WWE: Top 25 Stone Cold Steve Austin Moments

8. "I'm Afraid Austin...Is Hurt. And Hurt Badly."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g8Uap64fhc Most of the moments mentioned thus far have been related to Austin's ability to cause chaos and insight all sorts of madness wherever he went, and covering famous points during his wrestling career with The Rock and his rivalry with Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon. But through all of this, there have been moments that impacted Austin himself in physical ways that nearly cut him from his wrestling career on short notice, moments that revealed to most that in the early days Austin wasn't invincible to the concerted notions of wrestling itself. It was August 3rd, 1997, the day of SummerSlam. Stone Cold Steve Austin was booked in a match with Owen Hart, Hart defending his Intercontinental Championship. If Austin lost, the stipulation was that he would kiss Owen Hart's bum. Both men went through a grueling war with each other, giving the fans something to get excited about before the main event match between Bret Hart and the Undertaker. During the match, Owen Hart botched a painful piledriver on Austin, plunging Austin's head straight into the mat and breaking his neck in the process. Austin suffered interim paralysis, barely being able to lift his arms up to notify the referee of what happened. Regardless and without margin Hart and Austin continued their match, but barely putting in an effort. Eventually the pre-determined odds caught up with both men, and Austin pinned Hart to win the championship. After that referee Earl Hebner swiftly called down other refs to help aid Austin out of the ring. Wrestlers suffer injuries all the time; it's the risk they take to entertain the fans and do their job. But certain injuries, usually pertaining to broken necks, can be career-ending. Adam Copeland, also known as Edge, was forced to cut his career short due to running the risk of breaking his own neck. The company warned him and the doctor's recommended retirement, which Adam ultimately did. When Steve Austin actually broke his neck and yet continued his career after having his neck surgically repaired, it says a lot about him. Even if the powers that be refrain him from taking direct action, it says something about Austin pushing through his misery and entering the Attitude Era, where his career blossomed post-injury and came to an end in 2003 after repeated shots to the neck and knees. In the end, though, you can't keep a rattlesnake down.