After debuting in 1989, I wrestled for promotions such as World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation. My greatest success came perhaps in the late 1990s, when the World Wrestling Federation, with me at its helm as one of the promotion's marquee stars, went public. I was forced to retire from the ring in 2003 due to a variety of chronic injuries, since which time I have pursued an acting career...I debuted in World Championship Wrestling in 1991 as "Stunning" Steve Austin. Managed by Lady Blossom, I defeated Bobby Eaton for the WCW Television Championship on June 3, 1991 in Birmingham, Alabama. In late 1991, I joined Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance. As a member of the Alliance, I regularly teamed with Larry Zbyszko, feuding with Barry Windham and Sting. I lost the WCW Television Championship to Windham in a two out of three falls match on April 27, 1992. I regained the title from Windham on May 23, 1992. I enjoyed a second lengthy reign before losing to Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat on September 2, 1992. The Dangerous Alliance disbanded shortly thereafter...While at ECW, I used the platform to develop my future "Stone Cold" persona. Thus, what came was a series of humorous and biting vignettes which featured me lampooning such WCW luminaries as Hulk Hogan and most notably, Eric Bischoff. While with ECW, "Superstar" Steve Austin feuded with The Sandman and Mikey Whipwreck. Whipwreck, who was the ECW World Heavyweight Champion at the time, scored a win over me at the November To Remember, on November 18, 1995. Years later, Paul Heyman stated that he originally wanted to book me to win the World Championship, but I disagreed, feeling it would be better for business if I was the "hunter" instead of the "hunted."On January 8, 1996 I joined the World Wrestling Federation. Initially, I used the moniker "The Ringmaster", holder of Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Belt". I defeated Savio Vega at WrestleMania XII. I grew to greatly dislike The Ringmaster character, so I asked WWF writers to come up with a new name for my character that would suggest a ruthless, cold-hearted persona. The writers offered him a list of many temperature-based names, such as 'Ice Dagger' and 'Chilly McFreeze', none of which impressed me. My then-wife Jeannie Clark (the same woman who managed me in the USWA and WCW) then came up with the name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, after she advised me to drink my tea before it became "stone cold." To continue the cold-hearted image, I shaved my head bald, a look I have maintained for a decade now. At an In Your House pay-per-view event subtitled "Beware of Dog", I lost a "Caribbean Strap Match" to Savio Vega. In accordance to the pre-match stipulations, DiBiase was forced to leave the WWF, giving me the opportunity to forge my own path. I would later tell announcer Dok Hendrix I purposely lost the match in order to rid myself of my manager...My genuine rise to super stardom began on June 23, 1996, when I won the King of the Ring single-elimination tournament. After toppling Marc Mero in the semi-finals, I defeated Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the final. After the match, I cut a promo during my coronation which viciously mocked Jake's reformed lifestyle, telling Roberts:"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!"Austin 3:16 ultimately became one of the most popular catchphrases in wrestling history and is often regarded as marking the beginning of the Attitude Era. I would later turn face, as spontaneous fan support for me grew larger by the week, however I was not originally intended to win the King of the Ring. My attitude and my modus operandi--using heel tactics in a face role--would come to define the tweener role in professional wrestling...2000Five months later, at Backlash, I appeared during the main event, attacking Triple H, Vince McMahon, helping The Rock reclaim the WWF Championship. I was brought into the picture by Linda McMahon. On September 24, 2000 at Unforgiven, I tried to find out who ran me down at the Survivor Series the previous year. Rikishi finally admitted to being the driver on the October 9th episode of Raw.At No Mercy, I was back to annihilate Rikishi. But in the process of beating him down, I learned that it was actually Triple H behind the whole scheme, devised to shield the WWF Championship from me and end my career. Meanwhile, my short feud with Rikishi ended when I defeated him in a Steel Cage Match on the October 30, 2000 episode of RAW. At Survivor Series 2000, Triple H had plotted to run me down again (thus repeating the events of the previous year's Survivor Series) but his plot failed when I lifted Triple H's automobile with a construction crane, then let it drop 30 feet.2001I won my third Royal Rumble in January 2001, last eliminating Kane. As of 2006, I was the only wrestler to win the Royal Rumble three times. My rivalry with Triple H ended at No Way Out 2001 in a 3 Stages of Hell match. I lost but my feud with Triple H had come to an epic conclusion. Then, on April 1, 2001 at WrestleMania X-Seven, I made one of the most shocking heel turns ever, hitting The Rock with a steel chair (handed to me by my old nemesis Vince McMahon) fourteen times to win the WWF Championship, then shaking hands and sharing a beer with McMahon. With the victory, I became a five time WWF Champion. Commentator Jim Ross then uttered his infamous line "He's sold his soul to the devil, to win the WWF Title." The next night on RAW, after teasing a quick face turn, the heel turn continued as during a cage match with The Rock in a rematch for the title, Triple H came down to the ring with a sledgehammer. Many thought he was coming to help The Rock but it transpired that he had joined the Austin/McMahon partnership by hitting The Rock instead. Me and Triple H became a Tag Team and called themselves The Two-Man Power Trip.The WWF positioned me and Triple H as the villains of the company and had us feud with Undertaker and Kane for April and May of 2001. The Two-Man Power Trip had many rivalries, most notably being against The Undertaker and Kane, and against The Hardy Boyz. After Backlash 2001, we held the WWF Tag Team Titles, the WWF Championship (Austin), and the WWF Intercontinental Title (Triple H) all at once.Hastily, I was paired with popular rookie wrestler Kurt Angle and feuded with Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit (who opted to wait until after that month's PPV to have his surgery). My matches with Jericho and Benoit were widely praised. Indeed, as soon as July 2001 began, with Benoit out for surgery, the Austin/Jericho feud was dropped without a mention.With Triple H out and Rock still away making movies, the WWF desperately rushed out the plans for the WCW/ECW Invasion.As the Invasion storyline began and progressed, Vince McMahon had been begging for me to return to my old "Texas Rattlesnake" persona. I refused though, as I was developing into a more comedic character. But the week before the Invasion Pay-Per-View, the old Stone Cold Steve Austin "returned", delivering stunners to the Alliance members. This was all part of a swerve at the event, where I betrayed the WWF team and partner Kurt Angle to help the Alliance win, as I assumed leadership of the group...I lost and regained his title in a feud with Kurt Angle in a feud that many fans enjoyed, partially due to Angle being put over by me as a legitimate threat. I lost the title to Kurt Angle at Unforgiven 2001 before regaining it on the October 8, 2001 episode of Raw. As the Invasion angle dragged on, it was ultimately decided to bring the plotline to an end with me and a group of ECW and WCW wrestlers facing the Rock and a group of WWF wrestlers at that year's Survivor Series. Me and my team lost and that was the end of the Invasion angle. I would hold the WWF Championship for another month before losing it to Chris Jericho at the Vengeance Pay-Per-View in December 2001. Jericho beat both The Rock and me consecutively in that night winning the World Title and later the WWF Title and combining them to create the WWF Undisputed Championship.2002By 2002, my spot as top face in the WWF was not as secure as it had been in previous years, as Triple H was set to return from injury. At the time, Vince McMahon had re-signed Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash for a storyline that would bring the nWo back. They feuded with me and The Rock. At WrestleMania X8 I defeated Scott Hall, but was angered by the fact that he was becoming an increasingly mid-card wrestler. He then no-showed for the next two weeks.I returned on the April 1, 2002 episode of RAW, the first of the new "brand extension" era. The show was centered on which show he would sign with. Ultimately, he chose RAW. My last appearance was on June 3, 2002, when I defeated Ric Flair in a match where Flair would become my servant. The angle wasn't furthered because I had decided to walk out again on bad storylines that were presented to me by the creative team. This time though, I wouldn't return for almost 9 months...Bored and run down, I began to create problems backstage as the WWE rehired Eddie Guerrero for me to feud with, while prepping me for a feud with Brock Lesnar. However, I was vetoing any matches that would result in me losing and ultimately walked out of the company when the writing staff wanted me to lose to Brock Lesnar. This act was at first viewed as unprofessional and in a negative light by fans. But viewpoints changed when I later explained that I thought hot-shotting a victory did no favors to either side, as it made me look weak losing to a rookie, and didn't give Lesnar a proper stage for such a big win over a star of the magnitude that Austin holds.World Wrestling Entertainment2003In February 2003, I returned to WWE at No Way Out in a short match against Eric Bischoff. I was finally defeated by the Rock at WrestleMania XIX, which would ultimately become my last official match in the WWE. The night after on RAW, Bischoff "fired" me on medical grounds, however I was brought back by Linda McMahon as the "Co-General Manager" for RAW. The move to the role of "Co-General Manager" (and later "Sheriff") was a way to keep me on-camera while limiting my in-ring performance. On the November 16, 2003 edition of RAW, I was "fired" from RAW as the result of a stipulation in a match at WWE's Survivor Series PPV where my hand-picked team of wrestlers failed to beat Eric Bischoff's team of wrestlers. I sat out TV shows for several weeks to sell the storyline and make it appear like a real firing, but quickly returned to WWE television before the end of 2003, when I was part of a WWE Christmas special taped live in front of U.S. troops in Iraq, posing as Santa Claus and stunning Mr. McMahon. He finally came back on RAW on December 29, 2003 as its "Sheriff".2004I appeared on and off as 2004 began, culminating in me being the special guest referee for the match between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg at WrestleMania XX. Then on April 17, 2004, WWE put out a press release on their website claiming that I, Steve Austin and WWE were unable to settle long-running contract disputes and had again parted ways, reportedly over a contract dispute about WWE's control of my non-WWE projects, such as movies and music. I could thus no longer use "Stone Cold" to promote myself, as that name is trademarked by WWE. I had to correct many people in interviews to ensure they did not refer to me by that moniker. Another issue that may have influenced WWE in its decision is my recent history of domestic violence incidents, which WWE saw as tarnishing their popular image...2005I made his first appearance on WWE TV in a year on April 3, 2005 at WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles. I was interviewed by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper in a Piper's Pit segment and then I stunned both Piper and Carlito.I appeared at the WWE-promoted ECW One Night Stand 2005 event, sharing beer at the end with ECW wrestlers, and encouraging some of them to beat up Eric Bischoff. The following night on RAW, I acted as a special guest enforcer in an Intercontinental title match and cost Muhammad Hassan a submission victory against then-Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin. The appearance did not soothe many critics of me, especially when I called Hassan and Daivari "sand people" during a promo that set up the match between Hassan and Benjamin...
I again returned to RAW, delivering stunners to all four members of the McMahon family. The following week, Linda and her family united in the ring and 'fired' announcer Jim Ross, a good friend of mine. This angle led to a match in which I agreed to face Ross's replacement, Jonathan Coachman, at Taboo Tuesday, with the stipulation of Ross regaining his announcing job if I were to win, and me losing my own job if I lost the match. However, I went against my word, backing out on an agreement to wrestle the match, and once again walking out on the company after storyline disagreements. To explain away my failure to appear at Taboo Tuesday Vince McMahon said on Monday Night RAW that I had been involved in an accident, thus preventing him from competing. A substitution for me was made in the form of Batista, who faced the Coach along with Vader and Goldust, brought in to generate some last minute interest in the match. To explain away the stipulation regarding Jim Ross, it was stated that the stipulation was conditional on me competing and that since Batista instead was the one who wrestled, that the match would have no stipulations attached to it.2006I revealed in an interview I was apparently considering acting. I would go on to face John Bradshaw Layfield in a beer drinking contest at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event on March 18, 2006 in which would go to a no-contest when I saw JBL cheating by pouring the beer down his clothes. JBL tried to run, but was thrown back into the ring by Chris Benoit. JBL ended up receiving the stunner. I then celebrated with the Stone Cold beer salute. I then inducted Bret "The Hitman" Hart into the WWE Hall Of Fame on April 1, 2006.After WrestleMania, I went to Australia to film the WWE produced film The Condemned. I have since returned to the U.S and will continue making sporadic WWE appearances...Championships and accomplishments* National Wrestling Alliance* NWA World Tag Team Championship – with Brian PillmanWon from Shane Douglas and Ricky Steamboat on March 2, 1993 in Macon, Georgia, USA
Lost to Arn Anderson and Paul Roma on August 18, 1993 in Daytona, Florida, USA* Pro Wrestling Illustrated* 1990 Rookie of the Year
* 1997 Match of the Year – vs. Bret Hart (Submission match, WrestleMania 13, March 23, 1997)
* In 1998, PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year on the annual PWI 500 list
* 1998 Most Popular Wrestler of the Year
* 1998 Wrestler of the Year
* 1998 Feud of the Year – vs. Vince McMahon
* In 1999, PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year on the annual PWI 500 list
* 1999 Feud of the Year – vs. Vince McMahon
* 1999 Wrestler of the Year
* 2001 Wrestler of the Year
* 2001 PWI Most Hated Wrestler
* In 2003, PWI ranked him, with Brian Pillman, # 50 of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years"
* In 2003, PWI ranked him # 19 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years"* Texas Wrestling Federation* TWF Tag Team Championship – with Rod PriceDefeated The Angel of Death and Abdullah the Butcher to become the first champions on November 10, 1990 in Dallas, Texas, USA
Titles abandoned when the TWF closed in May 1991* World Championship Wrestling* WCW World Television ChampionshipWon from Bobby Eaton on June 3, 1991 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Lost to Barry Windham on April 27, 1992 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA* WCW World Television Championship (2)Won from Barry Windham on May 23, 1992 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Lost to Ricky Steamboat on September 2, 1992 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA* WCW World Tag Team Championship – with Brian PillmanWon from Shane Douglas and Ricky Steamboat on March 2, 1993 in Macon, Georgia, USA
Lost to Arn Anderson and Paul Roma on August 18, 1993 in Daytona, Florida, USA* WCW United States Heavyweight ChampionshipWon from Dustin Rhodes on December 27, 1993 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Lost to Ricky Steamboat on August 24, 1994 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA* WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2)Title awarded due to Steamboat being injured on September 18, 1994 in Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Lost to Jim Duggan on September 18, 1994 in Roanoke, Virginia, USA
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