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Sam Knight · 03-10-2013, 02:18 PM

This is a reply to Scrila's thread sometime in December 2011 who labelled Rock as a 'failure' and how Austin was always superior to the Rock.
Austin was only the top guy when Rock was either absent or heel.After Rock's 'Rocky Maivia' gimmick failed miserably(just like Austin's 'Ringmaster' gimmick)after Vince's 'wicked boss' character was formed,after Mike Tyson debuted(which proves how dependable Austin was),it was only then Austin could become a megastar but.................not for long.
Austin was the top guy by mid 1997 and the ratings were still at the ground level until Vince introduced his character and until Vince paid a huge chunk to Mike Tyson.
Once Dwayne adapted 'The Rock' character,he overshadowed Austin faster than time.The Rock's breakdown 1998 ovation equalled any of Austin's loudest ovations.The crowd was dead during Austin VS Taker at Summerslam 1998 but the crowd was well alive,captivated and chanting the Rock's name during Rock VS Triple H.Well,its true that Austin did sell 13 million worth merch in 1998 but that's solely because the WWE hadn't released merch of any other star.The merch fans had no choice but to buy Austin's T-Shirt even if they weren't big fans of Austin.The Rock in 2000 sold 10 million worth merch during when he was in competition with Chris Jericho,Mick Foley,Triple H and Austin himself.
The Rock in early 1999 as a heel commanded babyface ovations and pops.His backlash ovation equalled or was even bigger than Austin's ovation at the same.Once Rock turned face at the night after Backlash,he quickly efficiently and effortlessly overshadowed Austin.
Rock began to get louder pops/ovations than Austin,got his name chanted at a WCW PPV,sold more merch in quarter four than Austin sold in the entire year.The latter had to leave to deal with his injury.The year 2000 turned out to be the best financial year(and also in terms of ratings and Buyrates)for WWE.Austin returned in 2001 and could never regain the top spot,he got booed again at one instance in RTWM.The crowd was louder for Austin at WM 17 only because it was in Texas.It was surprising and stunning that although the Rock got few boos,the crowd was pretty much split(40-60 in favour of Austin)which proves that only fans in attendance from Texas were booing the Rock.Had WM 17 been at Miami,Austin would've been booed out of the arena.
Despite,Austin couldn't steal the spotlight from Rock,he was the top draw in 2001 only because the Rock was out filming 'Scorpion King' which grossed 200 mn for the WWE studios whereas Austin's condemned in 2007 failed miserably at the box office which proves that Rock had 10 X more mainstream appeal than Austin.He got booed against the Rock at another instance in late 2001 after he turned face.
Rock in 2002 despite being present for only four months was the top draw and continued to be the face until mid 2003.Rock was chosen to face Hulk Hogan and not Austin not because Austin had bad blood with Hogan but because he was never asked by Vince for it.It was crystal clear whom Vince saw as the greatest.
Rock was the face from mid 1999-mid 2003
Austin was the face only from mid 1997-mid 1999(When Rock was either absent or a heel)
Yes,Austin did won superstar of the decade poll but that poll is only applicable from 1990-1999 whereas Rock became an established megastar in 2000.Also once Rock left for Hollywood,his loyal fans turned on him and opted for Austin.Also we don't know if those polls were manipulated by the WWE which has a history of manipulating polls.
Yes,Vince did proclaim Austin as 'the greatest' but think about it...........why would Vince promote a man who used his company as a stepping stone to get to something bigger as 'the greatest'?Won't it be bad for company's image,goodwill and reputation?The same thing goes for Hogan.
Don't say that Rock isn't talented like Austin.If it wasn't for him holding back on mic last year and also early this year to a certain extent just to put over Cena and Punk,the current top faces of WWE,we would've seen more epic promos like his pre Royal Rumble 2013 promo and the Rock/Cena 2 segment from him.
If Dwayne had adapted 'the Rock' gimmick in 1997 instead of the horrendous 'Rocky Maivia',Austin would've never been the top guy and a megastar.
And you know I can go on and on...............but I think I have pierced the sword deep enough into Austin's chest.