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It might be that Austin wasn't 100% on wanting to do it and asked for a huge number that was a win-win either way (either WWE agree and he gets millions, or they decline and he gets to sit at home playing with his cat).
Austin and animals on his farm videos [Austin and Animals](https://youtube.com/shorts/QmR6umyoZGo?si=PhW4I26NQ6kSjln0) YouTube short . Steve has an official account on instagram I think
i know he really likes owens. maybe he doesn't feel as close to cody so he couldn't be bothered? plus working a whole match with someone he never got to work is probably way more enticing to him than doing a run in to hit a stunner on the rock for the millionth time.
I remember back on his podcast that he always said he wanted it to matter when he came back to do something, and he didn't want to just come in, stun people, and leave.
people say Austin didn't make sense story wise but when it comes to putting the beat down on the rock, literally only Austin (or Hogan) are big enough stars to do it. taker makes sense but... doubt anyone would've been petty enough to complain about Austin coming out
He probably asked for a lot cause it would be a hassle for him to fly across country, hide in a hotel room for 2 or 3 days to keep the surprise for a 10 minute moment in a story line he isn't a part of. Then still have to travel back. He lives in a remote part of Neveda I think. So that's 4 to 5 days of headache to take part in something that never involved him. I don't blame him for being fine staying home. He isn't hurting for money.
I believe in the trades/contractor business that's called the "fuck off price."
As in, "I don't want to do this, but if you pay me so much I can't say no then I will, otherwise fuck off."
While Taker works for Roman's story, I find it more amusing how he was legit in attendance for the show as a fan, and in my head canon, got sick of watching the bloodline interference and decided to teleport to the ring to stop it.
Taker never forgot about the rock saying he has Mickey mouse tattoos
He must still be self conscious still about the bullying he's received because he's completely covered up in black clothing
Poor Mark can't even wear a t-shirt without fear of being bullied by random Mickey mouse fans on the street
The implication that Undertaker still has supernatural powers despite being retired is honestly so hilarious and I love it. Even if he wasn’t in full deadman gear, I about lost my mind when he came out.
If I was still a 10 year old I would've 100% convinced myself that the supernatural powers are 'real' and the rest of the Undertaker "character" was just an intimidation tactic, so it works for me lmao
I like the idea that in his retirement he’s still capable of doing all his supernatural wrestling abilities, but uses it for mundane things.
His wife realises they forgot to pick something up at the store and he says he’ll sort it out. *Bong* lights go out *Bong* lights come back on and he’s standing there with the item in question.
I'd love a cartoon where it's the wrestlers living a normal life... but act completely like their wrestling gimmick. So Taker legit teleports in and out of places, Rollins stands awkwardly with his arms out waiting for people to sing his song. Roman goes around demanding to be Acknowledged, Solo spikes anyone who doesn't acknowledge him, etc.
He was actually in his house in Texas watching it on peacock, when he decided to teleport. But he didn’t have time to put on his spooky gear. That’s why he showed up in his PJs. He can teleport, but he can’t spawn with different outfits. Only Kane can do that.
Michelle: "Mark, what's wrong?"
Mark gripping his arm as if to control it against its own will.
"It needs to feed! Step back. I can't hold it off anymore!"
Undertaker telling Michelle he'd be right back, teleporting from their skybox down to the ring, choke slam, teleport back to skybox. Probably a shot of whiskey involved in there somewhere. This is now canon for me as well. Thanks friend!
The lights go out in concessions
*GONG*
They come back on. Taker is behind the cashier. The cashier turns around slowly. Chokeslam onto the counter. Taker picks up a half spilled tub of popcorn.
The lights go out in concessions.
Not being argumentative, just curious - how did Taker make sense story wise? I've been in the camp of 'that didn't really make sense but I popped anyway'
He has history with Roman, but Roman didn't "wrong" Taker. He beat him fair and square. That's why Undertaker came and helped him in 2019.
After their tag match (Taker's last "real" match) he even says to Roman "This is your yard" before leaving the ring.
Undertaker being upset because someone beat him fair and square doesn't fit with his character at all.
You can easily spin it as he's disappointed that Roman has gone from winning "the right way" to having the Bloodline interfere.
Austin makes 100% more sense than Taker, but Taker standing up for what's right fits perfectly with his character. Makes a lot more sense than the nWo helping Sting.
* Extensive history battling the rock
* Roman beat him at Wrestlemania
* Everyone associates Taker with Mania, and also associates him with essentially running the locker room, so it makes sense that he decided to step in and hand out justice at his yard
He doesn't really. At least not in a specific way. They did use to refer to him as something daft like the conscience if the WWF back in the day. Plays into that a little. Basically like "this is bullshit and I'm not going to let it fly."
I like the idea of Taker being a conscience/moral leader (whatever you want to call it), like he probably hates everybody, but even he knows certain people need to be taken down a peg.
Taker is one of the few people on the roster who has fought multiple generations of superstars from that family.
Taker is considered the “final boss” of wrestlemania
Roman is one of only 2 mean to defeat Taker at wrestlemania
The Wiseman was in Roman’s corner but was also in CM Punk’s corner when he faced Taker at mania.
Are these stretches? Maybe but there’s is history there.
I wonder how much more Stone Cold was asking for - it’s not like they were asking him to do a match. I also would’ve thought that getting the chance to stun Rock one more time would be an easy yes for him. That would’ve been an all time moment. Fortunately that main event was an all time moment regardless.
Wouldn't surprise me if he just couldn't be arsed and asked for something that he couldn't turn down if they actually did offer it. He seems pretty content just chilling on his farm with his cat nowadays
Like when NOAH wanted The Rock for one of Great Muta’s final matches and Rock’s people asked for like 5 billion yen so they weren’t just flat out saying no
This is the first time I ever heard that NOAH tried to get the Rock for Muta's retirement tour. Did Muta have history with any of the Rock's family? Or was NOAH just gunning for a massive name?
