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Stone Cold Steve AustinSteve Williams (born December 18, 1964) best known by his stage name Stone Cold Steve Austin, is a professional wrestler from Victoria, Texas. His birth name was Steven James Anderson; he received the surname Williams when he was adopted by his stepfather (his biological father had left the family when he was a small child). He went on to play football at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas), and began his wrestling career in the late 1980s in Texas. He took the ring name Steve Austin because there was already a prominent wrestler with the ring name (and real name) Steve Williams. World Championship Wrestling/Extreme Championship Wrestling Austin wrestled in World Championship Wrestling as "Stunning" Steve Austin, making a major name for himself as a member (with Brian Pillman) of the Hollywood Blonds, a heel tag team that became one of the most famous teams of the early 1990s. However, WCW management, especially Eric Bischoff, did not think highly of his potential. First, the Hollywood Blonds were broken up at the height of their career as a team; later, Austin was arguably held back from a place in WCW's upper level of singles wrestlers. Eventually, Bischoff fired Austin over the phone while Austin was recovering from an injury. Austin felt offended that Bischoff did not notify him in person, since WCW's Atlanta headquarters were a short drive from where he was staying. After leaving WCW, he briefly went to Extreme Championship Wrestling. As "Superstar" Steve Austin, he began to develop the Stone Cold gimmick that would make him famous, starring in a series of memorable backstage skits. World Wrestling Entertainment In late 1995, Austin joined the then-WWF, but was given a gimmick that made it difficult for him to catch on with fans. Not liking his ring name of "The Ringmaster", Austin asked WWF writers to come up with a new name for his character that would suggest a cold-hearted persona; according to legend, the writers suggested "Chilly McFreeze" and "Ice Dagger". Austin then came up with the name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, reportedly after his then-wife Jeannie advised him to drink his tea before it became "stone cold". Austin 3:16 His rise to superstardom began in 1996, when he was booked to win the WWF's King of the Ring tournament. In the final match, he defeated Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who was then incorporating a Christian message in his gimmick. After the match, he cut a promo (made a promotional interview) which mocked Jake: "You sit there and you thumb your Bible and say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!" Austin 3:16 instantly became one of the most popular catchphrases in wrestling history. Interestingly, he was not originally intended to win the tournament; the WWF originally booked Hunter Hearst Helmsley (now Triple H) to win. However, the WWF changed its plans a few weeks before the pay-per-view because of the MSG Incident (for more details, see Clique). At Survivor Series 1996 Austin battled the returning Bret "Hit Man" Hart in a well-paced match which helped created the foundations for the feud between the two. Austin controversially won the 1997 Royal Rumble Match after already being eliminated and then sneaking back into the ring unnoticed to eliminate Bret "Hit Man" Hart. This was the heightening of a bitter feud between Hart and Austin, which led to the memorable match at WrestleMania 13 in which Hart defeated Austin in a submissions match. At SummerSlam 1997 Austin suffered a near-paralyzing neck injury as a result of a botched piledriver by Owen Hart. Austin vs. McMahon The following year, he began an in-ring feud with WWF owner Vince McMahon that helped lead to the WWF's final victory over WCW in their war for the pro wrestling marketplace and catapulted Austin to mainstream recognition arguably matched only by Hulk Hogan in the mid-1980s. In fact, at the peak of Austin's popularity, the WWF's sales of Hogan-branded merchandise during Hogan's mid-1980s prime were dwarfed by its sales of Austin merchandise. Austin was even cast in recurring roles on two TV series: MTV's animated Celebrity Deathmatch, and CBS' Nash Bridges. Austin went on to win his first WWF Championship in 1998, defeating Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV. Towards the end of 1998 and throughout 1999, Austin got caught up in a vicious feud with The