• Tag Archives: Stone Cold Steve Austin

    This Or That (2/4/2015)

    Everybody loves binary decisions, especially wrestling fans! In This Or That, we’ve forced ourselves to choose between two options that relate to wrestling.

    Over four questions, @TimWelcomed, @JoeySplashwater and @TomBlargh will have to choose one of two options and give their reasoning on each of their choices. You can then vote on which one you’d choose, giving you the false impression that you’re somehow involved and we care about your opinion chance to join the conversation!

    Before we start, here’s last week‘s results:

    Better 2015 match?

    Nakamura vs. Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom – 51%, Lesnar vs. Rollins vs. Cena at Royal Rumble – 49%

    Better Royal Rumble crowd?

    Philadelphia in 2015 – 65%, Pittsburgh in 2014 – 35%

    Who booed wrestler did you feel worse for?

    Rey Mysterio in 2014 – 61%, The New Day in 2015 – 39%

    Who will win the Super Bowl?

    Dan Marino – 52%, Seattle Seahawks – 34%, New England Patriots – 14%

    Who will leave Wrestlemania 31 as champ: Roman Reigns or anyone else?

    Reigns or the field (Brock Lesnar/Daniel Bryan/Seth Rollins). Who will leave as champ?

    roman

    Tim:

    WWE is in such a self-made clusterfuck here. I don’t think they’re pulling back on Reigns even though they should so I see him beating Daniel Bryan at Fastlane. This will make things worse for Reigns. Do they turn him heel? Because at that point he might as well be. I don’t see Lesnar staying so he will be losing the belt at Wrestlemania.

    The whole match will have a very odd atmosphere as Lesnar is leaving and Reigns is not accepted by as many people as they want. The only thing I think they can do to make Wrestlemania end on a somewhat better note is have Rollins cash-in. Preferably somewhere in the middle of the match where he thinks he can win and then they both get up making the last half a triple threat or something.

    Will they do it and not end on Roman Reigns being supreme ruler of all things? I don’t know. I think they will most likely have their hand pushed to actually fix this whole mess by then.

    Anyone else

    Joey:

    Let’s go through an order of elimination – unfortunately I think Roman Reigns is defeating Daniel Bryan at Fast Lane so that eliminates him. I do not think there’s a chance Brock Lesnar leaves Wrestlemania as champ so he’s gone as well. I’m essentially choosing between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. I’ll side with Rollins here as Reigns will get booed out of the building at Wrestlemania and his cash in would be the perfect back-up plan.

    Rollins cashing in at Wrestlemania would cement him as the smartest Money in the Bank briefcase holder. Reigns would beat Lesnar in Vince McMahon’s dream scenario and still look strong (lol) so I can see this being the middle ground for WWE.

    Anyone else

    Tom:

    Man… I really get the feeling that they’d hate to be seen as buckling to fan pressure SO they’re just gonna stay on track with Reigns. It’s going to be a VERY weird ending to ‘Mania but ending the show with Rollins cashing in to a huge face reacton probably wouldn’t do anyone any favours, even though I’d be much more interested seeing him as champion.

    I dunno, man! If I had to guess how it all plays out, Reigns wins without shenanigans at ‘Mania, Rollins cashes in by Extreme Rules, Reigns ends up a heel by Summerslam and they mostly give up on old Roman by ‘Mania 32.

    Roman Reigns

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    This Or That (8/26/2014)

    Everybody loves binary decisions, especially wrestling fans! In This Or That, we’ve forced ourselves to choose between two options that relate to wrestling.

    Over four questions, @TimWelcomed, @JoeySplashwater and @TomBlargh will have to choose one of two options and give their reasoning on each of their choices. You can then vote on which one you’d choose, giving you the false impression that you’re somehow involved and we care about your opinion chance to join the conversation!

    Before we start, here’s last week‘s results:

    Who would you rather see face Brock Lesnar at WM 31?

    Roman Reigns – 55%, The Rock – 45%

    Which beloved fan favorite will be more loved next year?

    Dean Ambrose – 91%, Bray Wyatt – 9%

    Which push do you hope this is the end of more?

    Jack Swagger – 52%, The Miz – 48%

    Better side dish?

    French fries – 67%, Mac and cheese – 33%

    Which return would get you more excited about Wrestlemania 31: CM Punk or Steve Austin?

    Which retired popular wrestler would you rather see back at Wrestlemania 31?

    punk-austin

    Tim:

    I’m totally down with one last Steve Austin match but I’d prefer to see CM Punk come back. He’s really pretty good at this wrestling thing and I think his return would be an awesome sight to behold. There are a lot of interesting ways they could go with why he left. Austin would most likely give us one match while I could see Punk doing a limited run and giving us some good to great matches.