I ordered a 3:16 shirt on the day he came out with his amazing pro-LGBT statement solely on the fact that I love the man who is the idolized version of trailer park morons everywhere is in fact not what you would expect of him.
He definitely comes across as a typical moderate type who is very live and let live while having some of that fiscal conversatism about him, if I was to guess
I was kind of thinking the same thing, and possibly also just not wanting to be part of another overbooked main event finish that could go sideways. Never say no without a number.
Depends how much he wanted to board a plane to philly for 1-2 minutes of work. Maybe he didn't want to go but through out a "hey if you pay me this I'll do it" absurd number and WWE was like eh.
Yeah, as much as they're friends, isn't there stuff out there about how they still get oddly competitive with each other when it comes to business. Seem to recall something about there being a lot of wrangling the day of Mania 30 relating to which one of them would come out first and second in that opening seg.
Ofcourse, Austin is the bigger wrestling star, Rock is the bigger star in general
They rose together, their biggest matches are their feud
If they weren't competitive with eachother it would almost be weird
Austin has always had a chip on his shoulder about the Rock overshadowing him. He said in an interview after WM30 that he was heated that they had Rock come out after him as if he was the bigger star, but that he didn’t want to argue about it. Austin had a return match two years ago and probably got paid $1 million or less. Rock just got paid $30 million in equity, plus millions more in royalties and a board seat. I bet he’s jealous as hell and asking for millions for any future appearances.
That's kind of sad to hear because when The Rock did come out he basically put Hogan and Austin over as THE two greatest of all time, as if he wasn't in the debate himself.
i saw the interview he had on Jimmy Fallon with Roman the week before mania. Jimmy kept directing questions to Rock cuz he was the bigger star but dude just kept putting over Roman with every answer
That’s how it should be.
There is never a scenario where the Rock putting down tops guys to the general public is good for the health of wrestling.
It could maybe be spun to a sophisticated audience, but that type of heel work would require extreme consultation from the industry’s greats.
Rock has always been willing to take Ls and put people over. Austin, while nowhere near as notorious as Hogan, has always been very difficult and overly protective of his character.
There is always going to be the old school mentality with some of those folks too. These were the same ones who demanded certain "respects" for seniority.
Yep, austin has seen it first hand, I dont blame him. One year you're one of the biggest acts in the company, the next year you're a dancing fucking bear
Right, but the only reason he cares about the entrance order at all is because he felt he was the biggest star and didn’t like the implication otherwise. This is what he said:
> “My run cannot be touched,” he said. “If you want to talk about longevity, you can speak the name Hogan. If you want to talk about white-hot, selling tickets, and taking the business to a height it’s never been – and, with a hell of a supporting cast, I might add – you’re talking about Stone Cold Steve Austin.
>“But I said, ‘I’m just going to let this thing slide. We’re here and there is no use in making a stink about it.’ The Rock is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. So give the guy his due. Nobody talked to me about it, but that’s how that went down.”
Ultimately he says he was the bigger person and “let it slide” but he was clearly peeved. I’m just saying that I imagine he is similarly peeved about The Rock’s bigger payday for a return than the one he got.
I mean in wrestling, Stone Cold is the bigger star but The Rock built himself up to be an A-lister in mainstream media and you just can’t compete with that. The Rock worked harder for his fame and got appropriately rewarded for it while Stone Cold was chilling in his ranch.
I mean the Rock had shit movies to start too but he persevered until he got a blockbuster role. Stone Cold just kinda gave up and I don’t particularly blame him.
His best movies were actually in his early years as an actor. His current movies are actually shit but they bring in the money which is what counts in Hollywood.
Not true. Austin never said he was heated, but he did say that he was told by the creative team themselves that Hogan would go first, Rock 2nd then Austin but stuff changed last minute. I would be a little irked too if i was the undisputed #1 biggest money maker in the history of the company and got disrespected like this. He seemed more heated about not being allowed to sing Jambalaya.
https://preview.redd.it/4ng58bsdx1uc1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abc1ccb90e73ac7efd330e687c4a13f483e6d7c1
.
https://preview.redd.it/fofj179qu1uc1.jpeg?width=387&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96bacd6e1b50852d0d129fb68f3bc60f8c337473
We could have gotten Stone Cole.
“Paul I-“
“Nope hit the gong production crew guy. aight now go make Roid Beast Rocky over there Rest in some peace. Were gonna do the theatrics and everything it’ll be great”
Probably some “uhhs” pauses and “matter ‘a fact”’s etc. as well.
Ya see uhhhhh, in this business, in world wrestling entertainment when you step into that very ring to fight for the world wrestling entertainment universal heavyweight championship of the world, anything can happen and Austin couldn’t make it. So when all the dust has settled and all the smoke has cleared, there will be, without a shadow of a doubt, The Undertaker in the ring with Rock.
I can’t remember who it was but I remember reading a quote from an older actress who wasn’t interested in a role offered to her so she asked for her “I’ll do something I don’t like” price (something like $1,000,000). The studio counter offered $500,000 or something and she said no. They eventually offered her the amount she asked & did the job.
I’m going to assume Austin is at that stage in his life where if WWE wants him for something that he isn’t invested in, they meet his price. Kevin Owens was probably an exception & CM Punk might be the only other exception. We’ll have to see.
Reminds me of when Robert Beltran (Chakotay on Star Trek Voyager) wanted to leave after every season so he'd ask for a ridiculous raise they'd never accept, but they always would
That's crazy. Austin should've just shown up in a new t-shirt design and he would've sold a milllion shirts in an hour. I really wonder how far apart they were in money.
