One Moment WWE Wants You To Forget From Every Year (1985 to 2026)
27. 2000 - Stone Cold Steve Austin Kills The Vibe (And Nearly Kills Triple H)
The bulk of the year 2000 was a deliriously happy time within WWE circles. Two curious exceptions to all the fun games of a boom in full swing were - of all things - WrestleMania 16 and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
'The Texas Rattlesnake' had been stuck at the house since November 1999 outside of a still-very-injured cameo at Backlash, but when he returned for real in the Autumn, he did so still fuming with whomever ran him over at the Survivor Series. He then proved in his feud with eventual assailant Rikishi how prepared he was to fight fire with fire...or car with car, almost splattering the Samoan's brains across a car park in their No Mercy non-match
It got even dafter at the Survivor Series, even though nobody could call it out for the bollocks it was because business hadn't yet circled the drain. Having almost been the victim of vehicular homicide one year earlier, he tried to unleash some himself on Triple H - the man who turned out to be the real man behind the hit-and-run plan when the Rikishi idea predictably bombed. With Hunter stuck in his car thanks to a conveniently placed forklift truck, Austin dropped him from 30 feet in the air to his certain death to try and generate some buzz at the conclusion of a disappointing match. A weak pre-taped scream from the 'Cerebral Assassin' played over the speakers, but he really was the smartest and toughest guy around as proven by his return from beyond the grave eight days later without so much as a scratch from all the broken glass.