And That’s The Bottom Line: The Best of Stone Cold

     The man single handedly revolutionized an entertainment.  There were bigger stars before; he followed the steps of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and the like.  There are those who have achieved fame both in and out of the ring, ala The Rock.  There are stars who have lasted longer, and played a role for greater periods of time in wrestling.  But for a span of several years, Stone Cold Steve Austin dominatedwas professional wrestling. professional wrestling.  Hell…. for half a decade, the man virtually

     He was the anti-hero; a beer swilling, trash talking, redneck ass whooping machine.  His matches were almost secondary; we tuned in each week to see who he was going to stun (the most unoriginal finishing move this side of Hogan’s leg drop), pour beer on, or stomp a mudhole in.  He virtually created the concept of wrestling entertainment…. no longer were we subjected to half a dozen star vs. loser matches; wrestling became, more than ever before, about the buildup.  We were finally able to get past the ridiculous ‘Is wrestling real?’ era, and see it for what it was; cheesy, offensive, and a blast.

     No single wrestler has been a part of so many pivotal or memorable moments in the history of the industry.  So let’s take some time, look back at the career at The toughest S.O.B in the WWF… The Rattlesnake…. the legend… Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Stone Cold Takes Out DX.

It was vintage Austin; beer, attitude, and a bunch of ass whoopins.

Austin Returns to help WWF in war against WCW and ECW.

You knew he was coming; you knew what would happen when he got there.  And you jumped out of your chair, yelled like an idiot, and spilled your beer just the same.

Stone Cold meets Simon Dean

Austin at his trash talking best.

The beer truck

If there is one moment that epitomizes his career, this is it.

The Zamboni

OK, it wasn’t as cool as the beer truck, but it was pretty sweet.

Austin’s Tribute to Owen Hart.

He toasted the man the way he should have been.

Bang 3:16

This was epic…. over the top, but perfect.

The Austin McMahon Rivalry

Probably the greatest rivalry the industry has ever seen.

The best of the Stone Cold/ Vince confrontations…

One of the early ones; the concept of one wrestler taking on not only the owner of the company, but the whole company, was so new, so different; this was when he bacame, in some ways, bigger than the industry.

Tyson/ Austin

The names say it all.

Austin apologizes to Booker T

Shows just how well Stone Cold played to the crowd.

Mick Foley’s First Title

Not exactly an Austin moment, but it was a classic and he played a part.

Austin wins WWF title for the first time

Obviously the big one.  (and on a side note, the Spanish rock rap ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ is pretty sweet.