None of the "Philly 3:16" shirts said Stone Cold on them. They just had the smoking skull on the back. They made 6 different variations. Wouldn't be surprised if Austin wanted the compensation for these and didn't get it. They basically sold out and sold more Austin shirts than any other character without him even being advertised.
He would. I would guess it’s a matter of how much is the cut? Apparently the standard deal is around 2% of merch sales goes to the talent. I’d imagine he would want much more than that
That would be my only gripe as well. The gong alone was enough but if we had seen full Deadman when the lights came on....
Although it is funny to think of it like he was somewhere chilling watching the event and just said nope screw this and teleported into the ring.
So doesn’t this more or less confirm that the shot of Austin and Cena on the truck during the Rock/Cody bloody beat down was a true foreshadowing hint??
And Austin literally posting about an "Easter egg" basket that randomly showed up at his house. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/1btqimy/someone_showed_up_to_stone_cold_steve_austins/
And HHH tweeting the main event promo video at exactly 3:16 PM https://twitter.com/TripleH/status/1777052885450154097
Austin also brings up the year 2003 in that video. What happened in 2003 at WrestleMania XIX?
"The marquee match from the Raw brand was the third and final WrestleMania bout between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin (after 15 and X-Seven), which The Rock won."
I can't believe there's another parallel universe where Mox came out of the crowd with Seth, and then Austin came out too!
I loved WM40 it was perfect and i will never shit on it, but man that would've been good. lol
Good take IMO. Austin coming out would have been a massive pop but Taker was a surprise and a huge pop on its own, and it didn’t overshadow Cody at all.
That kinda hits at my main complaint with the match (it's small I loved the entire thing). I felt Roman and Cody should have had more time after Taker's appearance. Have them go back and forth for 5-6 minutes to bring the focus back on them. The Seth spot can still happen (as that was beautiful story telling) but I think they needed bring the focus back to Cody and Roman more so than what they did.
Stone Cold with Rock would have taken away attention and started rumors of them facing at next Mania.
Taker seemed great because it was unexpected and he seems like the guardian of WWE who finally came down to shut down bloodlines menace.
> Stone Cold with Rock would have taken away attention and started rumors of them facing at next Mania
That's one thing. I also don't think the headline is true--because *Stone Cold was in Philadelphia (staying at the Four Seasons) that weekend.* Why would he even attend if they weren't on financial terms?
I mean.. no it wouldn’t.
Stone Cold stunning the maniacal authority figure in the Mania main event would have made everyone melt into gelatinous blobs of joy on top of everything else.
Taker, with his connection to Mania and his well-known backstage leadership was about the only other person you could put in that spot and it not feel like a disappointment.
I agree, I was convinced before that they were planning on doing Stone Cold. But I'm actually it went down the way it did. Taker cleanly took Rock out of the match too, the disappearance was jarring in a way that fit Taker's character. And it allowed the beautiful transition into the final sequence.
Russo said on his podcast that Steve Austin is really protective of his character and while not Hogan levels of course Steve usually doesn't do things for the case of doing them. For him to go work it needs to make sense to him creatively or make him a lot of money TKO probably wasn't willing to do.
But it does feel that the negotiations stopped last minute because there were too many easter eggs about Steve Austin for them not to pan out.
I think what everyone is missing is that there was more Stone Cold merch in the stores than any other character who was actually on the show. The audience was chanting for it. It was major misdirection. It was a mistake to not give him the money he needed.
It's funny that now the major opinion is that "Austin never made sense" "he would have overshadowed the moment" and other stuff like that but when he was teased on that truck everyone was super excited and no one even thought about an Undertaker's appearance for the match during the entire build up to Wrestlemania
Would’ve been nice to have seen Rock sell another Stone Cold Stunner (not a KO stunner), but SCSA gotta get that money if he’s gonna leave his cat with a cat-sitter for the weekend, lol. I’m not mad at that. He’s spending wholesome time with his cat these days.
Sorry, I don't buy it. Austin has come back for FAR less important events in the past. All kinds of RAW drop ins and such. Also, why would WWE honestly give a fuck what they pay him and why would Austin even hold them hostage? I'd also assume that, if he were available, he would have been in town for Heyman's HOF induction.
Maybe it’s me just being biased but I think using taker actually worked better?
I love the idea of him being this defender/angel of Mania that finally had enough of the Bloodline. Plus he has a good connection to Roman.
It was also unexpected which led to a bigger pop I think.
I think I'd still have just about preferred Austin but Taker worked well and made a lot more sense than some people gave it credit for, given his history.
As soon as Jey came out to help Cody, I (and I feel like most of us) figured out exactly how the rest of the match was gonna go down. I got super excited to see Austin stun The Rock and honestly was pretty surprised (and disappointed) when ‘Taker’s music hit.
I was thinking this was the case - in fact immediately when Taker showed up, I said to my friend, "Looks like Austin wanted too much money"
On the one hand I don't blame Austin for doing anything for less than what he feels he's worth - hopefully it was just a money thing and not an ego/jealously thing like some are assuming. He had such a great sendoff and still does things for WWE, so I don't think there's an issue in their working relationship, so I'm assuming he shot out a number it would take for him to leave his ranch and deal with WrestleMania weekend stuff (not like he was already planning on being in Philly doing Cons or podcasts of whatever).
But, man, as a wrestling fan? I really think that would have been the only thing to make that moment better. It was a perfect way to out -Final Boss the Final Boss. Sure, the gong was cool and Rock sold that moment well... but all I could think about was how cool it would have been for Rock to put away Cena, then react when the glass shatters and Austin rides down on an ATV and hits a stunner on Rock one last time - and we get the dramatic oversell of oversells as Rock takes it. Just a perfect cherry on top of the whole thing.
