How Good Was 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Actually?

by Michael Sidgwick

Conclusion

Stone Cold Steve Austin
WWE.com

Austin is a 10 in almost every single conceivable category. Bret wrote, when elaborating on his theory, that if a wrestler scored in the high 20s across his three categories, they’d be great.

In the U.S. scene, is anybody closer to the fabled 30 than ‘Stone Cold’?

The Rock is close, but does he have a match anywhere near as good as the WrestleMania 13 Submissions war? Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero are candidates that warrant a deeper dive.

Hangman Page is closer than most in AEW to dominating Bret Hart’s trifecta, and while he has the moments - burning down Swerve’s house, the “You need need a hat to be a cowboy” Dark Order entrance, spraying Swerve’s blood - he’s lower than Austin, considerably so, in every extra metric analysed above.

So how good was Steve Austin, actually?

He wasn’t merely good. He has the strongest case for the greatest of all time.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!