WWE News: Bruce Prichard says Triple H not going over Stone Cold at SummerSlam 1999 was Vince's decision
What's the story?
As more and more former wrestlers and wrestling personalities start podcasts or appear on them, more information behind some of the biggest matches in wrestling history comes out.
Bruce Prichard, who worked for WWE as Brother Love and as an agent backstage mentioned on his Something to Wrestle With podcast that the decision to not have Triple H go over Stone Cold at SummerSlam in 1999 was a Vince McMahon decision. 411mania.com carried a transcript of Prichard's words.
In case you didn't know...
Stone Cold Steve Austin was one of the most popular superstars of all time and he was a main-event fixture at the end of the '90s. He defeated Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 14 and never looked back down the card.
The heart of the matter
While Stone Cold was enjoying his run atop the WWF, a young upstart named Triple H was just starting to gain momentum in becoming a main-event player. His work with DX and as a singles star was starting to get noticed by management.
Stone Cold was set to defend hist title against Triple H and Mankind at SummerSlam in 1999, but the decision was made by Mr. McMahon to have Austin retain rather then give Triple H a run as champion at that point.
“I don’t think that Steve and/or a lot of the agents at the time felt that Hunter was ready for the Championship yet. That wasn’t a Steve call, that was a Vince call, and that was a lot of the agents. When they heard that, they felt that he’ll be ready someday, he’s just not ready right now, not with Steve.”
Triple H wouldn't have to wait that long, as he was soon ruling over thh WWF/WWE with an iron sledgehammer for most of the 2000s.
Sometimes striking at the right time is important in wrestling, and Mr. McMahon thought it would only hurt Austin's run rather than help a younger Triple H get over as a top heel.
What's next?
If Austin wasn't the champion back then, it was either the Rock, Triple H or Mankind, with the first two having more title runs than Mankind.
Had they pulled the trigger on Triple H that night, it would have only started his reign of terror sooner, whereas Austin had limited time left in wrestling due to his neck injury.