This week of wrestling started off with the bang as WWE Shattered The Glass across the Wrestling Community by revealing Stone Cold Steve Austin as their Cover Star for WWE 2K16. With WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, TX (Austin's home state), WWE is pulling out everything at their disposal to create enormous buzz for a WrestleMania filled with historical potential. As we know, Vince McMahon & Co have been on a mission and media frenzy to break the WrestleMania III Attendance Record of 93,173 from the Silverdome. Along with Undertaker, Stone Cold is seen as the man that could be the Ambassador for next year's Mania in the Lone Star State. Lately, Austin has been creating his own waves across the wrestling world with his recent Podcast with Paul Heyman. He went from the mild-mannered, working man Steve Austin back to Stone Cold within a moment once Heyman threw out the idea of wrestling Brock Lesnar at WM 32. Austin's reaction to a match with Lesnar went viral. 2016 could be a very big year for Austin with a possible match at WM in front of the largest crowd in WWE History and being the cover star for the next game. It came as quite a surprise by many that the Biggest Star of the Attitude Era made the cover of the latest game. Austin was the Central Figure for WWE '13 because of the Attitude Era Mode. If you pre-ordered the game, you received the Limited Edition version of WWE 13 that included exclusive Stone Cold content from posters, shirts, and even a DVD. With this game, there could possibly be a 3:16 Mode similar to "Path of the Warrior" from WWE 2K15 where you take a journey through the Career of The Ultimate Warrior.
On the flip side, there are people within the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) who have an issue with Stone Cold being on the cover of the latest WWE 2k Video Game that will be released this Fall. They look at this as part of the WWE pattern of sticking with familiar names (legends/veterans) to promote their product. Ever since WWE moved away from the Smackdown vs. RAW Era, the Superstars that have been the biggest promoters of their games have been established stars. Fans will quickly grow tired of someone that is familiar.
WWE 12: Randy Orton (The Rock was DLC)
WWE 13: CM Punk (Austin 3:16 Limited Edition, plus The Attitude Era Mode)
WWE 2k14: The Rock (30 Years of WrestleMania Mode)
WWE 2k15: John Cena
WWE 2k16: Stone Cold Steve Austin
I am sure that you have noticed a pattern with the latest WWE Video Games. They have been promoted by the nostalgia for the most part. Even with CM Punk as the Cover Star for WWE '13, I will still say that Stone Cold was the biggest reason why I purchased the game. The Attitude Era Story Mode was the strongest marketing tool for the game, even though Punk was gaining incredible momentum during the summer on his way to becoming Champion. Randy Orton and John Cena are the names that make the IWC cringe because of how much of the spotlight that they receive. 2k14 was completely about nostalgia, because The Rock was on the cover as they also featured the 30 Years of WrestleMania Story Mode to celebrate the History of WrestleMania. The Ultimate Warrior also played a major part in promoting the game. Another reason why The Rock was on the game was because he became the WWE Champion earlier that year. Even though The Rock gets criticism for his part-time status, he still did great business during his return. He deserved it. Now, Stone Cold is the latest legendary star to promote the game.
When you look at the current WWE Roster of Main Event Talent (Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt), those are generally the names that come to mind for today's fans. However, I think that people would still find something to complain about with either one of them. I also believe that each of those names have their share of flaws when it comes to being the face of a product.
Roman Reigns: Everyone knows about Roman's flaws on the mic and the way that he has been booked. The Internet has grown tired of him. Fans killed WWE for booking Roman to win the Royal Rumble as he was showered with boos. WWE went through a PR Nightmare heading into WrestleMania 31 because the fans threw dirt at them for making it too predictable for Reigns to defeat Lesnar. That is why they went with an alternative by sending Seth Rollins out to cash in the MITB Briefcase to win the WWE Title. I believe that WWE has learned from that mistake, and they don't want to repeat the backlash they created by putting Reigns on the cover.
Seth Rollins: Seth may be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but I don't see him as doing enough to warrant the cover of the game. Even though he is a heel champion, I think his credibility as a great heel has been hurt by having the Midget Squad help him win his matches for the most part. Rollins as Champion is not enough to draw the numbers they are looking for to promote this game. I think WWE recognizes that which is why he was not chosen to make the cover.
Dean Ambrose: Since the Shield went their separate ways, Dean has lost every PPV match that he has been involved in. The closest that Ambrose got to win the "Big One" was at Elimination Chamber. However, the decision was reversed since he won via Disqualification. Seth kept the title. While Dean may be very popular, his losing streak does not help his case for being on the cover.
Bray Wyatt: Wyatt has been promoted as the "New Face of Fear". However, no one is really afraid of him since he has lost so much steam in the eyes of the wrestling community. After losses to John Cena and Undertaker, Bray is generally seen as someone that cannot be taken very seriously. He is booked as someone who does not back up what they say. As a result, Wyatt is disqualified.
The only other star that I could see making the cover would be Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is a Box Office Attraction in his own way, even on a part-time schedule. He is the only wrestler that I see right now that makes the best case next to Austin. NXT is also on fire, but they do not cater enough to casual fans that are not familiar with their work outside of WWE.
Right after this news went viral, Austin got involved in some heat with Roddy Piper in regards to their Podcasts on Podcast One. Piper claimed that Austin got him fired from PodCast One after an episode where he had former Mad TV Star Will Sasso as his guest. Sasso did an impression of Stone Cold, as both he and Roddy went into some very personal information that Austin did not want to be shared over the Internet. Steve addressed Roddy's claims with facts and denied that he got Piper fired. Following this controversy, WWE fired Piper from their Legends Deal. Vince McMahon will always find value and dollars behind Stone Cold Steve Austin, and he has to protect one of his most valuable stars. Vince could not afford to have Austin's name involved with any kind of controversy while promoting the release of this game along with the promotion of the biggest WrestleMania of this generation.
Overall, Stone Cold Steve Austin is still a strong commodity in the world of marketing as I have no problem with him marketing the latest WWE 2k Video Game. WWE has been on a crusade to promote the Attitude Era as of late. They are just responding to the requests of a legion of fans who have been crying for it and now they have what they wished for. There could be a possible Monday Night Wars Mode where you could relive the events of the greatest War in Wrestling History. And That's The Bottom Line 'Cause Stone Cold Said So!
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