10 Most Shocking Stone Cold Steve Austin Controversies

4. Austin 3:16

Another incident that in hindsight seems like nothing more than a classic moment, Stone Cold's most famous promo rubbed quite a few people the wrong way at the time. After defeating the ghost of Jake "The Snake" Roberts to become King of the Ring, Stone Cold was interviewed by Michael Hayes.

The first thing I want to be done, is to get that piece of crap outta my ring! Don't just get him outta the ring, get him outta the WWF! Because I proved son, without a shadow of a doubt, you ain't got what it takes anymore! You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16, Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!

All he's gotta do is go buy him a cheap bottle of Thunderbird, and try to get back some of that courage he had in his prime! As the King of the Ring, I'm servin notice to every one of the WWF superstars, I don't give a damn what they are, they're all on the list, & that's Stone Cold's list, and I'm fixin to start runnin through all of em! And... Piss off. As far as this Championship match is considered son, I don't give a damn if it's Davey Boy Smith or Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin's time has come! And when I get the shot, you're lookin at the next WWF Champion! And that's the bottom line, because Stone Cold Said so!

At the time, many saw Austin's comments about Roberts being far too close to the bone and far too controversial for the company WWF was at the time. On top of that, many people objected to Austin's use biblical language and Jeff Jarrett has gone so far as to call it "blasphemous" on multiple occasions. While these critics may have a point, it was this sort of attitude that would eventually lead WWF to victory in the Monday Night Wars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQhlaWxMbTg