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Submitted by Xan on Friday, December 1, 2006 at 5:02 PM EST
 "Success, which is something so simple in the end, is made up of thousands of things, we never fully know what."--Rainer Maria Rilke If you had told me in the summer of 1991 that Steve Austin was going to lead his national wrestling promotion back to prominence in 1997, I would have blinked an eye, but only because I would have wondered what had taken him so long. And, of course, I would have assumed you were talking about WCW, because he was the hottest thing going in the promotion at that time. After storming through the USWA, he came into WCW and within weeks was the World Television Champion. Not long after that, World Champ Ric Flair defected to the WWF and Lex Luger had to forfeit the U.S. Title following his victory over Barry Windham in a match for the vacant championship. The organization thought enough of him to not only have him in the tournament for the U.S. Title, but to have him face their biggest star, Sting, in the finals. He lost, of course, but still, he was in the match and that has to tell you a lot. But, let me tell you more. In addition to being the hot new thing in the eyes of WCW, he was also being touted as the heir to Flair. I once heard a baseball commentator say, "Mickey Mantle had the largest arms I ever saw...until I saw Mark McGwire." Well, juicing issues aside, Bret Hart was the best wrestler I ever saw...until I saw Steve Austin. Now, I know that many of you have read from me that Chris Benoit is the best wrestler in the world. He is, but that doesn't mean he's the best I've ever seen. That honor, to me, still goes to Bret Hart. Boy, I bet I just confused the hell out of you, didn't I? Well, here goes: From 1991 thru 1995, "Stunning" Steve Austin was fantastic. He had the technical skills of Hitman, the brutal execution of Harley Race, and the flamboyance and charisma of the Nature Boy. You put all that stuff together, and you pretty much have the perfect professional wrestler. But, once he got injured and subsequently canned he was never the same guy. But, while he was the phenomenal wrestler he was, he rocked the world of WCW. In the single's ranks he was a 3-time World Television Champion and a 2-time United States Champion back when those titles actually meant something. Between those things, he was World Tag Champ with Brian Pillman in a very entertaining tag team known as the Hollywood Blondes. As TV Champ, he was a member of the original Dangerous Alliance and even though his stablemates included multiple time WWF Women's Champion Medusa Miceli, Intercontinental and U.S. Champ Ravishing Rick Rude, two of the best tag wrestlers ever in Arn Anderson and "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton, and former AWA World Champion Larry Zbysko; Austin was obviously the crown jewel. The cynic will say it's easy to say that now, but I saw it then. I won't condemn those who didn't, but to me, Austin, like Scott Levy obviously had "it" from the first moment I saw him perform. "Mishaps are like knives that either serve us or cut us as we grasp them by the blade or the handle."--James Russell Lowell But, as most of us know, that didn't matter once Eric Bischoff gave Hulk Hogan complete creative control, because he wasn't one of Hogan's buddies. He was the new guard, Hogan the old, and the two didn't get along. It was the real New Blood Rising vs. The Millionaire's Club, and since TMC had the ear of management, the New Blood never had a chance. So, after jobbing his U.S. Title in humiliating, squash-like fashion to "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and then becoming injured, Austin was unceremoniously fired, and not even personally. Instead, he received a letter from Bischoff via FedEx and that was the end of "Stunning" Steve Austin, but the career of the man behind the character, Steve Williams, was just beginning. Approximately a year later, he would become the hottest property in wrestling at King of the Ring 1996, and less than two years after that, his victory over Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania and subsequent feud with Vince McMahon was the driving force behind RAW's domination of Nitro in the ratings. I'm sure you know of the Stone Cold phenomenon. If you weren't already a fan of wrestling at the time, it's probably what brought you in, but here's the point: Stone Cold Steve Austin only existed because WCW didn't allow "Stunning" Steve Austin to be the main eventer he should have been there. He was well on his way when Hogan came in, but once that happened his fate was apparently sealed. I believe that, though Austin received decent treatment and was booked well, he did not receive as much of a push as he should have. His was talent of the kind that demands to shine on the grand stage, and for the most part, they only let it on the midcard. Austin used these events as a fire to kind of turn himself into the "Stone Cold" character, so while he hated everything that happened at the time of his firing, do you think he's crying about it now? No, I don't either. But, Eric Bischoff probably is. Sure, the NWO was a success, but if he'd