20 Shocking WWE Plans You Won’t Believe
18. And That's The Bottom Line... 'Cause Chilly McFreeze Said So
Steve Austin is rightly considered one of the most important (and popular) wrestlers of all-time, but his time at the top was relatively short. Though he debuted in 1989, Austin didn’t become a legitimate top star until after he’d won the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, and he was retired by 2003. Still, Stone Cold’s legendary run secured his place in folklore, and it kicked-off with his infamous “Austin 3:16” promo at KOTR ‘96.
Austin reinvented himself as a beer-drinking, anti-authority badass, and nobody could touch his popularity at the time. Had creative gone with their original idea, however, Austin may have never gotten off the ground.
Unhappy with his existing “Ringmaster” gimmick, the writers offered Austin a number of alternative nicknames including Fang McFrost, Ice Dagger, and the best of the bunch: Chilly McFreeze. Fortunately, Austin hated all of them, and floated the “Stone Cold” nickname to Vince McMahon. The boss loved it, and thus the Attitude Era’s most iconic gimmick was born.
Who knows where Austin would be today had he become Chilly McFreeze instead of Stone Cold, but it’s hard to imagine a man with a name that sounds like an ice pop becoming a six-time WWE champion.