When the WWF signed Steve Austin in 1995, they handed him the lame gimmick of 'The Ringmaster'. The character was woefully under-developed, and Austin set about fixing that problem as quickly as he could. Along the way, he stumbled upon the 'Stone Cold' moniker, one which would eventually pocket him millions of dollars. It was this initiative which helped him succeed. Left to the WWF creative team, Austin would have floundered. Instead of trying to appease them, the wrestler went about creating an ally out of the watching audience. Fans started to cotton on to the fact that Steve Austin had way more to offer, and reacted as such whenever he appeared. Before the company itself did, people in the stands started taking 'Stone Cold' seriously. Even after he'd won the 1996 'King Of The Ring', the WWF didn't really do a lot with Austin. They still seemingly wanted to keep him a mid card heel and work on him slowly. That didn't work for Austin or the fans, who were waiting on his inevitable explosion as a top star. Thankfully, that would arrive in 1998, when he both won the Royal Rumble and the WWF Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XIV. From that point on, Austin's name was golden in the WWF.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.