Who did more for the WWE: Rock or Austin?

[Johnny Vegas]

I'm pretty sure this has probably been done before, but i never read so THERE! But i was just watching one of the Rock's DVDs and it just dawned on me that if the Rock would have done what he has done during the "Austin" era, would Austin have been as much of a name? And vice versa?

I know both were essential to the WWE and where it is today, but could one have been done without?

[The Show Off]

Austin, no contest. The Rock wouldn't be a legit heel without Austin to feud against.

[The One]

I disagree with the assumption that Rock was based off of Austin...I think Austin needed a McMahon figure to get over as much as he did, and Rock needed a Triple H character to get over the way he did...and then when Rock turned face, he again needed his fued with a now heel Triple H to get over to the point he did.

That having been said any of the three of the pre-mentioned characters and performers could have done wonderfully without any of the others...however the fact that all three really emerged around the same time just added to that magic that gave us the Attitude Era.

[Kane Knight]

Stone Cold, for sure. The Rock was tremendous and did a lot for the business, but Austin did more.

[flairwooo]

Last night I was watching The Rock's home video "Just Bring It" and Stone Cold's home video "What?" and "Hell Yeah". I was watching these three videos to see who entertained me more because I must admit I am a huge Rock fan as much as I am a Stone Cold fan. I'm just not very vocal about it, I don't know why. tbh The Rock was far more entertaining because he was constantly fresh, he had the crowd wrapped around his finger, he could be very serious but at the same time be really really funny. And everything he said was real, it wasn't some complete bullshit that was written on a script. It was live and great. That's what is so great about these two wrestlers is they don't need scripts. Now granted, in my opinion The Rock has had far more entertaining promos on the mic than anybody in the history of this business. He's had so many interviews making fun of everyone, it was fucking hilarious. He was so arrogant, so cocky but it was like that's the great thing about it. And how he refers to himself in a third person, it's priceless.

Now onto Stone Cold, I love Stone Cold as much as the next person. I know its his character, but he's always pissed off about something and he's always kicking someones ass. It's great, but it's like chill the fuck out man. And he's always cussing, it's like he needs to use every four letter word in the world to make a great promo..it's stupid. He's intense, he's creative but he's not nearly as good as The Rock is on the microphone. Most of the great memories that we have of him is when he's destroying something or someone. He was always kicking someones ass. He could be funny but 95% of the time he was always pissed off about something. I don't know about you but I like alot of comedy relief and that's not something Austin could provide nearly as much as The Rock could. The Rock was always hilarious, always great. Austin was creative, Austin was intense, and it was real because he was using his head. But that's what I like more about The Rock is his comedic relief and his in ring presence. Not necessarily the skill but I loved his belly to back suplexes, his samoan drops and he was always looking so great in the ring. He was always fast and "up beat".

Needless to say, The Rock and Stone Cold are two very entertaining sports entertainers, but need you remember. The highest rated segment in the history of RAW had The Rock as a major role. Remember "The Rock's: This Is Your Life", that was fucking awesome. Austin never could do something like that, he was constantly talking about how he was going to kick your ass, kick everyones ass. The Rock would talk about anything, he left no stone un-touched. So in my opinion, The Rock is far more entertaining than Austin was, much more fresh and much more dynamic than Austin ever was. But for some reason, I think that the fans are more loyal to Stone Cold for some reason. The reason I say this is when The Rock returned from making a movie, he was booed. When Austin came back after walking out of the damed company, he was welcomed back like he was a god. In my opinion, Stone Cold is really overrated. In the Wrestlemania 20 dvd extras, Vince said that "no matter how popular the rock was, he was never quite Stone Cold Steve Austin". That's a load of crap, if you look back at all of The Rock's promos, they were fucking awesome. 99% of them were hilarious, fresh and great. Austin was always having to "destroy" something or do something huge to remain very popular.

When comparing Austin and Rock, Rock is underrated and Austin is always overrated.

[Funky Fly]

Are you stupid?

Stone Cold by far. The Rock was great, but the company was never built around him.

[Johnny Vegas]

But are you saying that at the time of his prime, it couldn't be built around him?

[Bad Company]

Austin, but the Rock had the potential to do more for the WWE had he not left.

But I'd rather be a movie star over a Pro Wrestler, that's for sure :D

[flairwooo]

Are you stupid?

Stone Cold by far. The Rock was great, but the company was never built around him.

Instead of calling ppl stupid why don't you ..you know put a valid argument behind it. It's easy to go round calling ppl stupid but not backing up why they don't agree.

[Kane Knight]

But are you saying that at the time of his prime, it couldn't be built around him?

But that's not the question at hand.

[Hardkore Kidd J]

I believe Stone Cold has done more for the WWE then the Rock.

[Johnny Vegas]

But that's not the question at hand.

i was asking Funky Fly a question from his answer.

[Kane Knight]

i was asking Funky Fly a question from his answer.

I know you use a different version of English than most of us, but your question makes no sense, and he's obviously not saying that.

[D Mac]

Austin, but the Rock had the potential to do more for the WWE had he not left.

But I'd rather be a movie star over a Pro Wrestler, that's for sure :D

[Someone1001]

I'd have to say Austin probably did more for the WWE than the Rock ever did. Not that he ever did anything for me. The only time I was ever impressed by him was in his match with Bret Hart. Oh, and he was fairly entertaining when he was a heel with Angle. Although I could argue that it was mostly Angle that made his segments entertaining.

[mrslackalack]

Stone Cold, for sure. The Rock was tremendous and did a lot for the business, but Austin did more.

