How Good Was 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Actually?

Cultural Significance

Stone Cold Steve Austin Hot Ones
First We Feast

This is rarified air. Very few wrestlers achieve it, even the biggest stars known within our bubble. Press the average member of the general public on who Roman Reigns is, and they’ll look at you like Ryback has just been asked to solve a Rubik’s cube.

Austin crossed over, to an extent; his claymation avatar was a beloved fan favourite on MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch, but that show has only yielded the one, ill-fated reboot. It was very much a product of its time. Austin was all over the place in 1998 and 1999, from the cover of TV Guide to Regis & Kathy Lee. Obviously, his mainstream star power has since waned.

Austin does get referenced in pop culture on occasion; the protagonist of The Good Place, a critically acclaimed high concept sitcom that aired on NBC between 2016 and 2020, has a crush on him.

He wasn’t such an actual real-world star that Hollywood was willing to hand him chance after chance after The Condemned bombed in 2007. Austin has however carved out a neat little niche for himself as the host of various reality TV shows.

Interestingly, his episode of ‘Hot Ones’ has generated a massively impressive 27 million views on YouTube. Austin has out-drawn episodes, uploaded around the same time (August 2019), guested on by names who are or were considered A-listers. Austin opened a can of whoop-ass on Ashton Kutcher (12 million), Shia LeBeouf (25 million), and Aubrey Plaza (25 million). In fact, Austin is still ranked #9 on the list of most-viewed eps.

He’s not the Rock, but a lot of people who don’t like wrestling know who he is, and seem to find him funny. Heavily memed to this day, Austin endures as sort of beloved mascot of dirtbag ‘Murica chic.

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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!