10 Spontaneous Wrestling Decisions That Became Famous
6. A Simple Kick Becomes Vital To The Stone Cold Stunner
It's been said that it was actually Michael 'P.S' Hayes who in 1996 introduced Steve Austin to his new finishing move, the Stone Cold Stunner. Beforehand, the wrestler had been making use of the Million Dollar Dream, a move more closely associated with his former manager Ted DiBiase. Now, Austin was looking to catapult up the WWF ladder, and he needed a killer finish.
The Stunner was perfect, but even after a few months of using it Austin felt something was missing. There was no real set-up to the move, and it often came out of nowhere. Later, this would become a key component to Randy Orton's RKO, but that move has a flashy nature to it that the Stunner lacks. Such a lack of presentation is precisely why Austin decided to add a simple kick to the sequence.
All of a sudden, fans were given an indication as to when the Stunner was about to be performed. Even better, opponents could catch Austin's foot and reverse, teasing the move for later. The kick became a crucial part of the move - and Austin's - success.