One of the greats in the pro wrestling industry, Steve Austin made his in-ring debut on September 30, 1989 with a company called World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). In 1991 he arrived at WCW, having also passed through ECW before joining in 1995, the promoter in which he became famous. In addition to six world titles, two intercontinental and four tag team titles, “Stone Cold” won the Royal Rumble three times (record), was a main event in three WrestleManias and starred in memorable rivalries with Vince McMahon, Bret Hart or The Rock.
At a time when he was already quite afflicted with injuries, namely in the arms, neck and knees, Austin withdrew in 2003 after a loss to The Rock at WrestleMania XIX. Six years later, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. There was one last match for Stone Cold, an impromptu brawl with Kevin Owens nearly 20 years later at WrestleMania 38.
In Your House 8: Beware of Dog 2 (1996)
Caribbean Strap match: Savio Vega vs. Steve Austin
On the March 11 edition of Raw , Savio Vega and Steve Austin faced each other for the first time and tied, due to double countout . This outcome made a simple duel the beginning of a rivalry and a series of fights. At WrestleMania XII, which marked their debut in the biggest event of the year, Austin came out on top. On the April 13 episode of Superstars , Savio Vega wrestled under the name The Caribbean Kid and beat Austin via pinfall , in what was Austin’s first WWF loss, and revealed his true identity after the match. For the dogfight, a Caribbean Strap match was scheduled between the two on the second night of the In Your House 8: Beware of Dog event.
Survivor Series 1996
#1 Contendership for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship:
Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin
After being defeated by Shawn Michaels in an Ironman match that lasted more than an hour and losing the WWF Major Title at WrestleMania XII, Bret Hart took a sabbatical. At the same time, a star named Stone Cold Steve Austin was emerging , who won the King Of The Ring tournament in June and after that achievement began to tease Hart .
After eight months without a fight, The Hitman accepted Austin’s challenge, in a match that would determine the main candidate for the title that Shawn Michaels would put in play against Sycho Sid in the same PPV.
WrestleMania 13
Submission match: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin
(Ken Shamrock as guest referee)
After Bret Hart got the better of the 1996 Survivor Series , the rivalry continued for a few more months, with both being left until the end in the 1997 Royal Rumble . At one point, Hart thought he had eliminated Austin, but this elimination was not made official. because the referees didn’t see it because they were watching a brawl between the already eliminated Mankind and Terry Funk.
At the next PPV , In Your House 13: Final Four, Bret Hart won the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a match that also involved Austin, Vader and The Undertaker . However, a day later on Monday Night Raw , Austin cost Hart the title , allowing Sycho Sid to become champion. However, with the submission match scheduled for WrestleMania 13 between Hart and Austin, Hart had the opportunity to regain the title in a steel cage match and even came close to winning, but Undertaker interfered and helped Sid achieve the victory.
King of the Ring 1997
Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin
On the May 26, 1997 episode of Raw is War , Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels beat Owen Hart and British Bulldog to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. However, after winning the titles, Austin went to fight Bret Hart , while Michaels was left alone and was attacked by the rest of The Hart Foundation, which immediately created a climate of tension between the newly crowned champions. The following week, Austin and Michaels began fighting each other during a fight in which they defended their belts against the Legion of Doom.
All this led to a match between the two at the King Of The Ring to determine the team captain.
Unforgiven: In Your House (1998)
WWF Championship : Steve Austin (c) vs. Dude Love
During the weeks leading up to WrestleMania XIV, Vince McMahon revealed in an interview that it would be a PR nightmare if Steve Austin won the WWF Championship , which he did. After the event, tension between McMahon and Austin escalated, with several teasing from both sides.
On the April 13 episode of Raw is War , Austin gave the WWF President two choices: either they would fight in a match or McMahon would be attacked backstage . McMahon agreed to fight in the ring, but when he got to the ring he remembered that Austin had promised he could defeat him with one hand tied behind his back. Before the match began, Mick Foley appeared with his alter-ego Dude Love , attacked McMahon, and applied a Mandible Claw to Austin.
