Career highlights: World
Wrestling Federation Championship (4), Intercontinental (2),
Tag Team (3), 1996 King
Of The Ring, 1998 Royal Rumble winner.
Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The mere mention of his name will bring any sold-out crowd
to its feet in a crazed
frenzy. Never before has the world of sports-entertainment seen
a phenomenon like the
one that Stone Cold Steve Austin has created. At any live event
you attend, all you
see is a sea of Austin 3:16. Why? 'Cause Stone Cold said so!
When the Texas Rattlesnake
entered the Mecca Arena in Milwaukee, for the 1996 King
Of The Ring, he never
could have imagined that before the evening was through, he
would change the entire
face of the wrestling world. After beating the Bible-referencing
Jake "The Snake" Roberts
to become King Of The Ring, Austin accepted his crown,
and upon doing so informed
Roberts that "Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass!"
With that simple phrase,
Austin became the most popular superstar to ever compete
in this sport.
Some peers say Stone
Cold Steve Austin is a suicide machine with lack of regard for
authority and rules.
But you can't deny this superstar is tougher than leather when he
steps through the ring
ropes. Without a doubt, there are still plenty of unwritten chapters
in the book of Austin
3:16!
------------------
HISTORY
In 1989, Steve Austin
was living in Texas and working on the loading docks unloading
trucks. His football
scholarship at North Texas State University had run out, and this
was his only way of
making some cash. During that time, he would often go to the
Sportatorium in Dallas
to watch the Von Erichs wrestle. Steve had always been a fan
of the sport, having
watched Paul Boesch’s Houston Wrestling on television while
growing up. After work
one day, Steve saw an ad for a wrestling school run by Chris
Adams. He decided to
take a shot at it, and five months later (in 1990), he had his first
professional wrestling
match for World Class Championship Wrestling. During his tenure
in WCCW, Austin and
Adams engaged in a bitter feud – with the student eventually
toppling his teacher.
In 1991, "Stunning"
Steve Austin debuted in World Championship Wrestling. Austin
spent the next five
years in the promotion. As a singles competitor, the Texan captured
the organization’s Television
Championship from Bobby Eaton on June 3, 1991, and
went on to hold that
title until April 27, 1992. Austin regained the title on May 23 from
Barry Windham, and held
it until September 2 when he lost it to Windham.
The following year,
Austin won the WCW United States Championship, defeating Dustin
Rhodes on December 27,
1993. He held the belt for eight months, finally losing it on
August 24, 1994, to
Ricky Steamboat. He went on to hold the U.S. Championship for
a second time later
that year.
Perhaps the highlight
of Austin’s WCW tenure was his partnership with "Flyin" Brian
Pillman. Vocal, tough
and exciting, the "Hollywood Blonds" were truly a team ahead
of their time. On March
2, 1993, the Blonds defeated Shane Douglas and Ricky
Steamboat to become
World Tag Team Champions.
The Blonds quickly became
the most recognizable tandem in the promotion. But after
they lost their title
belts on August 18, 1993, the powers-that-be at WCW decided that
Austin wouldn’t get
over without a gimmick. According to the front office, a wrestler in
black boots and black
trunks wasn’t marketable.
During a tour of Japan
in late 1994, the tough Texan tore his tricep and subsequently
underwent surgery to
repair it. While in rehab, the WCW hierarchy decided to fire him.
But instead of bringing
Steve into the front office to do it face to face, they took the
cowardly way out and
fired him over the phone. According to Austin, WCW treated
him like a "complete
jackass," and he was hell-bent on making them pay!
After a brief run in
ECW, Steve Austin signed a deal with the World Wrestling Federation
in late 1995. Instead
of letting the superstar "tear-ass" through the ranks, he was given the
moniker of the "Ring
Master" and was issued a mouthpiece in the form of Ted DiBiase.
The Texan knew he was
trapped and planned a swift escape.
One day Austin was talking
with his then-wife when she told him to drink his tea before
it got "stone cold"
and a name was born. A couple of months later, at the In Your House:
"Beware of Dog" Pay-Per-View
on May 16, 1996, Austin lost a Caribbean Strap Match
to Savio Vega. Due to
a match stipulation, DiBiase then had to leave the Federation.
With the perfect nickname
Austin now had the chance to stand on his own. And on June
23, 1996, he was given
the forum to show what he could do in the squared circle. That
was the night of the
King of the Ring. Austin’s semifinal opponent was "Wildman" Marc
Mero, who he quickly
vanquished. During the course of the match, he accidentally bit
his lip, and after the
war, he needed over a dozen stitches!
