Perhaps the biggest, most profitable feud in feud in WWE history was Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon. When Bret Hart left the company after the Montreal Screwjob, McMahon realized that he could be an effective, money-making television character. However, with Hart gone he needed a new nemesis. He found the perfect one in the Texas Rattlesnake. The two battled for years in and out of the ring in a variety of scenarios. Blood was spilled, zambonis were involved, and personal property was destroyed. It was fantastic. While all good feuds must eventually end, some of them end really badly. Due to a mixture of The Rocks rise to challenge Austin as the top babyface, backstage politics, and Austin wanting to try something new, he was turned heel in the main event of WrestleMania 17. After Rock and Austin battled for over 25 minutes, McMahon slid a steel chair inside of the ring. The Austin of old would have kicked it right back, or nailed Vince with it, but that night he blasted Rocky. Fans were stunned. McMahon entered the ring and then shook hands with his arch-enemy. An exasperated and stunned Jim Ross wonderfully called out Stone Cold is shaking hands with Satan himself! For the love of God, someone tell me this isnt happening! That pretty much summed up the feelings of the audience.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
