Austin was already well on his way to becoming everything Eric Bischoff said he would never be, but he absolutely, positively needed this feud with Vince to reach that level. They were able to tap into the psyches of people all over the world and take advantage of that fact. If you've ever had a job, you knew exactly how Austin felt. Who hasn't wanted to punch their boss in the face at one point or another? Who hasn't wanted to do the types of things Austin did to McMahon during the course of their battles? He tortured Vince, week in and week out, for what seemed like years. That was the beauty of the feud, really... Austin got the better of Vince over and over and over again, giving the fans what they wanted to see, but Vince's ego and money forced him to keep trying. People didn't get tired of seeing it. They tuned in, and did so in record numbers, spending lots of money, eating it all up. "Stone Cold" became a hero because of Vince McMahon, in more ways than one. There was nothing like being in an arena and hearing that glass shatter, signaling his arrival. Some of the loudest ovations you'll ever want to hear happened after the glass shattered. It was something that Vince, and every other promoter all around the world, tried to recapture with other feuds in the years after, but nothing came remotely close to being the same. Everyone saw how popular the "Wrestler VS Authority Figure" storyline was, and they wanted some of that success for themselves. WWE, to this day, continues to try that story, falling in love with heel authority figure angles more with each passing year. Some fail, and some barely succeed, but nothing was ever the same.
Columnist/Podcaster/Director at LordsOfPain.net for nearly seven years, with nearly 2000 total columns written. Interviewed and/or involved in interviewing the likes of Tyler Black/Seth Rollins (twice), Diamond Dallas Page, Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, Uhaa Nation and more.
