May 22, 2002

A great thing about being a wrestling columnist is that I get to express my opinions to the greatest fans in the world. Whether those fans disagree or agree with my views, I get to read emails from them and hear other perspectives.

A topic I have on my mind this week may receive a great deal of disagreeing emails. Stone Cold Steve Austin has become a predictable wrestler.

There are a lot of SCSA fans out there who will disagree; especially those who live to shout "What?" every chance they get. His "What?" gimmick has been ran straight through the ground and has become more annoying than entertaining. It's time for a change and it needs to happen quickly. I cannot argue that Stone Cold isn't one of the greatest wrestling entertainers of all time. My hat it off to him, but the Texas Rattlesnake performs the same rituals in every feud.

Every feud starts with someone challenging Austin or attacking Austin from behind. Next, SCSA comes on TV and boasts how he will find the SOB and "whup" their ass when he sees them. Then Austin gets his revenge by beating his opponent with a Stunner. Finally, it's on to the next feud. Austin was much more entertaining as a heel. A lot of fans did not like seeing this mean SOB turn into a whiny, brownnosing, weak man who ran from his opponents. They wanted him to stare them straight in the eyes and then open up a can of "whup-ass" on them.

What fans fail to realize is it helps keep a wrestler's persona fresh. People get tired of seeing the same wrestler come through the curtains week in and week out doing and saying the same things. The only thing Austin does differently now is he plays on his "What?" gimmick. His "What?" gimmick took off by chance and no one, not even him, expected it. Has it become an activity for fans to perform because maybe the WWE product is so stale that they have nothing else to do?

Maybe it's because it is the only thing keeping the fans interested in Stone Cold. Maybe it is because they do it for the heck of it. Whatever the reason may be, I think it has worn out its welcome.

Hogan's style became old after a while. Fans would watch him get beaten by his opponents, only to "Hulk up," give them the big boot and drop the gigantic leg drop for the 1-2-3. Hogan and the fans knew it was time for a change and "Hollywood" Hogan entered the wrestling world. Hogan has now combined both the "Hollywood" persona and the "Hulkster" gimmick into one. Now, wrestling fans get the best of both worlds and one last chance to cheer on one of the greatest icons in wrestling history.

It is now time for Stone Cold to do something similar. He must leave his current persona behind him and possibly take on something new or even his old "Stunning" Steve Austin character.

Whatever the choice, it needs to happen. As his career winds down in the future, go back to the rattlesnake gimmick one last time. But don't wear out your welcome with it. Austin began to give fans a fresh look with his recent heel turn, but it did not last long enough nor was it played out properly.

The writers failed to revamp Austin's look in order for the fans to view him differently. They could have had him lose the goatee and go with a more clean cut look. They could have changed his wrestling attire and made his entrance music more cynical. Instead, he kept the same look he had as a face and slightly modifies his entrance music. In order for a change to work, you must change things dramatically. It's time for Austin to change drastically and keep that change for a while. Let the fans see more of SCSA instead of a tough SOB. Wrestling desperately craves variety. Maybe Steve Austin is the man to give the fans what they need.