Still, he carried on,
and stepped into the ring for the King of the Ring finals against
Federation legend Jake
"The Snake" Roberts. Roberts had his ribs injured earlier
in the night, and Stone
Cold capitalized, eventually pinning Roberts for the King of
the Ring crown!
During the coronation
ceremony, the superstar was finally given the opportunity to speak
his mind – and the era
of "Austin 3:16" was born! "You thump your Bible, talk about
John 3:16," said Austin
to Jake Roberts. "But Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!"
Over the next few months,
Austin scored convincing victories over such superstars as
Mero, Yokozuna and Triple
H. But when gossip started to flare about Bret Hart possibly
making a return to the
Federation, Austin jumped on it. He verbally degraded the Hit Man,
spitting on his Federation
legacy. Finally, the Hit Man announced that he would indeed
return to the Federation,
and that he would face Austin at the 1996 Survivor Series.
The two battled back
and forth for a while, before Austin locked the Hit Man in DiBiase’s
"Million Dollar Dream"
sleeper hold. But Bret managed to reverse the hold to capture the
victory. As Hart celebrated,
Austin cursed his former manager’s name and vowed to
never make the same
mistake again.
Two months later at
the 1997 Royal Rumble, Austin vowed to throw the 29 other superstars
over the top rope to
earn a Federation Championship match at WrestleMania 13. Although
Austin managed to pull
out a controversial Rumble win, Hart’s whining about the outcome
cost the Rattlesnake
his title shot.
The Federation Championship
was up for grabs heading into February’s In Your House:
"Final Four" Pay-Per-View,
and Austin and Hart were put into a Fatal Four Way Match,
along with the Undertaker
and Vader. Again, Hart cost Austin the match and took the title
for himself. But this
time, Austin didn’t take it sitting down.
Leading up to the Pay-Per-View,
Austin swore that he would never utter those two words.
Indeed, the match at
the Pay-Per-View stole the show, and Austin never did say "I quit."
Late in the match, Austin
was bleeding profusely, and Austin passed out from the pain.
Shamrock stopped the
match. But as Austin left the ringside area, the sold-out crowd at
the Rosemont Horizon
in Chicago began to chant "Austin, Austin."
The following month,
Austin again faced Bret Hart at the In Your House: "Revenge of the
Taker" Pay-Per-View.
Austin won by disqualification, and the next night on RAW, he again
challenged Hart, this
time to a No Holds Barred Street Fight.
In May 1997, Austin
finally received his first shot at the World Wrestling Federation
Championship, when he
took on the Undertaker at In Your House: "A Cold Day in Hell."
Austin had the match
won, but Brian Pillman rang the bell early, which made the referee
stop his count. Pillman
then distracted Austin, allowing the Undertaker to Tombstone
piledrive the Rattlesnake
to successfully defend his title.
Austin was irate. He
declared war on the Hart Foundation – the faction that included
Pillman, Bret, Owen
Hart, the British Bulldog and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart.
On the May 25 episode
of RAW, Austin reluctantly teamed with Shawn Michaels to take
on Owen and the Bulldog,
the reigning tag team champions. Although Austin and Michaels
had their problems,
they managed to upset Owen and the Bulldog for the belts, and Austin
had his first taste
of Federation gold.
But there was no joy
in Mudville – Austin and Michaels just couldn’t get along! The two
co-holders of the Federation
Tag Team Championship actually squared off one on one
at the King of the Ring
on June 8, 1997! The match ended in a double disqualification.
Due to an injury to
Michaels, the duo was stripped of the Federation Tag Team
Championship. A tournament
was held, with the winners to face Austin and a partner of
his choice on the July
14 edition of RAW. But before that, Austin was involved in a huge
10-man showdown at In
Your House: "Canadian Stampede." Austin – who by this point
was as hated in Canada
as he was loved in the United States – teamed with the Legion
of Doom, Ken Shamrock
and Goldust to take on the Hart Foundation. After a 30-minute
war, Austin was pinned
by Owen Hart. The Rattlesnake swore revenge on Owen, the then
Intercontinental Champion.
Owen and the Bulldog
wound up winning the Tag Team Tournament, but when Austin
came to the ring on
the July 14 RAW, he was alone. Suddenly, music started to play and
Dude Love – one of Mick
Foley’s alter egos – strutted his way to the ring. A few minutes
later, Stone Cold stunned
the Bulldog, and Dude pinned the Bulldog for the win and the
Tag Team Championship.
One belt just wasn’t
enough for Austin. The Rattlesnake’s next target was the Intercontinental
Championship, in part because he wanted more gold, and also because the
championship
was around Owen Hart’s
waist. Austin challenged Owen Hart to a championship match at
SummerSlam, and he said
that if he couldn’t beat the Hart Foundation member, he would
"kiss his ass" right
in the middle of the ring!
The 1997 SummerSlam
will go down in history as a memorable night in Austin’s career
for two reasons. One,
he pinned Owen to win his first singles title. The second reason is
because at one point
in the match when Owen attempted to execute a piledriver, he landed
awkwardly and Austin
landed right on his head. Austin suffered a "stinger," and was unable
to move for more than
a minute before he miraculously was able to roll Owen up for the 1-2-3.
Because of the impact
of the piledriver, Austin was declared ineligible to compete and
stripped of both the
Intercontinental Championship and the Tag Team Championship. Both
titles were put up for
grabs, the Tag Team Championship in a Fatal Four Way Match and
the Intercontinental
Championship in a tournament.
The Tag Team Championship
was decided at September’s In Your House: "Ground Zero"
in a match between Owen
and the Bulldog, the Headbangers, the Godwinns and the Legion
of Doom. With only the
Headbangers and Owen and the Bulldog remaining, it seemed that
the Hart Foundation
members would regain their titles. But Austin made his way to ringside,
delivered a Stone Cold
Stunner to Owen and helped the Headbangers become Federation
Tag Team Champions!
One month later
at October’s In Your House: "Badd Blood," Owen met Faarooq in the finals
of the Intercontinental
Title Tournament. But this time, Austin was instrumental in helping the
Hart Foundation member
win the title, as he smashed Faarooq across the face with the title
belt, allowing Hart
to capture the pinfall and the title. But why would Austin help his archrival
win the title? Simple.
Mere weeks later, Austin was proclaimed fit to compete, and he
challenged Owen to a
title match at the Survivor Series! Austin had helped Owen to win the
title so he could once
again take it from him! The cocky Hart – still confident after the damage
he’d inflicted at SummerSlam
– agreed to a match.
At the 1997 Survivor
Series, Austin made quick work of Owen, taking just over four minutes
to win the Intercontinental
Championship for a second time. The era of Austin, which had
been on hold three months
earlier, was now right back on track.
At December’s In Your
House: "Degeneration X," Austin retained the title from The Rock.
But the following night
on RAW when Austin was forced to once again defend the title
against the third-generation
superstar, Austin refused and instead forfeited the belt!
According to Austin,
he had bigger fish to fry – his pursuit of the World Wrestling
Federation Championship!
Heading into the 1998
Royal Rumble, Austin knew he was a marked man. So he took
every opportunity he
could to attack his fellow superstars! At the Pay-Per-View, as soon
as the glass broke in
Austin’s entrance music, every superstar battling in the ring stopped
and awaited Austin’s
entry into the ring. But the Rattlesnake surprised everyone by attacking
from behind. At the
end of the Rumble, Austin was the one man left standing, earning a
WrestleMania title match
against the "Heartbreak Kid," Shawn Michaels!
Austin’s world was in
a tailspin in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania XIV. First, it was
announced that Mike
Tyson would be the special enforcer for the match. Then, Tyson
revealed that he had
joined D-Generation X, the faction led by Michaels! And then, World
Wrestling Federation
owner, Vince McMahon, revealed that he didn’t want to see Austin
become champion, much
to the surprise of Federation fans everywhere!
The Rattlesnake went
into Boston’s FleetCenter for WrestleMania XIV, and pinned
Michaels to win the
World Wrestling Federation Championship! To add insult to Michaels’
injury, it turned out
that Austin and Tyson had been in cahoots all along! The win ushered
in a whole new era of
"Attitude" in the Federation!
It took "eight long
f’n years" for Stone Cold Steve Austin to make it to the top – and now
that he was there, it
seemed that everybody wanted to knock him off! Steve Austin was
on top of the world.
Little did he know that his greatest enemy was waiting in the wings,
ready to take him down.
It took "eight long
f’n years" for Stone Cold Steve Austin to make it to the top – and now
that he was there, it
seemed that everybody wanted to knock him off! Steve Austin was
on top of the world.
Little did he know that his greatest enemy was waiting in the wings,
ready to take him down.
Although the relationship
between Austin and Federation owner Vince McMahon had
always been less than
cordial, the hatred between the two men intensified after Stone
Cold won the Federation
Championship. Austin did not fit McMahon’s idea of a champion,
and he tried to mold
Stone Cold into some kind of "corporate suit," but the Rattlesnake
spat on his every attempt.
