Stone Cold Steve Austin

Steve Austin gained significant mainstream popularity in the WWF in the late 1990s as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, a disrespectful, beer-drinking antihero who routinely defied the establishment and his boss, company chairman Vince McMahon; this persona of Austin’s has been described as the “poster boy” of the Attitude Era, a boom period in WWF business in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Addressing his box office drawing power, McMahon and former WWE executive Jim Ross have declared Austin to be the most profitable wrestler in the history of the organization. Ross asserted: “Nobody touches Austin… No-one generated more cash in the length of their WWE career.”

Veteran professional wrestlers and multiple-time WWE Champions Ric Flair, John Cena, and CM Punk have each named Austin as the biggest star in WWE history, and, along with McMahon, have stressed that he surpassed the popularity of Hulk Hogan.

Austin held 21 championships throughout his professional wrestling career, and is a 6-time WWF Champion as well as the fifth Triple Crown Champion. He was also the winner of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, as well as the 1997, 1998, and 2001 Royal Rumbles. He was forced to retire from in ring competition in 2003, due to a series of knee and neck injuries. Throughout the rest of 2003 and 2004, he was featured as the Co-General Manager and “Sheriff” of Raw.

Since 2005, he has continued to make occasional appearances, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 by Vince McMahon. In 2011, Steve Austin returned to WWE to host the reboot of the reality series Tough Enough.

Notable Matches

vs. Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 13

vs. Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 14

vs. The Rock at Wrestlemania X7

vs. Triple H at No Way Out 2001

vs. Benoit on Smackdown, 31st May 2001

vs.. Kurt Angle at Summerslam 2001

vs. The Rock at Wrestlemania XIX

Notable Feuds

vs. Mr. McMahon

vs. The Rock

vs. Triple H

vs. Shawn Michaels

vs. Eric Bischoff

vs. Bret Hart

vs. Kurt Angle

Other Notable Achievements

Million Dollar Championship

NWA World Tag Team Championship – with Brian Pillman

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

WCW World Tag Team Championship – with Brian Pillman

WCW World Television Championship (2 times)

TWF Tag Team Championship – with The California Stud