    CM Punk

    Joey:

    As much as I’d enjoy seeing Steve Austin have one more match for the nostalgia, I think Wrestlemania 32 in Texas would be the ideal scenario for him if he was in shape and healthy enough to. However I still would pick CM Punk either way due to the circumstances.

    Punk is still young enough and not too far removed where he could be more apt to perform at his best. But more so, I think the way CM Punk left and the aftermath of his absence gives you such a great story. They’ve worked before in the past and were scheduled to work again but the CM Punk vs. Triple H program with true shades of REALITY would be among the most must see television in WWE history if done right.

    Give me Phil vs. Paul at Wrestlemania 31, brother.

    CM Punk

    Tom:

    Part-time CM Punk would be fascinating to see but I’d rather see WWE settle into a Punk-less state for a while before he comes back. Let the chants for him die off completely before you drag him back into the mix, y’know?

    Meanwhile, Stone Cold seems to have settled into a new life as wrestling’s Dad-King of Podcasting, but I really would love to see him back in the ring one last time (assuming he’s able to have a match without risking serious injury). Given the right opponent, I think he could still have something pretty special, though the window for that big return match is getting smaller every year. Let’s have it happen now, Punk’s got ages left to realise that wrestling’s where he belongs.

    Steve Austin

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    This Or That (7/8/2014)

    Everybody loves binary decisions, especially wrestling fans! In This Or That, we’ve forced ourselves to choose between two options that relate to wrestling.

    Over four questions, @TimWelcomed, @JoeySplashwater and @TomBlargh will have to choose one of two options and give their reasoning on each of their choices. You can then vote on which one you’d choose, giving you the false impression that you’re somehow involved and we care about your opinion chance to join the conversation!

    Before we start, here’s last week‘s results:

    Who do you side with in the Reality Era WWE war?

    Triple H – 93%, Kevin Dunn – 7%

    Which company do you side with in the Reality Era wrestling war?

    ROH – 72%, TNA – 28%

    Which Reality Era faction is most deserving of the ECW legacy?

    Tommy Dreamer’s ECW – 54%, Ezekiel Jackson’s ECW – 46%

    What should be the official sugar-based confectionery of the Reality Era?

    TIE: Caramel: 50%, Fudge: 50% 

    More annoying chant: “WHAT?” or “CM Punk”

    Which heckling chant grinds your gears more? Question suggested by site reader @GayWrestlingFan.

    what-cm-punk

    Tim:

    CM Punk chants don’t really bother me that much when it’s during a boring match or segment. They do irk me when it’s being chanted at AJ Lee or during something I find intriguing but I get over it. They’ll die out eventually. WHAT chants, though… those get on my nerves no matter what’s going on because they’ve been around for so long. When will it end?!

    WHAT?

    Joey:

    I’m going with the “WHAT” chant for the reason that I consider “CM Punk” to be the new replacement for “BORING” where the fans chant for Punk when seeing something or someone they don’t want to see. Well, aside from Chicago who just wants to chant it all the time. As for the “WHAT?” chants, those are usually made for more apathetic times and just come off as bland. At least “CM Punk” chants either piss people off or make them laugh.

    WHAT?

    Tom:

    The WHAT? chants are lame, but nothing makes me cringe more than the CM Punk chants. I’m not sure if it’s fans trying to be edgy and #HijackRaw or if they genuinely think there’s a chance of P. Brooks giving up his life of live-tweeting hockey and MMA to come back to something he seems to pretty much hate, but it’s just so embarrassing.

    It’s funny, a year or two ago, one of my goals was to see a big show live in Chicago because it seemed like such a fun atmosphere to be a part of. Now, I can’t imagine anything worse – as awful as New York can be when it comes to self-satisfied smarkiness, Chicago seems to be on another level.

    CM Punk

    [yop_poll id=”39″]

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    This Or That (3/25/2014)

    Everybody loves binary decisions, especially wrestling fans! In This Or That, we’ve forced ourselves to choose between two options that relate to wrestling.

    Over four questions, @TimWelcomed, @typicalROHfan and @TomBlackett will have to choose one of two options and give their reasoning on each of their choices. You can then vote on which one you’d choose, giving you the false impression that you’re somehow involved and we care about your opinion chance to join the conversation!

    Before we start, here’s last week‘s results:

    More exciting concept in wrestling?

    Tournaments – 79%, Battle royals – 21%

    Better defunct WWE title?

    Hardcore – 76%, European – 24%

    More likely to keep their TNA push for the rest of 2014?

