The idea of Steve Austin and Ric Flair having a storyline together seems good on paper, but it turned into a disappointment. Austin and Flair are on the shortlist of names who can be considered the greatest of all time when objectively breaking down wrestling history. Flair was still an active competitor when joining WWE after WCW’s end to have a program with Austin.WWE was having ups and downs with Austin at the time, but he was still among the most over stars in the industry. The feud between the two was meant to be the biggest part of the Raw brand following the 2002 brand split. However, it turned into a time that few fans remember and discuss today. The rivalry between Austin and Flair deserves a look back at what could have been.
How Their Feud Started
The program between Steve Austin and Ric Flair started with them on the same page. Flair became the co-owner of WWE with Vince McMahon after he purchased the shares of Shane and Stephanie after the Invasion angle ended. The story of Flair and McMahon being at odds saw Ric giving Austin fair opportunities when McMahon was outwardly trying to hold him down for joining The Alliance.
However, things changed when the brand split initially started with Flair and McMahon each running their own show. Flair was the head honcho of Raw and entered a feud with Austin when the legend chose to sign there as a free agent. McMahon even warned Flair about how Austin makes life hell for those in his position.
Austin showed little respect for Flair’s authority and made it clear that he would do whatever he wanted. Flair started to grow frustrated with Austin and others walking all over him to start the heel turn. WWE wanted to recapture the magic of Austin vs McMahon by having a new heel authority figure of great name value.
Arn Anderson, The Undertaker, And Members Of The NWO Got Involved
Ric Flair’s heel turn led to him aligning with the names he was feuding with as a face. The Undertaker was drafted to Raw by Flair to upset him after he turned heel to unite with Vince McMahon. Flair and Undertaker had more of a mutual understanding to target Austin since it helped them both. The New World Order also had issues with Flair, but they were tasked by Flair to go after Austin once he snapped.
WWE tried to write Austin as an unpredictable character again with moments going after Flair and his allies. One of the strangest segments in WWE history featured Austin attacking Ric’s best friend and assistant Arn Anderson before urinating on him. Flair and Austin started to get personal by going after what hurt each other most.
The Undertaker won a number one contender’s match over Austin with Flair as the referee after he missed Austin’s foot under the bottom rope during a pinfall. Their feud playing out saw Flair implying that was on purpose as he started to reward Undertaker and nWo members like Big Show and X-Pac during the feud. Austin having to overcome all the heels in question gave Flair some help to stack the odds in his favor.
The Feud Was A Complete Failure
The idea of replicating magic just couldn’t work out for Steve Austin since the chemistry wasn’t there with Ric Flair in the way it was with Vince McMahon. Even when Flair turned heel and got boos, the fans still enjoyed elements of the legendary character. McMahon was despised when feuding with Austin which helped make that rivalry work due to the crowd being immersed in it.
The crowd reaction to Austin’s feud with Flair showed them having less excitement each week. Another issue was that the matches missed the mark. Austin facing Flair and Big Show in a handicap match at Judgment Day 2002 was viewed as a huge disappointment as a payoff t for the feud. The anger of Austin started to grow during this time in his career when he had shocking rants on WWE’s Byte This web show, ripping up the company’s creative direction for him.
WWE started to slowly move Austin away from Flair when entering a smaller feud with Eddie Guerrero. Austin walked out of the company shortly after due to being booked to lose to Brock Lesnar in an unadvertised Raw match. However, the issues started with the Flair feud failing in a grand fashion. WWE booking the two legends in a disappointing feud was so bad for Austin that fans don’t even remember it these days.