On the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross discussed why a dream match between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan never materialized following the latter’s return to WWE in 2002.
JR, WWE’s Head of Talent Relations at the time, cited Steve Austin’s reluctance to work with Hulk Hogan, as well as Austin’s concerns over Hogan’s physical condition due to his multiple back surgeries. Ross also noted that Vince McMahon was hesitant to push for the match due to concerns over the two wrestlers’ differing styles and pace. Ross said,
“Austin didn’t want to work with it. How’s that answer for you? It was the wrong place at the wrong time. There was a time in both their careers that that, man, should have been the dream match, the two biggest stars in the last two generations of wrestling fighting each other. But you know, again, I am not trying to make excuses for Hogan.”
“But the truth be known he should not have been in a ring, because he couldn’t get it done anymore. Because, you know, I saw him on the A & E stuff for Hogan and said he had 10 back surgeries or something. That’s amazing. That’s cruel and inhuman punishment. So Austin wasn’t real high on that, and it’s all about the calendar.”
“It just wasn’t gonna work. And he didn’t want to do it. It was never pushed that hard, quite frankly. Because Vince knew that Steve would want to go at a breakneck pace. He was kind of a middle linebacker in a squared circle. And he liked to hit people and he liked to be aggressive. And obviously, no one thought that Hogan could maintain that on that given calendar here.”
While JR acknowledged that the match could have been a dream match in both wrestlers’ primes, Austin ultimately didn’t feel that the chemistry would be there between the two at that point in their careers. JR added,
“Again, doing it earlier, you know, 5, 6, 8, 10 years earlier, you know, who knows? But Steve just didn’t have a good gut feeling that they would have passable chemistry and just to be passable. What is good enough for Austin, he couldn’t live with himself if that’s what he was doing.”
