@@zemox2534 He and Debra had issues, what he did was not OK but it went through the justice system and he paid his dues and there hasn't been an incident since. So rehabilitation which is the entire point. Or do you not believe in second chances? I guess you are perfect yourself. As for a second ex wife he allegedly beat, I'll need more information on that cause I am not aware.
Stone Cold was the symbol of Attitude Era. He was a badass, he didn't fear anybody and he kicked ass. You can imagine what matches he could've had if was never injured in 1997.
I am going through a messy divorce and your channel is my favorite... sometimes you gotta just unwind with some classic wrestling bios, thanks for getting me to a happy place every time i watch
I was a teenager during the attitude era and it seemed like Stone Cold *was* the WWF. He seemed to pick up the entire company on his back (by extension the entire industry) and carry it to the forefront of pop culture. For anyone who wasn't around at the time it's hard to understate just how over Austin was.
I was 10 in 1998, but I was watching weekly, too. Though Austin was definitely the lightning rod, I think the work Bret, Sid, Austin, Taker, Foley, The Nation, DX and Vince were doing definitely helped compliment Austin’s ascension. It was a fun time to be a fan, especially having an engaged audience there to cheer rather than record everything on their phones.
@@christophernear6990 I'm guessing you're one of those people that thinks that all big men except for Undertaker suck if their work doesn't look like Shawn Michaels'. It's the same weird standard that Kevin Nash gets held to for some reason.
That kurt angle and Steve Austin cowboy hat segment took me out just because of the simple fact that Stone Cold was laughing when he saw the mini cowboy hat 😂😂😂😂
My Mother died in 95, unexpectedly. I needed someone to live my life through. Fast forward a year later and the early Austin promos in November 96, I completely was fascinating with the Austin character.
Stone Cold Steve was an awesome heel. His early Stone Cold promos were awesome (Black and White barking dog promo). They were so good that even though he was a heel he was getting a babyface pop. Also WWF was pretty family friendly back in the 1990s. So when he was dropping cuss words it really shocked people.
I remember his first feud with the Rock over the IC title when he threw the belt in the river. I was shocked and thought "How is he allowed to do that?".
I hope HBK gets a Video in this Series. I know he's not everyone's favorite, but he is legitimately one of the Greatest to do it, and this Series is so good, I really want to see one about him. Nobody else could have made what he made out of being a Male Stripper Character. Yes, for those who don't know, HBK was definitely a Male Stripper Character, and no one could have done with that, what he did with it. Just ask Marcus Alexander Bagwell, and Scotty Riggs.
I've often wondered if Vince didn't budge on the Ringmaster gimmick, if Steve would have jumped back to ECW. Just a think piece but with his desire to wrestle and his burnt bridge with WCW he could have easily became the savior of ECW and even if he possibly jumped back to WWF afterwards it could have kept the ECW running a bit longer, if not saved the promotion for the long run
There's a question looking back at his entire run as Stone Cold that keeps popping up: Was Stone Cold ever really a face, or just a heel that had some redeemable traits that resonated with us all? Yes, a rabbit hole question with possibly no end, but could be worth a deep dive.
I think about that every so often. I remember when Roddy Piper asked Hogan, "Do you think they would've loved you so much if they didn't hat me?" And looking at Steve's opponents with the Heel anti American Hart Foundation, the Heat magnet Rock when he was in the Nation, the DX Shawn Michaels who was cool, funny and anti authoritiy but also, rude, obnoxious and arrogant, and Vince becoming the Mr. McMahon character slowly but surely after the 1997 Survivor series, I definitely believe it helped Austin grow in popularity as they wanted to see Austin wipe the floor with them. And as Bios here points out, the no nonsense attitude, anti authority blue collar type worked in his favor and, in my opinion, was the perfect catalyst or antithesis of Heel Bret, heel Rock, Heel Shawn and Heel Vince.
The respect of stone cold for the hitman is well known And hart expressed multiple times that he regretted not having the possibility to do another dance with Austin on the ring Bret was the multitimes world champ And he made Austin look like a a true warrior Bret did one of his best works with Austin both with promos and in ring perfomance At a time where others where all about politicking and don t playing ball Bret did his absolute best to help elevating stone cold He gave him legitimate credibility as a tough unbreakable block of rock and made him enter like a meteorite the main event scene Both men deserve all the credit and applause for their rivalry and series of matches Truly one of the best rivalry in prowrestling
I got into WWF in 2000 when Austin was out injured - I knew of him as I played Smackdown! and of course he was mentioned on TV, but all of his rise was something from before. That's why I like these kind of videos - they show so much that I missed at the time.
