8 NASTIEST Trash Talkers In Wrestling History

2. Steve Austin

'Stone Cold' is arguably the biggest box office attraction in the history of the business, and so much of that is down to his ability to spit fire into a microphone. It was Austin who set fire to the idea that a company's top babyface had to be about saying prayers and eating vitamins. The 90s were a different time, and it called for a beer-chugging, ass-whoopin' mad man.

Austin's trademark trash talking started, as so many of WWE's biggest success stories did, in ECW. Encouraged by Paul Heyman to come to Philadelphia and air his grievances with WCW after being fired, the seeds of Stone Cold were planted in his anger-fuelled tirades against Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan and WCW's head offices.

Once he ditched his 'Ringmaster' gimmick, things went into overdrive for him in the WWF. It's worth remembering that Austin caught fire as a heel, terrorising the formerly beloved Bret Hart. From that moment, there was no stopping Austin, whether it was telling Mike Tyson he was "the world's toughest son of a bitch," or calling Vince McMahon every name under the sun.