#2 Stone Cold Steve Austin based on Ice Man Killer Richard Kuklinski
Like I mentioned above, Steve Austin was enduring a torrid time in the WWE under his Ringmaster gimmick which didn’t resonate with the crowd. Instead, he decided to switch things up and pitched the idea of emulating serial killers to creative.
Initially a terrifying thought, the WWE soon changed their tune when they saw what Austin had in mind. Having studied Ice Man Killer Richard Kuklinski – a serial killer who killed his victims by freezing them to death – he came up with the idea for the character Stone Cold Steve Austin.
He committed to the cause fully by even shaving his head and growing a goatee to look more like the notorious criminal.
Debuting as a cold, remorseless heel, it wouldn’t be until the legendary main event against Bret Hart and his following babyface turn, that the gimmick would take on a life of its own as a beer drinking, ass kicking, redneck.
