Stone Cold Steve Austin

Ht: 6'2"

Wt: 252 lbs.

Hometown: Victoria, Texas

Title(s) Held: Intercontinental (2), Tag Team

(1)Finishing Move: Stone Cold Stunner

Stone Cold Steve Austin. The mere mention of his name will

bring any sold-out crowd to its feet in a crazed frenzy. Never before

has the world of professional wrestling seen a phenomenon like the

one that Stone Cold Steve Austin has created. At any live event

you attend, all you see is a sea of Austin 3:16. Why? Because

Stone Cold said so!!

When Steve Austin entered the Mecca Arena in Milwaukee,

Wisconsin for the 1996 King of the Ring, he never could have

imagined that before the evening was through, he would begin to

change the entire face of the wrestling world. After beating the

Bible-referencing Jake "The Snake" Roberts to become King of the

Ring, Austin accepted his crown, and upon doing so informed

Roberts that, "Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your @#$!" That

was all it took. With that simple phrase Steve Austin had become

the most popular superstar to ever compete in this sport.

Austin staked his claim of being the toughest S.O.B. to ever

compete in the World Wrestling Federation and at WrestleMania 13

he proved his point. Bret Hart and Stone Cold were competing in a

submission match. A pinfall did not count, a count-out did not

matter and you could not win by disqualification. You had to get

your opponent to submit. With Austin cut above his left eye, Hart

placed Stone Cold in the ìSharpshooterî for what seemed like an

eternity. Quickly losing a great amount of blood, Austin would not

give up and instead fell unconscious, forcing special guest referee

Ken Shamrock to end the match. Even though he was not officially

credited with the victory, the amount of respect Stone Cold received

from that match was immeasurable. Now everyone had to take

note--Stone Cold Steve Austin was going to back up anything he

said!!

Austin continued trying to destroy the Hart Foundation. With Bret

out of action for a while, Stone Cold turned his attention to Owen

Hart and the British Bulldog, and he reluctantly teamed with Shawn

Michaels to defeat them and take away their Federation Tag Team

belts. A few months later at SummerSlam, Steve Austin and Owen

Hart once again crossed paths with Federation Gold on the line, but

this time it was Hart's Intercontinental Title. Although Austin

defeated Owen to become the Intercontinental Champion, the

Rattlesnake suffered a severe neck injury which was at the very

least career-threatening. Barely able to walk out of Continental

Airlines Arena that night, Austin went on live TV the next

evening to challenge Hart to a rematch. Federation officials would

not let Stone Cold in the ring until he received medical clearance.

For the next few weeks, Austin went on a tirade at Federation

officials, physically assaulting everyone from Commissioner

Slaughter to commentator Jim Ross to Federation Chairman Vince

McMahon!! Austin felt he was ready to get back in the ring and

didn't appreciate everyone telling him what he could and could not

do.

At the 1997 Survivor Series in Montreal, Quebec, Stone Cold

returned to action. Owen Hart was once again the Intercontinental

Champion, having won the belt in a tournament after Austin was

forced to give it up. Stone Cold wanted "his" title back from the

King of Harts', and he got it!

Austin held on to the belt for over a month when, one day after

defeating Rocky Maivia at D-Generation X, he just handed it over

to The Rock, claiming he had "bigger fish to fry." And what

exactly is that bigger fish? Well, in his own words to Vince

McMahon, Austin let us know recently on Raw is War. ìI done

been the Intercontinental Champion, I done been a Tag Team

Champion. Hell, son, there ainít but one belt in the Federation I'm

interested in.î Everyone knew exactly what belt Stone Cold Steve

Austin was talking about, especially the Heartbreak Kid Shawn

Michaels. Austin has challenged for the World Wrestling

Federation Title before, but has never been able to win it. One

thing Stone Cold has proven time and time again is that he backs

up EVERYTHING he says. The Texas Rattlesnake earned a title

shot at WrestleMania XIV by winning the 1998 Royal Rumble.

Will Austin 3:16 say, "I just became the new World Wrestling

Federation Champion,"when he leaves Boston on March 29?