You say Vince McMahon (Jr or Sr) would have had no problems with letting Inoki politic his way to defeating a prime Austin in Texas. But the records show the McMahons didn't let Inoki anywhere near his biggest talents, outside of maybe Slaughter and Iron Sheik in a Battle Royal, of all things.
Those were not on cards that were co-promoted by Inoki though. Inoki was given those wins by WWE as a sign of good faith. To show they valued him not only as a popular internationally known wrestler, but as a valuable business partner. That part of my argument seemed to have gone completely over your head.
Defeating Piper, Slaughter, or Iron Sheik in the States is one thing. A mega star like Austin is another. Inoki wouldn't travel to the States to fight a wrestler as popular as Austin without something in return. He didn't need money. WWE throwing a bunch of money at Inoki to job wouldn't make sense when he ran a successful promotion back in Japan. What he'd be seeking would be to further his reputation, so that when he returned to Japan he could make even more money. That's my argument here.
If we're going by reality, Inoki fought and defeated men in the United States that weren't of the same caliber as Stone Cold.
Wins that were given to him as a sign of good faith, and did absolutely nothing to bolster his reputation once he returned to Japan. And on cards that weren't co-promoted by Inoki himself.
This is Steve Austin's and history shows it's not even close. Could Inoki have influenced McMahon to let him beat Austin? Sure. But the records show he didn't so that's not as grounded in reality as one should expect.
The evidence that you presented wasn't even relevant to my argument. Look at the Collision in Korea. The show was co-promoted by Inoki and WCW. WCW aired the show as a PPV in the States, and Flair along with a host of other WCW talent were on loan. Inoki won that match. Why do you think that was? So that Inoki could further his reputation.
Look at Inoki vs Ali. It was originally supposed to be Ali vs Bruno, but WWE didn't want to pay the 6 million dollar fee that Ali had wanted. Inoki and NJPW picked up the match and Ali's services instead. WWE co-promoted the fight. That's why Andre appeared on the under card and 30,000 fans were packed into MSG to watch the fight on closed circuit TV. The match was designed to bolster Inoki's reputation.
Steve Austin was a major star. This proposed match is not a "good faith" match like the battle royals Inoki won. Inoki certainly would not have seen it that way. He didn't need WWE's money. What he would have wanted would be to further his reputation, and that's the core of my argument. You even admit that if the business deal was good Inoki could have pressured the McMahon's into giving him a win over Austin, regardless of location.
And that's the true reality here. Even if he had to surrender half the gate to the McMahon's, Inoki would have gotten his way. A win over Austin would have allowed him to boost his rep in Japan to the point where he would have seen returns on his investment for years to come. He was just as good at playing hardball as Jr. or Sr. This is one of those rare encounters in this tournament where being a promoter with great business relationships actually helps a wrestler win a wrestling match.
It's Inoki win my friend.