Celebrating the ‘birth’ of ‘Stone Cold’
Very seldom does a date get remembered in pro wrestling history.
The first WrestleMania and Hulk-A-Mania being born are two dates that stand out, but they are not the only ones.
Sunday served as the 23rd anniversary of the 鈥渂irth鈥� of 鈥淪tone Cold鈥� Steve Austin.
Sure, Austin made his WWE television on December, 1995 as 鈥淭he Ringmaster鈥� with Ted DiBiase serving as his manager.
Austin鈥檚 nickname was changed to 鈥淪tone Cold鈥� in March 1996, but he was still morphing into the legend he would become. It was not until the 1996 King of the Ring that 鈥淪tone Cold鈥� Steve Austin was born.
In the opening match of the Pay-Per-View, Austin defeated 鈥淲ild Man鈥� Marc Mero in a fantastic bout in a tournament semifinal.
During the match, Austin鈥檚 lip was busted open and he had to get stitches.
In the ensuing semifinal match, Jake 鈥淭he Snake鈥� Roberts defeated Vader by disqualification.
When Roberts had returned to WWE a few months prior, he had taken on a faith-driven character that he had found God after years of drug and alcohol abuse.
Later that night in the co-main event, Austin defeated Roberts in the King of the Ring final and was interviewed afterward by Michael 鈥淧.S.鈥� Hayes, then known as Dok Hendrix.
While the full interview can be found on the WWE Network or using an online search, Austin referenced Roberts鈥� religious 鈥渞ebirth鈥� during the interview.
鈥淵ou sit there and you thump your bible and you say your prayers and it didn鈥檛 get you anywhere,鈥� Austin said. 鈥淭alk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16.
鈥淎ustin 3:16 said I just whipped your ().鈥�
If you are a pro wrestling fans, I think you know what word came next.
With those 35 words, Austin and his career took off as if he had a jetpack strapped to his back and it took his to legendary status.
Although Austin would not win his first WWE championship for another 21 months, he became the most popular wrestler in history and sold more merchandise than anyone ever. More than Hogan, more than John Cena, more than Roman Reigns.
What makes that fact even more amazing is that Austin鈥檚 time on top was cut short because of his neck issues.
When you take out the three months he missed in 1997 after being injured by Owen Hart, the year he was out between 1999-2000 and the eight-plus months he missed when he walked out of WWE in 2002, Austin鈥檚 time on top was not as long as most people think.
From the day he won King of the Ring until his last match against The Rock at WrestleMania XIX in 2003, he was the 鈥渕an鈥� for less than seven years. Take out the time he missed, and Austin made a name for himself in less than five years of actual in-ring time.
With how popular Austin became and how much merchandise he sold, it was remarkable how mainstream pro wrestling became at the time.
While the nWo deserves part of the credit for the start of the pro wrestling boom in the 1990s, Austin is what took the business to a level it had never been before and hasn鈥檛 been to since.
And, it all started 23 years ago Sunday.
This week鈥檚 question
Will The Undertaker and Goldberg wrestle again? Craig, Allenport.
I was critical of their match at Super ShowDown earlier this month, but this was before it was announced that Goldberg had knocked himself out, literally, during the match.
After watching it again, the first part of the match told a story, and let鈥檚 be honest, Goldberg鈥檚 matches never went long anyway.
My guess is the pair will once again do battle as it would help ease the fact that the match went downhill fast.
Time will tell, but my guess is yes.