SGW RIVALS Chapter Five: Adam Cole versus Steve Austin
Sept 27, 2022 12:21:00 GMT -6
drew, josh, and 5 more like this
Post by Scott on Sept 27, 2022 12:21:00 GMT -6
CHAPTER FOUR: Adam Cole (Jared) versus Steve Austin (Dustin Leisner)
Timeframe: April 18, 2020 - Current Day
Feud Facts:
-Dustin's first feud upon returning to SGW after a 14 year absence.
-Both former SGW World Champions and Hall of Famers.
-Feud has technically never had a conclusion.
Top Matches
August 27, 2022 (Steve Austin defeated Adam Cole and Alex Shelley)
Sometimes, things just have a way of working itself out. Destiny, happenstance, whatever.
We started SGW back in November of 2019 and tried finding as many of the OGs as we could. We had a great foundation with guys like Jared, Rando, Rick, Ailly, Wasabi, Yolo, and Dave, but we wanted some of our old pals to write with us again. We found Brett, Matt, Chalmers, Tagg, and even some guys like Serg showed up near the end. But a few of the heart and soul guys weren't around anymore or didn't want to join after having been out of the hobby for a long period of time.
But by god, Dustin Leisner found us. Literally the week we did the SGW Hall of Fame announcement inducting him, the guy shows up out of nowhere after searching online for SGW and members for while. It was probably the most pumped I had ever been. I helped him get Front Page downloaded, he found a hosting site, and he was immediately back in the saddle as Steve Austin, his Hall of Fame character, and did pretty freaking well for himself in the WrestleBrawl match. Just goes to show how excellent of a writer Dustin is.
Jared, on the other hand, was a guy we met when we returned the fedding and immediately knew he was one of the good guys within the first time or two of speaking with him. Talented, friendly, helpful, consistent, Jared is just one of those guys who you build a fed with and not think twice. Jared was our World Champion going into WrestleBrawl 3 and his feud with Brett was coming to an end, but he had The Origin group working around him and pairing these two against one another was only fitting. The Origin, out to take out SGW, feuding with the top menace in SGW history - Steve Austin. Also, Jared was a lot like Dustin. Really good guys, excellent writers, and 100% dependable and trustworthy. We knew they could create some magic and they really did. Top of the card, opening match, six man, whatever, these two guys are handlers you'd BEG to have in an e-fed. We're incredibly lucky to have them in SGW to this day.
Their feud wasn't over titles, it had a Top Match at Game of Squids with Brett's Rob Conway being in the mix, but it was a really great feud crafted by Josh and was one of the highlights of the entire SGW '19-20 run.
I remember talking to Jared early on about heading up a stable. It's always tough putting a group together because it sometimes cramps the style, but Jared is a team player and went for it (I also think it helped that it wasn't an Undisputed Era grouping), embracing the challenge head on and took The Origin in as his own and made it one of the top stables we ever had. Marshall's Jericho, Anthony's Big Nasty, and Steve Corino came in for some added dramatics, but it was a great story of Arn Anderson, the OG SGW Owner, finding a golden goose to bring down Jeff Jarrett and the company he helped create.
Corino eliminated Austin in the WrestleBrawl match, laying the foundation for the feud. At No Peace in Brooklyn, we got it kickstarted with Austin turning down a spot in The Origin and our first Adam Cole/Steve Austin interaction. From there, it was organized chaos and vintage "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The feud was leading us directly to our first attempt at a "Survivor Series" type show called Body Count. Unfortunately, SGW closed before we could get there, making it one of the great what-if shows of our time. Austin and Cole got to meet at Game of Squids, but there's still a need to finish this thing off once and for all.
Thoughts From Josh: "So, everything about this feud was a whirlwind of shit that just all came together perfectly in the end. We debuted The Origin at Infiltration, revealing Arn Anderson and Adam Cole conspired to take out Jeff Jarrett and take over the company. With the Big Nasty, Chris Jericho, Steve Corino, and Shane Douglas backing them up, there was no one who could truly stand against them. After Val Venis took the world title off of Cole at WrestleBrawl 3, we directed The Origin toward "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Since the beginning, Austin has been a focal point of SGW and Dustin himself had just come back to us. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to get Dustin back in the mix and give Jared another OG to bump up against. I took the opportunity to start putting together classic "Austin" segments, with my two favorites being Austin locking Cole in a kennel and Big Nasty throwing Austin off the roof of the arena at Supremacy.