    The Wolves – 79%, Tigre Uno – 21%

    Better dessert?

    Pudding – 64%, Jello – 36%

    Better historical Wrestlemania match: Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 13 or Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock at Wrestlemania 18?

    Two of the greatest Wrestlemania matches of all time, which was better?

    rock-hogan-bret-austin

    Tim:

    I prefer the Steve Austin vs Bret Hart match and story the most out of these two choices. There are multiple things about Austin vs Hart at Wrestlemania 13 that make it stand out to me as historical for Wrestlemania. It sent Austin over the edge as a big star. It as a huge stepping stone in his career. It even created one of the most popular iconographic pictures in Wrestlemania history when Austin was bleeding and screaming trying to not tap to The Sharpshooter. We all remember that image and have seen the picture countless times. On top of that it was a great match.

    I think if it was the end of the Austin/Hart feud and had the crowd reaction of Rock vs Hogan it would be the perfect Wrestlemania match in a historical sense. However, it didn’t… and while The Rock vs Hogan wasn’t the greatest in-ring battle it had what I think makes a match on the biggest stage more historical. Two of the biggest names one-on-one, a crowd reaction like hardly any other, and it was the blow-off to the program between the two. It’s not my favorite but it’s definitely more historical.

    Hogan vs The Rock

    typicalROHfan:

    On some level, I feel like I should say Bret vs. Austin due to how impressive it was of a story. Not only great wrestling and brawling but it helped tilt Steve Austin into a more likeable character on the road to being arguably the most successful wrestling star ever and made Bret Hart a great villain. That being said, I’m going with Rock vs. Hogan.

    That match represented what Wrestlemania is in my eyes. The biggest stars. The hottest crowd. A complete spectacle of magical wrestling moments coming to life. Very few matches in the history of wrestling are as easy to watch at any moment as it stands the test of time. From the opening bell where the fans turn on Rock to the post match where Hogan turns face and both men celebrate beating up Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, it’s such a wonderful match.

    Hogan vs. Rock

    Tom:

    This is really a question of what matters most with a match – what comes before or what comes after. Rock / Hogan was really the ultimate example of a ‘final chapter’ match, acting as a cap on both of their careers. Sure, Rock had a couple of big matches afterwards with Brock and Austin, but nothing that was ever quite on the level of this match. For Hogan, it really was his last hurrah before plummeting into total self-parody.

    With Bret / Austin though, it’s all about what came after. The match itself is incredible but I always come out of it wanting to just bing-watch all the Raws that came after to follow how Bret and Stone Cold grew into their new roles. As satisfying as Rock and Hogan’s match was, I think wrestling’s most fun when it’s building towards something new, rather than just settling things.

    Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart

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    This Or That: Old School

    Everybody loves binary decisions, especially wrestling fans! In This Or That, we’ve forced ourselves to choose between two options that relate to wrestling.

    Over five questions, @TimWelcomed, @typicalROHfan and @TomBlackett will have to choose one of two options and give their reasoning on each of their choices. You can then vote on which one you’d choose, giving you the false impression that you’re somehow involved and we care about your opinion chance to join the conversation!

    With tonight’s RAW going “old school,” we decided to throw it back with some age old debates regarding iconic figures from wrestling’s yesteryear.

    Stone Cold or The Rock?

    The two greatest superstars of the most successful period in WWE history but who was ultimately better?

    rockaustin

    Tim:

    As someone who over-thinks every aspect of everything, I love and hate both of these guys. I don’t think I would care much for Austin’s character if he were to come back and act exactly the same. I know this was the case for The Rock when he did return. However, at their peak they were two of my favorites and for that time they were something incredible.

    So for this one I’m going to have to hide my moral compass because these two make it spin uncontrollably because, frankly, both were huge jackasses even when they were faces… but at the time I loved them and they were both extremely talented. They were the very definition of what a WWE Superstar is. They both have the power to make you recite their catchphrases with them. They both have that theme song that will make you jump out of your seat as soon as it begins. They both have a handful of classic matches in their history.

    With all of that said, I am going to say The Rock although I’m a way bigger fan of Stone Cold. I think The Rock had a way better in-ring style at his peak. His moves were fluid and had a certain finesse. I have way more memorable crowd reactions come to my mind when I think of The Rock. Overall, I think The Rock would have a huge fan-base at almost any time in history while Austin was more of a “right place, right time” scenario.

    The Rock

    typicalROHfan:

    One of my favorite debates because I always waiver back and forth. Steve Austin was one of my personal favorite wrestlers along with Shawn Michaels right before him and Rob Van Dam right after him. However, as I got older, I started to realize how much I cared about The Rock. When he was a heel, I hated him as much as I did any other wrestler. When he turned face, I’d sing along with all his catch phrases.

