10 Fascinating WWE Survivor Series 1998 Facts
3. WWE Felt Comfortable In Not Putting The Belt Back On Austin
It was a bit of an open secret that The Rock was winning the championship at Survivor Series. His star was flourishing like never before, and it seemed a little too soon to have Austin begin his third reign, especially in the same calendar year as his first and second.
There could have been a temptation to keep Austin as champion due to him being established as a proven draw. However, Dave Meltzer noted that WWE was growing more confident that they didn't need the belt on Austin to keep the numbers up.
After Austin lost the belt on 27 September, attendance and ratings remained consistently high, so the internal belief was that they could put the belt on somebody else (somebody credible, anyway), and business would not be affected. Today, the very idea that putting the belt on Rock could qualify as a "calculated risk" is patently absurd, but that's hindsight for you.