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Without Stone Cold Steve Austin, WWE would likely have not been around anymore.
WWE was going through the worst financial phase in the promotion's history, while its biggest rival at the time WCW was flourishing on the back of the nWo led by Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. There were legitimate fears that WWE would have to shut down, if they did not manage to turn things around quickly.
It was at this time that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin arrived out of nowhere, raised hell and left. And by the time the dust had settled, he had changed professional wrestling forever.
Stone Cold was the main inspiration behind and the driving force of the WWE's most beloved period, the Attitude Era.
Certain sections of fans and experts note that the Attitude Era was the most popular era of professional wrestling, and may probably never be outshone by any other pro-wrestling company...not even WWE itself!
Furthermore, it's praiseworthy that Stone Cold achieved all this with the help of unique blend of charisma, personality and wrestling talent. However, most people seem to forget how great of a wrestler Austin when talking of his greatness.
He is remembered as the bad-ass, brawler from the Lone Star State who used to beat up his tyrannical boss every week. Yet Stone Cold could more than hold his own in the mat wrestling department against the very best of them.
Here we look back at 5 of the greatest matches of Stone Cold's career. The matches have been selected not only based on their in ring quality but also on their memorability and long term impact--
#5 Stone Cold vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 14)
At this point, Shawn Michaels was severely injured. His back was hurt to the point where this would be his last wrestling match before returning for a second run four years later.
Yet the Heartbreak Kid stuck around to steal the show at Wrestlemania for one last time (or so we had thought back then) and dropped the WWF World Heavyweight Championship to Austin, ushering in the Attitude Era.
Shawn's willingness to do the job for Austin might be questioned with rumors existing that The Undertaker had waited backstage during the match with taped fists to make sure that Michaels did the right thing. But at the end of the day, Shawn Michaels did put on an extremely good match considering the condition his body was in back then and Austin became the WWF World Heavyweight Champion.
Shawn must have felt that this was the last time he would ever be wrestling and wanted to deliver a "vintage Shawn Michaels performance" before silently riding into the sunset.
"Iron" Mike Tyson's presence as the special enforcer added an extra dimension to the contest. Austin and Tyson had had their differences leading up to Wrestlemania and the fans were wondering if the two would come to blows on the grandest stage of them all.
No such brawl materialized as the two men joined forces at the end of the contest, and Tyson knocked out Shawn Michaels, who to his credit sold it like he had been hit by a truck.
One year after sowing the seeds of the Attitude Era at Wrestlemania 13, Austin had finally realized his dream. While this might not have been either man's greatest in ring contest, the occasion and the long term impact that it would go on to have on the wrestling industry gives it a different level of historical significance.
#4 Stone Cold vs. Dude Love (Over The Edge 1998)
Steve Austin and Mick Foley might be the two best brawlers that the pro-wrestling business has ever seen. And this match that they put on at Over The Edge 1998 is what every Street Fight or Falls Count Anywhere match aspires to be today.
The two former tag team partners had been embroiled in an heated rivalry after Dude Love had turned on Austin and chosen to serve Austin's arch nemesis, Vince McMahon. The two friends-turned-enemies met at Over The Edge in 1998, with Vince McMahon serving as the special guest referee.
Back then, a villainous referee was not as common in wrestling as it is today and that in turn added an extra layer of drama to the match.
The stipulation of the match would change at Mr. McMahon's whim. It went from a one fall match to a no disqualification match and finally turned into a falls count anywhere match.
By the end of it, the two future Hall of Famers had brawled their way into creating a masterpiece--Something that would stand the test of time, and is to this day considered as the benchmark for any falls count anywhere match.
#3 Stone Cold vs. Triple H (No Way Out 2001)
When Triple H was revealed to be the man behind running over Austin with a car which had forced him to be out for nine months. The two long time rivals met at No Way Out 2001 in the very first ever Three Stages of Hell.
It was basically a two out of three falls match with each match having a different stipulation. The first fall would be a standard wrestling match, the second fall a street fight and the final fall would be contested in a steel cage. Obviously, the match went to be decided by a third fall as it so often does in two out of three falls matches.
It comprised an intense brawl, a plethora of weapons and a whole lot of blood. Triple H was at the top of his game at this point of time and Austin as always delivered on the big stage despite having returned from neck surgery.
It was easily one of the best matches of both of these men's careers. The ending was also one of the most unique in wrestling history, with Austin hitting HHH with a 2x4 wrapped in barbed wire while HHH hit him with a sledgehammer at the same time. Triple H would get the last fall as his lifeless body fell on top of the knocked out Austin.
#2 Stone Cold vs. The Rock (WrestleMania 17)
Two of the biggest stars in pro-wrestling history, The Rock and Steve Austin faced off at the grandest stage of them all on three different occasions. And it was their encounter at Wrestlemania 17 that was clearly the best of the three.
Going into Wrestlemania, both the men were white hot babyfaces and the general consensus was that The Rock would be turning heel at Wrestlemania. So when it was Austin that turned to the dark side after he allied with his long time rival, Mr. McMahon, the people were well and truly shocked.
While most fans do not agree with the WWE's decision to turn Austin heel at the height of his popularity, that assessment makes more sense now than it did back then. One of the two men did have to turn heel that night and Austin had already been the top babyface of the company for four years by then.
The Rock on the other hand was as popular as Austin and had youth over the aging Austin. It did make sense for the WWE to make The Rock the next face of their company seeing that Austin's body was quickly breaking down and he would not around after a few years.
Whether you agree with ending or not, it does not change the fact that the match they had leading to it was easily one of the greatest main events in Wrestlemania history. The two men left it all in the ring and crafted a masterpiece in the process.
It was edge of the seat entertainment from beginning to end--and when Austin shook hands with the man that he had been feuding with for the past three years, it truly one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history.
This match marked the end of the Attitude Era. The biggest boom period in wrestling which began with Austin's face turn at Wrestlemania 13 and came to an end with his heel turn four years later. This period is widely regarded as the most successful period in the history of the business and will probably never be replicated.
#1 Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13)
It is matches like these which make pro-wrestling a form of art. Nothing good you could say about this match would ever be enough.
It is truly one of the greatest matches in professional wrestling history!
Going into Wrestlemania 13, Bret Hart was the babyface while Austin was the dastardly heel. However, the WWE managed to notice a change in the taste of the fans as boos had started creeping into Bret Hart's matches because his bland babyface character had grown stale.
On the contrary, Austin had been getting cheers all over the nation due to his charisma and devil-may-care attitude.
This led to the WWE performing the greatest double turn in history and by the end of the match Bret Hart had managed to become the dastardly heel while Austin was the sympathetic babyface.
The beating that Hart put on Austin that night was brutal to say the least and Austin's insistence to not give up instantly made the fans come over to his side. The match was a masterclass in in-ring storytelling and it is hard imagine anything will ever manage to outshine it.
Hart vs. Austin at Wrestlemania 13 also marked the beginning of the Attitude Era. Without this bout, the WWE probably would not have survived against the WCW in the Monday Night Wars.
The image of a profusely bleeding Austin screaming in agony yet not tapping out to Bret Hart's sharpshooter instead choosing to pass out in pain will live in the memories of wrestling fans forever.
