10 Origin Stories Of Awesome Wrestlers

9. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Dominik WWE
WWE.com

When Steve Austin debuted on WWF television in January 1996, he did so as The Ringmaster - a silent ring general who was not permitted to speak. Mouthpiece Ted DiBiase did that on his behalf.

The code of silence was implemented despite Austin's acclaimed promo work during his cup-of-coffee ECW stint, where he drew frothing praise for his reality-tinged, anti-WCW rants. Austin, mercifully, refused his Federation-mandated typecasting.

Gripped by a documentary depiction of serial killer 'Iceman' Richard Kuklinski, Austin was compelled to pitch a similarly sociopathic character to the WWF office. They complied by presenting him with a tone-deaf list of names - among then, Frost McFang and Chilli McFreeze. These, thankfully, were rejected outright. Struggling for inspiration, Austin confabbed with then wife Jeannie, who urged her pensive husband to drink his tea lest it turned "stone cold".

Austin had his name. By King Of The Ring 1996, he had his catchphrase. Mocking defeated finalist Jake Roberts' born again Christianity, Austin proclaimed in an inspired ad-lib that "Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!"

Austin never looked back. Not even a near career-ending neck injury, suffered at the hands of Owen Hart at SummerSlam 1997, could impede his ascent to the throne.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!