So, the Federation owner immediately set out to take the title
away from the Rattlesnake.
The first competitor
to step up to the plate was Dude Love, who attacked Austin when
he was set to take on
McMahon on RAW. Dude was unable to defeat Austin for the title
at either April’s "Unforgiven"
or May’s "Over the Edge."
Next up was Kane, who
actually defeated Stone Cold for the championship in a First
Blood Match at the 1998
King of the Ring. But the Big Red Machine lost the title back to
Austin just one night
later on RAW!
Austin was able to successfully
defend the title for the next three months, and even had
a brief Tag Team Championship
reign with the Undertaker as his partner. But Austin
could never fully trust
the Undertaker, as he felt he was in cahoots with his brother, Kane.
Austin’s theory proved
correct.
Mr. McMahon knew he
needed a plan, so he hired the Undertaker and Kane to take the
title from Austin. At
September’s "Breakdown," Austin fought the Undertaker and Kane
for the championship
in a Triple Threat Match. Even the Rattlesnake himself could not
overcome these seemingly
insurmountable odds, and he lost the title when the Undertaker
and Kane simultaneously
pinned him.
At October’s "Judgment
Day," Austin was named the special guest referee in a match
between the Undertaker
and Kane to determine the undisputed Federation Champion.
Austin vowed that he
would not award the belt to either man. McMahon promised that
if he didn’t, he would
fire Austin on the spot!
At "Judgment Day," both
Undertaker and Kane lay unconscious on the mat. Austin
counted both of their
shoulders to the mat, and declared himself the new World Wrestling
Federation Champion!
McMahon was livid, and screamed, "Screw you, you’re fired!"
The next night on RAW,
McMahon declared that there would be a 14-man "Deadly
Game" tournament at
the ’98 Survivor Series to crown an undisputed Federation
Champion. Later that
same night, an irate Austin took the owner of the company
hostage, placing a gun
over his head.
The Rattlesnake promised
Vince that he wouldn’t feel a thing. Finally, with Vince on
his knees in the middle
of the ring, Austin shoved an envelope into his pocket, put the
gun to McMahon’s head
and pulled the trigger. A little flag with the words "Bang 3:16"
popped out of the gun!
Austin had threatened McMahon with a toy gun and caused the
owner to wet himself!
The following week,
it was revealed that the envelope Austin put in McMahon’s pocket
was a brand-new contract
guaranteeing Stone Cold at least one title shot! Austin revealed
that Shane McMahon –
tired of living under his father’s intense scrutiny – had signed the
contract behind his
father’s back. Irate at Shane, Mr. McMahon demoted his son to a lowly
referee. At the
Survivor Series, Stone Cold earned a disqualification win in the opening
round against the Big
Boss Man. In the second round he was pitted against Mankind, a
superstar who many fans
thought was Mr. McMahon’s choice to win the tournament.
Austin hit a Stunner
on his opponent, but before the referee could count Mankind out,
Mr. McMahon pulled the
ref out of the ring and knocked him out cold.
Shane soon ran down
the aisle, seemingly coming to the aid of the Rattlesnake. But after
smacking the mat a second
time, the younger McMahon simply smiled and flipped Austin
the middle finger. It
had been a conspiracy all along! As Austin chased Shane, Mankind
leveled the Rattlesnake
with a chair and pinned him to move on in the tournament.
As it turned out, the
McMahons were just using Mankind, and The Rock became the
corporate champion that
night. But invoking a clause in his new contract, the Rattlesnake
got a title match against
The Rock the very next night on RAW! In this confrontation,
Austin hit a Stunner
on the "Great One," but Corporation member Ken Shamrock pulled
the ref out of the ring,
earning Stone Cold a win via disqualification.
In the following weeks,
McMahon made it known that the only way Austin would qualify
for the Royal Rumble
was if he were to defeat the Undertaker … in a Buried Alive Match!
Austin did exactly that
at December’s "Rock Bottom"!
Mr. McMahon made Austin
a promise heading into the Royal Rumble: There was "No
Chance In Hell" that
Austin would win the 30-man spectacular. McMahon even announced
that Austin would be
the first superstar to enter the ring, meaning that to win, the Rattlesnake
would have to survive
for more than one hour!
Commissioner Shawn Michaels
threw a wrench into McMahon’s plan, however, when he
announced that McMahon
himself would be the second entrant into the Rumble, meaning
that the owner of the
company would have to face off against Stone Cold!