I was ready to go even further with the feud. After Cole defeated Austin at Supremacy, I wanted to turn up the volume on the rivalry by having Austin terrorize Britt Baker with more classic Austin antics. Eventually, Cole would get pissed enough to challenge Austin to a rematch in her honor, which would've been The First Tooth match. Because she's a dentist, get it? The winner of the match would be the first person to extract a tooth from their opponent's mouth. I lifted this from some fantasy booking that Drew did, so I can't take complete credit. Anyway, Scott said the idea was going too far into whackiness with two of our main eventers, so it got flushed along with the original idea for Jeff Jarrett's attacker, which was Jim's Aleister Black. One of those is a giant bullet dodged and I'll let ya'll guess which one.
Anyway, this is one of the most well-defined feuds of the 2020 era. I enjoyed writing it and I hate that we never got to have a proper blow-off at Body Count like we planned. Because of how quickly the end came upon us, we had to settle for Austin giving Cole a stunner at SGW Forever to cost him the championship on the final show. With both Jared and Dustin still around and handling Cole/Austin, it's very realistic that this rivalry isn't over. They crossed paths again in the three way at Game of Squids. It's only a matter of time before it happens again and I hope I get to write it."
Thoughts From Drew: "I had the privilege of meeting Jared in another place, at another time, based upon the bizarre nature of the other place. Thankfully, Jared joined us in SGW and he has truly enriched our experience as fed owners and as writers mutually with his tremendous work. Scott, Josh, and others will tell you all about how wonderful Dustin was in the 2006-era SGW, and while I wasn’t around to speak from first-hand experience, he’s been a real gem for us in 2020-SGW.
Something Scott touched on cannot be understated – both Dustin and Jared are absolutely tremendous members of our community, from a creative output perspective as well as from the friendly OOC demeanor they’ve both shown over and over again. I really appreciate them both for both of those things!
In terms of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Adam Cole, there’s so much to say which has already been covered beautifully by Scott and Josh. I know this has always felt like one of the best feuds of our 2020 tenure, and that’s undoubtedly due to the strong work from Jared and Dustin, but credit is also due to Josh for the incredibly woven story, as well as Scott’s seminal writing through the segments and matches.
I know we’ve probably not seen the last of Austin and Cole, but I’m really curious to see whether their differences or similarities will be the tale moving forward. Sometimes the best stories are the natural ones, after all.
Oh, and FYI, I didn’t think of ‘First Tooth,’ as much as I wish I had. All credit is due to C-MIL of EW Battleground’s stellar FUSE EWR Diary."
Thoughts From Jared: "When I started in SGW my effort for the 12 Large tournament set me up for a program with Chalmers' Randy Orton. That was great but it wasn't really something I could sink my teeth into because there was just so many moving parts to that one and it seemed to all be building towards the Orton-Jarrett showdown. It wasn't until The Origin came about and Dustin returned to the fold with his SGW legend Steve Austin that I really got a taste of a substantial feud here in SGW.
Granted, there were a lot of moving parts to this one as well with Austin basically feuding with the whole Origin and Paul Wight's return and all that but regardless of the noise going on around the two it was clear the program was grounded by Austin v Cole. I mean the dog kennel bit and Austin stunning Britt Baker from The Level We've Sunk To Now will be something I'll never forget about Cole's time in SGW haha then having Paul Wight chokeslam Austin OFF A FUCKING BUILDING at Supremacy!? I mean... fuck yeah! And it seemed to be the perfect 'Old Guard v New Guard' program for SGW's revival.