I started watching WWE during the time Austin was out with that long neck injury, and The Rock and Triple H were the main Heel/Face wrestlers. Everyone was talking about 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin being the best, but I was like, 'Who?'' When he returned at Backlash 2000, I thought, "Hey, it's 'Stunning' Steve Austin from the old WCW, but without the hair!" Didn't take me long to realise why he was the GOAT :)
It’s funny looking back at the early stages of Stone Cold and how unreasonably angry he was about EVERYTHING! Dude was SO intense! It’s like well God damn Steve calm down! 😂
You should do a "what could have been" series with story lines that were ended too early. I think it'd be fun to speculate on what could have been. Like Pillman vs Stone cold. The story line would have been epic.
Most wrestling journalists, historians, and Vince himself have consistently stated that nobody was a bigger box office attraction at their peak than Stone Cold Steve Austin. Nobody drew as many people to house shows than Austin. Nobody sold more merch than Austin, and no one was as big on PPV as Austin, the only guy who came close was Rocky who also got absolutely massive.Just go back and watch 1995 and 1996 and see how poor the WWF/WWE was doing, then once Austin starts heating up in 97 everything starts to change. By 1998 the WWF/WWE was making over 50 million in revenue, a complete turnaround. Me and my brother and his friends were obsessed with Austin and loved everything he did. It only started going sideways when he turned heel, and even then it was really difficult to dislike him.
lol idk man. That turn of heel kinda made me stop watch wrestling. Waited all that time,with that long as ramp to see that? Then he started yelling what like lil John? It was tooo much
@@Godeater13273I was solely speaking to the difficulty of liking him. Once he turned that was it for some not just me. But I will say the people who did still like him most def out numbered those who didn’t
Oh i agree. The heel turn just did not feel natural at all. Well it was okay at first because Austin did not really alter his character that much, he just got more vicious but as time went on he started hugging Vince and wearing cowboy hats and singing songs. It's funny now and I can appreciate it now but back then.......it was just too much unwanted change. @@benchwarmerss9165
I've seen bits and pieces of the evolution of Steve Austin, I really like this. I normally save Reiving the War as workout videos but try and watch these types on release.
It's crazy to think about if he wasn't set back by injury the knees and then the neck how much longer and crazier his run would have been. the GOAT. I love his more athletic style sad injuries had to make the style that he was more known for
I always liked forward to seeing what Stonecold was gonna do on Monday nights even when he wasn't actually wrestling anymore. As long as he was gonna be there, I'd definitely tune in to see it.
Stone Cold Steve Austin, & The Rock were the reason I started watching WWF, & since WCW wasn't really found anything exciting from 97 till WWF bought WCW out, I would watch Raw Is War & during commercial breaks I would flip the channel to Nitro.
Gotta do a Bob Remus/ Sgt Slaughter in this format, while he's still with us. Origin story, pre-wwe, career highlights, "stolen valor" controversy, GIJoe. Theres enough to cover about both gimmick and the man for a 20 minute deep dive and nobody else seems to have given this superstar a critical deep dive.
Stone Cold may seem like an odd choice for this but honestly, the more subtle and nuanced "non-gimmick gimmicks" like the Stone Cold character make for a very interesting deep dive to fit the pieces together. By that token, and fitting both due to Austin being the topic of this video and of current news, I think Mr. McMahon would be another great choice for this series down the line.
As a teenager in the attitude era from Texas with an old man who hated his boss and drank beer like water, Steve Austin is 100% the real deal. Was lucky enough to see his match at Mania 38 in Cowboys Stadium, and I know it's a meme, but I really did feel like a kid again. The absolute best in my opinion, Austin 3:16 forever. That one episode of Raw where Vince, Gerry Briscoe and Pat Patterson went to Austin's hometown to provoke him into attacking Vince for some reason or another, that wasn't my hometown but it easily could have been lol
I was in the fourth row at St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Who would have thought that it would become one of the most famous events in pro wrestling history. I remember being a teenager going with my mother and stepfather, neither of whom were fans of pro wrestling, but sat through it because they wanted me to be happy. It was a night i will never forget.
