'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

[elliott]

1 hour ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Austin is a contender for best in the world in 2001, although personally Low Ki is my favorite US wrestler from that year. I'm not a huge fan of WCW Austin, so I can't really agree with him being the best in the 90s. I guess if you're a huge Steve Austin fan he was. There's definitely a lot of merit to his WCW work if you're into it. 

Low Ki is a great call for 2001

[elliott]

1 hour ago, strobogo said:

Austin was also better before they got paired up. And during. And after.

care to elaborate? I don't think anyone would argue Austin was better after the Blondes because of Pillman's injuries. But early 90s Brian Pillman was frigging awesome. 

[strobogo]

17 hours ago, elliott said:

care to elaborate? I don't think anyone would argue Austin was better after the Blondes because of Pillman's injuries. But early 90s Brian Pillman was frigging awesome. 

I don't think Pillman ever really pulled it together. Dude was just sloppy all around, imo. He did a lot of stuff but none of it was ever clean, transitions to and from high spots were never fluid, always looked like he was thinking about his spots, selling is always wonky, promos were never good even as Loose Cannon Pillman. I've always found him to be very overrated as an in ring guy and as a character. The Loose Cannon period in particular might be the single most overrated thing in wrestling lore. That shit was Pillman acting like a complete cartoon for a couple of weeks while Bischoff would say things like "He's really pushing it" and then he was gone.

[CheapPop1999]

Austin is a top 30 contender. His WCW stuff doesn't really do it for me, he gets lost in the shuffle in that fantastic early 90s roster and in the ring, he's a bit boring and generic for me. His raw peak from like 1997-2001 is pretty unreal and he's one of the few guys ever in America who brought a Tyson-esque intensity and unpredictability to wrestling TV. His matches with Bret are phenomenal, the WrestleMania 14 clash with Shawn is fantastic, the X-Seven match with The Rock, the Savio strap match, the Two-Man Power Trip tag, it's all amazing. He got a legitimately good match out of Vince McMahon in 99. His later career heel stuff doesn't rustle my jimmies too much, but I see the appeal. Either way, even with me not liking the early or late career, Austin is just flat out undeniable for a list like this.

[CheapPop1999]

 @ 1:11:12 there is a match between Austin/Rude and Sting/Pillman that is literally one of the greatest Austin performances I've ever seen - he is in full blown Buddy Rose insane stooging and cowering mode to avoid Pillman, complete with a great bit where he gets backhanded by Sting all the way to another corner, spots Pillman and leaps back towards Sting and has to roll out, before later on accidentally tagging Pillman, taking a punch right to the head that he bumps off the apron for onto his face, needing revival by Col. Parker via handkerchief waving. Just a masterclass.

[MoS]

Austin, Dusty and Bruno are the American wrestlers absolutely best at incorporating their gimmick/character into their matches, and their matches being a thousand times better due to it. You watch their matches and you immediately know what they are supposed to be - and Stunning Steve Austin is diametrically opposite to Stone Cold Steve Austin, and his matches are worked that way. This is a trait severely lacking in modern wrestling and modern wrestlers. 

[Tetsujin]

I would add Kurt Angle to that list and probably as #1, but some people would disagree on the "their matches being thousand times better due to it" part.

[club]

14 hours ago, MoS said:

Austin, Dusty and Bruno are the American wrestlers absolutely best at incorporating their gimmick/character into their matches, and their matches being a thousand times better due to it. You watch their matches and you immediately know what they are supposed to be - and Stunning Steve Austin is diametrically opposite to Stone Cold Steve Austin, and his matches are worked that way. This is a trait severely lacking in modern wrestling and modern wrestlers. 

This perfectly encapsulates what I love about Randy Savage. Can definitely see this with Austin too. Can you elaborate a bit on why you find Dusty and Bruno so strong in this regard?

[MoS]

Bruno was a 275-pound strongman but due to both his shoot background and his wrestling story, he was often a folk hero who would find himself the underdog against impossible odds, but would find a way to fight back and get on top. The way he threw punches and kicks, the way he would show his fire, the way he would sell - even if in his most famous matches, it was very little - everything he did in the ring, he absolutely felt and came across like a hero of the masses who came in massive numbers cuz they adored him. Every single thing he did told you clearly who he was and what he was supposed to be. 

Same with Dusty. Dusty was also a man of the masses, but he had a different kind of swag, he was far more flamboyant, but was ultimately still a working class hero, and the way he would throw his elbows, would sometimes hit crossbodies, would sell when he was locked in the figure four or when he was getting his ass handed to him by the Andersons and the Koloffs, everything encapsulates who he is supposed to be. 

We talk about matches needing to be distinctive and memorable, just the way these people approached wrestling immediately took a big step towards accomplishing that. 

[club]

Thanks for expanding on this. It's a really good point, and would agree the idea is lacking in most modern wrestling. Maybe most wrestling full stop. It's also an interesting way to explore the idea of being a 'good' worker.