10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (March 15)

5. Steve Austin Was Supposed To Feud With Faarooq

Rocky Maivia Faarooq Nation Of Domination
WWE.com

After putting his issues with Owen Hart to bed at the 1997 Survivor Series, Steve Austin moved on to a feud with The Rock and his Nation Of Domination cohorts in time for In Your House: D-Generation X. According to Bruce Prichard on his 'Something To Wrestle With' show, that wasn't Vince McMahon's initial vision for 'Stone Cold'.

Faarooq was.

Plans called for Austin and Faarooq to collide on the pay-per-view, but Vince spotted how over Rocky was getting as a heel. Suddenly, he changed his original booking, replaced Faarooq with Maivia and (almost accidentally) set wheels in motion for a rivalry that'd become one of WWE's best ever.

This narrative makes sense the more you think about it. In '97, Faarooq was very much the leader of The Nation, was a bigger star than The Rock and would have been a credible stopgap opponent for Austin's renegade character before his Royal Rumble push.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.