Stone Cold Steve Austin

Austin 3:16

For months after joining the WWF, Steve Austin was stuck in the middle of the card. That changed at the 1996 King of the Ring in Milwaukee. After beating Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the final, who was then playing a born-again Christian, Austin ad-libbed a mocking speech that twisted the Bible verse John 3:16 into "Austin 3:16."

The line became one of the most famous catchphrases in wrestling. By May 1997, Austin 3:16 shirts were reported to be the WWF's best-selling T-shirts since the days of Hulkamania, and they remain among the best-selling shirts the business has ever produced.

The match that flipped the crowd

At WrestleMania 13 in 1997, Austin faced Bret Hart in a submission match with Ken Shamrock as special referee. Austin, bleeding heavily, passed out in Hart's Sharpshooter rather than give up. American fans began cheering the foul-mouthed rebel and booing Hart, a rare double switch, and many still call it one of the greatest matches ever.

Later that year Owen Hart accidentally injured Austin's neck at SummerSlam. Austin changed his style from technical wrestling to a brawling approach that suited his character perfectly.

Austin vs. McMahon

The WWF leaned into a rougher, more adult tone that fans came to call the Attitude Era. Its heart was Austin's war with Vince McMahon, the company chairman, playing a villainous version of himself. On September 22, 1997, on the first Raw broadcast from Madison Square Garden, Austin dropped McMahon with a Stone Cold Stunner and the crowd erupted.

At WrestleMania XIV on March 29, 1998, in Boston, Austin beat Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship, with boxer Mike Tyson counting the final pin as the special enforcer. Two weeks later, on April 13, Raw beat Nitro in the ratings for the first time since 1996.

Walking away

Knee injuries and the damaged neck shortened his career. Austin lost to The Rock at WrestleMania XIX on March 30, 2003, and stepped away from full-time competition. He entered the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, and at WrestleMania 38 in 2022 he laced up the boots one more time against Kevin Owens, his first match in 19 years.

← The Monday Night WarsThe Rock →