Undertaker. However, his body had begun to wear out in the late 1990s, with Austin having to wear braces on his knees and the lingering effects of that SummerSlam 1997 neck injury, plus years of wear and tear, forcing him to undergo serious spinal fusion surgery in late 1999. When it was learned by the WWF that Austin needed the surgery and a year away from action, Austin's injury was staged as a hit-and-run incident at Survivor Series 1999. Austin would not wrestle for 11 months after the surgery. Comeback He made a successful wrestling comeback in October 2000 to avenge his on-screen storyline hit-and-run attacker. On April 1, 2001 at WrestleMania X7, Stone Cold Steve Austin made one of the most shocking heel turns ever, barbarically dismantling The Rock with a steel chair to win the WWF Championship and aligning himself with his long-time enemy, WWF boss, Vince McMahon and Triple H, coining a new popular catchphrase, "What?!". The fans however never really got into the angle, (Which is strange as Hogan's heel turn in 1996 took WCW above the WWF). Austin briefly returned to being a babyface in the spring of 2001 but turned heel again by turning on then babyface Kurt Angle at Invasion and joined the WCW-ECW Alliance. Again fans were not entirely fond of the angle, although it was largely done to make up for the absenses of major WCW stars yet to sign with the WWF. During survivor series of team alliance vs. team wwe, Austin turned face again by getting his back turned on by then alliance member, Kurt Angle. Angle was supposed to turn face during that time and Austin was supposed to be a heel still, but the Rock didn't forgive Angle when he betrayed the wwe and joined the alliance. Austin walked out on WWE in 2002. He later admitted that he has never fully recovered from his injuries, especially his nagging knee injuries and the neck injury, and that he was frustrated with the booking of his character. Several months later, he returned to the WWE, mainly in a non-wrestling role. Soon after walking out on WWE, the company would change its name from WWF to WWE in an unrelated legal fight with the World Wildlife Fund. The company's slogan for the brand name change, "Get the "F" out was perceived by some as a jab at Austin leaving the company. The Rock used the line in a WWE vignette about the name change, further fueling such speculation. Another exit In later WWE storylines, he was a co-general manager for WWE RAW, alongside his old WCW nemesis Eric Bischoff (outside the ring, the two have largely settled their differences). In earlier angles, Austin also had a stint as CEO of WWE. On November 16, 2003, Austin was "fired" as co-GM of RAW as the result of a stipulation in a match at WWE's Survivor Series pay-per-view. He sat out for several weeks to "sell" the angle, but returned to WWE television before the end of 2003, when he was part of a WWE Christmas special taped in front of U.S. troops in Iraq. On December 29, 2003, he returned to regular WWE television as the "Sheriff" of RAW. On April 17 2004, the WWE put out a press release on their website claiming that Steve Austin and the WWE were unable to settle contract disputes and parted ways. It is unclear where Austin's career will go from here. Reportedly, the contract dispute was about WWE's control of Austin's non-WWE projects. Another issue that may have influenced WWE in its decision is Austin's recent history of domestic violence incidents. In November 2002, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/stonecoldplea1.html after striking his then-wife during an argument. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/stonecold1.html Police in San Antonio, Texas were investigating charges that he threw his current girlfriend to the ground during a domestic dispute on March 24, 2004. Austin could no longer use "Stone Cold" to promote himself as that name is trademarked by the WWE and had to correct many in interviews to ensure they do not refer to him by that moniker. Ironically, three of the WWE's biggest stars, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg, who were all in the same match at Wrestlemania XX (Austin being Special Referee) left the company shortly thereafter. WrestleMania 21 Many different media outlets have been advertising a guest appearance by Stone Cold at the "SuperBowl of wrestling", WrestleMania 21 which takes place on April 3rd, 2005. World Wrestling Entertainment confirmed that Austin will in fact return at WrestleMania as part of the legendary Piper's