never let Austin get away... The question I was asked was vague and simple, at the same time: "Instant gratification or long term pleasure?" That's a question for extremists. I'm not one. Besides "long term" is indefinable, especially in the career of a wrestler. Bret Hart seemed to have turned into a success overnight, didn't he? Within 18 months of becoming a single's star in the WWF, he was a 2-time Intercontinental Champion and the new World Wrestling Federation Champion. He'd been wrestling for 15 years at that point, though. And, even if he hadn't, is 18 months "instant gratification" or "long term pleasure?" I don't know, though I kind of lean more towards the former. One of the problems with only having one major wrestling promotion--I'm sorry, I loved TNA for years, but they just don't count--is that it's harder for a wrestler to find his place, and consequently once they're pushed and fail or burn out, there's no place else for them to go for a second chance. "Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts."--Albert Einstein Sometimes, of course, it isn't necessary. Edge had push after push after push, and now he's finally being lauded by just about everyone. Meanwhile, Test and Billy Gunn had similar backstage support and have never caught on. In fact, both were released, though Test is now back with the organization as part of ECW. If they had been released with a WCW (or even an ECW) still around, things may have worked out differently for them. Kevin Nash(Oz and Vinnie Vegas), Scott Hall(The Diamond Studd), and Paul Levesque(Terra Ryzing) were all busts in WCW before becoming stars in the WWF. Chris Benoit was turned down by the WWF and became a star for WCW. Dustin Rhodes was released by the WWF and became a star in WCW(before becoming a bigger star as Golddust in the WWF.) Al Snow and Rob Van Dam were released by the WWF and WCW respectively and became stars in ECW. Success in this business isn't instant, and when it is? Bad things happen. Brock Lesnar quit the WWF after Wrestlemania XX for what I believe were myriad reasons. The dirt sheets said he didn't want to job to the Undertaker and he was tired of all the travel. He said his dream had always been to play football in the NFL. It was probably some combination. Either way, it wouldn't have happened if he wasn't pushed to the moon before he was ready. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED to watch Brock Lesnar in the ring, but, along with mic skills, he lacked the desire and love for the game that would have come with toiling for a while in the midcard. In the summer of 2004, Randy Orton was quickly becoming one of my favorite performers, but then the bottom fell out when he became World Heavyweight Champion. His abrupt face turn and subsequent feud with Triple H should have been huge. Instead, it was poorly booked, fizzled out, and Orton has never been the same since; not to mention that his quick rise reportedly has given him a cocky, punkish attitude. Then, you have the flip side of the coin. Guys like Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, and Eddie Guerrero who had wrestled for what seemed like forever before they each finally won a world championship; and for Benoit and Guerrero, at least, it was long overdue. Of course, because it was so, it made for an extremely special Wrestlemania Moment when they stood in the ring together reigning over the entire organization. Fans of both men, of course, believe that these guys should have held those titles multiple times before 2004, but I think for the two wrestlers involved it worked out just fine. The question is complicated, but I think the real answer is to choose neither. You don't want to push a wrestler too fast, and you don't want to wait too long, either. You have to strike while the iron is hot, but not about to go cold. It's all a matter of timing, all a matter of judgement. I'm not exactly saying to walk the middle ground; who the hell wants to straddle a fence? That makes my balls hurt. Instead, you have to be picky. Like Goldilocks, you have to skip what's not to your taste, and pick the spot that's just right. If Bischoff had done that, there may not be a WWF right now. Long days, pleasant nights Points of Light The ECW Tournament Match-ups The ones that are bolded are up and can be read by clicking on the link. You can vote for a columnist only after he and his competitor have posted their columns, and you can do so Here. These guys are writing awesome columns now. They have to if they want to advance, so do yourself a favor and read the stuff they're dishing out. You'll be glad you did; so will they. aisce vs. YourAyatollah--Steve missed the deadline which was Friday at midnight, but just like the first two rounds, aisce's column is very good, so give it a read anyway. XanMan vs. Cicero Leviathan vs. RIPbossman eldandy vs. That will conclude today's voyage on The Northern Star. For feedback, please email me at XanManX@hotmail.com, with the words "Northern Star" or "feedback" in the subject line or click here to leave your thoughts in the LOPForums. The Northern Star will rise again. Until then, Be well.
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