In 1996, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin seemed like an afterthought to the WWF higher-ups. He began the year as "The Ringmaster," a silent member of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. Sometime before WrestleMania XII, he convinced the bookers to rechristen him "Stone Cold," and his career... well, it didn't take off. Not yet. He defeated Savio Vega at WrestleMania XII, but lost a Caribbean Strap Match at the "Beware of Dog II" In Your House. DiBiase's WWF career was on the line in that match, and- for the first time in his World Wrestling Federation career- Austin was without a mouthpiece. So when he was booked to defeat "Wildman" Marc Mero- who gave Austin a boot to the face that required emergency stitches between the semi-finals and finals- and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Austin approached the coronation with Michael Hayes (then known as Dok Hendrix) methodically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQhlaWxMbTg Austin, ignoring the crown and throne, instead launched a verbal assault on the already beaten born-again Christian Roberts, telling the Snake: "I proved, son, without a shadow of a doubt, you ain't got what it takes any more. You sit there and you thump your Bible and you say your prayers and it didn't get you anywhere. Talk about your Psalms; talk about John 3:16- 'Austin 3:16' says I just whipped your ass." And with those words, a star was born. It wasn't the rocket-launching pad history remembers: Austin had a number of follow-up pay-per-views appearances curtain-jerking- famously wrestling Yokozuna in the pre-show match at SummerSlam 1996- or stuck in the midcard against the likes of Hunter Hearst Helmsley. It wasn't until Bret Hart personally handpicked Austin as the man he wanted to work with in his return match at the 1996 Survivor Series that the Austin we all grew to love- the foul-mouthed, middle-finger flippin', authority-figure ass-kicking redneck S.O.B.- came into his own. But that moment on the King of the Ring coronation platform started it all for Steve Austin.
The 'House is a father of two and husband of one in Minnesota. He is an improv comedian, and in his spare time follows WWE, MLB, The Simpsons, and Bob's Burgers. Growing up he was a huge fan of He-Man, and refuses to believe that it was in fact terrible.
