>>13586546Makes sense. But Vince had to be in control. He never wanted Austin to be his top guy. But he was forced into it. Because of the competition with WCW, and because of how well Austin connected with fans and non-fans (who became fans) alike, Vince was left with no choice.
Vince's pick was Rocky Maivia. No, not The Rock. He didn't exist yet. Vince wanted Rocky Maivia, the white meat babyface. He had tried this before when he tried to force HBK as a white meat babyface in 96 and fans shit all over it.
The Rock would not exist without Steve Austin, who worked closely with him early in his career and helped him to develop. Austin put Rock over like a million bucks too and made him a star. Rocky would likely not have turned heel if not for Austin. No Corporate Rock without the Austin/McMahon feud.
Austin was a WCW guy. That's easy to forget now, but Austin was already a star (not yet a megastar) in WCW before he came to WWF. Vince does not like to push those guys. And Vince saw Austin's career winding down and he wanted to essentially bury him on the way out.
