5 WWE Superstar names and backstage stories behind them

#4 Stone Cold Steve Austin

When fans discuss the Attitude Era and the Monday Night Wars, the first name that is bound to come in their minds is that of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Earlier known as The Ringmaster, Austin was once watching an HBO special at his residence, which featured a character named The Ice Man. It caught his eye and he ended up pitching the idea to WWE. In response, WWE sent him three pages consisting of possible names he could use.

They faxed me three pages of the worst names I’d seen in the history of my life. Otto von Ruthless…Ice Dagger…Fang McFrost… Man, it doesn’t get more s**k-a** than that!

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Around that time, Stone Cold's now ex-wife uttered these words that would ultimately change the course of pro-wrestling:

As she turns to leave, ‘Go ahead and drink your tea,’ she says, ‘before it goes stone cold…'

Austin liked the idea and pitched it to WWE officials. The same was approved and he began using the name on WWE TV. Needless to say, this was possibly the biggest turning point in his career, as well as in pro wrestling.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Kaushik Das