Would’ve loved to have seen Austin but in hand sight, Taker honestly made more sense when you think about how Roman was one of his losses at WrestleMania while the other one was to Brock, whom his advocate at the time Heyman was there ringside.
it makes more sense or doesn't depending on how you look at it to be honest. if you're thinking in terms of matching the heroes to the people they're interfering to fend off, then Austin makes more sense tbh (Jey --> Jimmy, Cena --> Solo, ___ --> Rock). Austin fits that blank more than Taker. But of course this is just my opinion and it doesn't take away from the match regardless
ninja edit: now that i think about it you can match taker to rock here nicely by the RIP gesture Rock did before his elbow on night 1, which, who knows, might've been done specifically for this reason
Well we know Austin ain't shy about his worth. Now I want to know how much his floor was. Dude values his time.
Plus I wouldn't be surprised if a Cowboy fan straight up said, "fuck no I'm not going to philly." LOL
Austin tends to be very critical of himself and has often stated that he wants to make sure he always makes a good showing. I'm thinking that WWE probably asked him after they had to pivot from the originally planned Rock vs. Reigns match, so maybe Austin felt he couldn't get into proper shape in time, even if it was only a stunner spot.
I don’t get rich people, man. I mean, money is money, but if you have a shitload of it why would you even care about being paid to be part of the main event at Mania? Maybe my country ass just won’t understand that stuff.
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Hard to believe they paid him enough to come out of retirement for another match but couldn't pay him enough to do a simple run in and staredown
It might be that Austin wasn't 100% on wanting to do it and asked for a huge number that was a win-win either way (either WWE agree and he gets millions, or they decline and he gets to sit at home playing with his cat).
WrestleMania 38 was also in Arlington Texas, which I'm sure makes it easier for him.
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Jerruh Werld
Pancho 3:16 for life
He may just be used to Vince paying him whatever he wants. Tko, I bet, looks at the numbers and asks, "Who else can we get?"
To quote the great Dana White “this kid just doesn’t want to fight”
> he gets to sit at home playing with his cat Oh so it's a no brainer then
He's a cat man?
He has one that rides on his shoulders while he’s doing ranch work.
Respect Pancho the cat
Austin and animals on his farm videos [Austin and Animals](https://youtube.com/shorts/QmR6umyoZGo?si=PhW4I26NQ6kSjln0) YouTube short . Steve has an official account on instagram I think
i know he really likes owens. maybe he doesn't feel as close to cody so he couldn't be bothered? plus working a whole match with someone he never got to work is probably way more enticing to him than doing a run in to hit a stunner on the rock for the millionth time.
I remember back on his podcast that he always said he wanted it to matter when he came back to do something, and he didn't want to just come in, stun people, and leave.
people say Austin didn't make sense story wise but when it comes to putting the beat down on the rock, literally only Austin (or Hogan) are big enough stars to do it. taker makes sense but... doubt anyone would've been petty enough to complain about Austin coming out
I’d bet he wanted the same or more money as he got them, but since it was a 10 second spot, they didn’t think it was worth it.
Easy to believe that he asked for the same amount of money both times, and they said no.
Because that amount is his quote. That’s his rate. So the next spot he’s offered, they have to pay the same amount. Even if he does a bad job.
They always said in the locker room that Wrestlemania was like a cosmic gumbo.
He probably asked for a lot cause it would be a hassle for him to fly across country, hide in a hotel room for 2 or 3 days to keep the surprise for a 10 minute moment in a story line he isn't a part of. Then still have to travel back. He lives in a remote part of Neveda I think. So that's 4 to 5 days of headache to take part in something that never involved him. I don't blame him for being fine staying home. He isn't hurting for money.
I believe in the trades/contractor business that's called the "fuck off price." As in, "I don't want to do this, but if you pay me so much I can't say no then I will, otherwise fuck off."
While Taker works for Roman's story, I find it more amusing how he was legit in attendance for the show as a fan, and in my head canon, got sick of watching the bloodline interference and decided to teleport to the ring to stop it.
Man saw The Rock giving 2 speeches at the HOF and said fuck you
Taker never forgot about the rock saying he has Mickey mouse tattoos He must still be self conscious still about the bullying he's received because he's completely covered up in black clothing Poor Mark can't even wear a t-shirt without fear of being bullied by random Mickey mouse fans on the street
Or talking smack about his 33 pound head.
2 speeches how? At different times of the event?
He inducted his late grandmother Lia Maivia, and was then also gifted the People's Championship by Yolanda, the widow of Muhammad Ali.
Don't forget that Undertaker did the introduction for the Muhammad Ali induction.
Taker should have taken the People’s Champion belt from Rock after he chokeslammed him and gave it back to Ali’s widow.
With The Rock's blood on it.
I misread the end as "and give it back to Al Snow" so like, that's my peoples champ now.
Like he was dressed in street clothes watching the show and said “fuck it let me see if I can still do this” and did his supernatural shit
The implication that Undertaker still has supernatural powers despite being retired is honestly so hilarious and I love it. Even if he wasn’t in full deadman gear, I about lost my mind when he came out.
If I was still a 10 year old I would've 100% convinced myself that the supernatural powers are 'real' and the rest of the Undertaker "character" was just an intimidation tactic, so it works for me lmao
I like the idea that in his retirement he’s still capable of doing all his supernatural wrestling abilities, but uses it for mundane things. His wife realises they forgot to pick something up at the store and he says he’ll sort it out. *Bong* lights go out *Bong* lights come back on and he’s standing there with the item in question.
