For younger fans that were not around or not following WWE during the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin, this entry may be a bit of a head-scratcher. But in January of 1997, it was very surprising to see Austin win the Royal Rumble since he wasn't expected to main event WrestleMania 13, which, of course, is what came with winning the Rumble match. In early '97, Steve Austin had only just begun his ascent to the top of the WWE roster. Although Austin had a brush with the semi-main at the 1996 Survivor Series, it would still be several months until he became a main event mainstay. WrestleMania 13 was expected to feature a rematch of the classic WrestleMania XII main event between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. So when Bret was "eliminated" in that year's Royal Rumble, despite being the last legal man in the ring, fans were shocked. Austin had been thrown out by Bret, but was able to sneak back into the ring before the referees noticed. Austin's victory shocked fans who expected a Bret/Shawn rematch and even though that match didn't happen at WrestleMania 13, Austin didn't get the main event spot either.
A former stuntman for Paramount Pictures, Matt enjoys sports, water skiing, driving fast, the beach, professional wrestling,
technology, and scotch. At the same time, whenever possible.
Having attended many famous (and infamous) shows including WrestleMania XV, In Your House: Mind Games, and the 1995 King of the Ring, Matt has been a lifelong professional sports and wrestling fan. Matt's been mentioned in numerous wrestling podcasts including the Steve Austin Show: Unleashed, Talk Is Jericho, and Something To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard.
As a former countywide performer, Matt has been referred to as Mr. 300 for his amazing accomplishments in the world of amateur bowling. He is also the only man on record to have pitched back-to-back no hitters in the Veterans Stadium Wiffle Ball League of 2003.
