What If The Curtain Call Hadn’t Happened?

#4 No Austin 3:16

Austin 3:16 may have never existed were it not for the Curtain Call.

The most immediate and profound beneficiary of WWE punishing Triple H for the Curtain Call was none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin. He was gathering steam with his foul-mouthed, cutthroat heel character, not to mention his stellar in-ring chops. When WWE was in need of a replacement King of the Ring, they decided to give unproven Austin the huge opportunity.

Not every King of the Ring becomes a success story—just ask guys like Mabel and Billy Gunn. Austin was up to the task, though. Between his semifinal and finals appearances in the tournament, Austin went to the hospital to get stitches, and upon his immediate return, demanded that someone tell him what Jake Roberts had said after winning his own way to the last round of the tournament.

Austin took Roberts’ Bible-quoting words, and turned them on their head to famously proclaim “Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass.” It became one of the most iconic promos in wrestling history and gave way to one of the most famous t-shirts the business had ever seen—all paving the way for Stone Cold to become the biggest star in wrestling.