Meanwhile, a match between Dude Love and Austin was scheduled for Unforgiven. A week before the event, McMahon promised to be in the vicinity of the ring during the match and promised that something catastrophic would happen. Austin commented on these statements and said that McMahon had only sat ringside once and that was at Survivor Series 1997, scored by the Montreal Screwjob. However, in this last Raw is War before the PPV , Dude Love was declared the winner of a match against Steve Blackman when the bell rang while he was applying a submission, in yet another allusion to the Montreal Screwjob.
Backlash 1999
No Holds Barred match for the WWF Championship (Shane McMahon guest referee): Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs. The Rock
It all started the year before, when Steve Austin became WWE Champion at WrestleMania XIV, something that displeased the company’s owner, Vince McMahon, who didn’t want to have a beer-loving rebel as the company’s main figure. So McMahon began to make Austin’s reign and life hell.
However, the WWF Championship was vacated in September after The Undertaker and Kane both settled in Austin at the same time during a handicap match at Breakdown: In Your House. The following month, Austin refereed a match between Kane and Undertaker to determine the new champion, but ended up attacking both, causing the match to end in no contest .
At Survivor Series , The Rock won a tournament to determine the new champion after the McMahon family framed Austin in the semifinals and Mankind in the finals.
However, the 1999 Royal Rumble was already on the horizon and the McMahon family did their best to keep Austin from winning. First, he put him in a Buried Alive match against The Undertaker in which his presence in the Royal Rumble match was at stake , but Stone Cold won.
at the Royal Rumble, Austin came in first and it was reported that whoever eliminated him would receive a $100,000 bounty, but Stone Cold survived most of the match until he was eliminated by Vince McMahon at the end.
On the following night’s Raw is War , McMahon handed the bounty to TheRock , who helped him eliminate Austin, and announced that he would not make use of the opportunity he had gained to fight for the title at WrestleMania XV. McMahon planned to choose The Rock ‘s opponent for the big event, but was interrupted by Commissioner Shawn Michaels , who informed him that WWF rules say that if the winner of the Royal Rumble to give up that opportunity, the title shot would be offered to the runner-up, which in this case was Steve Austin.
Therefore, Austin used this mistake by McMahon to face him in the ring, in a match where the opportunity for the WWF Championship was at stake in a Steel Cage match. Despite interference from Big Show, Austin did achieve the victory.
At WrestleMania XV, Austin beat The Rock to win the title , but in the weeks that followed, both had memorable moments, with The Rock tossing Austin and the belt off a Detroit bridge into the river. The following week, in the form of enjoyment The Rockarranged a funeral for Austin, but Austin used a monster truck to crush The Rock ‘s limousine and hearse .
During the Sunday Night Heat before Backlash , Shane McMahon announced that the Austin- The Rock match would have no disqualifications and announced that he would referee himself.
No Way Out 2001 | Three Stages of Hell match:
Triple H vs. Steve Austin
The rivalry between the two began at SummerSlam 1999, when Triple H , after failing to win the WWF Championship in a triple threat match that also involved Steve Austin and Mankind , decided to hit Austin with several chairs.
The Game and Stone Cold would face off at this year’s No Mercy pay-per-view , with Triple H emerging victorious after The Rock accidentally hit Austin with a sledgehammer that was aimed at Triple H.
At Survivor Series , Austin was to compete in a triple threat match for the WWF Championship against champions Triple H and The Rock , but was run over in the parking lot and was eventually replaced by Big Show, who would eventually win the title.
After that accident, Austin underwent surgery on his neck and only returned to action nine months later. Upon his return, Rikishi admitted that he had run over Stone Cold , but Triple H eventually revealed that he was the one who paid Rikishi after he hit Austin over the head with a sledgehammer.
At Survivor Series 2000, Triple H tried to repeat the previous year’s recipe, but Steve Austin took the game ‘s automobile. with a forklift and dropped it to a height of more than six meters, which led to a fight between the two ending in no contest .
On the January 8 episode of Raw Is War , Austin challenged champion Kurt Angle to a WWF Championship match , but the match ended in a no contest after Triple H interfered and hit Austin with a metal pipe.
