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WWE Executive Reveals Why Hulk Hogan vs Stone Cold Steve Austin Did Not Happen

Published 05/09/2021, 11:33 AM EDT

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We’ve seen some great dream matches in the WWE. From The Rock vs John Cena to AJ Styles vs Finn Balor, dream matches are the reason fans love this sport. However, why didn’t the biggest dream match in wrestling, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Hulk Hogan, not happen?

Why didn’t Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Hulk Hogan happen?

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Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan ruled the WWE in two different eras. Hogan was the biggest star of the 80s and the early 90s and headlined eight WrestleManias.

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Austin rose to superstardom in 1996 with a single defining promo. He then feuded with Vince McMahon, the rivalry that pushed WWE above WCW.

Despite their popularity, Hogan and Austin never faced each other in WWE. Speaking on Something to Wrestle With podcast, WWE executive Bruce Prichard talked about why Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Hulk Hogan did not happen.

“I think eventually the match probably could have happened had everybody stayed healthy, but you’ve gotta keep in mind at that time Steve was dealing with a lot of health issues, Steve was dealing with a lot of trust issues.

“So, to say that, that match never would have happened, that’s crazy to say. I think you just had to get over some of the issues that were basically rearing their head at the time, and that reality in and of itself was something that you had to take into consideration.”

Hogan faced The Rock at WrestleMania instead

We got a different but equally high-profile dream match between Hulk Hogan and The Rock, while Austin faced Scott Hall. In the buildup to the match, Austin and The Rock teamed up to face Hogan and Hall. However, the WrestleMania match was a genuine classic.

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Bruce Prichard also talked about how the Rock vs Hogan match came about.

via Imago

“Yeah, it was discussed. A lot of things were discussed, but I don’t know that, at that time, if there was ever this, ‘Okay, we’re gonna do this here and we’re gonna do that there.’ When we got to wherever it was and we had the Scott Hall match, it was Steve, and Rock and Hogan. Well, one of those guys–Rock and Steve–needed to face two of the nWo guys, and that’s just how it fell at the time.”

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Would Austin vs Hogan have topped the classic between Hogan and The Rock? We’ll never know, and it’ll always remain one of wrestling’s biggest ‘what if’ moments.

Was Triple H a Better Pro Wrestler than The Rock?

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Written by:

Nathan Fulgado

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Nathan Fulgado is a WWE and AEW author at EssentiallySports. Having published close to 1000 professional wrestling articles, Nathan is currently pursuing his Journalism degree from Xavier's College. He has previously worked at Free Press Journal as a local journalist.
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