10 Spontaneous Wrestling Decisions That Became Famous
1. Austin 3:16
Rushing back to the arena, Steve Austin had just been stitched up at a nearby hospital adjacent to where the 1996 King of the Ring pay-per-view was being held. His mouth had been lacerated from a stray boot delivered by Marc Mero, but Austin still had a planned tournament final against Jake 'The Snake' Roberts to get through.
Upon his re-arrival, Austin asked Michael Hayes (then-known as Dok Hendrix) what Roberts had said during an earlier promo. Hayes remarked that the veteran had used his usual Bible spiel, quoting a verse from John 3:16. Immediately, the wheels started turning in Austin's head, because he knew he'd have to deliver a victory speech following his King of the Ring win.
After vanquishing Jake in the final, 'The Rattlesnake' stepped up on the podium with Hayes and uttered one of the most famous lines in wrestling history:
"Talk about psalms, talk about your John 3:16. Austin 3:16 said I just whipped your a**!"
Shortly thereafter, the WWF created a simple t-shirt bearing the slogan, and it became the biggest seller the company would ever generate. Out of nothing, Steve Austin created millions of dollars for both the promotion and himself.
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