101 Shocking Wrestling Plans You Won't Believe Almost Happened
53. Infamous ‘Stone Cold’ Alternatives
Jim Ross could've been clowned had he been yelling: 'Von Ruthless! Von Ruthless! Von Ruthless!' rather than the more familiar, 'Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold!' refrain during the 'Attitude' days. Of course, that's an impossible thought. There's no way Steve Austin would've become the biggest star in the biz had he been called Otto Von Ruthless, but that was on the table for him when he signed in 1995.
Earlier, Bryan Clark nearly becoming The Ringmaster was brought up. Austin got that name instead, but ditched it for 'Stone Cold' in 1996. Kissing goodbye to some of the other monikers the WWF's dreaded creative services team had in store for him would've been a struggle.
Chilly McFreeze, Fang McFrost, Ice Dagger (perhaps the least reprehensible of the bunch!) and Von Ruthless were fired back at him. Suddenly, losing to Jim Duggan in 35 seconds at WCW's Fall Brawl '94 wouldn't have seemed so crap to Austin. This muck was all the biggest promotion in the world had in mind for him? Fang McF'n Frost?!
A chance conversation with Steve's then-wife Jeanie Clarke changed everything. She encouraged him to drink a cup of tea before it went stone cold. Boom! Austin had his name, and he could afford to shake his head at the trash creative services had brainstormed. The fact they were paid to do so is amazing, it really is.
Chilly McFreeze wasn't leading the way vs. The Undertaker, The Rock and Triple H in money-spinning pay-per-view main events. However, they could've gone with 'Hell Will McFreeze' over as the subheading to SummerSlam 1998 instead of 'Highway To Hell'.
It's their money to waste, eh?