Steven

I played football at North Texas State University. After holding down various odd jobs, I began mywrestling career in the late 1980s in Texas. I was trained by "Gentleman" Chris Adams among others. At the start of my early career, I decided to use my real name Steve Williams for wrestling, however there was already a famous wrestler named Steve "Dr. Death" Williams. I was then assigned the name Steve Austin. At first I was reluctant because I didn't want the fans to think of "Steve Austin" of the Six Million Dollar Man, but the real reason was because I am from Austin, Texas.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 went on to form a tag team with Flyin' Brian Pillman known as the Hollywood Blondes. We won the WCW World Tag Team Championship on March 3, 1993 in Macon, Georgia, defeating Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. We held the titles for six months, during which wefeuded with veteran wrestlers Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. We went on to face Flair and Anderson in a two out of three falls tag team title match at Clash of the Champions XXIII on June 17, 1993. Flair and Anderson defeated us, but were not awarded the titles as one fall had been determined by a disqualification.On August 18, 1993 at Clash of the Champions XXIV in Daytona, Florida, me and Pillman were scheduled to defend the titles against Arn Anderson and his new partner, Paul Roma. However, Pillman was injured, and was replaced by Steven Regal. I and Regal went on to lose to Anderson and Roma. With Pillman still injured, I went on to join Colonel Robert Parker's Stud Stable. After Pillman returned, I betrayed him, and went on to defeat him in a singles bout at Clash of the Champions XXV on November 10, 1993.On December 27, 1993 in Charlotte, North Carolina in a two out of three falls match at StarrCade 1993, I defeated "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes in two straight falls to win the WCW United States Championship. I lost the title to my long term nemesis Ricky Steamboat on August 24, 1994 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I was scheduled to face Steamboat in a rematch for the title on September 18, 1994 in Roanoke, Virginia at Fall Brawl 1994, but Steamboat was unable to wrestle due to a back injury, and I was awarded the title by forfeit. My second reign ended just minutes later when he lost to Steamboat's replacement, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan in a match that went just 29 seconds. I went on to challenge Duggan for the WCW United States Championship at Halloween Havoc 1994 on October 23, 1994 and at Clash of the Champions XXIX on November 16, 1994. On both occasions, I lost to Duggan by disqualification.While on a wrestling tour of Japan, I tore my triceps brachii muscle. While I was injured, I received a phone call from WCW informing me that I had been released.In 1995, Steve Austin was fired by World Championship Wrestling Vice President Eric Bischoff. Bischoff and WCW didn't see Austin as a 'marketable' wrestler. Eventually, Austin was contacted by Paul Heyman, who had managed him in WCW. Heyman told Austin that since he had a TV show and Austin had a grievance, it would be a great opportunity to go on ECW television to air it.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, I the "Superstar" 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 December 18, 1995 I joined the World Wrestling Federation. Initially, I used the moniker "The Ringmaster", holder of Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Belt". Not liking my ring name at all, I asked WWF writers to come up with a new name for my character that would suggest a ruthless, cold-hearted persona. I then came up with the name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, after my then-wife Jeannie Clark (the same woman who managed me in the USWA and WCW) advised me to drink my tea before it became "stone cold." I shaved my head bald, a look I've maintained for a decade now, and overcame Savio Vega in a match at WrestleMania XII. At an In Your House pay-per-view event subtitled "Beware of Dog", I lost a "Caribbean Strap Match" to 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 later told announcer Dok Hendrix I purposely lost the match in order to rid me 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. I was not originally intended to win the tournament. My attitude and my modus operandi--using heel tactics in a face role--would come to define the tweener role in professional wrestling.Still a heel, was somewhat underused by the WWF for the next few months, and was mired in midcard feuds with the likes of Yokozuna and Triple H. One thing drove me on, however: the in-exile and unhappy Bret Hart. I spoke about Hart constantly and taunted him relentlessly on TV (one quote had Me saying "If you put the letter 'S' in front of 'Hitman', you have my exact opinion of Bret Hart"). Hart finally accepted my challenge and returned to the WWF in October 1996. At the Survivor Series, Hart pinned me in a match which helped create the foundations for the eventual intense year-long feud between us two. In spite of my loss, my ever-growing popularity multiplied after my strong showing. The match came hot on the heels of a highly controversial incident broadcast live on RAW, which saw me "break into" Brian Pillman's house, with Pillman allegedly brandishing a gun.In January, I won the 1997 Royal Rumble match; I was eliminated by Bret Hart, but the officials did not see it, and I snuck back into the ring and eliminated Hart. Due to real-life events largely revolving around Shawn Michaels, Hart and me