would have to be left as a face vs face match. Austin never really worked as a heel and the hulkster is to old to be a believable threatning heel.

[jonlawson]

Hogan I believe can turn a crowd against him just as good as he ever could....Austin though, he's a natural heel, remember "Stunning" Steve Austin?

[panix04]

Look at Hogan when he returned to the wwe as an NWO member and a heel. The fans cheered him anyway. Hogan really could not pull off being a heel without some really good storytelling (which is very much amiss in the wwe at the moment - did you see that JR Surgery segment the other week?) And Austins last heel turn (during the WCW invasion storyline) completly fell apart i dont think the maatch would work with one of them as a heel.