Pit hosted by 2005 Hall of Fame inductee "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Austin made an appearance at WWE Raw also from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles the next night in a segment with Maven and Simon Dean. Film career On January 19, 2005, Steve Austin and Vince McMahon held a press conference to announce an agreement for a three picture deal with WWE Films. Steve Austin is also playing the role "Guard Dunham", a prison guard in the 2005 movie The Longest Yard featuring Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. Championships and accomplishments Title Reigns | What | Who | When | Where | | World Championship Wrestling | | WCW World Television Title | | Defeated | Bobby Eaton | June 3, 1991 | Birmingham, Alabama | | Lost to | Barry Windham | April 27, 1992 | Atlanta, Georgia | | WCW World Television Title (2) | | Defeated | Barry Windham | May 23, 1992 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | | Lost to | Ricky Steamboat | September 2, 1992 | Atlanta, Georgia | | NWA World Tag Team Title1 (with Brian Pillman) | | Defeated | Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas | March 2, 1993 | Macon, Georgia | | Lost to | Arn Anderson & Paul Roma | August 18, 1993 | Daytona Beach, Florida | | WCW United States Heavyweight Title | | Defeated | Dustin Rhodes | December 27, 1993 | Charlotte, North Carolina | | Lost to | Ricky Steamboat | August 24, 1994 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | | WCW United States Heavyweight Title (2) | | Defeated | Ricky Steamboat2 | September 18, 1994 | Roanoke, Virginia | | Lost to | Jim Duggan | September 18, 1994 | Roanoke, Virginia | | World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment | | WWF World Tag Team Title (with Shawn Michaels) | | Defeated | Davey Boy Smith & Owen Hart | May 26, 1997 | Evansville, Indiana | | Lost to | Title declared vacant | June, 1997 | ? | | WWF World Tag Team Title (2) (with Dude Love) | | Defeated | Owen Hart & British Bulldog | July 14, 1997 | San Antonio, Texas | | Lost to | Title declared vacant3 | September 7, 1997 | ? | | WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Title | | Defeated | Owen Hart | August 3, 1997 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | | Lost to | Title declared vacant4 | September 8, 1997 | Cincinnati, Ohio | | WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Title (2) | | Defeated | Owen Hart | November 9, 1997 | Montreal, Quebec | | Lost to | Rocky Maivia5 | December 8, 1997 | Portland, Maine | | World Wrestling Entertainment Heavyweight Title | | Defeated | Shawn Michaels | March 29, 1998 | Boston, Massachusetts | | Lost to | Kane | July 28, 1998 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | | World Wrestling Entertainment Heavyweight Title (2) | | Defeated | Kane | July 29, 1998 | Cleveland, Ohio | | Lost to | Title declared vacant6 | September 27, 1998 | Hamilton, Ontario | | World Wrestling Entertainment Heavyweight Title (3) | | Defeated | Rocky Maivia | March 28, 1999 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | | Lost to | The Undertaker | May 23, 1999 | Kansas City, Missouri | | World Wrestling Entertainment Heavyweight Title (4) | | Defeated | The Undertaker | July 28, 1999 | Charlotte, North Carolina | | Lost to | Mankind7 | August 22, 1999 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | | World Wrestling Entertainment Heavyweight Title (5) | | Defeated | The Rock | April 1, 2001 | Houston, Texas | | Lost to | Kurt Angle | September 23, 2001 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | | World Wrestling Entertainment Heavyweight Title (6) | | Defeated | Kurt Angle | October 8, 2001 | Indianapolis, Indiana | | Lost to | Chris Jericho | December 9, 2001 | San Diego, California | 1. The title was later recognized as the WCW World Tag Team Title.
2. The title was awarded to Austin when injured Steamboat was unable to defend it.
3. Austin vacates the title due to a neck injury.
4. The title was declared vacant when WWF Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter suspends Steve Austin.
5. Austin forfeits the title and gives it to Rocky Maivia.
6. In a three way match against The Undertaker and Kane, both pinned him simultaneously, so the title was declared vacant.
7. In a triangle match against Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Other accomplishments References Austin, Steve Austin, Steve Austin, Steve
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