were booked at the 11th hour for a re-match at WrestleMania 13 in March 1997. Hart defeated me in a Submission match. The iconic image of the night was my grimacing, bloody face being massively cheered on by the live Chicago crowd, as the relentless Hart refused to release his patented Sharpshooter. Despite my passing out that led to his defeat, I did not tap out and refused to give up, which made me the new fan favorite. This match revieved a Five Star rating from Dave Meltzer and is generally considered on of the best matches in North American wrestling history.I would then replace Bret Hart as the new hero of the WWF. One of the main distinguishing features about my character was that he was one who broke the rules and defied authority, and thus I was considered to be an "anti-hero," or as a fan put it, "He was a hero that didn't try to be one."I would eventually get my revenge on Hart when I injured Hart's leg in a no disqualification match. After my feud with Bret Hart I had a WWF Championship shot against The Undertaker, at the May 1997 pay per view "Cold Day In Hell" I had the match won when I had The Undertaker down with the stunner but due to distraction from Brian Pillman The Undertaker nailed me with a Tombstone Piledriver and got the victory. I also had a brief tag team runs with both Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley where I would get my first taste at WWF gold when I won the WWF Tag Team Championship during those runs. Then I challenged Bret Hart's younger brother, Owen Hart. The sight of a handcuffed Austin being led out of the arena by "policemen" while giving the finger - the "Stone Cold Salute" - to the fans is one of the resounding images of my career. I wanted to gain revenge on Owen I challenged him for his Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam (1997) and vowed that if I couldn't beat him he would kiss his rear end in the middle of the ring.In that match at SummerSlam 1997, I suffered a near-career ending neck injury as a result of a piledriver by Owen Hart. A piledriver is a move in which the receiver is lifted up in the air by the attacker and dropped vertically onto their head. The attacker holds the receiver's body so that the receiver's head is just high enough off the ground to ensure that the move looks realistic, but also poses no danger to the receiver. My head was seen to be six to eight inches lower than the safe level for a piledriver, and as a result my was driven legitimately into the ground head first, taking the full force of my 252 lbs. of body weight into my neck. After being briefly paralyzed, I recovered and was able to win the match and the Intercontinetal title as planned, but the incident would force me to take time off for surgery in 1997. In fact, during that match of SummerSlam 1997, after realizing that I was hurt, Owen pranced around the ring claiming that I was going to "Kiss his ass" . In reality though, he was shocked and scared of the possibility that he may have ended my career. This injury was played up on WWF TV afterwards, to explain why I did not wrestle for several months forcing me to forfeit the Intercontinetal championship. At the 1997 Survivor Series, I got another shot at Owen when he once again challenged him for the Intercontinetal title. Owen Hart would walk into the Montreal arena wearing a T-Shirt mocking my "3:16" moniker: "Owen 3:16" and the back said "I Just Broke Your Neck". Owen would lose the WWF Intercontinental Championship that night at the Survivor Series again to me. I never harbored a grudge against Hart for injuring me, although, Hart never apologized for the incident.With Bret Hart's departure from the company, I was now the clear top face in the company and after managing to ruffle the feathers of every WWF superstar. I entered and won the 1998 Royal Rumble. This led to my WWF Championship match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV where I won my first WWF Championship with help from Mike Tyson. This victory ushered in the Austin Era, and with it, the Attitude Era.On April 13, 1998, it appeared the WWF fans would finally get to see Stone Cold and Mr. McMahon battle out our differences. But the match was declared a No-Contest when Dude Love made an appearance, coming between the boss and me. This led to a match between Dude Love and me at Over The Edge. I managed to retain the title. McMahon continued to do everything he could to ruin The Rattlesnake, and he finally scored a big victory for his side at the 1998 King of the Ring tournament. There, I lost the WWF Championship to Kane in a First Blood Match. McMahon couldn’t savor the victory for long. I further infuriated his nemesis by winning back the championship the next night on RAW. I delivered another blow to McMahon by taking away the World Tag Team Championship a month later alongside the Undertaker. It was a combustible combination, leading to a match between us at SummerSlam. I emerged victorious — something Mr. McMahon couldn’t tolerate. So, the boss set up a Triple Threat Match at Breakdown in September. It proved to be more like a Handicap Match in the end, as half-brothers Undertaker and Kane pinned me simultaneously.Mr. McMahon decided to vacate the WWF Championship and award it based on a match between Undertaker and Kane. Since I was also involved in the original match, I was made special referee. In typical Stone Cold fashion, I screwed both competitors. Feeling he had no other recourse, Mr. McMahon fired me for my actions. I re-emerged having inked a brand-new five-year contract. It was revealed that his son, Shane McMahon, was the McMahon that re-signed The Rattlesnake. With me back, there was a Survivor Series tournament to award the vacant WWF Championship. In the semifinals against Mankind, I lost to him. The Rock would win the tournament to become WWF Champion. The next night on Raw, Judge Mills Lane ruled that the Rock had to defend his just won WWF Championship against me that night. The Undertaker interfered and hit me with a shovel, earning me a disqualification victory. At In Your House: Rock Bottom, I defeated The Undertaker in a Buried Alive match due to Kane's interference. With this victory, I was now qualified to enter The Royal Rumble match.On the January 4, 1999 episode of Raw (taped a week earlier), I helped Mankind win the WWF title when he knocked out the Rock with a chair. I then put Mankind's arm on top of the Rock and the referee made the three count.My next definitive chance to exact revenge from Mr. McMahon came during the 1999 Royal Rumble Match. I drew entry No. 1, while McMahon drew No. 2. Despite a vicious attack from McMahon’s Corporation, both lasted until the end. The odds proved insurmountable, however. With the assistance of the Corporation, I was eliminated. On Feb. 14, 1999, at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, I got a one-on-one match against Mr. McMahon in a steel cage. With a WWF championship opportunity at WrestleMania at stake, Mr. McMahon devised a large surprise. During the match, Big Show made his shocking debut, breaking through from the under the ring and attacking me. But Show’s attack propelled me into the side of the cage forcing the cage to give way dropping me to the floor first, technically making me the victor. I made the most of my chance, defeating the Corporation’s The Rock at WrestleMania XV for my third WWF Championship.The WWF then took an ominous turn when Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness and McMahon’s Corporation merged in an effort to overpower me. Undertaker won the WWF Championship thanks to McMahon’s meddling. I would soon win back the WWF Championship on RAW. I would hold on to the Championship belt until SummerSlam 1999 when I lost it to Mankind in a Triple Threat Match which also involved Triple H. By Survivor Series in 1999, Triple H was champion, and I was supposed to get my chance to reclaim gold in a Triple Threat Match which featured me, Triple H and The Rock. Instead, I was run down by a car in the parking lot. What followed was neck surgery and a nine-month rehabilitation. But I would eventually return for payback.Five months later, at Backlash, I appeared during the main event, attacking Triple H, and Vince McMahon, helping The Rock reclaim the WWF Championship. 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 30th 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 car with a construction crane, then let it drop 30 feet.I won my third Royal Rumble in January 2001, last eliminating Kane. As of 2006, I am 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 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. Triple H and I became a Tag Team and called ourselves 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 (mine), 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 his 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 my 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. Ilost 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. My team and I 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 I consecutively in that night winning the World Title and later the WWF Title and combining them to create the WWF Undisputed Championship.The "WHAT?" catchphrase originated when I was on the road. Completely bored, I left a 15 minute message to Christian's phone where the whole 'WHAT?!' chant started. I would say a sentence and say 'WHAT?!' after I paused.By 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 I was becoming an increasingly mid-card wrestler. I 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 I would sign with. Ultimately, I 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 he 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 I held.I later publicly stated that at the time, my anti-social attitude behind the scenes were the result of me dealing with chronic knee and neck injuries that had never properly healed.In 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 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. I finally came back on RAW on December 29, 2003 as its "Sheriff".I 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 and the 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 himself, 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.I 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. 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 sooth many critics of mine, especially when I called Hassan and Daivari "sand people" during a promo that set up the match between Hassan and Benjamin.At WWE Homecoming, 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 his word, backing out on an agreement to wrestle the match, and once again walking out on the company after storyline disagreements. To explain away his 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 my competing and that since Batista instead was the one who wrestled, that the match would have no stipulations attached to it.I revealed in an interview that I was 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.Thanks for reading all of this. I know there are a lot of you who wanted to know the rest of my story. Well there it is. Now somebody gimme a damned beer, after all that typing I'm thirsty. Steve.. animal layout @ HOT FreeLayouts.com love / music / movies / frazy Hot Free Layouts