I couldn't have asked for a better talent to go up against either as Dustin always brought his A game and was undoubtedly the best Austin I've seen in my years roleplaying. It's actually a major bummer SGW closed up shop when it did because the Austin-Cole saga was getting even bigger with the Body Count event and Cole's Team Origin set to go up against Austin's Team SGW with some major stakes on the line. I can just imagine where that event could have taken Austin v Cole.. might have gotten it to rank right up there with the best of the SGW rivalries over the years. Capping things off with Austin costing Cole the belt at Forever was a nice touch too and solidifies this one as a "blood feud" in my eyes haha
When I returned for Game of Squids I was actually pretty pumped to see I was put up against Dustin's Steve Austin right out of the gate because there was clearly unfinished business there. And after the way that three-way dance played out I'd say things between Austin and Cole are still not over. This is one of those rivalries I can see never really ending as long as the two are still kicking around. With that being said Cole has one on Austin at Supremacy and Austin took the IC belt at Game of Squids so there's got to be a rubber match down the line somewhere! And when it happens I'll be ready and waiting, as I'm sure Dustin will be too!"
Thoughts From Dustin: "I didn't return to e-feds until early 2020, so SGW was already rolling when I joined. Jared already had one reign as world champion under his belt with Adam Cole , so he was already one of the top dogs. I was thrown right into the fire and immediately a heated rivalry started building between Austin and Cole. After a completely ridiculous buildup, we finally had our first match at Supremacy. I remember reading Jared's RP for the match and knowing that I was toast.
The entire buildup towards Body Count was on a whole different level. We had it all. A guy telling another guy to suck his dick, Guys in the back of garbage trucks, guys on top of the arena... GUYS GETTING THROWN OFF THE TOP OF THE ARENA! You name it, we saw it during this unbelievable period during 2020. While the actual match never took place, everything that happened to build towards it will be forever remembered in SGW history.
When SGW was brought back, it was only fitting for Jared and I to have another chance to face each other again. Adam Cole versus Steve Austin. Adding in Matt G and the Intercontinental title was the icing on the cake. Three SGW legends that were all former World Champions. One of the biggest triple threat matches that SGW ever booked. "
Feud Facts:
-Dustin's first feud upon returning to SGW after a 14 year absence.
-Both former SGW World Champions and Hall of Famers.
-Feud has technically never had a conclusion.
Top Matches
August 27, 2022 (Steve Austin defeated Adam Cole and Alex Shelley)
Sometimes, things just have a way of working itself out. Destiny, happenstance, whatever.
We started SGW back in November of 2019 and tried finding as many of the OGs as we could. We had a great foundation with guys like Jared, Rando, Rick, Ailly, Wasabi, Yolo, and Dave, but we wanted some of our old pals to write with us again. We found Brett, Matt, Chalmers, Tagg, and even some guys like Serg showed up near the end. But a few of the heart and soul guys weren't around anymore or didn't want to join after having been out of the hobby for a long period of time.
But by god, Dustin Leisner found us. Literally the week we did the SGW Hall of Fame announcement inducting him, the guy shows up out of nowhere after searching online for SGW and members for while. It was probably the most pumped I had ever been. I helped him get Front Page downloaded, he found a hosting site, and he was immediately back in the saddle as Steve Austin, his Hall of Fame character, and did pretty freaking well for himself in the WrestleBrawl match. Just goes to show how excellent of a writer Dustin is.
Jared, on the other hand, was a guy we met when we returned the fedding and immediately knew he was one of the good guys within the first time or two of speaking with him. Talented, friendly, helpful, consistent, Jared is just one of those guys who you build a fed with and not think twice. Jared was our World Champion going into WrestleBrawl 3 and his feud with Brett was coming to an end, but he had The Origin group working around him and pairing these two against one another was only fitting. The Origin, out to take out SGW, feuding with the top menace in SGW history - Steve Austin. Also, Jared was a lot like Dustin. Really good guys, excellent writers, and 100% dependable and trustworthy. We knew they could create some magic and they really did. Top of the card, opening match, six man, whatever, these two guys are handlers you'd BEG to have in an e-fed. We're incredibly lucky to have them in SGW to this day.