At the Royal Rumble 2001 it was Triple H ‘s turn to face Angle in a title match, but when The Game seemed to be one step away from victory Austin interfered and cost him the defeat. Shortly thereafter, on the same night, Austin won the Royal Rumble match.
In order for Triple H and Austin to end their feud once and for all, Vince McMahon announced a best-of-three match between the two at the No Way Out pay-per-view , with the first fall being a regular match, the second a street fight and the third, if necessary, a steel cage match .
McMahon further decreed “zero tolerance” and said that if one attacked the other before No Way Out, Austin would lose his shot at the WWF Championship at WrestleMania X-Seven and the The game would be suspended for six months. After Austin signed the contract for the match, Triple H hit him with a clipboard in the back of the head and attacked him, later stating that he still had to sign the contract, which he did.
In the week leading up to the big match, Austin landed a Stone Cold Stunner on Triple H’s wife , Stephanie McMahon, during Raw Is War . In turn, Triple H performed a Pedigree on Austin’s friend and commentator Jim Ross during the episode of SmackDown! .
WrestleMania X-Seven
In the WWF Championship Disqualification match :
The Rock (c) vs. Steve Austin
The Rock and Steve Austin had previously battled for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania XV and Backlash 1999, reigniting their rivalry two years later after “Stone Cold” won the opportunity to compete for the title at WrestleMania X-Seven by winning the Royal Rumble . 2001 match. At the same time, The Rock became WWF Champion for the sixth time by beating Kurt Angle at No Way Out 2001.
During the feud , Austin’s wife, Debra, was trying to return to being manager, but the president of the WWF, Vince McMahon, ordered him to be manager of The Rock, even against her, Austin and The Rock ‘s wishes . Frustrated, Austin said he would hold The Rock and McMahon responsible if something bad happened to his wife.
During the March 12, 2001 episode of Raw is War , Debra attempted to help The Rock free himself from Kurt Angle ‘s Ankle Lock during a match, but ended up suffering an Ankle Lock herself . Austin immediately rushed to save her, threw Angle out of the ring, and performed a Stone Cold Stunner on The Rock . The following week, during a handicap match involving
The Rock , Chris Jericho , Kurt Angle , Chris Benoit, and William Regal, Austin went to the ring, but ended up suffering a Rock Bottom from The Rock in response to what had happened seven days earlier.
On the March 29 episode of SmackDown! , Debra was released from her manager role by Vince McMahon after failing to stop a brawl between Rock and Austin.
SmackDown! (May 31, 2001)
WWF Championship : Steve Austin (c) vs. Chris Benoit
After losing his tag team champion status and his teammate Triple H being injured, Steve Austin devoted himself to defending the WWF Championship and feuding with new tag team champions Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho.
At the start of SmackDown! On May 31, in Canada, Benoit and Jericho suggested to Vince McMahon that Austin find a partner in order to get a rematch to fight for the titles he lost, but what ended up being scored, despite the company president’s resistance, was a WWF Championship match between Austin and Benoit.
SummerSlam 2001
WWF Championship : Steve Austin (c) vs. Kurt Angle
WWF Champion Steve Austin turned his back on the company in July 2001 at the PPV Invasion , costing Team WWF (Steve Austin, Kurt Angle , Chris Jericho , The Undertaker and Kane) a loss to Team WCW/ECW (Booker T , Diamond Dallas Page, Rhyno, Bubba Ray Dudley, and D-Von Dudley ) when applying a Stunner to Kurt Angle .
The following night on Raw is War , Austin justified it by admitting that he felt WWF President Vince McMahon wanted to replace him at the top of the company with Angle . And that same night, Austin attacked Angleduring a tabletop match, creating even more friction between the two. Days later, on the July 26 edition of SmackDown! , Angle challenged Steve Austin to a WWF title match, but Austin preferred to put Booker T to defend the WCW title against Angle , with Angle winning the belt that night despite Austin’s interference. However, on the following Raw Is War , Angle lost the WWF title to Booker T due to interference from Austin and Shane McMahon, but returned to challenge Stone Cold to put the WWF Championship on the line at SummerSlam ., something that was accepted, making official the first duel between them in PPV for the main belt of the promoter.