There's the story of how they intended for Triple H to turn babyface & feud with Steve after Mania, but he nixed it. I'm assuming this wasn't decided at the last minute, and so they weren't unprepared for more possibilities for this role. Jim Ross's talked about how the heel turn could've worked if they just had one hot babyface ready for Steve. With Rock leaving to make The Scorpion King, and Hunter refusing to turn, could they have built up Kurt Angle in the weeks leading to Mania, so that he could turn face on the show? He had legit credibility as an athlete & has talked about how Pat Patterson told him that starting from No Way Out, he had to adopt a more aggressive working style, which seems like a precursor to the Wrestling Machine stuff in 2006. His match with Chris Benoit that year was made on TV just a week before the show, so it was essentially a 'we have nothing for either guy for Mania, so let's have them fight' (much like Triple H & The Undertaker that year, according to Jim Ross). If they did consider him in this role & planned ahead, think the time between No Way Out & Mania would've sufficed in getting him to this spot. But this leaves Benoit without a storyline after Mania. Unless they choose to end the Angle match with both of them shaking hands and becoming allies, so Kurt could be in the role that Jericho was when he & Benoit challenged Hunter/Austin for the tag titles. So, Haitch has an opponent in Benoit, too (with roles reversed from the last time they fought at No Mercy 2000). I kinda get why Hunter didn't want to do this. Austin had Vince on his side, who happens to be Haitch's kayfabe father-in-law. It begs the question of whether Stephanie would turn face along with her husband (much like how Debra flipped allegiances later that year, in keeping with whatever role Steve was on) or turn against him & stay with her father? It would just be too convoluted & become another McMahon family soap opera, when they had just sorta wrapped up one with Vince/Shane at Mania. Compared to that, having them both be top heels and running roughshod over the roster is a more simple story to write (though not a very interesting one). Could this have worked?   submitted by   /u/EThorns [link]   [comments]