10 Biggest Stone Cold Steve Austin "What Ifs" In WWE
3. What If Owen Didn't Break His Neck?
One of Steve Austin's nicknames is the 'Bionic Redneck,' a monicker born out of the real life neck issues tha plagued him during the apex of his WWE run. He was supposed to have a solid run as the Intercontinental champion but all that went down the toilet with Owen Hart botching a piledriver during their match at SummerSlam.
The accident turned into a slight blessing in disguise, giving Austin plenty of promo time from his home and making his return a hotly anticipated one. Without those neck issues though, there would be no reason for him to be written off TV at Survivor Series. His absence created the power vacuum that The Rock, Triple H, and Jericho would eventually fill, leading to each man's first crack at the top echelon.
If Austin kept wrestling, would that have generated any fan fatigue? The main reason Austin had left wrestling altogether was his nagging neck problems. How much further could he have gone if health was on his side?
While the neck issues are almost synonymous with Stone Cold as a character, his comeback asserting his toughness, but many fans have to wonder just how much more he could have been without the spectre of his broken neck haunting him.