Why Steve Austin Refused Match With WWE Hall Of Famer

Legendary WWE commentator Jim Ross explains why Steve Austin refused a match with this WWE Hall of Famer.

The Texas Rattlesnake was the top star during the Attitude Era in WWE and took the business and the company to new heights.

Although Steve Austin has faced almost all the top stars of his era and some from the previous era, like Bret Hart, Brian Pillman, Shawn Michaels, etc., one match that eluded him was with WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan

Hogan and Austin have very different styles despite being stars at the highest level in their respective eras. A match between the two could have been a dream match on paper, but legendary WWE commentator Jim Ross (JR) knows why it didn’t happen.

Jim Ross Reveals Why Steve Austin Never Faced Hulk Hogan

Ross revealed on his podcast, Grilling JR, the primary obstacle to the dream match, and it was not a creative one.

It was because Steve Austin reportedly had concerns that their vastly different in-ring styles would not result in a high-quality performance. He was also worried about only having passable chemistry with Hogan.

Austin didn’t want to work with [Hogan],” Ross stated. “It was wrong place at the wrong time… Steve just didn’t have a good gut feeling that they would have passable chemistry, and just to be passable wasn’t good enough for Austin.

JR compared Steve Austin’s approach to that of an aggressive footballer and wasn’t sure whether Hogan’s stiff movement during his late WWE run, post multiple surgeries, would have been good for a match between the pair.

[Steve] was kind of a middle linebacker in a squared circle, and he liked to hit people, and he liked to be aggressive, we were obviously—no one thought that Hogan could maintain that on that given calendar year… Hogan should not have even been in a ring because he couldn’t get it done anymore.

Rock vs Hogan was a dream match at WrestleMania 18, but their second match at No Way Out in 2003 was vastly different, with Hogan’s limited ability due to wear and tear.

Rock and Hogan situation was very disappointing. They didn’t come close to taking care of that business. And that’s very, very rare for Rock… you can only do so much for the guy that’s all crippled up, right? And that match right there kind of showed us that our investment we were making in Hogan was going to be on a part-time basis.

h/t:wrestlingnews.co

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