Dave Meltzer reported in the November 29 edition of the Wrestling Observer newsletter that the WWF has been working to make plans for the possibility that Stone Cold Steve Austin has wrestled his last match in the promotion.
Meltzer said the original storyline before the seriousness of Austin's neck injury was known was to turn Austin heel. The original finish for Survivor Series was for Triple H to retain the title. Meltzer said Austin would have tried to hit Triple H with a foreign object but Triple H would have side stepped and Austin would have struck the Rock instead. Meltzer pointed out this would have been almost the exact same finish as when the Rock cost Austin a title win at the No Mercy pay-per-view.
At some point, Austin would be turned heel. Meltzer said Austin would have regained the WWF title from Triple H at the 2000 Royal Rumble where the Rock would either win the Rumble or somehow come out with the title shot. A feud would have ensued between Austin and the Rock with Austin as the heel champion. Meltzer said the feud would have culminated at Wrestlemania 2000 where Austin would lose the title to the Rock to give the Rock the big push he would need in order for the company to be able to lean on him as the top star.
Of course, these plans all went down the tubes when results on Austin's neck came back as less than positive. Meltzer said a decision was made to try and elevate the Big Show by giving him the title. He said the choice came down to Show or Kane. Meltzer said Show ended up getting the title most likely in order to justify his higher contract.
Meltzer said that even before the WWF found out that Austin's neck would prevent him from wrestling, plans were already underway to shift the focus of the promotion away from him somewhat. Meltzer said Austin would have remained as the promotion's top star until Wrestlemania where he would have lost the title to the Rock. At that point, Meltzer said the plan was for Austin to cut back on his in-ring schedule and look into the possibility of doing more acting. Meltzer added, however, that Austin would have remained a main character on WWF television. However, the Rock would have been the centerpoint of the promotion and not Austin.
Some of the reason for shifting the focus of the promotion away from Austin is that Austin's future has always been questionable due Austin's bad knees and the neck injury he received in 1997 when the late Owen Hart botched a piledriver. Meltzer said there was one point where Bill Goldberg and Austin spoke about the possibility of doing a match together several years from now. Meltzer said Austin told Goldberg he didn't think he would last that long.
Meltzer said there is no question that Austin will remain on WWF television in some role due to his ratings drawing power. The wrestling business is all about ratings, and the WWF will need one of its biggest draws to maintain its high numbers. He said it will be likely that Austin will have a role similar to Vince McMahon in that he will be involved in major storylines but won't wrestle much if at all. Meltzer said there has been some talk of Austin being put in a color commentator position and having him work in angles where he comes out strong to maintain his celebrity status.
Meltzer also said there is high demand for Austin as an actor. He said CBS has expressed interest in doing a series based on the character of "Jake Cage" that Austin has played on CBS' "Nash Bridges." Meltzer also said the WWF has talked of producing its own series with Austin as the star.
Meltzer said the plan at the present time in the WWF is for Big Show to retain the title until the Royal Rumble where he would lose to Triple H. The Rock would win the Royal Rumble or get the title shot at Wrestlemania in some other way. The Rock would then win the gold for his first babyface run as champion at Wrestlemania.
Whatever the outcome, the WWF's future is cloudy. With Austin out possibly for good and Mick Foley apparently serious about retiring, the WWF could find itself without any major stars to feud with the Rock other than the Undertaker when he finally comes back from his injury.
