Hometown: Victoria, Texas
Title(s) Held: Intercontinental (2), Tag Team (1), Championship (1)
Finishing Move: Stone Cold Stunner
. 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 professional wrestling 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? Because Stone Cold said so!!
When Steve Austin entered the Mecca Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the 1996 King of the Ring, he never could have imagined that before the evening was through, he would begin to 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 @#$!” That was all it took. With that simple phrase Steve Austin had become the most popular superstar to ever compete in this sport.
Austin staked his claim of being the toughest S.O.B. to ever compete in the World Wrestling Federation and at WrestleMania 13 he proved his point. Bret Hart and Stone Cold were competing in a submission match. A pinfall did not count, a count-out did not matter and you could not win by disqualification. You had to get your opponent to submit. With Austin cut above his left eye, Hart placed Stone Cold in the “Sharpshooter” for what seemed like an eternity. Quickly losing a great amount of blood, Austin would not give up and instead fell unconscious, forcing special guest referee Ken Shamrock to end the match. Even though he was not officially credited with the victory, the amount of respect Stone Cold received from that match was immeasurable. Now everyone had to take note--Stone Cold Steve Austin was going to back up anything he said!!
Austin continued trying to destroy the Hart Foundation. With Bret out of action for a while, Stone Cold turned his attention to Owen Hart and the British Bulldog, and he reluctantly teamed with Shawn Michaels to defeat them and take away their Federation Tag Team belts. A few months later at SummerSlam, Steve Austin and Owen Hart once again crossed paths with Federation Gold on the line, but this time it was Hart’s Intercontinental Title. Although Austin defeated Owen to become the Intercontinental Champion, the Rattlesnake suffered a severe neck injury which was at the very least career-threatening. Barely able to walk out of Continental Airlines Arena that night, Austin went on live TV the next evening to challenge Hart to a rematch. Federation officials would not let Stone Cold in the ring until he received medical clearance. For the next few weeks, Austin went on a tirade at Federation officials, physically assaulting everyone from Commissioner Slaughter to commentator Jim Ross to Federation Chairman Vince McMahon!! Austin felt he was ready to get back in the ring and didn’t appreciate everyone telling him what he could and could not do.
At the 1997 Survivor Series in Montreal, Quebec, Stone Cold returned to action. Owen Hart was once again the Intercontinental Champion, having won the belt in a tournament after Austin was forced to give it up. Stone Cold wanted “his” title back from the “King of Harts”, and he got it!
Austin held on to the belt for over a month when, one day after defeating Rocky Maivia at D-Generation X, he just handed it over to The Rock, claiming he had “bigger fish to fry.” And what exactly is that bigger fish? Well, in his own words to Vince McMahon, Austin let us know recently on Raw is War. “I done been the Intercontinental Champion, I done been a Tag Team Champion. Hell, son, there ain’t but one belt in the Federation I’m interested in.” Everyone knew exactly what belt Stone Cold Steve Austin was talking about, especially the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. Austin has challenged for the World Wrestling Federation Title before, but has never been able to win it. One thing Stone Cold has proven time and time again is that he backs up EVERYTHING he says. The Texas Rattlesnake earned a title shot at WrestleMania XIV by winning the 1998 Royal Rumble. Will Austin 3:16 say, “I just became the new World Wrestling Federation Champion,”when he leaves Boston on March 29?
