10 Biggest Stone Cold Steve Austin "What Ifs" In WWE
7. What If He Stayed The Ringmaster?
Austin coming to WWE may have changed wrestling forever but his impact was not immediate.
Wearing some green trunks, the Million Dollar Championsip, and sporting a little peach fuzz on his head, Ringmaster Steve Austin was a competent worker but a useless character. Having Ted DiBiase work as his mouthpiece (and laugh-track) did nothing for the man who would be the company's greatest asset, even with the push they were giving him.
Austin getting free of the gimmick did wonders for him, but it only happened after Dibiase left for the shade provided by the money-trees at WCW, again another blunder by ATM-Eric.
Had Austin been forced to stick with the gimmick, him getting out of the midcard doesn't seem quite as feasible with his character merely being an extension of The Million Dollar Man. He would never break out on his own, dominating merchandise sales and becoming a cultural icon of the rebellious working class in the late 90s. Without someone to take the torch as top guy Shawn Michaels may have had to continue carrying the company through all his back problems and issues with drugs. Without the shot in the arm that the Stone Cold character brought to the WWE, Ted Turner could have been the one to buy Vince out.