What Could Have Been: Had the "MSG Incident"note During Scott Hall and Kevin Nash's last appearance in WWF before they left for WCW, they no-sold the finish of a match and celebrated together in the ring with Shawn Michaels and Triple H, breaking kayfabe severely. Since Vince McMahon couldn't punish Hall and Nash for it and was afraid to punish HBK, who was his top draw at the time, the full punishment for the incident fell on Triple H not taken place in 1996, Triple H, not"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, would have won the King of the Ring tournament that year. Of course, Austin's KotR victory speech was where he coined "Austin 3:16" and is looked on as a pivotal moment in his ascent to the top of the wrestling industry, meaning that without Austin's win, the Attitude Era might not have happened, and WWE might very well have gone bankrupt. Triple H would eventually win the tournament the next year in 1997.note Ironically, instances such as this may have also been the reason for Triple H steadfastily ensuring to establish himself to the top of the industry, which would become controversial in itself.
