Why did Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Hulk Hogan never happen?

Who would have won in a Steve Austin vs Hulk Hogan match?

Professional wrestling is built on dream matches.

Whether it be watching the champion against the top contender, a veteran vs the next up and coming star or a legend vs legend encounter, fans always want to see the next dream match on the calendar.

WWE have never been shy in booking these kinds of matches. Whether it be John Cena vs The Rock, The Rock vs Hulk Hogan or Hulk Hogan vs Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon knows these once (or twice) in a lifetime matches will make him money and get the fans on board.

However, not all dream matches take place. You can read a comprehensive list of these matches by clicking this link, to read about the likes of Sting vs Undertaker, Goldberg vs Stone Cold and Eddie Guerrero vs Shawn Michaels as some of the biggest matches to never take place.

However, except for the aforementioned Sting vs Undertaker match, there is no bigger dream match in wrestling than Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Hulk Hogan. This match never happened in WWE, and Austin could never break through the glass ceiling in WCW to get near the Hulkster.

However, the pair were both part oft he WWE roster in 2002. Austin wrestled Scott Hall on the card when the dream match of The Rock vs Hulk Hogan took place. It was an all-time great match but many thought that Austin should have taken the role as the Hulkster’s opponent.

The pair had a year together in WWE to face off. While they did face each other in the ring once, as part of a NWO vs Austin/Rock handicap match, the singles match between the two WWE Hall of Famers never came to pass.

This was a huge shame for many and now remains only as a match you can see for your own eyes by playing as the pair in WWE 2K22.

However, there was a good reason why Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan never faced off, revealed by someone very close to both men at the time…

Steve Austin vs Hulk Hogan

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross revealed in a recent interview that the reason Steve Austin vs Hulk Hogan was down to Stone Cold.

In the most recent episode of the Grilling JR podcast, the AEW Commentator took a deep dive with co-host Conrad Thompson into the Judgement 2002 pay per view. The pair discussed the Hulk Hogan vs Undertaker match for the Undisputed Championship on the show which saw The Undertaker win his last WWE Championship.

The conversation turned to why the main event of that show featured Hulk Hogan vs Undertaker (a match that had happened 10 years ago already) rather than the dream match of Steve Austin vs Hulk Hogan. While Hogan did face the likes of The Rock, Shawn Michaels and Brock Lesnar in his final WWE run, the ultimate dream of of Stone Cold vs Hogan never materialised.

Jim Ross revealed that the reason why Austin, who had one foot out the door and whose relationship with WWE was dematerialising by the day, did not want to face Hulk Hogan at Judgement Day 2002 and was instead relegated to handicap match in the midcard against Big Show and Ric Flair.

On the Grilling Jr podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross said;

“Austin didn’t have the match with Hogan because he didn’t want to have the match the Undertaker did. Hogan was battered, beat up, multiple back surgeries.”

“It’s funny when people say ‘What’s the really important things to learn in pro wrestling training?’ Well, you’ve got to learn to take a great flatback bump because about 98% of the stuff you see ends with a flatback bump.”

“So being able to execute a flatback bump, which sounds very simple, and it is, but a lot of guys spend no time on it, they’d rather spend more time on Tope Suicidas and sh*t like that than how to sell or how to take a flatback.”