Well done! If anything, you may have understated Stone Cold's cultural influence. I was in middle school in '96 & remember a teacher saying "Mr. Thaltz 3:16 says do your damn work!" Needless to say, we loved it!
Though I do love comedic Austin a lot. It added layers to show the man can switch back and fourth. And the comedy work between him and Kurt are just one of a kind.
that thing about teenagers was correct, I was not necessarily against "the man" in school per-say but even before I watched anything with stone cold, I was always giving the middle finger and telling teachers what I thought when I knew/thought I was right (middle school) so when I started watching I was hooked because I did feel relatable to stone cold, I think in some ways I had a different attitude (no pun intended) about how I talked kinda mimicking him, and well sorry to all the teachers because I was not the old "3 16" at the time either
Timing. Austin broke in during the last days of the territories..guys like Austin,HHH,Taker,and Foley were able to bridge eras..so Stone Cold knew the old school ways of getting over combined w new school attitude.
One thing I liked during the attitude era was after each show Steve would have a "beer bash" with the fans this was done off tv but they Include It on the network where It's Just steve having fun with the crowd
Stone Cold is my favorite all time wrestler he is the reason i started watching wrestling again n maaan was it worth it i started watching after wrestlemania 14 i remember my friends talking bout it
My dad took me to Mayhem In Manchester in April 1998. When that glass shattered and Stone Cold's music hit the roof blew off the arena! Remember like it was yesterday
I was a big Stunning Steve fan from his WCW days I even rooted for him as the Ringmaster when he first entered the WWF but once he switched to Stone Cold you could see that was going to be his ticket to the main event. I do still love his Hollywood Blonde and Colonel Parker days though. Great character 100%
Stone Cold Steve Austin is the very definition of what a Game Changer is. His career, while marred by his neck and knee issues, is the story book pro wrestling career. A career of trials and tribulations, triumphs and failures, and overcoming the odds. An absolute success story of someone who went from a nobody to an absolute icon of a generation.
Without a doubt, an absolute megastar. Badass? Sure. Everyone knows that. But he was so incredibly believable, in everything he did. He said what he thought, and he did what he said. He was "real". That is what I respect so much about him.
Steve austins King of the ring speech 1996 was the greatest of all time. My favourite match has to be Steve austin vs Bret hart at wrestle mania 13 so good.
Steve Austin in WCW did submission moves, Austin even fought young Scott Steiner in WCW. My top 3 submission wrestlers: 1. Bret Hart 2. Scott Steiner 3. Steve Austin
You all know that my entire life, and until the day I die I will forever, live, breathe, bleed, and defend WCW until my last breath. However, I have said this thousands of times. The Submission Match at WM13 is the single greatest, and most important match in the history of professional wrestling. The story told during the match, the double turn, the ending, etc. Everything about it is sheer absolute perfection, and it's what officially shot Austin to the Moon, and we are STILL feeling the effects of it to this day. It made wrestling cool again, no matter which company you watched. The merchandise sales (especially on the WWE side), the hundreds of pop culture crossovers, everything happened simply because of this one match. And that's just during the Monday Night War, nevermind all that came afterwards. I always say "WCW For Life" to anyone that will listen, but there is simply no denying the overall impact of that Submission Match at WM13. The WWE and Wrestling Industry as a whole would not be what they are today if not for this One. Single. Match. As much as I love and defend WCW, I truly believe the seeds of the beginning of the end of the company began at WM13. We just didn't know it at the time, as it was very subtle (in hindsight). WCW For Life.
It's always so crazy to me to think of how short his run really was. He didn't become champion until after Wrestlemania in 98. In 1999 he wasn't wrestling a lot of matches on RAW and was even absent from some PVPs before being completely written off. He came back and was face for a brief moment before turning heel at Wrestlemania in 2001. Even though his heel wasn't that long, he only wrestled briefly until his retirement at wrestlemania in 2003. On paper that sounds like a lot of years, but when you actually watch all the RAWs, SmackDowns and PVPs, it really doesn't seem that way.
Chono had a reasonably long career after Austin (ironically enough) did the same move to him. It didn't help that Austin immediately came back after the injury, instead of taking some time off.
@@benjaminmee3751 That's probably true I've heard that before. Still I think Owen Hart was not a very safe wrestler he hurt a number of people and he is not criticized because he died. He was more dynamic and exciting than Brett but he was also not as safe.
I think WWE beat WCW in the long run because they created new wrestlers instead of relying on big names from the past. Stone Cold is a perfect example for that.
