Austin 3:16

It’s highly likely that even if other factors like Montreal hadn’t happened like they did (creation of "Mr. McMahon") that Stone Cold would’ve still became the biggest guy in wrestling from just how over the character was.


My question is if the Summerslam ’97 Piledriver doesn’t mess up his neck, do we get the "WWF Main Event Style" born out of necessity of Austin having to work a different style? Would the style have gone more wrestling/less brawling, since pre-injury Austin had a nice balance of the two? Would the "Big Finisher Kick out" thing have happened earlier than it did?

I remember his knees were already an issue pre-Summerslam, but the neck was what obviously affected the flow of his matches to a different way.

Forgive me if this has been asked before. Just a random curiosity that popped in my head watching old Network stuff…

​It’s kind of an interesting combination of stuff, because not only did Austin ascend to the top with those injuries, but Shawn Michaels had to exit the sport as well, so the main guy who was responsible for maintaining the previous style was gone. That being said, Austin’s knees were still shot, so it’s likely that injuries + character would still combine to make for the brawling style that got over, I think. But it’s certainly interesting to consider.​