The Rock Vs. Steve Austin | Wrestling Timelines

January 15, 1996 - Austin Arrives

Matt Hardy Steve Austin Ringmaster 1995
WWE Network

Steve Austin makes his taped WWF debut in a short win over Matt Hardy on Monday Night Raw.

Fans in Newark, Delaware, who aren’t yet terminally online, are unmoved as the otherwise wacky World Wrestling Federation presents to them a dour and ordinary-looking man whose persona is that he is technically skilled.

Hardcore fans, meanwhile, while not outraged necessarily, are baffled. Austin was considered a major coup. In WCW, Austin had enchanted them with his unreal engine, brash personality and comedic flair. As far back as 1990, when Wrestling Observer Newsletter readers had voted him Rookie of the Year, Austin was their darling.

He was instrumental in the brilliance that was WarGames in 1992.

He was hilarious and innovative in the Hollywood Blondes alongside Brian Pillman in 1993, pioneering the parody angle in the mainstream with their iconic send-up of Ric Flair and Arn Anderson.

He went hold for hold with the immaculate Ricky Steamboat in a superb 1994 feud.

And, what’s more, he knew what was bad about wrestling and what needed to change, having spent a very brief ECW run ripping WCW and Hulk Hogan to shreds. The not-so-secret best all-rounder in the business was also the first ‘Voice of the Voiceless’.

Still, Austin had arrived, and while the debut was inauspicious, he is equipped with every tool to succeed, and the WWF is in the mood to promote young talent. And they need to do precisely that: 1995 was such a dire year at the box office that the company is in not insignificant trouble.

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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!