Jim Ross has shed new light on why a long-rumored “dream match” between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan never materialized during Hogan’s final WWE run in the early 2000s.
Speaking on Grilling JR, Ross explained that the biggest obstacle wasn’t creative resistance — it was Austin’s own hesitation about the chemistry between the two megastars.
“Austin didn’t want to work with [Hogan],” Ross stated. “It was wrong place at the wrong time… Steve just didn’t have a good gut feeling that they would have passable chemistry, and just to be passable wasn’t good enough for Austin.”
According to Ross, Austin was deeply protective of his in-ring legacy and didn’t believe their styles would mesh at a level worthy of a marquee WrestleMania-level attraction. He compared Austin’s physical, aggressive approach to that of a middle linebacker — a style that may not have aligned well with Hogan’s condition at the time.
“[Steve] was kind of a middle linebacker in a squared circle, and he liked to hit people, and he liked to be aggressive,” Ross explained. “We were obviously—no one thought that Hogan could maintain that on that given calendar year… Hogan should not have even been in a ring because he couldn’t get it done anymore.”
By that stage of his career, Hogan had reportedly undergone approximately ten back surgeries, severely limiting what he could do physically. Ross pointed to Hogan’s 2003 rematch with The Rock at No Way Out 2003 as evidence of those limitations.
“Rock and Hogan situation was very disappointing,” Ross noted. “They didn’t come close to taking care of that business. And that’s very, very rare for Rock… you can only do so much for the guy that’s all crippled up, right? And that match right there kind of showed us that our investment we were making in Hogan was going to be on a part-time basis.”
While the event generated approximately 450,000 buys and also featured Austin facing Eric Bischoff in what Ross described as more of an “attraction” than a traditional wrestling match, overall business was trending downward compared to the prior year.
Ross summarized the early 2003 period as one where WWE felt “flat” and in transition — a time when timing, health, and creative direction simply didn’t align for one of the most anticipated dream matches in wrestling history.
