WWE SmackDown Debut Wrestlers: Where Are They Now?
4. Steve Austin
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin was WWE’s biggest star by the time he teamed with The Rock against The Undertaker and Triple H in SmackDown’s first main event. The duo were victorious, and Austin was WWE Champion, having successfully defended the belt against Rocky at Backlash four days prior.
Unfortunately, Austin’s decline wasn’t far away. His injuries caught up with him by the end of the year, and he was written off television after being hit by a car at Survivor Series. In reality, Austin was still suffering the after effects of the broken neck he’d sustained and SummerSlam two years prior, but he eventually returned for one last major run.
Austin defeated The Rock in one of the greatest WrestleMania main events of all-time at ‘Mania 17, but was forced into an early retirement two years later. He served as an authority figure and occasional guest referee in the aftermath, and has reared his head as a semi-regular guest star ever since.
Stone Cold’s last televised WWE appearance came alongside Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley at WrestleMania 32, but he stays busy. The Steve Austin Show has become one of the biggest podcasts in wrestling, with a semi-regular live version finding its way to the WWE Network in 2014. In additional Austin currently hosts two reality TV shows in Redneck Island and Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge, and appears in the odd direct-to-DVD film every now and then.