Analyzing A Major Storyline Or Event In Professional Wrestling History

Analyzing a Major Storyline in Professional Wrestling History: Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon
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Analyzing a Major Storyline in Professional Wrestling History: Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon
Professional wrestling has a very critical fanbase. Fans of wrestling usually appear to enjoy voicing their complaints as regards a terribly poor match or a horrifying angle just as much as they are pleased about good matches. Nowadays, the positives appear to be greatly outweighed by the negatives, with Impact Wrestling lurching from disaster to disaster and the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) sleepwalking through all storylines (Dey). Even so, the outcome could really be great when the wrestling industry gets something right, reminding the people why they, in fact, became fans of wrestling in the first place. This could come in the form of an iconic promotion or an outstanding wrestling match, although the most gripping moments often occur owing to a brilliant storytelling (Maguire 54). For such a simple concept, Eric (1) mentioned that wrestling could be utilized in telling a wide range of tales, from complex stories to simple ones, rousing emotions of excitement, sorrow, anger, and even elation. Just like any other creative medium, some storylines in the history of wrestling stand out than others. This paper critically analyzes one of the major storylines in profession wrestling’s history.
From WWE and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) to Total Nonstop Action (TNA) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the professional wrestling world has given its fans numerous storylines that remain imprinted in memories (Ross). From the past, the wrestling industry has given the fans fantastic storylines and events such as the Booker T versus Chris Benoit United States Title feud, Andre the Giant versus Hulk Hogan, Goldberg’s undefeated streak, The Iron Sheik versus Backlund, the Outsiders Invasion angle, and Owen Hart versus Bret Hart among others (Beaston 1). Over the recent past, wrestling fans have watched outstanding ones such as CM Punk versus Paul Heyman/Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan versus The Authority, and John Cena versus The Rock to name just a few.
Nevertheless, one storyline that stands out as one of the greatest of all is the one that involved Stone Cold Steve Austin versus Vincent McMahon in the WWE. Thanks largely to McMahon initiating a kayfabe war against a wrestler whom he considered as a discredit to the WWE Championship title, Austin was able to become the greatest antihero of all (Morton and O’Brien 43). The feud managed to revamp all symbolic struggles of the Establishment versus the Working Man (Eric 2). This was also probably Vince’s promotional masterpiece. At one point or another, Vince McMahon has been able to bring virtually every top wrestler in the WWE into the stable of the Authority. Steve Austin shed quarts of blood over almost five years at the company and held onto the WWE Championship belt before thousands of wrestling fans in various nations worldwide (Konuwa 11).
When Stone Cold became WWE Heavyweight Champion in the year 1998, Konuwa (12) pointed out that sky appeared to be the limit for this promising antihero. However, S...