10 Shining Lights In WWE’s Darkest Hours
5. Stone Cold Steve Austin (1996)
The rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin following his King Of The Ring 1996 victory has been grossly overstated by a company attempting to own the narrative that they were with 'The Rattlesnake' from the moment he incinerated the roster's rank-and-file.
With the organisation either unwilling or uninterested in helping him out, Austin really did do it all by himself but his stubborn brilliance from the SummerSlam pre-show through to his Survivor Series classic with Bret Hart made for some fiercely exciting action when WWE needed it most.
Honing his edgy new gimmick with the handcuffs off during live commentary stints on Monday Night Raw, Austin has since revealed how much those in production were popping for his rage at Vince McMahon's expense, and the caustic craic set the table for 'The Hitman's heroic return later in the year. Though success wasn't immediately evident in ratings or buyrates, Austin's careful character construction was good enough to convince McMahon to stick with him for the long haul (and overhaul) of WCW nearly two years later when they faced off against each other on a famous April 1998 edition of Monday Night Raw.