WWE: Bruce Prichard reveals why Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin's fight never materialised

Bruce Prichard has revealed why Hulk Hogan and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's fight never happened. The former WWE producer said the fight did not materialise as the company thought it was best that the Hulkster and The Rock squared off at WrestleMania 18 instead, even as a fight between Hogan and Austin was discussed for the pay-per-view (PPV) event.

Prichard said on the Something to Wrestle podcast that the WWE did not go with a fight between Hogan vs Austin for the event as it was a "bigger match" and there was a consensus to hype the fight, which in the end never happened.

"Well I can tell you from my vantage point and my discussions were, where are we going to go because the match was Austin and Hulk or Rock and Hulk. I think everyone agreed that Austin and Hulk were the bigger match that we had to get to, so the feeling was, why to give to them first, let's build it some more," Prichard pointed out.

"Rock and Hogan were interchangeable in their careers. Originally it was planned for Rock and Hulk and then eventually get to Austin and Hulk at some point, whether that be at the next WrestleMania or not. There may have been discussions where one wasn't going to put the other over, but that was just gesturing and positioning."

Prichard also noted that fans loved the fight between Hogan and The Rock as they were "on their feet the entire match". He added that although The Rock was the babyface and Hogan the heel in the fight, fans were left guessing as to which gimmick the two superstars were playing as they "did a great job of switching roles" as they "adapted and went with the crowd".