WWE Could Have Booked Austin-Taker For Wrestlemania 18

[Lockard 23]

This is an old school topic, but it's something I thought of the other day - Austin was asked to work with Hogan at WM18 but he refused. So, with him not being involved in the title match, or in a dream match with Hogan, he ended up fighting Scott Hall, which he wasn't happy about. I agree they could have done better and started thinking about who else Austin could have fought, and it occurred to me that a match with Taker could have been made. Now, I know they had fought plenty before, but at least he is wrestling a legend like Taker (as opposed to Scott Hall, who hadn't been relevant in awhile), which I'm sure Austin wouldn't have minded. Plus, a lot of people would have loved to have seen Austin be a part of Taker's streak.

This means Ric Flair doesn't get the match with Taker, but then again, he was a part time wrestler (in his fifties...) anyway at that point.

 

[Dat Kid1]

Rock vs Hogan was epic (storytelling wise). Taker vs Flair was also good, so i don't think I would've booked it any other way. Instead have built up that rivalry better to make a more interesting match.

 

[Leo C]

Why didn't he want to work with Hogan? They put him in a dream match, he refuses it and gets mad that he's given an irrelevant opponent? Well, anyway. It would've been nice to see it, I suppose.

 

[Lockard 23]

Austin apparently had issues with Hogan in the past (look at the way he somewhat snubbed him at the WM22 HOF when he came out to induct Bret Hart.) I also heard a rumor that back in late 2001, after Survivor Series, Austin was supposed to remain a heel and keep the world title till WM18, where he would lose it to Triple H, and then turn back babyface afterwards. (Don't know if there would have been a unification match in that case, but if so, Austin would have been the undisputed champion, not Jericho.) But Austin didn't want to stay heel that long and wanted to go back to being babyface, so they changed it up. If that's true, then Austin screwed himself out of two main event matches at WM18.