This week I will profile the career
of the most popular and one of the greatest wrestlers of all time: "Stone
Cold" Steve Austin.
The man now
called Stone Cold was once a blonde haired momma's boy in the WCW who was
known as "Stunning" Steve Austin.(This is where the Stunner came from.)
Anyway, he was a tag team champion there with his partner, the late "Flyin'"
Brian Pillman. He was a tag team wrestler to the bone, but in late 1995,
he was fired over the phone by Ted Turner. He wrestled for a while in small
wrestling organizations, but then his big break came when he signed on
with WWF.
Early in his
time there, he was part of "Money Inc.", where he was given the Million
Dollar belt and was known as "The Ringmaster". But after losing to Savio
Vega in a leather strap match that Ted DiBiase wagered his career on, Austin
had to come up with a new gimmick. But first, he needed a new move.
It was an episode
of WWF Superstars when he announced that he had a new finshing move to
show the world. He was easily whooping Flash Funk, and as sudden as he
announced it he had unveiled to the world the legendary "Stone Cold" Stunner.
Even I felt the impact, and apparently so did Vince McMahon, for he signed
on "Stone Cold" to Bret Hart's return to the WWF match at the 1996 Survivor
Series. He eventually lost to Hart, but it was apparent that a new Superstar
was born.
His next big
crime was at the 1997 Royal Rumble. He was one of the last 4 men, and was
knocked over the top by Bret Hart. He was not done yet. The referee was
looking in the other direction when he was eliminated, so he came back
into the ring and eliminated every body else!
Although this
act of cunning did not last, his popularity was just starting to grow.
His feud with the Hart family, who people despised, caused everybody to
love him. And his antics lasted all the way through the year, until he
got serious about the belt. He managed to win the 1998 Royal Rumble, winning
a shot at Shawn Michaels. And he won, as any WWF fan should know, and the
rest is history.
Next Week: X-Pac