    Despite his recent returns to the WWE playing a bit of the routine of Mr. 1999, I still think Rock in his prime would have been “the guy” in any era he wrestled in full time despite the scenario. I view Austin, Hulk Hogan and John Cena as excellent talents but not sure I can say the same to that extent as I do for Rock.

    The Rock

    Tom:

    This is the one we’re starting with? Jesus, we’re not fucking around in 2014. I really don’t have a definitive favourite between the two – they’re so tied together that it’s tricky to pick one over the other. Today, I’ll pick Stone Cold… and not just because Tim and typicalROHfan both chose The Rock and I’ve got to cement my status as Wrestling On Earth’s most contrary member.

    Rock was incredibly entertaining, but there was an explosive element to Stone Cold that made watching him feel so fun and spontaneous. I also have a real fondness for Austin’s ‘B’ feuds with guys like Kurt Angle and Booker T, which I don’t really feel for Rock – as good as he was working main events with Austin, Foley and Hogan, he seemed to falter a little if you matched him up against someone who wasn’t on his level.

    Finally, Stone Cold introduced “ya dumb sumbitch” to my vocabulary, which remains an incredibly satisfying phrase to tack onto pretty much any sentence. Ya dumb sumbitch.

    Stone Cold

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    4 on 4 Fans: Casual Fans Special

    Welcome to the latest edition of Four on Four. This week, we have a casual fans theme. We’re looking to peer into the mind of individuals who used to be diehard wrestling fans but rarely or casually watch the product today, or who are happy to watch what WWE has to offer without the distractions of the indies. Let’s meet the panel:

    Juan Vazquez: Was stalked by a Velvet Sky loving werewolf at an independent wrestling show. Handheld video game enthusiast.
    He doesn’t have a twitter but says you should follow ours: @WrestlingEarth

    “Hollywood” Chris Hall: No relation to Hollywood Hulk Hogan, we think. Designer of this glorious website you read. St. Louis Cardinals hater. Bigger Oakland Athletics hater.
    Follow him on Twitter: @powerofliberty1

    Kelly Marshall: Has half of Mr. Fuji’s cane as her prized possession. Also had her camera smashed by Andre the Giant’s foot when she was 10 years old. Roll Tide.
    Follow her on Twitter: @ksm

    Andrew Blackett: Enjoys a glass of shandy on a rainy day, but don’t even think about giving him shandy on a sunny day. Feels like he’s finally ready to take a run at his older brother.
    Follow him on Twitter: @blacketta

    1. Who is your favorite wrestler of all time?

    Juan:

    My favorite wrestler of all time… hmmm… this is a tough one. A lot of people would choose a favorite wrestler based on how popular the wrestler is while I base it on how good of a wrestler I think the wrestler actually is.

    My favorite wrestler is… drum roll please… Kurt Angle. This guy really knew how to make a match worth watching. His technicality in the ring was amazing. I believe his greatest matches were those against Brock Lesnar. Nobody could have pushed Kurt to be as great as he is if it was not Lesnar in my opinion. Kurt brought a certain type of physical reality that is rare to see in the ring.

    Chris:

    My favorite wrestler of all time would have to be The Rock. I got into wrestling because of The Rock. One of the most dynamic characters of all time, he used his limited move set to his advantage, adopting a more athletic brawling style that made for very good storytelling during the Attitude Era years.

    Kelly:

    Can I have three for my three lives as a wrestling fan? As a little kid, George “The Animal” Steele stole my heart the minute I saw him. I had a MINE doll and I secretly hoped he would win Miss Elizabeth’s heart from Macho Man. Looking back, I probably just wanted him as my own pet.

    I would check out every wrestling book and VHS tape my local libraries had to get a handle on the history of feuds and stables. I was mesmerized by early-NWA. I could never find them on my local TV as a kid, but the old VHSes impacted me enough to know that I should be a Sting-head. As my second life as a fan emerged (when Hogan turned heel), Sting was my man. I was so pissed that he just stood in the rafters and watched. I missed out on the best days of Sting, but he still holds a top spot in my heart.

    Today, it’s Punk all the way. Those times he was ‘drunk’ at Jericho – best. (I took Jericho to Hooters once with Dean Malenko, Chavo Guerrero and Chris Benoit).

    Side note: My favorite referee was Joey Marella, but don’t tell Charles Robinson.

    Andrew:

    Stone Cold by far. He taught me so much from a young age and was a fantastic role model. Continue reading →