Actually, the mastermind behind those angles was no other than Paul Heyman himself. His writers were top notch.
Do you mean the "Owen 3:16 says I just broke your neck" angle? They played it out for maybe 3 weeks. They hyped up the PPV, but right afterwards, put Austin in a program where he won the title, but I can't remember which one it was. If I remember my title history correctly, during the Owen 3:16 angle, Austin won the IC title from Owen at the end of that program, then went right into a program with Degeneration X and Mike Tyson for mania. Triple H and Rikishi was a joke, but since Stephanie started running the creative, all the programs and angles have been crap (except the WCW and ECW invasion angles, those were pretty cool).
There are a couple of times that Austin just couldn't wrestle. When he was arrested for hitting Debra he was gone for 6 months, then he wasn't allowed to drink for like 6 months more or he would break his probation, not even in ring. Then his surgery of course. Its a shame hes as broken as he is though, hes been in some of the best matches ever. (Bret Hart-Austin "I quit" match being one of the best ever)
Hogan and Austin at Mania... wow. Hogan hasn't had a decent match since WCW (some will argue Hogan/Rock, but Rock carried him) and likely if it happens, Austin will carry Hogan here. Put Hogan in the ring with Chris Benoit, there are a few people I talk to that say that Benoit could wrestle a steel chair and make it a 3 star match
The problem now a days is they don't have feuds. Whoever the marks (IE fans who are less than knowledgeable) like, they push hard, fast, and to the top (Randy Orton and Batista anyone?)