Well, as you can see, Against Austin is now gone. The reason being is that I felt there was no reason whatsoever to keep it up, because it's served its purpose. To me, it had become a waste of web space. Instead of being able to constantly add things to it, I found myself taking a lot of things away, especially from the Stone Cold Roast, due to my changing opinions. And what good would this place be if it couldn't live up to its full glory?

Initially, this was my hatepit to spew venom concerning the wrestler I'd become really tired of over the spring/ summer of 1999: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. I had gotten so tired of seeing him on TV, hearing the catchphrases, and seeing every wrestler on the roster jobbing to the guy. To express my opinions on the character I began to despise, I decided to set up a site. Hell, it was so venomous I even won an award for this place.

But over time, my views changed as I began to look at things in the whole picture. That and I didn't want this site lumped in with the ones that actually wanted bodily harm or death to befall him. I was horrified to read that some Anti-Austiner said that Owen should have done the job right and killed him. And there were others who wished that the men he was wrestling would injure him in the ring. Yes, the "Stone Cold" character was riding my nerves, but I wouldn't want to see the man behind the character injured or killed. And the primary reason was that I began to look at wrestling in a much more professional light.

First and foremost, the World Wrestling Federation is a business. And if the public is feeding into a particular thing (i.e. Stone Cold, The Rock), they'll keep pushing it their way. Due to the insatiable appetite of some of the fans to see him do his finger-flipping, beer-drinking thing, they propelled him to where he was to meet the demand. In actuality, I can understand why the character was so popular. There are a lot of people out there who would love to make their boss' life miserable, answer to no one, and to defy authority; Stone Cold is able to do that. And he fit so well into that employee vs. the boss deal with Vince McMahon. I admit, some of those Austin vs. McMahon segments were funny. Right away, the cement truck/ Corvette incident, when he kidnapped Vince, and the hospital scene come to mind. The angle did have its moments, but it was also overkill. I hated seeing it overwhelm my TV, while the rest of the roster not involved in the CorpMin or Austin angle pretty much neglected, both TV-time and angle-wise.

Even though I got rid of the site, I still find one downside to this character. Through this character, which was the main kickstart to this new "Attitude" era, a new breed of wrestling fan was introduced to the show. These are the fans I can't wait to hop off the bandwagon. For them, they only care about a wrestler's song and dance; they neglect what he does in the ring. They fail to look at the history of the business and love it for its roots. Since they are the biggest money spenders, these are the people Vince is catering his show to. And, y'all better hop off the bandwagon quick, or else I'm going to be kicking ass. It's a damn shame that I have to pretty much organize a well-planned course of action to procure wrestling tickets, due to you damn people lapping them up. I still haven't gotten to a live match due to not being able to get tickets.

And I will also agree that this character isn't the best role model for some kids, who might have a hard time separating the fantasy from the reality. Hell, you can even extend that to adults. I've seen both a kid and an adult that adored and imitated Stone Cold. As for the kid I found it disturbing; but the adult was fuckin' funny to watch: he thought was hotter than hell and chicks would fall all over him when he acted like SCSA. In actuality, his attempt made him look like a pathetic jackass. And this guy became obsessed to the nth degree. Here was some short, stocky, Italian guy who shaved his head, drank Coors Light (because SCSA did for a period of time), wanted to get the skull painted on his truck, grew a goatee, wore the shirts, and spewed out the catchphrases. He was more entertainment at parties than confusing drunks with laser pointers.

Some have also said that he never deserved being the top dog in the wrestling world for nearly 3 years. I disagree with that. It's not like he's had this success handed to him on a silver platter like some. Steve's been in the business for nearly a decade and he's paid his dues. He's been in ECW and WCW previously, along with other indie feds. And I feel he's one tough S.O.B. He's worked his way through injuries, and still kept going. He could have been paralyzed after a botched piledriver in 1997. Actually he was for some minutes, because he suffered what they call a stinger. Against the advice of doctors, he still kept trucking on. In November of '99, he had bone spurs in his neck that were pressing on his spinal cord, which meant nearly every step was painful for him.

And Steve stayed long enough to form an angle to explain his absence, even though it was quickly shot to hell with the breaking of kayfabe to address the real situation for his absence. He had surgery in January, and is recovering. His wresting career's still up in the air. And seeing him on Halftime Heat, obviously not up-to-par, was sad. I know he'd be one of the last guys wanting pity, and probably would cuss you out six ways into Wednesday for feeling that way, but he obviously wasn't in any shape to be on TV. And seeing that made me finally decide to get rid of the site once and for all. Maybe it was seeing the man behind the character in a pretty vulnerable state and his attempts to stay in character not being futile during the interview.

Concerning his popularity, there's one thing I do find disturbing; his popularity seems to have quickly plunged. Maybe that's because I'm a somewhat "old-school" fan. According to the "Attitude '99" poll, the Rock is the winner, and both Austin and HHH are nearly tied, but still 30 pts. behind him. I still find it strange how some "fans" won't show a long allegiance to a wrestler and will go on to the next best thing. Those who were preaching Austin 3:16 last September are now believing in what the Rock's cookin'. And some of those previous fans also loved to be known as "Creatures of the Night" when the Undertaker was the top dog.

At least in my case, I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder. I've come to miss seeing Steve Austin out there on TV, doing his thing. Not as much as I missed the big dead redhead, mind you, but I do miss the bald Redneck. I miss the beer-drinking, the monster truck driving, everyone getting a stunner, and seeing him flip off people. And who knows: maybe when I hear the glass breaking and Austin strutting down the ramp ready to kick some ass in the ring, I'll be marking out with the best of them. With that said, I guess I really do have a love-hate thing for this guy.

 

 

Guess what- I actually updated this site with new thoughts and such. Yep, check it out here.

 

Comments, questions? E-Mail me here.