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EIGHT LONG F’N
YEARS!

The Stone Cold Steve
Austin story

In 1989, Steve Austin was living in
Texas and earning a living by
unloading trucks on the loading
dock. His football scholarship at
North Texas State University had
run out, and working at the docks
was his only way of making some
cash.

During that time, he would go to the Sportatorium in Dallas to watch the
Von Erichs wrestle. He was always a fan of the sport, watching Paul Boesch’s
Houston Wrestling on television while growing up. One day after work, Steve
saw an ad for a wrestling school run by Chris Adams. He decided to take a
shot and five months later, in 1990, he had his first professional match for
World Class Championship Wrestling. During his tenure in WCCW, Austin
and Adams engaged in a bitter feud—with the student eventually toppling his
teacher.

In 1991, "Stunning" Steve Austin was introduced to World Championship
Wrestling and spent the next five years in the promotion. As a singles
competitor, the Texan captured the organization’s TV Title in 1992 with a
win over Barry Windham. One year later, he captured their U.S. Title on two
occasions from Dustin Runnels and then Ricky Steamboat. But it was his
pairing with the late Brian Pillman that earned Austin his greatest notoriety.

As the "Hollywood Blonds," Austin and Pillman became the most
recognizable tandem in the promotion, eventually beating Steamboat and
Shane Douglas for the tag team gold. After the Blonds broke up, the "powers
that be" at WCW decided that Austin wouldn’t "get over" without a
"gimmick." According to the front office, a wrestler in black boots and black
trunks wasn’t marketable. During a tour of Japan, the Texan tore his tricep
and subsequently underwent surgery to repair it. While in rehab, the WCW
hierarchy decided to fire him. But, instead of bringing Steve in to the office
and doing it face to face, they took the chicken @#$% way and fired him
over the phone. According to Austin, WCW treated him like a "complete
jackass," and he was hell-bent on making them pay!

After a brief run in ECW, Steve
Austin signed a deal with the World
Wrestling Federation in 1995. Instead
of letting the superstar tear ass
through the ranks, he was given the
moniker of the "Ring Master" and
issued a mouthpiece in the form of
Ted DiBiase. However, that didn't
last long and the Texan proudly
walked on his own.

Steve Austin’s breakthrough came at the 1996 King of the Ring, where he suffered
more than a dozen stitches from Marc Mero and still went on to beat Jake "The
Snake" Roberts in the final!

During his coronation ceremony, the superstar took
the opportunity to speak his mind—and the legacy
of "Austin 3:16" was born! Within a year, Stone
Cold became the biggest phenomenon in the history
of the Federation, stomping the @#$% out of the
"take your vitamins and say your prayers" theory
of the past era.

After a bitter feud with Bret Hart, which saw the two
engage in a bloody war at WrestleMania 13, Austin
went on to capture the Federation Tag Team
Championship with Shawn Michaels in May of 1997.
After the Heartbreak Kid was forced out of action due to injuries, Dude Love stepped in
as Stone Cold’s partner, and together they reclaimed the title. That August at the ‘97
SummerSlam, Stone Cold nearly had his career ended by Owen Hart.

The Texan’s neck was severely
damaged by his foe’s piledriver, and
he was paralyzed on the mat before
miraculously rolling up Owen for
the title! However, the superstar was
put out of action with the injury and
forced to vacate the gold.

Stone Cold’s return to the ring came at the 1997 Survivor Series, where he dismantled
Owen to reclaim the Intercontinental Championship. After Federation owner Mr.
McMahon stripped him of the title and awarded it to The Rock, Austin set his sights on
the grandest prize in the sport—the Federation Title. His road to the championship
began at the 1998 Royal Rumble, where he eliminated The Rock to earn his shot at the
title at WrestleMania XIV.

That night in Boston’s
FleetCenter with Mike Tyson
serving as the special
"Enforcer", the Rattlesnake
beat Shawn
Michaels—ushering in a new
era of "Attitude" in the
Federation! It took eight long
f’in years for Stone Cold
Steve Austin to make it to
the top—and now that he's
there, it seems as if
everybody wants to knock
him off!Steve Austin was on top of the world after defeating Shawn Michaels for the Federation
Championship at WrestleMania XV. Little did he know that his greatest enemy was
waiting in the wings, ready to knock him from his plateau.

Although the relationship between Austin and Federation owner Vincent K. McMahon
had always been less than cordial, the hatred between the men intensified after the
Rattlesnake won the Federation Championship. Austin did not fit McMahon's ideal of a
champion, and the Federation owner immediately set out to take the title away from
Austin.

McMahon searched throughout the
Federation for the competitor that
would be able to soundly defeat Austin
in the ring, hopefully breaking his spirit
in the process. First up was Dude
Love, who came close, but never quite
succeeded in taking down the
Rattlesnake. Kane did manage to wrest
the Championship away from Austin
for one day, but Stone Cold proved
resilient enough to bounce back and
regain his belt. Finally, at SummerSlam
1998, Austin faced his greatest test to
date, barely managing to defeat the
Undertaker in an extremely brutal
contest that took an incredible toll on
both superstars.

After SummerSlam, the battle lines were clearly drawn, and McMahon intensified his
efforts to destroy Steve Austin. These plans proved to be temporarily successful,
culminating with Austin losing his title in a three-way match against Kane and the
Undertaker, and then actually being fired from the Federation for a brief period.

Through some complex legal
maneuvering, Austin was quickly
reinstated into the Federation. After
winning his steel cage match against
the Federation owner at the St.
Valentines Day Massacre, Stone
Cold went on to regain his lost gold
from The Rock at WrestleMania
XV! Unfortunately, Shane
McMahon and the Corporate
Ministry soon caused Austin to lose
the belt once again, making the
Texas rattlesnake hungrier than
ever for revenge!

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Page Updated Wed Jun 16, 1999 8:39pm EDT