Is Stone Cold Causin' Trouble in the Back?
Wade Keller says Stone Cold Steve Austin has been frustrating WWF management lately, after he had continued to veto ideas for television matches.
On the 7/26 Raw is War from Cleveland, Ohio, management proposed an Austin vs. Jeff Jarrett short singles match, which would result in Triple H interfering. Austin vetoed the match. Management then proposed an alternate plan of Austin taking on Mr. Ass, which would also result in Triple interfering, but Austin turned that down. Austin's argument was that Jarrett and Ass weren't over enough yet to deserve the rub of fighting him on television, which automatically destroys the potential program between Jarrett and Austin. The next day at the Raw Tapings in Columbus, Ohio, Austin turned down the idea of wrestling in a handicap-tag team match of he and The Rock against Ass, Triple H, and Chyna. Management instead decided on another Austin vs. The Undertaker match, which resulted in lower-quarter hour ratings.
The frustration for management is caused by Austin's short list of wrestlers who he believes is worthy of wrestling him (The Undertaker, Kane, The Rock, Mankind). Management believes it is time for Austin to give Jarrett and Ass the same rub that Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker gave hime when he was rising to the main event level. Austin's critics within the WWF argue that he needs opponents to stay hot, so the best thing to do is have a plan of where those wrestlers are going to come from. On the other hand, Austin's sympatheizers believe his vetoes will force management to do a better job preparing and building his next generation of opponents.
Austin won't go out of his way to do any favors for Jarrett, because both are not close behind the scenes and there has always been tension ever since Jarrett did a return interview in the WWF and referred to the Austin 3:16 gimmick as blasphemous. As for Ass, also known as Billy Gunn, nobody seems high on him, since he seems more concerned with his physical appearance than learning things to get himself to a top, main event heel spot. Gunns patterns himself after Shawn Michaels in and out of the ring, but those who have been around, argue that Michaels could back up his arrogant attitude behind the scenes because he was a student of the game, whereas Gunn is a student of self-admiration.
Credit: Minh Nguyen; internetoutlaws.com
The Unwrapped Undertaker
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