Post by Shadow on Oct 25, 2005 19:27:22 GMT -5
Besides being one of the most popular, dangerous and rebellious Superstars in the history of WWE, Stone Cold Steve Austin is also a six-time WWE Champion, the only three-time Royal Rumble Match winner and a King of the Ring winner, among many other distinctions. He has also won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania on three separate occasions.
Stone Cold Steve Austin broke into the world of sports-entertainment in 1990 in Texas, where he was trained by "Gentleman" Chris Adams. It was against Adams that Stone Cold had his first heated rivalry. It only fanned the flames when Steve took on Lady Blossom, Adams' ex-wife, as his manager. Stone Cold's USWA tenure lasted about a year before he moved on to WCW. There, he won the WCW Television Championship immediately under the moniker of "Stunning" Steve Austin. It would be the first of two TV championship reigns while in WCW.
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat would wrest the Television Championship from Stone Cold at Clash of the Champions, and the Alliance split up not long after. But this series of events had a silver lining, as Stone Cold found chemistry and substantial success teaming with Brian Pillman as "The Hollywood Blondes." The two would strut to the ring, taking turns playing the role of film director and movie star under the lights and before the attentive crowd.
Later on Steve suffered a knee injury and was written off by WCW. Head of WCW Eric Bischoff fired Steve over the phone. Injured and unemployed, Steve went home to rehabilitate his knee and drink plenty of beer. While recuperating, he received an unexpected phone call from ECW owner Paul Heyman, his former WCW manager. Heyman offered Steve a forum to air his grievances about WCW. He gave Steve a microphone and told him run wild with it. What followed were a series of scathing commentary segments, including "Monday Nyquil" mocking WCW's Monday Nitro television broadcast. When "Superstar" Steve Austin let his passion and personality out, he struck a chord and caught on with the fans like never before.
In January 1996, Steve received an opportunity to join WWE as Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Champion." Using the moniker of "The Ringmaster," Steve battled Matt Hardy and Marty Jannetty before experiencing his first WrestleMania (XII) in a win over Savio Vega. But at the In Your House event titled "Beware of Dog," Steve lost a special Strap Match to Vega. As a result, DiBiase was forced to leave WWE. Without DiBiase holding the reins, Steve had the opportunity to strike out on his own. He promptly declared that he lost to Vega on purpose to get rid of the overbearing DiBiase. Now, he was his own man in WWE, and would be known as "Stone Cold Steve Austin."
A defiant Stone Cold won the 1996 King of the Ring tournament in June, defeating Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the finals. He began badmouthing Bret Hart soon thereafter, who was on hiatus from WWE, but eventually Bret Hart answered the longstanding challenge. Their rivalry continued through Royal Rumble and into WrestleMania 13. Stone Cold refused to tap to the Sharpshooter, but he eventually passed out from excessive blood loss, ending the bout. The image of Stone Cold caught in the Sharpshooter will forever be remembered as one of the greatest moments in WrestleMania history.
Thereafter, Stone Cold's claims to fame are many, but he is perhaps best remembered for his battles with WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon that began in 1998. The rivalry led to Stone Cold occupying many unique roles outside the ring, including a stint as WWE CEO. In fact, it was Mr. McMahon who spoke out against Stone Cold's return during a meeting with the WWE Board of Directors to decide The Rattlesnake's reinstatement -- yet another battle against Mr. McMahon that Stone Cold won.
While a neck injury may have forced Stone Cold to stop competing in the ring after WrestleMania XIX, he continues to be a star. And since he recently signed a three-picture deal under the WWE Films banner, he will soon be thrust back into the international spotlight. But whether it's Hollywood or in the WWE ring, Stone Cold will always be a trash-talking, beer-swilling, finger-gesturing, ass-kicking son of a *****... and he, and the millions of WWE fans around the world would not have it any other way.
Finishers:
Stunner 1
Stunner 3
Screens:
Videos:
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