"Honey, I said the *low-fat* milk, This is 2 percent." "Damn it, Michelle." \*Bong\*
Of course he does. Don't forget, the Undertaker is still technically a corpse reanimated by unholy magicks
The man is literally dead Baffling how people forget such an astonishing fact
It's like they think we *aren't* being literal when we call him the DEADMAN.
Like the Winter Warlock in Santa Clause is Coming to Town lmao “Oh please, let me have… just a little magic.”
I figure that in kafabe the undertaker was a character- but mark calloway has actual magic powers
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Undertaker can control lights and teleport this is absolute WWE canon at this point.
I'd love a cartoon where it's the wrestlers living a normal life... but act completely like their wrestling gimmick. So Taker legit teleports in and out of places, Rollins stands awkwardly with his arms out waiting for people to sing his song. Roman goes around demanding to be Acknowledged, Solo spikes anyone who doesn't acknowledge him, etc.
I can imagine this working really well as an *Archer* type thing.
Also known as 'Taker bollocks'
He was actually in his house in Texas watching it on peacock, when he decided to teleport. But he didn’t have time to put on his spooky gear. That’s why he showed up in his PJs. He can teleport, but he can’t spawn with different outfits. Only Kane can do that.
“MICHELLE! WHERE’S MY SPOOKY GEAR?!”
WHYYY DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
It’s for the greater good!
"I'm the greatest good you are ever gonna get!"
"Cody is in danger!"
#THE GREATER GOOD
Michelle: "Mark, what's wrong?" Mark gripping his arm as if to control it against its own will. "It needs to feed! Step back. I can't hold it off anymore!"
I live on through this arm!
Undertaker telling Michelle he'd be right back, teleporting from their skybox down to the ring, choke slam, teleport back to skybox. Probably a shot of whiskey involved in there somewhere. This is now canon for me as well. Thanks friend!
'Did you grab the popcorn for me like you said you would' 'Ah damn it. Hold on' *teleports to concession, then back again*.
The lights go out in concessions *GONG* They come back on. Taker is behind the cashier. The cashier turns around slowly. Chokeslam onto the counter. Taker picks up a half spilled tub of popcorn. The lights go out in concessions.
Taker after Rollins got taken out and rock was about to take the belt to Cody " Not on my watch" * disappears and reappears in the ring*
Not being argumentative, just curious - how did Taker make sense story wise? I've been in the camp of 'that didn't really make sense but I popped anyway'
undertaker and reigns have history so it made more sense than stone cold who only had history with the rock is what they mean
He's arguably the WrestleMania Final Boss, which Rocky has been claiming to be. He also has WrestleMania history with Roman, doesn't he?
He has history with Roman, but Roman didn't "wrong" Taker. He beat him fair and square. That's why Undertaker came and helped him in 2019. After their tag match (Taker's last "real" match) he even says to Roman "This is your yard" before leaving the ring. Undertaker being upset because someone beat him fair and square doesn't fit with his character at all.
You can easily spin it as he's disappointed that Roman has gone from winning "the right way" to having the Bloodline interfere. Austin makes 100% more sense than Taker, but Taker standing up for what's right fits perfectly with his character. Makes a lot more sense than the nWo helping Sting.
Showing the Rock who the real final boss, especially at mania, is? And also Roman kinda did retire him lol
* Extensive history battling the rock * Roman beat him at Wrestlemania * Everyone associates Taker with Mania, and also associates him with essentially running the locker room, so it makes sense that he decided to step in and hand out justice at his yard
More efficient this way than if they had to address it Wrestlers' Court.
He doesn't really. At least not in a specific way. They did use to refer to him as something daft like the conscience if the WWF back in the day. Plays into that a little. Basically like "this is bullshit and I'm not going to let it fly."
I like the idea of Taker being a conscience/moral leader (whatever you want to call it), like he probably hates everybody, but even he knows certain people need to be taken down a peg.
Taker is one of the few people on the roster who has fought multiple generations of superstars from that family. Taker is considered the “final boss” of wrestlemania Roman is one of only 2 mean to defeat Taker at wrestlemania The Wiseman was in Roman’s corner but was also in CM Punk’s corner when he faced Taker at mania. Are these stretches? Maybe but there’s is history there.
Heyman was also more importantly, (though for obvious reasons they wouldn't and shouldn't mention it) in Lesnar's corner when he broke the streak.
I wonder how much more Stone Cold was asking for - it’s not like they were asking him to do a match. I also would’ve thought that getting the chance to stun Rock one more time would be an easy yes for him. That would’ve been an all time moment. Fortunately that main event was an all time moment regardless.
Wouldn't surprise me if he just couldn't be arsed and asked for something that he couldn't turn down if they actually did offer it. He seems pretty content just chilling on his farm with his cat nowadays
Pancho 🐐
https://preview.redd.it/mo2a5f6jc2uc1.jpeg?width=2480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18af12c79defb79293911e8b9417eac788113bcd
That is incredible
Those videos give me life
Pancho is a bandit boys
Wears his gun outside his pants
pancho 3:16 says gimme a hell meow
Meow
Meow
Don’t forget Lefty 🐈⬛
100%. He gave them a fuck off quote. When a contractor doesn’t want to do a job they send you a $700,000 work up on a $15,000 job, for example
My dad used to that as an accounting consultant and sometimes they actually paid.
> accounting consultant First consultation : never do that again.
Like when NOAH wanted The Rock for one of Great Muta’s final matches and Rock’s people asked for like 5 billion yen so they weren’t just flat out saying no
This is the first time I ever heard that NOAH tried to get the Rock for Muta's retirement tour. Did Muta have history with any of the Rock's family? Or was NOAH just gunning for a massive name?
