"Stone Cold" Steve Austin (wrestler)

This wrestler is usually known by "Austin 3:16". He has the tough look of a biker but is every bit down to earth. He's known for having a steely glare he gives towards his opponents in the ring

-Birth name: Steven James Anderson

-DOB: 12/18/1964

-Where: Edna, Texas

Trivia

-His entrance theme/sound was the sound of shattering glass. If you heard this, you knew he was coming

-He was trained by "Gentleman" Chris Adams and made a break into wrestling with USWA. He joined WCW, where he wrestled under the name "Stunning" Steve Austin. But after an elbow injury, he was fired from WCW. He then went on to ECW, where Paul Heyman was working and would eventually work his way to WWE

-He joined WWE in January 1996 as "The Million Dollar Champion". His debut, however, was that of "The Ringmaster". His first match was against Savio Vega and he won.

-June 1996 seen Austin defeat Jake "The Snake" Roberts. His promo included deriding Roberts for his religious beliefs, leading to the birth of Austin 3:16. Unfortunately for some, this ushered in the new Attitude Era

-The first wrestler to actually butt heads with Steve Austin was Calgary-born wrestler Bret "Hitman" Hart. Their rivalry came to a head at WrestleMania XIII, ending with Austin in Bret's famed move, the sharpshooter. But he managed to hold on. While he was not the highly talented and technical wrestler Bret was, he could still hold on. The end of the match is what really defined Austin as a wrestler. He was trapped in Bret's sharpshooter move and did not submit. Ref Ken Shamrock finally called for the end as Austin passed out with more than 18,000 people cheering him on

-His career nearly ended in 1997, at the hands of another Hart, this time Owen Hart. A freak injury at 1997's SummerSlam involved Austin getting slammed on his head during a piledriver, fracturing his neck

-He recovered quickly and quickly rose to the top of the WWE world. He took on fellow WWE'ers Bret "Hitman" Hart, Shawn Michaels aka "The Heartbreak Kid", The Undertaker. But his two best known matches were against The Rock and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon Jr.

-1997 saw the rivalry begin between McMahon and Austin. It happened as a result of McMahon stripping the Intercontinental Title and Austin delivered a "Stone Cold Stunner" (a kick to the gut followed by a jawbreaker) to his boss at Madison Square Garden. It's said this rivalry defined the Attitude Era

-Austin and The Rock faced each other in the ring just as often as Austin and McMahon did. They both headlined three WrestleMania pay-per-view events from 1999-2003.

-He retired from wrestling after WrestleMania XIX. But he still made appearances, unfortunately at the expense of the McMahons. The crowds didn't seem to be as loud as they usually were when they heard the glass shattering, which signalled the appearance of Austin 3:16

-His career ended perfectly: six WWE Championships, two Intercontinental Championships, three wins in the Royal Rumble and Triple Crown Champions and even his 2009 induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Not bad at all for a boy from a small town in Texas

-He was incredibly shy when he was young, but he took up football and began to gain confidence

-He has a series of trademark moves. They are:

• Stun Gun (dropping opponent throat first on top rope)
• Lou Thesz press
• That's a Wrap (figure four leg lock)
• Arn Anderson Spinebuster
• Million Dollar Dream (also known as Cobra Clutch)
• Axe Handle Elbow Drop
• Piledriver
• Mudhole Stomping (corner stomps)
• Stone Cold Stunner (kick to the gut with a jawbreaker)

-He was the first wrestler to ever escape The Rock's finishing move "The Rock Bottom" at WrestleMania XV

-On March 29, 1998, he won his first WWF title match against Shawn "The Heartbreak Kid" Michaels

-He played defensive end for the University of North Texas football team

-Austin met his former wife Debra while she worked as a valet for wrestler Jeff Jarret

-He lost to Bret Hart in all four encounters they had, but did not lose all the matches

1. He lost to Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1996
2. He passed out at WrestleMania 13, during the "I Quit" match, even though he didn't actually say "I quit"
3. He won by DQ (disqualification) against Bret at a 1997 PPV event when The Hart Foundation interfered while Austin had Bret in his own signature move, the sharpshooter
4. The following night on WWE Raw, officials had to separate Bret and Austin where Bret was trapped in his own move, the sharpshooter, for several minutes. Austin injured Bret's leg severely and supposedly attacked him in the ambulance after the match concluded

-His nickname, "Stone Cold" came by way of his ex-wife, Jeanie Clark. She was British and serving him some tea while he contemplated new nicknames because "Stunning" wasn't cool anymore. Management were trying to come up with nicknames for him relating to icy, glacial, etc because of his cold stare. When his wife noticed he wasn't drinking the hot tea she made, to help him relax, she said "You'd better drink your tea before it gets stone cold"

-He was trying to get over as a heel (bad guy) after winning the 1996 King of the Ring

-Since there was another wrestler going under the name Steve Williams (Steve Austin's birth name), a promoter from the Texas Wrestling Foundation asked him where he was born and Steve Austin replied "Austin". It was then that the promoter told him "Your name will be Steve Austin"

-He has the official claim to fame that he was the first wrestler to be fired by FedEx. His termination papers came via FedEx to him. Ricky "Steamboat" Dragon was soon to follow.

-The gold chain that Austin wears was given to him by "Flyin'" Brian Pillman, who was his tag team partner, before their WCW debut as "The Hollywood Blondes"

-Two of his hobbies include collecting antiques and game hunting on his ranch in Texas

-When he worked for WCW, he, Mick Foley and "Diamond" Dallas Page once traveled together. Because Page was easy to anger, he and Foley would pull endless tricks to see how long it took Page to snap

-Outside of wrestling, he is good friends with The Rock, Bill Golberg and Mick Foley

-He says that his best match was with Bret Hart at WrestleMania XIII in 1997

-Austin learned his signature move, the "Stone Cold Stunner" from Michael PS Hayes, once a member of the Fabulous Freebirds

-When he appeared on an episode of the 1996 TV program Nash Bridges, his in-ring theme music is playing in the background

-He inducted Bret Hart into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006