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Originally Posted by Kane Knight
While I don't hate the guy, you're making it sound like he had no choice.
I dunno.
Eric's not really killing the show, and he doesn't wrestle. Why does Austin have to kill everyone in a non-wrestling role?
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Because it puts asses into the seats...or at least that's what the WWE writers were thinking at the time. If you think about it, the anti-bischoff role could be filled by anyone, from Teddy Long or Paul Heyman, to (heaven forbid) Stephanie or Shane McMahon. None of them would hold down the midcard heels (Ok, maybe Shane would, but that's worst case scenerio) the way that Austin did. So why did Austin stay after WM19? Stubbornness, greed,...hell he could just be addicted to the business. Fact is, he did stick around, and since he couldn't wrestle, they slapped him into the Co-GM role. Most fans don't want to see Austin
not being physical, so the writers did what they felt was the best option. They wrote him in, stunning random heels night after night. Something opened Vince's eyes, though...maybe the sales of merchandise fell, or maybe there was a noticably significant decrease in Austin's pops. Whatever it was combined with Steve's recent domestic issues was pretty much the end of SCSA. So when the usual contract resigning came around and Steve pushed, Vince pushed back. Why pay more for a guy who can't wrestle, isn't selling tickets or merchandise like he used to, and you really didn't have anywhere to go with?
I may have gotten a little off track here, but what I was getting at is that Austin wasn't trying to pull a HHH-esque glass ceiling. The only thing he did bad was sticking around after WM19. The writers were the ones who were stuck with no other choice. Having him kill little heels was probably the most profitable option they had.