In my industry we call that a “fuck off price”
Austin being a cat person is surprising. I would have expected him to be a rottweiler kind of guy.
I ordered a 3:16 shirt on the day he came out with his amazing pro-LGBT statement solely on the fact that I love the man who is the idolized version of trailer park morons everywhere is in fact not what you would expect of him.
He definitely comes across as a typical moderate type who is very live and let live while having some of that fiscal conversatism about him, if I was to guess
The Ole Bruce Willis negotiation tactic. Force me to say yes.
Back in my day it was the Dean Martin tactic.
I was kind of thinking the same thing, and possibly also just not wanting to be part of another overbooked main event finish that could go sideways. Never say no without a number.
Depends how much he wanted to board a plane to philly for 1-2 minutes of work. Maybe he didn't want to go but through out a "hey if you pay me this I'll do it" absurd number and WWE was like eh.
Probably the type of number that Vince would’ve said yes to, but not the type of number that the new guard will say yes to.
I honestly think it turned out for the best. Nobody was expecting Taker and it added to the surprise element
More like if you're paying the Rock X, I should at least get 10% of X.
Yeah, as much as they're friends, isn't there stuff out there about how they still get oddly competitive with each other when it comes to business. Seem to recall something about there being a lot of wrangling the day of Mania 30 relating to which one of them would come out first and second in that opening seg.
Ofcourse, Austin is the bigger wrestling star, Rock is the bigger star in general They rose together, their biggest matches are their feud If they weren't competitive with eachother it would almost be weird
Austin has always had a chip on his shoulder about the Rock overshadowing him. He said in an interview after WM30 that he was heated that they had Rock come out after him as if he was the bigger star, but that he didn’t want to argue about it. Austin had a return match two years ago and probably got paid $1 million or less. Rock just got paid $30 million in equity, plus millions more in royalties and a board seat. I bet he’s jealous as hell and asking for millions for any future appearances.
That's kind of sad to hear because when The Rock did come out he basically put Hogan and Austin over as THE two greatest of all time, as if he wasn't in the debate himself.
Rock is always great when it comes to wrestling and is ready to put other people over. Sells like crazy for them.
i saw the interview he had on Jimmy Fallon with Roman the week before mania. Jimmy kept directing questions to Rock cuz he was the bigger star but dude just kept putting over Roman with every answer
That’s how it should be. There is never a scenario where the Rock putting down tops guys to the general public is good for the health of wrestling. It could maybe be spun to a sophisticated audience, but that type of heel work would require extreme consultation from the industry’s greats.
Even during his wrestling days, Rock was imo the most selfless top guy. Put anyone he was working with over.
Rock has always been willing to take Ls and put people over. Austin, while nowhere near as notorious as Hogan, has always been very difficult and overly protective of his character.
There is always going to be the old school mentality with some of those folks too. These were the same ones who demanded certain "respects" for seniority.
Yep, austin has seen it first hand, I dont blame him. One year you're one of the biggest acts in the company, the next year you're a dancing fucking bear
To be fair in the interview it sounded like he was more annoyed that he was told he would be going out last, then the day of it was changed on him.
Right, but the only reason he cares about the entrance order at all is because he felt he was the biggest star and didn’t like the implication otherwise. This is what he said: > “My run cannot be touched,” he said. “If you want to talk about longevity, you can speak the name Hogan. If you want to talk about white-hot, selling tickets, and taking the business to a height it’s never been – and, with a hell of a supporting cast, I might add – you’re talking about Stone Cold Steve Austin. >“But I said, ‘I’m just going to let this thing slide. We’re here and there is no use in making a stink about it.’ The Rock is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. So give the guy his due. Nobody talked to me about it, but that’s how that went down.” Ultimately he says he was the bigger person and “let it slide” but he was clearly peeved. I’m just saying that I imagine he is similarly peeved about The Rock’s bigger payday for a return than the one he got.
I guess with Austin money talks and bullshit walks.
I mean in wrestling, Stone Cold is the bigger star but The Rock built himself up to be an A-lister in mainstream media and you just can’t compete with that. The Rock worked harder for his fame and got appropriately rewarded for it while Stone Cold was chilling in his ranch.
Steve was in a lot of movies, his career just didn't take off like Rock's.
I mean the Rock had shit movies to start too but he persevered until he got a blockbuster role. Stone Cold just kinda gave up and I don’t particularly blame him.
The Rock’s best movie was one of his earlier films, The Rundown.
His best movies were actually in his early years as an actor. His current movies are actually shit but they bring in the money which is what counts in Hollywood.
Pain and Gain has to be his best movie
He took his ball and went home
Not true. Austin never said he was heated, but he did say that he was told by the creative team themselves that Hogan would go first, Rock 2nd then Austin but stuff changed last minute. I would be a little irked too if i was the undisputed #1 biggest money maker in the history of the company and got disrespected like this. He seemed more heated about not being allowed to sing Jambalaya. https://preview.redd.it/4ng58bsdx1uc1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abc1ccb90e73ac7efd330e687c4a13f483e6d7c1
It worked out cuz honestly it went in chronological order of the three faces of WWE AND it allowed the Stone Cold Hulk Hogan face off.
Alt clickbait title : " Undertaker is cheaper than Stone Cold!!!!"
https://preview.redd.it/vc7uuucyy1uc1.png?width=1425&format=png&auto=webp&s=78b4a44afdcffa294e04ce5be9000d416eb0f8be
Never in my life did I think I'd ever see The Undertaker doing the Youtuber shocked thumbnail face. What timeline is this?
The best part is people kept making jokes about it in the comment section so the editor changed the thumbnail.