At the Rumble, Austin
and McMahon battled furiously for the first two minutes of the
contest. After a Stunner,
Stone Cold had the opportunity to throw McMahon over the top
rope, but elected instead
to inflict more pain onto the Federation owner. The two battled
through the crowd and
into a restroom, where the Corporation was waiting for Austin.
It had been a trap all
along!
Austin was taken away
in an ambulance. The Rumble match continued, and later in the
match, Austin returned
to the arena! The Rattlesnake got back in the ring and opened
up a "can of whoop-ass,"
eliminating numerous superstars before finally eliminating the
Big Boss Man, making
the final participants himself and McMahon! The two tussled back
and forth before the
Corporate Champion – The Rock – made his way to ringside. The
Rock distracted Austin,
allowing McMahon to throw him over the top rope. Vince McMahon
had won the Royal Rumble.
The next night on RAW,
McMahon relinquished his rights to the position of No. 1 contender,
saying that he didn’t
want to fight The Rock. Big mistake! Austin and Commissioner
Michaels appeared on
the TitanTron, citing a clause in the Federation rulebook which
states that "if the
Rumble winner relinquishes his rights to the WrestleMania title shot, then
the runner-up gets the
shot!" Austin also issued Vince a challenge: If Vince could defeat
him in a Steel Cage
Match, then Austin would give up his title shot. The two met at "St.
Valentine’s Day Massacre."
Austin took advantage of his opportunity, brutalizing McMahon,
at one point throwing
him off the cage through a table!
Austin seemingly had
the match at hand, when seven-foot, 500-pound Big Show came out
from under the ring!
Showing allegiance to McMahon, the Show attacked Austin. But the
plan backfired – Big
Show threw Austin into the cage with such force that the cage broke,
and Austin fell to the
floor and won the match!
The scene was set for
a WrestleMania XV showdown with The Rock. Austin vowed to
check into Room 316
at the SmackDown Hotel, and to "burn the son of a bitch to the
ground!" Indeed, Austin
came out of the title match in Philadelphia’s First Union Center
as a three-time World
Wrestling Federation Champion, much to the dismay of Mr. McMahon!
The next night on RAW,
Austin demanded the return of his "Smoking Skull" championship
belt, which Shane McMahon
refused. Shane instead gave the belt, which is Austin’s personal
property, to The Rock!
Also, Shane announced that he would be the special referee for the
rematch between the
two adversaries at April’s "Backlash."
At the Pay-Per-View,
Shane’s biased officiating was almost able to strip the title from
the Rattlesnake. But
thanks to Vince McMahon’s assistance, the Rattlesnake was victorious!
The next superstar to
set his sights on the Rattlesnake was the Undertaker. Besides vowing
to take his title, the
Undertaker promised to sacrifice Austin’s body, mind and soul to his
"Greater Power." With
the help of Shane McMahon, who again named himself the special
guest referee, Undertaker
was able to win the title from Austin.
Weeks later, the Undertaker
revealed his "Greater Power" to the Rattlesnake – Vince
McMahon! The man who
Austin thought had changed his colors had been plotting against
him all along! But Austin
was one step ahead of the male McMahons, and thanks to help
from the female McMahons,
Austin was named the new Chief Executive Officer of the
World Wrestling Federation!
The McMahon boys just
couldn't tolerate the Rattlesnake at the C.E.O., so they challenged
him to a match with
full control of the Federation on the line. Under controversial circumstances,
Shane and Vince were
able to come away with a win at the King of the Ring, and they
promptly fired the Stone
Cold C.E.O. Knowing that he would no doubt get screwed by
Vince and Shane, Austin
made sure to book himself a Federation Championship Match
while he was still C.E.O.
He got that match the night after King of the Ring, downing the
Undertaker on RAW IS
WAR, to become a four-time Federation Champion.
One month later, he
beat the Undertaker again, this time in a "First Blood End of an Era
Match" at Fully Loaded.
Under the stipulations of the match, Vince McMahon was forced
to leave Federation
television forever! But although his archnemesis was banished from
television, Austin still
had many a challenge as the Federation Champion. Insisting that it
was "his time," Triple
H stepped up to the plate and earned himself the title of No. 1
contender. But in a
wild turn of events, Mankind wiggled his way into championship
contention, and a Triple
Threat Match was ordered at SummerSlam. Mankind walked
away with the title,
and a furious Triple H brutally attacked Austin after the match.
No doubt, in the weeks
and months to come, Stone Cold will be gunning for Triple H,
