No, doors would not close.
Just like they didn’t close when Austin or Hogan left.
Judging by Rock’s pivotal role in the attitude era, merchandise sales, fan signs, mainstream/crossover popularity, and the fans’ expressed disappointment over his last advertised (taped) appearance…
He may not have been the only reason to buy a ticket, but he was certainly a reason – a BIG reason many folks did.
And I would venture to say that there are those people who bought tickets specifically to see Rock.
When my old indy promotion advertised Mick Foley we did some of our highest attendance numbers, which means we attracted people who bought tickets specifically to see Mick.
We still drew our regular crowd for that show, and we still had a company without Mick at the next show.
But if we made up all those posters & did the radio spots, etc. advertising Cactus Jack, and then during the show wheeled out a TV and played a video of him reading a few lines, we’d have been lynched.