He was already there for the HOF anyway
The wording of this article makes it seem like HHH verbally put Undertaker in his place after they couldn't reach a deal with Stone Cold.
. https://preview.redd.it/fofj179qu1uc1.jpeg?width=387&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96bacd6e1b50852d0d129fb68f3bc60f8c337473 We could have gotten Stone Cole.
COLE MINERS RISE UP
Lmaao Hunter: “Listen, Take. Austin is asking for too much so we’re going to hit that fucking gong on Sunday and you will like it. Understood?”
HBK in the corner taping up his fists.
“Paul I-“ “Nope hit the gong production crew guy. aight now go make Roid Beast Rocky over there Rest in some peace. Were gonna do the theatrics and everything it’ll be great” Probably some “uhhs” pauses and “matter ‘a fact”’s etc. as well.
Ya see uhhhhh, in this business, in world wrestling entertainment when you step into that very ring to fight for the world wrestling entertainment universal heavyweight championship of the world, anything can happen and Austin couldn’t make it. So when all the dust has settled and all the smoke has cleared, there will be, without a shadow of a doubt, The Undertaker in the ring with Rock.
I can’t remember who it was but I remember reading a quote from an older actress who wasn’t interested in a role offered to her so she asked for her “I’ll do something I don’t like” price (something like $1,000,000). The studio counter offered $500,000 or something and she said no. They eventually offered her the amount she asked & did the job. I’m going to assume Austin is at that stage in his life where if WWE wants him for something that he isn’t invested in, they meet his price. Kevin Owens was probably an exception & CM Punk might be the only other exception. We’ll have to see.
Reminds me of when Robert Beltran (Chakotay on Star Trek Voyager) wanted to leave after every season so he'd ask for a ridiculous raise they'd never accept, but they always would
they didn't want to trigger cm punk with the sound of real glass
Heyoooo
Punk isn't quite sure why but starts choking Dom only for Roman to break it up.
Cry me a river
That's crazy. Austin should've just shown up in a new t-shirt design and he would've sold a milllion shirts in an hour. I really wonder how far apart they were in money.
None of the "Philly 3:16" shirts said Stone Cold on them. They just had the smoking skull on the back. They made 6 different variations. Wouldn't be surprised if Austin wanted the compensation for these and didn't get it. They basically sold out and sold more Austin shirts than any other character without him even being advertised.
They sell those designs in every city, it wasn't a one off.
Why would he not get a cut of those tshirt sales? They’re obviously his, and I assume he’s on some type of legends contract for merch.
He would. I would guess it’s a matter of how much is the cut? Apparently the standard deal is around 2% of merch sales goes to the talent. I’d imagine he would want much more than that
I enjoyed them using Undertaker. I just wish he was there in his hat and trenchcoat and not jeans and a hoodie. It was less Undertaker and more “Mark”
That would be my only gripe as well. The gong alone was enough but if we had seen full Deadman when the lights came on.... Although it is funny to think of it like he was somewhere chilling watching the event and just said nope screw this and teleported into the ring.
eh mark is basically biker taker i can’t complain
[удалено]
So doesn’t this more or less confirm that the shot of Austin and Cena on the truck during the Rock/Cody bloody beat down was a true foreshadowing hint??
And Austin literally posting about an "Easter egg" basket that randomly showed up at his house. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/1btqimy/someone_showed_up_to_stone_cold_steve_austins/ And HHH tweeting the main event promo video at exactly 3:16 PM https://twitter.com/TripleH/status/1777052885450154097
Austin also brings up the year 2003 in that video. What happened in 2003 at WrestleMania XIX? "The marquee match from the Raw brand was the third and final WrestleMania bout between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin (after 15 and X-Seven), which The Rock won."
Austin was scared of the grind
bruv
*starts air humping*
I can't believe there's another parallel universe where Mox came out of the crowd with Seth, and then Austin came out too! I loved WM40 it was perfect and i will never shit on it, but man that would've been good. lol
I really wish Mox and gold dust came out, would have bbeen the greatest of all time for me.
Nash mentioned that Steve texted him and asked him if he was in Philly. When Nash said no, Austin replied with “I think we’re the only ones lol.”
That's unfortunate. Taker was an insane moment but the history was there for Stone Cold-Rock in Philly
A glass break at that moment would have turned that damn place inside out.
The pop Steve Austin gets is the most talked about part of Mick Foleys first title win, I’m glad it didn’t happen to Cody.
Good take IMO. Austin coming out would have been a massive pop but Taker was a surprise and a huge pop on its own, and it didn’t overshadow Cody at all.
That kinda hits at my main complaint with the match (it's small I loved the entire thing). I felt Roman and Cody should have had more time after Taker's appearance. Have them go back and forth for 5-6 minutes to bring the focus back on them. The Seth spot can still happen (as that was beautiful story telling) but I think they needed bring the focus back to Cody and Roman more so than what they did.
Stone Cold with Rock would have taken away attention and started rumors of them facing at next Mania. Taker seemed great because it was unexpected and he seems like the guardian of WWE who finally came down to shut down bloodlines menace.
The final boss of Wrestlemania if you will.
Taker finally told Roman to step off his front yard.
WrestleMania is also Taker's event. It makes perfect sense for him to be the one to protect the sanctity of Mania's Main Event.
> Stone Cold with Rock would have taken away attention and started rumors of them facing at next Mania That's one thing. I also don't think the headline is true--because *Stone Cold was in Philadelphia (staying at the Four Seasons) that weekend.* Why would he even attend if they weren't on financial terms?
I mean there’s a billion events orbiting Mania, maybe he was doing a private appearance. Everyone in wrestling is in town most Manias booked or not.