:y:

[dablackguy]

Stone Cold, for sure. The Rock was tremendous and did a lot for the business, but Austin did more.

agreed

[Funky Fly]

Instead of calling ppl stupid why don't you ..you know put a valid argument behind it. It's easy to go round calling ppl stupid but not backing up why they don't agree.
Here's my argument, bitch.

http://www.boomspeed.com/funky_fly/banhammer2.jpg

[Funky Fly]

But are you saying that at the time of his prime, it couldn't be built around him?
Anyway, to clarify, Stone Cold was in the right place at the right time when they started to build around him. He suggested the Stone Cold character when the WWE only had Bret Hart to go on. Hogan, Flair and anyone else who could carry the company had jumped ship. There were people who could have been temporary fixes to the problem(Undertaker, Diesel etc), but no one with both the talent and charisma necessary to be THE top guy. Thankfully, he had it and his program with Bret Hart catapaulted him to superstardom. He was basically a godsend fotr the WWF.

Had Stone Cold not become as big as he did, The Rock certainly had the potential to be that big, but probably wouldn't have carried the company due to being Mr. Smiles+Sunshine at the time. But it was a good thing in the long run. It forced him to get better. He developed a character that was grounded in "realism" and shone thanks to the combination of the character and his natural charisma. Had the writers given him something better to begin with, the fans might have just accepted him, and he could very well be just another Val Venis today.

So what I'm saying is, they both had the potential, but Stone Cold had the better circumstances, thus got the chance to shine, thus did more with his time in the main event.

[Kane Knight]

Austin, but the Rock had the potential to do more for the WWE had he not left.

But I'd rather be a movie star over a Pro Wrestler, that's for sure :D

Potential means very little unless realised.

[Dave Youell]

Potential means very little unless realised.
Agreed, almost every guy on the roster has the potential to be the top guy is used correctly

[John la Rock]

I personally like Rock more but I will admit that Austin did much more for the company. He was the attitude era

[Kane Knight]

Agreed, almost every guy on the roster has the potential to be the top guy is used correctly

And beyond that, there have been at least a dozen guys in the last 5 years who could have naturally been the franchise.

[Fox]

The Rock rode the dying waves of the tsunami that was the Stone Cold Steve Austin era.

[D Mac]

The Rock cut better promos.

[Fox]

Maybe. But the Austin/McMahon feud was more captivating than anything The Rock ever did.

[Pinnacle Charisma]

Even the biggest rock fan would have to say that Austin had a bigger influence on wrestling.

[Azriel]

Rock was more entertaining, but Austin was more influential to the Attitude Era of the WWE.

[hb2k]

Austin did significantly more - without him, WWF may never have pulled it back from the brink of disaster to catching up and then overtaking WCW. The Rock did do a lot in helping grow that audience and really pulling away in WCW. Both are huge players, but Steve Austin, in terms of the impact on the industry, really did a ton for WWE.

[JH]

Austin did more thats for sure but Rock was a huge force for WWE as well
personally i think the feud with Rock & Austin was one of the best feuds in WWE history and we all know what those 2 did every single time they faced each other at Mania
2 of the greatest of all time for sure and 2 that the WWE cant replace no matter what they try to do

[D Mac]

Thier fued was one of the best feuds ever.

[flairwooo]

The one thing that made The Rock so successful was his freshness, creative ability and his cunning nature. He could pull a great promo out of his ass constantly and it was very natural. The Rock should do a stand up act on HBO sometime.

and When was the last time Stone Cold did anything that was really great, fresh and new?

[Johnny Vegas]

I know you use a different version of English than most of us, but your question makes no sense, and he's obviously not saying that.

:nono:

Thank you FF.

[D Mac]

Could you make an argument that Rocky made more money for Vince? A mean Vince was the producer on some of his movies and I'm sure he got a cut of the profits. And I don't know if he'd made money off of Rock's SNL appearances, but yeah.

[The One]

Stone Cold Steve Austin made brought in more fans to the WWF (and Pro Wrestling for that matter) then any man ever did. To me the debate over who did more for WWE is pointless if it is between Austin or Rock, because clearly Steve Austin was the guy who nearly single handedly, I guess he needed two hands, one for the bird and another for a beer...but he is the guy who brought WWE back from the near dead.

Did you know that at one point somebody somewhere was buying a Steve Austin shirt every few seconds. I know my personal interest in Pro Wrestling was fadding quickly in the mid 90's, and I am not ashamed to admit that if Steve Austin hadn't come along there is a good chance I would have simply stopped watching it all together and wrote wrestling off as a childhood activity.

That having been said; I think The Rock could have done fairly ok. I don't know if he would have saved and launched the company the way Steve did, but I think with guys like Rock and Hunter the company it could have easily stayed afloat...I also firmly believe that without Stone Cold Steve Austin the Monday Night Wars would still be going on. Steve Austin was the reason everyone gave a middle finger to WCW and said hell let's watch him "Open a can".

[The One]

Could you make an argument that Rocky made more money for Vince? A mean Vince was the producer on some of his movies and I'm sure he got a cut of the profits. And I don't know if he'd made money off of Rock's SNL appearances, but yeah.

No you couldn't. While The Rock had millions and millions of fans, Steve Austin had enough red neck trailer park fans who thought that owning every Steve Austin shirt, hat, and beer cooler was needed to get through life. On Merch Steve Austin out sold Rocky in almost every way. Vince got no money for Rock's SNL appearences, and while Rock's movies did ok, they can't compare to the amount of money that "3:16" slapped on every peice of shit merchindise made Vince.