Their feud wasn't over titles, it had a Top Match at Game of Squids with Brett's Rob Conway being in the mix, but it was a really great feud crafted by Josh and was one of the highlights of the entire SGW '19-20 run.
I remember talking to Jared early on about heading up a stable. It's always tough putting a group together because it sometimes cramps the style, but Jared is a team player and went for it (I also think it helped that it wasn't an Undisputed Era grouping), embracing the challenge head on and took The Origin in as his own and made it one of the top stables we ever had. Marshall's Jericho, Anthony's Big Nasty, and Steve Corino came in for some added dramatics, but it was a great story of Arn Anderson, the OG SGW Owner, finding a golden goose to bring down Jeff Jarrett and the company he helped create.
Corino eliminated Austin in the WrestleBrawl match, laying the foundation for the feud. At No Peace in Brooklyn, we got it kickstarted with Austin turning down a spot in The Origin and our first Adam Cole/Steve Austin interaction. From there, it was organized chaos and vintage "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The feud was leading us directly to our first attempt at a "Survivor Series" type show called Body Count. Unfortunately, SGW closed before we could get there, making it one of the great what-if shows of our time. Austin and Cole got to meet at Game of Squids, but there's still a need to finish this thing off once and for all.
"Drew, can you make the card graphics look like a video game character select screen?"
"Sure buddy. Give me an hour."
Look, I could ramble on about this feud but Josh, Drew, Jared, and Dustin have chimed in with comments that are lengthy, detailed, and tell the story much better than I could.
"Sure buddy. Give me an hour."
Look, I could ramble on about this feud but Josh, Drew, Jared, and Dustin have chimed in with comments that are lengthy, detailed, and tell the story much better than I could.
Thoughts From Josh: "So, everything about this feud was a whirlwind of shit that just all came together perfectly in the end. We debuted The Origin at Infiltration, revealing Arn Anderson and Adam Cole conspired to take out Jeff Jarrett and take over the company. With the Big Nasty, Chris Jericho, Steve Corino, and Shane Douglas backing them up, there was no one who could truly stand against them. After Val Venis took the world title off of Cole at WrestleBrawl 3, we directed The Origin toward "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Since the beginning, Austin has been a focal point of SGW and Dustin himself had just come back to us. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to get Dustin back in the mix and give Jared another OG to bump up against. I took the opportunity to start putting together classic "Austin" segments, with my two favorites being Austin locking Cole in a kennel and Big Nasty throwing Austin off the roof of the arena at Supremacy.
I was ready to go even further with the feud. After Cole defeated Austin at Supremacy, I wanted to turn up the volume on the rivalry by having Austin terrorize Britt Baker with more classic Austin antics. Eventually, Cole would get pissed enough to challenge Austin to a rematch in her honor, which would've been The First Tooth match. Because she's a dentist, get it? The winner of the match would be the first person to extract a tooth from their opponent's mouth. I lifted this from some fantasy booking that Drew did, so I can't take complete credit. Anyway, Scott said the idea was going too far into whackiness with two of our main eventers, so it got flushed along with the original idea for Jeff Jarrett's attacker, which was Jim's Aleister Black. One of those is a giant bullet dodged and I'll let ya'll guess which one.
Anyway, this is one of the most well-defined feuds of the 2020 era. I enjoyed writing it and I hate that we never got to have a proper blow-off at Body Count like we planned. Because of how quickly the end came upon us, we had to settle for Austin giving Cole a stunner at SGW Forever to cost him the championship on the final show. With both Jared and Dustin still around and handling Cole/Austin, it's very realistic that this rivalry isn't over. They crossed paths again in the three way at Game of Squids. It's only a matter of time before it happens again and I hope I get to write it."
Thoughts From Drew: "I had the privilege of meeting Jared in another place, at another time, based upon the bizarre nature of the other place. Thankfully, Jared joined us in SGW and he has truly enriched our experience as fed owners and as writers mutually with his tremendous work. Scott, Josh, and others will tell you all about how wonderful Dustin was in the 2006-era SGW, and while I wasn’t around to speak from first-hand experience, he’s been a real gem for us in 2020-SGW.