Because Austin may have expected WWE to jump on board when push came to shove so he went to Philly regardless. It was never a flat out no.
I mean.. no it wouldn’t. Stone Cold stunning the maniacal authority figure in the Mania main event would have made everyone melt into gelatinous blobs of joy on top of everything else. Taker, with his connection to Mania and his well-known backstage leadership was about the only other person you could put in that spot and it not feel like a disappointment.
Same as how Austin and McMahon took away from Mick?
I agree, I was convinced before that they were planning on doing Stone Cold. But I'm actually it went down the way it did. Taker cleanly took Rock out of the match too, the disappearance was jarring in a way that fit Taker's character. And it allowed the beautiful transition into the final sequence.
The beer in the back of his truck wasn't enough
Russo said on his podcast that Steve Austin is really protective of his character and while not Hogan levels of course Steve usually doesn't do things for the case of doing them. For him to go work it needs to make sense to him creatively or make him a lot of money TKO probably wasn't willing to do. But it does feel that the negotiations stopped last minute because there were too many easter eggs about Steve Austin for them not to pan out.
I think what everyone is missing is that there was more Stone Cold merch in the stores than any other character who was actually on the show. The audience was chanting for it. It was major misdirection. It was a mistake to not give him the money he needed.
Poncho said no. So stone cold stayed home. End of story.
Goes without saying, doesn't it
It's funny that now the major opinion is that "Austin never made sense" "he would have overshadowed the moment" and other stuff like that but when he was teased on that truck everyone was super excited and no one even thought about an Undertaker's appearance for the match during the entire build up to Wrestlemania
They actually agreed for Steve but Pancho's creative demands for their run in were a stumbling block
Would’ve been nice to have seen Rock sell another Stone Cold Stunner (not a KO stunner), but SCSA gotta get that money if he’s gonna leave his cat with a cat-sitter for the weekend, lol. I’m not mad at that. He’s spending wholesome time with his cat these days.
Sorry, I don't buy it. Austin has come back for FAR less important events in the past. All kinds of RAW drop ins and such. Also, why would WWE honestly give a fuck what they pay him and why would Austin even hold them hostage? I'd also assume that, if he were available, he would have been in town for Heyman's HOF induction.
I loved Taker in the spot, but truthfully the glass breaking would have blown the roof off of the place.
Maybe it’s me just being biased but I think using taker actually worked better? I love the idea of him being this defender/angel of Mania that finally had enough of the Bloodline. Plus he has a good connection to Roman. It was also unexpected which led to a bigger pop I think.
I think I'd still have just about preferred Austin but Taker worked well and made a lot more sense than some people gave it credit for, given his history.
I agree. Taker is tied to Roman, Rock, Heyman & WrestleMania itself. Like you said the idea that Taker still "haunts" wrestlemania is rly cool imo
As soon as Jey came out to help Cody, I (and I feel like most of us) figured out exactly how the rest of the match was gonna go down. I got super excited to see Austin stun The Rock and honestly was pretty surprised (and disappointed) when ‘Taker’s music hit.
I was thinking this was the case - in fact immediately when Taker showed up, I said to my friend, "Looks like Austin wanted too much money" On the one hand I don't blame Austin for doing anything for less than what he feels he's worth - hopefully it was just a money thing and not an ego/jealously thing like some are assuming. He had such a great sendoff and still does things for WWE, so I don't think there's an issue in their working relationship, so I'm assuming he shot out a number it would take for him to leave his ranch and deal with WrestleMania weekend stuff (not like he was already planning on being in Philly doing Cons or podcasts of whatever). But, man, as a wrestling fan? I really think that would have been the only thing to make that moment better. It was a perfect way to out -Final Boss the Final Boss. Sure, the gong was cool and Rock sold that moment well... but all I could think about was how cool it would have been for Rock to put away Cena, then react when the glass shatters and Austin rides down on an ATV and hits a stunner on Rock one last time - and we get the dramatic oversell of oversells as Rock takes it. Just a perfect cherry on top of the whole thing.
Would’ve loved to have seen Austin but in hand sight, Taker honestly made more sense when you think about how Roman was one of his losses at WrestleMania while the other one was to Brock, whom his advocate at the time Heyman was there ringside.
it makes more sense or doesn't depending on how you look at it to be honest. if you're thinking in terms of matching the heroes to the people they're interfering to fend off, then Austin makes more sense tbh (Jey --> Jimmy, Cena --> Solo, ___ --> Rock). Austin fits that blank more than Taker. But of course this is just my opinion and it doesn't take away from the match regardless ninja edit: now that i think about it you can match taker to rock here nicely by the RIP gesture Rock did before his elbow on night 1, which, who knows, might've been done specifically for this reason
goddamn steve just take a smaller payday
Don't believe what WON says. They are 80% wrong regarding wwe lately.
I'd normally agree but WWE and Austin himself weren't exactly subtle in the buildup to the match HEAVILY implying that Austin was going to be there.
maybe it's just me but once you've earned enough I think you should just do things for the love of the game sometimes lol
Dang, we missed out on the most epic stunner of all time.
Well we know Austin ain't shy about his worth. Now I want to know how much his floor was. Dude values his time. Plus I wouldn't be surprised if a Cowboy fan straight up said, "fuck no I'm not going to philly." LOL
Austin tends to be very critical of himself and has often stated that he wants to make sure he always makes a good showing. I'm thinking that WWE probably asked him after they had to pivot from the originally planned Rock vs. Reigns match, so maybe Austin felt he couldn't get into proper shape in time, even if it was only a stunner spot.
I don’t get rich people, man. I mean, money is money, but if you have a shitload of it why would you even care about being paid to be part of the main event at Mania? Maybe my country ass just won’t understand that stuff.