"Stone Cold" Steve Austin The Biggest Bad A$$ In WWE History
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964, later and formerly Steven James Williams)
better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American actor, retired professional wrestler, and WWE Hall of Famer.
After debuting in 1989, Austin wrestled for promotions such as World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment.
He is often regarded as one of the most popular superstars of all time and even regarded by some as the biggest wrestling star in the history of the wwe and has become well known for his disrespectful, beer drinking, tough guy attitude and his defiance of Mr. McMahon. Austin was forced to retire from the ring in 2003 due to a variety of chronic injuries.
Proudly raising his middle fingers in the faces of everyone who dared oppose him, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was the blue-collar warrior for the common man.
Clad in jeans and black leather often soaked in beer foam, Austin was defiant, brash and dared anyone to try and tell him what to do. When the signature sound of shattering glass erupted throughout the arena, everyone there knew that it was time to raise hell. And if you happened to be on the receiving end, well, you have our sympathies.
He gained significant mainstream popularity in the WWE (then known as 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 Mr. 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 executives Jim Ross and Paul Heyman 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". Industry veterans 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 also devised the long-standing "What?" chant in pro wrestling.
Austin 3:16:
After winning the 1996 King of the Ring, Austin stated to the then-bible thumping Jake Roberts, "Austin 3:16 says I just kicked your a**". The Austin 3:16 shirt went on to become the biggest selling shirt in the history of wrestling. Austin was a no-nonsense heel that the fans started to get behind him despite being a villain.
Austin held 19 championships throughout his wrestling career
he is a six-time WWF Champion, a two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion, and a four-time WWF Tag Team Champion, thus making him the fifth Triple Crown Champion in WWE history. He was also the winner of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, as well as the 1997, 1998, and 2001 Royal Rumbles, making him the only three-time winner of the event. Furthermore, under The Ringmaster moniker, he was awarded the unsanctioned Million Dollar Championship by the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase.
He has headlined multiple pay-per-view events for the WWF, including three WrestleManias (XIV, XV, and X-Seven).
He was forced to retire from in-ring competition in 2003 due to a series of knee injuries and a serious neck injury. 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, Austin returned to WWE to host the reboot of the reality series Tough Enough.
After retirement, Austin pursued acting with roles on TV and film.
After retiring, he went into acting where he starred in the TV show Nash Bridges (1998-1999) and films The Longest Yard (2005) and The Condemned (2007).
He also shined as host in the re-imagined series WWE Tough Enough, where his tirades toward contestants quickly became must-see television.
Austin made his triumphant return to WWE at WrestleMania 30 when he added another WrestleMania moment to his legendary resume, joining Hulk Hogan and The Rock in the ring to kick off The Showcase of Immortals.
