10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Stone Cold Steve Austin

4. Brian Pillman Pulled A Gun On Him During Raw

A lot of fans like to think that the "Attitude Era" began in early 1997 when Austin was becoming a babyface despite acting like a heel, but a case could be made for it starting in late 1996. After Austin destroyed Pillman's ankle in an in-ring segment (which would later be called "Pillmanizing" among online fans), the on screen rivalry between the two former WCW partners became personal with Austin going after Pillman in his own home. Pillman did an interview from his home on the November 4, 1996 episode of Raw with Vince McMahon and he pulled out a gun. They went to break there. Austin ended up showing up at Pillman's house, he beat up some of Pillman's friends and got into the home by breaking a window. Pillman had the gun cocked and ready to go, but they went to break. Vince McMahon wondered if anybody fired a shot. Kevin Kelly, the WWE announcer on the scene, mentioned that nobody was shot. Pillman's friends got Austin out of there as Pillman said he was going to "kill that son of a bitch" and the whole thing just ended there as Pillman's wife was crying on the couch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_s-CKQzPmM It was one of the most controversial angles in the history of WWE. They apologized for doing the angle and thankfully haven't really done serious storylines involving guns since then. Over the years, Austin has mentioned that Pillman was one of his best friends in the business. Their tag team in WCW, the Hollywood Blondes, were one of the best teams of the 1990s. It's a shame that injuries put a halt to Pillman's career and he died tragically in October of 1997. There was another Austin gun incident when he wheeled around a wheelchair bound Vince McMahon for most of an episode of Raw only to "shoot" him in the ring with "BANG 3:16" coming out of the gun. McMahon ended up peeing himself, so while it appeared to be a serious thing it ended up as a comedy gag.