Something Scott touched on cannot be understated – both Dustin and Jared are absolutely tremendous members of our community, from a creative output perspective as well as from the friendly OOC demeanor they’ve both shown over and over again. I really appreciate them both for both of those things!
In terms of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Adam Cole, there’s so much to say which has already been covered beautifully by Scott and Josh. I know this has always felt like one of the best feuds of our 2020 tenure, and that’s undoubtedly due to the strong work from Jared and Dustin, but credit is also due to Josh for the incredibly woven story, as well as Scott’s seminal writing through the segments and matches.
I know we’ve probably not seen the last of Austin and Cole, but I’m really curious to see whether their differences or similarities will be the tale moving forward. Sometimes the best stories are the natural ones, after all.
Oh, and FYI, I didn’t think of ‘First Tooth,’ as much as I wish I had. All credit is due to C-MIL of EW Battleground’s stellar FUSE EWR Diary."
Thoughts From Jared: "When I started in SGW my effort for the 12 Large tournament set me up for a program with Chalmers' Randy Orton. That was great but it wasn't really something I could sink my teeth into because there was just so many moving parts to that one and it seemed to all be building towards the Orton-Jarrett showdown. It wasn't until The Origin came about and Dustin returned to the fold with his SGW legend Steve Austin that I really got a taste of a substantial feud here in SGW.
Granted, there were a lot of moving parts to this one as well with Austin basically feuding with the whole Origin and Paul Wight's return and all that but regardless of the noise going on around the two it was clear the program was grounded by Austin v Cole. I mean the dog kennel bit and Austin stunning Britt Baker from The Level We've Sunk To Now will be something I'll never forget about Cole's time in SGW haha then having Paul Wight chokeslam Austin OFF A FUCKING BUILDING at Supremacy!? I mean... fuck yeah! And it seemed to be the perfect 'Old Guard v New Guard' program for SGW's revival.
I couldn't have asked for a better talent to go up against either as Dustin always brought his A game and was undoubtedly the best Austin I've seen in my years roleplaying. It's actually a major bummer SGW closed up shop when it did because the Austin-Cole saga was getting even bigger with the Body Count event and Cole's Team Origin set to go up against Austin's Team SGW with some major stakes on the line. I can just imagine where that event could have taken Austin v Cole.. might have gotten it to rank right up there with the best of the SGW rivalries over the years. Capping things off with Austin costing Cole the belt at Forever was a nice touch too and solidifies this one as a "blood feud" in my eyes haha
When I returned for Game of Squids I was actually pretty pumped to see I was put up against Dustin's Steve Austin right out of the gate because there was clearly unfinished business there. And after the way that three-way dance played out I'd say things between Austin and Cole are still not over. This is one of those rivalries I can see never really ending as long as the two are still kicking around. With that being said Cole has one on Austin at Supremacy and Austin took the IC belt at Game of Squids so there's got to be a rubber match down the line somewhere! And when it happens I'll be ready and waiting, as I'm sure Dustin will be too!"
Thoughts From Dustin: "I didn't return to e-feds until early 2020, so SGW was already rolling when I joined. Jared already had one reign as world champion under his belt with Adam Cole , so he was already one of the top dogs. I was thrown right into the fire and immediately a heated rivalry started building between Austin and Cole. After a completely ridiculous buildup, we finally had our first match at Supremacy. I remember reading Jared's RP for the match and knowing that I was toast.
The entire buildup towards Body Count was on a whole different level. We had it all. A guy telling another guy to suck his dick, Guys in the back of garbage trucks, guys on top of the arena... GUYS GETTING THROWN OFF THE TOP OF THE ARENA! You name it, we saw it during this unbelievable period during 2020. While the actual match never took place, everything that happened to build towards it will be forever remembered in SGW history.
When SGW was brought back, it was only fitting for Jared and I to have another chance to face each other again. Adam Cole versus Steve Austin. Adding in Matt G and the Intercontinental title was the icing on the cake. Three SGW legends that were all former World Champions. One of the biggest triple threat matches that SGW ever booked. "