The Rock Vs. Steve Austin | Wrestling Timelines
September 24, 2000 - The Mood Changes
Steve Austin makes his permanent return, almost to a different place.
A lot of the isolated content is still rancid, but overall, the tone in the WWF is brighter, positively irreverent at times, and the post-Vince Russo narrative, shaped by lead writer Chris Kreski, is a lot more sophisticated. In a weird way, a year like 2004 was more Attitude Era-coded than this actual year in the Attitude Era.
The depleted roster is no longer abysmal. Kurt Angle, who debuted on the same show Austin was written off, is a prodigy, a phenomenal all-rounder, and bonafide headliner. There’s a sense Chris Benoit could ascend further up the card, driven by pure brilliance, if not undeniable star power. Eddie Guerrero, his Radicalz stablemate, has the lot, and the extent of his struggles with addiction are not yet known. Out of nowhere, Rikishi becomes a fun-loving killer who intersects endearing comedy and a wicked finisher. The fans, gauging by a legendary Dusty finish, buy Chris Jericho at the WWF title level.
The endearing Mick Foley makes things plain fun as the Commissioner. Edge and Christian are earnestly funny in a way that isn’t puerile nor mean-spirited. The tag team division is excellent. Triple H gets in his own way, when he’s anxious about appearing weak, but is otherwise enjoying an incredible year in the ring and as an episodic TV character. He’s the top heel - and his Backlash match against the Rock is very favourable to him, in a year-on-year comparison, against Austin’s.
The Rock is the Rock: the now-disputed number one babyface who sells tickets as effortlessly as he raises his eyebrow.
Does Austin fit in?
It seems like a silly question, because he’s Steve Austin, but it also isn’t. His character is on a mission to identify the person who ran him over, and because he doesn’t trust anybody as his modus operandi, he kicks a lot of ass. He indiscriminately beats up the people that fans have taken a liking to, whether they’re goodies or baddies.
In the fiction, this makes sense; in reality, it feels like a dour and paranoid Austin is reminding everybody who’s number one ‘round these parts.